Chapter 290 - Battle in the Village

There were no reports from the night guards, and everything was quiet. Daniela and I were able to sleep the whole night and rest our bodies. It was often difficult to sleep soundly while camping, but we were surrounded by capable Adventurers, which offered a lot of comforts.

The next morning. The time to put the plan into action. As it was the icesnow season, the ground was frozen. But not the river. It ran into the lake and under the ice, before running off into the other rivers. At least, we were able to walk on the lake.

And so we packed our tents and equipment and set off for Namila Village. Of course, there was nothing to hide as we traveled across the lake. And so had to march while being prepared for a possible ambush. Everyone held their weapons. Those who could used Presence Detection as we moved. Luckily, there was no attack or even a presence close by. And it was like that, that we reached the river.

“It’s your turn now.”

“Leave it to me.”

Adlus stepped to the side and moved forward. Then I created a Frost Sword in my hand. It let out an icy ring, just like a bell as I sank half of the blade into the water. And using the sword as a medium, I sent ice magic into the water.

“Frostheim.”

I sent the magic energy forward, and a path that was just wide enough for a single person to walk was created. I had used the Ice Sword as a medium because I didn’t want to plunge hands into cold water. It turned out well. Perhaps Adlus was recalling an unpleasant memory, because I saw him grimace for a second. Hmm. I felt pretty good, on the other hand.

“Le-let’s go then!”

Adlus said with a cough. I grinned as I followed after him. Daniela looked a little exasperated, but Manager smiled. Then the Jades followed us.

Just as the information suggested, the area here was covered with bushes. Then there was a slope…hmm. I still wasn’t sure if they would see us. The path I had made in the river was near the edge where the grass was especially tall, so it would be hard to spot. On the other hand, the slow was so steep that one wrong step could have someone rolling down it and splashing into the freezing water… It was surprising that the villagers hadn’t done anything about it. Even a fence would have made this place a lot safer.

“Namila Village is up ahead. But this area is now ruled by the goblins. So move carefully.”

We all nodded and continued up. As the frozen ground made it easy to slip, we had to move carefully anyway. But I hoped none of them fell as they crossed the river. The ice could break… Not really. My magic wasn’t that weak. But then again, I wouldn’t make any promises if it was someone with very heavy armor.

We traveled upstream for a good thirty minutes. It was then that Presence Detection caught the goblins.

“Adlus.”

“I know.”

Adlus was also able to use Presence Detection. He stopped and started to think. Kill them? Or let the pass?

“…Alright. There were a few Jades with us who were skilled scouts. We’ll have them go and see.”

Several of the Jades then raised their hands. Ultimately, three Adventurers came forward. One man and two women.

“Our party is mostly comprised of scouts. This is the perfect job for us.”

“Very well.”

The leader seemed to be the short-haired woman who had spoken up. And so the three of them moved through the grass and up the slop with ease. Adlus and I sensed the goblins on the other side of the slope. There were three of them.

The three scouts had finished climbing the slope now. I could tell that they were crouching low and hiding. It occurred to me that I could have used Eyes of the God Wolf as well, but it was good to let the others do their work. As part of the group that was ahead of the others, it was our role to give them opportunities to grow. Well, such things had been on my mind of late. Daniela had often done the same with me.

They returned after about three minutes. According to them, the goblins were not only armed with weapons but wore armor as well. Leather armor. Not only that, but it seemed like they had made the armor themselves from animals they killed. It suggested a level of skill on top of intelligence. Clearly, there were at least some among them that were very smart.

“Should we kill them?”

“…No, we can do that later. They are likely guards, which means their disappearance could cause a stir.”

We didn’t know how smart they were yet, but it seemed like a safe enough bet to treat them as if we were dealing with humans. And so it would be a problem if they vanished. It would mess up our plans if the enemy was alerted. We had to be careful.

And so we continued to head north until we finally reached the wharf. This wharf was an important part of village life, and was just as short distance ahead of Namila Village. We detected goblins several times on our way here, but they were always small groups of three. In other words, they were sending out these armed groups to guard the village from enemies on the outside. This was clearly abnormal. When the scouts told the rest of the party about this, the Jades all gulped.

“Listen here. There is no point in suddenly getting cold feet. There is no other path but complete annihilation. Do you understand?”

They nodded at Adlus’s words.

“You all know the plan, so there shouldn’t be a problem. Now, let us begin. ‘Stromdimauer.’”

He chanted. And then the river began to flood. However, the powerful magic was able to control the flow, and the water was lifted up over the slop and then split into two. And then in the blink of an eye, it had surrounded Namila Village. At the same time, Daniela and I ran towards it. The other Jades followed.

What we saw in front of was about twenty or more wooden buildings that were surrounded by water. I could sense numerous goblin presences both inside and outside of the buildings.

“The village is filled with goblins! I want two to come with me and two to go with Daniela. The rest of you stick together and fight!”

I shouted the order. Two Jade women looked towards me and so I nodded. Once I was sure they were following me, I ran behind the closest house where I knew goblins were standing.

There was a cow that had been livestock there. But it was now lying down with its stomach torn open. About five goblins were standing around it. They looked surprised as they gazed at the wall of water that had been created around them. And so I took the opportunity slash at their dumb heads with the Velnoir. Two decapitated heads flew in the air. Then the two Jades used their short sword and one-handed sword respectively to kill the other two. In the meantime, I created an Ice Sword and shoved it into the heart of the last goblin.

“You get the idea. Next!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

We were off to a good start. Like this, we would annihilate the goblins within the village. If we were quick enough, we might be able to go and help Manager’s team as well. As I was still using Presence Detection, I could sense every time a goblin’s life was snuffed out. The shock from Adlus’s wall was making things much easier for us.

Of course, that was only in the beginning. The goblins eventually returned to themselves and unsheathed their weapons. They also started to huddle in groups. It would no longer be a one-sided slaughter then. While we still had the advantage, swords would cross more than a few times before a death.

“Haah!”

I roared with every swing of my sword. Jack of all Trades, Master of None tells me to rotate my wrists a little when I do. And like that, the Velnoir shatters the goblin’s sword and without losing momentum, cuts into the flesh. Blue blood sprays as the body rolls on the ground. This sword was amazing.

“Tsk…!”

“Mister Asagi!”

The voices sounded pained and desperate as I turned around. One of the Jades was blocking to goblin sword with her one-handed sword. Next to her, the other Jade was fending off another goblin. She wouldn’t have enough time to help. My feet dug into the dirt, and then I dashed forward. Before my foot touched the ground on the first step, it was enveloped in platinum wind. Suddenly, it was as if my body lost all weight as I flew forward. Before I landed again, the three goblins ahead of me were cut into half. I swung the blood from my blade and checked to see if the other two were alright. They looked a little stunned.

“W-wow…”

“So…this is Silvergreen…”

“It’s really nothing special. Let’s go. Uh…”

It was at that point I realized that I didn’t know their names.

“I-I’m Marcel!”

“Silket!”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Asagi. While this is a strange place for introductions, let’s do our best.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

They replied eagerly. Somehow, this reminded me of what it was like when we hired new people at the store. Well, you had to make a good impression as their superior. Even though I didn’t look the part, I decided to go all out.