Effortlessly killing the nearby goblin, Gauss quickly dodged behind the warehouse.
His swift and precise move didn’t alert any other goblins.
Gauss looked towards the bonfire.
There were four goblins, sharpening their blades against stones.
Hosting a communal feast after a successful hunt is a common phenomenon across cultures and races.
Now, all the goblins in the village wore expressions of joy as they prepared for the upcoming celebration.
"Still, let’s rescue them first."
Gauss gauged the distance between his position and the bonfire, taking in the distribution of the other goblins.
If unobstructed, it would take him a few seconds at full sprint.
As for why not use spells?
Firstly, the distance is a bit far.
Secondly, with the goblins, the bonfire, and human civilians too close together.
If it got out of control, a spell could trigger an explosion, causing the fire to burn uncontrollably, potentially injuring someone.
Though, in an emergency, there’s no need to be caught up in such details.
But right now, it’s not such a critical moment, is it?
The number of goblins left in the village was counted by him, just about half, around thirty or so.
For him at this moment, they’re not too daunting as enemies.
....
Wick, Whitney, and Kevin were all beaten into a stupor, listening to the harsh sound of metal and stone clashing by their ears, their eyes filled with numb fear.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and the spreading stench of urine beneath them was so strong that it was hard to tell who had an accident, maybe all of them.
The ropes cut deep into their wrists, causing unnatural bruises on their arms.
All three knew the consequences of being captured by a large group of goblins.
Especially as the goblins began to pour water into a pot, cleaning the boiler, clearly preparing to cook.
These impatient green-skinned creatures didn’t even consider keeping them for another day.
Kevin was full of regret; had he known this outing would be so unlucky, he wouldn’t have left the village.
His mouth was parched and dry.
Since being captured, the goblins had not given him any food or water, and now he felt his condition was at its worst.
In his dazed vision, images of past memories seemed to flash by, his parents returning from the fields, the family gathered around the table, sharing a simple meal of oatmeal porridge and black bread—not filling, but the deliciousness of the food made him long for it now.
How laughable it is.
He was soon to be cooked as food, yet all he could think about was his hunger.
The body’s instinctive craving for food and water was uncontrollable.
When thrown into the pot to boil later, maybe he could swallow a few bites of ingredients.
Even if he were to die, he’d die a satiated ghost.
Kevin sighed inwardly.
He had given up fantasies of being rescued.
As for self-rescue, that was even more impossible; how could three tightly bound civilians fight against a village of dozens of goblins, especially when they were armed?
Kevin’s vision numbly stared into the distance.
Suddenly, it seemed as though a figure entered his line of sight.
An illusion?
He dismissed the "illusion" he saw.
In the half-day since being captured, he’d gone through various psychological stages—resisting, pleading, regretting, hopelessness, and unrealistic fantasies of a hero rescuing him, numbly awaiting death, and finally wanting to have one last full meal before dying.
He had imagined a hero descending many times, but after the fantasy was shattered, he fell into deeper despair.
"Thud!"
The illusion approached at an incredible speed, so fast in Kevin’s vision it seemed to flicker across the open ground.
"Thud!"
Within one or two seconds, the illusion appeared just a few meters in front of him.
The ground tremble the person caused felt transmitted through his rear, giving his blood-restricted body a semblance of feeling.
This time the illusion felt so real, perhaps he was truly faint with hunger, unable even to distinguish reality from hallucination.
"Swish!!"
A flash of a sword.
The goblin’s head flew high.
Blood gushed from the neatly severed goblin’s neck, spraying like a town fountain around.
"Splatter!!"
Kevin’s cheek was suddenly splattered with a warm crimson.
The red liquid dripped down his cheek, eventually reaching his lips and seeping through his teeth into his mouth.
"Ptooey ptooey!!!"
The strong metallic smell instantly jolted Kevin’s brain into an excited spasm, making his previously numb consciousness feel like it had been doused with cold water, instantly awakening him.
"What is this?"
His pupils widened constantly.
In his astonished gaze, the intruder moved swiftly.
Moving like a dancer, their footwork deftly maneuvered, and the remaining goblins nearby, as if presenting their necks to his blade, were all slaughtered within a few breaths!
It’s real! Not an illusion! Kevin’s heart surged with joy!
Now, smelling the pervasive smell of blood and sensing the overwhelming presence and killing intent of the man nearby, he shivered all over, finally confirming everything unfolding before him was truly happening.
His imagination was not vast enough to simulate such a realistic scenario.
When he was shivering and unable to speak, the man’s cold jade-green eyes looked down at him sitting on the ground.
Then, with a swift wave of his rapier, he precision-cut the ropes tightly binding him.
"Sshhh!"
The three of them regained their freedom.
"Drink some water and find a safe place to hide."
Gauss tossed down a spare water pouch.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Gauss briefly instructed them, then quickly turned his gaze to the other goblins’ positions.
This bold daylight raid, although occurring in a very short time, had made the campfire and the three humans the focal point of the goblin village’s attention, swiftly drawing the entire village’s notice.
Quite a few goblins were already wielding weapons they had grabbed nearby.
"Magic Missile!"
But faster than them was Gauss, who had long been prepared.
He drew a White Bone Staff from his waist with his left hand.
This time, for a fast attack, he did not bring the heavier all-metal Unbreakable Staff, but chose the White Bone Staff and rapier as his main weapons for the action.
Three azure blue light spheres swiftly coalesced.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they locked onto the goblin archers in the distance.
"Boom!"
The downgraded missiles flew like arrows leaving the bowstring, in an instant covering the ten or twenty meters to reach the three goblins.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Even though downgraded, the missiles of a level 1 spell were still too deadly for ordinary goblins, especially given the 20% power boost from the [Goblin Slayer] title, adding even more power.
Three goblins were thrown like leaking rags, and in a flash, they were gone.
In the corner of his eye, Gauss saw a spear-wielding goblin approaching while he was taking down the distant archer goblins, and a thought flashed through his mind.
It felt as if this group of goblins was more courageous than those encountered on his previous two assignments.
After witnessing me quickly kill a few companions, they’re not retreating, but rather charging at me voluntarily without a leader’s call?
Is it because of their hunger for food?
Gauss briefly put himself in their shoes and suddenly understood the psychology of these little green-skinned creatures.
Their family was happily preparing ingredients, stoking the fire, and making dinner, only to have a thug storm in, kicking the door open and starting a massacre without a word.
The dish they had been longing to taste was about to be snatched away.
How could they possibly swallow that anger?
In simpler terms, they were protecting their food.
No problem, a beating should resolve this.
Gauss held the staff in one hand and the sword in the other.
When approached by combat goblins, he quickly shifted his offensive focus to the rapier in his right hand.
"Tzing!!"
His body slightly tilted, and the blade slid smoothly along the spear’s shaft.
Then, with a flick of the wrist, the rapier’s flourish cut off the goblin’s hand.
The goblin, losing its hand, stared blankly at the bleeding wrist, and just as it was about to let out a pained howl, a flash of the sword severed its throat.
Too slow!
Gauss killed the goblins nearby with a few swift strikes.
Then, magic surged from the staff in his left hand again, and he shot a magic missile, casually taking down the sneaky goblin archer aiming at the three civilians.
His ability in both ranged and melee combat set him apart from many other professionals.
At this moment, the surviving goblins in the village finally realized something was wrong.
This villain seemed a bit too powerful!
Especially since many tribesmen were still outside the village.
Originally, there were only about 30 goblins in the village, and in a flash, Gauss had slaughtered nearly half.
Their huge numerical advantage was just an illusion; their low intelligence’s rational thought had briefly overpowered their instinct to protect their food.
The enemy before them was too strong! They could not continue fighting!
Seeing the goblin formation scattering, Gauss charged forward.
Only the strong have the initiative to choose.
With a disbanded mob on the verge of fleeing, he needed to seize the time to launch a more aggressive attack.
Ultimately, relying on his armor and disregarding the risk, enduring their hateful attacks, Gauss finished off the remaining dozen or so goblins quickly!
Moreover, as before, he did not spare any goblin infants in the village either.
"Total Monster Kills: 335"
"Goblins Killed: 208"
Gauss stood where he was, slightly panting.
Suddenly, a wonderful power surged within him!
That power originated from the deepest part of his body.
"Sufficient potential acquired from the original goblin host for racial talent."
"Initial Level Racial Talent [Rapid Digestion] upgrading!"
"Congratulations! Upgraded to Elite Level Racial Talent [Energy Storage Glands]!"
"[Energy Storage Glands], retains all effects of the original talent [Rapid Digestion], adds extra effect [Storage], allowing you to store surplus energy within the energy storage glands in your body through pre-consumption, quickly replenishing stamina and magic power as needed."
"The storage effect of [Energy Storage Glands] is related to the strength of the talent, please continue to kill the talent source host to seize more corresponding talent potential."