## Chapter 128 – Rank D Adventurer Kim Kat
“Then, let’s kill the sentries first and wait.”
If we kill the two sentries simultaneously and wait, then kill the ones coming to relieve them, we’ll take out four in an instant.
Killing four of them first will make things considerably easier. Assuming there are 20, that’s taking out 20% of their forces before even going in.
“Lina, you could really die, so keep up. Be as careful as possible, and don’t get caught. You’ve done a lot of pickpocketing, right? I’m not responsible if you die. You only have one life. Mommy’s magic touch, you know?”
“Well, something about that doesn’t make sense… I understand, Oppa.”
With that, we stealthily approached the entrance of the mine.
The two hobgoblins standing guard seemed to be suffering from severe ADHD, not focusing on their duties at all, and exhibiting hyperactivity with sudden sergeant jumps, as if they saw some kind of mysterious, enjoyable light.
ㅡHungk! Hungk!
ㅡHoohoohoong!
Their cries are seriously annoying.
A murderous intent surged within me instantly.
More than anything, I didn’t like their seemingly joyful faces.
They were letting out twisted, demonic laughs between their sparse teeth, as if something was funny. It was the kind of laughter I could never forgive, as if they were looking down on people.
Anyway, they didn’t seem to be standing guard so much as just playing around.
“Aren’t they just acting like…?”
“Hmm, they do seem similar, Katt. As I always say, don’t do stupid things too much, okay?”
“No, seriously, what the hell are you talking about?”
Winia poked my cheek with the end of her staff.
ㅡHung! Hung! Keurta!
ㅡHung hung hung, Keur!
To find the right timing, I peeked over the wall and observed the hobgoblin brothers making fools of themselves.
Seeing as they didn’t notice us even this close, their sense of smell probably isn’t very good. Nor is their hearing. Looking closely, their eyes seem wonky too.
They know the concept of standing guard, but fundamentally, they’re just stupid monsters. Judging by how they haven’t noticed us approaching at all, it seems like their discipline is a mess, even before considering their senses.
A typical disorganized army.
“Cloudy, let’s go at the same time when I signal.”
“Okay.”
Cloudy nodded. The distance to the hobgoblins was about fifteen meters. If we sprinted at full speed and stabbed them in the neck, they’d die without a sound.
They wouldn’t even be able to scream, let alone alert their comrades.
“Winia, you…”
“I can handle it myself, you know?”
“Well, you’re better than me.”
“You know it.”
It was the moment the hobgoblins burst into laughter, as if they’d cracked some joke. Not missing the opportunity, I immediately charged towards them. ㅡWhoosh! That was the signal. Cloudy and I rushed towards them.
ㅡ…Hung?
ㅡHoo-oong…??
About two seconds after hearing the footsteps, they sensed something was wrong and tried to turn around and stand up. But it was already too late. The situation would be over before they could even get up.
ㅡHung!
I immediately pounced on the hobgoblin on the right, shoving my gauntlet-clad fist into the inside of his mouth to prevent him from screaming. Then, I immediately plunged my knife between his collarbones.
ㅡHoo-oong! Hookoooo…!!
I twisted the blade I’d shoved in like a joystick.
He collapsed without even finishing his scream.
“…This guy’s weak?”
Turning to the side, I saw that Cloudy had already cut off the other one’s head and was looking at me. I was sure of it after that fight. They don’t have very good reflexes, and they’re weaker than humans.
They just seem like slightly stronger goblins.
“Yeah. They don’t seem to have any outstanding qualities. Disappointing.”
“What did I tell you? I said they were pushovers, right?”
It can’t be helped since they’re physically weaker. Or have I simply become stronger? Things seem to be going easier than I thought. Seeing how easily the knife went in, they don’t seem to have thick skin either.
“Anyway, the loot is just two clubs and the crappy leather they were wearing. They look completely useless.”
I wonder if they’ll be worth any money.
“Hey, Lina. Take these corpses and hide them in that corner.”
Lina nodded and dragged the hobgoblin corpses to hide them in a corner where they wouldn’t be easily seen. We need to cut off their heads as proof of subjugation when we return. There’s no need to carry them around from the start; we can just take them all at the end.
“Should we go straight in?”
Cloudy asked.
Looking inside the abandoned mine, it didn’t seem like we’d need any lighting. There were sparsely scattered grains of luminescent minerals embedded in the walls and ceiling.
Inside the abandoned mine, those tiny beams of light gathered together to illuminate the area moderately. It was dark, but enough to distinguish objects.
“I wanted to kill a few more before going in, but… let’s go.”
With that, we went straight inside. The only thing we were careful about was not making any noise. I stood at the very front, followed by Winia and Lina. Cloudy was at the very back.
I had memorized the map roughly.
A turning path appeared immediately.
ㅡHoolooloong… Kooloong.
A bizarre sound flowed out, so I carefully peeked out to check the situation, and saw hobgoblins lying down and sprawled out, sleeping. Counting them, there were three in total.
“…”
They were sleeping so happily, like pure infants who knew nothing of the dirty and ugly world, that I was suddenly overcome with the urge to kill them.
I turned to Cloudy and nodded.
Approaching the sleeping hobgoblins as gently as possible, I carefully covered their mouths and plunged my knife into the neck of the one whose eyes had snapped open.
ㅡ…! …!
The struggling one soon trembled and fell silent.
They must have fallen too deeply asleep, trusting only the two foolish sentries.
There is no prince in this world who will give a kind kiss to a beautiful princess cursed with eternal sleep. Such a guy is just a first-class rapist disguised as a prince. No one should trust others and sleep comfortably in a place of death.
It didn’t take long for the three hobgoblins enjoying their nap to die miserably. We pushed the corpses against the wall and set off again.
“We’ve already killed five. If there are only a dozen or so left, it’s too easy.”
We continued through the abandoned mine. There weren’t even any forks in the road. They were all collapsed. As we progressed almost in a single straight line, something appeared in the distance.
ㅡHoo, hooroong?
“Crap.”
ㅡHooloolooloo!
The hobgoblin who spotted us was startled and disappeared around the corner. I sensed that we were screwed. There was no time to chase him. He’ll bring his comrades soon.
The real battle starts now.
“Hey, shit. Aren’t we screwed?”
“Our friend is huge, but he’s so scared. If they call their friends, what? Do you think we’re going to die?”
“No, it could be dangerous.”
“How dangerous could it be? Are you scared? Should I hold your hand?”
“I don’t need it…”
Winia didn’t seem to feel any sense of crisis.
Then, she went on to explain how many hobgoblins she had roasted so far. It seemed like I was more scared than necessary.
ㅡTootootootoo!
Footsteps were heard.
“Here come your friends. Go say hello. You can play with them, too. Should I give you some pocket money? Buy your friends something to eat. Oh, right. Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?”
“Stop teasing me…”
What appeared next was a gang of armed hobgoblins. There were six in total. Four of them were holding clubs or stone axes, and the two in the back were holding long pitchforks, probably stolen from a farm.
You shouldn’t underestimate farm tools.
Those were threatening spears.
ㅡHooroong! Hook!
ㅡKooloong Kooloong!
The six hobgoblins, having completely lost their minds, charged at us.
Their running speed was still slower than humans. I was confident that I wouldn’t be pushed back even if we collided, but more than anything, the guy running at me with a pitchfork like a spear was terrifying.
Cloudy silently raised her curved blade. Two of the club-wielding hobgoblins collided with her, and the remaining two charged at me.
ㅡWhoosh!
Two hobgoblins swung their wooden clubs at the same time. One jumped and aimed for my head, and the other aimed for my legs.
First, I diagonally swung my sword and stabbed the jumping one in the shoulder.
Unless you have a three-dimensional maneuvering device, it’s impossible to change your trajectory in mid-air. So, the moment he jumped, his fate was decided. Using the reach of the long sword, I deflected the incoming club and plunged the sword into his flesh.
ㅡThwack!
Blood splattered along with the feeling of cutting through bone.
ㅡClang!
“You little rascal!”
Since two of them attacked at the same time, I had no choice but to take one hit. Just before the club collided with my thigh, I pushed my leg forward to deflect the attack with my greave.
A wooden club could never break a greave made of iron. I felt no pain at all. I kicked the guy in the shoulder as he was. The impact made him drop his club.
ㅡHoo-oong!!
I twisted the neck of the guy who had stumbled back from the kick and held him out to the approaching spearmen. He struggled as I did, but he quickly calmed down after I hit his face twice with the pommel.
“Stop, you bastards! Are you going to stab your comrade!”
ㅡHoo, hooroong!
ㅡHooroong!
I held up the hobgoblin like a shield. The hobgoblins with the pitchforks hesitated at the sight. Since they had intelligence, they couldn’t bring themselves to stab their comrade.
“You cowardly bastards! Drop your weapons!”
I shouted like a beast. Cloudy had already cut down two of them. At my shout, the hobgoblins with the pitchforks retreated, not knowing what to do.
“I said drop your weapons!”
“That idiot is acting up again. Do you think they’ll understand?”
Winia muttered as I made a fuss.
“Hey, what! Maybe they’ll understand!”
“Understand? Hey, can you understand me? Nice to meet you. I’m Winia. Will you tell me your name? Wow, they understand?”
“…Damn it!”
Enraged, I threw the poor hobgoblin at the spearmen. I charged forward, pushing my sword between the guys who were hesitating whether to dodge or block their comrade.
“Cloudy! One!”
I used my long limbs, which were different from the hobgoblins’, to close the gap.
No matter how much you have a spear, it’s over once I get inside the gap. I shoved the blade I had pushed in into the chest of the closest guy. There was no need to mention that Cloudy had taken care of the other one.
All six hobgoblins were killed like that.
It was instantaneous.
I had already killed 11 of them.
More than half of them were dead. Humanly speaking, it was too simple of a request. Our boldness and unstoppable momentum were decisive. More than anything, the hobgoblins were just neighborhood kids compared to the dryads or cultists.
There’s nothing easier than twisting a child’s wrist.
“They’re too weak? I never thought it would be such an easy request.”
“It’s not an easy request, Katt.”
Cloudy, who was pushing the hobgoblin corpses towards the wall with her foot, said.
“Huh?”
“You’ve just gotten stronger. Your cuts were clean? Did your skills improve in the meantime?”
“Is that so? Hehe.”
Cloudy said that and came over to stroke my head. The anger that had surged up instantly subsided. I snuggled into Cloudy’s arms and rubbed my head against her.
“Hehe, yeah. That’s right. Good job. Good boy, good boy.”
“Hehehehe.”
Unlike Winia, Cloudy was very kind. Well, she’s worlds apart from Winia, who curses at me every time she sees me. There’s a saying that your chest size is proportional to your personality, but that’s completely wrong.
If that were true, Winia would have been revered as a saint or holy woman and ascended to heaven long ago. Seeing us like that, Winia yelled.
“It’s so unsightly!”
What the hell.
What’s that bitch who was just teasing me saying!
“Little magician?”
Cloudy, who was stroking the back of my neck, said to Winia. At her call, Winia immediately answered irritably.
“What!”
“Do you want to do it too?”
ㅡSwoosh.
I felt a moment of weightlessness, and then my body was pushed away. It was Winia’s big chest that caught me as I lost my balance.
“Oh, hey. Are you okay…”
“…”
Two breasts acted as cushions and caught me as I fell.
I immediately tried to get out of there. Once you fall in, you can never get out of Winia’s boob grave. As I tried to get up, Winia said quietly.
“…Stay still.”
“Uh…”
For some reason, Winia, who was hugging me, started stroking the back of my head with her hand. The situation was so awkward that I decided to stay still as well.
Seriously, Cloudy, what do you think of me?
