CH 65

I couldn’t stand the sight in front of me anymore and quietly left the place so as not to be noticed.

As I walked along, keeping a wary eye on my surroundings in case the goblins attacked, Zelma came into view.

She seemed to be leaning against a tree, thinking, but when he noticed me, she looked up and came towards me with a serious expression on her face.

「I have a few questions for you.」

「What is it?」

「Do you think there is a Goblin base near here?」

「Considering the range of goblin activity, it’s within half a day’s distance, if not farther.」

「Half a day. …… That’s close enough. We have no choice. We’ll just have to take them out first.」

She seemed to have finally made up her mind, perhaps because of what I had said.

「Let’s gather up!」

Zelma’s clear voice rang out, and the members of the survey team gathered.

The peddlers seemed to have already left.

「There was a high possibility that the goblin base was nearby. We’ll stop investigating the dungeon and start looking there.」

Of course, no one disagreed, because if Yang were to disappear, our plan to profit from the dungeon would be ruined.

「Hey.」

Zelma looks at me.

「Can you locate the base?」

「We can find it by following the tracks of the fleeing goblins. I’m at your service.」

「All right. Then we’ll proceed in the same formation as before. The priority is to identify the location and grasp the scale. If we can hit it alone, we’ll do our best to crush it.」

「Ha!」

I agree with you that since everyone here has magical powers, depending on the number of goblins, it is possible to destroy them.

If this had been a group of adventurers, it would have been a different story. After all, more than 90% of adventurers and commoners don’t have any magic power. There is an overwhelming difference in combat power.

「I’ll show you around then.」

The goblins had fled deep into the forest, and we had to get off the path, wade through the vegetation, check our footprints, and continue.

The tracks were so obvious that even Willy, who was standing next to me, could find them.

They are so easy to find that he gets carried away and tries to go ahead of me.

So I decided to call out to him to stop him.

「Willy-sama, could you please stop for a moment?」

「Why? There are obvious traces left behind. It’s the right thing to do.」

「You’re right, but there’s a trap.」

「What? How is that possible for a goblin?」

Even goblins are smart enough to set a trap.

It’s hard to see, but there was a thread stretched tightly. When I examined it carefully, I saw several pointed tree branches at the end of it.

「Look at this」, I said「When you step on the string, the wood shoots out like an arrow. There’s something painted on the end. …… I think this is manure.」

It’s not a big problem because Sophie is here, but if a party of normal adventurers had gotten caught in the trap, they would have been in trouble.

「Step away, please. I’ll disarm it.」

After making sure that Willy was behind me, I took out my knife and threw it.

As I cut the string, several tree branches flew off and stuck into the tree trunk on the other side.

From the power of the blade, it would have pierced through a piece of leather armor.

「It’s very powerful for a trap set by goblins. The goblins of the King’s hierarchy must have been the ones who put it there.」

「That’s right. I’ll leave the tracking to you.」

A pale-faced Willy dropped behind me.

It is possible to stab through the gaps in the armor, so I was scared when I saw the trap. He is a knight, so he may have some fighting ability, but he lacks practical experience by far. That was the impression I had of Willy.

At first, I thought he was a Knight sent as Zelma’s chaperone, but I guess not because his level is too low.

There are no good people around Zelma, like Christo.