CHAPTER 235: THE GOBLINS' MISFORTUNE

I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Pixies are a race that clearly distinguishes between love and hate.

They resist strangers intruding into their lives and territory, but once they accept you, they show tremendous enthusiasm toward you.

Along the way, these adorable little creatures flew energetically at the front of the team, their small figures nimbly weaving through the trees, guiding the group along an easily walkable path as if they never grew tired.

Though they hadn't known each other long, Gauss decided to immediately cast his 【Gauss Field】 protection on the four pixie guides.

Even though there were four of them, the mana consumption wasn't too significant.

That's because the energy consumption of the Gauss Field defensive magic is closely related to the size of the target being cast upon.

Pixies are only slightly larger than a palm in size, so naturally they don't require much energy expenditure.

However, Gauss felt that the field protection on these little ones probably wouldn't be needed anyway.

Everything has two sides - when the gods close one door for you, they also open a window. Their small size makes pixies less formidable than other creatures in frontal combat, but it also grants them the characteristic of being difficult to hit. Combined with their agile flying ability, it becomes significantly harder for enemies to attack them.

So when Gauss said he wanted to cast protective magic on them,

all four little ones shook their heads vigorously, indicating they didn't need it and didn't want Gauss to waste his mana.

But Gauss still decided to apply the protection.

Whether it would be useful was one matter, but having it available was another matter entirely.

There was no reason for everyone else in the team to have protection while skipping these few little ones over such insignificant mana consumption.

As his mana released from the tip of his staff, an almost invisible, magically glowing transparent field enveloped these little ones like the gentlest of bubbles.

"Thank you, big guy, but you're wasting your mana. Good steel should be used on the blade's edge," said the warrior named Thistle, who was the captain of the pixie team, leading the thanks as she bowed to Gauss.

"My mana is plentiful, don't worry. I recover it in the time it takes to breathe."

The team moved quickly through the forest under the guidance of their local pixie guides.

Unclear about which goblins were Gauss's intended targets, and with Gauss actively requesting it, the pixies planned to lead them past all the goblin settlements they knew about along the way.

"Take a look, are these the ones you're looking for?"

The pixie pointed through gaps in the leaves to a clearing ahead.

Even from a distance, they could smell that persistent stench characteristic of goblins.

About a dozen goblins were casually going about their "daily" lives.

Several goblins were fussing with a fire pit made of rough stones in the center of the camp, throwing various foods into clay pots.

Another group of goblins were fighting over a bloody rabbit skin, scratching at each other with sharp nails until finally a stronger individual stepped on another goblin's head, snatched the rabbit skin, and tied the bloody pelt around his head without minding the filth, showing a satisfied smile on his face.

"Probably not," Gauss shook his head, but a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The targets the pixie pointed to - these goblins only had various wooden weapons around them, with nothing but animal hides and leaves wrapped around their waists for protection besides their basic coverings.

Such shabby appearances naturally had nothing to do with the target of their current mission.

They were just a group of ordinary wild goblins, no different from the many tribes he had previously exterminated.

"Goblins of this scale have been increasing in the forest lately," the pixie sighed.

As "locals" of the forest, they could most directly sense the changes within it.

For those powerful monsters, the number of goblins mattered little, but ordinary beasts, especially some herbivorous animals, often suffered as a result.

If it were ordinary predatory behavior, it wouldn't cause aversion among the pixies, as this was ultimately just normal natural phenomena.

But goblins aren't ordinary predators. As their communities grow, the biological ecology around them often suffers devastating damage. Just the act of capturing female individuals as breeding machines and slaughtering them for food after reproduction is complete is enough to make the pixies, who prefer kind-hearted creatures, instinctively feel disgusted.

Thus, pixies normally make a habit of collecting goblin intelligence and regularly organize combat-capable teams to exterminate goblin tribes.

Like Thistle, Dandelion, Dewlight, and Moss who followed Gauss out this time - they were the elite among elites who had previously participated in goblin extermination teams.

Don't be fooled by their small size - ordinary goblins hardly have any power to resist against them.

They are, after all, the few elite individuals born among hundreds and thousands of pixies.

After Gauss confirmed the attack on the goblins ahead, the four little ones also waved their weapons full of fighting spirit, preparing to fly toward the goblins, but before they could even start moving,

Gauss had already taken action.

As light shone from the magic wand in his hand, 6 magic missile clusters took form in the air before him.

After completing rapid targeting, the comet-like azure light spheres accurately struck the largest few goblins in the group.

"Boom! Crash! Shatter!"

But goblins aren't ordinary predators. As their communities grow, the biological ecology around them often suffers devastating damage. Just the act of capturing female individuals as breeding machines and slaughtering them for food after reproduction is complete is enough to make the pixies, who prefer kind-hearted creatures, instinctively feel disgusted.

The targeted goblins, along with those around them, were sent flying by the terrifying explosive shockwaves.

In just one encounter, the number of goblins was drastically reduced by more than half.

The remaining goblins on the periphery were completely bewildered, utterly confused about what had just happened.

An aura that made them feel extremely terrified suddenly descended in the air, causing their hands and feet to turn cold, even temporarily losing their ability to move.

Deep yellow urine flowed from the rags and leaves covering their lower bodies, moistening the soil beneath them.

They instinctively looked toward the direction of that extremely terrifying aura, but the next moment, increasingly expansive blue light completely filled their field of vision.

With a burst of extremely brief full-body burning sensation, they instantly lost consciousness.

Gauss's two consecutive volleys of magic missiles carpeted the area, sending the goblins to meet their maker before they even saw him.

As the magical fluctuations subsided, the clearing was in complete disarray.

The goblins' death appearances were horrifying to behold.

They were almost no longer recognizable as forms.

Charred fragments were everywhere, scattered bone remnants, blood and internal organ tissue splattered all around, staining the surrounding grass and tree trunks with large patches of filthy dark red.

Gauss had just been testing the effects of his magic missiles after their rank upgrade.

The results proved that the power had nearly doubled, and the quantity had increased from 5-shot volleys to 6-shot volleys. Gauss even felt that achieving 7-shot volleys wouldn't be particularly difficult with some effort.

Never mind a group of ordinary goblins - even level 1 or 2 elite goblins wouldn't be able to withstand attacks of this magnitude.

"The green... green skin scum are all dead just like that?"

The four pixies stared dumbfounded, their heads buzzing.

Just as Gauss looked at the seemingly frozen pixies, secretly reflecting on whether he had been inconsiderate in creating such a bloody scene,

the pixies suddenly turned around quickly, flew up to his face, and excitedly exclaimed:

"You're amazing, big guy!"

"With just a boom, those green skin scum were all wiped out!"

"Can you teach me? I want to kill green skins like that too."

"..."

Well then...

Looking at the excited pixies, Gauss realized he had overthought things.

Unlike puckish spirits, many pixies are tenacious and combative warriors who don't feel much pity toward their enemies.

"Sorry, little ones, I can't teach you this magic."

"What a pity..."

"But if you're this strong, big guy, doesn't that make us useless?" The pixies, coming to their senses, then fell into despondency,

hanging their heads and looking at their weapons, feeling rather like all their skills had no practical application.

"You guiding me to find them is the greatest help already," Gauss comforted the little ones,

"The green... green skin bad seeds are all dead just like that?"

Threads of goblin spiritual energy converged toward his body.

Yes.

In the past two days, after his clay magic proficiency broke through to lv4, he no longer needed to use this magic to kill corresponding creatures to collect their spiritual energy.

As long as he killed them, regardless of what method he used, by channeling the mana of clay magic, he could complete the collection afterward.

Feeling that his goblin soul body had grown slightly stronger again, Gauss nodded with satisfaction.

"With just a boom, those green skin bad seeds were all wiped out!"

The change in power was quite noticeable, especially since she was a veteran who was very familiar with this most frequently used spell of Gauss's.

"Just became proficient with the rank upgrade," Gauss said softly. "Next time I'll take it easier and not use the rank upgrade against these relatively weak enemies."

Making such a bloody mess every time isn't aesthetically pleasing anyway.

Shadow in the team showed no intention of acting throughout.

Just a small group of goblins couldn't spark even half her desire to fight.

She just blinked, looking at Gauss and the staff in his hand, tilting her head as she fell into puzzled contemplation.

Time passed quickly.

After the pixies discovered how powerful Gauss this big shot was, they decisively led Gauss from door to door, systematically clearing out the goblin nests in the forest.

Although Gauss's current commission was to investigate and exterminate the goblin tribes affiliated with the "Blackfang Tribe," he wasn't in that much of a hurry.

Because for him, striking against goblins was also a high priority.

And...

"Total monsters killed: 3859"

In just a day or two, he had successively killed nearly two hundred more goblins.

He was getting closer and closer to reaching the threshold for the next stage reward.

If possible, he hoped to obtain the reward and improvement before formally confronting the commission target.

Actually, he had a premonition that the group of goblins the pixies mentioned as the farthest one - that mining tribe - might be related to the commission target.

But with the reward so close at hand, there was no reason to ignore this improvement and stubbornly push forward with the main quest.

When circumstances allowed, Gauss didn't want to play out any last-minute breakthrough dramas.

The most cautious and reliable approach was to honestly secure the imminent reward first, getting it safely in hand.

Even if attribute improvements might refresh one's physical condition during combat, relieving some fatigue, there was no need to do it this way.

It was important to remember that attribute improvements and other potential rewards required time to digest.

This was also a form of growth planning.

Compared to making hasty breakthroughs during combat, Gauss preferred breaking through during peaceful daily life, which was also more controllable.

"The green skin scum are all dead again."

The pixies counted on their fingers, beaming with joy.

Every group of goblins they deeply detested dying was tremendously good news for them.

"Are there any more goblins around?"

Gauss looked at the delighted pixies and asked.

It had to be said, having locals as guides was truly wonderful.

After the pixies discovered how powerful Gauss this big thigh was, they decisively led Gauss from door to door, systematically clearing out the goblin nests in the forest.

As he continuously killed goblins, Gauss felt that his racial talents 【Energy Storage Gland】 and 【Sturdy Scale Bloodline】 had also received significant improvement.

His energy scales had become more vivid and lifelike, and his protection had slightly strengthened as well.

"Yes, big guy, there are."

"Let me think."

"Take your time thinking," Gauss looked toward his companions.

Regarding his plan to exterminate goblins in the surrounding area, none of his companions had any objections.

Even Shadow, the temporary member who had just joined the team.

However, as the days of teaming up with Gauss kept increasing, the confusion in Shadow's heart grew deeper and deeper.

Especially these past two days - she had clearly just been following the team, or more accurately, just Gauss alone silently killing goblins. She hadn't actually done anything.

Actually, he had a premonition that the group of goblins the pixies mentioned as the farthest one - that mining tribe - might be related to the commission target.

When she first realized this, she thought it was her imagination.

Until a few days ago when her archery suddenly broke through to a new level,

The most cautious and reliable approach was to honestly secure the imminent reward first, getting it safely in hand.

It was genuinely real!

This archery skill was something she had only recently learned, mainly to have some means of attack when using shadow abilities wasn't convenient.

With her Rank 5 level, she learned archery extremely quickly, reaching levels unimaginable to ordinary people in a very short time. This progress rate was already extremely fast, but these days it had become even faster, as if she had boarded a rapidly speeding carriage.

【I also feel my power growing stronger, seems related to Gauss. I told you earlier, this isn't an illusion.】

Sensing her thoughts, the shadow Shade said innocently.

【All of this began when you joined this team.】

"The green skin bad seeds are all dead again."

When they first made contact, she could actually sense the mystery surrounding Gauss, even more than her own.

But through continuous interaction, Gauss's hidden depths still far exceeded her imagination.

She couldn't help but turn to look at Aria and Serlandul.

No wonder both teammates were so obedient to Gauss...

"It seems... seems quite good actually, this feeling."

Nobody could refuse this sensation of continuously growing stronger.

She turned her head to look at Gauss's back.

Not to mention, Gauss had quite a good personality - even though she concealed her shadow abilities without explicitly stating them, he never forced her.

Additionally, that indescribable sense of familiarity made her subconsciously lower her guard against Gauss as an outsider.

【Friendly reminder, my master, you're just a temporary member of this team. Once this commission ends, you'll go your separate ways from them.】 Shade very inopportunely reminded her.

"...I know, you don't need to remind me."

【Your current urgent task is to think about how to stay. The treatment here is too good, I don't want to leave.】

"I'm not as mercenary as you?"

【So you're going to leave?】

"..."

However, as the days of teaming up with Gauss continuously increased, the confusion in Shadow's heart grew deeper and deeper.

Especially these past two days - she had clearly just been following the team, or more accurately, just Gauss alone silently killing goblins. She hadn't actually done anything.

"I'm doing this to solve the mysteries about myself... yes, that's it," Shadow nodded, as if convincing herself.

【Hehe】