Rayne eyed the trees as they moved. They were thicker, with branches growing at odd angles, trying to cover every part of the forest. Light wafted through the canopies, and he saw squirrels and birds on the treetops. Animals, not monsters.
They were as normal as they were on Earth, not twisted by mana in any way or form to give them instinctual abilities of destruction.
They were walking in the opposite direction to where they had hunted the trolls. He guessed that Fredrick wanted to keep out of their way, and their orders were indeed more to find the goblin nest than trolls.
Probably due to the sheer numbers of them, he guessed.
Despite walking for over three hours now, they had only come across one monster—a grassglow salamander that had jumped on top of Fredrick and nearly took a part of his hair with its claws before the scout closest to him had stabbed it in the head.
It was funny seeing Fredrick flail around and tense for an hour after that, but no apparent action since made Rayne worry they were going to go back with nothing to show tonight.
The sun had already reached the centre of the sky, and he knew they would have to turn back soon.
As a result of that, Fredrick's scowl deepened with every step. Finally, he raised a clenched fist and the line stopped. "Damn nest should've been here by now. There are no fuckin' goblins around here," he said, stomping on a fallen branch. "Axel would have my skin if we can't find anything. Do something, you useless lot!"
He ordered, looking at everyone, his eyes piercing. The scouts looked at each other while he and Nate simply stood on the side waiting for a decision.
"We could have missed one. We did see claw marks two hours back on bark," a man muttered.
Another spat. "It was clearly a rock bear mark. You don't want to fight those."
"We don't know that. We should have checked."
Eyes turned to Fredrick. He had decided to keep going, not willing to take even a little risk. Rayne had felt the man a coward for that, despite how terrifying monsters could be.
"What?" Fredrick scoffed. "Want to go back to check it out? Unless one of you plebeian bastards is born straight from Lukara's seed, we aren't going to find shit!"
"No," another man said. He had a bow slung over his shoulders and was the oldest in the party, with a salt-and-pepper look. "We should split up. Look for any tracks and this time, investigate."
He looked over at Fredrick, who gritted his teeth, clearly not liking the tone.
"I believe that's fair," another voice rose before an argument could start.
"Yes, we need to get something for Axel. He's going to assign us latrine-digging duty if he thinks us incompetent."
As more members agreed to the sentiment of splitting up, Fredrick could say nothing. Rayne could see the red haired buffoon feeling like his authority was trampled over, but only strong leaders could go against the majority.
He wasn't one, and a bit of whispering to Nate had revealed the man was only Level 13. Just one above Rayne himself.
"Okay," Fredrick conceded. "Split up into three groups. Two north. I will go west."
The groups formed quickly, with Fredrick taking two of the scouts that seemed subservient to him, while another group formed of the less talkative ones, and the last one had him, Nate, and the veteran who he learned was named Bran.
He guessed that it wasn't for no reason. Bran looked the strongest among them by his appearance alone, and Fredrick had left him with them to ensure they didn't run away.
Rayne had no intention of it, knowing what would happen if he did. He couldn't say the same about Nate, since the man did seem like the type to run at the very first chance.
"Keep your eyes to the ground for anything. Even a little flat grass and you tell me. Let's hope we smell piss as it's a clear sign."
Bran said five minutes into separating from the others. His blue eyes looked over the both of them, fierce. He clearly didn't like forsakens, but didn't seem openly hostile. More the no-nonsense type.
Rayne could work with that.
"What does goblin piss smell like?" Nate asked.
"Foul. Worse than humans. Same colour but far more nasty. I once saw a goblin pissing out a live worm. Disgusting creatures," Bran replied in his stern voice.
Rayne scrunched up his face in clear disgust. Calculating numbers and scribbling names for Axel seemed like a far better option now.
They increased their pace once they saw a few broken branches, and Bran said it could be a sign of something, but wasn't sure.
Rayne had a feeling they were getting somewhere. At least, he wanted something to happen. His skill would be of no use if they couldn't find even the scent of a goblin.
He kept an eye out for every flattened fern, bent branch, or bark scratch. But found nothing.
Suddenly, Bran raised a hand.
"I see it," he whispered. "We might have found a hunting party. At least four of them."
"How can you tell?" Nate asked, searching the ground. Rayne did the same, but saw nothing sticking out.
"Look at the bark there." Bran pointed at a tree to their left. "There's dirt on it. Grey goblins tend to do that. Mark their location so they can get back."
"But it can just be one," Nate replied.
Rayne shook his head. "Goblins run in packs. It's more likely it's a hunting party than a lone one."
Bran nodded. "The bastard is right. We need to move now or we might lose them."
Both of them nodded, their steps becoming quicker. They moved for around twenty minutes when it hit him.
A stench. A terrible one that almost made him puke.
"Goblin piss," Bran muttered and gestured to crouch down as they crept forward.
They moved through the underbrush, hiding themselves among grass and trees. Rayne made sure to step as lightly as possible and avoid any noises.
Bran suddenly stopped and planted himself on the ground. He and Nate moved to his sides and did the same, and then finally, Rayne saw it.
Six goblins sat around on top of a log in a small clearing. A bush to their left was wet and stinking—clearly one of them had done their business there. None of them had any armour, but three had weapons—two sets of daggers and one with a spear. They were munching on caterpillars.
Rayne's face scrunched up in a frown.
"What should we do now?" Nate asked, his hands moving to the hilt of his sword.
"We take them on," Bran replied. "No point letting them go their way. If they are here, a nest is nearby. We can search for it by finding more dirt marks."
Both of them nodded.
Rayne took a breath. Goblins were quick opponents back at the nest they had tackled, but they wouldn't be in formation this time. Fortunately, their levels were always low and it was much harder for them to rise to evolve due to their low base stats.
They would be able to take them on, especially with Bran here.
"I will go around them, get a better position to shoot," Bran said, taking out his bow. "You two wait for me to shoot, then take them by surprise. You can't let them run away or we might alert the nest."
"Okay," Rayne said, and Nate gave a meek nod.
Without wasting a second, Bran crawled, moving towards a large tree trunk on the other side that would give him a better vantage point. Rayne studied him, noting how silently he moved.
The veteran had experience in forests. That much was clear.
"What do we do if the goblins are stronger than we are?" Nate asked, having taken out his sword with his shield beside his legs.
"They are grey goblins. We should be able to take them on," Rayne replied.
"But—"
He hissed. "No buts. Let's keep quiet. We can't alert them."
Nate gulped but heeded his words. Rayne leaned forward, eyes scanning for Bran, who reached the trunk and steadied his bow.
From his back, he picked up an arrow and placed it on the bow. Their eyes met, and Bran nodded before pulling the string back to his ears.
Rayne took out his sword and shield and waited. He could feel his heartbeat in his fingertips, a thrum of cold adrenaline, when finally, Bran let loose the arrow.
It hissed through the air and struck true—one goblin who was munching on a caterpillar crumpled on the floor, pierced through its skull. It was the one with the spear.
The others jumped in panic, and Rayne heard a few odd sentences in their guttural tone. They meant "Enemy. Jump. Need to run." Or something similar.
By then, he and Nate were already moving. They burst out of the bushes and took the monsters head-on. Before they could react to their presence, his sword met the face of one goblin.
It shrieked as its face became a fountain of green ichor. Rayne kicked it away as another goblin charged right at his shield with daggers.
He put it forward, feeling the weight of the weapons trying to dig through it, and ended the assault in a downward swing that cleaved through the soldier.
Another stab to its chest finished the goblin, who gurgled and dropped on the ground. Notifications rang in the back of his mind as he moved onto his next target.
Nate battled with two of them at the same time, the dagger user being quick and dodging his strikes while the second one had picked up the spear and charged from the side.
Rayne couldn't let that happen as he rushed. His sword met the spear as the goblin cursed. He didn't bother to reply, letting it push him back and sidestepped to the monster's surprise.
His sword came down at the spear, breaking the weapon, and the goblin paled. Before Rayne could finish it off, an arrow pierced it in the back. It dropped face-first into the mud.
He lamented the lower experience he would get and turned to see Nate still fighting with the goblin that was clearly the highest-levelled of the hunting party. It even managed to dodge an arrow coming by ducking, causing the arrow to strike Nate's shield
Rayne didn't move to fight it and instead turned to the last one that had barely taken part in the fight.
It looked panicked and scared as Rayne rushed at it. The goblin let out a shriek and jumped, shooting past the log. Then to his surprise and horror, it crashed into the underbrush and fled.
Arrows whistled through the air to catch it, but they only struck the bark of trees.
"I'll chase!" Rayne shouted, and without waiting for a reply, he jumped over the log and into the trees.
The goblin's shriek filled the forest as it ran with frantic steps. He wondered if it was trying to alert others as he gave chase.
Boots pounded on the dirt as branches whipped at him. He kept going despite the small scratches from pushing through, but the distance never lessened.
The damn thing could run fast, or his stats were just inadequate for a long chase. Probably both. His tall frame also held him back as the goblin darted through narrow gaps.
Knowing he would lose it like this, Rayne ducked, picking up a few pebbles and started throwing them toward his target. Most missed, but one hit its head, and he grinned as the goblin winced in pain.
He picked up more stones and pebbles and kept throwing them. The goblin's run became sloppy at the barrage of rocky projectiles until finally, it fell on the ground from a stone hitting its back.
Its face and legs bled due to the stones, and Rayne closed the distance between them in seconds, stomping his foot on its chest before it could crawl away.
The goblin twisted and screeched, clawing at the dirt, but Rayne stomped it hard, making it spew blood, and pressed the tip of the bloodied weapon against its throat.
He saw fear and death in its eyes, but instead of ending it, Rayne decided to take advantage of the situation.
"Answer my question and I will let you go," he said, his throat making out guttural and scratchy noises.
The goblin froze. Black, beady eyes widened. All efforts of running away ceased as it opened its mouth. "Ugly human speak goblin."
"I do," Rayne replied. He tried not to pull away from the stench. This close, it felt venomous. "And I'm not ugly. Speak carefully or you might lose your head. Answer my questions."
He made out a line with his blade on its throat, and the goblin gulped. Defiance shone in its eyes for a second before it said, "Me answer. Human ask."
"Where is your nest?" His scratchy voice filled the surroundings. "Answer me!"
"Me don't—"
He made a cut on its shoulder. The goblin let out a horrified shriek. Panic filled its features.
"Go again. If your answer doesn't satisfy me, I will cut your shoulder."
The goblin writhed under him. "P-past the redwood. Middle of bushes. Past it, yes. Me no tell lie."
"You sure?" Rayne pushed.
"Yes yes, beauty human."
He chuckled at the obvious intent of flattery and drove the pommel of his sword into its ribs. The goblin let loose its breath.
"Human, no kill. Me no kill any humans now."
"I need more information," he growled. "Tell me the location of each nest you know of."
The goblin gritted its teeth, blood leaking out of its shoulders and body bruised due to stones. Despite that, it didn't want to give away his brethren.
Rayne felt it admirable. But they were all going to die one way or another. Any sympathy he might have against goblins had ended the day he had woken up in that graveyard of a battlefield.
"Say! I don't have a whole day."
Rayne crushed the goblin's leg, and it let out a painful scream. More blood pooled beneath it, and it panted and trembled, clearly terrified of him.
He didn't feel great doing this, but knew he had no other way.
"Me know two, human. One past flowery hill, on the side of it. Hidden. That way." The goblin pointed to the left. "Another close in front. Under big rock. Me know just that."
The goblin fell silent, and Rayne looked in the direction it had pointed at. Three nests that hadn't been found yet. That felt like a good haul.
He looked down at the goblin, who seemed to shrink back under him. "You know nothing more?"
"No, human. Me tell true," it grunted, shaking its head frantically.
Rayne eyed it, debating whether he should push for more information, but he had gotten a lot out of one goblin. And there was a good chance Bran and Nate would move to look for him if he delayed any more.
He stepped back, spitting on the ground next to the goblin. "Go. Run. I won't hunt you. But if you go back to inform your nest, know that next time I will personally cut off your head."
The goblin whimpered, its eyes clearly not believing what Rayne said. But that wasn't his problem anymore.
He turned back, intending to leave, but felt his instincts cry out danger. He immediately jumped to the side. The lunging goblin passed by where he stood moments back.
It hit the ground hard and twisted back.
"Human, me—"
Rayne didn't give it another chance. He slashed with his sword, taking its head in one clean strike. Ichor rained down on him and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
He had given the goblin a chance to run, knowing it couldn't do anything even if it told the nest or attacked him. The latter had come true.
Monsters really can't be trusted.
He sighed, wanting to get off all the ichor first thing. But there was no stream nearby. Instead, he walked past the corpse of the goblin and moved toward the clearing where they had fought the rest.
In his mind, only two thoughts ran.
How was he going to explain to Bran how he had found the location of the nests? And how would Fredrick react when he got to know what Rayne had found?