Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 284 [The Ghostly Scales Guard]

River Valley Town.

Thanks to the surrounding Misty Forest inhabited by monsters, this remote town, which gathers a large number of adventurers year-round, can be said to be the most "free" human settlement in the entire Panyun Province.

In large, economically and culturally developed cities like Newme, the extravagant lifestyles of the nobility and wealthy merchants are well-known. Even the poorest boy in the slums, who is least particular about his appearance, will apply some hair wax he has somehow acquired before going out to cover up the patches on his shirt and maintain a basic level of decency.
Arriving in the countryside, dealing with wheat and bean seedlings in the fields all day long, and rarely seeing outsiders, with heavy tax burdens on their shoulders, the poor farmers can only wear simple smiles on their faces. Of course, there are some sordid things hidden in the shadows, but their human nature has long been suppressed deep within them by the scorching sun. Unless you get close and understand them deeply, everyone seems like a robot produced on an assembly line, with similar personalities and behaviors.

River Valley Town, however, is completely different.

Its unique nature as an "adventure town" gives this town a peculiar appearance rarely seen on this continent.

To put it more nicely, it's described as "freedom," "individuality," and "unconventionality."

To put it bluntly, using a popular internet phrase from Xia Nan's previous life, it was...

Well, there are "superhumans" everywhere.

"Gululu..."

The sound of wooden wheels rolling, accompanied by a pungent, rotten stench, came from the road beside them.

Several poorly dressed human adventurers were dragging a cart full of corpses made up of various creatures as they arrived from outside the town.

Xia Nan caught a glimpse of five goblins, two unidentified deer-like creatures, a skinned jungle leopard, and a few "cute" little creatures crawling out of the wounds of the corpses and wriggling around, feasting.

It is unknown where the corpses of these creatures will be sent.

Having some vague suspicions, I made up my mind that I would only eat at the White Sparrow Restaurant for the next few days and would never indulge in street food.

By the roadside, two seemingly weary dwarfs had casually picked up a few stones from the ground to create a makeshift "stage," and were singing a traditional folk song from their hometown with great emotion, as if they wanted to earn some money for travel and drinks by busking.

As for how well he sang... all I can say is that even Xia Nan, who was used to all kinds of music in his previous life and had a high level of resistance to countless internet junk, couldn't help but quicken his pace as he passed by.

Yeah, at least he has a loud voice.

But you know what, having a loud voice has its advantages. The two men's shouts attracted many of their fellow dwarves, who contributed a lot of copper coins, enough for these two "street performers" to have a good time in the tavern all night.

The orc beside Xia Nan seemed to share the same taste, also unable to tolerate the noise made by the two short men.

However, he has a more volatile temper and a relatively short thought process.

Regardless of the simple animal skin apron that barely covered his buttocks, he strode into the arena and, in front of the dwarf audience, began to spit and berate the two street performers.

What came out of their mouths were nothing more than extremely malicious, racially discriminatory, and insulting words like "slag" and "stone belly."

What happened next was predictable.

He consciously blocked out the sounds of fighting and insults behind him as Xia Nan walked down the street, recalling his experience in the misty forest.

It wasn't that he wanted to linger in the forest; it was just that he happened to run into a group of green-skinned goblins on a hunting trip.

With Lady Luck so kindly on his side, he certainly couldn't let her down.

Also, with the thought that I had finally finished the mission and traveled such a long distance, I should reward myself and relieve the pressure in my heart.

He followed the squad all the way to their lair, where he thoroughly enjoyed venting his pent-up desire with his flail and bare hands.

As for Abi and the others, it was just a minor incident on the way back, nothing to worry about.

Many days ago, when he and Adeline were chatting in the tavern, the other party mentioned that this kid was not satisfied with the current income and had complaints about the control he received in the team. He wanted to leave the team, so Adeline even used her connections to ask someone to take better care of him.

Knowing that the adventurer's environment was like this, and that he and the other person had only been temporary teammates for a short period of time, and that their relationship had gradually faded and they had become distant, he did not get involved.

It has been a long time since the two last met, and they never expected to run into each other in the forest.

At the time, I was thinking of exchanging pleasantries with the other person and asking about their recent situation.

But Xia Nan found the boy, who had already been tainted by the adventurers' world, to be uninteresting because of his natural fear and aloofness towards professionals.

After exchanging only a few words, he left alone and returned to the town.

Without dwelling on it, Xia Nan walked along the bustling street with a thoughtful expression on his face.

He entered the goblin's lair partly to vent his desires, but also because he wanted to use the practical experience to train his newly acquired combat skills and see if he could master them as soon as possible.

Many days have passed since he obtained the [Echoes of Ember] in the secret realm.

In terms of progress... while it's not particularly fast, it's not like there's been no progress at all.

At least he gradually sensed the invisible, fiery, and decaying power accumulating and lingering within his body, though he was still unable to mobilize it.

Similar to the training of [Fang Hunt], there was the personal instruction of the near-legendary barbarian mentor "Fogan", and the "Titan Umbilical Cord Gravity Core" summoned by the [Coin of Fate] that brought about the qualitative awakening of [Gravity Control].

The flame crystal at the tip of his cane, which he had crushed, infused him with detailed training techniques for this combat skill, allowing him to train at his own pace even when he was alone.

Xia Nan estimated that, at this pace, with a slight adjustment to the training plan, if no bottlenecks were encountered, it wouldn't be long before he could fully master [Echoes of Ember] and train it to the point where it would be reflected on his attribute panel.

There's no rush; we can proceed step by step.

Now that he has finished his long journey and finally returned from the escort mission, he still has many things to take care of back in River Valley Town.

First, head back to the White Sparrow Tavern, pack up all your belongings, and while you're at it, enjoy a bowl of that long-missed, fragrant, steaming, rich, creamy, and delicious cream mushroom soup.

Then find a general store, sell off all the odds and ends of your loot, and while you're at it, find someone to appraise the [Iron Stomach Flail], or simply entrust it to the association for consignment.

Of course, before all of the above, he had to go to the "Rockhammer" blacksmith shop to buy a set of high-quality, well-fitting armor and inquire about the possibility of repairing the decapitation sword and how to use the [Molten Ash Silver Ingot].

And then there's the most important one, which, even with the main materials already provided, still cost Xia Nan a full thousand gold coins. It was an upgrade plan devised months ago, crafted from resilient materials from a mysterious, otherworldly realm—

[Serpent Scale Arm Shield]!
……

……

"Rockhammer" is one of the most reputable blacksmith shops in the entire Valley Town, and its equipment has always been known for its high quality and durability.

Even though the prices are significantly higher than other shops, the shop owner's high standards for the works have cultivated a large following.

However, for some unknown reason recently, the blacksmith shopkeeper Barn suddenly conducted a thorough and comprehensive inspection of the durability and sturdiness of the products in his shop, especially armor and protective gear.

I don't know what triggered it, but even the blacksmith's output has decreased significantly.

When Xia Nan entered the blacksmith shop, he didn't even see any of the Barn people, but he could vaguely hear the clanging of forging hammers coming from the back room.

He opened his mouth to call out, and the knocking stopped. In its place came a series of hurried footsteps approaching.

"Crench."

The wooden door was suddenly pushed open from the inside. A familiar figure, even stronger than a bear goblin, emerged from the doorway, his reddish-brown braid swinging back and forth on his charred clothes.

There weren't many people in the shop, and Barn immediately spotted Xia Nan standing alone in front of the counter.

And the gaze of this burly man, who claimed to have dwarven blood flowing through his veins, naturally and unsurprisingly fell upon the young man's thin shirt, which, despite being an adventurer, offered no protection whatsoever.

"Long time no see. Did you just get back from a mission?"

Barn greeted him, but his gaze remained fixed on Xia Nan's upper body, as if imagining the plate chainmail armor that should have been worn there.

"Yes, this trip was quite far, and it took a long time to get there," Xia Nan nodded in response.

“So, armor…” Barn hesitated, his expression strange.

It's like knowing something has already happened, but still holding onto a sliver of unrealistic fantasy, hoping to get an answer from someone else that's different from what you imagined...

"It exploded."

Without any attempt to hide it, Xia Nan spoke up decisively.

Upon hearing this, a vivid, dynamic expression appeared on Barn's face, as if "the heart that had been hanging in suspense had finally died."

“It’s not a quality issue, don’t worry, that plate chainmail armor is of quite good quality.” Knowing that this aspect might be more important to the other party than how much money it sold for, Xia Nan added, “It’s just that my situation is a bit special.”

"And to be honest, I'm already very satisfied that this plate chainmail has lasted this long."

"Its value in battle has far exceeded its price of over 250 gold."

It's not a lie.

Although the two attacks that completely destroyed the armor came from Terry William and the snake-headed corpse respectively, and whether or not the armor was worn was not of much significance, Xia Nan, as the wearer, understood its purpose all too well.

This is precisely why he is willing to continue patronizing the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop.

If it were equipment from other shops, it probably wouldn't have lasted even half of this escort mission before being completely destroyed in the battle with Lawson and Terry William.

Hearing that Xia Nan was trying to comfort him, Barn waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to worry too much.

"When you have enough gold coins or suitable materials, come and order a set of enchanted armor. I'll give you a good discount."

"I refuse to believe it. I'm not some extraordinary adventurer. If even armor of this quality can be destroyed in one hit, I'm going back to the dwarves right now..."

Xia Nan forcefully interrupted the burly man's oath, realizing that the drop rate of his armor was also quite high.

Since it was a world where gods existed, they didn't let him continue.

"The arm shield should be ready by now, right?"

"Of course!" Barn's face lit up with excitement at the mention of equipment. He casually tossed the forging hammer he had accidentally brought out earlier onto the counter and rushed into the back room.

Before long, he carefully carried out a simple metal box with both hands.

“It was completed last week, and some additional materials were added later. The 1000 gold coins you deposited with me have just been used up. I will give you the bill later.”

"Open it and take a look, you'll be absolutely satisfied!"

The middle-aged man, who usually appeared incredibly composed, now displayed a childlike sense of expectation and pride on his unshaven face, above his braid, as he faced the equipment he had painstakingly crafted and was about to deliver to the customer.

They seemed to be subtly anticipating the satisfied look on the client's face after the meeting.

Xia Nan took the iron box with both hands, feeling its heavy weight, placed it on the counter, and slowly opened it.

Then, a pure blackness came into view.

Compared to the previous appearance of the [Serpent Scale Arm Shield (Temporary)], the current finished product has not changed much in terms of its general structure and still maintains the original "arm shield" equipment type.

But it's like the difference between a newly completed "unfinished house" and a "fully furnished" house after spending a fortune.

The details that originally seemed somewhat rudimentary were thoroughly revised and refined after countless communications between Xia Nan and Barn.

All the inconveniences and problems encountered during use have been thoroughly and properly addressed and modified, ultimately transforming into this perfect piece of equipment that, even in the professional field, would absolutely be considered a masterpiece:
Mysterious snake scales from the secret cave were seamlessly integrated into the center of the arm shield, forming its main body.

It's like a piece of flawless black jade glass, dark and cold, cool and delicate, with a streamlined, slightly undulating surface that reflects a cold, dark light.

Beneath the scales lies the reward for the Xia Nan Beastman quest, which is usually found only in ancient battlefield ruins or in deep mineral layers eroded by the power of the undead: "Corrosion-Etched Steel".

This dark gray metal, with its surface covered in intricate, claw-like patterns, was forged and refined into a base inlaid with snake scales. It was forged to be extremely thin yet exceptionally tough, with both sides slightly curled upwards and fixed below the extremely sharp edges of the scales, just like the hilt of a sword.

The inner side of the arm shield, close to the arm, is lined with high-quality dark brown leather that has undergone special treatment to make it flexible and durable; the inner grooves increase breathability and help disperse force when impacted.

The belt buckle has been optimized based on feedback from Xia Nan. Now, you can securely fasten the arm shield to your forearm with just one pull and buckle, making it easy to put on and take off quickly.

The cold, deadly nature of snakes, the strength and toughness of steel, and the comfort and allure of leather are perfectly combined.

The design is sleek and concise, emphasizing practicality while also showcasing the clean aesthetics of the equipment itself, which is composed of scales and steel.

Focus your attention, fix your gaze, and the semi-transparent characters will appear before your eyes:

……

[The Ghostly Scale Guards]

Type: Arm shield

Rare (Blue)
effect:

1. Highly resilient;

2. Immune to corrosion/acid damage (non-legendary source);

3. The carrier's toxin resistance is slightly improved;
4. When the carrier interacts with creatures such as snakes, nagas, and snake people, they gain an advantage on charm (intimidation/persuasion) checks.

Introduction:

Rare materials from legendary creatures of other lands have been skillfully processed to give this arm shield its proper form. When you bind it to your arm, you can vaguely feel the tremor of a cold, living being.

Remarks:

"I swim in the sea of ​​acid, breathe in the poisonous clouds, and savor the corrosive effects, while my enemies... can only melt away in despair."

—Kmaraza, the King of Corruption and the Parasitic Immortal

(End of this chapter)