I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 66: Don’t Let Him Know You’re a Softie

Among the five, due to the types of their skills, the rogue apprentice Meva and the priest apprentice Daphne were basically unaffected by his presence.  

But Levin, Doyle, and Oliver were different. Gauss’s effortless efficiency in killing monsters rendered their skills useless. They still needed monsters to hone their techniques.  

However, now, just as they were warming up, the battle was already over.  

If this went on for long, their skills would deteriorate.  

Their pride also wouldn’t allow them to let Gauss hold back, handing over enemies that could have been easily defeated to them for handling.  

So naturally, they could only part ways temporarily.  

Gauss had an inkling of this.  

He didn’t have strong negative feelings about their decision and understood their choice.  

A considerable number of adventurers were idealists who, chasing their extraordinary dreams, risked life and death on the toughest path.  

Objectively, his progress had somewhat diverged from the Night Owl Squad.  

Even without mentioning this time, parting ways was inevitable sooner or later. At least now, it was an amicable separation.  

Still, he was back to being alone. Gauss stretched lazily.  

Being a lone wolf had its advantages and disadvantages.  

More freedom, but also more danger.  

He decided to take it one step at a time.  

At least now, compared to a month ago, he had gained some ability to protect himself.  

In terms of personal strength, among low-tier adventurers without an advanced profession, he was considered top-tier.  

Low-tier adventurers didn’t have many flashy abilities; they mostly relied on their weapons to clash head-on with enemies.  

Though cautious by nature, he wasn’t a coward. Otherwise, when he first arrived in this world, he wouldn’t have dared to hunt goblins armed only with a small wooden spear.  

...  

Next to the wheat field where green turned to yellow, a figure carrying a backpack walked steadily.  

Under a curtain of jet-black broken hair, a pair of emerald eyes kept scanning the surroundings.  

Gauss stared at the ridges between the fields.  

His gaze swept warily around.  

Having returned to a solo state temporarily, he hadn’t joined any other teams.  

Not because of some nonsense about leaving the previous team; after all, forming and disbanding teams was common in this world of adventurers.  

He was simply a bit lazy. The thought of getting to know a new group of strangers again made him decide to take on simpler solo commissions for now.  

Since he was alone, this time he chose a commission location north of Grayrock Town.  

What was special about this choice?  

Naturally, it was safer. Geographically, Grayrock Town was located on the southern border of the kingdom. The Emerald Forest lay to the south of Grayrock Town. Viewed from high above, the forest wrapped around Grayrock Town like a harbor on three sides, with a large cleared no-man’s land in the middle.  

The further north you went, the stronger human civilization’s influence became.  

Correspondingly, the chance of encountering powerful monsters in the wild was lower than in the south.  

Unless you were extremely unlucky and ran into a high-level monster wandering north, but if that happened, you could only accept your bad luck.  

“The mission target this time is still goblins.” Gauss looked at the mission commission slip.  

Though the chance of encountering strong monsters decreased going north, low-tier goblins were like ubiquitous flies that couldn’t be eradicated.  

At first, he was curious, but now he gradually understood the scoundrel nature of the goblin species.  

Once a tribe was crushed, goblins would flee as if it were a code engraved deep in their genes. They would hide in deep mountains and forests, then forcibly mate with other medium or small-sized animals, using their tenacious reproductive ability to create the next tribe. Although the offspring were weaker, they could survive early on by sheer numbers.  

Even if humans wiped out the surrounding goblins completely, the southern region, which bred countless monsters, often had wild animals wandering out that birthed green-skinned corrupted offspring, bringing evil goblins into human activity zones, making it impossible to guard against.  

It was said that the green-skinned babies who fully absorbed their mother’s nutrition could survive without feeding for a few days after birth. After several days of development, they could start moving, surviving by eating fallen leaves, grass roots, and seeds.  

This was similar to some documentaries Gauss had watched in his previous life—fish existed even in small ponds atop high mountains. The goblins’ tenacity was just the same.  

Unless the vast monster kingdom in the south, which was the root cause, was completely destroyed, goblins would never be eradicated.  

“Found them!”  

Suddenly, Gauss saw clear footprints on the ground.  

Following the footprints’ direction, he finally saw a few sneaky goblins at the edge of his vision constantly breaking off immature wheat ears.  

Crop thieves!  

Yes, some goblins stole human crops for food.  

Gauss had heard that originally goblins wouldn’t eat human-grown grains and even had a physiological aversion. They preferred high-quality protein like carrion and insects or wild fruits and berries. But he didn’t know when their digestive ability became stronger. Now, most foods humans could or couldn’t understand were edible and digestible by goblins.  

“Five goblins; the rest should be in their nest.” He observed patiently for a while.  

After the goblins collected a large bunch of wheat ears, he quietly circled to the side and blocked their return path in advance.  

All five goblins noticed his presence simultaneously. Their murky eyes flicked around him, and upon seeing he was alone, they all showed expressions of delight.  

A lone human!  

They preferred fresh meat over grains.  

Gauss checked his mage armor—it was intact—and then tossed his backpack aside, grabbing his rapier.  

With a heavy step forward, he sprinted swiftly along the field ridge.  

“Whoosh!”  

A flash of sword light!  

The goblins lost in their pleasant daydreams didn’t expect such swift action.  

The blade easily sliced through the wheat ears, which exploded like dandelion fluff upon contact. The rapier cut through the wheat stalks without resistance and finally slashed into the goblin’s fragile neck.  

Before it could react, the first goblin’s body was cleanly separated from the wheat ears it was clutching.  

Dead!  

The sky filled with green and yellow grains mixed with sticky fresh blood, blooming like flowers in the afternoon farmland.  

“First one down!”  

Gauss quickly turned, his rapier drawing a semicircle.  

None of these goblins carried weapons, and their bodies were bound with the wheat ears and stalks, hindering movement and leaving them no chance to resist.  

“Slash!”  

The semicircular sword edge cut the surrounding wheat stalks, bringing down three more goblin corpses unwilling to die.  

Gauss watched the last goblin panic-stricken, dropping the grain and fleeing clumsily on all fours. He didn’t rush to chase.  

He glanced at the fleeing goblin’s direction.  

After wiping the blood from his rapier and clearing some of the odor from his body, he grabbed his backpack and calmly followed.  

He had deliberately left a guide behind.  

“Monsters killed: 82.”  

He had just killed four goblins, and earlier, while fetching water at the pond, he had been very lucky to encounter three slimes, which he easily defeated, bringing the total to this number.  

Approaching 100 kills.  

He planned to linger around nearby villages for a few days. While talking with the village chief in the morning, he learned that several nearby villages all had such wheat-field pests.  

These pests were undoubtedly his best source of experience. Having long engaged in theft, they had developed a tendency to hide and avoid combat.  

And he particularly liked picking on the weak.