Chapter 79

Due to Asagi’s error in the beginning, the forest goblin was aware of the existence of the opposing team, and he howled with rage as it swung with its longs claws. On closer inspection, its arms were also longer than the typical goblin. The heavy looking claws and extended arms gave its attacks weight and momentum, and that was not to be underestimated. It was an attack that would kill most goblins in one hit.

“Leave those claws to me!”

Daniela shouts then runs even faster. She wanted me to attack while she blocked. That shouldn’t be too hard, we had great teamwork.

“Got it!”

I reply. I hold my sword behind me as I run so that it does not get caught in the branches around us. The forest goblin is now right up ahead.

It continues to howl and snarl at us, but I could tell that its eyes were sharp, it was waiting for the right moment to attack. A smart one, he was. He was much more intelligent than your average goblin.

“Ha…!”

Daniela and the goblin were now both within striking distance. The goblin’s right hand came down, Daniela quickly blocked and pressed it upwards. Seeing my chance, I increase my speed and swing with my sword, all the while twisting my body so as to keep Daniela out of the blade’s course. The flash of the sword goes through its left shoulder and out the bottom, taking away the entire arm.

“HYGAAHHH…!”

The forest goblins shrieks with pain. The kobold blade had cleanly cut through its joints. It didn’t even feel like I had gone through bone, and the sword wasn’t chipped at all. I had a feeling that I had finally reached my goal in terms of swordsmanship. I felt a little bad to have reached this point just as I had acquired this new sword, but I was thinking that it was now time to switch over to a new kind of weapon.

“AAAHHHHH!!”

It swung its remaining right arm, using its last form of resistance to attack me. I use the flat of my blade to block it and strike upwards. Daniela came in just in time, sliding her thin sword into the open space.

“Hah!”

She shouts as the tip of her sword pierces through the forest goblins throat.

“Ggg-bbba…a…”

Blood clogged its throat as the air escaped him. The goblin crumbled to the ground as it struggled like a drowning man. Then it stopped moving altogether. We won. Our first fight here.

“Hahh… Good work, Daniela.”

“Aye, you as well. Asagi.”

We bumped our fists together as was the custom. We had both come out completely unharmed again. We had been through many battles together, and at this point, it was tangible, just how much we were improving. Eventually, we would be able to communicate with just eye contact, which would save time. Plus, there was something beautiful about being able to really understand each other.

Now, about this guy. What to do…

“Proof of the hunt. I do not know, as I have never fought these before.”

“You’d think it would be the claws, but then again, maybe it’s the fangs.”

“Hmmm… We should take both then.”

Well, that was the safe bet. And so we took both the claws and fangs and stuffed them in an empty leather bag. The claws were so big that they filled the bag. After discussing it with Daniela, we decided that this would be the only one we hunt, and we’d let the rest go.

“Now, should we continue to the empire? …Oh, wait, I guess we’re already in it.”

“Indeed. Our true destination is the imperial capital of Flugelnia, Vellefrost.”

“Vellefrost…nice name.”

“It is the name of their first emperor.”

Hmm… Did people like having capitals named after them? Like, Asagi City perhaps? I’d die of embarrassment.

“Well, Vellefrost is still quite far away. We will have to go through several towns and villages to reach it.”

“Got it. We should stop by if there are any Adventurer’s Guilds on the way. I’d like to find out what the proof is for monsters here.”

“Of course.”

Our destination was the imperial capital of Vellefrost. Ah, how exciting!

And so we walked in the forest. Here, the ground was still hard under our feet and completely cast in shadow. But it wasn’t quite dark enough to trigger my Night Eyes skill either. I might be able to see better once night falls, but that also meant that the monsters would become more active. It would be best to just get out of this forest before that happens. I didn’t want to participate in the monster parade. And so we continued to walk.

Forest goblins would appear here and there within range of Presence Detection, and whenever we got a closer look, they would always be licking at the tree sap. It was kind of creepy.

“Are we sure this stuff doesn’t have some kind of addictive quality…”

“I cannot blame you for suspecting it, seeing as how they cling to the trees…”

It sent chills down my spine. A sap that monsters were addicted to. I hope parents were careful with how much they offered their kids, I guess?

But on the other hand, most of them paid us no mind due to it. The beaten path was littered with branches, but as long as we were careful, we would not attract anything.

The dimness was finally gone. After walking for two hours. We came out of the woods.

“Ahh, the sunlight feels good!”

“It would be nice to have some sort of tavern in such a large forest.”

Yes, exactly. It wasn’t so bad since we left Alessa early in the morning, but it would have been night if we left during the afternoon. It was the same on the way here. The path between the mountains would get dark quickly because of the shadows.

“Well, there is a town near the forest, so it should not be too bad if you are wary of the time.”

As Daniela pointed out, there was a town visible up ahead. Just outside of the forest was this town surrounded by walls. Damn it, it really would make things easier if they just opened a road that cut through the forest.

There was no point in complaining now, though. But I really wanted to rest. We should hurry to this town. It’s just a little bit further.

“Come on. Let’s go, Daniela.”

“Wha-. Do not slap me on the ass.”

□ □ □ □

The field surrounding the town was covered in cut grass. Like a lawn. You could see townsfolk lying on the ground, looking very relaxed. This must be a fine place. A safe one, anyway.

And just like any other town, there were gates in the walls that surrounded it and two guards who stood watch. They wore light armor that was painted green, and they looked at the sky with bored expressions. A safe town meant bored guards. A peaceful sight if I’ve ever seen one. However, they looked down when they heard our footsteps, and I could tell by how smoothly their hands went to their swords, that they were seasoned fighters. Perhaps they could afford to relax like this because of such skills.

“You two, halt right there.”

Of course, they meant us. We stopped in our tracks as they approached us and inspected us up and down. The fact that they stayed just out of striking distance confirmed yet again, that they knew what they were doing.

“Are you travelers? It seems that you have come from Alessa.”

“Yes. We are Adventurers who are traveling from land to land.”

“Hmm… The empire of Flugelnia requires that you have a form of identification when entering towns. As you are Adventurers, your status cards will do.”

It seemed fitting that this empire would have proper laws for such things. And as we had nothing to hide, we both handed our cards to the guard.

“Wait here a moment.”

He took the cards with him and disappeared behind the gate. Perhaps they had a way to display the information, like at the guild.

We stared blankly at the sky as we waited, much like the guards had done, until finally, he returned. We could hear him tell the other guard that ‘there was no problem.’

“Thank you for waiting. You will be permitted to enter the town now. Welcome to the forest post town, Valdorf!”

The two guards stood on opposite sides of the gate and stretched an arm out into the town. There was something ridiculously theatrical about this welcome, but this was the country of parades… Both Daniela and I felt a little put off by it, but we nonetheless took our first step into Valdorf, our first town within Flugelnia.