“That’s a huge Goblin settlement,” I murmured while I looked at the thriving Goblin economy. My temporary teammate beside me nodded in agreement while she clenched her bow in her hand.

“We need to play this smart,” Mariona climbed higher to get a good vantage point in scouting. I followed since as a monkey, albeit a big one, I was made for climbing, my semi-hand feet an advantage in the skill.

Above the tree-line, I spotted Mariona with her eyes in a certain direction. I followed her gaze and spotted several Goblins.

They numbered 5, each of them wielding weapons ranging from blunt to edge ones. Mariona locks her gaze with me and I nod in response. I climb down the tree slowly, not making a sound as I do so. Once on the ground, I take to moving towards the group of unaware Goblins.

Learning from my mistakes at attempting a surprise attack, I kept quiet this time instead of roaring from the top of my lungs. Sure, the shrubbery around me made some noise as I moved, but at least it was quieter than roaring in the forest.

The more I close the distance, the more their incessant chatter reaches my ears, drowning the noise the bushes make when I go through them. A moment later, I am hiding on top of a tree where the Goblins are making their rounds. Once they moved under the tree, their unawareness marking their downfall, I strike.

I drop down, quickly equipping my armor and incredibly damaged club in an instant while falling. The Goblins notices my action, but they were too late. I slammed the club on a Goblin, quickly ending its life and turning it into a paste.

25 EXP gained!

I ignore the pop-up for now and focus on the task at hand. The Goblins were still shocked from my sudden appearance, and I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Quickly moving, I mashed another Goblin into red paste against the ground, blood spattering everywhere while the sound of crunching bones reached my ears.

25 EXP gained!

My second kill snaps the shock out of the surviving Goblins. They snarl and growl, angry at me for killing their fellow kind. I snort in response, but I did not let my guard down. Never let your guard down against enemies in a fight, especially if they are weaklings.

Because weaklings will always find a way to mess you up, even at their expense,

The three Goblins charge at me simultaneously, spit flying in the air. I swing my club in a horizontal arc, catching one Goblin who was slow to dodge and flinging him across the beaten path. A loud smacking sound entering my ears accompanied by something breaking notified me of its quick neutralization.

25 EXP gained!

At least the pop-up gave me confirmation of its death.

The two Goblins now look at me with fear. ‘Took them long enough, but it’s easier that way,’ I thought in my head as the two Goblins decided to book it and run away for their lives. ‘Ugh, great, now I have to chase…’

I complained in my head as I rushed towards the escaping Goblins. They are fast, that I’ll admit, but I have a plan or two to deal with these kinds of situations. What were those plans? Simple.

Make a hole.

Using [Earth Manipulation], I made the two of them trip by creating a hole in their path. Not wasting any time, I quickly smashed the two of them before they could continue with their escape.

50 EXP gained!

“Good job,” Mariona says from a tree branch above me. “Looks like I won’t be wasting any arrows.”

“Mhm…” I nod while checking my bloodstained club for further damages.

‘I really, REALLY, need to get a new weapon, otherwise, I’ll have to do Monke Karate,’ I follow Mariona towards the next point. This is part of our plan to cull the numbers of the Goblin problem. For the teams, they had: Me and Mariona; Merethyl and Sogtharoch; Lennon and Kayla; and Grurnuir all by himself, watching the Goblin settlement.

They had to choose between me or Grurnuir to stay and watch the nest for any sudden movement, and they had opted for Grurnuir because he knows the call signals to relay to the team. They don’t trust me enough yet to give their unique call signs for my use.

“Goblins, northeast,” I hear Mariona say from a tree in front of me. I looked towards the direction Mariona stated and saw another group of Goblins, only this time, bigger.

“Too much for me alone,” I say towards her, who in turn, nods while readying her bow. “Cover me?”

“Roger.”

I drop down the trees and rushed towards the Goblin group. They numbered a dozen and a half, 3 times more than the last group. I wonder what the huge Goblin group was for, but that’s not for me to question.

Getting closer, I realize that all of them look tense as if waiting for a sudden attack.

‘Don’t tell me,’ I thought too late. A rock the size of my head flew towards my face, which I dodged by moving to the left. I narrowed my gaze at the group. ‘A Goblin Mage?’

Within the Goblin group, I spotted a Goblin dressed in some kind of shamanistic attire. It held a staff, which was currently pointed at me, and recited some Goblin language mumbo-jumbo.

Realizing there were more to come, I hide behind a tree thick enough to cover my entire body. I hear a slamming noise coming from the other side of the tree a moment later. While hiding, an arrow darts right past where I was hiding and slides itself into the face of the Goblin mage, its lifeless body crashing to the ground.

Taking this as a chance, I come out of my hiding spot and charge at the Goblins. Since there was no longer any need to be quiet, I roared loud enough for them to hear, but not enough to reach the Goblin settlement.

My roar visibly shakes them, freezing them in place. I run with my huge club risen high, slamming it down towards the nearest, petrified Goblin, ending its miserable life. This did not release the other Goblins from their shock, so I kill another one by grabbing its head and smashing it against the ground.

50 EXP gained!

3 down, 15 more to go. I may be outnumbered, but I know for a fact emotional state on the battlefield can affect how you fight, and since Goblins are easily shaken when facing someone out of their league, you get cowards who will try to run rather than fight to the death.

“Time to die…”

[][][][][][][][][][][][][]

275 EXP gained!

I stop once the last Goblin died against my club, which was also the time where my club broke in half.

“You will be missed,” I sorrowfully whisper as I store the broken club inside my inventory.

“I think that’s enough, let’s head back,” Mariona approached from behind me, hands on her waist, or specifically, near her dagger. She looked like she was having a hard time being with me alone for a few hours. I can guess where she’s coming from.

I sigh, seeing the obvious distrust, but I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll have to earn their trust in the following days…

If I can that is…

With our job done for the day, we headed back to camp.