"You killed both of them?" Thor was a bit surprised and asked for confirmation again.
"Yes. I was ambushed by one of those green-skinned runts and got stabbed in the waist. I shouted and struggled, then Raine rushed over and stabbed one to death with a pitchfork. The other tried to run, but Raine threw the pitchfork and killed it too!"
As if to prove his words, Gates turned sideways to reveal his waist, which was still bleeding through recently bandaged gauze. He added,
"I saw it all myself. Look, Raine's over there. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."
The Adventurer Captain named Thor followed Gates' gesture and looked over, seeing the young, sturdy Raine seated nearby. He nodded immediately.
Although it was rare for a farmer to kill two goblins, it wasn't unheard of.
In fact, goblins—the green-skinned runts—were mostly quite weak. One-on-one, even an auntie with a laundry stick could beat them up, but once their numbers stacked up, their fighting power went up sharply.
Two goblins would already require an ordinary adult male to stay focused to handle them.
When it came to three or more, unless that adult was fully armed, he basically didn't stand a chance.
"I also ran into two goblins trying to ambush me, but I happened to notice them early. Then I killed them." Raine thought for a moment and answered honestly.
After all, he couldn't give false information to the Adventurer Squad in front of him.
Besides, these folks had set out at night to rescue the two girls kidnapped by the goblins from the village.
"So you're saying...you killed four goblins?" This time, there was clear surprise on Thor's face, and he couldn't help but ask.
The other three members also wore looks of astonishment, studying him seriously.
Killing four wasn't something ordinary people could do. Even among themselves, during a typical goblin sweep, they each averaged only five or six kills.
This young farmer in front of them killed four goblins with just a pitchfork…
"Uh, it wasn't all at once. I killed two that ambushed me first, then heard Uncle Gates calling for help and ran over. I ambushed the two goblins attacking him after that."
Facing everyone's stares, Raine felt a bit uneasy and immediately explained the situation.
So that's how it was.
The group looked enlightened.
That made a lot more sense.
Dealing with four at once versus two at a time—completely different levels of difficulty.
But...it was still impressive.
In the eyes of these adventurers, Raine left a unique impression right then and there.
Thor, the captain, picked up a stick and quickly scribbled something on the ground, working something out. Soon, he looked up and said,
"Good. Judging by the attack patterns, the total number shouldn't be more than twenty. Four are dead, so there can't be more than fifteen left. Most likely, it's a small band of wandering goblins."
The remaining three of the Oak Shield Squad visibly relaxed upon hearing this.
Just then, Captain Thor looked again at his three teammates.
"Alright, since Nia agrees and the goblin numbers are small, then I've no objections." The great sword man shrugged.
"Fine, since you all agree, guess we're going then." The dagger-wielding man still crossed his arms, sounding a bit reluctant.
"Seems like everyone agrees. Evans, we'll need your scouting skills in a bit," Thor said to the dagger-wielder.
"And one last thing—we're not too familiar with the local fields. We hope a few people can guide us."
"Just as guides, you won't need to fight." Perhaps worried the villagers might misunderstand, Captain Thor added this clarification.
"I'll go!"
"I'm willing!"
Looking over, Raine saw it was the two fathers who'd lost their daughters who stood up first. In addition, Militia Captain Jefferson also stood up.
"I'll go too!" Raine thought for a second, gripped his pitchfork and stood up.
Aside from the fact that the two missing girls were childhood friends of his original body, Raine really didn't think fifteen goblins would pose much trouble for the group here.
If he could handle two or three himself, these four well-equipped adventurer adults should easily handle three each, right?
Not to mention, there was also Militia Captain Jefferson and a few other villagers.
At the same time, Raine had a crucial guess he wanted to test—and needed to kill several goblins to do so.
Hearing Raine's offer, Thor looked at him with appreciation.
The other villagers, especially the two fathers, gripped Raine's hand tightly, gratitude written all over their faces.
Soon, the group set out on their way.
Raine and the other three villagers led at the front of the line, while the four adventurers followed behind.
After about ten minutes—
As they crossed fields and neared the edge of the forest, Archer Nia crouched at the back, examined several sets of small footprints on the ground, and said,
"Hold up. This is far enough. Torches out."
The villagers leading the way, though puzzled, did as told and put out their torches.
But Raine knew exactly why Nia wanted them out.
The pack of goblins that attacked Oak Village should be up ahead.
Just a few minutes prior, Raine had used his Low Light Vision to spot clusters of small footprints converging here, stretching toward the depths of the forest.
Next to the dense prints were plenty of drag marks, too.
Meaning that after pillaging all over, the goblins had gathered here.
"You all stay here. From here on, we'll take over." Thor nodded to Raine and the other three, then drew his longsword from his belt and led the way into the woods.
"Um...Adventurer sirs, can we follow you?"
"We may not have formal training, but we can handle a couple green-skin monsters if need be."
The two girls' fathers spoke up, faces full of hope.
Raine could easily sympathize. As fathers of the missing girls, they were on edge, desperate to save their family as soon as possible now that they were nearly at the goblins' den.
"Alright, you can follow right behind us."
Figuring that having four hearty villagers guard the squad's rear wasn't a bad idea, Thor relented after a moment's thought rather than refuse outright.
Raine, of course, had no objection to this.
If he stayed behind, he'd be safer—but his odds of sniping any goblins would drop a lot.
This way, sticking with the group, he'd have a much better chance of taking out some greenskins himself.
So, with the adventurers in front and villagers behind, the team split into two groups and crept forward together.
The terrain in the forest was uneven, and, lit faintly by starlight, they soon caught glimpses of a cave entrance up ahead.
"Waa-la-la!"
Just as Thor was about to motion for the group to spread out, suddenly, noisy cries came from a waist-high patch of grass ahead. A small dark figure dashed toward the cave entrance.
"Shit, a scout!" Thor's expression changed.
"Thwip!" An arrow struck the small shadow in the back—the shooter was Nia, the archer.
"Ten goblins or so—not a big deal. Now that they've been alerted, let's just charge in!"
"Thor, let's block the cave entrance together!" The two-handed sword man wasn't concerned, hefting his great sword from his back.
"Got it!" Thor agreed—against this number of goblins, there was no need for complicated tactics.
Blocking the door worked just fine.
Led by Thor, the three melee fighters charged forward and immediately engaged the two or three goblins dashing out of the cave entrance head-on.
Raine gripped his pitchfork tightly. The battle before him made him nervous, excited, and a little regretful.
The adventurer team's coordination was crisp and efficient—they took down the three goblins within moments.
Even when a second wave of goblins burst out, only one slipped past—and was instantly shot dead by Nia.
"Sigh~ Doesn't look like I'll get a chance at any scraps..."
Just as Raine thought this fight would pass without a hitch,
Suddenly, from inside the cave, a blue-white glow lit up.
The next instant, a beam as thick as a thumb shot out at lightning speed, heading straight for the three who were hacking away at the goblins outside the cave.