Volume 1 Chapter 56 The Incident of the Great Deep Forest
A few days after the Satsuma incident, Cain was training his [magic] in the usual practice field. He, chuckling to himself:
"Honestly, holding a grudge over food? That's crazy. But hey, at least everyone enjoyed that Satsuma. It was delicious, so it worked out, right?"
A roasted Satsuma party?
Afterward, Luke and Landroff asked him about the planting methods. Cain explained how to start with seedlings, not just planting from seed potatoes.
They said they'd spread the method throughout the territory as soon as possible.
Hopefully, next year, everyone will have access to those tasty Satsumas.
"I should level up my [Earth magic] soon. I've been practicing 'Circulation' and [Earth magic] every day... Maybe it's time to change things up a bit?"
Cain was reflecting on his training methods so far.
"Maybe I should try creating something a bit more complex with [Earth magic]. And for 'Circulation,' maybe I should increase the number of 'Mana' clusters... If that doesn't work, I'll ask Benjamin when he gets back."
After that, Cain began practicing with increased 'Mana' clusters while doing 'Circulation.'
* * *
In the forest, 3 men were walking.
The man in the lead carried a bow, carefully scanning the surroundings as he moved forward.
Behind him, another man held a shield and had a sword at his waist, while the third man, holding a spear, kept an eye on the sides and rear. The sword-wielding man asked the archer:
"Are we heading in the right direction?"
"Yeah. According to the guild's info, if we keep going, the forest should break, and we'll hit a river."
The lead man answered without turning, parting the grass as they moved forward.
After a while, they started hearing the sound of flowing water.
The 3 of them breathed a sigh of relief ── they were on the right path.
After a bit more walking toward the sound, they reached the river, just like the guild's information said.
"Wait!"
The leader sharply commanded the other 2, halting them.
He pointed upstream of the river.
In the direction pointed, a creature about the size of a child, with green skin, was making a "Gyagyagya" sound while doing something in the river.
There were 3 goblins, each holding something like a wooden spear and a rusty dagger.
The 3 approached the goblins without making a sound.
Then, men with swords and spears leaped out and into the water.
"Hun, Toss!" The archer loosed an arrow at one goblin, finishing it off while the other 2 goblins were watching, the sword and spear men attacked the remaining 2 goblins and took them down with a single strike.
"Keep an eye out. You two, dismantle the goblins."
The two dragged the goblins from the river and cut off their right ears as proof of the subjugation.
"Well, it's the Great Deep Forest. A couple of goblins hanging around is normal, right? What's the Guild so worried about?"
The Spearman asked the Swordsman.
"Yeah, I mean, if they were worried, we'd see a flock of like 50 or 60. But this many?"
The Swordsman replied, glancing at the goblin they'd just taken down.
"Come here,"
The Archer called out.
"Over here, there's a new path. And it looks like a decent number are using it. It's almost becoming a real trail,"
He explained, pointing out the path they'd discovered.
After advancing for about 30 minutes while keeping an eye on the path, they stumbled upon a shocking sight.
There were a dozen structures made of vegetation, and about a hundred goblins were gathered there.
Among them, several higher-ranking goblins were giving orders to other goblins as they dissected a deer.
The 3 quickly regrouped at a hiding spot, retracing their steps along the path they'd come.
"Hey, isn't this more than the Guild's info?" the Archer commented.
"Yeah, and there were higher-ups mixed in. They're pretty developed as a colony," the Spearman observed.
"We'd better form a subjugation unit quickly. This could get dangerous."
The Swordsman added, as they assessed the situation.
"First, we report back to the Guild," the Archer decided, and the others nodded in agreement.
As they turned to head back the way they came, they spotted 2 goblins walking through the forest.
The Swordsman and Spearman exchanged a glance and took off running.
The goblins heard the sound of their pursuit and saw them, but it was too late; they were taken down without a fight.
"Don't just charge in like that. What if there were more around?!"
The Archer scolded as he caught up.
"We could handle ten goblins, no problem."
"Yeah, totally."
The voices answered one after another.
"I told you not to get careless!"
The archer fired an arrow at the two men.
There was a "thwip" sound as the arrow struck, hitting the goblin that had been sneaking up behind them.
"W-what the──?"
The swordsman shifted his gaze between the archer and the goblin with the arrow sticking out of it.
"We're surrounded! Hurry, run!"
The archer tried to run, but several goblins appeared and blocked their path.
"When did so many show up?! Whatever, just get out of my way!"
The spearman pierced through the goblin surrounding them with a sharp thrust of his spear, taking it down in one blow.
"Damn, what are they doing here?!"
The spearman looked toward the archer, who was being attacked by several orcs.
Looking at the swordsman, he saw him surrounded by orcs and goblins, struggling to fight them off.
"This is bad! Stay together──gah!"
The spearman shouted, but an arrow struck deep into his shoulder.
"What, there's even an archer?!"
The spearman looked in the direction of the arrow, and there was a goblin perched in a tree, grinning maniacally.
The men fought desperately, but as more goblins and orcs arrived, they were slowly overwhelmed, finally exhausting all their strength.
As the men collapsed, a higher-tier orc watched them, giving orders to the goblins.
The goblins began stripping the men of their gear.
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