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[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 11
Curses and shouting erupted from all directions.
The mercenaries, on edge from the barrage of poison darts flying in from everywhere, screamed in agitation.
“Hurry up and move, you damn slug!”
“Shit! I’ll kill them all and burn them to ashes!”
The mercenaries pushed forward while fending off the goblin attacks, and Raymond and I stayed behind them, hiding and waiting for the right moment.
The goblins’ movements were suspicious.
Normally, they would’ve been causing havoc from the entrance, but instead, it was as if they had been lying in wait, ambushing us the moment we arrived.
Goblin intelligence was high—for monsters, anyway.
But it wasn’t like they could coordinate tactically or devise real strategies.
At best, they laid crude traps or shot poison darts from a distance.
Too many things didn’t add up.
Usually, poison darts didn’t work on us—they should’ve already fled in fear.
But these goblins fought back fiercely and fearlessly.
“Kiiieeeek!!”
“Kill them! Kill them all!”
Their chilling screams made my skin crawl.
Had goblins always been this terrifying?
Raymond, who seemed to be dealing with monsters for the first time, looked slightly rattled.
Thud!
Squelch!
Raymond stabbed a goblin in the heart, shoved the corpse aside, and approached me.
“They’re not as tough as I expected, sir.”
“Don’t show your full skills. Keep it subtle.”
The deafening goblin shrieks masked our hushed conversation from the others.
Seeing the fight devolve into close combat only confirmed my suspicions.
Even if mercenaries weren’t especially skilled, they each had their own methods—and usually stuck to tasks that matched their strengths.
Most of them held their own, but Baskit was different.
Despite his skills, he handled the goblins awkwardly.
As I expected…
“Phew! This is pretty intense!”
“Yeah, I’ve been hit twice in the arm with poison darts—it’s getting hard to move.”
Shane and Aisha chimed in.
“Are you two all right?”
“Yes, we’re fi—”
“Haha, I feel like I’m dying. I didn’t get hurt badly since I stayed behind you all, but I did get hit with two darts, and now my arm barely moves.”
As I said that, I gave Raymond a subtle nudge in the side.
That should be enough of a hint, right?
Raymond wasn’t exactly dense.
“Aaaagh! I got hit with ten poison darts, and my whole body—ugh…”
He let out an exaggerated groan, sneaking a glance at me.
His expression practically said, ‘Did I do well, sir?’
For a moment, I nearly smacked him upside the head.
Seriously?
Ten darts?
If someone got hit with that many, they’d be passed out over there by now.
I glanced at the mercenaries.
Most of them seemed to buy it, but Baskit’s expression looked... off.
This could get us exposed.
“He’s just a bit dull, you know. But he’s tough—”
“He didn’t seem that sluggish for someone who took ten darts.”
Baskit’s voice turned cold.
He’d caught on that something was wrong and began eyeing the others.
Shit.
No choice now…
Ruuumble—
“W-what was that?”
“Something’s making noise deeper inside!”
The cave began to shake.
It sounded like something massive was slamming the ground.
“I’m watching you.”
Baskit shot Raymond and me a glare before turning and heading inward.
Who was watching who?
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
We followed them deeper into the cave, where a massive goblin, easily three meters tall, was rampaging with a huge club.
A long nose, green skin.
It looked just like a goblin—but way bigger.
“Shit… That’s a Goblin Warrior.”
“What?”
“What the hell is one of those doing here…?”
Baskit’s voice betrayed his unease.
Goblin Warrior.
They usually only lived within goblin villages.
And they couldn’t even exist without a goblin shaman nearby.
So how was one here?
Even I was unsettled.
Grit.
Baskit bit his lip, deep in thought.
Is he wondering whether to fight it?
Goblin Warriors were tough opponents.
Normally, they only showed up in goblin villages, meaning you’d have to deal with hundreds of goblins and a shaman just to face one.
Finding one alone like this was practically asking to be hunted.
So it made sense that Baskit was hesitating.
“Fall back.”
I tried to lead Raymond a bit further back.
“Where do you think you’re going? You came this far—you’re fighting with us.”
The mercenaries blocked our path.
Blinded by the prize in front of them, they were making a poor judgment call.
If we keep arguing and draw the Goblin Warrior’s attention, we’ll all die.
The Goblin Warrior clearly wasn’t in its right mind—crashing into walls and going wild.
“It might be doable…”
“Excuse me?”
Raymond looked at me in confusion.
Honestly, I had been planning to run.
Fighting a Goblin Warrior with these guys would be suicide.
But then...
[Side Quest – The Goblin Shaman’s Wish]
[Kill the Goblin Warrior, corrupted by black magic, and free it from its suffering.]
[Reward – Stamina +0.2, Spiritual Power +0.3]
I hadn’t noticed it before, probably because I was focused on the warrior—but deeper inside, I saw a small grave.
A rough mound of dirt with a twig stuck in it, shaped like a cross.
And floating above it, a translucent spirit.
Obviously, that was the goblin shaman.
Why is this being dumped on me now?
Not that I was complaining.
Stamina was the hardest to raise, and spiritual power was what I needed most.
How could I turn that down?
* * *
Baskit clenched his teeth and glared at the Goblin Warrior.
Could he really beat it?
The doubt nagged at him, but so did the potential rewards.
He had originally planned to kill those two and steal their stuff—then sell their corpses later—but now it seemed more efficient to use them as meat shields.
He finally made his decision and gave the order.
“Everyone get ready. We’re taking it down.”
A Goblin Warrior might’ve been easy prey for a swordmaster, but for anyone else, it was a serious challenge.
Its toughness made killing it extremely difficult.
Baskit’s plan was to use Ren and Raymond to draw its attention, then strike a vital point.
“If we hit the right spot, we can kill it.”
“I’ve heard its neck is a weak point.”
“How exactly do you plan on hitting its neck?”
Ren asked.
“You two are nimble. Just distract it—”
“We’re not interested in throwing ourselves into a reckless gamble.”
Ren cut him off coldly.
“This isn’t a gamble. If we strike while it’s still disoriented—”
“Tch. Do you really think we can win this?”
Ren’s cold tone made the mercenaries tense up.
When Baskit turned to look at his men, they raised their weapons toward Ren and Raymond.
“You wanna die here, or fight it?”
Ren remained expressionless, while Raymond was visibly furious.
“You bastards—do you even know who you’re talking to—?”
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Ren took a step closer to him.
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[Translator - Night]
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At that moment, Baskit felt something was off.
Because his reaction was completely different from that of others usually caught in such situations.
“I was going to end this quietly as Francis asked… but I guess that’s not happening.”
The moment those words ended, both Baskit and Ren’s swords moved simultaneously.
Clang!
Baskit, who drew his sword a little faster, had his stance broken as it clashed with Ren’s blade.
Slash!
“Gahhh…!”
Then, Baskit’s arm floated in the air before falling to the ground.
His pupils trembled violently in disbelief at what had just happened.
“Kyaaah!”
“What are you doing?!”
Shane and Lynn shrieked in shock.
Thud.
As Baskit knelt down with a dazed expression, Ren’s sword once again swept across his neck.
Slice! Thump.
His head rolled on the ground, spraying blood, and stopped right in front of Aisha.
“Aaaahhhh!”
Baskit was the strongest among the mercenaries.
And yet, he was killed by Ren without even being able to put up a fight.
Fear began to settle into the others’ faces.
“P-please spare us…”
Just then, the goblin warrior—who had been rampaging wildly—suddenly turned to look at them.
“Grrrrraaaaahh!!”
“Uh, oh no…”
“He’s coming this way!”
“Sir Archer!”
“Get out of the way!”
In an instant, the goblin warrior spun its club in the air and brought it down on Geron.
Crack—!
“Kuhhh…!”
Geron tried to block the attack with his shield, but his body was crushed along with the shield and slammed into the ground.
“He’s… dead.”
Geron lay motionless with his neck twisted.
He had died instantly.
“Get lost!”
Terrified, Aisha picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the goblin warrior.
Its gaze turned toward her.
“That idiot!”
Raymond clicked his tongue at the sight and tried to rush over, but Ren stopped him.
“She brought it on herself.”
“What are you doing? You have to help her!”
“Yeah! If we die, you guys are done too!”
Shane and Lynn shouted from behind, realizing that they had no hope of escaping unless Ren stepped in.
“Why should I?”
But the response was icy cold.
Boom—Crash!
With a loud crash, Aisha was struck by the goblin warrior’s club and slammed into the wall.
Her body twitched slightly, so she was still alive for now, but it was obvious she would either live the rest of her life disabled or die soon.
Seeing that, the terror in Shane and Lynn’s eyes deepened drastically.
“Please, spare us!”
“W-What do we have to do?”
A cold smile formed on Ren’s lips.
“The reason you targeted us.”
The two hesitated for a moment, then looked at each other and opened their mouths.
“We wanted to steal your gear and items…”
“And…”
“S-Sell the bodies…”
Before Shane could finish speaking, the warrior turned its body again to seek out new prey.
“Eek!”
“W-We told you, now hurry!”
The two tried to flee in panic, but there was nowhere to run.
The warrior was standing at the entrance.
“Proof.”
“Huh? What proof?!”
The goblin warrior charged at them, swinging its club.
Boom!
Lynn barely dodged and rolled on the ground, looking toward Ren.
But he gave no answer.
It seemed he wouldn't lift a finger until they brought him evidence.
‘Bastard!’
Lynn glanced around, then looked over at where Shane was.
The warrior’s club was swinging toward him.
“Check Baskit’s clothes! There should be a small token! It’s the symbol we use for trading with the buyers!”
Lynn told everything she knew.
The job had been organized by Baskit, and she didn’t know much beyond that.
‘I should never have listened to that bastard!’
In fact, Baskit hadn’t been with the team for long.
He had joined them on the previous job, and since they worked well together, he’d joined this mission too.
He was skilled and seemed like a decent guy, so they trusted him.
But when he heard that Ren and Raymond would be joining, he suggested robbing them.
At first, they refused, but the reward for just selling corpses was unexpectedly high, and most agreed.
Lynn had no choice but to follow along.
Ren approached Baskit’s corpse and searched it, finding the token she mentioned.
“This is…”
“Right?! So please let me live!”
Despite her desperate cries, Ren didn’t budge.
Raymond, who had been observing Ren, was the same.
Too busy dodging the warrior’s attacks to help.
“Tsk.”
Ren stood up.
Was he finally going to act?
Shane had already been struck down by the warrior and sent to the afterlife.
While Lynn watched the warrior approach with trembling eyes, something blunt hit her head, and her consciousness faded.
* * *
“Just in case, we should leave one alive.”
I knocked Lynn out with the hilt of my sword and propped her against the wall.
“Do something already!”
The goblin warrior had now set its sights on Raymond.
Raymond was barely dodging its blows as he rolled around.
‘Can I really beat that thing…?’
Even at a glance, it looked terrifying.
Its skin was so tough, even after being slammed into jagged walls multiple times, it didn’t seem injured.
And its strength…
– Its weak point is the ankle.
The goblin shaman spoke after seeing the worry on my face.
“The ankle?”
– Yes. Slice the heel. It won’t be able to move properly, and then you strike its neck. The skin on the neck and ankle isn’t that tough.
Goblin warriors are created by goblin shamans.
Some sort of sacred ritual, apparently.
Anyway, since he said it, I figured it must be true.
I crept up behind the warrior, who was locked in fierce combat with Raymond, and slashed at its ankle.
“Graaaaaah!”
It worked.
The creature couldn’t hold its ground and collapsed forward.
I stepped on its back and thrust my sword into its neck.
“Grrrgh…”
With a final groan, it died.
‘Huh. That was easier than I thought.’
It must’ve exposed its weak spot because it wasn’t in its right mind.
Splat—!
As I pulled out my sword, its blood sprayed into the air.
Raymond, pinned under the creature’s body, frantically shielded his face from the geyser of blood.
“Argh! Help me out, will ya?! Why is this thing so heavy?!”
[「Quest – Goblin Shaman’s Wish」 completed.]
– Thank you. That creature is finally free from its pain.
[You gain: Stamina +0.2, Spiritual Power +0.3]
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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