Starting with the goblin extermination

"Well done! The big guy's down!"

A rustling sound came from the treetop. Papa leaped down from the tree like a monkey and landed steadily.

She hopped and skipped to pull Barron, who was lying on the goblin's corpse, and ran to Logan and Thorin, holding up two fingers and making a "V" sign.

Logan smiled and returned the smile. If he had a camera, he would have loved to capture the moment on camera.

However, it was already getting dark.

The orange-red sunset, like a red-hot iron, slowly sank below the horizon. The blood-red afterglow slanted across the devastated hillside.

Large and small, green-skinned corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the field of vision.

The severed limbs, broken arms, nearly congealed dark brown blood, and weapons reflecting the light in the afterglow of the setting sun created a scene that was somewhat nauseating, yet also made Logan feel relaxed.

Flies began to hover over the corpse, buzzing.

"Well done, kid."

Thorin slammed his battle axe into the ground and slapped Baron's shoulder hard with his blood-stained hand.

The young dwarf was almost knocked to the ground while being filmed.

"You didn't wet your pants and even covered for me! Thanks, Baron." Papa grinned and nudged Baron's chest with her elbow.

The young dwarf blushed and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. The tension and lingering fear had not yet faded from his eyes, but he had indeed survived the battle and had not backed down.

Thorin turned his head away.

Logan was wiping the blood off his sword.

Elsa had retreated into the shadows again.

The old dwarf smiled, raised his rough, large hand, and gave the two of them a bloody thumbs-up.

"Alright! Let's start cleaning up the battlefield!" Thorin wiped the sweat from his face. "Let's go into the cave! Extract all the good stuff from these bastards!"

The thick smoke inside the cave had mostly dissipated, but the stench inside still stung my eyes.

The cave was quite large, and the group began a thorough search using the light.

They soon discovered several large, rough wooden crates deep inside.

Some of the boxes had been smashed open, and the air was filled with the smell of fermenting salted fish; they were empty inside.

Some boxes were scattered with torn and tattered fabric.

Fortunately, four heavy, unopened cargo boxes remained in the corner.

"It's cargo from the caravan that went missing last week."

Thorin tapped the intact box with his battle axe, and a dull thud came from inside.

"We can't move the big items," the old dwarf waved his hand and directed, "Just take the light and valuable things. Tell the guild about this place later, and they'll send someone to collect it. We can get an extra reward."

They also found some things next to two torn human skeletons.

Two pure, translucent sky-blue gems, each the size of a fingernail, and two heavy money pouches.

Logan emptied the contents of his money bag.

A few silver coins and a small pile of copper coins gleamed with an alluring luster.

Without a doubt, these were the belongings of the unfortunate souls in the caravan.

Their misfortune made Logan lucky, and Logan could only thank them silently in his heart before putting the money back into his purse.

Upon exiting the cave, the group began to tally up their spoils.

"The bounty for a Big Goblin is 2 gold coins."

Thorin kicked the large goblin corpse lying on the ground. "Based on contribution, this big one is mine, Logan's and Elsa's are mine. One gold coin equals ten silver coins, so if we split it equally, each of us gets six silver coins plus a few dozen copper coins. No objections?"

Logan and Elsa both nodded.

Logan bent down and picked up the iron spiked club, which was as thick as an adult's thigh. It was extremely heavy, and the spikes were covered with bits of unknown flesh.

Although this thing is crude, it can still fetch a good price just as scrap metal.

Logan looked at the group of people collecting scrap weapons and for some reason felt like a scrap collector himself, but he didn't mind.

After tossing the salvaged weapons together, everyone began skillfully harvesting goblin ears.

Including the one he took down during the warm-up, Logan single-handedly defeated 6 ordinary goblins today.

This is a pretty good result for a new adventurer, but it's far inferior to Captain Thorin's. The old dwarf's giant axe practically reaped half of the goblins on the battlefield.

Logan felt that if it weren't for the fact that his nephew Barron was getting some training, Thorin could have single-handedly wiped out the entire camp if he hadn't gone all out.

Of course, the result was very satisfactory in any case.

According to the bounty, each ordinary goblin is worth 2 silver coins, which is a total of 12 silver coins!

In addition, there's the goblin's share of the bounty, materials, and loot...

Logan felt his empty purse was finally about to swell up; he had only one thought in mind—

They've struck it rich.

This was hard-earned money, earned with his life on the line. Logan felt a sense of accomplishment he could never have experienced in his previous life, no matter how much overtime he worked.

After all, your achievements and your hard work have clearly manifested as goblin corpses lying before you, which is far more convincing than the vague numbers on your bank card.

......

Night completely enveloped the Hecatethos Mountains.

The place reeked of blood and was unsuitable for spending the night. The squad quickly left the goblin camp and built a campfire a few miles away, nestled against a sheltered rock face.

The leaping flames dispelled the chill in the forest and relaxed everyone's nerves.

The dried meat and dried cheese were roasting over the fire, filling the air with their aroma.

Thorin and Logan leaned against the rocks, munching on soggy bread and chatting. After the battle, their relationship had become much closer.

Sitting around the campfire, Logan finally figured out the background of the two newcomers in the team.

"So you two sneaked out to take on this mission behind your families' backs?" Logan poked at the fire with a stick, looking at the two young men sitting together opposite him with amusement.

No, Logan almost forgot that he was only an eighteen-year-old young man himself.

"I didn't sneak out!" Papa retorted stubbornly, drawing circles on the ground with a twig in her hand. "My dad knows! It's just... he thinks I'm just following Uncle Thorin around town fighting slimes, and that I'll get bored in a few days and give up and go home."

Baron blushed as he added a handful of firewood to the fire, whispering, "My father is a blacksmith and hopes I'll inherit the family business... but I don't like blacksmithing. I, we've always wanted to be adventurers like my uncle, to see the outside world."

"Like me? Ha!" Thorin gulped down a mouthful of strong liquor that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Like me, a penniless wretch who can't even make it as a professional, almost fifty years old and still stuck in the Iron rank?"

"No matter what others say, in our hearts, Uncle, you are a hero!" Baron looked at Thorin with utmost seriousness.

puff--!

The old dwarf's strong liquor, which he had just gulped down, turned into a cloud of vapor and sprayed all over Baron across from him.

Papa next to her was laughing so hard that tears were almost streaming down her face.

"Cough cough! You little rascal."

To cover his embarrassment, the old dwarf lunged forward and grabbed Baron by the neck, roaring fiercely.

"Stop sucking up to me like that! When we get back, you're making sure I train for another three hours on the field! No food until you finish!"

"Huh? Cough cough... Uncle... be gentle..."

Barron was completely dumbfounded, his face turning blue and purple from holding his breath.

I don't know if it was because of the impending grueling training or simply because I was about to be strangled by those thick arms.

Logan watched the scene unfold with a smile, then lifted his water pouch and took a swig.

Even knowing that the world was fraught with danger and that as an adventurer he might face death tomorrow, he truly hoped that this moment would never end.

Logan shifted his gaze to the other side of the campfire.

In the flickering firelight, Elsa was still wearing her grey cloak.

She still didn't participate in their conversation, but just sat there quietly, her big blue eyes occasionally sweeping over the noisy crowd.

Their gazes met through the firelight.

Logan met her gaze, said nothing, but smiled and gestured slightly to her with the water pouch in his hand.

Elsa was clearly stunned for a moment. Then, she nodded and closed her eyes again.