Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 42 Goblin Extermination

The morning of the second day, the four adventurers enjoyed a hearty breakfast of boiled eggs, oatmeal, goat cheese, sheep's milk, and cured mutton chops. They geared up, grabbed the crude map drawn by the village elder, and headed toward the mountains where the goblin tribe dwelled.

Goblins are humanoid creatures, about as tall as dwarves, with long, pointed ears and sharp, jutting noses. Their dark green skin, small stature, and ugly red-eyed faces make them look like twisted little dwarves. Most are greedy and vile, with a knack for deceit and a lean toward evil cunning.

They live mainly underground or deep in jungles, with their own peculiar order and structure. They can speak some basic languages, and while their culture isn't exactly refined, they've got a sharp eye for mining and building underground lairs.

Goblins aren't much in a fight, but they breed almost as fast as rats, so there's always a ton of them. They make up for their weakness by swarming in large groups.

These green-skinned critters love meat and can't resist shiny stuff—gold coins, silver, diamonds, you name it. They'll pick wild fruit now and then but don't bother growing crops. Hunting and raiding are their main gigs for food.

A goblin tribe in the forest usually keeps to itself when numbers are low. They tame wolves, craft simple weapons, and hunt rabbits or deer in packs. Sometimes, they'll even trade with passing adventurers or travelers, swapping food for shiny coins.

But when their numbers swell, so does their nerve. Led by a goblin chief, hordes of them get bold enough to raid villages, steal crops, ambush adventurers, or even kidnap lone wanderers.

Most of those snatched by goblins are women, and unless adventurers or castle knights ride out to save them, few ever make it back alive.

Sure, goblins are weak fighters. A seasoned adventurer can take on three or four at once with ease. For someone like Barrett, killing goblins is as easy as squashing rats.

But their sneaky nature and knack for working together can still trip up new adventurers. Plenty of rookies have learned that the hard way.

Usually, if newbies are taking on a goblin job, the Adventurer's Guild will pair them with a mithril-level adventurer to lead the charge.

After trekking for hours along rugged, muddy mountain trails, the Last Defender of the Way adventurer party finally reached the cave marked on the crude map—likely the entrance to the goblin tribe's lair.

One orichalcum-level, one mithril-level, and one platinum-level adventurer—this lineup was overkill for a goblin hunt.

The only silver-level cleric, Stella, followed EeDechi's orders. She ditched her fancy cleric robes, strapped on heavy armor, and donned a great helm, her body wrapped tight in chainmail.

If it weren't for the silver-white staff in her hand, anyone would've mistaken her for a heavy-armored female warrior.

Good thing Stella had enchanted her chainmail with a lightening spell beforehand, or the mountain climb would've been hell.

Gripping his shortsword and clad in Gorgon leather armor, Barrett lit a tallow torch and led the way into the cave. EeDechi followed close behind, with Stella's staff glowing with bright magical light right after her. Sean, wielding a hand crossbow and another torch, brought up the rear.

"Are goblins really creations of the gods?" EeDechi asked, peering around in the torchlight, curiosity in her voice.

"Hmph, who says that? If goblins are divine creations, then squerriks are the gods' chosen!" Barrett shook his head, wondering where his captain got such weird ideas.