Chapter 64: Expressive Slaughter
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
After the first goblin mustered the courage to rush out, the other goblins gradually realized that the enemy was unlikely to enter the cave, and finally organized a counterattack.
Arrows of wood shot out from the depths of the cave.
The group moved away from the entrance, avoiding the first wave of attacks.
"Prepare for battle!"
"Clack, clack, clack!"
Along with the arrows, there was also the increasingly dense sound of footsteps.
Gauss listened to the sounds, crouched by the cave edge, and when he felt the distance was about right, he leaned in to take a look inside the cave.
Simultaneously, the White Bone Staff in his hand pulsed with a wave of magic power.
"Magic Missile!"
A blue energy missile quickly condensed at the tip of the staff, taking only a brief moment to combine with natural magic and take form.
Just as the first wave of goblins came crashing in.
"Boom!"
The missile released from the tip of the White Bone Staff crossed several meters in the blink of an eye, finally hitting the soft belly of the first goblin.
"Bang!!!"
As if a large-caliber bullet pierced through flesh, the magic missile hit several goblins consecutively, meeting little resistance.
Following was the second magic missile, arriving in quick succession!
An explosion erupted within the narrow confines of the cave!
"Goblin defeated *1"
"Goblin defeated *1"
...
After the brief roar, numerous messages flashed rapidly before Gauss’s eyes.
In the face of densely packed enemies within a narrow cave, the effect of the two magic missiles was surprisingly good, as if the goblins intentionally ran into them without any specific aiming from Gauss.
Unfortunately, only the portion of the cave near the exit was relatively straight; otherwise, there would have been no need to smoke them out.
"Total monsters defeated: 66"
Gauss glanced at the messages, immediately realizing the number of casualties caused by those two missiles.
In total, six goblins were defeated.
Feeling as though a warm current was surging inside his body, his rapid digestion capacity was slowly improving.
Is this the joy of being a Caster?
Gauss seemed to understand it more deeply.
The weary Warrior dealt with small monsters with real swords and blades, strenuously killing them and leaving a bloody mess.
Whereas, as a noble Mage, as long as there was enough magic power, enemies like these goblins wouldn’t even get close, falling unsuspectingly to magic attacks.
However, the effect of the magic missiles seemed slightly too pronounced.
The goblins that had just mustered their courage retreated back into the depths of their lair under the intimidation of the magic missiles.
"Continue the smoke!"
The goblins retreated once more.
The initiative was firmly in control, so there was no rush.
Then, they lit a fire, sending billowing black smoke rushing inside again.
After another ten minutes or so.
Choked by the toxic smoke, the green-skinned little monsters couldn’t endure any longer and charged toward the cave entrance again.
This time, Gauss did not fire another magic missile.
He was worried about scaring them so badly that they would rather suffocate inside than come out for a fight.
The sulfur powder and toxins they carried were limited and couldn’t burn indefinitely.
If they didn’t manage to eliminate the goblins, venturing inside to drag them out would be troublesome.
Amidst the black smoke.
A group of goblins charged out, waving their weapons.
Their once bright green skin now blackened and dirtied, tears streaming from their eyes.
Some even collapsed right next to the cave entrance as soon as they emerged.
"Prepare for battle!"
Seeing the enemies finally come out, everyone grabbed their weapons and sought out their opponents.
Gauss was swift, instantly locking onto the three goblins fainted on the ground.
Basic Swordsmanship granted him a stronger weapon control talent, and the tip of the rapier struck at the goblin’s critical points, blooming three scarlet blood flowers in an instant.
"Goblin defeated *3"
"Total monsters defeated: 69"
Picking off the weak isn’t disgraceful; besides, if the goblins were faking, better to take care of them early and avoid distractions.
After dealing with the three fainted goblins, Gauss looked at the battlefield, where the others had already unleashed their blades on the goblins, none of them capable of withstanding the seasoned bottom adventurers, dazed by the toxic smoke.
Need to speed up a bit.
"Goblin defeated *1"
...
Gauss’s shadow wove through the goblins, his rapier relentlessly reaping lives.
Messages flashed continuously before his eyes.
"Slash!"
The effect of the Goblin Hunter title, "Star Destruction," enveloped his rapier in a faint white glow of enhanced damage.
Neat and tidy, he swiftly severed the last goblin’s neck.
Gauss sheathed his sword, taking a deep breath to slightly calm his breathing.
It was simply like cutting through vegetables!
It had been quite some time since he last faced goblins, and meeting them again made him realize how rapidly his strength had improved.
Furthermore, the effect of Basic Swordsmanship in real combat was even better than expected.
"Total monsters defeated: 75"
"Magic Missile lv2 (13/20)"
"Mage Armor lv2 (15/20)"
"Basic Swordsmanship lv1 (6/10)"
The proficiency in all three skills increased by 1 point, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively.
After completing this mission, if Mage Armor is specifically trained a bit, it should soon reach close to lv3.
Gauss wiped his hands and took out a few pieces of jerky wrapped in cloth from his inner lining, chewing the food to recover, while silently contemplating.
"Great work, everyone."
"Is anyone injured and needs checking?"
"Help me check, I think I got struck on the side of my waist, it feels a bit painful." Doyle pointed at his waist.
Gauss, who had just returned to reality, looked at Doyle in surprise upon hearing this.
That shouldn’t be the case, right? Those goblins were in such bad shape just now, could anyone still get injured?
But when his gaze turned to Daphne.
It seemed like he understood something.
Impression was that Doyle seemed to get slightly injured after every battle.
In truth, this kid wasn’t hurt at all; he just wanted the priestess to treat him at close range, right?
So dull.
Gauss shook his head helplessly.
"Gauss, how many goblins did you defeat just now?" Levin suddenly asked from the side.
"Let me think..." Checking the kill count displayed in the Adventurer’s Handbook, Gauss quickly calculated. "It should be fifteen or sixteen."
The exact number was 16.
The count was 59 before setting out, and after ending at 75; soon enough, he could claim the stage reward again.
First, he sneaked in at the start and eliminated 1, then magic missiles took down 6 altogether; he picked off 3 easy kills and lastly slain 6 with the sword in frontal combat.
The reason for such swift efficiency was entirely that he deemed these goblins all worthless, without proper gear, mostly using wooden weapons, so he fought aggressively.
Some attacks that others might have avoided, he could completely withstand with Mage Armor.
It proved true that bullying the weak was the way forward.
Defeating 6 goblins swiftly in such a short period was the best outcome.
Gauss hadn’t noticed, but after he reported the number, a strange silence settled into the air.
Because there should have been only around twenty goblins in total.
Levin looked at Gauss, his heart in a whirl of emotions.
No wonder he felt this task was much easier than before, he hadn’t even warmed up, and the battle was over.
Turns out Gauss defeated so many alone.
"Gauss?"
"..."
"What’s up, Levin?" Gauss looked up at him.
"Nothing... let’s discuss it on our way back."