Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"It works well."

Coulson looked at the shield in his hand with delight; it was covered in a layer of flames. "Is this your spell, mage?"

"Yes, this is a relatively low-level evocation spell." A mage wearing a half-length robe put down his staff and said with a hint of pride.

"If this were in a fight, I could just charge in and burn my opponent," Coulson said, waving his shield around with great enthusiasm.

"Hey, you two, come over here and take a look," said a one-eyed giant carrying a greatsword in the distance.

The two withdrew their magic and walked over. Coulson asked directly, "Grant, haven't you found him yet?"

The one-eyed giant slammed his greatsword into the ground with a "whoosh," then pulled out a map and said, "I've been looking for ages, this should be it. The map marks this goblin hunting ground, but there's not a trace of goblin presence here."

Coulson took the map, compared it with the map, and pointed to a circle on the map, saying, "This is it. We should have arrived by now."

"But there's nothing there," complained One-Eyed Grant.

They had just raided a goblin's lair, cut off six ears, and ransacked the place before heading straight here.

"Where's Leo?" Coulson asked.

"I don't know." Grant shrugged, then sat cross-legged on the floor and pulled a handful of nuts from his pocket. "I don't know where he's off gallivanting off to again."

With a "snap," a dagger was placed on Grant's right shoulder. Without turning his head, he tossed a chestnut behind him, which the person behind him caught.

Coulson tilted his head and saw a fat man in a dark gray short-sleeved shirt standing behind Grant. His lower body was submerged in Grant's shadow, or rather, he rose from Grant's shadow.

"What did you find, Leo?" Coulson asked.

"No," Leo replied briefly, as he raised his dagger and slowly brought it close to Grant's right ear.

Grant ignored the actions of the person behind him and continued eating his nuts.

Coulson watched his two companions interact, shook his head, and turned to the mage, saying, "I'm really sorry, we might be disappointed this time."

The mage waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, it happens all the time. But I was curious on the way here why I didn't see any signs for the goblin hunting grounds."

"You mean those skull markings?" Coulson asked.

"Yes, I haven't seen any of those things since I entered the hunting grounds."

"You're right, I didn't see it." Coulson looked around, the tall trees blocking his view. "I guess the adventurers did something shady before, they pulled off the head insignia."

Then he asked, "How about we go to the next hunting ground?"

The monk shook his head and refused, saying, "No, there isn't enough time. It's too dangerous in the forest at night."

"Go ahead, it's not far," One-Eyed Grant suggested, looking up, but the food in his mouth made his voice muffled.

Leo, standing behind him, remained silent, continuing to gesture the name near Grant's right ear.

"If you go, you probably won't be able to get out of the forest at night. Many people have died because they camped in the forest at night." The monk still refused.

"Okay, let's go back." Coulson nodded in agreement. "It's just that we didn't earn much from this trip into the forest."

The mage smiled and said, "No rush, you can come again tomorrow. The Storm Brotherhood won't come until winter."

"Oh, do you want to join?" Coulson asked curiously.

"Yes, that's right." The mage straightened his robes. "I'm still just an apprentice. Joining them will allow me to become a mage faster."

"I've heard a lot of people want to join," Coulson said, walking ahead with his shield. "We don't want to join; it's not free at all."

The mage followed, carrying his staff. Behind him, one-eyed Grant patted the crumbs off his hands, put the bag of nuts back in his pocket, then stood up, drew his greatsword, and swung it forward with a whoosh.

Hearing the sound behind him, the mage immediately raised his staff to defend himself, but he was still a beat too slow and was swept away.

Immediately afterward, the mage sprang to his feet and chanted a spell: "Elemental spirits, I beg you, attack them."

A flaming arrow flew straight at Grant, but struck his shield with a bang.

"Quick reaction, huh?" Coulson said, swinging his shield.

"You are the Reapers." The mage stared intently at the two, a faint red light emanating from the tip of his staff.

"Don't put it that way, we're adventurers," Coulson said with a smile, his head held high.

"Then why did you attack me?"

"It's simple, because six ears aren't enough for four people, but they're enough for three."

"You..." The mage was about to question the other party when he suddenly remembered that there were three of them, including a shadowy figure. Then, a sharp pain shot through his legs, and he realized that Leo had pierced his thigh.

"Elemental Spirits..." Before the mage could finish his incantation, Coulson blasted him away with a shield ram.

"Sigh, a power mage is just not as fast as an arcane mage." Coulson walked up to the mage and stomped him to the ground. "Sorry, we need money too."

"If you need money, you can hunt goblins!" the mage roared, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his whole body looking like a rag doll.

"Yes, we hunt goblins, but no one says we can't hunt adventurers, and we also want to join the Storm Brotherhood."

"You..." Before the monk could finish speaking, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"We thought so too. After all, being an adventurer is so dangerous, how can it be as easy as being a nobleman's dog?" Coulson withdrew his foot and stood aside. "Leo, you can play now."

Fat Leo rose from Coulson's shadow, two daggers in hand. "Ears."

"Let me introduce you again, my friend Leo, whose hobby is collecting ears," Coulson said with a shrug, his tone relaxed, "because he himself doesn't have a right ear."

Leo tossed his hair, revealing his half-length hair and missing his right ear; the scar appeared to have been cut off at the root.

"No, no..." Before the monk could even beg for mercy, his right ear was ripped off with a whoosh, and then his throat was slit with a knife.

"Look at what you have on you. This staff is probably worth a lot of money. Grant, really, you used so much force with that sweeping attack," Coulson complained.

One-Eyed Grant was simply sitting a short distance away, eating nuts.

"Hmm, over 20 gold coins, not bad." Coulson rummaged through the mage's inventory. "There's also a healing potion. Let's see what else is there."

"Footsteps," Leo called out.

Coulson stopped what he was doing and listened carefully. Sure enough, he heard a jumble of footsteps coming from a distance.

"They're up ahead, kill them!" a shout came from afar.

"Run! We've been discovered!" Coulson made a quick decision.

The three people grabbed the package and the staff and fled in panic.

Less than half a minute later, a group of green goblins came running from the opposite direction.

…………

At noon, Shire threw a few mushrooms into the big pot.

These mushrooms have interesting effects; they stimulate the nerves of the consumer, making them feel refreshed, restoring energy, and greatly reducing fatigue.

Sure enough, after lunch, the dozen or so henchmen changed their usual behavior and became energetic.

Charles immediately pressed his advantage and ordered the hunt to continue in the afternoon.

After searching for a while, they found several forest deer.

As a result, more than a dozen goblins chased after the deer, running until their tongues were hanging out, but they still couldn't catch up. This made Shire so angry that he blurted out the Common Language.

Finally, they ran to the former hunting grounds of the Shire tribe.

Here, they discovered the mage who had recently died.

Charles searched him thoroughly, but found nothing except a mission sheet in his pocket.

"Gathering quest: Red Thorn tender branches, 10 silver per kilogram, the bounty is offered by Virtini, the owner of the 'Undying' Pharmacy, long-term reward, and a pattern is also available."

"Does anyone know where to find something like this?" Charles asked his men.

One of his men said he knew.

"Okay, let's skip the hunting this afternoon and go for gathering instead."

Charles stood up and looked at the dead mage: "Seriously, a dozen or so gold coins a month, why did you risk your life?"

He ordered his men to strip the sorcerer of his clothes and bury him in a pit.

"Once the collection is complete, it can be handed over to Little John tomorrow."