Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 327 Fog Lantern Village, Forbidden Area
Xia Nan couldn't remember how she developed this hobby.

Perhaps it was those few green-skinned goblins who ambushed the small, insignificant group at the beginning of their journey; or perhaps it was the immense pressure brought about by the adventurer's profession and the unfamiliar environment that prompted them to relieve their stress through addictive behaviors.

Regardless, he has developed a near-pathological and severe dependence on goblins.

And they genuinely enjoyed the process.

The wonderful, lingering sound of a gray-black straight sword piercing through flesh and bones, the exhilarating sensation of an arm shield crushing and grinding the facial features of deformed and ugly creatures, like a water-filled balloon bursting, the light and refreshing feeling of emaciated and fragile flesh being torn apart like paper by hand, intestines, blood, and bones scattering all over the ground...

Xia Nan, who is usually swift and decisive in battle, reveals a variety of cruel methods when facing these lovable "cute" little animals.

Even the duration of battles was subtly extended, simply to please oneself as much as possible.

Boom——

Thunder roared across the sky.

The rain fell like a woven curtain, and the leaden sunlight filtered softly through the overlapping branches and leaves.

The air was filled with an extremely strong, pungent stench of blood, mixed with the damp, earthy smell that rose from the ground as the rain washed away the blood.

Blood mingled with raindrops, flowing down the dark gray surface of the straight sword.

Xia Nan stood quietly in place, her face raised, her leg guards, chainmail, and even the side of her cheek stained with obvious blood.

The surrounding ground was a gruesome blood-red carpet made of severed limbs, organs, flesh, and bones.

The expression on his face conveyed the lingering satisfaction of enjoyment.

Amidst the sparse sound of rain, one could still faintly hear the sharp cries of goblins that once echoed in the air.

Of the nearly thirty green-skinned goblins that once roamed this place, only one remains.

At this moment, it was trembling like a quail, huddled among the corpses of its kind, shrouded in the tall shadow from ahead, not daring to lift its head.

The cruel and ruthless methods, resembling torture, combined with the suffocating pressure from the vast difference in strength, completely robbed the poor goblin of the courage to resist, and even utterly destroyed its psychological defenses.

It used only its remaining, meager intelligence to hold its head in its hands, facing the ground in a self-deceptive manner, hoping that the powerful creature in front of it would ignore its existence.

"Hello... hello..."

At the edge of the battlefield, Fuyuki, also trembling from the horrifying scene on the field, ignored Aspen's watchful eyes trying to stop him.

Mustering his courage, he took two steps forward, and with an extremely cautious and respectful demeanor, lowered his voice and said:
"Thank you so much for your help. May I ask..."

Before he could finish expressing his gratitude, he turned around at the sound of someone's voice, and those deep, cold, dark eyes made him instinctively shut his mouth again.

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the two men dressed as hunters, and then lingered briefly on the wound of the middle-aged man who was sitting against a tree trunk behind them.

Without offering further explanation, he simply opened his mouth slowly:
"Wait a moment."

After saying that, he turned his head and looked at the last goblin trembling and pretending to be dead beneath him.

Unlike its twenty-odd companions before it, it did not end its life there.

Xia Nan gently lifted his leg and kicked the other man's thin, bony side in the boot, which was covered in mud and blood.

"Hiss!"

As if electrocuted, the goblin huddled in the pile of corpses jumped up instantly, his short, thin body stiffening taut.

Ignoring the tall figure watching it from behind, it screamed and charged straight into the dense forest.

Standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, its long legs moved much faster than the goblin's short, branch-like legs.

With keen perception, even if the opponent gets a few minutes ahead, they can still easily catch the traces left by the fleeing opponent.

A playful smile of triumph flashed in Xia Nan's eyes. He casually twirled his straight sword and leisurely followed after them.

At the edge of the arena behind them, the two hunters who had just survived the goblin attack seemed hesitant upon seeing this.

Perhaps it was the blood and gore on the field that were so glaring that even the falling rain seemed unusually cold.

The younger one saw Xia Nan's figure disappear into the woods and immediately tried to run in the opposite direction, but was forcibly pulled back by the older one, who said a few words in a hurried and indistinct voice.

He struggled to his feet and, with the help of the young hunter beside him, swayed as he carefully followed.

……

……

Xia Nan knew that he had always been lucky in this regard.

He had thought that the sudden downpour would completely wash away the traces of goblin activity in the vicinity, forcing him to temporarily abandon the search for the goblin lair that was the target of the association's extermination mission.

Unexpectedly, the two unlucky hunters happened to run into this goblin tribe's hunting party.

Considering the effect of gathering in the goblin lair area, the area where such a large goblin group can be formed is most likely his target.

So after the slaughter, they deliberately left one alive.

However, if startled, the green-skinned goblins, fleeing in panic due to extreme fear, will instinctively run back to their nests, which they subconsciously consider the safest place.

There was no need to deliberately conceal anything; by following closely, Xia Nan's target came into view.

"Hiss..."

A mournful wail echoed from the bottomless cave ahead.

The excitement and madness in the sharp whistling sound had long since dissipated, leaving only the excruciating torment and pain.

Shivering in the rain, listening to the sounds coming from the depths of the cave ahead, Fuyuki couldn't help but shudder and instinctively said fearfully to the middle-aged man beside him:

"Brother Aspen, how about... we just run away!"

"This is too scary!"

In contrast, Aspen, who had previously stopped the boy from approaching to greet him with a look, appeared much calmer.

Sitting on the ground, focused on treating the wound on his leg, he glanced at the other person with annoyance.

"You were so stunned just now, but now you're scared?"

"You were lucky to go up there at that time, otherwise you would have been killed by that guy as a goblin and no one would have said anything."

"So, are we going to run or not?" Hearing Aspen's question, Fuyuki clearly realized he had been too reckless, and a wave of fear washed over him, making his voice even more urgent, "What if..."

"Don't be afraid."

Aspen, who was able to make the most calm decisions even in the face of certain death, will not lose his composure now that he has barely survived.

"Given their strength, dealing with the two of us would be no different from dealing with those goblins; they would have killed us long ago if they wanted to."

"But since he didn't attack just now, it means he has no hostility. We can just sit here and wait for that person to come out." "Besides, if that adventurer really has designs on you, where can you escape to?"

"We're not far from the village right now."

“Since he was able to follow the goblins to their lair, he can naturally follow us to find the village.”

The goblin's shrill screams echoed in his ears, and upon hearing this, Dongshu couldn't help but shiver.

After waiting for about five minutes, the wailing of the goblins from the cave finally stopped.

But what followed closely was the sound of footsteps approaching, making Fuyuki feel even more pressured.

He unconsciously swallowed, his eyes fixed on the cave entrance.

Only a vague, dark, and deep outline could be vaguely seen, gradually becoming clearer amidst the cold metallic scraping sound.

When Xia Nan actually emerged from the goblin's lair, the young hunter dared not look him in the eye again.

The unexpected gains allowed Xia Nan to thoroughly enjoy himself in the underground nest, and he was in a very good mood at the moment.

Although his facial expression didn't change significantly, he took the initiative to speak when looking at the two hunters in front of him:

"you……"

Without him needing to ask any further questions, Aspen, who had already temporarily bandaged his wounds, struggled to his feet, leaning against a nearby tree trunk, and cautiously and warily began to explain the situation of the two of them.

It is said that he came from a remote village nearby called "Foglight Village" and was surrounded by goblins by accident while hunting.

"Thank you very much, esteemed adventurer."

"I wonder if we would be so fortunate as to learn your name, so that when we return to the village, we can tell the villagers about your selfless help."

Xia Nan had no reservations about this and readily gave his name. However, his gaze towards the two people in front of him became intriguing.

"Fog Lantern Village", "Fog Lantern Grass"...

He himself doesn't believe that the two are unrelated.

In fact, when I asked Ms. Edwina for information at the Grass Crucible, she mentioned that there seemed to be a small human settlement on the other side of the canyon where the fog lamp grass grew.

They said that if there's an emergency, we can go there for a temporary rest.

It seems that this small human settlement must be the Foglight Village that the hunters were talking about.

However, I remember that I had specifically inquired about the relevant situation at the time, but unexpectedly, even Ms. Edwina, who issued fog lamp grass collection tasks every year, did not know much about the details of this village.

It is said that this village is located in a special geographical location, on the other side of the canyon, and it requires a long detour to reach it. Moreover, the adventurers who can accept this quest are basically senior people who have already obtained professional levels, so there is rarely a shortage of supplies.

Basically, once we enter the canyon, we collect the herbs and head straight back. In order to prevent the fog lamp grass from rotting on the way, we are in a rush and rarely have the time to detour to the other side of the village for a long stay.

Under such circumstances, this small village located near the canyon becomes mysterious.

Listening to the other party's introduction, Xia Nan remained silent, her gaze sweeping over the two of them.

The person currently speaking to him is a middle-aged man named "Aspen," who appears to be around forty years old, tall, with a weathered bronze complexion, and carrying a wooden longbow that looks like it has been used for many years on his back.

Further back, the young man who had been somewhat reckless and dared to approach him before the battle was over was now silent, cautiously watching him from behind.

His name is "Fuyuki", he is about seventeen or eighteen years old, and his weapon is an old and worn one-handed sword.

After a moment's thought, and hoping that encountering locals might provide some details he didn't know, Xia Nan asked the two people in front of him:

"Fog lamp grass... have you heard of this plant, which is said to grow in the canyons near your village?"

Immediately, Xia Nan keenly noticed the change in the expressions on the two people's faces.

It was a strange expression, a mixture of awe and fear, that was hard to describe.

"What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

He asked aloud.

“No, no… Mr. Shanan.” Aspen explained with a stiff face, “That canyon is, in a way, forbidden territory for our village.”

"Of course! Only the side closest to the village!"

"I can't say much about it, but if you want to collect fog lamp grass, just go in from the other end of the canyon. It's very safe there. There are hardly any dangerous monsters there, and even goblins rarely appear. Sometimes we go in to pick some and sell them to passing caravans to supplement our household expenses."

Forbidden place?

Recalling the strange expressions the two had made earlier, Xia Nan had a slight connection in her mind, but she didn't delve into it.

After all, his purpose in coming here was simply to collect some fog lamp grass; other random things had nothing to do with him.

Aspen's suggestion to gather herbs in the section of the canyon far from the village was exactly what he had planned.

He nodded slightly, politely declining the other party's invitation to visit the village.

Of course, just to be on the safe side, Xia Nan still asked Aspen for the exact location of Foglight Village.

Then he took his leave.

Watching the mysterious figure disappear into the depths of the rain, Dongshu breathed a long sigh of relief.

Aspen, who had been tense while communicating with Xia Nan, suddenly relaxed.

If Dongshu hadn't reacted quickly and caught him, he probably would have fallen straight onto the muddy ground.

"Brother Aspen, were you serious when you invited him to the village?"

"What do you think?" Aspen panted, glaring at Fuyuki. "At this point in time, do you think the village chief would allow outsiders to come in?"

Upon hearing this, Dongshu shrank back and gave a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry, these adventurers only want the fog lamp grass, it's the same every year."

"We'll head straight back after we finish harvesting; we won't be coming back to the village."

"Besides, the canyon is not connected in the middle; it is blocked by rock walls, so you can't go any further in."

From every perspective, this is undoubtedly a good thing for Aspen and for the vast majority of the villagers in Foglight Village.

But right now, Fuyuki's expression was hesitant, and he muttered to himself:

"If she really could come, maybe Lillie wouldn't have to..."

"Ok?"

"No, it's nothing... Brother Aspen."

(End of this chapter)