Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 155 Dice
Jimmy was not ashamed of his change of heart.

In fact, he had a similar experience when he was just a country boy who couldn't even tell the difference between a frog and a toad.

I remember there was a family in the village whose second son was lucky enough to find a decent job in Newme with the caravan. He could send a lot of money home every month, and during holidays he would often bring his younger brother some novelties from the big city.

Even today, many years later, he still remembers the little boy with two snotty snot sticking out of his mouth, a smug smile on his face, standing on a rock by the pond, showing off the toys his brother had brought back from Newme.

To Jimmy, what was called a toy was nothing more than a fairly well-made six-sided die.

At the time, he didn't think it was particularly good-looking.

It was far less pleasing to the eye than the wooden sword his father had carved for him.

They also couldn't understand why a tiny die, no bigger than a thumb and easily lost if thrown into the grass, could make their companions so enthusiastically surround the short guy.

Is it simply because of its special status as a Newmeg?
Later, as the short man showed off in front of everyone time and time again, more and more children gathered around him.

Standing in the crowd, I watched as the six-sided die, made of fired clay, spun and landed, making a crisp sound as it collided with the pebbles.

Feeling the envious gazes of those around him, Jimmy, holding the wooden sword in his hand, subtly began to change his mind.

With the little guy's approval, and amidst the eager gazes of his companions, he stepped forward and picked up the dice from the ground.

It was the first time I felt the cool touch of the dice's surface and saw the incredibly intricate patterns on it.

It seemed that at that moment, Jimmy finally realized the beauty of the die.

To be honest, my cousin hasn't shown me that statue for many days.

He usually kept it like a precious treasure, always keeping it close to his heart, even when sleeping or going to the toilet.

Only occasionally would he wake up in the middle of the night and see his cousin sitting alone in a corner of the camp, examining and stroking the wooden carving by the firelight, looking dazed.

Even so, he still clearly remembered the statue's natural, flowing lines and textures, the upright figure that resembled both a sheep and a deer, and the two tendrils that snaked upwards and disappeared into the ground...

"Green, where are we going?"

The rough, slightly drunken voice brought Jimmy back to reality.

Looking over, one could see a burly man with a flushed face and a thick beard across the campfire, calling out to a figure that was walking away and disappearing at the edge of the camp.

"Go to the bathroom? Wait a minute, hiccup... I'll go with you!"

“Today, Jack was in charge of setting up the warning traps. I’m a little worried, so I’ll go check it out. You guys have your drinks first.”

"Damn it, that damn Jack," the burly man with the bushy beard muttered, then sat back down.

"If you ask me, Green has just been in the Misty Forest for too long and he's not used to it."

"I travel this trade route several times a year. Forget about monsters, I rarely even encounter wild boars. It's safer than my own garden."

Nearby, another drunk passenger lay half-reclined on a cushion, squinting as he spoke.

"Hey, they spend almost the entire hunting day in the forest, isn't that how it is?"

"No wonder you smelled of blood all over your body, and you couldn't wash it off. It was like 'green blood,' and you felt like you were being pickled."

It was just casual conversation, but after hearing what the other person said, the burly man with the thick beard seemed to have thought of something and suddenly became interested.

He lowered his voice and glanced meaningfully at the carriage not far away.

“Speaking of ‘Green Blood,’ we have someone in our team who’s somewhat related to her, right…”

"Tsk tsk, 'Grey Sword'." An adventurer clicked his tongue enviously. "I heard he's already obtained a job rank. He's not in the same league as us."

"Grey Sword!?"

Not everyone is well-informed, and as soon as the words were spoken, another passenger exclaimed in surprise.

"That one with black hair? So young?"

"Then there's even less to worry about!"

"With a legitimate professional in charge of the convoy, what danger could there be in this area?"

Although it was just drunken ramblings, what the other person said wasn't entirely unreasonable.

The convoy is currently on the road from River Valley to Newme. Although it is a deserted wilderness, they often encounter passing caravans and small villages every few days.

Even at night, there are basically no dangerous monsters appearing.

Even if they are attacked, it will at most be some insignificant bandits, or a dozen or twenty goblins.

Xia Nan, the only professional in the caravan, didn't even need to lift a finger; the accompanying guards took care of everything.

It can be said to be quite safe.

There was nothing to do on the nights of the journey, but the topics of "green blood," "gray sword," and "professionals" sparked interest. The adventurers, full of energy and with nowhere to vent, chatted enthusiastically, fueled by the aroma of alcohol.

Of course, it's impossible to expect these burly men who haven't had much schooling to have any profound conversations.

In the end, it all boils down to just a few things:

"Gold coins", "women", "monsters"...

And the most classic bragging segment.

"Two years ago, I went with my older brother to the tundra. I've never seen such heavy snow in my life. The whole town looked like it was covered in frost."

"Wow, can anyone still live here? They'd probably all freeze to death, wouldn't they?"

"Hehe, you know what, not only can people live here, but the women in the village..."

Jimmy was listening intently when he noticed the burly, bearded man with a wicked grin turn his head to look at him, as if he had noticed his gaze.

He secretly thought to himself that something was wrong.

He quickly averted his gaze, lowered his head, and pretended not to have seen it.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Kid, you're listening so attentively..."

"Never experienced the taste of a woman?"

He was a complete newcomer to the industry, and hadn't even spent more than a few days in River Valley before being pulled out.

His youthful innocence was obvious to any adventurer with even a little experience.

Jimmy's seemingly timid behavior only fueled the mischievous veterans across the campfire's desire to tease him.

"Haha, why are you shy? You're like a young lady."

"With that small frame, if those barbarian women from the north were to sit on it a few times, their backs would probably break."

"Kid, come here, I'll teach you a few moves, and I'll make sure you get home..."

The sudden commotion drew the attention of the surrounding passengers.

If it were an adventurer with a little more experience, they would just smile and ignore it, or make a few casual jokes, or even open their mouths to curse back, and the topic would be over.

But Jimmy, encountering this situation for the first time, was completely at a loss.

He hadn't been drinking, but his face was flushed red.

He reached for the one-handed sword at his waist with his right hand, but just as he touched the hilt, he recoiled as if he had been electrocuted.

With his hands on the ground, he subconsciously moved his body back a little.

Instinctively seeking help, he glanced at his cousin beside him, hoping that his fellow adventurer could help him out of this predicament.

But they found that the other person seemed completely unaware of what was happening around them, simply sitting motionless by the fire, staring blankly at the package in their hands.

It was as if one's gaze could penetrate the thick outer bag and see the gray-black statue inside.

"Haha, kid, are you really shy?"

"Don't be afraid, we're not going to eat you!"

"..."

Jimmy's flustered and helpless actions caused a burst of laughter, and all sorts of offensive words and spittle flew towards him.

His blood rushed to his head, and he seemed to be momentarily lost in thought.

The orange flames reflected on the face of the burly, bearded man, revealing his foul-smelling, yellowish-brown, rotten teeth.

His lips opened and closed, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, as if he were saying something, but all that reached the ears was a jumble of incomprehensible noise.

My mind goes blank.

call out--

Then came a sharp, piercing sound that instantly silenced the commotion and brought the entire arena to a standstill.

"Shoot."

A sharp object piercing flesh makes a stifling sound.

The arrow shaft vibrated rapidly, the fletching at the tip creating a blurry image. The burly man with the thick beard still wore that grotesque grin, but for a moment he froze in place.

A wooden arrow shot out from the darkness pierced his temple and went straight into his head.

"boom."

It was the dull thud of the body falling to the ground.

"Enemy attack!!!!!"

……

Jimmy has forgotten his first thought at the time.

It could be the relief of finally escaping a predicament, or it could be the panic and fear of suddenly encountering an attack from a foreign enemy.

He simply gripped his brand-new one-handed sword, and like a headless fly, he followed the crowd around him aimlessly, rushing off into some unknown direction.

After taking a few steps, she seemed to suddenly remember something and looked towards her cousin's seat.

But all that remained was emptiness.

"Did they run away first?" he wondered to himself.

In those few seconds of hesitation, roars and curses echoed through the pitch-black night, and the faint sound of metal clashing could be heard.

What should we do?

With a jumble of thoughts swirling in his mind, Jimmy, who had never experienced combat and had never even killed a goblin, was momentarily at a loss, unsure of what to do.

Should they rush towards the direction of the fighting to support the battle, or simply run away and find a place to hide?

For some reason, at this moment, his eyes suddenly turned to the other side of the camp, to the location of the carriage.

My cousin's words of advice, along with the deliberately hushed voices of the adventurers earlier, inexplicably surfaced in my mind.

"Professional", "Gray Sword"...

perhaps……

Just as Jimmy, driven by instinct, took his first step toward the carriage.

Suddenly, the sound of rapidly approaching hooves rang in their ears.

He turned around abruptly as if in response.

What came into view was a tall, indistinct silhouette in the darkness. A fierce-looking man, fully armed, sat on horseback, his spear gleaming coldly in the firelight.

There was no dodging, nor was there any proactive attack.

Jimmy only had time to raise the blade in his hand to block in front of him.

"Ding!"

The next second, accompanied by an immense force emanating from the hilt of the sword.

Losing his balance, he stumbled back several steps and tripped over something.

He stumbled and fell backward to the ground.

Perhaps it's a pebble.

Jimmy felt as if the back of his head had suddenly hit something hard.

hum-

With a sharp pain, darkness engulfed his vision like a tidal wave.

The whole person fainted.

Fortunately, although he had completely lost control of his body, he seemed to have retained some consciousness.

With eyes tightly closed and unable to open, other senses seemed to become more acute without anyone noticing.

The horses snorted and exhaled hot, slightly foul-smelling air, and the ground trembled slightly as their iron hooves landed near my ears.

There was no follow-up strike, and the sound of hooves faded into the distance once more.

Despite the frigid air, roars and curses still filled the air.

"It must have been an attack by bandits."

Recalling the tall figure on horseback that I had only caught a glimpse of earlier.

Jimmy, who had been out of control, regained his composure at this moment.

"Can you win?"

"It might work."

He wondered to himself.

But as time passed, the sounds of fighting showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, they intensified.

Jimmy knew that it meant the two sides were evenly matched and it was impossible to determine a winner for the time being.

This also made me anxious.

Then a long, high-pitched wolf howl suddenly rang out from afar.

hold head high--

"Could it be a wild wolf from the wilderness that smelled the blood here?"

Jimmy felt even more desperate.

These ferocious beasts that roam the night and shadows don't care about good or bad people; they only treat all creatures made of flesh and blood, including themselves, as dinner to fill their bellies, tearing them apart and swallowing them whole.

Unexpectedly, as the wolf howls rang out, several painful and desperate howls suddenly appeared amidst the noise that was originally filled with angry shouts and curses, and one could vaguely hear someone shouting words like "retreat".

The wind howled.

Then came another high-frequency, dense sound, the cold sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh.

The pain in the back of my head spread, and my previously clear consciousness gradually became hazy.

Overwhelmed by an indescribable drowsiness, Jimmy completely lost consciousness.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

When he awoke again, the sounds of battle filled with iron and blood had vanished.

Instead, there were the soft sounds of cleaning up the battlefield.

With difficulty, he got up and could vaguely see several familiar figures holding torches, groping through the corpses in the distant wilderness.

"Survived."

Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the battle was over.

My head still hurts, and when I touched it, my hand was covered in blood.

He turned his body, as if seeking help.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of something, and his whole body froze on the spot.

Only now did he finally see what had tripped him up.

It wasn't the gravel or twigs you might imagine.

Instead, it was a corpse lying quietly on the ground.

His neck had been severed by a sharp blade, with a thin layer of blood hanging from it, and his head was hanging upside down in front of his chest.

"Cousin?"

Jimmy recognized the other person's identity.

But even he found it strange that at this moment, facing the death of his loved ones, he felt not a trace of sadness in his heart.

Instead, a strange impulse welled up from within.

On their faces, stained with dust and blood, was an almost pathological urgency and expectation.

He strode forward, casually tossed aside his cousin's dangling head, and reached into his chest with both hands, groping around.

A look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

Pull hard.

Jimmy pulled a blood-stained package from his cousin's arms.

It's like picking up a die from the ground when you were a child and carefully tucking it into your pocket.

(End of this chapter)