Lin Yun hadn't expected that even at a time like this, there would still be a little wolf cub. They had only just discovered one hiding away, and then another cub suddenly darted out. Just when Lin Yun and the others had unconsciously assumed there would be no more trouble, it burst out.
The young warrior was caught off guard, and the little cub darted right past him. Unfortunately, the Female Mage behind him showed a level of reflexes no mage should have had. She instinctively raised the Light Crossbow in her hands and aimed at the rapidly moving cub, hesitating for a moment. But when she recalled the determination and hatred in its eyes as it passed her just moments ago, the Female Mage...
Just as the little cub was about to reach a bend in the cave, she finally pulled the trigger.
The bolt shot from the Female Mage's Light Crossbow and struck the cub. It let out a roar in its still terribly childish voice, then glanced at the Female Mage with eyes full of fear and hatred before swaying and collapsing.
"Phew." The Female Mage, who had been holding the Light Crossbow in both hands, seemed to lose all strength in that moment. The crossbow fell to the ground, and she nearly crumpled with it.
Looking at the little cub lying on the ground, the Female Mage only bit her lip. Her wide Magic Hat now served its intended purpose, hiding her expression.
If she could, the Female Mage wouldn't have wanted to wipe them all out. But the rational thinking expected of a mage told her that if she let this little cub, which was full of hatred for humans, live, it would only cause more harm in the end. As a human, she had to take responsibility for her actions.
Looking at the little cub lying on the ground, Lin Yun also wore a helpless expression. If he could, he would rather kill only goblins. At least goblins clearly looked like bad creatures at a glance. Though, well... dogs were all right, but wolves weren't exactly good creatures either. And if he was being honest, humans weren't good creatures, either.
At least in Lin Yun's world, ordinary creatures wouldn't destroy the Earth, but humans might.
All he could say was that this world was always so complicated.
Lin Yun sighed helplessly and began checking the wolf pen.
"D20+4+2=16, success." After checking briefly, Lin Yun found nothing else there. If anything, there were only the bones of humans and goblins.
After making sure he had killed all the wolves and gained 1,200 experience—far less than he would have gotten from adult wolves—Lin Yun picked up the Lantern Staff and continued leading the others through the mine.
The search that followed was much like the earlier one. Since the goblins had basically all gone out, there wasn't a single one left inside. All that remained were a small cave hidden in a relatively remote corner, where goblin young were kept, and the women from nearby villages.
Several of them were heavily pregnant, lying against the walls and seemingly out of their minds. There were also at least ten dead women. Some had died after being subjected to brutal abuse, while others had killed themselves because they couldn't bear the humiliation. Some might even have taken their own lives after discovering they were pregnant.
It weighed heavily on everyone's hearts, and made them feel that, really, goblins were better off wiped out.
And in fact, Lin Yun killed all the goblin young as well. This time, though, he wasn't as lucky as before and didn't get a magic item. The goblin tribe was larger than the previous one, but its young seemed to have already grown up, so fewer than ten goblin young remained. Lin Yun dealt with them one by one, gaining 53 experience.
Perhaps because the air vents had been blocked for a while, some of the women had already passed out. After carefully checking them, Lin Yun told the young warrior to... run back and fetch people to take the women away. This was a mine, after all, and there was a passage wide enough for a carriage to get in. Otherwise, how would they transport the ore out?
After quite a while, the young warrior returned. Just as before, a carriage was waiting at the entrance. Lin Yun and the others safely escorted the women out of the mine and watched them climb aboard. As for the Female Fighter's body, since she had no surviving relatives, Lin Yun and the others burned it in the mine and buried her near an air vent. That was where she had died, and where they had completed their revenge.
The mine had already been abandoned, anyway, so there was nothing wrong with burying her there.
It was worth mentioning that although some customs in this world were similar to those in the western part of Lin Yun's world, undead existed here, so burial and the like were considered extremely extravagant.
To keep buried friends and family from one day becoming undead, a high-level Priest had to pray and cast a fourth-circle-or-higher Divine Magic called Eternal Rest. The problem was that it could only prevent the deceased from becoming undead on their own. If a more powerful mage or Priest used necromantic magic, it was still useless.
Still, ordinary people generally didn't have to worry about anyone going out of their way to resurrect them with necromantic magic. In any case, that was why cremation was ultimately the more common practice in this world.
When Lin Yun saw the young warrior again, the young man said excitedly, "Mr. Silent, when I went back, it seemed the village had been attacked by goblins. There were ten of them, I think, and there was a really impressive fellow there, holding a rapier. He moved as if he were dancing, and led the villagers in killing the goblins."
"Ten." Lin Yun furrowed his brow slightly, though no one could see it behind his helmet. If he wasn't mistaken, those goblins had come out through the main entrance. Led by the four Wolf Riders, they had planned to kill the villagers—or even kidnap them—to use as hostages.
"But 'dancing'?" Could he be a sword dancer? Lin Yun thought he had heard of those before, then asked instinctively, "Was he an Elf?" He had only heard of Elves using a technique that looked like dancing, swinging their weapons as they killed their opponents.
"Ah, now that you mention it, his ears were a little long, but not as long as an Elf's. I've seen Elves, so I know," the young warrior said, waving a hand.
"Then he must be a Half-elf." The Female Mage adjusted her glasses and said, "That makes sense. Only those Half-elves would come to such a remote village and help humans kill goblins. Those Long Ears are so arrogant." The Female Mage clearly didn't think much of Elves.
"He seemed to be alone. Why don't we go over and take a look, and thank him while we're at it? After all, those goblins made it to the village because we weren't strong enough to stop them." The young warrior wiped his nose and spoke somewhat sheepishly.
"No, please don't say that, Adventurer. If it weren't for you, we'd still be worrying so much that we couldn't eat. Better a short spell of pain than a long one. At least our village won't have to suffer goblin attacks for a while, and we won't spend every day living in fear—afraid they'll steal our food, ruin our crops, kidnap our girls, or even kill us. We're truly grateful to you. Thank you," the coachman said reassuringly. He was clearly a sensible man.
Hearing the coachman's words eased the shadow left by what had happened earlier. At least what they had done had meant something.
"Let's go back to the village. We need to get some rest." Lin Yun's somewhat muffled voice came from inside his helmet. He then climbed into the driver's seat. No matter how much you say, you can't stop my need for speed. JPG.
"Yes." The young warrior, Female Mage, and Goddess Priestess all unconsciously straightened up and climbed into the carriage, leaving the somewhat awkward coachman behind... Who was he? Where was he? What was he supposed to do?
Wasn't he the coachman? How had he suddenly become unemployed?
Well, in the end, Lin Yun drove the carriage back.
"D20+4+2+2=24, success." Although he was speeding, it was only in spirit. There were a group of women in the carriage, after all, and, most importantly, it was only a two-wheeled carriage. It couldn't stand up to real speeding...
Ahem. In any case, thanks to Lin Yun's superb driving skills—which even made the coachman wonder whether he was the coachman or Lin Yun was—Lin Yun drove the carriage smoothly back to the village.
Beneath the green moon that had begun to rise into the darkening sky, a light, peaceful melody drifted from the village center. It seemed to soothe the soul and put everyone at ease.
"That's a lute. It must be played by that man named Gawain." The young warrior stood up in the carriage and said.
"Gawain." Hearing that familiar name, Lin Yun couldn't help baring his teeth. After all, there was also a knight named Gawain beside a certain famous King of the Dinner Table.
"Hmm? Is that Half-elf a Bard?" the Female Mage asked curiously.
"Uh, didn't I just say that?" The young warrior awkwardly wiped his nose and asked.
"No," the Female Mage and Goddess Priestess replied in unison.
"Okay, maybe I forgot," the young warrior said with a big smile.
Before you continue