Chapter 321: Dongshu and Aspen

"Boom!"

Blinding thunder whistled across the overcast sky, and bean-sized raindrops poured down, stirring the thin mist permeating the air.

The rain was extremely heavy!

Even with the cover of the dense canopy above, the cold rain kept hitting Xia Nan's body, making crisp sounds as it collided with his metal armor.

His once-dry hair was dyed wet again. Xia Nan looked up, his gaze passing through the gaps between the branches and leaves, his jet-black eyes reflecting the surging, gray-black leaden clouds above.

He felt it was troublesome in his heart.

At this moment, he had naturally set off from Hegu Town and was on his way to the mission.

Mist Lamp Grass is an important material for making various potions, including Night Vision Potion and Climbing Potion. Ms. Edwinna of the "Green Grass Crucible" has a considerable demand for it every year and regularly entrusts adventurers to collect it.

The route was clear, the location was precise, and even the ten-day round-trip time was very accurate.

After a trip to the "Green Grass Crucible," obtaining a detailed route map from Ms. Edwinna, and asking about the relevant points to note, Xia Nan left Hegu Town with his prepared luggage.

The journey was quite easy, and he basically didn't encounter any danger.

After all, the "F-rank" mission was already the lowest level among the Association's official commissions. If it weren't for the fact that Mist Lamp Grass has a certain seasonality and needs to be processed as quickly as possible after picking to prevent rot and deterioration, requiring a professional-level adventurer to maintain such a speed in the forest.

Otherwise, it would have been fine to leave it to those bottom-tier adventurers who hadn't yet obtained a professional level.

It had been about three days since Xia Nan set off, and he was currently on the edge of the Mist Forest, a location where even the mist drifting in the air was only faintly visible.

His pace was fast, nearly half a day ahead of schedule.

But this was exactly in Xia Nan's plan.

After all, to maximize his earnings, he had specifically taken on two Goblin extermination missions located near his route before setting off.

This extra half-day was just enough for him to go into the lair and relax properly.

It was a pity that this heavy rain came at an inconvenient time.

Although it dispelled the summer heat in the air, it also washed away the traces left by those Goblins in the forest with the rain.

Even with the vague positioning provided by the Association, it was not a simple matter to find the target Goblin lair while trying not to delay the main mission.

Of course, in this regard, Xia Nan's luck had always been good.

Just as he was standing in the rain, looking left and right, thinking about whether to temporarily give up the Goblin extermination commission, collect the Mist Lamp Grass first, and then search carefully after the rain stopped on the way back.

Suddenly, a burst of abrupt shouting came from deep within the forest.

His heart couldn't help but stir.

Concealing his figure, he had already sneaked over.

"Screech!"

The sharp, excited screech was like a door knocked by the Grim Reaper. Extreme tension left his brain blank, his thoughts unable to coalesce, and his body movements were controlled by instinct.

Dongshu gripped his well-maintained single-handed sword, which had clearly been used for many years and was covered in mottled marks, tightly with both hands.

His body trembled, sweat mixed with rain rolled down from his forehead, and his face was pale and tense.

It was no wonder he acted this way.

After all, what was surrounding him and gradually approaching at this moment was not some ordinary beast like a coyote.

It was nearly thirty green-skinned Goblins!

With such a large number, let alone a young man like him, even those so-called veteran "old oilers" in Hegu Town might not be able to hold their weapons firmly.

Not to mention that Dongshu himself was not an adventurer at all; he was just a young hunter who came out of the village to hunt.

But who would have thought that a small deer that accidentally broke free from a trap, a reasonable impulse, and a sudden heavy rain would put him in such a dangerous situation.

Fortunately, Dongshu in despair was not alone. Leaning back-to-back under the Goblin encirclement was a middle-aged man who was clearly older and had a more robust physique.

"Brother Aspen, what should we do? Can we still escape? I, I don't want to die..."

The foul stench from the dirty Goblins, the rain-filled air, the excitedly waving wooden clubs, and the gaunt muscles under the pus-green skin made Dongshu's voice sound particularly panicked as he asked, trembling.

In response, the veteran hunter named "Aspen" remained much calmer.

Although his left hand, which was gripping his longbow, also had slightly white knuckles from too much force, and blood was dripping uncontrollably from the wound on his calf, at least he maintained the most basic composure on his face.

"Don't panic, you must not panic!"

"Never let these green-skins find out you're afraid of them!"

Aspen had been hunting outside the village for many years and naturally had a certain understanding of Goblins, these disgusting creatures that were almost everywhere in the forest like cockroaches.

He knew how to deal with these ugly little things to achieve the best effect.

It was just that he was surrounded by nearly thirty Goblins like this for the first time.

He couldn't help but feel a bit uncertain in his heart.

But he certainly wouldn't give up.

His brain was running at high speed, the pain in his calf surged like a tide, and sweat and rain soaked the hemp clothes on his back.

"There are too many Goblins. If we continue to be surrounded like this, we will both die here."

"We must find an opportunity to break out!"

"Listen to my command later..."

With the fastest speech speed and the most concise words, Aspen explained his plan to his companion behind him.

Dongshu's expression was extremely tense, but he still maintained the most basic qualities of a hunter.

Even though his heart was almost jumping out of his chest, he still kept every word that came from his ear deeply in his heart.

"Prepare..."

A low, roar-like shout exploded from behind.

"Three, two, one!"

Hum—

That was the trembling sound of the bowstring rebounding after being pulled to the full, which he didn't know how many times he had heard, and the sharp whistling of the arrow tearing through the air.

"Screech!"

A phantom flashed in the air.

The flying arrow left a trail in the rain and mist.

Extremely accurately, the wooden arrow pierced into the skull of the Goblin closest to Aspen's side.

It seemed to be a full-force blow, the powerful force pinning the gaunt green-skin directly to the ground, and it also took down several Goblins around it.

And just as the bowstring vibrated, Dongshu, following the plan explained by the other party, suddenly turned around and ran wildly in the direction where the arrow fell.

Gritting his teeth, he didn't aim for vital points, just waved the sword in his hand indiscriminately, and the Goblins on both sides who saw this and wanted to surround him were driven back by him.

At the same time, Aspen, after shooting that arrow, also stepped back quickly.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, quickly pulled away the distance.

This caused the twenty-plus Goblins that had originally surrounded them to look like a drop of rain split apart, turning into two sticky halves, losing their original round and stable formation.

The plan seemed to have succeeded more than half.

And just when Dongshu intended to turn around and continue to disrupt the Goblins' formation as planned, creating space for his teammate who was still trapped in the encirclement of a large number of Goblins to break out.

The second arrow shot fell on the Goblin beside him.

As if suddenly realizing something, the boy's pupils shrank, and he looked fiercely at the embarrassed figure struggling to pull the bow in the Goblin encirclement ahead.

"Go!"

A resolute roar poured into Dongshu's skull in an instant.

Yes, this was Aspen's plan. ===== CHAPTER 322 =====