Gauss rolled his eyes at him, as if Serdur wasn’t killing these younglings right now.
The two were mature adventurers, how could they have any false sentiments.
Not to mention just making a couple of cries for attention, even if they cried out for their father, they still had to be killed.
Even the less aggressive Kobolds that rarely attack villages aren’t benign, neutral beings. When they encounter villagers in the wild and have a clear numerical advantage, these hunchbacked little Lizard People become fierce and violent, robbing and slaughtering passersby.
The roles of miner and robber can often be switched at will.
Even if we don’t mention those, demons operating near human living areas inherently encroach upon and compress human living space.
Seize five cities today, ten cities tomorrow, for a night’s rest only.
"Let’s continue."
After checking the surroundings.
The two continued to explore the valley.
The valley may look unimpressive, but in reality, the number and variety of monsters lurking here aren’t small; it really is a place of hidden talent.
Aside from the goblins, the target of this mission, and the Kobolds, Gauss also encountered a type of [Giant Spider].
After killing it, he unlocked his 28th ordinary Monster Atlas entry.
Looking at the ground littered with goblin corpses.
"Total monsters killed: 1935"
Getting closer to the goal.
The two, as usual, began to scavenge after the battle ended.
After completing the collection of spoils, they immediately began cleaning the blood from their bodies.
Once everything settled down, Gauss finally had time to observe the surrounding environment.
"Something doesn’t feel right around here."
"Yes, it’s too barren." Serdur nodded. "This kind of weathered terrain is rare around the Jade Forest."
It’s as if it’s been cursed; the main body of land has lost its vitality, unable to produce any greenery, with only the most resilient thorns able to take root here.
The two exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment.
After a long while, Gauss spoke up voluntarily.
"What if... we do a simple search around?"
Clearly, there’s something unusual here; otherwise, it wouldn’t explain the withered environment.
Abnormalities sometimes bring rewards, but also danger.
But having stumbled across this, leaving without checking might leave them regretting it.
"Alright, Captain." Serdur actually had a similar thought.
But as a team member, he wouldn’t express his opinion before Gauss spoke up, to avoid interfering with his judgment.
"Shall we move together?"
In fact, during the monster search earlier, the two had already explored the general layout of the valley.
But the objective of the search greatly influences the type of clues they find.
When focused on monsters, they mostly saw fur scraps, footprints, scents, droppings, etc., but now they focused on the weathered environment itself.
Gauss quickly made a new discovery.
He bowed his head, dismounted the chocobo.
His fingers gently rubbing the ground, the fine sand on the surface slipped along with his touch.
"This ground seems to have a fixed direction of subsidence. Although the angle is small, it should ultimately converge at a lowest point."
With this hint from Gauss, Serdur, who was collecting information with his snake tongue, also noticed it.
The entire valley showed a barely noticeable sinking trend.
Following the slope, they should be able to find the anomaly’s lowest point.
After a brief exchange, the two began to feel their way along, checking constantly, winding through the gorges and crossroads, until they reached a "dead end" indistinguishable from other terminal paths.