Chapter 109 - 108: Let Me

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: Let Me

Greed and lust eclipsed its fury. Saliva dribbled from the corners of its fanged mouth.

It brandished its Bone Staff in excitement, letting out a possessive, bizarre shriek, "GAK! PWAAH! KAKAKA!"

At their leader’s instigation, the twenty-odd surrounding goblins instantly grew frenzied. They even halted their charge, hopping and jumping in place while raising their crude weapons, and let out a rhythmic howl in unison: "KAKAKA! KAKAKA! KAKAKA!"

Hesia watched the bizarre scene. ’This chanting style feels strangely familiar...’

Just then, Hulk shattered the ridiculous scene.

"Everyone, get ready!" he growled, leaping out from behind cover with his shield raised and quickly moving forward to engage.

"Galen!"

"Understood!" Hesia was already prepared.

He took a step forward, aimed the Black Ebony Staff Material in his hand at the most densely packed area of goblins, and rapidly chanted a Spell.

Greasy Skill!

[Greasy Skill Proficiency +1, Lv.1 (4/5)]

Under the slight enhancement of the staff material, the Magic’s range... well, it was only a tiny bit larger than when he’d cast it with his bare hands.

But it was enough.

The few goblins charging at the very front were completely unprepared. Their feet slipped, and they instantly fell into a heap.

The goblins behind them couldn’t stop in time and crashed into them one after another.

The scene spiraled out of control like a set of dominoes.

"Get away! Stinking meat!"

Several goblins shrieked as they rolled and struggled in the grease, their cries rising and falling one after another.

"Nice one, Galen!"

Belte charged forward again, his Broadsword mercilessly smashing down on the fallen green-skins.

Laila’s arrows also flew down from the trees, accurately piercing the eye socket of a goblin that was trying to get up.

Hulk, meanwhile, advanced steadily. With a THUD from his Shield, he firmly blocked the still-charging giant goblin. His Longsword shot out, instantly leaving a gash on its body so deep the bone was visible.

"Captain, fall back a bit!" Hesia yelled.

Hulk immediately understood. He shoved hard with his shield, creating a two-step distance from the giant goblin.

Hesia pointed his Black Ebony Staff Material at the target, and immense Magic Power surged forth.

Earth Spike Technique, Level 3!

Five ochre-colored Earth Spikes, like the Sharp Claws of a colossal beast, erupted from the ground beneath the giant goblin. With the force to pierce, tear, and grind, they instantly shredded the goblin leader—and the very patch of earth it stood on—into a rain of flying flesh and blood.

[Earth Spike Skill Proficiency +2, Lv.3 (22/40)]

...

Hulk stared blankly. One second the giant goblin had been grappling with him, and the next, it was a pile of bloody chunks.

He suppressed the shock in his heart and forced his face back into its usual stoic expression.

Only then did he turn around. "Galen, it seems that besides Mage’s Hand and Greasy Skill, you’ve also mastered... a high-level Earth Element attack Magic?"

"Captain," Hesia replied calmly, "this is still the Earth Spike Technique."

Hulk opened his mouth, as if to say something, but ultimately closed it.

He silently turned back around, quickly convincing himself to accept this explanation.

’After all, didn’t I accept that pillar of earth that was over ten meters long?’

...

At the entrance to the ruins, the frenzied cheering came to an abrupt halt.

"KAKAKA... Ka!?"

A few goblins, still chanting as they charged forward, watched wide-eyed as their leader exploded into a mist of blood right before them.

After a brief moment of stupor, they turned in unison and fled in all directions, letting out shrieks even louder than their earlier charge.

Goblins were just that kind of creature.

Once they realized an opponent was unbeatable, their only remaining rivals were their own kin.

All they needed to do was make sure they weren’t the last one running.

If you wanted to find a creature in this world better at bullying the weak and fleeing at the first sign of trouble than a goblin, you’d have your work cut out for you.

However, Hesia didn’t have to look very far to find one.

"Woof!"

Seeing that the little green-skinned runts were in disarray, Bruce started barking excitedly.

He took the lead and charged, pouncing on the last goblin with the ferocity of a tiger descending a mountain. His sharp fangs instantly tore through the creature’s fragile neck.

"Laila, Galen!" Hulk’s voice rang out. "Don’t let those things escape into the forest! If we don’t have enough ears, turning in the quest will be a hassle!"

"Right, Captain!"

"No problem!"

The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, blocked the goblins’ escape route.

Laila’s eyes were sharp. Her bowstring sang continuously, and with her Precise Shooting, several goblins fell to the ground.

Hesia, meanwhile, waved his staff material. Earth Spikes erupted along the targets’ escape path, impaling several other goblins that were trying to dive into the bushes.

"Haha! That was exhilarating!"

With a great laugh from Belte, the last goblin’s head was lopped off by his Broadsword.

He closed his eyes, stood on the steps of the ruins, and held his sword angled toward the ground, striking what he considered an incredibly cool finishing pose. He quietly waited for his teammates’ cheers and praise.

"Idiot. How embarrassing. They all went inside already."

Belte opened his eyes in confusion, only to find no one around.

Apparently, his teammates had ignored him and already entered the ruins.

He looked down and saw that only Bruce was still sitting at his feet, keeping him company.

"Bruce, I can’t believe you actually stayed behind to wait for me! From this day on, I’ll never argue with you again!"

Bruce yawned. "Don’t make me sick. I only stayed behind because I wanted to see how long you could hold that pose."

With that, he kicked off with his hind legs and dashed toward the entrance of the ruins.

"Hey! Leave something for me to find!" Belte yelled, hurrying after him.

According to the third rule of his "Tavern Adventuring Theory": If you personally find something good in a Demon’s lair, your gambling luck will stick with you until the next time you win.

...

Inside the ruins, there were nearly twenty goblins remaining. But having lost their leader, they had lost all will to fight and were now cowering in the corners, trembling.

Some that had nowhere to hide were simply squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands.

One even dropped to its knees and began kowtowing—THUMP, THUMP—in the direction they had entered from.

Seeing this, a cold sneer touched the corners of Laila’s lips. "Looks like we might have an unexpected discovery."

Before the words were even out of her mouth, an arrow left her bowstring and pierced the kowtowing goblin’s head.

Seeing the confusion on Hesia’s face, Laila explained as she continued to draw her bow, "Take a guess who they learned those moves from."

Hesia was taken aback for a moment.

It wasn’t that he felt any pity for these green-skinned creatures mimicking human gestures of begging for mercy, but he had truly never considered the question before.

The whistle of arrows and the muffled thud of Earth Spikes breaking through the ground intertwined.

Under such an absolute difference in strength, the remaining goblins were quickly cleaned up.

Just as Laila had said, amid a pile of foul-smelling, tattered clothing, they found some scattered Silver Scales and copper nails.

"Let me!"