Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 145 Goblins and Adventurers

The rain gradually subsided.

The air, still thick with moisture, carries a faint fragrance mingled with the scents of earth and grass.

The gradually cooling corpses, and the pools of scarlet blood rippling in the breeze, added an lingering, inescapable stench of blood to the air.

After the great battle, people's first reaction was excitement and joy.

No more worrying about having your head smashed by a wooden stick, or having to consider whether you should free yourself before being captured alive by goblins and taken back to their lair.

When Xia Nan returned carrying the head of the last goblin in the village, which had been found feasting on a recently deceased piglet in the pigpen, Xia Nan found it.

The cheers and applause from the villagers are proof of this.

But after the initial enthusiasm, things cool down.

The villagers were grateful to have survived, but the mutilated corpses on the meadow, the low groans of the wounded, and the charred ruins of houses burned by the flames shattered their joy, leaving only a few empty strands of melancholy.

The atmosphere wasn't as lively as I'd imagined.

Without the goblins' shrill howls, the wounded villagers helped each other bandage their wounds, and a middle-aged man with blood on his face numbly collected the corpses. Occasionally, one could hear deliberately suppressed sobs from a corner.

A cold, damp breeze brushed against my cheeks, and the entire arena became unusually quiet.

Xia Nan stood on the sidelines, his gaze fixed on the door of a wooden house in the distance.

A middle-aged woman, dressed simply and covered in mud, was crying as she held two children who rushed out of the house in her arms.

Faced with the goblin attack, the two children must have hidden in the cellar. Now that the battle is over, they left their hiding place after hearing their mother's call.

His gaze swept over the two dusty, still-shaken faces, and his thoughts raced through his mind.

The "mass taunt" unleashed by the bear goblin is far less powerful than imagined.

Although the control prevents the subject from escaping and forces them to fight, it also allows them to maintain normal thinking ability under the surging fighting spirit, and their actual combat strength is even enhanced.

As for Redmane himself, the one who released the skill, he seemed to be unable to leave the battlefield due to the side effects of the taunt skill, and had to fight them to a draw.

This side effect is essentially negligible if the target is ordinary villagers who don't even have proper equipment.

However, if the enemy were to be someone whose mobility far surpasses that of ordinary adventurers, someone they couldn't possibly defeat in a short time... that would be a considerable burden for the goblin itself.

On the other hand, its "group mockery" is already exaggerated enough in scope.

In fact, the radiation only affected the area near the entrance of Cuixi Village.

The reason so many people were affected at once was because adventurers were causing trouble, and most of the villagers were gathered there.

As for the remaining civilians in the village, some of them, without being affected by the "mockery," were led by others to the front line.

A considerable number of villagers wisely chose to flee the village and seek refuge in the valley town.

Therefore, the overall number of civilian casualties in Cuixi Village was actually not that high.

The number of people who actually died in the goblin attacks was actually no more than ten.

There are far fewer of them than those actual battlefields.

Even so, for this small village with a total population of just over a hundred, where almost everyone knows each other.

It was still a very heavy blow.

Since the end of the battle, I have not had any in-depth conversations with any of the villagers.

Xia Nan could still sense the sorrow flowing in the air through their tired and numb faces.

The Green Blood Squad has also suffered casualties.

For adventurers, death is a common occurrence.

In just over a hundred days since he transmigrated, Xia Nan has personally witnessed the deaths of quite a few of his teammates.

From the dwarf and orc Gaggu and the hunter Magee at the beginning, to Larry and Doris later on.

Perhaps because they weren't close, he didn't experience any heart-wrenching sorrow because of it.

I only think about it occasionally when it's late at night and all is quiet.

To some extent, this is one of the reasons why he resists operating in small groups for extended periods.

Berg,

To him, calling him a "stranger" was naturally impossible.

But they were far from being "friends for life," and even "close friends" were still a long way off.

Therefore, this teammate who underperformed when facing a strong opponent, and was thus caught off guard and had his head crushed by the enemy, is a prime example of this.

Although Xia Nan felt regretful, she did not feel overly sorrowful.

Abby is different.

The Green Blood Squad was his first official team after joining the adventure, and Berg and Adeline were his mentors on his adventure.

Compared to the silent and reliable captain, most of the time it was Berg, the old fox, who answered his questions and introduced some common knowledge about adventurers in a joking manner.

Their relationship had long since transcended the concept of ordinary "teammates".

Currently, it is Abby who is collecting Berg's body for burial.

A clean silk cloth, which appeared out of nowhere, was gently placed over the corpse's shattered head.

Abby stood quietly to one side, her head bowed.

He would take the body to River Valley, then transport it back to Berg's hometown by horse-drawn carriage, where it would be handed over to the family.

"They have two daughters, and maybe a son?"

Xia Nan recalled in his heart.

The other party rarely mentioned his family in front of them, but through the occasional snippets of conversation he made when drunk, it was clear that someone was indeed waiting for him at home.

Xia Nan did not want to go any further, nor did she intend to let her emotions take over her mind.

At least... judging from Berg's relatively ordinary spending habits among adventurers, and his many years of professional experience.

He must have saved up a sum of money.

It was enough for his wife to raise their children in a decent and comfortable manner.

On the other side, in the center of the battlefield.

Adeline, her body wrapped in bandages, stood before the goblin's corpse.

like a statue.

Just keep inhaling, exhaling, inhaling, exhaling...

His back was turned, so his expression couldn't be seen.

The mud beneath my feet, already soaked by the rain, was still damp.

Having never revealed her past before becoming an adventurer to the others, Xia Nan naturally had no way of knowing what this bear goblin with its crimson mane meant to her.

But he neither brought it up nor intended to ask.

He simply found a spot on the edge of a wheat field, sat down, and quietly wiped the longsword in his hand.

Suddenly I felt warm.

Subconsciously raised his head.

The thick, dark clouds that had previously covered the sky had mostly melted away.

The bright yet gentle sunlight shone down, dispelling the last trace of chill in the air.

Squinting, Xia Nan withdrew his gaze.

"After cleaning up the battlefield, it shouldn't be too late when we get back to River Valley Town."

"Let's go to the White Sparrow and order a bowl of mushroom soup first."

"I haven't had it in a long time, I'm really craving it."

……

……

"Roar!"

The violent and fierce roars echoed between the empty stone walls.

Two enormous hands, capable of smashing the hardest rocks on a mountain to dust, were now pinching a goblin with greenish-blue skin.

A wail and scream.

Enhanced by the purulent green light, its body, swelled to near that of an adult human, was bound by those thick, tough fingers, like a clay toy. It encountered no resistance whatsoever.

Easily stretched, torn, and shredded, it was clenched in the palm of the hand and turned into scarlet blood foam like lemon juice, then swallowed into a hideous mouth that emitted a pungent sulfurous smell.

"Bagula Demon" excitedly pounded his chest, letting out a strange roar like that of an ape or beast.

They live in a bottomless abyss filled with lava and blood, surrounded by equally dangerous and powerful demons.

These howling, fragile green-skinned creatures before it became the perfect targets for venting its anger and bloodlust.

Unfortunately, the taste was just so-so, and it smelled a bit bad.

Unappetizing.

As if remembering something, a strong sense of greed and desire suddenly flashed in Bagula's scarlet eyes.

I remember a long time ago, before it had claimed its own territory, when it was still wandering in the endless wilderness.

It once ate an unlucky long-eared creature that had been sent to the abyss by spatial turbulence.

That feeling... was a million times better than those green-skinned goblins under my feet.

It is said that in the large forests of the material world, there are hundreds or even thousands of birds with such long ears.

in case……

As he imagined this, thick, corrosive, acidic yellow saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, scalding the ground and creating puffs of white smoke.

Just as it was contemplating whether to first roll those delicate, white ears twice in the molten fire of the abyss wilderness to make the outer skin crispy, or to throw them directly into its mouth alive and enjoy the agonizing screams on its tongue.

Suddenly, a familiar suction force came from the void behind him.

His expression froze for a moment.

"No!"

"You can't do this!"

Bagula whirled around and roared at the frail human in the indigo robe in the distance.

"It's not the right time yet..."

"More! I need more!"

The sonic boom from the furious roar sent the scattered goblin limbs flying across the ground.

The suction from behind grew stronger and stronger. Even though the thick fingers were deeply embedded in the rock, they could only leave a few unwilling marks on the ground as the body continued to move backward.

A heavily armored warrior wielding a longsword walked silently past him.

I glanced at it.

He didn't say anything, but simply raised his leg and gave a light kick.

The massive body of the Bagra Demon was instantly lifted off the ground, flying backwards as it was sucked into the spacetime vortex behind it, rolling back into its bottomless abyss.

The battle is also over.

Without the threat and restraint of the black-robed goblins, the remaining goblins, even those enhanced by divine magic, were no challenge for high-level adventurers like themselves.

The fire wall spell was used to burn the area once, and the fire elementals flew around twice before Bagula was allowed to fill in any gaps.

The massive number of goblins that had once crowded into the nest were almost all dead.

Cornell nodded to the human warriors walking towards him and let out a soft breath.

His face was slightly pale, because the mental energy he had been subtly depleted by using high-level spells in a short period of time was making him dizzy, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

She glanced at the ground with a pang of heartache at the magic scroll that had lost its power after being used.

The spell inscribed on it is the 7th Ring - Evocation [Force Field Prison].

The effect is to create an invisible prison within the area specified by the caster, sealing off the space and disabling teleportation spells within it.

That's exactly how he stopped the black-robed goblin from escaping.

As a spellcaster who has not yet advanced to the transcendent level and whose professional level is "9", Cornell naturally does not yet have the ability to cast seventh-circle spells.

I acquired this scroll from a senior student through an extremely expensive price and a small favor.

Keep it as a trump card, to be used when necessary.

As for the specific price...

It can only be said that, under normal circumstances, the "ruby dust" required for the casting of the [Force Field Prison] spell alone is worth 1500 gold.

And after it was inscribed into a magic scroll... one can only say that even Cornell, who was wealthy, felt his heart bleeding.

The effort put in was completely disproportionate to the rewards.

Even the biggest gain from this adventure, the silver-white device that clearly had a story behind it, broke free from the constraints of the [Force Field Prison] and was teleported out.

"I'm almost out of money."

Cornell's gaze swept over the goblin corpses around him.

Leaving aside whether their ears, now charred black, can still be exchanged for bounty as spoils of war.

He wouldn't even consider that much money.

Step forward and walk up the steps in the center of the cave.

The last ring on the left thumb gleamed silver.

The black-robed goblin's corpse, along with the dimly patterned altar behind it, vanished instantly.

Cornell only hoped that he could sell both of them for a decent price to the goblin historian he knew.

The wooden staff gently touched the ground, and magic once again gathered and circulated in the air.

Space is distorted.

The golden-haired elf's body, with its neck broken, also vanished.

For monks, or rather, wealthy monks, being brought back to life is never a problem.

Once we return to Huancai City, we will be able to begin preparations for the resurrection.

Unfortunately, the body of another fallen teammate, the orc Volga, was already mangled beyond recognition by the gravitational pull of the silver iron ball.

To revive them... you'd have to pay several times the price of an elf.

Given the other party's personality, even if they were reborn, they probably wouldn't have any intention of repaying the money.

"Hmm, forget it."

Cornell shifted his gaze from the orc's corpse, having already made his choice.

The other party had only joined the team halfway through, and was completely different from the blonde elf who had been his teammate since the beginning of the team.

So what if he's dead? We can always find another one later.

However, we must remember this lesson and next time find someone whose intelligence is at least at the average level.

Along the way, the warning traps destroyed by the orcs alone would probably be enough to buy a small house with a garden in Newme.

"Orc bloodline, barbarian class...tsk tsk."

Cornell couldn't help but recall the few nasty jokes that were often mentioned during his free time in the lab, and shook his head.

A hoarse, deep voice suddenly rang out from behind.

"So why doesn't the association just hire large battle groups and solve the problem once and for all?"

"Instead of letting those little guys who haven't even obtained their job levels fight goblins to the death?"

Cornell raised an eyebrow, surprised that the usually taciturn human warrior would ask such a question.

Then he suddenly remembered that it was actually the golden-haired elf who first raised this question, but since they were already close to their destination, he didn't say anything more.

They just gave a perfunctory answer, saying they'd explain after the mission was over.

Unexpectedly, the other party remembered it.

Now, after the mission is over, I will ask myself these questions.

Cornell simply gestured towards the ground in response.

There, the mangled corpse of the orc Volga had become one with the severed limbs and bits of flesh of the surrounding goblins.

"It's hunting day, and with so many goblins, we have to clear them out."

"But... the number of adventurers is actually quite large."

(End of this chapter)