But still, I had to do it.

"Kuhn..."

With that one bark, the kobolds' fighting spirit broke. The battle line collapsed, and the kobolds were trampled. I wouldn't let it happen. Now, these guys, only these guys, were my family!

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!"

I had no courage. Fear made my legs tremble. Even so, I swung my own shovel and hit the hobgoblin's head with all my might!

A high-pitched metallic sound resounded. My hands were numb. The hobgoblin had blocked it with a club held in both hands. For the sake of the goblins!

"Goah!"

"Hey!"

I jumped and avoided the swung club, stepped on the tatara, and waited for the hobgoblin to attack. The hobgoblin swung his club around, cutting through the wind. I ran around with cold sweat running down my whole body. The surrounding goblins pointed their weapons at me. I ran away, avoiding the hobgoblin's club. The club hit the goblins, causing friendly fire. When I let my guard down, the club grazed my left arm.

“It hurts!?”

The skin was torn and bleeding. It wasn't even a serious injury, but the pain interrupted my concentration. The goblin's spear swung roughly, hitting my leg. I tangled and fell, and my shovel left my hand. It was an unpalatable situation.

Hobgoblin laughed as it tried to step on me. I rolled like a caterpillar and dodged desperately. Even the goblins joined in on the laughter. A kobold cried as my eyes spun. Suddenly, a howl echoed through the polar region. It was our signal to counterattack.

"Slime cleaners!" I summoned the last of my strength and shouted out loud. Green slimes fell from the ceiling with a clattering sound. They were one of our secret weapons and each had the volume of a children's pool. Three of them clung to the goblin's feet.

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The goblins panicked as the slimes were resistant to physical attacks. They could only be defeated by fire or magic. Rolling towards the barricade, I felt dizzy and nauseous but I had two more orders to give.

"Silhouette!" I summoned the maximum strength of our dungeon, a spirit of the wind in the form of a fairy-like maiden. A whirlwind blew around the goblins, causing them to swirl around uncontrollably.

"Kobold Workers!" I shouted as I commanded the kobolds to throw sand into the whirlwind, which was stored behind the barricade.

"Gyaa!? Gaggya!?" The goblins were in pain as the sand hurt their bare skin. They tried to protect themselves by covering their eyes, nose, and mouth, but it was of no use. The sandstorm rubbed them down, including the hobgoblins. They were forced to curl up and endure the hellish situation.

Although Sylph was strong and could easily defeat a single hobgoblin, it was impossible to beat their numbers. That's why we had to lure all the goblins deep into the dungeon and trap them behind the barricade, where we had stored enough sand.

"Operation Sandstorm was a great success!" I exclaimed as the dizziness subsided. I received a pickaxe from a kobold and stood up, feeling pain all over my body. But I wasn't dead yet, and there were still some finishing touches left to complete.

"Sylph..."

As I called out to stop the wind, each step made an unpleasant noise as the soles of my shoes trod on the sand. I was exhausted, and my mind was at its limit. I was obsessed with finishing the battle early.

With little resistance, I swung my pickaxe down on the crouched Hobgoblin's head, delivering a fatal hit. I moved on to another goblin, but my swing landed a little off, hitting the neck instead. It was still effective, though.

"Kobold, help me stop them," I said, motioning to the screaming goblins. However, I was unable to move due to the damage from the sandstorm and the slime at my feet.

The battle was over, and all that remained was the aftermath. The kobolds armed themselves with shovels, pickaxes, stones, and weapons stolen from the defeated goblins. We advanced, determined to finish the job.

We had no mercy for those who dared to invade our dungeon. We were not strong enough to show them any kindness.

In the end, this was how the first defensive battle of my dungeon came to a close.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lord," the Kobold Shaman called out to me from behind as I began cleaning up. He was the leader of the Kobolds and the only other person in the dungeon I could talk to.

"I was able to achieve my goal, but just barely," I replied, feeling exhausted and injured. The Kobold Shaman was not a combatant, and there was no way to deal with a similar attack if it happened again.

"We are weak," the Kobold Shaman stated, but I tried to stay optimistic. "The Lord has just begun. Everything is like that in the beginning."

The Shaman's words had a deep implication, and I let out a sigh. Most of the goblin corpses had disappeared, as the dungeon had consumed them. The blood, meat, and sand that had been scattered were being cleaned up by the slimes. This was how the dungeon got its name, as it acted like a cleaner.

The Kobolds were carrying the loot, which was just crude weapons and armor, but it was a valuable resource in our dungeon that was in short supply. There were also a few miscellaneous items, and one Kobold was holding up what looked like a pot.

I picked up a fallen shovel and used it as a cane, feeling the fatigue that clung to my whole body. "Dungeon Master, it's not easy," the Kobold Shaman observed.

I looked back on the first day, wondering how it had all happened.