Chapter 16: Spoils of War and the Journey Home
The sun rose, and the mist just cleared.
Gauss came to the signpost at the village entrance.
He was here to see off Haylir and the others.
In the village’s only carriage, Bell and Mia lay inside, with Haylir also in the carriage, pressing a cool towel on their feverish foreheads.
Haylir didn’t plan to bring her two companions back to Gray Rock Town again.
Although Gray Rock Town was a large town frequented by adventurers, its medical conditions were still far inferior to those of a big city.
Moreover, returning to Gray Rock Town from Birch Village wasn’t close, so it was better to head in the other direction to the nearest Forest City, Barry City, which was also the hometown of the three.
Back in Barry, they would also receive better treatment.
"Adventurer, it’s about time to depart," shouted the villager acting as the coachman.
"Do you need me to go with you?" Gauss glanced at the carriage.
"Don’t worry, once we reach the main road to Barry, there will be many people along the way, so there shouldn’t be any danger," Haylir no longer had the enthusiasm she had when she arrived, her face full of exhaustion.
Yet, hearing Gauss’s concern, she still managed a forced smile.
"Besides, you need to finish up the assigned tasks here, right? We’ll leave everything to you!" Haylir blinked, her eyes looking at Gauss with a hint of curiosity.
Her impression of Gauss had greatly improved now; if it weren’t for her companions, who grew up with her, urgently needing treatment, she actually had many questions she wanted to ask Gauss.
At their first meeting, she had only seen Gauss as a poor bottom adventurer, instinctively wanting to refuse when he approached to team up.
After a brief interaction, Gauss’s image in her mind turned into someone who had conveniently learned magic but lacked the family background to support a bottom-tier adept mage; despite mastering magic, without enough financial and resource backing, it was challenging to embark on a true professional path.
But now, she couldn’t understand Gauss at all, even with her limited experience; Gauss seemed extraordinary...
"Gauss, when you visit Barry later, come to the Golden Beak Trading Company in the west of the city to find me, then Bell, Mia, and I will host you properly," Haylir said.
"I’ll go if I get the chance," Gauss nodded.
However, in the near future, he would likely still be active in the areas surrounding Gray Rock Town.
"I’m leaving then."
"Next time we meet, you might already be someone incredible."
Haylir looked at Gauss, waving her hand.
"Safe journey!"
Gauss waved back, standing still as he watched the carriage go far away, the girl with chestnut curls disappearing at the dirt road’s end.
In less than three days, the team disbanded.
No one knew if they would ever meet again.
This era wasn’t like the previous life with mobile phones and the internet; ordinary people’s contact wasn’t that close, a separation could mean a final farewell.
The morning breeze brushed Gauss’s soft hair, he turned and walked towards the village.
He wasn’t deeply emotional towards them, just felt they were friends worth making; after all, they had only known each other for a few days and hadn’t deepened their understanding.
He couldn’t help but feel sentimental.
Gauss decided to stay in the village for another day, which was met with enthusiastic welcome from the villagers.
In this world, ordinary people generally hold a simple respect for mages, perhaps because, compared to other professions’ skills, a mage’s methods are more mysterious and splendid; ordinary people can see the damage caused by swords and blades, but can’t see the invisible flow of magic power.
And humanity always harbors fear for the unknown, magic is such a mysterious force that evokes reverence in ordinary people.
But Gauss wasn’t specifically staying in the village to enjoy the villagers’ admiring gazes and the hospitality of their food.
He stayed for a day, on one hand, to allow his body to fully recover.
On the other hand, to collect spoils of war.
Cutting off the left ears of goblins as task submission items, obtaining the village chief’s signature on the task commission document, and collecting various weapons scattered on the battlefield.
He returned alone to the area where the battle took place last night.
The blood had completely dried up, and after a night’s fermentation, the stench in the air was even stronger.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, he started searching on the open ground in front of the cave.
Stone and wooden weapons couldn’t be sold for money and took up space, so there was no need to collect them.
Iron weapons, however, must not be missed, even severely damaged ones could be sold to a blacksmith shop for some money.
Besides two short blades and four short daggers, the most valuable item seemed to be the large machete used by the large goblin.
The only thing Gauss regretted was that its leather armor was severely damaged, scattered in pieces, otherwise, it would also be worth something.
Fortunately, as he carefully collected, there was another pleasant surprise.
A rough stone hanging on the large goblin’s neck emitted a faint green glow as if it pulsated with a comfortable aura.
Even though Gauss didn’t know what it was, he knew it was most likely a treasure.
Moreover, that goblin was abnormally large, perhaps it was due to the effect of this green stone.
Having gathered the battlefield spoils, his gaze turned toward the cave.
Lighting a torch, he walked in.
Even though it was daytime, the lack of light inside the cave left visibility very poor.
"Cough, cough."
The cave sides were covered with sticky green moss, and ever since he entered, the cave was filled with a stench of feces and urine.
This primitive green-skinned creature seemed to have no habit of maintaining a clean living environment.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"
Occasionally, a rat scurried past his feet.
This natural cave was transformed by goblins into a filthy pathway full of dirt, with the murky air hiding who knows how many bacteria and viruses.
If not for the spoils, he would never voluntarily venture in.
Carefully stepping over a puddle of feces, he finally arrived at a space at the cave’s end.
It was an enlarged cave area, with animal bones of various sizes scattered carelessly around it, flies, rats, and maggots were active.
In the cave center, a stone pot was set up.
The firewood had extinguished, inside the pot was a congealed, thick, unknown solid-liquid mixture.
It looked like when they arrived last night, this group of goblins was holding a "banquet," perhaps celebrating capturing two human females.
Sadly, it seemed the celebration eventually turned into a funeral.
Aside from the assorted debris scattered on the floor, he also discovered a goblin corpse hanging on the wall.
The body was slightly stronger than a regular goblin, but far inferior to the large goblin.
It looked like it hadn’t been dead for long, the number of maggots on it wasn’t substantial.
"What happened here?" Gauss wondered while holding up the torch.
According to his memory, goblins were wicked creatures, but typically didn’t kill their own kind, especially not when a strong individual was leading a group of them.
However, conflicts and disputes could occur between different groups.
Gauss contemplated thoughtfully.
Suddenly, as if he figured something out, he smacked his forehead.
He vaguely guessed why the task information was inaccurate.
If his guess was correct, a goblin conflict had likely occurred here.
The large goblin, as an outsider, had likely easily killed the previous goblin leader who had seven or eight underlings, merging the tribes and expanding to twenty goblins in strength.
This also explained why previously, these goblins’ harassments on human villages were minor, but last night, they suddenly became aggressive.
Realizing this, a look of sudden understanding appeared on his face, and then he couldn’t help but grit his teeth and let out a long sigh.
How unlucky.
If there hadn’t been such an unexpected situation, the eight regular goblins wouldn’t have posed a threat to their team.
The battle last night wouldn’t have been so fierce.
He hoped Bell and Mia would recover smoothly.
Gauss shook his head.
Even if his guess was accurate, this wasn’t the Adventurer’s Guild’s fault, but he learned a lesson.
He resolved in his heart.
In the future, besides his own reconnaissance information, he should always be cautious about other task reports.
Returning to the village with spoils of war packed to the brim, uncertain how much they would sell for.
After resting for a night.
He set off again, heading back toward Gray Rock Town.
This time back, he aimed to sell his spoils, hoping to exchange them for suitable equipment to arm himself.
As a mage, not even having a magic wand was inexcusable.
Additionally, he wanted to gather intelligence, understanding how professionals were different from them, and how to become a professional himself.