"Killed both of them?" Thor asked with some surprise, confirming once more.
"Yes, at the time I was ambushed and stabbed in the waist by one of those goblins. I shouted out in defiance, and soon, Raine rushed over and stabbed one with the fork. Later, when the other tried to run, Raine threw his fork and killed it too!"
As if to prove something, Uncle Gates turned slightly, revealing a bandaged but still bleeding waist, and added:
"I saw it all myself. Look, Raine is over there; you can ask him if you don't believe me."
Thor, the captain of the Adventurer Squad, followed Gates' gesture and looked over, seeing the strong young man Raine sitting nearby, and nodded immediately.
Although it's rare for a farmer to kill two goblins, it's not unheard of.
In fact, goblins, these green-skinned dwarves, mostly have poor combat power. One-on-one, even an old lady with a laundry stick can beat them, but once numbers go up, their force multiplies rapidly.
To handle two requires an average adult male to focus entirely.
As for three or more, unless the adult male is fully armed, they are generally not a match.
"I also encountered two goblins preparing to ambush me, but I luckily discovered them early and killed them later," Raine said truthfully after thinking.
After all, he couldn't provide false information to the Adventurer Squad in front of him.
Furthermore, they're heading out at night to rescue the two girls abducted by goblins from the village.
"Doesn't this mean you killed four goblins?" Thor's face showed evident surprise as he asked.
The other three also looked over seriously with expressions of astonishment.
Four goblins are not easily dealt with by ordinary people; even they, in a battle to wipe out a small group of goblins, on average kill five or six each.
This young farmer killed four goblins with just a fork, this...
"Well, not all at once. I first killed the two ambushing me, and then I heard Uncle Gates' call, quickly ran over, and ambushed the two goblins attacking Uncle Gates."
Facing everyone's gaze, Raine felt a bit uncomfortable and explained the situation.
Ah, that's it.
Several people showed understanding.
This explanation made it much more reasonable.
Simultaneously handling four and handling two at a time are entirely different challenges.
Nonetheless, it was still impressive.
Raine immediately gained a somewhat unique impression in the hearts of these adventurers.
The captain named Thor took a branch, roughly sketched on the ground, as if calculating something, then quickly looked up and said:
"Good, judging from the spread of attacks, the total probably isn't more than twenty. With four already dead, there should be no more than fifteen left. It's likely a small group of wandering goblins."
The remaining three from the Oak Shield Squad noticeably relaxed upon hearing this.
At this moment, Thor again looked at his three teammates.
"Alright, since Nia agrees, and the goblin count is low, I have no objections," said the Great Sword-wielding man, shrugging.
"Fine, since you all agree, we have no choice but to go," the dagger-wielding man, still somewhat reluctant, said with folded arms.
"It seems everyone agrees, Evans, we'll rely on you to scout later," Thor said, addressing the dagger-wielding man.
"Yeah, one last thing, we're not very familiar with the fields here; we hope to find a few as guides."
"Just guides, no need for combat," the captain Thor added, seemingly worried the villagers might misunderstand.
"I'll go!"
"I volunteer!"
When Raine looked around, those standing up were the fathers of the missing girls, besides which, Militia Captain Jefferson also stood up.
"I volunteer too!" Raine thought for a moment and stood up with his fork.
Besides, the two girls were childhood playmates of his, and Raine didn't think that around fifteen goblins would pose much trouble for the team.
After all, he could handle two or three, so it wouldn't be too much to expect each well-equipped adventurer to handle three, would it?
Plus, there were Militia Captain Jefferson and several other villagers.
Meanwhile, Raine had an important hypothesis he wanted to test, which also required killing more goblins.
Hearing Raine's words, Thor looked appreciatingly.
And other villagers, especially the two fathers of the missing girls, held Raine's hands tightly, showing gratitude.
Soon, the group set off.
Raine and the other three from the village walked at the front of the team, while the four adventurers followed behind.
After ten or so minutes.
Having crossed the fields and about to approach the dense forest, the archer Nia at the back of the team crouched to examine several lines of small footprints on the ground and said:
"Wait, this is about right. Extinguish the torches."
Although puzzled, the villagers at the front quickly complied and put out the torches.
However, Raine understood Nia's reasoning for extinguishing the torches.
Because the goblins that attacked Oak Village should be just ahead.
A few minutes earlier, Raine had seen small footprints converging here from all directions using Low Light Vision, extending into the depths of the forest.
Alongside the dense footprints, there were also many drag marks.
Which means, after looting and hunting, they'd gathered here.
"You four stay here, the rest is up to us," Thor nodded to Raine and the others, then drew the long sword from his waist and took the lead into the forest.
"Well... Adventurer, can we follow behind?"
"Although we haven't received specialized training, we can handle one or two green-skinned creatures."
The two fathers of the girls spoke eagerly, faces hopeful.
Raine could easily understand their actions. As fathers of the missing girls, about to reach the destination, they were desperate to save their loved ones first.
"It's fine; you can follow behind us."
Seemingly thinking four relatively sturdy villagers protecting the squad's rear was a good option, Thor reconsidered and didn't refuse.
Raine naturally had no objections.
Staying put might be safer, but the chance of getting any loot was much smaller.
With the group, he had more opportunities to kill a few goblins.
Thus, adventurers in the front, villagers behind, moving forward quietly together.
Through the forest's uneven terrain, under starlight, they quickly saw a cave entrance ahead.
"Waa-la-la!"
Just as Thor was about to signal the team to spread out, suddenly, a chaotic shout came from the waist-high grass ahead, and then a small black figure dashed toward the cave entrance.
"Not good, it's a Scout!" Thor's face changed as he spoke.
"Thud!" An arrow struck the small shadow's back; the shooter was Nia the archer.
"It's merely a dozen or so goblins; since we've been spotted, let's charge directly!"
"Thor, let's block the cave entrance together!" said the Two-Handed Sword-wielding man dismissively, drawing the Great Sword from his back.
"Alright!" Thor agreed, thinking that this quantity of goblins didn't need complex tactics.
Blocking the entrance was useful.
With Thor in the lead, the three melee fighters charged forward, confronting two or three small figures emerging from the cave.
Raine gripped the fork tightly, feeling a mix of tension, excitement, and some disappointment from the fight unfolding.
The adventurers coordinated skillfully, clearly dominating, chopping down the three goblins in no time.
Even the second wave of goblins had only one manage to escape, promptly shot by Nia the archer.
"Alas~ doesn't look like there'll be any spoils...."
Just when Raine thought the fight would pass without incident.
Suddenly, he saw what seemed to be a blue-white glow inside the cave.
In the next moment, a beam slightly thicker than a thumb shot out like lightning toward the three people slashing goblins outside the cave.