Chapter 18: Encounter, Two Ogres

A wild boar weighing a full 200 jin or so was quickly processed thanks to the skilled movements of the brothers Leier and Lande.

All the internal organs were removed and buried in a small pit dug for that purpose.

To Tang Zheng, this seemed like quite a waste; the "Rock" squad and the grandfather-grandson pair Enfirea seemed completely uninterested in these organs.

Clearly, they were not in the habit of eating innards.

Tang Zheng naturally would not be a busybody.

Do not be fooled by how these people appeared as mere minor characters in the anime.

Yet, whether it was the adventurers or Enfirea and his grandfather, who owned an apothecary, none of them belonged to the ranks of the poor.

The cleaned wild boar meat was placed over the campfire to roast; soon, layers of fat dripped down, causing the flame's temperature to rise once more!

A savory aroma began to permeate the air.

Captain Dosari walked over from the side, sat down next to Tang Zheng, and began a conversation in a hearty tone.

Tang Zheng maintained a listening expression, nodding and responding with a word or two from time to time, while the other party did most of the talking.

Enfirea was the same, showing great interest in the experiences of adventurers.

Although the stories Captain Dosari told were just amusing anecdotes from his past adventures, even mixed with some bragging, Tang Zheng was still able to glean some useful information from these words.

The next day.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the group set off again.

The road ahead began to become less easy to travel, especially as they drew closer to the border; the boundless, towering, and majestic Angelisia Mountains had already appeared in everyone's field of vision.

The previously relaxed atmosphere became much more serious.

Along the way!

Attacks from monsters began to gradually increase, though most were relatively weak magical beasts!

Tang Zheng followed along and successfully gained quite a bit of experience.

The Angelisia Mountains separated the Re-Estize Kingdom from the Baharuth Empire, serving as a natural barrier between the two countries.

According to Captain Dosari, 400 years ago, the two countries were actually the same nation, but for unknown reasons, the original vast country was destroyed and then split into the two countries that exist today.

Suddenly.

"Alert!"

The archer Bask, who was guarding the rear of the carriage, suddenly called out a warning; his ears twitched slightly, and a serious, grave expression appeared on his face:

"Something big is coming!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone else in the "Rock" squad changed slightly.

Grandmother Rigit pulled the reins with a blank expression, bringing the carriage to a halt, while Enfirea, sitting on the carriage, gripped the wooden railing with nervous hands.

Tang Zheng noticed the change in expression on the faces of the "Rock" squad members and his gaze tightened.

Through his contact with them over this period, Tang Zheng knew that the archer named Basake possessed a natural ability for "hearing" that far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

In this adventurer party, besides his role as long-range fire support, he also handled intelligence duties!

To make him this nervous, he had clearly heard something terrifying!

However!

Tang Zheng remained relatively calm inside; the true powerhouse in this group was not the adventurer squad, but Grandmother Rigit, who was driving the carriage.

"Wah! Wah!"

"Wah wah!!"

"…………!"

Piercing shrieks erupted as something rushed out from the grass at the edge of the road with a "rustling" sound.

Goblins, less than 1 meter tall, with dark green skin, looking very thin, with white pupils and cruel faces, appeared in everyone's view.

There were a full ten of them!

Tang Zheng glanced at these goblins; most held weapons like wooden clubs. Although their numbers were not small, they were not actually a threat.

Goblins were a weak race with a very fast reproduction rate and low intelligence; an ordinary adult, if careful, could manage to kill a goblin one-on-one.

Let alone the "Rock" squad; judging by their rank, the average level of a Silver-ranked adventurer party is between 7 and 10. Of course, the goblin race is also divided into several types.

Is the real danger behind them?

Tang Zheng's gaze moved past the rushing goblins and looked toward the dense forest behind the grass.

Boom!

Boom!

Heavy footsteps approached; compared to the goblins that had rushed out first, shrieking, the presence behind them was what truly brought a sense of oppression.

"Everyone, pay attention!"

Captain Dosari drew the twin swords at his waist and gave a serious, low shout.

"Roar!"

Following a beast-like roar.

A figure over two meters tall, with a fat and sturdy build, dark yellow skin, and a back covered in a layer of short-spiked skin resembling armor, strode out.

"Is that an ogre? No! It's two!" the archer Basake said with an ugly expression.

"Wah wah wah!"

=9+Shu_ba

"Wah wah wah!"

The 10 goblins, who had previously been somewhat afraid to advance, suddenly gained courage upon seeing the two ogres. They waved their wooden clubs and charged toward the carriage.

"Take care of these goblins first!"

Captain Dosari charged out first, raised the longsword in his right hand, and threw it fiercely toward the front.

Following a piercing sound of breaking air.

The longsword struck the goblin running in the lead, the blade piercing directly into the goblin's chest with great precision!

The goblin let out a miserable shriek, and light green blood sprayed out from the piercing wound, splattering the ground!

At this moment, Captain Dosari also rushed in front of this goblin, stepped hard on its chest, and pulled the sword hilt upward with his right hand, causing blood mixed with bits of flesh to spray out again.

At the same time!

Captain Dosari swung his left-hand sword, decapitating the goblin next to him.

Meanwhile.

The brothers Geer and Lande raised their arms, held the silver shields strapped to their hands in front of them, and charged forward quickly.

The two of them knocked a goblin to the ground together, then slammed their shields down hard, smashing it into a pulp of meat.

Compared to the bloody actions of the first three!

The archer Bask was much more elegant; drawing arrows and firing, his steady movements quickly shot down two goblins.

In just a moment, the "Rock" squad had already taken care of six of the ten goblins.

Seeing this scene, Tang Zheng took a slight deep breath.

He was not nervous, just slightly disgusted by such a bloody scene.

Along this journey, he had encountered sporadic monster attacks, so this was not the first time he had seen such a scene.

But as a modern person, he still felt a slight sense of discomfort.

Smelling the fishy, bloody scent in the air!

Seeing the goblin heads that had been chopped off in the distance, as well as the bodies smashed by shields, Tang Zheng felt the reality of this entire world even more.

At this moment.

Besides feeling a bit disgusted inside, Tang Zheng also felt a faint, inexplicable sense of excitement.

He suddenly had a realization about the "Eight Greed Kings" who had once ravaged the entire continent!

While Tang Zheng was stunned, the remaining 4 goblins were also quickly dealt with by the "Rock" squad!

And the two massive ogres, at this time, also roared in anger and charged out from the forest!

(End of chapter)