Using 20 Gold Coins as a deposit, Lin Yun easily rented a four-wheeled carriage for just one silver coin. Thanks to the helpful background Lin Yun had set for himself, although the place renting out the carriage had never received his help, he was at least somewhat well-known there. The price, which normally only covered a two-wheeled carriage, was enough for Lin Yun to successfully rent a four-wheeled one.
It was extremely convenient. Lin Yun once again experienced the benefits of having a good background. It was not that a two-wheeled carriage could not move, but with only two wheels, it was rather unstable. Thus, two-wheeled carriages were generally used only for transporting goods. Only a four-wheeled carriage could withstand what was to come—especially since Lin Yun was about to speed.
Yes, really speed.
With carriage proficiency, Lin Yun straightforwardly took the driver's seat. Using a carriage was somewhat different from a normal skill check. It used the Animal Handling ability, plus the carriage proficiency bonus. Thus, Lin Yun's total bonus was +7, making it a relatively high ability check, which was rare.
There was absolutely no way he would crash. Lin Yun was extremely confident.
This four-wheeled carriage had a tent on it, so theoretically, Lin Yun and the others could even rest inside the carriage.
The young warrior and the others climbed into the back of the carriage. Lin Yun picked up the reins and gave them a flick. Then, Lin Yun's dice began to roll.
"D20+3+2+2=23, success."
"Neighhh!" Pulled by the reins, the horse in front let out a cry, then kicked off with all four hooves and charged forward, heading toward the direction of the first target—a place called Mata Village.
Mata Village, which would normally take several dozen minutes to reach, now took only a dozen or so minutes. Sure enough, having transportation was much more convenient.
At Mata Village, Lin Yun jumped straight down from the carriage with a smile. Ah, he had to admit, this speeding trip had been incredibly satisfying. Perhaps because his check had exceeded the original DC by 5, the carriage had moved extremely fast, and Lin Yun had felt naturally adept at handling it. He had been as steady as an old hand behind the wheel, even though this was actually his first time driving a carriage.
After arriving at the village, Lin Yun and the others began asking about the situation. After yesterday's battle, Lin Yun had also constantly reflected on what he had done poorly. Then, he had thought of this.
There was naturally no need to mention the general location where the goblins might be.
According to the village chief, it seemed to be in an old mine in the mountains opposite the village. Based on what the chief said, when the goblins had attacked the village before, there seemed to have been howling wolves. Some of the goblins also appeared to have been carrying iron weapons.
"Wolf howls? Did the goblins appear together with wolves? Or were those wolves merely trying to eat the corpses the goblins left behind?" the young warrior asked curiously from the side.
"Hmm, I'm not too sure about that either. Perhaps I can ask some of the other villagers." The village chief seemed to think this could be important, so he hurriedly moved to leave.
"Wait. We'll come along, too. That way, we can get a better understanding of the situation. Also, I want to know exactly what was lost and what kind of damage was done." Lin Yun stopped the village chief, then stood up and said this.
"Ah, all right. Please follow me." The village chief nodded, then led Lin Yun from house to house to ask around.
As they walked through the village, Lin Yun discovered that the villagers as a whole did not seem overly worried. It seemed the goblin tribe was not very powerful, so it had not caused too much damage before retreating.
That seemed to be the case. In any event, they still needed to make some inquiries.
Following behind the village chief, Lin Yun and the others went from house to house asking questions. They learned that there truly were some creatures accompanying the goblins that looked like wolves, yet did not quite resemble wolves, nor did they look much like dogs. Some goblins had even ridden on the backs of those creatures that looked like wolves but were not quite wolves or dogs.
Wow, Goblin Wolf Riders.
Lin Yun narrowed his eyes slightly, though no one could see it through his helmet.
Wolf Riders had actually appeared. It seemed this goblin tribe had produced a rather unusual breed. He just did not know what kind of goblins they were. And what exactly were those creatures that were neither wolves nor dogs? Goblin hounds?
It seemed they still had to be careful.
As for the weapons, it seemed this group of goblins had learned some human combat methods. Quite a few of them possessed iron weapons. Though the term "iron" deserved a question mark, since they seemed more like ore that had been ground into shape. There were quite a few short spears. Also, several villagers seemed to have been seriously injured after being struck by stones. There were probably goblins using slings or slingshots, so they needed to be careful.
"Wow... That's amazing. I never thought there would be so much to learn even when fighting goblins." Previously, although the young warrior had not underestimated goblins, he had still been somewhat careless. Now, even without Lin Yun saying anything, simply by asking questions continuously, he had already learned a great deal.
"Hmm. You still have a long way to go." Lin Yun said this calmly.
To be honest, if his Intelligence were not so low, Lin Yun would have wanted to use a Divination Mage directly. They were the cheating maniacs of Dungeons & Dragons. Their pure combat power might not be particularly strong, but when it came to staying alive and... ruining the plot, they were second to none. Many Dungeon Masters had even outright banned Divination Mages, or torn up a Divination Mage's character sheet the moment combat began. After all, with Divination Spells, much of what the Dungeon Master had painstakingly arranged would be spoiled in advance. Worst of all, it was the rules themselves that forced the Dungeon Master to reveal things, almost as if the information had been dragged out of their mouth. That was the most frustrating part.
"By the way, do you know that mine? Is it large? Is there anyone familiar with its layout?" Lin Yun, now thinking things through, took the initiative and began preparing.
"Ah, yes. Some villagers in our village used to work there. I'll take you to them right away." The village chief had clearly encountered such an "extremely annoying" Adventurer for the first time, and he was somewhat stunned.
From villagers who were supposedly familiar with the mine's interior, they learned that it had only been abandoned three years ago, making it relatively new. Most of the ore inside had already been excavated, so the mine had been abandoned. In other words, the tunnels inside would be very spacious, and Lin Yun and the others might even find themselves surrounded.
"...Does anyone know where the mine's ventilation shafts are?" Generally speaking, in a place like a mine, the surrounding soil could be dense enough to prevent air from circulating, causing suffocation. Although a mine from this Middle Ages-like era theoretically would not run too deep, since there were no exhaust fans and ventilation depended entirely on natural airflow, ventilation shafts had to be created. Otherwise, with poor air circulation, intense activity, and constant exhalation of carbon dioxide, people might well suffocate to death inside from the carbon dioxide.
"Ventilation shafts? What are those?" The villager was clearly stunned when he heard the term Lin Yun had used.
"Hmm, places besides the entrances and exits where you can feel air coming in—places where you can go when you feel uncomfortable and become more comfortable." Lin Yun tried to explain it in terms this era could understand.
"Ah, I do know of places like that. But what does that have to do with what you want to do?" the villager asked with a frown.
"If we block those places, the goblins inside won't be able to breathe and will want to come out. Then we can ambush them there and kill them safely and quickly," Lin Yun said.
"Wait, you... No, you can't. There are girls from our village inside. I won't tell you." The villager was shocked by Lin Yun's words, then shook his head. He clearly would not give in so easily.
"About that, you can rest assured. It takes a very long time to die from being unable to breathe. We only need to make the goblins feel uncomfortable and endangered, then make them come out on their own. So once we confirm that the goblins have come out, you can reopen the ventilation shafts. That will be enough." Lin Yun spoke in a low voice.
That was indeed true. Lin Yun had even seen a news report about someone suffocating for four days before finally dying, though he did not know whether it had been fake news or whether there had been other reasons.
In any case, as far as Lin Yun knew, even carbon dioxide poisoning would not cause death within a short period of time.
"D20+2+2=18, success." Since Priest already had proficiency in Persuasion, he received a bonus.
"This..." After listening to Lin Yun, the villager was clearly hesitant. After thinking it over, he finally nodded. "All right. I'll find a few fearless men later, and then we'll go seal the ventilation shafts together. There are several of them, so as long as we seal them all, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Yes." Lin Yun nodded and said this.
This was something Goblin Slayer would never do. Goblin Slayer always preferred to search for goblins and kill them alone. Although he often thought of various ways to kill goblins more efficiently, he would not easily rely on the strength of others. Well, that continued until a certain rookie walked in.
Perhaps even he felt that he himself was a goblin, and that... having just one goblin—himself—was enough.
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