"One, two, three, four…"

Chen Yining quietly counted the number of goblins below.

With that many goblins, he could complete Quest Three even if he killed half of them.

"Are you confident you could take them down?" He asked Green Skin then.

The goblin warrior patted its chest confidently. "No problem!"

Still, Chen Yining hesitated to put his faith in the blockhead. While it was not as if Green Skin was unintelligent, its rather unique way of thinking… was truly extraordinary.

He considered calling the red mantle fowl to him then, since that would ensure that there would be no problems.

But just as he thought that, Green Skin suddenly patted his shoulder and pointed behind him.

Chen Yining turned to find the silent forest, with nothing out of the ordinary.

"Master, someone's there…" Green Skin whispered.

Considering his options for a moment, he gestured at Green Skin to hide with him.

Soon, a group of university students showed up from the direction Chen Yining did.

The one walking ahead was thin and dark, and he was arching his back as he observed traces of plants that were trampled over.

Soon, they noticed the goblin village nearby.

Since it was situated on lower ground within the forest and was surrounded by towering trees, one would never spot the village unless they got close.

Moreover, the goblins' buildings were quite low—just around two meters—since they were quite short.

However, as there were quite a few people in the university students' group, the goblins noticed them the instant they noticed the goblins.

The conflict ignited at the drop of a hat.

The goblins began to squawk and swarm the student group.

It was as if they had violated some goblin taboo—all of them threw their prey to the ground, picked up their parents, and cried out as they charged toward the students.

Indeed, the goblins were acting so crazed that the one at the front tripped over a rock and fell from overexcitement, while the other goblins continued forward by trampling over it.

Every student was hence left dumbstruck. They had never seen such a crazy sight since they were usually well-behaved in campus, never once fighting physically, let alone joining a brawl.

As a matter of fact, they had come on this adventure out of impulse and were regretting it right now.

The student who was standing up front backed away slowly then, and looked ready to run. However, in that critical moment, the male student who was leading the group yelled loudly, "Don't run! We would never outrun goblins in the forest—the only way we can survive is repel them!"

Hence, the students called forth their summoned beasts panickily.

They had a total of fourteen summoned beasts with them.

But upon seeing so many goblins charging toward them, the goblin summoned to the very front promptly threw away its club and ran away—the goblins' race talent tends to kick in with full effect in such situations after all.

It should be noted that goblins would get pompous when the tides were in their favor. On the other hand, they would not hesitate to run away should they be outnumbered or encounter a grave threat.

Chen Yining, still hiding on top of a nearby tree, was focusing on one particular summoned beast those students had.

It was a monkey with gray fur and around 1.2 times the size of a normal goblin. Weirdly, however, it had a machine spring on its temple, along with a faint outline along the bridge of its nose.

From the distance, it resembled the threads of a puppet.

It was a new summoned beast and Chen Yining had no idea how those students had managed to tame it.

He felt his Summoner's Grimoire heat up then, and the data about the doll monkey soon appeared.

[Species: Doll Monkey]

[Level: 2]

[Rank: Normal⭐⭐]

[Introduction: A foul-tempered magical beast that dwells in the forest. Enjoys toying with weak prey.]

[Race Talent: -10% elemental damage]

[Bond (spectral doll)]

[(1) When there are more than 3 spectral dolls, every spirit shall gain an elemental barrier that keeps them immune to a certain amount of elemental damage. The elemental barrier would refresh intermittently as well outside of combat.]

[Summary: Bullying weaklings… is what we do best.]

The doll monkey hesitated for a moment at the sight of the oncoming goblins, but soon could not hold back its own rage.

It was holding a javelin, and it leaped over four meters into the air before throwing it.

The goblin in the lead was instantly pierced through the belly, and dropped to the ground.

The doll monkey then somersaulted with both legs mid-air, bounding forward and kicking one foot into another goblin's face and sending it flying. Then, using the momentum, it grasped a tree branch with one hand and took to the air, before landing steadily on a branch and looked down loftily from above.

Chen Yining, who was nearby and observing in secret, studied the doll monkey then.

That monkey was not bad.

Although it looked a little ugly and grayscale, its agility and reflexes far surpassed Green Skin when the goblin was still of the same rank.

There was no way Green Skin was agile as that doll monkey when it was a hobgoblin.

In a complex landscape like the forest, the doll monkey had a higher chance of winning in a one-one-one fight against a hobgoblin.

***

After that doll monkey's assault, the summoned goblins that were starting to flee paused, remaining where they were hesitantly.

Zhou Xiao breathed a sigh of relief at that. It was fortunate that they had the doll monkey helping, or things could get nasty.

At the same time, he was taking in his surroundings in search of a direction to escape.

He knew very well that his group's numbers would never be a match for the goblin tribe, since he did see the hobgoblin that was coming from the rear of the goblin horde, standing out like a sore thumb.

They could test their luck against normal goblins, but goblins which have a hobgoblin leading them was another thing entirely.

There was less chance of those goblins fleeing in panic unless the hobgoblin died, and it would be very difficult to kill it anyway with the waves of goblins flanking it.

Moreover, he really did not want his doll monkey to get killed, after he had gone through such lengths to tame it. The city council rarely handed off ownership rights for high-ranked magical beasts, and he owed a great favor to his parents who had managed to get that doll monkey for him.

At the same time, many among his group were turning pale in fright and trembling all over.

"It's all your fault, Zhou Xiao! I wouldn't have come if I had known!" Someone cursed amidst fits of tears.

"Yeah, it's all Zhou Xiao's fault! Haven't you been telling us how powerful your doll monkey is?!"

Zhou Xiao appeared troubled.

I've already conceded the goblins and slimes you people demanded without saying a word.

Moreover, before they departed, he had told them that it could be dangerous despite the rewards, but those people said that they were fine with that…

Though he had been blaming himself a little for running away before, he felt zero guilt now.