Chapter 8

The next day and onwards, Node continued to gather herbs smoothly.

The herbs were collected from areas close to the forest, so they gradually moved deeper into the woods. However, the herbs were more abundant in the deeper parts of the forest, so the amount of herbs gathered did not decrease.

His fishing skills also continued to serve him well, and Node was welcomed during the night camps, allowing him to enjoy decent meals.

On the first day, there was only bread and fish, but by providing the fish he caught, Node was able to receive soup in return from the second day onwards.

It seemed that there was a scout among the adventurers, and the soup contained mushrooms, wild herbs, fish, and salted meat brought by someone.

Even though it was still a warm season, the nights in the forest were cold.

The forest served as a windbreak, making it relatively comfortable, but if they were in the middle of a plain, the night wind would have taken away their body heat, as Node had heard from family members with military experience.

Compared to that, this mission, where he could drink warm, hearty soup with salt, was a good one. Node thought this while spending his days gathering herbs.

Then, one day, with only one day left before their return, Node was gathering herbs deep in the forest as usual when he heard the sounds of battle.

The faint sounds of battle, coming from beyond the rustling of the forest, indicated that the location was far away. Node took a moment to decide whether to move away from the sound or to go to the aid.

Node had fought monsters in the forest several times over the past few days, but they were low-threat creatures, not much different from wild animals. The battles ended quickly, and he heard from other adventurers during the night camps that the same was true for them.

However, the battle sounds he heard now were continuous, indicating a fierce struggle. The opponents of the adventurers must be formidable.

Without knowing what the enemy was, it would be wise to avoid danger, as life is precious.

Node immediately decided to head towards the sound—to go to the aid.

Node, who had to earn money for his family, always reminded himself not to take unnecessary risks.

However, abandoning adventurers who might be struggling, even though he had given up on becoming a knight, was not an option for Node.

§

As he ran through the forest, the sounds of battle grew louder and more intense.

Suppressing his excitement, Node ran with all his might.

He had picked up some tips on how to move through the forest over the past few days, not only from his own experience of wandering around while gathering herbs but also from conversations with scouts and other adventurers during meals.

The forest was often overgrown with trees, roots, and fallen branches, which were often hidden by undergrowth, making them hard to see and difficult to navigate.

Node, who had managed to ease this difficulty somewhat, was able to reach the source of the sound in the shortest time possible.

—There they are!

In the distance, through the trees, he saw figures.

Their equipment was very different from that of adventurers, and their skin was a dirty green.

It was a group of goblins, the ugly-faced little creatures he had fought many times in the dungeon.

The goblins were in a large group.

Their appearance was different from the goblins he had fought in the dungeon.

In the dungeon, they only appeared wearing rags around their waists and wielding broken short swords, but the goblins in front of him were wearing clothes made from animal hides and equipped with rusty swords and spears made from sharpened branches.

(Some of the goblins have better equipment.)

Among the goblins, there were individuals wearing armor-like clothing and wielding metal swords and spears, though they were rusty. They might have become stronger through experience.

The goblins were facing the adventurers with their backs to the forest, in an open area. There were more than 20 goblins, roughly counted.

On the other hand, the group of adventurers seemed to be five in number, each protecting each other's backs in a formation.

The goblins, taking advantage of their numbers, were surrounding the adventurers, with some of them wielding spears trying to encircle them.

Being surrounded in battle is a fatal situation. Even if the goblins were individually weaker, being surrounded by a large number of them would mean being attacked from all sides.

The adventurers, being human, had limited moves. Even if they managed to kill a few goblins, they would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks, suffering injuries one after another until they could no longer stand.

The goblin encirclement was about to close.

From the presence of dead goblin bodies and blood pools, it was clear that the adventurers had killed a significant number of goblins. This was the source of the intense battle sounds.

However, they were outnumbered and about to be surrounded, putting them in a dire situation.

Node arrived just in time.

The adventurers noticed Node running through the forest first.

Then, the goblin closest to the forest side noticed the sound of rustling leaves from the forest, which had been masked by the sounds of battle.

He turned around in response to the sound, and then—his eyes caught a gleaming light, and he was instantly killed.

§

With the momentum of his run through the forest, Node burst out like an arrow released from a drawn bow.

He swung his sword at the nearest goblin, who was about to turn around, and then, without waiting to see the result, he cut down the goblin next to it with a quick slash.

Aiming for the gap between the neck bones, he cleanly decapitated the goblin. Moving the headless body to use as a shield, he took a step forward.

The other goblins, now realizing they were under attack, turned to face him.

The goblin closest to Node, who had noticed the intruder first, tried to attack with his weapon.

However, the headless body of his comrade was in the way, preventing him from attacking.

Node mercilessly thrust his sword into the goblin's neck, killing him instantly.

In an instant, Node had killed three goblins. He pulled his blood-soaked sword from the last goblin, and the sound of the bodies falling to the ground alerted the other goblins to the third-party attack.

The goblins, now aware of the attack, began to scream—whether in a call to kill or in anger at the interference, or both, Node thought.

With the surprise attack discovered, the one-sided attack was over.

The goblins were now fully aware of Node and were cautiously holding their weapons.

However,

"—Reinforcements!? We're saved!"

One of the adventurers, who had been about to be surrounded by goblins, raised a voice of heartfelt gratitude.

The other adventurers, who had been fighting in a circular formation with their backs to the forest and had not noticed Node's arrival, also began to shout, "Really!?" and "Thank you!"

Their voices were filled with joy, and they seemed to have regained some of their spirit in the face of this unexpected help in their dire situation.

The half-formed encirclement, which was about to be completed, was broken by Node.

The encirclement meant that the wall of goblins was thin.

The goblins, who had already been reduced in number by the fierce battle with the adventurers, had a hole opened in their encirclement by the three goblins Node had killed in the surprise attack.

This changed the situation from being surrounded to being attacked from both sides.

The adventurers also noticed this and changed their formation. While being surrounded meant that a group of five could only protect each other's backs, being attacked from both sides allowed them to cover each other's flanks, even if the situation was still disadvantageous.

This slight difference turned the tide of the battle.

Node fought while being mindful of his position to avoid being caught in the encirclement.

In the area where Node was, the goblins were caught between the adventurers and Node.

Fighting in a pincer attack was naturally disadvantageous, and the goblins, who were individually weaker than the adventurers, were gradually killed off.

Node, working in impromptu coordination with the adventurers, continued to kill the goblins one after another.

Although the goblins outside the dungeon were better equipped and stronger than those inside, they were still goblins.

By paying attention to the better-equipped goblins, the rest were easy to kill, as he had killed them many times before.

Node's ease in battle was also due to his better equipment.

The group of adventurers, who had been surrounded, were only protected by armor on their chests and other parts, and had to be more cautious of enemy attacks.

In contrast, Node, though his armor was not as good as what he had used in the dungeon, was fully armored, giving him a relative advantage in battle.

Even without the added protection of the iron plates, the rough wooden spears of the goblins could be easily defended against with his hard leather armor, except for metal swords and spears.

The goblins, with Node's skilled maneuvering, became prey to his sword.

§

By the time Node had killed about 10 more goblins, the goblin group was wiped out. One of the adventurers who had been surrounded delivered the final blow to the last goblin.

There were no signs of reinforcements in the surrounding area.

One of the adventurers who had been surrounded approached Node, who was on guard.

"You saved us. Thank you."

It was an adventurer who had been using a sword and wearing a leather chest plate.

He was young, about the same age as Node. Node recognized him as one of the party members who had been chatting with his companions in the carriage on the way.

"My name is Genius. What's yours?"

Node shook hands with him. Genius was covered in wounds.

"I'm Node. Are you okay? You seem injured."

Not only Genius, but the other adventurers had also suffered significant injuries. Node was concerned and asked.

"Yeah, Node. Thanks to you, we only got injured. And look," Genius pointed to a spot, and Node understood.

There, the female adventurer he had talked to in the carriage was healing the other adventurers.

"She's called Riesz, our party's cleric. We would have been dead long ago without her."

Looking closely, there were holes in Genius's clothes, stained with fresh blood, but it seemed to be his own blood, not from a return blow.

He might have even been stabbed in the stomach.

The cleric girl, Riesz, was chanting and praying, and a gentle light was emanating from her hands, healing the other adventurers' wounds.

Once the healing was complete, Riesz and the other adventurers approached Genius and Node.

They each introduced themselves as Shino, Almina, and Geigos.

Riesz offered to heal Node, but he declined, as the goblin attacks had been blocked by his armor, and he had no significant injuries.

Riesz, after healing Genius's wounds with her healing magic, felt dizzy. She had used too much magic power.

She was held in Genius's arms, not unconscious, but it was clear to everyone that she could not be pushed any further.

Node himself was also exhausted from running through the forest and then fighting.

The battle had taken time, and the sun was already low in the sky.

Without anyone suggesting it, everyone decided to return to the camp.

The survivors of the fierce battle, Genius and his party, would have been wiped out without a healer.