Mapleleaf says "That's amazing! That quest was about to be upgraded to grade B! I can't believe you completed it, and so fast!"

"I also recovered this sword."

Mapleleaf says "Alright, I will confirm both the quest and the bonus are completed. Your reward is 75 gold, here you go."

"Thank you."

As soon as she hands me the gold, I pocket it and head over to the grade C quest board. After killing the ogre I realized something, since the kingdom is going to be attacked by monsters I might be able to weaken the attack by killing them beforehand. So as I am looking at the quests, aside from the reward I also pay attention to the enemies.

If I can clear dangerous monsters out of the area around the kingdom the monster army that attacks should be a lot weaker. At least that is my hope, the money I earn will also come in handy. When I spot a goblin extermination quest my eyes light up and the adventurers near me take a step back.

As I snatch the notice off the wall and head over to the counter all the adventurers are giving me weird looks. They probably don't understand why someone who is capable of killing an ogre would bother with goblins. What they aren't considering is how a simple goblin quest could make it all the way up to the grade C board.

While I have an intense hatred of goblins that is not why I am taking this quest. It is the fact that the quest states that over a thousand goblins have been confirmed. Not only is the reward for the quest 100 gold but there is also a bonus bounty of 1 silver per goblin.

While it may only be an extra 10 gold for killing the 1,000 goblins, I have a feeling there are more. I also can't help but think that there is more to these goblins, after all goblins don't normally form hordes. In D&D monster hordes would use goblins as scouts and cannon fodder, that's why I'm interested.

I think this horde of goblins is the advanced force for the monster army that is going to attack the kingdom. So not only will killing them weaken the monster army but it will also prevent them from weakening the kingdom. With all this running through my mind I reach the redemption counter and place the quest page on the counter.

"I wish to accept this quest."

Mapleleaf says "Are you sure? This may be a grade C quest but it is also a group quest. It is not meant for a single person to attempt. In fact this quest should probably be handed over to the army."

"Well, I am part of the army, and yes I still want to accept this quest."

Mapleleaf says "Very well, if you are sure. Here, this map shows all reported sightings of the goblins. Also, this crystal will record every goblin's death, this is to prove completion and also for the bounty."

"Can this crystal record more than one thousand?"

Mapleleaf says "Yes, it has no limit."

"Good, thank you."

Taking the map and crystal I leave the guild and again head out of town. Looking at the map along with the times of the sightings it is obvious the goblins are moving. The first sightings were in the north east of the kingdom and every sighting since has been further south west.

If they continue on their current path they will soon reach one of the villages that provides food to the town. If the goblins destroy that village it will make the town's supply situation worse during the monster invasion. As soon as I am out of the town I choose the road leading to the village and take off running.

The village comes in sight after about a half hour run, the sun is just barely starting to set. Since goblins are mostly active at night, I will have an easier time hunting them at night. Instead of heading into the village I stop and sit beneath a tree to rest while I wait for night to fall.

The goblins main force should still be a day or two from reaching the village based on the last sighting. However, there should be scouting parties ahead of the main force, they may even already be near the village. So once night has fully fallen I get up and start circling the village and it doesn't take long before I smell goblins.

Following my nose soon leads me to a group of eight goblins, a small scout party. From their actions it is easy to tell that they just woke up and they aren't worried at all. They don't even have a sentry posted, so they don't even know I am there until I actually attack.

Of course by then it is far too late for them, I move through them like a wind of death. All eight are dead in a matter of seconds, I didn't even need to use my knight blade. I don't even bother checking their corpses, I just move off into the night looking for more goblins.

Circling the village I find a dozen such scouting parties, not one of which offers any resistance to me. If it wasn't goblins I would feel like a bully, but since it is goblins I feel great. By the time I am done circling the village the crystal Mapleleaf gave me shows I am just under two hundred kills.

Now that I am fairly sure the village is safe for the moment, I turn and head north east. After killing a few more scouting parties I finally come across a larger group. They are actually marching down the road towards the village, how brave of them.

Of course since there are over five hundred goblins, that explains their bravery. Luckily for me, they are just marching grouped up and not in any kind of formation. That means I can keep any of them from escaping, so I drop down from a tree and land in the middle of them, then I use Lion's Rage.