Mutation

"Most goblins live in tribes."

As they made their way through the forest, Larry shared his experiences with the two inexperienced young men. "Small tribes usually have no more than thirty goblins. Medium and large goblin tribes generally won't choose the outskirts of the forest as their territory."

"So, the outermost edge of Lorraine Forest isn't actually that dangerous?"

Lin Mo recalled the goblins they had encountered earlier. Even if there were more of them, if they could not win, they could always run.

"Normally, that's true..."

Larry nodded but did not continue.

After all, he had never entered the forest before. He had merely picked up these bits of information from others and was showing off in front of the two young men.

If they asked anything more, he would not have an answer.

So he took an old pocket watch from his pocket and opened it, pretending to check the time.

"It's already past two in the afternoon. If we don't want to spend the night in the forest, we need to head back by around four at the latest."

Lin Mo glanced at the pocket watch in his hand. Inside the cover was a yellowed photograph. It showed a much younger Larry standing beside a young blonde woman.

She could not be called stunning, but she had a fine figure. She gently held Larry's arm, her expression serene.

"This is my wife... Her name is Julina."

The wrinkles on Larry's face deepened, and a proud smile spread across his lips.

"She gave me this watch. We had just gotten married back then..."

"Enough, enough, Larry. Stop showing off those old stories."

Leo looked indignant. "I really don't know what Julina saw in you. You got incredibly lucky to marry such a good woman."

"Haha~"

Larry laughed even more smugly. "Don't say that, Leo. Doesn't your tigress have her own special charm too?"

"You!"

Leo was getting worked up and was about to grab his collar when a wisp of smoke slowly rose in the distance, interrupting the neighbors' banter.

The group exchanged looks, their expressions immediately turning grim as they cautiously advanced toward the rising smoke.

The vegetation in Lorraine Forest was extremely dense. Under normal circumstances, that was a real headache—no one knew whether a goblin might be hiding in the nearby brush, ready to knock them out as they passed.

But now, the thick foliage became cover for them to hide behind. With Larry leading the way, the group concealed themselves in the undergrowth and crawled forward carefully.

About two minutes later, after parting a small clump of bushes, they saw exactly what they had expected.

Several goblins gathered around a campfire, holding branches skewered with mushrooms and berries.

A small cave lay not far away. Near its entrance was a scattered pile of bones, some of them blackened, seemingly bearing burn marks.

"A nest..."

Larry lowered his voice and whispered, "We're lucky. Goblin nests often contain all kinds of supplies and treasure they've looted!"

"And at this hour, most goblins are wandering outside gathering food. The ones in front of us should be the ones left behind to guard the territory."

Leo added.

Larry looked at his companions on either side, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "There are only seven goblins in total. We should be able to handle them. As long as we take them out..."

With the bounty on these goblins, along with whatever valuables might be in the nest, even if the days ahead remained as difficult as they had been lately, he would no longer have to worry about his wife going hungry or his newborn son having no milk to drink.

Leo was clearly thinking the same thing. Although he was not as satisfied with his own wife as Larry was with the virtuous and gentle Julina, life still had to go on. As long as they made a fortune today, they would never have to live so miserably again!

Maybe then his wife would become gentler too, like Julina, with a bright smile always on her face.

Raine did not join the discussion. He glanced at the bones by the cave entrance as though they reminded him of something, his nails leaving shallow marks in his palm.

Lin Mo did not speak either. He stared at the pitch-black cave entrance, trying to peer deeper inside.

When it came to knowledge and experience in this world, he was far inferior to Larry, so he had no way to refute their judgment.

Yet he could not shake the uneasy feeling that something was about to happen.

"Stop hesitating. Let's attack now. If we wait any longer and the goblins that went out come back, we won't have another chance!"

Leo urged anxiously.

"What do you think?"

Larry was equally excited, but he barely managed to suppress his emotions. His gaze swept over Raine before settling on Lin Mo.

"Kill!"

Raine's answer was only one word. His hand had already tightened around his weapon, his entire body poised to strike.

At this point, even if Lin Mo shook his head and objected, he probably could not change their minds.

Lin Mo finally nodded. The next moment, Raine launched the ambush first.

The half-grown boy carried a reckless madness that feared neither life nor death. He charged straight at the nearest goblin, and before it could react, his rusted blade was already slashing toward its head.

"Splat—!"

With a dull sound, the goblin's skull was split open, red and white spilling all over the ground.

"Gah!"

The remaining goblins reacted at once. After a series of shrill cries, they sprang to their feet and grabbed the weapons beside them.

Raine did not stop. He immediately rushed toward the second goblin.

Larry and Leo followed close behind, swinging their weapons as they joined the fight.

Unlike last time, Lin Mo did not wait for an opportunity. Hidden in the brush, he had already entered Stealth, so he acted decisively. He darted out, swung his sword in a full arc, and cleanly severed a goblin's head.

Proficiency +1!

Less than half a minute after the battle began, they had already taken out two goblins through the advantage of their ambush. Their advantage was overwhelming.

Barring any surprises, it would take no more than three to five minutes to deal with the remaining goblins, rush into the cave, and loot it clean for a huge profit.

Yet it was precisely at moments like this that surprises always arrived right on cue.

Just as Larry and Leo worked together to hold back the other goblins, and Lin Mo prepared to strike again and instantly kill the next one—

A furious roar suddenly came from deep within the cave.

Heavy footsteps followed.

"Thud, thud..."

What appeared before them along with those sounds was a burly green-skinned monster, more than twice as tall as a Normal Goblin.

His entire body was packed with knotted muscles. His face bore several human traits, yet he had a goblin's distinctive long nose and pointed ears. He held an iron spiked club in one hand, and against his massive frame, it looked almost delicate.

The goblins immediately let out excited shrieks when they saw the "giant" emerge from the cave.

"Mutated Goblin!"

Larry's face went pale. In an instant, he snapped out of his greed for treasure, cold sweat breaking out all over him.

"How could there be a Mutated Goblin this far out on the outskirts?!"

Leo was equally horrified. His previously composed movements became flustered, and the hand gripping his weapon began to tremble uncontrollably.

Raine, who had just pinned his second opponent to the ground, was trembling as well.

But not from fear.

From rage.

Unlike the others, he was not staring at the Mutated Goblin. Instead, his gaze fell behind it, upon the girl it had casually thrown to the ground when it stepped out of the cave.

"Philly..."

A beastlike murmur escaped his lips.