"Ahhh!"
The intense pain made the adventurer let out a scream; his facial features were contorted in agony, and tears mixed with snot streamed down his face.
The goblin that had struck the adventurer raised its club, clearly ready to deliver the final blow.
[Whoosh!]
A scorching flame descended and instantly coiled around the goblin.
"Gwah! Gwah!"
Surrounded by flames, the goblin let out only two more screams before turning into a pile of charred ashes, and a smell of roasted meat filled the air.
A massive figure descended into the midst of the battle between the adventurer and the goblin.
The two unfortunate goblins became cushions for Zerl's claws, turning into a green mess in an instant.
Upon landing, Zerl raised its claws and struck at the two nearest goblins.
Affected by the attack, the goblins raised their spears and swords in an attempt to resist.
The spears in the goblins' hands pierced Zerl's claws, but they didn't even manage to break its skin.
In the next second, the two goblins were sent flying, spewing dark green juice.
[Roar!]
With a roar, Zerl swiftly pounced on the next goblin.
It was nothing but a slaughter where one side was utterly outmatched in strength.
[Shush!]
In the forest, Brant was running away, carrying his two employers. With each step he took on the leaf-covered ground, a soft sound was emitted.
[Whoosh!]
Hearing the sound of something cutting through the air behind him, Brant's heart tightened.
In the next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Losing his balance, he fell to the ground, and so did his two employers.
"Gwah!"
The goblin that had shot the arrow proudly raised its long bow.
"Gwah!"
The two other goblins, standing nearby and holding broken swords, also raised their weapons, as if in praise.
After celebrating their success, the three goblins continued towards their fallen prey.
[Shush!]
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Brant used his arms to prop himself up, drew the sword hanging from his waist, and stood up, facing the approaching goblins.
His gaze fell on the mother and daughter beside him, who were huddled together, trembling with fear.
He wanted to speak, but ultimately gave up the idea. The mother and daughter were clearly in a state of shock; there was no point in trying to talk to them at such a time.
But he could understand their feelings. Having seen their husband torn apart by a group of goblins right before their eyes… Such a cruel sight was beyond anyone's tolerance.
Brant fixed his gaze on the approaching goblins.
[Whew!]
Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down. The best thing to do now was to kill these three goblins.
When they were still ten meters away, the goblins stopped, drew their arrows, and nocked them onto their bows.
Their movements were swift and efficient.
[Whoosh!]
[Clang!]
Brant blocked the incoming arrow with his sword and, using the strength of his intact left leg, launched a charge.
Although the arrow pierced his right leg, he was a warrior, and his physique had been trained to withstand such injuries. He was still able to move.
The two goblins raised their weapons to stop Brant.
The archer-goblin retreated once again, nocked another arrow, and shot it at the human adventurer.
[Hah!]
With a roar, Brant's arm muscles swelled, and his sword unleashed tremendous force. The two goblins were knocked off their weapons by that powerful strike.
With a single swing of his sword, he cut off the arrow that was aimed at his face.
Just as he was about to pursue his advantage, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a small knife stuck in his chest; the blood flowing from the wound was black.
His mind began to blur. The archer-goblin was smiling sinisterly in his vision, and its image started to blur.
His knees gave way, and the poison in his body spread quickly.
"Gwah!"
The archer-goblin pointed at the other two goblins with its finger.
The two goblins immediately ran over, picked up their weapons that had been knocked away, and approached the kneeling human, clearly ready to finish him off.
As for the archer-goblin, its gaze had already fallen on the two human females. It preferred the flesh of female humans; it was softer and more tender.
[Whew!]
Hearing the sound of the arrow being nocked, the archer-goblin turned around, drew its bow, and shot an arrow in one smooth motion.
[Clang!]
The arrow hit the round, red head, but only left a shallow scratch on it.
At the moment of being hit, Set felt a pang of pain. But soon after, he felt no more pain, and his crimson pupils contracted. In the next second, he pounced on the archer-goblin, raised his claws, and smashed them against the goblin's head.
[Plop!]
Dark green juice splattered all over his face, and a foul-smelling odor filled his nostrils.
It stunk terrible.
Raising his head and opening his mouth, he spat fire at the two goblins that were charging towards him. The fire instantly enveloped the two goblins, and after running a few more steps in the flames, they turned into two pieces of cooked meat and lay motionless on the ground.
All three pursuing goblins were now completely defeated.
Stepping down from the headless goblin, Set wiped its claws, covered in dark green slime, on the fallen leaves, and then walked towards the male adventurer.
For some reason, this time, he didn't feel the same discomfort towards this adventurer as before.
He stopped in front of the kneeling adventurer.
Brant struggled to lift his head, and a faint, ugly smile appeared on his blood-streaked lips.
"Thank you for saving us."
Looking at the adventurer before him, Set felt as if he understood something. Perhaps… because this guy is a good person.
His gaze settled on the small knife stuck in the adventurer's chest; the blood flowing from it was black and poisonous.
[Slurp!]
Raising his claw, he tore open the adventurer's shirt, revealing a muscular chest.
Brant gritted his teeth in pain. To be honest, the monster's actions were a bit rough, but thinking that the monster had saved him, Brant suppressed his complaints.
The dagger was stuck in his chest, and the surrounding flesh had turned black, but the area affected was not large—only about the size of a tennis ball. The slow spread of the poison indicated that it was not particularly potent.
He quickly concluded in his mind.
Set then began to search around, and soon found what he was looking for. Beneath a huge tree trunk, the roots were dense like a forest. On the muddy ground beneath those roots, there was a cluster of blue mushrooms.
Set had read about these mushrooms in books; they were called Blue Reversal Mushrooms. They were poisonous and could cause the person who ate them to experience a "carousel effect," which would last for a long time before being fatal, twenty hours later.
These mushrooms also had a strong repellent property; if they mixed with other poisons, they would trigger a deadly struggle—one of them would have to kill the other, or both would die.