Goblin Dependency
Chapter 38 - 38 30 Carapace

38: Chapter 30: Carapace 38: Chapter 30: Carapace Wood is very professional.

Whether viewed from the perspective of a “guard” or as an “adventurer,” he is the most experienced one in the entire team.

Even during short temporary breaks along the journey, he ensures to carefully set up thorough warning traps around them.

But often, perhaps due to his excessive professionalism, the traps he sets up are overly meticulous and precise.

When Xia Nan and others hear the warning sound and prepare intensely for combat, they often find that the trigger was merely a few harmless forest creatures.

Though sometimes feeling exhausted by this, Xia Nan holds no real grudge, and unlike the “Wolf is Coming” fable from the past, he doesn’t relax his vigilance due to frequent false alarms.

Feeling a bit tired is far better than dying silently under the claws of some demon.

The scene of the dwarf Elki’s head being split by a goblin’s sneak attack is still vividly remembered.

“Snap…

jingle jingle!”

At dusk, within the dense shrubbery shrouded by mist, suddenly comes the sound of a snapping branch, followed by a series of urgent and loud metal ringing.

Trap triggered!

Xia Nan springs up, clutching his beheading longsword tightly, eyes fixed on the direction of the sound, while also keeping a vigilant watch on the surroundings, fearing something might sneak up behind him.

Not a hint of negligence.

The half-elf and his guard are the same.

At the instant the bell rang, Hai’an grabbed the wooden longbow placed by his feet, drew an arrow, and aimed the sharp tip at the swaying bush in the distance.

Wood’s figure, initially quite visible in Xia Nan’s line of sight, suddenly darkens, as if covered by a vague shadow, his presence drastically diminishing.

In contrast, the reactions of Larry and Doris are slightly slower.

After all, one is plump and comes from a wealthy family; the other has a slender build and is often frightened.

After a long day of trekking through Mist Forest, they were utterly exhausted and out of strength.

Fortunately, their basic attitude is still serious.

Even knowing there’s a high chance the trap was set off by some wild rabbits or deer, they still grab their weapons and take a combat stance.

“Crackle.”

The campfire flickers,

the air seeming to contain only the soft crackle of burning firewood.

As the night draws near, the pervasive mist seems to thicken, making the diffuse dim twilight particularly dull and weak.

Visibility is far less than during the day.

With the complex environment, the team members did not rashly advance, remaining vigilant and standing in place.

“Patter…

patter…”

Xia Nan leaned against a tree, expression tense.

His black pupils reflected the outline of distant bushes and thickets, his nostrils flaring slightly with his breathing.

This time seems a bit different.

According to previous trap triggers, those inherently timid herbivores would typically flee in panic at the sound of the bell.

Back at the camp, one would hear a series of rapidly fading footsteps, occasionally accompanied by a sharp, panicked cry.

Yet the current situation is entirely the opposite.

After the bell rang, the noise from the bushes paused for just an instant, then resumed.

It even seems to have detected the team’s position, moving straight toward them.

The crispy sounds of branches and grass stems being broken, the weird footsteps like sharp objects falling to the ground, mixed with the intolerable noise of rough surfaces rubbing…

It’s like the increasingly intense, sharp background music that comes before an exciting scene in a horror movie; Xia Nan, watching the swaying bushes ahead, felt his heart pounding faster.

Finally, accompanied by an insect-like, ear-piercing screech seemingly capable of breaking eardrums.

Four crawling menacing figures appeared in the team members’ sights.

Covered entirely with a coarse, rugged, wave-patterned shell looking like stone, with four sturdy limbs extending outwards, joints filled with sharp spikes;

pea-like compound eyes refracting dim light, split mandibles slightly opening and closing amidst the screech, through the flashing cold white fangs, the constricting esophagus and sticky saliva vaguely visible;

and the most eye-catching part is the feather-like antennae extending upwards from the side of its head, along with the fin-like tail resembling a swimming fish diverging at the end.

“Rusted Monster!”

Wood’s low shout filled with astonishment echoed beside my ear,

“Damn it, how could it be here…”

“Prepare for battle!”

Just as the words fell, a wooden arrow with white tail feathers split the air, spinning through the mist.

As an archer, having already completed aiming just a second after the warning bell rang, Hai’an released his shot.

After Wood confirmed the battle, he completed the squad’s first attack.

However, the overly dim and blurred environment caused the half-elf’s arrow to miss slightly.

Even though he intentionally aimed at the Rusted Monster’s small eyes hidden beneath the thick shell, he failed to hit accurately.

“Clang!”

The metal arrowhead violently collided with the tawny chitin shell, sparking small flames in the dusk.

It scraped and ricocheted,

leaving only a black-brown streak on the coarse demon shell.

The battle commenced immediately!

The four towering Rusted Monsters, around five feet high, charged at the team amidst their piercing screeches.

First target, Larry, who was the closest.

It’s unclear whether it was courage from the blonde girl behind or embarrassment from the earlier insect swarm causing him to feel ashamed.

The young man from a wealthy family, at this moment, unexpectedly showed extraordinary bravery.

Holding his one-handed hammer aloft, heedless of the glimpses of white soft flesh between tight short attire, he charged forward swiftly.

The iron hammer, gleaming with a metallic luster, swung fiercely down towards the Rusted Monster’s narrow head.

“Boom…

Ah!”

The sharp sound of collision between solid objects exploded abruptly in the forest.

Followed by a painful scream filled with agony.

Facing the hard chitin shell of the Rusted Monster, the weapon representing human wisdom and craftsmanship shattered it with a dense circle of cracks almost instantly.

But…

that was it.

Because a second later, the intense reactive force traveling through the hammer handle made Larry’s entire right side numb from fingertips to his chest, as if it lost all feeling.

The iron hammer slipped from his hand onto the grassland, and with a pained expression, Larry staggered and retreated awkwardly.

But two legs could hardly outrun four pincers.

“Hiss—”

The grating insect cry nearly stirred invisible waves in the air, the sharp mandible opening and closing, the aura of death ever more intense.

And at this critical moment, Doris, who had been hiding behind Larry, unexpectedly summoned all her strength and hurled another one-handed hammer!

“Clang!”

Coincidentally enough, the hammer struck right on the vulnerable mandibles of the Rusted Monster, causing its entire body to pause.

Larry took the chance to roll and climb back, scrambling away.

Thick green saliva dripped down from the torn mandible of the Rusted Monster, splattering onto the metal hammer.

“Sizzle…”

Accompanied by a stinging smoke, the surface of the metal hammer capable of cracking insect beast armor softened and melted as though encountering its natural predator.

“Careful!

The Rusted Monster’s venom can corrode metal!”

Wood, already vanished from sight, urgently warned.

“Ah!?”

Gripping his polished beheading longsword, Xia Nan, who was about to rush forward to assist, hesitated immediately.