I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 9: Adventure Is Always Full of Surprises

“Clack clack.”  

Gauss sat on the caravan wagon, leaning against a pile of mailbags of various sizes behind him.  

The distant hillside slowly receded from view.  

Sharing the same carriage with him were Hayley and two others.  

Bell and Mia rested inside the wagon.  

Hayley, full of excitement, sat at the edge of the carriage with her legs stretched out, swinging back and forth along with the bumps, while admiring the wild scenery.  

The weather was clear today; the azure sky was like a polished sapphire. Sunshine pierced through thin clouds, scattering golden rays like fine silk, outlining the distant green-blue mountains with soft contours. The gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees mixed with morning dew, moistening the air and lifting everyone's spirits unconsciously.  

After registering at the Adventurers Guild, the four had a brief afternoon of coordination before setting off the next day toward their destination, Birch Village.  

Considering the long journey, walking there might take two days.  

Gauss suggested they join a caravan heading in a similar direction for part of the route, then walk the final stretch to their destination.  

The other three naturally agreed to his proposal.  

Finding a caravan did not take long; they shared half a carriage and gained the company of a fully equipped team of adventurers. No matter how you looked at it, it was a fair deal.  

Perhaps bored of the scenery, Hayley withdrew her gaze and looked toward Gauss, who was also seated at the back of the carriage, striking up a conversation.  

The dinner last night and the afternoon’s coordination not only helped them understand each other's fighting styles but also made them a bit more familiar with one another.  

“Honestly, it’s surprising. Gauss, I really didn’t expect you to be a novice mage.”  

“Sorry to shatter your image of mages.”  

“Not that dramatic. It’s just that the mages I know or have met are all wealthy types. You’re definitely a bit different.”  

“I wanted to become a mage when I was a kid, but unfortunately, I don’t seem to have the talent for learning spells.”  

Amid the casual chat, the caravan carried the team of four across the grasslands, weaving through forests, circling mountains, and crossing rivers, finally arriving at their planned disembarkation point.  

The journey was safe, without any monster raids or sudden accidents.  

Gauss sighed in relief but also felt a slight sense of regret.  

“We’ll part ways here.”  

“This place is only about an hour’s walk from Birch Village. Follow this country road all the way to the end, then turn left at the fork. The second village you’ll come to is Birch Village.”  

“Alright, thank you, sir.” Hayley thanked the caravan manager.  

“Everyone, stay safe on your journey. Goblins may seem like insignificant monsters, but don’t let your guard down.” The caravan manager kindly warned.  

The four watched the caravan gradually disappear from sight.  

Suddenly, the surroundings felt eerily quiet.  

“Let’s reach Birch Village before dark.”  

“Agreed.”  

None of them showed signs of resting; they immediately set off along the country road.  

The fairly even dirt path was flanked by deep trees. The cold dusk wind blew occasionally, sending chills down their spines.  

As if influenced by the environment, Hayley, who had been excited about the commission all along, calmed down.  

As the four cautiously advanced, when the sun finally set and the last rays of light vanished, they arrived at the designated location.  

“Birch Village.”  

At the fork leading to the village, a crooked wooden sign bore the name.  

Before they entered the village, they could already hear commotion from the central square, faintly mixed with crying.  

Gauss’s heart skipped a beat, realizing something had happened in the village. Thinking of their mission, he felt a bad premonition.  

“We must gather people now and rescue Jenny and Aisha!”  

“It’s already dark! I think we should prepare weapons and wait until tomorrow to...”  

“Tomorrow? Waiting until tomorrow will be too late! Those filthy green-skinned bastards won’t give us time to prepare.”  

“My poor children!”  

The village square was crowded. Around a dim campfire, a man shouted with raised arms, some looked hesitant, and women sat on the ground wailing, their faces full of grief and pain.  

“Excuse me, is this Birch Village? We are adventurers who accepted your commission. Is the village chief here? We want to understand the situation.” Hayley called out to the crowd, breaking the noisy disputes.  

The shouting interrupted the villagers’ quarrels. Under many wary gazes, an old man with a cane stepped out from the crowd.  

“Greetings, everyone. I am the village chief of Birch Village.”  

He nodded and introduced himself straightforwardly.  

“Welcome, adventurers, to Birch Village. You’ve come a long way, and we should have warmly received you. But as you can see, the village is in its current state. Please forgive us if we appear neglectful.”  

“No worries, village chief. Please tell us the details. We came here because of the commission.” Hayley waved her hand and showed the commission documents to prove their identity.  

Hearing her reply, the village chief immediately breathed a sigh of relief. While checking the documents, he narrated the recent tragedy in the village.  

The situation was actually simple: two women from the village had been abducted by a goblin tribe.  

It was partly the villagers’ fault for letting their guard down. This goblin tribe had been active in the surrounding forests for months but had never attacked humans, at most occasionally stealing chickens, ducks, or sheep.  

To reduce property loss, villagers pooled money and posted a bounty in Grayrock Town.  

In the past two days, the goblins seemed to have vanished without a trace.  

The villagers relaxed, thinking the adventurers would soon arrive to clear the goblins hiding in the forest. They didn’t over-prepare against those green skins.  

But who would have thought that at dusk today, the village experienced its first attack.  

Two female villagers were taken.  

Now that it was completely dark, moving was inconvenient.  

Except for family members closely related to the victims, other villagers didn’t want to venture into the dark forest to fight goblins. Human nature is selfish after all.  

Thus, a dispute broke out in the square.  

One side argued rationally that fighting at night was too dangerous; they might not save the victims and could risk more lives.  

The other side insisted that waiting until morning would be too late; since the victims were just recently captured, there was still time.  

They argued that goblins were just a few small creatures, child-sized; if everyone worked together, they could definitely rescue the women.  

Both sides had valid points, and the village chief was unable to decide.  

Fortunately, this unfamiliar adventurer team appeared like divine reinforcements.  

Although the village chief said nothing, he silently placed his hope on them.  

In his eyes, except for the black-haired male, the four were all equipped with fine gear and their combat power was far beyond ordinary villagers.  

The chief and other villagers all looked toward the four.  

“Sorry, we need to discuss this.” Under all the burning gazes, Hayley bowed slightly and then pulled the others aside to confer.  

For a moment, the once lively village fell into an inexplicable silence. But beneath the quiet lay a surge of thoughts.  

Everyone was waiting for their decision.  

A seemingly inconspicuous rookie adventurer team, resting in a town, now carried the whole village’s hopes.  

Gauss caught sight of many silent villagers and began to feel the weight of pressure.  

True adventure is always full of surprises.  

Just as he initially thought this was a routine extermination mission.  

Arrive at location, rest, scout the next day, gather intelligence, devise a plan, kill the goblins, and complete the commission.  

Who would have expected that the well-organized plan would face upheaval at the very first step.