Chapter 116: Moonstone

"Ding."

Reflecting a faint green light, the metal hammer face landed lightly on the stone wall.

Scattered powder drifted, and the fungus moss oozed a few drops of pus.

The leisurely crisp sound echoed softly, disappearing into the deep, secluded depths of the passage like the dim light in the air.

Edwinna's body tilted slightly, her expression focused.

Carefully feeling the frequency rise and fall of the echo.

A few seconds later, until the knocking sound could no longer be heard, she silently nodded to the few people beside her, signaling to continue moving forward.

Right now, referring to the rough orientation given by the Association, they had already arrived at the destination of this trip.

——A small Goblin lair located on the outskirts of the forest.

Very cautious.

Unlike Xia Nan, who was a newcomer, Edwinna and others performed professionally and meticulously, clearly having rich experience in how to exterminate Goblin caves.

They did not blindly believe the quantity information given by the Adventurer Association, and after discovering the entrance to the Goblin cave, they did not rush to enter directly.

Instead, they first confirmed through various factors such as feces, activity traces, odor concentration, and prey carcasses in the surrounding area that there were no elite individuals such as Hobgoblins or Bugbears, and the rough number of Green-skins inside the lair.

Then they adjusted the squad formation, letting Abi hold the shield and walk at the very front, guarding against possible dangers, Edwinna followed closely behind, Xia Nan was located in the middle of the squad, and the shooter Berg was at the back.

During the march, Edwinna also occasionally used her one-handed hammer to tap the wall lightly with a force that would not disturb the enemy.

Judging the depth of the lair space through the echo.

Xia Nan mixed in the squad, not saying a word.

Actually, he secretly memorized every move of several people, absorbing relevant experience.

His predecessor was just an ordinary farm boy, and he himself came from the modern society with developed technology, even if his talent was not bad, and he had the blessing of the attribute panel, making his strength still look okay right now.

But these details and adventure techniques that would definitely not appear in the 【Adventurer's Handbook】 or be heard from the mouths of drunkards in the tavern were exactly what he was urgently lacking.

Remembering that when he was adventuring alone a few days ago, because of the habit of Green-skins building nests in the ground, he associated them with burrowing creatures like mice.

Xia Nan, quite whimsically, lit a fire at the entrance of the cave, wanting to use the thick smoke emitted when the fire burned to smoke out those Goblins living in the depths of the lair.

At that time, he would be able to use the narrow cave entrance to harvest the Goblins escaping one by one with a sword.

Saving a lot of effort, and not having to take the risk of entering alone.

The result was unexpected; the lair seemed to have other exits to the outside world.

Standing outside and smoking for a long time, he didn't cut down a few Goblins, but instead increased the risk, attracting the attention of a few "Withered Vine Monsters" nearby.

Fortunately, these monsters composed of plant roots and vines were not good at chasing, and after a few 【Tooth Hunt】 distance pulls, he easily escaped.

Later, after returning to the town, he spent some money to inquire about it specifically and carefully, and he barely figured it out.

The method he used to smoke out the Green-skins from the lair using thick smoke was not impossible, but one must explore the terrain in advance to ensure that the cave had no other exits.

Otherwise, the Goblins escaping into the forest would be like water droplets falling into the ocean, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

And one must fight quickly, otherwise the thick smell of blood caused by a large number of corpses piled up at the cave entrance might attract other dangers.

Therefore, most low-level adventurers in River Valley Town basically use the "stupid method" of exploring the cave in person.

Effort-consuming, but safer (it can also be considered a kind of counter-common sense).

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Sharp screams suddenly came from the front, and a faint firelight could be seen in the depths of the passage.

Stopped moving.

No extra instructions were needed; Edwinna just raised her arm and raised the hammer in her hand high.

Several people were instantly ready for battle.

Abi stood at the very front of the squad, his Adam's apple rolling, swallowing saliva silently.

He gripped the shield handle tighter and tighter, his body trembling due to the upcoming battle.

Xia Nan held the wooden sword 【Green Pine】, just as he had communicated before entering the cave, staying still for the time being, waiting patiently.

From behind came the extremely subtle sound of arrow friction against the bow handle and the bowstring being tightened and bent.

"Whoosh!"

The strong wind brushed his cheeks, and while his broken hair swayed, a sharp, thin shadow flashing with cold light flickered past his side.

Disappearing into the darkness in an instant.

Immediately following, it was a sharp and painful scream.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sound of arrows piercing the air sounded constantly.

Another three miserable wails that stopped abruptly.

It was only then that those stupid Green-skins with low intelligence finally realized that they had been attacked.

"Hiss" sounds kept ringing, each looking for weapons.

"Charge!"

Edwinna roared, and had already raised the hammer in her hand and rushed up first.

Blood boiling, Abi seemed to temporarily forget the fear in his heart, roaring and rushing forward like an Orc.

Xia Nan naturally wouldn't drop the chain at such a time, striding forward a few steps, filling the last vacancy.

Long before entering the forest, the battle plan had already been agreed upon.

As the squad leader, Edwinna took over the position of the newcomer Abi after the battle truly began, and stood at the very front of the squad without giving in.

Not obsessed with killing with one blow, under the drive of muscles that were sturdier and more powerful than adult men, the heavy metal hammer often just smashed down, and the Goblins blocking the way were like toys in a child's hands, either smashed away directly, or smashed to the ground, with more air out than in, losing combat ability.

Abi clearly had no combat experience, and the routines he had learned were washed away by the surging hot blood.

The iron-inlaid wooden shield was held in front, his head was shrunk behind, and a one-handed sword was waved randomly.

Don't say, it was really useful.

Goblin bodies were already thin and small, and their hunched bodies reached at most the waist of an adult.

With the shield held in front, it basically isolated eighty percent of the attacks from the front.

Tall and long-legged, even if it was a one-handed sword, the attack distance was far beyond the two little short hands of the Goblins.

Couldn't break the defense, and couldn't get close, and there was a fierce man holding a hammer with both hands on the side, unable to bypass the back.

For a time, it was also blocked by him on one side of the Goblins.

Berg stood in the middle and back of the squad.

Fully showing his true colors as an "old oiler," holding a longbow, watching the overall situation.

Whenever Goblins leaked through on either side, or teammates were besieged and unable to handle it, arrows would whistle past, relieving the companions.

As for Xia Nan...

That goes without saying.

After the battle officially began, he arrived at his comfort zone.

The wooden sword was sheathed, the decapitation longsword swept horizontally, and a row of Goblins turned into fragments composed of broken limbs against the backdrop of internal organs and blood.

Unlike the previous single-handed fight, with teammates relieving pressure on the side, it was much easier.

He even had the energy to spare some attention to see if others needed support.

The four-person formation was crooked, but it was very stable.

More than twenty Goblins were cleared in just a few minutes.

Xia Nan didn't even find a suitable opportunity to use 【Tooth Hunt】 to increase proficiency, and there were not many Green-skinned Goblins left in front of him.

"Swish."

Pulling the decapitation longsword out of the chest of the last Goblin on the field.

There was a slight helplessness in his heart.

This time forget it, next time when going out on a mission, he must seize the time to use 【Tooth Hunt】 a few more times.

Otherwise, in the end, these Goblins who were scared out of their wits only knew how to run away, and there was no significance of training.

The battle ended, and naturally it was the turn to clean up the battlefield.

Berg was experienced, leading Abi to search the cave to check if there were any extra spoils.

Xia Nan and Edwinna cut off the ears of the dead Goblins to exchange for bounties after returning to the city.

"Bang!"

The metal hammer face dripping with sticky blood smashed down suddenly!

On the ground, the Goblin that was cut at the waist and only had half a breath left, its round head exploded like an eggshell.

The red and white blood mixture splashed on the surface of the scale armor, and even a few drops were stained on the cheeks.

Edwinna didn't even blink.

Cut off the left ear, smash the head.

Cut the ear, smash the head.

Cut, smash...

Even for those Green-skinned corpses that were already dead and whose limbs were no longer twitching.

She also seriously added a hammer.

It was as if only by personally feeling the sluggish sensation of a skull shattering through the handle of the hammer could one truly confirm the death of this Goblin.

Xia Nan stood on the side, looking at the figure covered in Green-skinned blood, even the short hair was soaked red by the blood.

In his mind, the titles other adventurers had for her couldn't help but appear:

——"Green Blood" Edwinna.

"Found it!"

A voice filled with excitement and agitation suddenly sounded in the cave.

Abi stood up straight suddenly, his face still remaining with the blush after the battle.

His right hand was raised high.

And between his fingers stained with dirty soil, he was holding a translucent little stone the size of a fingernail, emitting a faint blue glow.

"Moonstone?"

Looking at the familiar luster in the other's hand, Xia Nan said subconsciously in his heart.

A quite expensive gemstone.

When he followed Fugang to "sweep goods" last time, he picked up one in the Hobgoblin's storage box, and the size was not as good as the one in front of him.

It still sold for a high price of "35 gold."

Right now, it was just an ordinary Goblin lair, and it could still have such a harvest.

"Is it his newcomer luck?"

Xia Nan's gaze toward Abi suddenly became strange.

Unexpectedly, Abi, who was the first to discover the Moonstone and should have known the value of this little stone through his performance.

No matter how excited his expression was, after looking at the little stone in his hand for a while, he walked straight over.

His face was filled with the smile peculiar to newcomers, without any reluctance.

Directly handed the Moonstone to Edwinna.

According to the distribution rules that had already been told to Xia Nan when forming the squad.

The bounty of 5 silver coins per head for Goblins belonged to the killer.

But all spoils found in the Goblin lair belonged to the team's income.

It would be exchanged for gold coins after returning to the city and distributed equally to every member of the squad.

Of course, in special circumstances, such as making a huge contribution to the team, or the spoils being a piece of equipment that a certain member particularly wanted...

Then after returning to the city, they would also discuss collectively to discuss a result that everyone could accept.

Right now, "Moonstone" had no value to team members except for selling to the grocery store.

And the battle division of labor just now was clear, even if the number of Goblins killed by several people was slightly different, it did not reach the level of "special contribution."

Therefore, this expensive crystal the size of a fingernail would be exchanged for gold coins after returning to the city, and together with the mission reward given by the Association, it would be distributed to all members of the squad.

"Adding it all up... the share should be around a dozen gold?"

Xia Nan estimated in his heart.

Undoubtedly, the income of teaming up was much less than when he acted alone.

It was the same Goblin cave, even if the speed of clearing was much faster, the total value was still that much.

A four-person squad, even if one mission earned 100 gold, divided equally, each person would only have twenty-five gold.

This was almost just a fraction of the income of his previous few missions.

Although it didn't reach the point of "looking down on it," it was far from making his heart ripple.

Of course, ordinary low-level adventurers couldn't be like him:

His first adventure could obtain magic items, picking herbs directly picked into an otherworld secret realm, escorting a merchant caravan involved in a conspiracy, and even the super-level approaching legendary existence who was invited to train combat techniques.

He didn't feel anything at first, but after Xia Nan recalled it later, he always felt whether someone had adjusted his "game difficulty" when he crossed over.

All in all, for low-level adventurers who have been mixing on the outskirts of the Mist Forest all year round and taking Goblin bounties as their main income, earning a dozen or twenty gold coins in one mission is already considered very good.

At least for Abi, it is indeed so.

Until the Goblin lair was cleaned up and ready to leave.

He was still very excited.

It seemed to be the first time in his life he had earned such a large sum of money.

Muttering about how many days and nights his family of several people would have to work in the fields to exchange these gold coins for wheat.

Even his footsteps were much lighter.

Just finished a battle that could be considered intense, and no one would spoil the fun at such a time.

Finally confirming again that there were no omissions in the cave.

Xia Nan and others stopped staying, turning to walk toward the exit passage.

Intending to return to the city directly, without going deeper into the forest, and the lair was located underground.

Then there was no need to deal with the corpses.

The smell of blood spreading out of the cave was enough for those carrion animals in the forest to drill into it along the smell and feast.

By the next day, I'm afraid not even a wisp of blood would be left, gnawed clean.

"Pitter-patter, pitter-patter..."

The Goblins had been cleared, and there was no need to control the footsteps.

Shuttle through the passage leading to the ground, several people quickened their pace in unison.

Abi was in an exceptionally high mood, walking at the very front, even the wooden shield in his left hand was held loosely in front of him, as if he was already considering how to spend this sum of gold coins that was about to be obtained.

"Wait!"

And just as several people walked to the end, about to leave the cave.

Edwinna suddenly reached out and pulled Abi, who was in front, back.

Her brows furrowed tightly.

Her gaze stared tightly at the entrance of the passage, at the few small stones she had specially placed before entering the cave.

At this moment, these small stones, which were originally placed in specific places, had left their original positions in silence.

Scattered on the ground near the exit.