"What? Are you trying to get information on Elves?"
Herbie quietly tightened her collar, the smile on her face becoming somewhat forced. Clearly, she thought Blaze had some ulterior motive.
But Blaze couldn’t explain. In fact, it was better for Herbie to misunderstand him. If she knew he was looking for Elves to get information on the Lost Kingdom, with her abilities, it wouldn’t take long for her to dig up everything about the Golden Country and monopolize it.
Herbie was undoubtedly the type to seize any leverage and negotiate with her "friends." If she learned about the Golden Country, she would definitely smile and squeeze out the information he wanted bit by bit, like handing out a salary, stringing him along to keep him working under her for the long term.
Therefore, it was safer to keep some distance.
"!"
[Crisis Perception] was suddenly triggered. Blaze grabbed at the space near his head, catching a Long Spear thrown toward the gap between his helmet and Chest Armor.
"Enemy attack!"
The guards immediately tensed up, gripping their weapons tightly. A rustling sound emerged from the surrounding tall grass—RUSTLE, RUSTLE—as the short, green Monsters appeared once again.
[Goblin Hunting Team Level 20]
[A sizable hunting team that excels at throwing long spears to hunt prey. They will swarm and slaughter the prey once it collapses from exhaustion.]
"This is a bit troublesome." Herbie immediately drew the carriage curtains shut. No matter how sharp her tongue was, it couldn’t change the fact that she was just one of the Ordinary People.
The Long Spear was a special weapon. Before Humans received a Blessing, it only took a few people wielding Long Spears to hunt large animals; it could be considered an overpowered, broken weapon.
Fortunately, goblins did not possess the same arm strength as Humans. The power of their thrown Long Spears was limited, having absolutely no Effect on someone like Blaze in full Heavy Armor.
"Protect the cargo and the carriage."
Blaze charged at the goblins alone. In the forest, his Agility would greatly increase, meaning even the short-statured goblins were not as fast as him. Just as the previous goblin scout squad had gotten carried away with smugness when they saw Blaze wearing Heavy Armor, the Goblin Hunting Team also let out sharp, mocking laughter.
They raised their Long Spears and swarmed forward, aiming to stab at Blaze’s joints that were unprotected by his Heavy Armor. Naturally, the Long Spears snapped.
Blaze clenched his fist, aiming for one of the goblins’ livers, and punched down. The vibration of fracturing bones and rupturing internal organs transmitted through his skin and Armor.
The goblin convulsed, spewing out a massive burst of virtual red cubes with a SPLAT, before its body turned to dust and gradually disappeared.
[Skill Unlocked: Internal Organ Strike]
[In close combat, when attacking the enemy’s internal organs, there is a high probability of landing a critical hit and causing bleeding.]
"Hmm, I got a new Skill." After glancing at the Skill details, Blaze took a half-step back and threw high-speed punches, landing a vicious blow to the heart, liver, or other vital spots of every goblin around him.
[Skeleton Aesthetics], while teaching him how to appreciate bones, also came with biological anatomy knowledge. This made it very easy for him to find biological weak points and effortlessly trigger [Internal Organ Strike].
However, the restrictions on using this Skill were quite significant. Nowadays, even Ordinary People would wear Armor, and an animal’s fur and subcutaneous fat could absorb the Impact caused by a fist, making it very difficult to strike the internal organs.
The Skill would only trigger 100% of the time when facing frail enemies like goblins.
"Thirteen goblins in total?" Blaze picked up the Long Spears from the ground. Even using [Soul Capture] to absorb all their souls didn’t grant him much Experience Value.
This was exactly why swarm-type Monsters were so despised. A cluster of weak Monsters was incredibly annoying to deal with, yet they only provided a meager amount of Experience Value.
But the loot wasn’t bad.
[Goblin Throwing Spear 1/1]
[A crudely made weapon crafted from flint and branches. If used by Humans or races with higher arm strength, it becomes a single-use weapon, but will consequently deal secondary splash damage.]
A total of five such single-use throwing spears dropped, slightly alleviating the awkwardness of his lack of ranged attacks.
"Just as I thought, there is a large goblin nest nearby. It might even be a Goblin Tribe."
"A Goblin Tribe?! That’s going to be troublesome. There will be hobgoblins inside, and maybe even a Shaman—a special variant that can use Magic."
The guards began discussing nervously. Having been employed by various transport units for years and having traveled to all sorts of places, they had their own set of experiences.
Magic, huh... Blaze rubbed his chin. In truth, he was quite envious of Magic, but his Intelligence wasn’t high enough, making those Magic Books seem like absolute fantasy to him. However, he had heard that one could increase their Intelligence by equipping special accessories, or by using accessories that stored Magic.
Yet, both types of accessories were extremely expensive, and demand far exceeded the supply.
"Dear customer, is there something you desire~"
Herbie leaned her upper body out the carriage window and waved vigorously at Blaze.
Blaze forcefully turned around. Herbie was like a keen-nosed hound, sniffing his palms with Madness, refusing to let any suspicious scent slip by.
"Lord Blessed, what should we do now?" the Guard Captain asked Blaze for his opinion.
"...What do you guys think?" Blaze, believing he lacked the experience of these guards, took the initiative to ask for their input.
"A goblin nest is fine; they’ll only send out goblins to hunt. But if it’s a Goblin Tribe, it’ll be very troublesome." The Guard Captain’s expression was serious. "They will have established customs and might even raise wild wolves to assist in hunting.
"Moreover, a Goblin Tribe is also classified as a type of swarm Monster, averaging around Level 50. Among them will be hobgoblins around Level 20 and a Goblin Shaman around Level 30. In very rare cases, there might even be a special variant known as a Goblin Warrior."
Although the base stats of the goblin race were remarkably low, special variants were a different story. Hobgoblins were not something Ordinary People could handle, and dealing with a Goblin Warrior would require fully armed elite soldiers.
While encountering them meant gaining more Experience Value for the Blessed, it spelled a total disaster for Ordinary People.
"Judging from the equipment of this hunting team, it’s highly likely to be a Goblin Tribe. Furthermore, we might already be within the Goblin Tribe’s territory. If we have the Fast-Walking Ostriches move at top speed, we can reach Balkan City by tonight."
"Are you suggesting we abandon the cargo?" Blaze understood the Guard Captain’s underlying meaning.
Everyone knew that the true purpose of this transport mission was to escort the person inside the carriage to Balkan City. The rest of the cargo was merely a smokescreen. Under these circumstances, it would be better to simply dump the cargo to avoid further casualties.
"What do you think? Those goods are irrelevant anyway, right?" Blaze sought Herbie’s opinion, as she was, after all, the true person in charge of this merchant caravan.
That probably wouldn’t work.
She couldn’t say it like that.
Herbie sighed. The Transformation in the guards’ expressions was plain to see. If it were strictly a matter of escorting real goods, these guards would dutifully do their jobs regardless of the danger. But knowing that the cargo was just a smokescreen, if she refused to discard it while hidden dangers lurked, they would develop resentment and a passive attitude.
"Dump the cargo. Move forward at full speed."