Since he had left early today, Winnie hadn’t had time to complete his daily tasks, and his body felt like ants were crawling all over it.
Walking through the forest, his silver fish-scale armor and brass shoulder pads shimmered brilliantly, reflecting dazzling light. Winnie tightened the sabre at his waist, seemingly finding this action to provide him with a little more sense of security.
Nervousness was inevitable. This was his first time, in both of his lives, holding a weapon and engaging in a violent battle with monsters that only existed in Western fantasy.
And according to the information he knew, the goblins in this world were living up to expectations. They killed, set fire, raided, and kidnapped women without a single one being left out. They were the embodiment of evil, with much more professionalism and capability in their field than Winnie ever had as a villain.
As for the human women that had been kidnapped... The end results didn’t need to be elaborated, those who understood, understood.
In fact, in several sources of unknown origin, there were even rumors of goblins kidnapping elven princesses and human saintesses.
Winnie was glad he wasn’t a woman, or the goblins would probably catch the scent and apply some sort of buff to make things even worse.
The dense forest blocked out the sun, and Winnie began to understand why the knights couldn’t completely wipe out the bandits in Berek Forest. With how thick the jungle was, it would be hard to see even five meters ahead if you just picked any random hiding spot.
The knights weren’t familiar with jungle warfare, and since they didn’t know the terrain, it was no surprise that the local bandits, familiar with the forest, were able to use all kinds of evasive maneuvers and hide behind countless obstacles, avoiding the knights’ search. It was essentially a natural sanctuary.
No wonder Berek Village was jokingly referred to as a monster spawn trap. This natural barrier was perfect for harboring all kinds of filth and monsters, so it wasn’t too surprising that goblins had made their home here.
In the breeze carrying the scent of soil, a sudden, sharp smell of blood filled the air.
Shaking off his thoughts, Winnie looked up.
He had arrived.
Looking ahead, a cluster of dense vines covered a moss-covered stone cave. If one didn’t look closely, it might appear to be just a large rock.
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A sharp scream suddenly echoed through the air, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps coming closer from inside the cave.
Winnie knew that he had been spotted by the goblin sentries. They had retreated into the nest to report to the others that an intruder had entered.
The goblins had probably already reported on his numbers and equipment.
These goblins weren’t capable of much, but they were experts in preying on the weak and avoiding the strong. The reason there was no immediate action was because they weren’t sure whether he was alone. Once they confirmed he was by himself, the rest of the goblins in the cave would likely swarm to him.
Sure enough, after a brief silence, the cave erupted with strange, high-pitched shrieks. Then, a moment later, the area above and around the cave was filled with green goblins with yellow eyes.
They were dressed in a hodgepodge of clothes, most of which appeared to have been ripped off from unlucky adventurers. Their weapons were a mix of short bows, slingshots, throwing knives, and improvised materials, with some even picking up sharp rocks from the ground.
While these weapons weren’t impressive, they could still pose a serious problem for adventurers. Getting hit with a rock or sharp object could severely impair one’s ability to move. After all, this was real life, not a game, and getting struck by sharp rocks wasn’t as simple as losing some health points.
The goblins waved their weapons and shouted at Winnie in their strange, garbled language, "Waka, waka!" They couldn’t speak human language, and Winnie naturally didn’t understand a word.
However, he noticed several details about the goblins. For example, goblins weren’t completely hairless creatures—they had pores, and their yellow eyes lacked pupils. He could also smell a rancid odor, reminiscent of wild boars. If Winnie got too close, he would have wanted to pinch his nose, but he couldn’t reach it while in his armor.
It seemed that goblins didn’t know what bathing was. Were they trying to suffocate him with their stench?
Winnie noticed that the goblins on both sides were trying to encircle him, leaving him with no escape.
But it didn’t matter—he hadn’t planned on retreating.
The ones who should run were the goblins.
"Waka!" The goblins stared at Winnie’s shimmering silver fish-scale armor with greedy eyes, as if they had seen a treasure.
The goblin in front of them, holding a small flag that seemed to have been scavenged, waved it wildly in the air, shouting in a strange language. The goblins behind him, like they were on stimulants, raised their bows and began firing arrows, throwing stones, and launching knives—basically launching all their ranged attacks at him.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!" The arrows and knives, even though they were looted, didn’t even penetrate the fish-scale armor. They bounced off easily. As for the stones and slingshots, the projectiles hit the thick steel armor and were completely absorbed by it.
The armored man stood motionless, as if he hadn’t even noticed their attacks.
"Waka?" The goblins froze in confusion.
"Done already?" Winnie stretched his sore shoulders from the armor and drew his sabre.
The goblins, seemingly unwilling to give up, stubbornly continued their assault. A string of stones and arrows hit the iron-clad man but didn’t hurt him at all. He didn’t even budge.
Seeing the armored man charging towards them, the goblins lost their courage, and the group hastily shoved their comrades aside, scrambling to retreat back into the cave.
The goblins who had fallen were left behind. When they finally raised their heads, a huge shadow loomed over them.
"Done playing?" Winnie raised his sabre and swiftly decapitated a goblin who hadn’t made it back to the cave.
Seeing the goblins scrambling to escape, Winnie considered pursuing them but hesitated.
Although the armor-type Soul Art lightened the weight of his armor, it didn’t make it weightless. He still had to bear the burden of the armor’s weight.
He couldn’t afford to burn through his energy too soon.
Glancing at the motionless goblin on the ground, Winnie trudged toward the cave.
Inside the cave, the firelight reflected off his silver fish-scale armor, and the sound of his footsteps clanged as he slowly advanced, exuding a palpable sense of pressure.
"Waka!" The goblins, now armed with short swords and knives they had looted, looked at the advancing armored figure. Despite their fury, none of them dared to step forward.
Winnie, seeing their hesitation, grinned and gestured provocatively with his hand.
Two goblins, enraged, rushed toward him from either side and slashed at him.
"Clang! Clang!" The sound of metal clashing rang out. Winnie looked at his abdomen—his armor hadn’t even shifted.
He swung his sabre with ease, grabbing one of the goblins by the head and tossing it to the ground. A heavy boot crushed its skull, and he swung his sabre again, slashing the neck of the other goblin who had been frozen in place.