Chapter 17

Carl and Donut finish looting the goblin workshop and prepare an elaborate trap to kill the war chieftain boss. They load a cart with barrels of black powder, metal shrapnel, and Hobgoblin Pus explosives rigged with magical detonators, then shove it into the boss room and detonate it from a safe distance.

After clearing the goblin workshop of supplies, Carl inventories nearly a ton of materials including coal, tools, engineering supplies, explosives, and alchemical liquids. He devises a plan to kill the boss war chieftain using an improvised explosive trap. Carl fills four barrels with black powder and covers them with nuts, bolts, and metal scraps. He obtains magical detonators that work like deodorant sticks—break off the tip, insert into explosive, press button for five-second countdown with a ten-kilometer range. He distributes Hobgoblin Pus (a C4-like explosive) into each barrel, with the first detonator placed prominently to distract the boss. The plan mirrors their strategy against the Hoarder: push the cart into the boss room, close the door, retreat behind multiple walls, and trigger the explosion remotely. Donut opens the door and gives the signal. Carl shoves the heavy, greased cart into the room at full speed. Both flee, turning three times to put distance between themselves and potential shockwave. From their safe position, Carl detonates the trigger. As the blast occurs, Donut mentions there were many babies in the boss room.