Chapter Four
[Goblin Patrol Captain]
[Rank: F-Rank Elite]
[HP: 200/200]
[Description: A type of goblin known for its strength.]
[Goblin Warriors]
[Rank: Common F-Rank]
[HP: 100]
[Description: A type of goblin known for its throwing skills.]
The group hid within a tree-covered area roughly thirty yards away from the goblins.
Alex narrowed his eyes as he observed the patrol.
"Attack."
The moment the word left his mouth, Alex burst out from their hiding spot with incredible agility.
His bronze-ranked sword was held tightly in his hand.
With a single slash...
Swoosh!
One of the goblins' heads was cleaved cleanly from its body.
Another goblin attempted to react, only for Alex's sword to slice through one of its limbs.
The goblin let out a roar of agony.
Charles, Jack, and Justin were not willing to be left behind.
They immediately followed Alex.
Although they weren't as fast as him, they still managed to kill one goblin each, leaving seven remaining.
Not wanting to give the goblins even the slightest opportunity to call for reinforcements, Alex followed up with a wide sweep of his sword.
Swoosh!
Two more goblins were killed instantly.
The entire exchange had taken no more than six seconds.
That was when the goblin known as the Patrol Captain finally reacted.
It let out a furious roar and swung its club toward Alex with all its strength.
But before the attack could even reach him...
Slash!
The goblin's head was separated from its body.
The remaining goblins met the same fate only seconds later.
The entire patrol had been annihilated.
Carl stared at Alex with a complicated expression.
So this is the power of someone with eight thousand kilograms of strength...
He couldn't help but marvel at the scene.
At the same time, he silently congratulated himself for making the wise decision not to fight Alex.
If he had tried to fight him...
He would have died like a cockroach.
Goblin's were inherently weak creatures.
They were not completely powerless, but very few of them possessed exceptional strength. Most goblins relied heavily on their superior numbers when fighting.
For example, although this Goblin Patrol Captain was classified as an F-Rank Elite, its physical strength was only around one thousand kilograms.
An F-Rank Elite of another race, such as a Forest Wolf or a Red-Eyed Boar, could kill it within a short period of time while sustaining only minor injuries.
Therefore, in front of Alex and the others, this batch of goblins was nothing more than a group of sitting ducks.
Combined with the element of surprise, the battle had become an absolute domination without the goblins having any opportunity to resist.
"Check if there is any loot."
Alex looked toward the idle Carl.
Carl immediately understood.
He walked toward the corpse of one of the goblins and touched it.
The moment his hand made contact with the body, it disappeared into specks of dust.
Nothing dropped.
The same thing happened with the other goblin corpses.
They dropped absolutely nothing.
This was how dungeons worked.
After killing an enemy, a raider had two choices.
They could choose to loot the corpse, causing it to disappear into dust.
Or they could choose not to loot it and instead harvest useful materials directly from the corpse.
The same thing happened with the remaining goblins.
Nothing dropped.
That was the unfortunate nature of dungeon exploration.
A normal dungeon only had a five percent drop rate.
And now that Goblin's Lair had evolved into a Special Dungeon, there was a possibility that its drop rate had fallen as low as 0.9 percent.
However, the higher the level and rank of the enemy killed, the higher the probability of obtaining a drop.
Unfortunately, these goblins were among the lowest-ranked monsters available.
Alex watched Carl for a moment.
When he confirmed that nothing had dropped, he waved his hand.
"Keep moving south."
The group continued their journey.
Along the way, they encountered many patrols wandering around the forest surrounding the castle.
However, every patrol they encountered was swiftly eliminated before they could properly resist or call for reinforcements.
The group had already spent an entire hour walking through the forest.
Yet they hadn't encountered a single human.
"Hmm..."
Carl narrowed his eyes.
Something felt strange.
Suddenly...
While they were checking another batch of goblin corpses, they heard rustling weeds.
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps.
And roars.
The sounds were getting closer and closer.
Carl's expression changed.
Before they could even find a place to hide, a group of twenty humans suddenly emerged from the bushes ahead.
They looked just like them.
But they weren't alone.
Immediately behind them came a hundred goblins, chasing after them with murderous roars.
The most eye-catching goblin among them was wearing a tattered gray robe.
It held a magic wand in its hand.
At the top of the wand was a glowing emerald-colored stone.
Carl immediately focused his attention on it.
[Mutated Goblin Chieftain]
[Race: Hobgoblin]
[Rank: F-Rank Lord]
[HP: 10,000/10,000]
[Description: A berserk goblin that underwent an evolution due to intense stimulation, thereby increasing its power and racial limit.]
...
EARLIER
Near The Goblin's Village
"Old Black, did you say you sensed the fluctuation of a unique treasure here?"
A middle-aged man wearing a cape and carrying a double-edged battle axe looked toward the man dressed like an assassin beside him.
"Boss, ever since we obtained the Treasure Sense skill book by chance, I've been accurate in every treasure-sensing attempt I've used it for."
Old Black's expression was confident.
"So I'm sure I'm not wrong. This time will be no different."
"Gather the brothers."
The middle-aged man, Jacob, looked toward the distant goblin village.
"Let's raid this village in fifteen minutes. We have to make it fast."
He paused before asking,
"I told you to investigate the strength of those inside this village. What's the situation?"
Old Black immediately began recounting his findings.
"According to my investigation, there are roughly a hundred goblins in the village."
"Most of them are Common F-Rank."
"There are also four F-Rank Elite goblins..."
"And one at the Chieftain Rank."
Old Black continued explaining the details of his investigation.
He also informed Jacob about the unguarded areas around the village and the possible routes they could use to enter without being noticed.
Jacob listened to everything carefully.
When Old Black finished, he nodded with approval.
"Good job."
He then looked at him.
"You should also get ready. We'll be moving out soon."
Old Black nodded before leaving to prepare alongside the others.
Jacob was left alone.
...
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER
The team of twenty-five moved out.
They surrounded the village before locating the place Old Black had mentioned.
It was a dilapidated well no more than two feet deep, completely covered by overgrown wild grass.
Old Black stepped forward.
He pulled out his dagger and carefully cut away some of the weeds.
A hidden underground passage was revealed beneath them.
The passage was wide enough for a 1.5-meter-tall goblin to pass through.
The group immediately bent down and entered one after another.
They moved through the narrow passage for approximately two minutes.
Eventually, they reached a dead end.
Old Black immediately began digging through the dirt in front of him.
After several moments, the blockage was finally removed.
What appeared before them was a stone house.
A foul smell was carried toward them by the wind.
Jacob's eyes narrowed.
They had entered the village.
One after another, the group crawled out of the passage, making way for each other while making as little noise as possible.
Once everyone was outside, they immediately straightened themselves and looked toward Jacob, their leader.
Before Jacob could address everyone...
Ding!
A bell suddenly rang throughout the entire village.
A goblin's voice followed, seemingly conveying some kind of information.
Unfortunately, to the humans hiding nearby, the words sounded like complete gibberish.
"$#&$*#$##$#!"
Immediately afterward, all the goblins in the village began gathering toward the center.
Jacob's eyes lit up.
"Seems like we got lucky."
A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Since they're gathering together, this will make it easier to clean them all up."
He looked at the others.
"You all just have to do as I say when the time comes."
The group nodded.
They then sneaked out and secretly followed the gathering goblin crowd.
They maintained a considerable distance while moving from one stone house to another, using the buildings as cover.
After they finally reached the area where the goblins had gathered, they stopped.
Standing before the massive crowd of goblins was the so-called Goblin Chieftain.
The creature appeared to be preparing to convey something to all the goblins present.
In one hand, it held a glowing green orb.
Jacob's eyes narrowed.
"Old Black."
He lowered his voice.
"Where did you say the treasure is?"
Old Black immediately pointed toward the orb.
"Boss, it's that green orb in the Goblin Chieftain's hand."
Jacob stared at it.
His eyes flashed with excitement.
"Archers, take your positions."
The seven archers immediately moved.
"Get ready to use your skill..."
"Arrow Rain."
---
AUTHOR'S NOTE
To help readers understand the Treasure Sense skill and its limitations, here is its information:
[SKILL: Treasure Sense]
[Type: Active Skill]
[Description: Once every two days, you have a 70% chance of sensing a treasure of D-Rank or below that is close to you.]
[Duration: 30 minutes]
---
The seven archers spread out into different positions, making sure they surrounded the goblins from several directions.
When Jacob confirmed that everyone was in position, he raised his hand.
He waited.
Then...
He brought it down.
The signal to attack.
Immediately, the sharp sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out.
The goblins were startled.
Then...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A rain of arrows descended upon them.
The seven archers simultaneously unleashed their attacks, practically emptying their quivers.
[Skill: Arrow Rain]
[Rank: Common Rank]
[Type: Active Skill]
[Description: When you shoot an arrow, the arrow will be cloned into three arrows with the same attack power and damage. Ineffective when a special arrow is used.]
The arrows rained down upon the goblin crowd.
Chaos immediately erupted.
The Goblin Chieftain let out an enraged roar.
Its eyes burned with fury.
The creature suddenly raised its wand.
A terrifying surge of magical energy gathered around it.
Then...
BOOM!
A fireball shot toward one of the archers hiding on top of a stone house.
The archer's face instantly went pale.
Fear seized his entire body.
He immediately jumped down from the stone house.
A moment later...
BOOM!
The fireball struck the stone structure.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Stone fragments scattered in every direction as the entire area was engulfed by dust and debris.