"Understood."
Theo, who had been inexplicably reprimanded by the old village chief, felt increasingly depressed as he thought about it.
He felt that even though he had good intentions, he was not only not acknowledged but was also reprimanded, which was truly unfair.
"The old chief is getting weaker as he ages."
"We are not attacking their main camp directly," mumbled a young man beside him.
"Goblins aren’t strong at all. I’ve probably killed ten goblins myself," said a big oaf bluntly. "I don’t think we even need those adventurers, we can easily kill those little greenskins like crushing mice."
"So, should we continue with the previous plan?"
"I think we can." Theo nodded. "Once we return victorious, the chief will realize how foolish his weakness was."
The group made up their minds and fortunately had already prepared "weapons" and "armor" before they came over, so after a quick setup, they were ready to head toward the goblin tribe’s location.
The other villagers were busy packing up their belongings and didn’t notice the group quickly leaving the village at first.
It was only after a while that someone realized.
"Something’s wrong, Theo and the others are missing!"
"When did they disappear?"
"After they went to see the village chief, we haven’t seen them since."
"Damn, they must have taken their people to the goblin lookout post." Bob thought about the conversation his father had with the others earlier, feeling a sense of helplessness.
"Chief, what should we do now?"
The parents of the missing young men, and the elderly, were too anxious to pack their bags and turned their eyes to the chief in a panic.
Bob was also extremely conflicted at this moment.
Ignoring it wouldn’t be right, not just for the relatives of the missing people but even in his heart, he couldn’t get past this.
But if they organized a rescue, it would undoubtedly put more people in danger, and once a battle ensued, most likely there would be no return.
"Chief, please decide quickly! Theo and the others have been gone for a while now."
Just as Bob took a deep breath, preparing to say something, the sound of crisp hooves seemed to ring out from afar.
Along with the sound came a rolling cloud of dust.
The villagers cast curious glances.
Gauss and Serdur slowed their pace as they passed the farmland outside the village.
Until they saw a snake-man slithering into the village.
Panic-stricken screams immediately erupted around!
"There’s a snake!"
"The monster is attacking!"
"Ah!"
The villagers, already on edge, panicked the moment they saw Serdur.
Some ran quickly, while others trembled as they picked up forks near them.
Tall and equipped with a thick snake tail, Serdur was far more intimidating than goblins the size of young boys.
Seeing this, Gauss dismounted from the chocobo, took two steps forward, and stood in front of Serdur.
"Villagers, please don’t panic, put down your weapons. We are adventurers from Barry, here on a mission."
As Gauss spoke, a mission scroll suddenly appeared in his hand, the scroll unfurled, openly displaying its contents.
Serdur glanced at Gauss who stood protectively in front of him, a hint of warmth flashing in his narrow, sharp snake eyes.
Although the villagers’ actions couldn’t hurt him, and he was long used to being seen as a monster by many ignorant country folk, this instinctive protective gesture by Gauss still touched him.
However, despite saying so, many villagers still held tightly to their farming tools and weapons, not letting go.
The power of words was far less direct than the impact of what they saw before them.
To many who had never left the village in their lives, wasn’t the snake-man before them just a man-eating monster?
No matter what was said, that snake tail, those snake eyes, and scales would not turn into a human’s hands and feet.
"Put down your weapons!" Village chief Bob suddenly emerged from the crowd, loudly rebuking the villagers.
Then quickly jogged to stand in front of Gauss and Serdur.
"Honorable adventurers, please don’t mind the ignorance of these yokels in our village."
His face showed uncontrollable panic, heart pounding rapidly, so nervous that his legs almost gave out as he came to stand before Serdur, but he still bowed deeply toward the two of them.
He had clearly seen.
The handsome young man wore a bronze badge of a 2-star adventurer on his chest, while the snake-man beside him was even higher, reaching 3 stars!
To ordinary villagers like them, if these two became angry, they could probably wipe out the village as easily, and were a greater threat than the goblin group outside the village.
"It’s alright, Chief." Gauss took a step forward and helped the shaking chief to his feet.
His smile seemed to carry a strong sense of friendliness.
The villagers who were initially anxious gradually calmed down seeing his bright smile.
"I am the adventurer Gauss, who accepted this mission, and this is my partner, Serdur. Chief, please tell us about the current situation."
Chief Bob, who had calmed down, confirmed that neither of them were the slightest bit angry.
He again glanced at their badges, and joy appeared on his face.
The village was saved! No need to relocate!
He quickly began to explain the situation outside the village and the status of the young men who had left.
...
To the west of Sand Leaf Village, at the edge of the sparse woodland.
The air was thick with the smell of earth, the stench unique to goblins, and the acrid scent of burning vegetation and wood.
Theo leaned against a withered tree, gasping for air.
His pupils continued to contract.
A wound on his side was oozing with fresh blood.
The longbow at his side had long been broken, smeared with sticky, dark red blood, unable to tell if it was his own or that of the goblin.
The companions who were once full of vigor had now scattered and fled, their whereabouts unknown.
"How can goblins be so strong?"
His mind was filled with immense confusion.
"Thud!" "Thud!"
Behind the tree he leaned on came the sound of massive footsteps approaching.
It’s that monster! The monster actually followed him!
His heart was about to leap out of his chest, and his brain had completely lost the ability to think.
In the next moment.
A massive shadow engulfed him.
"Boom!!!"
The not-so-sturdy tree he was leaning against was knocked down with one slap from the monster behind him, exposing his body.
This was truly the end!
PS: There will be a second update at 11:59 PM, with possibly 4-5K words?