Goblin Footprints

A moment later, Kate retreated from the cave and waved to the others.

"Come in, there's no danger in this cave."

Mel Carlo dragged his exhausted body into the cave, the faint firelight swaying in the wind and snow.

The carriage frame was dismantled at the cave entrance, and Freli brought the Earth Dragon inside.

The cave, not too big and not too small, didn't seem very deep. It was basically possible to rule out the possibility of goblins being present. There were bonfire remnants on the ground and unused wood around, suggesting someone had rested here before, though it had been a very long time ago.

"Mr. Freli, do you have an axe? I'll go chop some firewood. If the snow gets heavier, at least we'll have enough dry wood," Kate said to Freli, taking the torch.

At this moment, Mr. Freli had already started a bonfire on the ground, using the dry wood that was originally stockpiled in the cave.

If the snow stopped on the second day, they could continue on their journey. But they weren't gods and couldn't predict the weather's development. If they planned for the worst, it meant heavy snow would block all the roads, making it even more difficult to obtain firewood.

"Alright, I'll go with you. It's too unsafe to go alone."

"Mr. Freli, are you just going to leave two children here?" Kate was a little worried about leaving two children behind.

"Don't worry, Boss Mel is much more capable than I am. You should have seen him before; he's decisive, not like a child."

With that assurance, Kate also relaxed. The two quickly unloaded everything from the carriage.

While the heavy snow hadn't completely blocked the road yet, they could chop some wood and have the Earth Dragon pull it back.

Originally, it was all lightweight cargo.

Claire was feeding the Earth Dragon. It wasn't just a household possession, but also her friend.

She took out a water bag and beans, feeding them into the Earth Dragon's mouth. "You must be exhausted after traveling for so long."

After a short rest, Freli, with the Earth Dragon, left the cave with the empty carriage and Kate.

Mel and Claire sat by the bonfire. A little cold wind still blew in from the cave entrance, but the stone walls blocked it from directly hitting their faces.

"Mel, why do you always stay silent?" Claire hugged her knees, curled up by the bonfire, staring blankly at Mel Carlo.

"Because there's no need. There isn't much to say. But why do you keep your hair short like a boy's when you're a girl?" Mel casually added a piece of firewood to the bonfire.

"My father said that when traveling, if you dress too beautifully, it's hard to protect yourself."

"Indeed, without the ability to protect oneself, beauty only becomes a burden. But even with short hair, you're still very beautiful." Mel Carlo carefully examined Claire's features. Although she was still a child, under the bonfire's glow, her rosy, healthy skin still looked exquisite.

A person's facial features are determined from birth. While it's said that a girl changes greatly by eighteen, fundamentally, facial features don't change without surgery. It's just that after reaching adulthood, girls learn more about makeup and styling techniques.

But Mel wasn't a pervert; he didn't have any thoughts about young girls like her. He simply thought Claire's features were well-defined.

"Mel is handsome too." Claire buried her face in her knees. At their age, they didn't have so many complicated thoughts.

"Naturally," Mel said without modesty. "If I've transmigrated to another world, who would want to be ugly?"

After saying this, drowsiness struck again. Mel Carlo began to use the Assassin's Breathing Technique to keep himself awake. It wasn't time to fall asleep. If danger suddenly appeared, Claire would have no ability to resist.

If he hadn't been traveling with merchants to Oak City this time, he might have died on the road.

"Mel..." Claire rubbed her eyes. She was also feeling sleepy, but her father hadn't returned yet, so she didn't dare to fall asleep just like that.

"Hmm?" Mel responded softly.

"I want to sleep for a bit..."

"Okay."

After Mel nodded, Claire quickly fell asleep.

In the cold winter night, a pair of small footprints were approaching, stopping at the cave entrance.

Mel heard a slight noise, and his drowsiness instantly vanished. If it were Mr. Freli and the others returning, there wouldn't be such faint sounds.

The footsteps were light. Was it an animal?

A wolf, a fox, or some other monster, though he wasn't familiar with them.

Thinking of this, Mel Carlo reached for the dagger at his waist. If danger truly approached, he had to seize the opportunity for a fatal blow.

There was still a knife in his system space, which he had taken from a mountain bandit. After the dagger was lost, he could use it for self-defense, as it could trigger the Mighty Slash skill.

After a brief pause, the footsteps seemed to leave the cave entrance again. Even though Mel Carlo kept staring at the cave entrance, he didn't see anything enter.

Could I be hallucinating from the cold? Mel couldn't help but have this thought.

Now is not a good time to get sick.

After a long wait, Freli and Kate finally returned, pulling a whole cart of wood. After unloading again, the Earth Dragon lay down by the bonfire.

"This thing can lie down?" Mel had always thought Earth Dragons slept standing up, like horses.

He heard that horses would lie down to sleep in environments where they felt very safe, but the Earth Dragons in the game were mounts, and he had rarely seen them lie down.

"Yes, Earth Dragons lie down to rest. You should rest well too," Freli said, sitting down next to Mel.

However, Mel wasn't ready to sleep immediately. He told them about the situation he had just encountered.

Kate immediately went to the cave entrance to check. Because it fit the description, there was another creature: goblins. Goblins were like cockroaches on this continent, ubiquitous.

Unfortunately, goblins weren't that intelligent. If they were a bit smarter and could communicate with humans, then goblins would be a demi-human race, not monsters.

Kate's pupils contracted. The small footprints on the ground didn't belong to them. She hadn't observed carefully when they returned earlier, but now, looking closely, there were indeed small footprints, and the front seemed to have claw marks, like small human hands spread out on the ground.

"This is... a Goblin!"

Goblins are monsters between levels 5 and 30. However, this demon race possesses a certain level of intelligence, a threat that other demon races do not have. Cunning and deceit are synonymous with Goblins.

Looking at the small footprints on the ground, this should be a level 5 Goblin. But once a Goblin appears in a certain area, it means a group of Goblins will appear nearby. Goblins are gregarious monsters.

The safest course of action would naturally be to quickly evacuate this area, but now is not the time to leave. If they forcibly exit the cave, they might be swallowed by the snowstorm and eventually die from hypothermia.

"I can only be more careful."

Kate walked further into the cave. Moving now was impossible. If the snow got any heavier, not only would they be unable to move, but the Goblins would also be immobilized. Relatively speaking, it was still safer.

If you like this book and don't want to lose it, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.