When the potion shattered, a stench rushed straight into the six goblins. As they gagged and tried to block their noses, a tall figure broke into their midst. The blade of Anyi's sword danced, drawing perfect silver lines in the dark night.
"Puff!!" Blood splattered from the six goblins' wounds. Anyi didn't budge but rather quietly stored the sword beneath his armpit, skillfully cleaning away the blood before placing the blade back into its sheath.
Anyi looked up at the sky. It was murky, exactly like the one from the day in his previous life when he and the villagers had journeyed to this forest, only to discover Annie's corpse.
He had deliberately lured the goblins here on purpose.
From the beginning, he knew full well that the goblins would not dare to stop him. They could have run back to the village at any time. Still, he chose not to. He wanted to massacre every single one of those goblins without leaving a single survivor. In his past life, the goblins had tormented Annie until she perished. He planned to exact his revenge by making sure each of them was brutally killed.
"Oh ah ah ah—" Amidst the darkness, Annie couldn't bear it anymore. She sobbed loudly and made her way over to Anyi, embracing him tightly. "Huhu—You succeeded! You ultimately succeeded!!" He had really slaughtered every last goblin.
"Ah... I was so terrified.... I was so scared merely right this moment.... Oh ah ah....!"
"... Done." Anyi's eyes darkened as he responded in a low voice. Regardless of whether it was his prior life or this one, Annie remained the same—frightened but still wanting to stand in front of him and provide protection.
"Come, we must leave," Anyi said, embracing Annie's shoulders. "If we remain here for too long, the situation might quickly deteriorate." Considering the fact that the goblins had been slaughtered, Hobgoblin were most likely to invade the village later tonight.
[Monster: Hobgoblin
A goblin around 3 meters in height.
As soon as 2/3 of the goblin band had been killed, regardless of whether any of the goblins had somehow escaped, the hobgoblin would continue to initiate [Class 1 Disaster: Goblin Invasion].
Ordinary humans were no match for this kind of monster. Even low-level heroes required caution when facing these creatures!]
This is the description for the Hobgoblin that Anyi received from [The System] in his previous life.
Just as the description specifies, hobgoblins were enough to quickly demolish an entire village. Humans, to hobgoblins, were equivalent to tiny toys that could be easily smashed to death. Moreover, hobgoblins did not exhibit any proclivity for killing—instead, they would only eat people.
Due to their immense size, their hunger also grew exponentially, relying on them to feast on humans to replenish their stamina. When obliterating villages, it was advantageous to eat humankind not only for sustenance but also to replenish their strength.
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To humans, hobgoblins were the scariest nightmares. Even if a person had the courage to fight goblins, just the sight of hobgoblins was enough to make that person tremble in fear.
Following a half hour of semi-walking and semi-running, the two ultimately returned to their village. At this moment, a group of people had assembled outside, holding torches, intending to ascend the mountain to find the missing individuals. However, just before setting forth, they saw Anyi, his whole body covered in blood, carrying Annie back.
"Annie! Anyi!" Near the village gate, a beautiful woman shouted, rushing to welcome both of them.
"Mother!!" Annie cried out loud and pulled her mother close. The two embraced each other, tears streaming down their cheeks.
Elza Ross, this is their mother's name.
On the other side, their father, Assel, also came out to greet them. He was no longer wearing his usual playful and smiling expression. Under the firelight, his face was unprecedentedly serious.
"Anyi, what happened?" Assel inquired seriously.
"We went to collect medicine and encountered monsters," Anyi answered truthfully.
"Monsters?!" Assel exclaimed, stunned. "Have the monsters begun to appear in the jungle?!"
The villagers' eyes widened with confusion, astonishment, and a trace of apprehension, as though they had just been told some shocking news.
Assel, the commander of the village's swordsman squad and its strongest combatant, quickly calmed down. He asked Anyi, "Did you sustain any injuries?" He continued, "You should hurry and get bandaged in the meantime." It was known that the village doctor was on their way to inspect Anyi's injuries.
Anyi shook his head, stating, "No, I've not been harmed."
"There's no need to force yourself. You're covered in blood; even a prodigy can sustain damage. But, being able to escape the monsters, you did an outstanding job." Assel believed Anyi was just trying to maintain his "prodigy" appearance.
"This is not my blood; it's the blood of the monsters. I eliminated all of them," Anyi said, dabbing at the blood on his cheek with his finger.
"What strange nonsense are you uttering...?" Assel asked in frustration.
"All of Anyi's words are accurate!" Annie's voice came from the side. "He really killed all the monsters! I saw it with my own eyes! If you don't believe me, I can lead you to the corpses of the monsters!"
Assel was puzzled. "Anyi said he intended to protect me! Once all those fiends were dead, I would be completely safe!" Annie stated with excitement, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Could it be that Anyi truly killed all the monsters? Even if they were monsters...? However, he is just a moderately gifted individual in the village. Could he actually possess such extraordinary capabilities?
"I propose that we make an expedition to witness those fiends' corpses!" someone exclaimed.
"That's true, we really need to corroborate that monsters exist so we can request help from the Monster Hunter Guild," another person added.
"Let's go!" urged another voice.
"Everyone shut up!" Assel shouted furiously. "What if Anyi's words are a boast? What if you go in there and run into monsters? That would be a disaster. All of you will die!"
Once Assel spoke, everyone fell silent and simply stared at Anyi.
"Not bad, excellent judgment," Anyi nodded in approval.
"…?"
"Furthermore, why go look at the corpses of goblins? It's useless. Father, please attempt to contact the Monster Hunter Guild quickly. I believe there are many more monsters in the forest, meaning we must begin preparations immediately," Anyi whispered quietly.
The moon's glow had already begun to shine, and he knew that merely informing everyone to evacuate would not suffice. Some would believe him, while others would not. Therefore, he had no choice but to confront the Hobgoblins in the village. The assistance of both the villagers and the Monster Hunters was vital.
Tonight, he was not yet the [Sword Hero]. He would have to use his normal body to kill the Hobgoblin.
After hearing Anyi's words, Assel nodded and pointed to a villager. "Quickly ride your horse and go to town to ask for help!"