Chapter 6: The Hunt

Goblins—the ultimate Nightmare for Newbie Adventurers and farmers.

They could always be seen on the fringes of the civilized world, in abandoned mineshafts, gloomy forests, and even fetid swamps. Their rustling whispers and malicious snickers could always be heard.

These short, wretched-looking creatures were the embodiment of chaos and misfortune. With cunning, cruelty, and pure malice, they carved out a place for themselves in a dark world governed by the law of the jungle.

Standing, a Goblin reached only half the height of a member of the Human Race. Their skin bore an unpleasant dark-green hue, and their entire bodies were covered in warts and scabs.

They possessed hideously ugly faces. Within their wide mouths grew uneven, tiny sharp teeth, more than capable of effortlessly tearing through their prey's flesh.

Stupidity and low Intelligence made it difficult for Goblins to engage in any productive labor. They only knew how to steal and plunder, which directly resulted in many remote villages of the Human Race becoming their targets.

They ransacked grain and devoured the innocent. Wherever they passed, often only burning roof frames and Sen Bai bones remained.

They worshipped an Evil Deity that symbolized slaughter, plunder, and chaos, frequently conducting bloody, primitive sacrificial rituals to appease their bloodthirsty Deity. The vast majority of the time, the sacrifices were members of the Human Race, or even children.

There were rumors that this race had no females and could only rely on snatching females of other races to reproduce, but this was actually a misconception.

In truth, female Goblins were often even more ferocious. It was just that they shared little physical difference with the males, making it difficult for ordinary people to tell them apart.

As for a Goblin's individual combat prowess, it was actually quite low. A single farmer armed with a Hayfork could easily force one to retreat.

But once they formed a horde, their destructive power grew exponentially.

Especially when their numbers reached a certain threshold, powerful elite individuals would emerge to act as the command center for the entire tribe.

Throughout the long history of the Human Race, there had even been instances of nations being wiped out by a Catastrophe Level Goblin army. The corresponding chronicles used only a single word—Purgatory—to describe the tragic state of affairs at the time.

Since then, bounties on Goblins simultaneously appeared in every Adventurer's Guild of the Human Race, and this remained true to this day.

However, because their reproductive capabilities were far too astonishing, they still posed a rather persistent nuisance.

"The tracks are fresh. They were made no more than half a day ago at most."

Raine's fingertips rubbed against the wet mud, the pads of his fingers just managing to touch the still-damp grains of dirt along the edges.

There was only one set of footprints, and the strides appeared somewhat erratic, as if the creature had been wandering or searching aimlessly.

Activating Stealth Step silently once again, he quietly moved around the area and soon discovered more clues beneath a berry bush.

A few unripe, hard green fruits had been plucked. Tiny teeth marks were clearly imprinted on the skin, and several leafy branches had been roughly torn off, leaving fresh breaks behind.

More importantly, beside the moss lay a small pile of feces, emitting a pungent stench.

"Using excrement to mark territory is exactly a Goblin's habit," Raine noted.

Raine stood up. Whether out of excitement or nervousness, his breathing had become somewhat rapid.

Target confirmed. It was a lone Goblin.

He first wiped his hands vigorously on his clothes, drying the sweat from his palms, before adjusting his Short Sword to the most comfortable grip.

After tracking the footprints for quite a while longer, a dark-green silhouette peeked out from behind the bushes.

"Finally found it."

Raine narrowed his eyes, almost holding his breath.

Not far away, the Goblin was leaning against the roots of a massive tree, dozing off.

Its ugly head was tilted to one side, its filth-caked eyelids half-open and half-closed. From time to time, it would scratch its round belly, making it hard to tell if it was asleep or awake.

Resting by its leg were a crude Short Bow and a Quiver made of some kind of leather.

However, what truly sent a chilling sensation rising in Raine's heart was the Sen Bai bone rod clutched tightly in the creature's hand.

That was clearly a part of some poor wretch's body, and gnaw marks were still prominently visible on the bone's surface.

Memories of that blood-colored night flashed back once more, causing Raine's stomach to cramp as cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself well in advance, his body still trembled slightly involuntarily, and the urge to run away continuously surfaced in his mind.

This was an instinctive fear lingering in his memories.

But he did not retreat. Instead, he dug his fingernails deeply into his palms, using the stinging pain to force himself to stay calm.

He knew clearly that only by shattering this bone-chilling Nightmare with his own hands could he ever break free from it.

In front of the tree was a clearing with a wide, unobstructed view. Just a few meters to the side of the massive tree sat an extremely dense patch of bushes, which would make the perfect spot to launch an attack.

With the enhancement of Stealth Step, in just a few short seconds, Raine was already within inches of that patch of bushes.

Right at that moment, a sudden, jarring CLANG of clashing metal rang out from nearby.

The Goblin reacted incredibly fast. Its cloudy, dark-yellow eyes suddenly widened, and a beast-like vigilance instantly covered its ugly face.

It snatched up its Short Bow and Quiver, darting toward the sound of the fight like a green flash of lightning, and quickly disappeared into the Shadows of the trees.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, although Raine was caught somewhat off guard, he didn't stop in his tracks; instead, he accelerated his pace.

Since the target had gone to join the fray without hesitation, it meant it was highly likely that there were other Goblins nearby fighting an unknown opponent. This perfectly helped draw the Goblins' attention away from him.

Conversely, if this unknown opponent had not appeared, and Raine's own fight with the target had drawn in other Goblins, his situation would have been incredibly dire.

Raine collected his thoughts, his footsteps growing even more hurried.

The footprints left behind by the target's hasty sprint became the best guideposts.

He followed closely behind, his eyes locked solely on that short, dark-green figure.

The sounds of the fight grew clearer and clearer, mixed with the sharp, bizarre shrieks unique to Goblins.

He swiftly approached another clearing in the woods, expertly using the bushes to conceal his figure.

Out of the corner of his eye, Raine spotted the source of the commotion.

In the center of the clearing, only a single sword-wielding figure was still standing. It appeared to be a Human Race Swordsman.

At the person's feet lay the corpses of two Goblins. The victor was already abundantly clear.

Before Raine could get a clear look at the figure, he immediately locked onto his own target.

That Goblin Archer was currently lurking in the bushes behind the Human Race Swordsman.

Its cloudy yellow eyes glinted with cunning. It had already stealthily nocked an arrow, and the crude bow was slowly being drawn back. Clearly, it intended to launch a sneak attack.

From a distance of a dozen meters away, it was highly confident that it could pierce that despicable Human Race member's throat with a single arrow!

Raine's eyes lit up. The target was facing away from him, and the motion of nocking the arrow completely exposed its weak points; even the outline of the ribs beneath its filthy skin was clearly visible.

It was a golden opportunity! Seizing the moment, he lunged out from behind the bushes, the Short Sword in his hand thrusting precisely toward the Goblin's back.