I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 10: Encounter

“Are we starting the commission mission tonight?” Bell pondered.

The group had roughly discussed the plan on the carriage. According to the schedule, they were supposed to stay overnight in the village to rest and prepare, then proceed with the operation the next day.

But an unexpected change had clearly disrupted their original plan.

“Two villagers were captured. If we don’t rescue them tonight, it will be too late,” Hayley sighed. “However, it’s too dark at night, and the risk of fighting goblins increases significantly.”

She was clearly conflicted, nervously twisting strands of hair between her fingers.

“Plus, we haven’t done any reconnaissance yet,” Gauss added from the side.

“Exactly, it’s very dangerous,” Mia agreed.

None of the four were experienced adventurers.

Gauss instinctively felt that moving at night was not a good idea; monsters always had better night vision than humans.

Logic told him to wait for sunrise, then head to the goblin stronghold to scout before taking action.

But if they did that...

The two victims would suffer irreversible harm.

Besides, they had come here specifically to exterminate the goblins as part of the commission.

He sighed inwardly. Many choices needed to be made, and none seemed to have a clear right answer.

“Then, let’s decide based on everyone’s wishes. Since this is an emergency, whatever decision we make, we must respect each other. I’ll count down from three to one, and at the end, everyone says together whether to go or not.”

“Is that okay?” Hayley took a deep breath, sweat starting to bead on her forehead.

“No objection from me.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Go!” “Go.” “Go.” “Go.”

Although Gauss was a bit late, he gave the same answer as everyone else.

Having received a good education in his previous life, he wasn’t yet capable of a heart of stone.

Hayley relaxed when she saw everyone agreed on the decision.

“But we need to bring villagers familiar with the surrounding forest along, and also some lighting,” Gauss said. “During the mission, our priority is to ensure our own safety. Only then can we rescue the victims.”

Though Gauss’s map ensured he wouldn’t get lost, he still knew nothing about unexplored areas and absolutely needed local guides.

This would minimize risks as much as possible.

“I agree as well.”

The group confirmed their unanimous decision and informed the villagers.

“We are truly grateful to all of you!”

“Please, brave warriors! You must save Jenny and Aisha!”

The villagers, as if finding a pillar of hope, expressed their thanks to the four-person team.

After learning they needed guides, four men volunteered to accompany them. They were direct relatives of the missing female villagers and had been the most eager to call for help.

Now, their hearts were burning with anxiety. In fact, even without Gauss and the others’ arrival, they had planned to head to the goblin den themselves to rescue their family.

To save time, after quickly preparing their equipment, everyone lit torches and headed toward the forest.

The villagers actually had a rough idea where the goblin den was located.

Two men led the way at the front, one hand holding a torch, the other gripping a pitchfork, their pace quickening.

They were the fathers of Jenny and Aisha, their faces grave as they hurried forward.

The four team members quickened their steps while discussing the combat plan.

“Just like our drill yesterday, Bell and Mia take the front line for direct combat. I’ll attack the goblins from the flank with my bow. Gauss will also use magic to restrain the goblins, creating kill opportunities for Bell and Mia, and can support them with wooden spears or daggers.”

Bell and Mia had no objections to Hayley’s arrangement, even though they bore the greatest risk on the frontline facing the goblins.

“Sounds good.” Gauss agreed as well.

They had drilled all afternoon yesterday. Though uncertain how effective it would be in real combat, Gauss noticed all three had decent strength.

Each had mastered a pre-required professional skill and could use it proficiently.

Mia’s skill was “Thrust,” allowing her to quickly lunge forward a short distance while delivering consecutive strikes with her dual blades to enemies in front.

Bell’s skill was “Vertical Slash.” It sounded simple, but when activated, the power behind his longsword slash suddenly increased, making his attacks more powerful.

Hayley’s skill was “Precise Aim.” When activated, her eyesight and arm strength were enhanced, allowing her to shoot arrows without missing at medium to short range.

Combined with Gauss’s Mage Hand...

Despite their severe lack of mission experience, this rookie team was actually quite strong on paper, surpassing many low-level adventurer teams.

That was why Gauss agreed to proceed.

Seven or eight goblins—even at night—were no match for a team where every member had mastered skills.

If they could instantly kill one enemy each using their skills at the moment of contact, what followed would essentially be one-on-one fights.

“Uncles, please hold off the goblins for us temporarily. Once we’ve dealt with our enemies, we’ll come to help you.”

“Don’t worry, one goblin is still manageable.”

After the brief communication, the group fell silent and pressed onward.

After a while, the leading villagers stopped.

A clearing appeared in their view.

A bonfire burned in the center of the clearing, and in the distance behind it was a cave.

It seemed to be a natural cave about two meters in diameter, stretching endlessly into pitch-black darkness.

“Looks like it’s there.”

Everyone stared toward the distant cave.

Due to lack of light, nothing inside the dark cave was visible.

After finishing the observation, Gauss waved at the others to attract their attention, preparing to approach and activate Mage Hand.

He wanted to see if he could use the roughly ten-meter casting range of Mage Hand to enter and scout.

Suddenly, a sharp scream sounded beside Gauss, piercing the quiet night.

“Waaah!”

The voice was just to Gauss’s left, nearby. He had been concentrating, but the sudden sound startled him.

Following the noise, he turned and, upon seeing the enemy’s appearance, felt alarmed.

A pointed-eared green-skinned goblin burst out from the bushes, loudly howling to warn its companions inside the cave.

Damn! The goblin den was clearly guarded by scouts placed far out!

Gauss’s heartbeat accelerated with the sudden turn of events.

At that moment, the world before his eyes seemed to slow down as if time had been stretched, and his thoughts grew exceptionally clear—as if entering bullet time.

He drew his dagger and swiftly sidestepped, the blade precisely slashing at the little green goblin’s neck.

The goblin scout instinctively tried to dodge, but at that moment, an invisible force activated.

Mage Hand!

An unseen ghostly arm suddenly pushed it from behind.

The modest force caused the goblin’s dodging motion to freeze for a moment.

Then the metal blade traced a perfect arc, cutting through the green skin and carving open the throat. Blood gushed out like crushed tofu.

Dead!

In a flash, as if a reflex, his continuous slashing action paired perfectly with the spell’s timing, precisely splitting open the goblin’s throat.

The once loud howling instantly turned into a hoarse, shriveled hiss.

“Goblin killed *1”

“Total monsters killed: 2”

Thudding to the ground, the goblin—its head nearly severed—fixed its murky yellow eyes on Gauss, seemingly trying to memorize the human who ended its life in its final moment.

“Prepare to engage!”

The others hadn’t expected Gauss’s move to be so fast, but now was no time for surprise.

Bell and Mia charged forward, trying to block the main goblin force inside the cave.

But obviously, they were a step too late.

The goblin’s earlier howl had undoubtedly alerted the goblin group inside.

One after another, calls and hurried footsteps echoed from within, like enraged apes emitting aggressive intimidation.

The goblins surged out of the den before Bell and Mia could block them.

Shadows multiplied with each footstep, and pairs of glowing red eyes flickered in the firelight.

One pair, two pairs... eight pairs... twelve pairs... thirteen pairs...

Gauss, trying to keep pace behind the two, realized something was wrong.

He quickly shouted to the separated pair.

“No! Too many enemies!”

“The intel is wrong!”

“Be careful!”

Facing a dozen or more pairs of red pupils, everyone felt as if the entire cave was crawling toward them!

Gauss’s heart pounded wildly, but he gained a precious lesson again:

Never blindly trust mission intelligence.