"Should we start the mission tonight?" Bell pondered.
The group had roughly discussed the arrangements in the carriage, with the initial plan being to stay overnight in the village, replenish their energy, and take action the next day.
But an unexpected event had clearly disrupted the plan.
"Two villagers have been captured. If we don't rescue them tonight, it will be too late." Haylir sighed. "However, it's too dark at night, and the risk of encountering goblins increases significantly."
At this moment, she was also conflicted, her fingers constantly twirling her hair.
"Moreover, we haven't done any scouting yet," Gauss added from the side.
"So yes, it's indeed dangerous," Mia concurred.
The four of them were not experienced adventurers.
Gauss instinctively felt that taking action at night wasn't a good idea, as monsters always had better night vision than humans.
Rational thought told him to wait for the sun to rise the next day, head to the goblin stronghold, scout for information, and then take action.
Yet, if they did so.
The two victims would suffer irreparable harm.
Besides, it was for the goblin extermination commission that they had come here in the first place.
He sighed in his heart, realizing that many choices in life seemed to have no correct answers.
"Then, let's each make our own decision based on our desires. Since it's a sudden situation, no matter what decision is made, everyone must respect each other. I'll count down three, two, one, then everyone will say 'go' or 'not go' together."
"Alright?" Haylir took a deep breath, beads of sweat unknowingly forming on her forehead.
"I have no objections."
"Three"
"Two"
"One"
"Go!" "Go." "Go." "Go."
Gauss, although a beat slower, gave the same answer as everyone else.
Having been well-educated in his past life, he couldn't harden his heart.
Seeing that everyone had made the same decision, Haylir breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, we need to bring villagers familiar with the surrounding forest to guide us, and we'll need lighting," Gauss said. "During the mission, we must prioritize our safety, as only then can we rescue the victims."
Even though his map ensured that he almost never got lost, he still knew nothing about unexplored areas and needed locals familiar with the environment.
This would reduce the risks as much as possible.
"I agree too."
The group finalized their unanimous decision and informed the villagers of their choice.
"Thank you all so much!"
"Please, brave warriors! You must rescue Jenny and Elsa!"
The villagers, having found a backbone, expressed their gratitude to the four-person squad.
Upon learning that someone was needed to guide the way, four men volunteered to join, all of whom were direct relatives of the missing women and had been the most vocal advocates for a rescue.
They were already extremely anxious, and in fact, even without Gauss and the others, they had planned to go to the goblin nest to rescue their families.
To save time, after quickly preparing their gear, everyone ventured into the forest with torches in hand.
The villagers actually knew approximately where the goblin nest was located.
The two men at the front, one hand holding a torch and the other clutching a pitchfork, were walking briskly.
They were the fathers of the captured Jenny and Elsa, their faces grave, their pace quickening.
The four members of the squad walked swiftly while discussing their specific battle plan.
"Just like we practiced yesterday, Bell and Mia will take the front line and engage the goblins head-on. I'll use a bow and arrow from the flank to attack the goblins, and Gauss will also use magic to restrain the goblins, giving Bell and Mia the opportunity to strike. He can also support Bell and Mia with a wooden spear or dagger."
Neither Bell nor Mia had any objections to Haylir's arrangements, even as they took on the biggest risk by being the vanguard against the goblins.
"Alright," Gauss also agreed.
The group had practiced all afternoon yesterday, and although they didn't know how effective it would be in actual combat, Gauss found that the three of them were quite skilled.
All three had mastered a prerequisite Professional skill and could use it proficiently.
Mia's skill was [Thrust], allowing her to lunge forward a short distance and deal continuous strikes to enemies in front with her dual blades.
Bell's skill was [Vertical Slash], which, although it sounded plain, greatly increased the force of his slashes when activated, enhancing the power of his long-sword chop.
As for Haylir, her skill was [Precise Aim], which, when activated, enhanced her eyesight and arm strength, allowing her to hit every target within a medium-short range.
Plus, there was Gauss's Mage's Hand.
Despite the group's lack of task experience, this newcomer squad was not weak; at least their theoretical strength was superior to many bottom adventurer squads.
This was also why Gauss agreed to take action.
Seven or eight goblins, even at night, were no match for this squad, with every member mastering a skill.
As long as they each quickly took down an enemy the moment they engaged, it would then simply become a one-on-one fight.
"Everyone, please hold off the goblins for a bit. Once we've dealt with our own enemies, we'll come to assist you."
"Don't worry, it's just a goblin. We can handle it."
After a brief conversation, the group continued on in silence.
After a while, the villagers leading the way came to a stop.
An open space appeared in everyone's sight.
A campfire burned in the center of the clearing, with a cave visible far in the distance.
It seemed to be a natural cave, about two meters in diameter, extending into the unseen darkness.
"Looks like that's the place."
The group looked toward the distant cave.
The dark cave, lacking any source of light, revealed no visible details inside.
After finishing their observations, Gauss waved to the others, drawing their attention, about to say that he would approach closer to use Mage's Hand.
He wanted to see if he could use the Mage's Hand with a spell casting range of about ten meters to explore inside.
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out beside him, exceptionally piercing in the silent night.
"Wah wah wah!"
The sound was close to Gauss's left hand, startling him as he was focusing his mind.
Following the sound, he turned his head, and upon seeing the enemy's appearance, he realized things were bad.
A pointed-eared, green-skinned creature emerged from the bushes, loudly howling to alert its comrades in the distant cave.
Oh no! Goblin scouts were stationed far away around the cave!
With the sudden development, Gauss's heartbeat quickened.
It was at this moment that the world before him seemed to slow down, everything moving in slow motion, while his thoughts became incredibly clear, as if in bullet time.
He drew his dagger, swiftly sidestepping, the blade slicing precisely toward the small green creature's neck.
The goblin scout instinctively tried to dodge, but the next moment, an invisible force was unleashed.
Mage's Hand!
The ethereal phantom arm gave it a sudden push from behind.
This seemingly minor force caused the goblin's dodging motion to momentarily pause.
Then, the incoming metal blade traced a graceful arc, slicing through the green skin, and blood gushed from its throat like tofu being smashed.
Death!
In an instant, like a reflex, his seamless slashing motion combined perfectly with the timely spell execution, precisely cutting the goblin's throat.
The once loud wailing transformed instantaneously into a weak hissing.
"Goblin killed *1"
"Total monster kills: 2"
"Bang!"
The goblin fell to the ground, nearly decapitated, its dim yellow, cloudy eyes fixed intently on Gauss, as if trying to memorize the human who took its life in its final moments.
"Prepare to engage!"
The others hadn't expected Gauss to move so quickly, but now wasn't the time to be surprised.
Bell and Mia charged forward, trying to block the main force of the goblins inside the cave.
But clearly, they were a step too late.
The goblin's previous shouts had undoubtedly alerted the goblin horde inside the cave.
Now, continuous shouting accompanied by rapid footsteps echoed from inside, like agitated monkeys delivering threatening roars.
The goblins surged out of the nest before the two could reach it.
Their footsteps increased in the shadows, pairs of red eyes rushing into the flickering firelight.
One pair, two pairs... eight pairs... twelve pairs, thirteen pairs...
Gauss, trying to catch up with the two, suddenly realized something was wrong.
He urgently shouted to the two who had fallen behind.
"No, there's too many enemies!"
"The intelligence was wrong!"
"Watch out!"
Facing more than a dozen pairs of glowing red eyes, and possibly more, everyone felt as though the entire cave was crawling towards them!
At this moment, with his heart racing, Gauss gained another valuable experience.
That is.
Never blindly trust mission intelligence.