I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 39
039 I Protect My Family (feat. Dorothy)
The Goblin that had bared its claws at Dorothy scrambled to its feet.
As if sensing the danger, it didn’t try to attack Juhwan. Instead, it turned tail and fled.
Juhwan straightened his back, putting his weight behind the movement as he raised his axe high.
He swung his entire shoulder into the blow, bringing the axe down.
With a sickening thud, the Goblin’s head split open. The thick blade of the axe buried itself deep. The Goblin’s red blood sprayed across his body, mixing with the filth.
One. Juhwan muttered to himself as he kicked the Goblin aside. The axe, which had been wedged in flesh and muscle, slid out with a squelch.
Without even a glance at the falling creature, he sprinted forward.
Juhwan swung his axe again toward the Goblin nearest the fence among those emerging from the forest.
The axe, aimed for the throat, lodged itself between the Goblin’s shoulder and neck. It seemed to be a physical trait of theirs—their necks were shorter than a human’s. A sound like a stuck pig erupted from the Goblin’s mouth.
As he yanked the axe out, he aimed for the head again. Two. Seeing the Goblin’s skull shatter, Juhwan spun around.
Something felt wrong. The eyes of several Goblins were glowing blood-red. He couldn’t tell if it was all of them, but most of the ones in sight were like that.
“….”
Their behavior seemed strange as well. Were Goblins usually this reckless, charging toward a target without any regard for their lives?
Even though they witnessed Juhwan killing their kin right in front of them, they didn’t care at all, rushing toward the fenced house.
Suddenly, he noticed the loincloths of several Goblins bulging significantly at the front.
‘These bastards, they’re after Lij.’
He recalled reading somewhere in a novel that Goblins kidnapped women. For a moment, his vision went dark with pure rage.
It felt as if a fuse had blown in his mind.
As he grabbed a passing Goblin and channeled his mana, flames erupted from his hand. The fire was even larger than when he had faced the wolves.
With a shrill shriek, the Goblin rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames. But they would not go out.
Leaving that one behind, Juhwan grabbed the next Goblin in line.
He injected mana simultaneously, igniting it. In an instant, three or four of them were on fire.
He had no time to watch them fall. Juhwan leaped toward the remaining Goblins, spinning his body. He swung the axe in a wide arc. Two more collapsed as the blade caught them.
But there were too many Goblins.
One lunged at Juhwan’s back. It wrapped its arms around his neck, squeezing tight, and bit down on his ear.
The dizzying pain left no room for hesitation. Juhwan reached back, grabbed the creature’s hair, and yanked it forward.
Flames erupted from the Goblin’s body, and a scream tore through the air right next to his ear.
He hurled the living fireball away.
He didn’t check what happened to it. Another one was already charging.
Juhwan ran forward, swinging his axe continuously.
He no longer had the luxury of aiming for specific spots like the head or neck. He simply buried the blade into any part of their bodies and kept moving.
With heavy thuds, the small bodies of the Goblins crumpled to the ground.
“Damn it!”
A curse escaped his lips.
Several Goblins were nearing the fence from an angle he couldn’t reach in time.
As he sprinted toward them, he reached out to every Goblin in his path, setting them ablaze.
But he had to stay calm. He couldn’t exhaust all his strength at once.
There might be another pack besides this one.
To protect his wife and child until the very end, he had to conserve his power. He couldn’t let his emotions and impulses take over.
‘It’s okay. I can protect them.’
Did these bastards think he would let them lay a hand on his family? Never. He wouldn’t let them touch a single hair on their heads.
To prevent the fence from collapsing, horizontal bamboo poles had been reinforced across the middle. Several Goblins were using them as stepping stones to climb up.
The tops of the fence were all sharpened into spear-like points. Despite screaming in pain as the bamboo pierced their flesh, the Goblins doggedly crawled over.
Juhwan reached them in a single bound and grabbed the ankle of a Goblin trying to vault over the top.
Piercing screams filled the air. Lij pulled Dorothy closer. This was no time to stand around dazed. Her husband was outside, risking his life to fight….
‘I have to get it together.’
Even if she couldn’t be a big help, she should at least not be a hindrance. Besides, she wasn’t alone. She had Dorothy.
Thump! The nearby bamboo fence shook.
“Eek!”
She jumped in surprise.
Though Juhwan had driven them deep into the ground, bamboo was weaker than a thick wooden palisade. If it took a few more hits like that, the fence might collapse. Her legs shook with terror.
Over the high fence, a Goblin’s hand and head suddenly appeared. Its glistening eyes fixed on Lij and Dorothy. It was terrifying. Her whole body trembled.
But soon, the creature let out a bizarre shriek and was dragged backward.
It seemed Juhwan had caught it. That’s right. Her husband was out there. Lij turned toward the house.
“Dorothy, go inside. Quickly.”
She pushed the crying child’s back. She wanted to go with her, but she couldn’t.
There were many Goblins and only one Juhwan. A Goblin he missed might break into the house. She had to help from the inside.
Lij forced a smile as she looked at Dorothy.
“It’s okay, don’t worry, Dorothy. Daddy is protecting us. But you have to stay inside. Lock the door and hide under the bed like last time.”
“What about you, Mommy?”
“Mommy is going to help Daddy from here. So…”
It was then. Dorothy’s eyes went wide with pure terror.
When Lij looked back, a Goblin was clinging to the fence, trying to climb over.
Lij quickly pushed the child toward the house and ran to where the spare bamboo was scattered.
There were several pieces of bamboo left over from when Juhwan built the fence. She grabbed one that was short but sharpened to a point.
Toward Dorothy, who was still standing there dazed, Lij shouted.
“Dorothy, get inside! Now!”
The Goblin hooked a leg over the fence. Its hand was bleeding, likely pierced by the bamboo, but it didn’t stop.
Beyond the fence, the screams of Goblins continued to echo.
Juhwan was fighting non-stop.
Lij bit her lip hard. She had to be brave. At the very least, she could push back the ones trying to get in. She had to help her husband.
Lij dragged the bamboo. The poles that Juhwan could lift several of at once were too long and heavy for her.
The Goblin was just about to tilt its body over the top. She tried to move faster, but she was still too far away.
Just then, the Goblin’s body burst into flames and was yanked downward.
At the same time, several bamboo poles the Goblin had been climbing leaned outward.
Her heart felt like it stopped. Fortunately, they didn’t break or collapse completely, but there was no telling what would happen next.
‘Is Juhwan okay?’
Goblins trying to climb the fence were popping up here and there. Every time, Juhwan would rush over. He was clearly overexerting himself. There were too many of them. Was he getting hurt? She was so worried.
Then, another Goblin’s hand gripped the fence.
Lij gripped the bamboo tight. She ran, dragging the pole along the ground.
When the Goblin’s head popped up, Lij lifted the bamboo spear and thrust it toward the creature.
But it didn’t go well. Once lifted, the bamboo was heavier than she expected. It wobbled unsteadily in the air.
Lij braced the end of the bamboo against the fence and pushed it upward.
Standing right against the fence brought her close to the creature; she felt like she could smell the Goblin’s foul breath on the air. Fear paralyzed her.
‘It’s okay. I’m not afraid.’
She pushed the bamboo up along the fence. She shoved it upward with all her might.
The sharpened point Juhwan had made pierced the Goblin’s hand.
Screeeech! The Goblin screamed.
‘I did it! One more time!’
Lij pulled the bamboo back slightly and thrust it up again.
However, despite its screams, the Goblin threw its body over the fence and grabbed the spear with one hand.
The spear held by the Goblin wouldn’t budge. Panic flared within her.
She tried desperately to pull the spear back, but it was no use.
Dorothy stood frozen, as if her feet were glued to the ground. Mommy Lij told her to run to the house, but she couldn’t move.
The air was filled with strange noises. The faces of monsters kept popping up over the fence. It was scary.
But there was something even scarier. What if Mommy and Daddy disappeared? What if those monsters ate them?
Back when her father went to the mountains and didn’t come back, it was okay. She wasn’t scared at all then. But now….
“Mommy… Daddy…”
What should she do? What should Dorothy do? Sob… hic… Cries leaked from her mouth.
Then, Mommy Lij was stabbing upward with the bamboo, but the monster grabbed it.
“Eek!”
A strange sound escaped her. Hic, hic. Hiccups followed the strange noise. Every time she hiccuped, her body jumped.
This was bad. Mommy Lij tried to pull the spear away, but the monster was stronger.
She had to help Mommy. Otherwise, the monster would eat her. Her legs were shaking.
“Ugh, Oz, I’m scared.”
Hic, hic. The crying and hiccuping wouldn’t stop.
Just then, the front of her clothes felt heavy, and pop, a pair of rabbit ears poked out. Oz wiggled out of the pocket and suddenly leaped away.
“Oz!”
Oz was incredibly fast. The rabbit was like a streak of lightning. He hopped and darted with amazing speed.
“Huh?”
Oz ran to where Mommy was and leaped into the air. He just floated up. Wait, do rabbits fly? Without wings?
Oz, having floated into the sky, latched onto the monster’s face. It looked like his tiny paws grabbed the monster, but it was hard to tell. His feet moved so fast they were a blur. Oz started kicking the monster.
“He’s so fast!”
Dorothy shouted at the top of her lungs without realizing it.
Mommy seemed surprised too. She almost let go of the bamboo but quickly gripped it again.
While Oz was kicking the monster thump-thump-thump-thump with incredible speed, Daddy arrived. A large axe flew through the air and struck the Goblin’s shoulder.
Oz let out a little squeak and hopped back down to the ground.
The Goblin had vanished from the fence.
It was amazing. As Dorothy ran over, Oz twitched his ears as if showing off and let out another squeak.
Mommy’s eyes were wide with shock, but she quickly gripped the bamboo and turned around, glaring at the fence. Mommy was brave too! She was shaking so much, yet she was being so brave!
“Dorothy will be brave too!”
Cradling Oz, who had run back to her, Dorothy looked around. If a monster came in, Dorothy would stop it. Because Dorothy had found her courage.
Mommy Lij was also keeping a close watch on the fence with her bamboo spear.
Okay! We are brave! Dorothy is brave!
Then, she saw a Goblin’s hand reaching over the fence.
Dorothy quickly spoke to Oz.
“Oz! Over there! There’s a monster over there!”
The rabbit’s ears twitched. Maybe because Oz was still a baby, he didn’t understand. He looked up at Dorothy with his round black eyes as if confused.
“Oz, you and I are one body, one heart. So you go. Go bite it! Kick it! Run bravely!”
“Go, Oz!”
When Dorothy shouted, Oz’s ears perked up and his nose twitched as if sniffing the air. You’re a silly one, Oz.
“Go quickly! The monster is coming!”
When she spoke again, Oz finally seemed to understand. He hopped out of Dorothy’s hands and landed on the ground.
Then he ran. He was so fast. In an instant, he reached the fence where the monster was.
“Fly! Oz, fly!”
Since Dorothy was the leader, she had to give orders. Oz was her subordinate, so he couldn’t fight without orders.
As soon as Dorothy shouted, Oz leaped high into the sky.
But before Oz could defeat the monster, the nasty thing disappeared. The fence shook violently, and with a screech, the monster was dragged away. Daddy had beaten him to it.
Before she knew it, all her fear was gone. With Daddy and Oz here, it was okay. Now Dorothy would protect Mommy. Monsters were nothing!
“Oz, keep it up!”
The little rabbit’s ears twitched and fluttered.
