Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 210 Prepare for Battle!!!

Before becoming a professional, Xia Nan had some understanding of how rare and expensive magical equipment with special effects was, through the boasting and casual conversations of adventurers in taverns.

However, I only truly realized its value after the trip to Nium. Even after providing the main materials for forging and using some of them to offset the corresponding labor costs, it still cost me most of my fortune, a huge sum of 500 gold, to barely produce a piece of fine (green) quality equipment.

Without a doubt, even the most basic enchanted equipment can easily fetch a four-figure price on the market.

If the enchantment effect were better and the quality were upgraded a few levels, it would definitely be worth five or six figures.

However, equipment of this caliber obviously wouldn't be available on the market.

Xia Nan sometimes thinks that when he first transmigrated to this world, he didn't even understand the concepts of "professional" and "adventurer." He was in an ordinary goblin nest, facing a bear goblin that hadn't been fully grown for long.

Surprisingly, he got a genuine green accessory for himself—the [Death Line] Ring—that had defensive spells, automatic recharge, and was essentially free.

Isn't that just too lucky?
But then again, time travel is an event with a probability of almost zero, and since I've encountered it myself, it's understandable that I'm lucky.

With the "Coin of Destiny" in his pocket, who knows, Lady Luck might be watching over him. There's no need to overthink it; he can just take it one step at a time.

Meanwhile, the discussion about magical equipment seemed to have piqued the interest of Veris and Cash. They were currently having a heated debate about whether to save up money to buy an enchanted weapon first or to equip themselves with a set of high-level armor.

I don't intend to get involved in their conversation.

Xia Nan shifted his gaze slightly, looking towards the other side of the campfire.

Mint was sitting alone in the corner, her knees bent and her eyes vacant.

Her left hand gently caressed her light green teardrop-shaped earring.

Noticing Xia Nan's gaze, she immediately snapped out of her daze, and naturally lowered her left hand from beside her ear to her knee.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

"It's nothing." Xia Nan shook his head, but his gaze remained fixed on the girl's left ear. "The earring is very pretty. Did your teacher give it to you?"

Seemingly surprised by his question, Mint's expression froze for a moment, then she fell silent.

Then he forced a smile onto his face:

"No, it came from a very good friend of mine."

"Also an adventurer?"

"Hmm." Mint reached up again with her left hand, gently pinching her earring between her fingers. "I'll go see her after this mission is over."

"Good."

It was just a casual question asked as I followed the conversation. After the mission was over, I would be saying goodbye to everyone, so I didn't care to find out more and ended the topic without taking it seriously.

The night is getting darker.

Although they encountered an unusually large number of wild beast attacks along the way, after setting up camp, the area seemed to return to its original state as the outer edge of the Misty Forest.

Xia Nan slept soundly for the entire first half of the night.

They were woken up to keep watch close to midnight, and did not encounter a single attack.

The night is long, especially in the current environment where there is no entertainment and one needs to be wary of the surrounding dangers.

Not to mention that a few hours of sleep had fully restored his physical strength and made him full of energy, given his excellent physique.

I can't even fall asleep.

So he sat down by the campfire, gazing at the flames before him, his thoughts wandering.

Meanwhile, on the other side, keeping watch with Xia Nan through the latter half of the night was Veris.

—Since the Night Wolf mission, Xia Nan has not spent a night alone due to his secret fear of the wolf's strength.

Right now, this woman, whose bloodline is both drow elf and human, is standing at the edge of the camp not far away, with an interesting smile on her face, staring at something.

It was a delicate little spider web woven between two tree branches.

Upon realizing what the other person was looking at, Xia Nan immediately looked away.

Darkness, drow, spider webs...

But these elements combined are enough to make any creature on this continent with any knowledge of deities wary.

The Spider Queen, the Chaos Weaver, the Lord of Greed, the Dark Mother of the Drow...

The Spider Goddess from the Bottomless Abyss:
—"Rose".

Even if it's obvious that the drow hybrid in front of them is neither a chosen one of the gods nor a priest, it's practically impossible for a few low-level adventurers like themselves to attract the goddess's attention.

However, out of caution, Xia Nan remained very rational and did not disturb Veris, who was currently observing the spider web with boredom.

After all, he knew perfectly well that being noticed by this goddess who loved intrigue, liked to weave fate like a spider web, and was cruel and fickle... to some extent, it was probably not a good thing for him in his current state.

Have you ever been to the Underdark?

As Xia Nan was forcibly looking away and trying to distract herself, she suddenly heard Vera's voice in her ear.

Even though he felt a slight resistance at the possibility of being noticed by the goddess, after hesitating for a moment, he pursed his slightly dry lips and replied:

"not yet."

The Underdark is not a specific place name like River Valley, Newme, or the Kingdom of Servia.

It is a collective term for an ecosystem that spans the entire continent and consists of underground water veins, caves, and countless subterranean organisms.

From one perspective, perhaps deep beneath the Misty Forest lies the Dark Realm, but no adventurer has yet discovered a stable entrance to this underground world.

The vast majority of drow elves in this world live in the Underdark.

"Hehe, that place is indeed not a good place for you."

Without turning around, I could hear Vera's soft laughter.

"There is air to breathe and food is plentiful, but people who live underground will never see the sky in their entire lives."

“Many groups, including my clan, have a natural aversion to creatures from above and regard surface dwellers as slaves and expendable materials.”

"I won't be as easy to talk to as your sister Veris."

She stared at the spider web before her, her eyes glowing faintly in the night, reflecting the white, web-like silk and the little spider lurking in the corner, waiting for its prey to take the bait.

"The spiders that live in dark places are much larger than those above."

"They are cold and ferocious, and their woven webs are difficult for even the strongest orcs to break free from."

hum-

Perhaps attracted by the campfire not far away, a small flying insect fluttered its wings and flew straight into it.

The spider web trembled slightly.

"And once the prey walks into the trap, those large, hairy creatures lurking in the shadows will slowly climb up and inject venom into their prey with their sharp, deadly pincers."

The spider, with its chelicerae covered in fine bristles, moved nimbly across the web. The spider, no bigger than half a palm, moved its body and gradually approached its prey.

"Those venoms not only paralyze the body, rendering you unable to resist, but they are also extremely corrosive, turning internal organs and flesh into a pool of pus."

Above the spider web, the tiny flying insect's wingtips twitched, but the range of its struggles gradually slowed.

"It won't be long, maybe a few tens of minutes later, you may still look like a human from the outside, but in reality, beneath your skin and bones, you will be empty, just an empty shell."

"At this point, the spider will suck out the blood and pus that has turned into pus, just like drinking soup."

As soon as she finished speaking, Veris turned around sharply, her eyes fixed on Xia Nan by the fire.

She seemed to be trying to find some fear on his face. But all that returned to Vera's gaze was the bewildered look on Xia Nan's face caused by his teammate's strange behavior.

I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Aren't you scared?" she pouted. "I've explained it in such detail, and it's in the misty forest at night. Any normal person would have some reaction, right?"

Xia Nan smiled and shook his head.

He certainly wouldn't tell Vera that his thoughts had already wandered when he heard the word "food".

I wonder if mushrooms grown in a dark, gloomy environment would taste even better than those mentioned above.

I've heard that there are strange creatures called mushroom people, but I don't know if they're edible.

I only vaguely caught the gist of what Vera said later.

He opened his mouth, about to say something casually.

"Clang! Bang!"

A sharp, piercing noise suddenly came from the forest not far away.

That was the sound of a warning trap being triggered.

They had only just fallen asleep when, without Xia Nan and the others even needing to remind them, Cash and Mint were awakened by the noise, jumped up, and immediately became alert.

They quickly and silently formed ranks and gathered in the brightly lit camp.

While keeping their eyes on the direction from which the sound came, they also carefully checked the bushes and grass in other directions.

They certainly wouldn't leave the area illuminated by the fire and enter the dimly lit woodland, as that would only make the situation more dangerous.

First, hold your position and wait. If the attackers do not appear, then make further plans.

salsa——

Accompanied by a series of hurried footsteps, the bushes rustled in the mist.

Everyone's hearts tightened.

"boom!"

The fallen leaves and broken branches suddenly burst open.

What comes into view is a deer with antlers reaching the height of an adult's chest and long, slender hooves.

Perhaps startled by the sudden appearance of the firelight, it unconsciously took two steps back in a daze.

Immediately, a small, unpoisoned knife, intended for dissecting corpses, emerged from the shadows beside him.

Precise and swift, piercing the heart.

A fatal blow.

The impact caused the antler deer to fall to its side, leaving it no time to struggle and no chance to escape.

With just a few kicks of its four hooves, it turned into a warm corpse.

Holding the knife, he rubbed it a few times on the deer's fur to wipe away the remaining blood.

Vera straddled her long legs, her pointed leather boots pressing hard on the corpse's head.

"I thought we'd encountered another attack."

"Damn, you scared the hell out of me!"

Seeing this, Cash, who was gripping his bluish-gray stone spear tightly with both hands at the front of the group, also visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

He reached out and beckoned, as if he was about to say something.

A short, sharp voice came from behind.

"return."

With a serious expression, Xia Nan spoke, the iron-gray blade of the decapitation sword reflecting the orange-red firelight.

Even though they had doubts, they didn't ask any questions or hesitate.

Veris, who was just a moment ago at the edge of the camp, suddenly flashed back into the group.

"There's more than just this one."

Xia Nan explained briefly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the three people around him, including Mint, immediately became alert.

His exceptional perception has become a well-known fact within the Seathorn Squad after more than a month of team building.

Despite appearing to be a melee class like "Warrior," Mint possesses a more acute sense of perception than Mint, who is a subclass of "Druid."

Therefore, at this moment, no one doubted Xia Nan's judgment.

As time ticked by, the surroundings grew quieter and quieter, without the slightest sound.

The group maintained their formation and remained vigilant.

Wild animals always have their limits.

The Seathorn team didn't have to wait too long.

A few minutes, or maybe just a few tens of seconds.

salsa——

A much louder commotion than that made by the antlered deer came from the forest in all directions.

It was only then that the others in the group realized what was hidden around them.

"hold head high!"

The first thing to rush out of the forest was a long-haired wild boar with thick skin, covered in mud armor, and emitting a strong stench.

Like a small tank, it crushed the bushes and grass along the way and charged straight toward the group.

Its size was actually slightly smaller than the one Xia Nan had killed before, but its movements were not much more agile, and it was naturally countered by Xia Nan's fighting style.

You don't even need teamwork; you can easily handle it all by yourself.

It won't take long; the battle can be resolved in just a few seconds.

At this moment, neither Xia Nan nor Cash and Veris in the team dared to make any rash moves.

As wild boars charged out of the forest, pairs of eyes—some cunning, some ferocious, some cold and sharp—quietly emerged in the deep, dark night.

They may differ in size and shape, but what they have in common is the ferocious, bestial nature they possess.

Like a radar map, in Xia Nan's perception, countless tiny dots, densely packed around the camp, were rapidly approaching from the dimly lit forest!
The warning traps were triggered one after another, but they had long since become meaningless.

He could feel countless gazes, filled with murderous intent, gathering on the surface of his body, especially around his heart and neck.

His extremely keen senses sent shivers down his spine.

Before them stood a long-haired wild boar, striding along its four thick, short legs and roaring as it charged towards them.

And the ear-piercing roar from Cash:
"Ready to fight!!!"

(End of this chapter)