The Village's Heroes

The beam of surging magic faded.

A fist-sized hole had been blasted through the Large Goblin's abdomen.

"Boom!"

The goblin crashed down, its Chopper and body slamming into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

Gauss remained frozen in the stance from which he had cast Magic Missile.

His gaze was fixed on the last three goblins on the battlefield.

The goblins that had been besieging the villagers had also been drawn by the tremendous disturbance. They saw the powerful Large Goblin crushed by that formidable spell in a single exchange, then noticed Gauss looking their way.

Their bodies began trembling uncontrollably like sieves.

Even ordinary goblins possessed only meager intelligence, but they understood that the Black-Haired Green-Eyed human male possessed terrifying power capable of killing them with ease.

Without the slightest hesitation, the goblins abandoned their opponents and their kin, now reduced to scattered severed limbs and mangled corpses. Throwing away all dignity, they fled in disarray.

Goblins were, naturally, creatures like that.

"It's over."

Gauss looked at the forest, which had fallen silent once more, and let out a breath.

He had no intention of pursuing the three goblins who had already vanished into the woods and wiping them out completely.

In truth, goblins separated from their tribe often found survival extremely difficult.

Unless they could find another goblin tribe and be accepted by its leader, solitary goblins often died to beasts and other threats from nature.

Besides, most importantly—

The magic within Gauss had been completely depleted.

Before using Magic Missile, his magic had still been relatively abundant.

After all, Mage Hand, as a 0th Ring cantrip, did not consume much of his magic.

Though his stamina had been utterly exhausted during the recent battle, he still had a considerable reserve of magic.

But just now, after casting that Magic Missile that had instantly killed the Large Goblin, the spell had completely drained him dry.

Magic Missile seemed to demand a frightening amount of magic.

The negative effect of having his magic depleted was an immense burden on his body and mind.

His head throbbed in waves.

After defeating such a powerful enemy, his mental strength seemed to have been overdrawn.

That was the main reason he still stood motionless, not simply because he was trying to look cool.

Fortunately, he had used the lingering intimidation of his magic to scare off the three goblins with a single look.

Otherwise, given everyone's current condition, they might have faced considerable trouble.

"Adventurer sir, are you all right?" The three villagers had injuries as well, but none serious enough to hinder movement.

Ordinary goblins actually held no advantage against humans, but the previous battle had not been a normal one-on-one fight. Goblins working together could display greater strength, and the deep night had created even more difficulties.

Seeing Gauss remain motionless, issuing no further orders while staring into the depths of the forest, the three could not understand what he meant.

After a brief hesitation, they cautiously approached.

They had now realized that this poorly equipped, ordinary-looking man was actually the true leader of the group.

His strength was formidable as well. In particular, that final Comet-like Magic had left an extremely deep impression on them.

Birch Village would likely gain another topic for after-dinner conversation in the future.

"The battle is over."

"Go into the cave and search for the victims." Gauss remained where he was. "Also, please return to the village as soon as possible and bring people here. My companions are injured and need treatment, as do your fellow villagers."

Gauss looked toward the rest of the party. This adventure had truly been unimaginably brutal.

Bell, the Swordsman, had broken his leg. Whether it could recover was unknown.

After seeing Gauss unleash such powerful magic and secure victory, his tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, and he immediately fainted.

Mia's injuries were equally severe, though hers were internal. She lay on the ground, unable to move, blood continuously spilling from her mouth.

Both were in terrible condition. Though they had won this battle at a grievous cost, how they would recover afterward remained unknown.

Gauss and Hailiel were in much better condition than Mia and Bell, but they had also lost their ability to move for the moment.

As for the villager who had been attacked first, he had not moved in a long time and had most likely lost his life.

Before long, the dark forest was lit once more by torch after torch.

Early morning.

The roosters of Birch Village still crowed on schedule, their calls echoing above the village.

After an unsettled night.

The village had sunk into an inexplicably sorrowful atmosphere.

The good news was that both female villagers had been successfully rescued. Though their clothes had been torn to shreds in the cave, their bodies filthy and covered in bruises, their lives were not in danger.

As for whether they had suffered any other harm, Gauss was not socially inept enough to press them with such inappropriate questions.

The bad news was that one villager had died.

The dead man was Aisha's older brother.

At first, when the villagers waiting in the village learned that someone had died—and that he had been one of their own—they felt some resentment.

They believed the adventuring party had failed to handle even a few goblins, resulting in the death of one of their people.

But when they arrived outside the goblin nest and saw the horrific scene, their complaints caught in their throats, and they could no longer speak.

The ground had been dyed dark red with blood. The stench of blood and filth was overwhelming. Severed green arms, hands, and thighs lay everywhere, along with unspeakable intestines and livers oozing foul-smelling, sticky matter.

The stench of flesh, excrement, and rotting corpses lingered in the air for a long time.

Many villagers with weaker stomachs saw the gruesome scene and immediately dropped to the ground to vomit.

Along with the grievously injured Bell and Mia, and the three surviving villagers' detailed account of the brutal battle, the villagers felt nothing but gratitude toward Gauss and the others.

This adventuring party became the village's heroes.

The four of them were settled in the finest stone house in the village to rest.

There was no doctor in the village, but the Herbalist watched over the two injured people throughout the night.

In truth, aside from performing the most basic bandaging, this apprentice Herbalist could offer little further help.

However, Bell and Mia's injuries were temporarily stabilized and did not worsen further.

This was because Hailiel had fed them a Red Secret Pill, said to stimulate the Life Energy within their bodies for a short time and temporarily stabilize their wounds.

However, the pills could only suppress their injuries temporarily. Moreover, they were harmful to the body and could not be taken repeatedly within a short period, so the two severely injured people had not truly passed the critical stage.

They still desperately needed proper medical treatment.