Encountering Monsters on the Road

The ownership of the blacksmith master gloves was thus happily decided, and then the further exploration began. After all, <Lin Yun> hadn't forgotten why they came here: to rescue the maidens abducted from a nearby village. Since there were none on this side, they must be on the other.

Thus, <Lin Yun> and the others followed the path they came in and returned to the place where the totem was located. This time, they took the path that should have been straight ahead, and soon.

"Ugh, what's that smell?" A foul odor began to permeate the air, causing the female <Magician> to instinctively cover her nose. "Ugh, it smells like excrement and rotten food." Well, it's really unknown why this young warrior knows so much.

<Lin Yun> didn't speak. As usual, he took the lead and walked in. He saw piles of smelly, suspicious objects, and several human females who had nothing to cover themselves with, their eyes vacant like broken toys. Although it is said that one should not look at what is improper, their emaciated bodies, bruised faces, and even missing teeth showed that they had not had an easy time.

Although the young warrior and his companions had rushed here as quickly as possible, they were not from the village themselves. Therefore, after the village was attacked, there was the matter of assessing losses, treating the wounded, or other preparations, including arranging for rewards.

So, in fact, by the time the young warrior learned of this matter, these girls had already been abducted for nearly a day. And in that day, the things that needed to be done had basically been completed. <Goblins> are not good children; they have strong desires, but they themselves do not have females.

Coupled with their complete lack of pity for human females, treating them entirely as tools for venting and reproduction, they basically played with them until they were on the verge of death. Thinking about how many <Goblins> <Lin Yun> had killed today, especially including the existence of <Giant Goblins>... Cough, cough, let's not dwell on it.

In short, <Lin Yun> and the young warrior did not linger for too long. They let <Female Fighter>, the female <Magician>, and <Goddess Priestess> comfort the rescued women. Then, <Lin Yun> and the young warrior went to find some cloth or leather in the cave. Although it was all quite dirty, and some were even soaked in blood and reeking, at least it could provide some covering for the women.

Although there shouldn't be any enemies appearing in the <Goblin> cave anytime soon, who knows if the other side is a <Dungeon Master> with a twisted sense of humor? <Lin Yun> considered himself not a particularly clever person, but if he always thought about things from the worst-case scenario, he would always find a way.

Although it was a bit cumbersome, carrying a group of women draped in cloth or leather, <Lin Yun> and the others did not head directly towards the village but towards the main road.

To save time earlier, <Lin Yun> and his companions had basically charged directly through the forest. But with these women, that wouldn't work. There were still many dangerous animals and poisonous creatures in the forest.

Especially those poisonous ones; if they were careless, these women would die. Although, to put it bluntly, these women were not much different from being dead right now.

Therefore, heading to the main road first was the most suitable option. On the main road, because humans were always walking around, especially adventurers, most animals, unless starving, would not approach. Lazy poisonous creatures were even less likely to.

<Lin Yun> and <Female Fighter> were in the front, with the female <Magician>, <Goddess Priestess>, and <Female Fighter> surrounding the group of women, and the young warrior at the rear. <Lin Yun> was clearing the path ahead, as they couldn't find any shoes. Although <Lin Yun>, as a leatherworker and weaver, could forcibly make some substitutes, the problem was the lack of suitable tools, and it would waste too much time. So, <Lin Yun> could only clear the path ahead, trying to make it easier to walk.

In fact, there was another advantage to being on the main road: under relatively safe conditions, <Lin Yun> could directly have the young warrior run back to the village and bring a carriage, thereby transporting these women away. But in a forest like this, well, it was better to be stable. Although <Lin Yun> had used up all his 1st-level spell slots, his combat power was still considerable. It's worth mentioning that unlike most games where leveling up restores you to full health, in <Dungeons & Dragons>, even leveling up only increases your maximum capacity.

You need to wait for a long rest, meaning a good night's sleep, to use new abilities the next day. For example, if <Lin Yun> gained an extra 1st-level spell slot upon reaching level 2, he could only use it the next day. And if <Lin Yun> got lucky and rolled the maximum hit dice for an upgrade, gaining a whopping 24 HP, he would still only have 11 HP as usual.

And just in case, before leaving the cave, they treated the injured women, at least to slightly heal their physical wounds, and also to restore the others' status. Well, the female <Magician> and <Goddess Priestess> wouldn't have any combat power today.

From a certain perspective, they were not much different from the abducted women. The only ones with relatively complete combat power left were <Lin Yun>, <Female Fighter>, and the young warrior.

Yes, this is where the cannon fodder warrior's role comes into play. As long as my HP is full, I am at full strength. JP <Gate of Opening>.

Anyway, <Lin Yun> had a total of 5 uses of Divine Smite remaining today. So, for the sake of caution, <Lin Yun> used it twice, recovering 3 HP and then 6 HP, for a total of 9 HP, bringing <Lin Yun>'s HP to 20. The others were at least close to full strength.

And because <Lin Yun>'s perception was sensitive, coupled with his high combat power, he walked at the front. The warrior, holding a shield and longsword, stayed at the rear, ready to defend against any potential enemies from behind. The fastest moving <Female Fighter> was in the middle, ready to provide support to either side at any time.

Although, theoretically, the dungeon had been cleared, and the rest of the journey should be safe, <Lin Yun> still advanced cautiously and slowly. After all, compared to when they arrived, it was, in a way, more dangerous.

Because it was still afternoon, and although the trees in the forest cast some shadows, <Lin Yun> had placed <Lantern Staff> on his back. In his hand, he held a battle hammer that might have been dropped by some adventurer in the cave.

After all, the sun was shining brightly, so there was no need to waste lamp oil. Without lamp oil, <Lantern Staff> was just an iron staff with D6 damage. But a battle hammer was different; it had at least D8 damage.

However, speaking of which, <Lin Yun> originally wanted to take the large stone axe from the <Giant Goblin>, but unfortunately, it was too strenuous for <Lin Yun> to wield. And as a <Priest> with the Eye of Omniscience, he didn't have proficiency with axes, so he feared that he would be "played" by the axe rather than play with it.

So, <Lin Yun> had to reluctantly give up. Also, <Lin Yun> was carrying a bundle wrapped in leather on his back, filled with various weapons... all scavenged from the cave.

With his family struggling to make ends meet, where would he get money if he didn't take things to sell? The money gathered by those small villages to hunt <Goblins> was truly too little.

Therefore, what should be taken must be taken. It's definitely not because <Lin Yun> has a "three-light" compulsion (loot everything). We don't take a single needle or thread from the masses, except for needles and threads, we take everything else. JP <Gate of Opening>.

After clearing a dungeon, how could one not loot? Impossible, it doesn't exist.

Well, perhaps only at this moment, the <Silent> noble that <Lin Yun> was playing had the aura of a shrewd landlord like Zhou Bapi. Well, this was written into <Lin Yun>'s character: a strong obsession with spoils, perfectly fitting.

Finally, <Lin Yun>'s vigilance was not in vain.

Perhaps because he maintained a vigilant posture while moving, although his speed was a bit slower, it was stable. Because theoretically, <Lin Yun> was always in a state of proactive detection, so...

"D20+3+2=14, failed."

Well, although he failed to detect the problem, at least <Lin Yun> knew something was wrong, so he instinctively raised his battle hammer. The troop, which had been moving sluggishly, suddenly entered a state of alert. The women were huddled together, with <Female Fighter> and <Goddess Priestess> standing guard around them. Suddenly, <Goddess Priestess> shouted, "<Mr. Silent>, to the right."

To <Lin Yun>'s side, to the right, a vividly colored venomous snake, at least 1 meter long but slender, was camouflaged by the grass on the ground. It had been lying there motionlessly, so <Lin Yun> hadn't noticed it. Now, it seemed to sense that it had been discovered and attacked preemptively, lunging directly towards <Lin Yun>.

"Hmph." <Lin Yun>, despite being from the countryside and Cantonese, having eaten snake, was still startled by the sudden appearance of the snake. However, his male pride prevented him from screaming subconsciously. It could only be said... men.

And because <Lin Yun> was startled, he instinctively raised his battle hammer. Well, it was just a subconscious reaction, but he didn't expect... this foolish, highly venomous snake to happen to bite directly onto the battle hammer.