Chapter 12: The Timid Goblin
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Wang Xi looked down at the guards sprawled unconscious on the ground and exhaled deeply.
Earlier, he had spent considerable effort persuading Sarah to approve his request to leave the castle for hunting. The real purpose was to seize this chance to escape.
Perhaps, in Sarah’s or even the Count’s eyes, this was merely his unwillingness to accept his fate, a desperate attempt to prove himself—so they let him go.
To be safe, they had assigned eight guards to accompany him.
But Lord Barto would never have imagined that all these guards would be taken down in less than a minute.
“Target defeated!”
“Can the ability to capture ‘Ritchie’ be acquired?”
A prompt from Kaerus surfaced in Wang Xi’s mind.
He silently responded yes.
Soon, a white light flashed on the unconscious middle-aged guard’s body, and three white orbs flew into Wang Xi’s forehead.
“‘Ritchie’ card has been added to the independent card pool.”
“Insufficient energy to draw.”
‘Three cards, just like “Wendy”?’ Wang Xi was surprised and speculated:
‘Could it be that the rewards for defeating are greater than for killing? The former grants three cards, while the latter only one?’
This theory needed further verification.
Apart from Ritchie, the other guards showed no abnormalities and evidently did not meet the criteria for ability capture.
Wang Xi felt somewhat disappointed.
He then searched the bodies.
He took a longsword, a dagger, and the crossbow from the scar-faced guard’s back. The quiver containing twelve bleeding crossbow bolts was hung on his belt beside the dagger.
Besides these, he also took the money pouches from all eight guards. After counting, there were six gold coins and about twenty-some silver coins.
These coins were surprisingly small, only about the size of a fingernail, embossed with a deer’s head on one side and intricate patterns and characters on the other.
Wang Xi did not study them further and simply placed all the money into a bag, tightening the drawstring and hanging it at his waist.
“It’s time to go.”
He glanced around and then set off in the direction the scar-faced guard had indicated.
Soon, his figure vanished into the forest.
…
The woods were dense and silent.
From time to time, wild deer or boars could be glimpsed darting behind the bushes.
A strange bird call echoed faintly.
Wang Xi had been traversing this forest for some time and estimated that at his pace, he could reach the Buchanan town mentioned by the scar-faced guard before sunset.
He avoided the main road to prevent exposing his whereabouts. The forest floor was muddy and terrain complex, slowing his pace somewhat, but it was safer.
He walked intermittently, resting on stones when tired, drinking water before continuing.
Clad in leather armor weighing over ten pounds, his robust physique made carrying the load manageable.
After some time, Wang Xi passed through a thick thicket and suddenly came upon a narrow path.
Just as he considered whether to follow the path or continue through the woods, something caught his peripheral vision.
Swiftly, Wang Xi crouched low behind a tree.
About twenty meters ahead, a wooden cart lay overturned, spilling apples and cabbages all over the ground.
The bald middle-aged driver lay in a pool of blood, and the cart’s draft horse was dead, covered in mud and long deceased.
Four small, green-skinned figures crouched with their backs to Wang Xi, picking up the scattered fruits and vegetables while eagerly gnawing on them, crunching loudly.
Wang Xi’s eyes narrowed.
‘What kind of creatures are those?’
He noticed the four had no hair, their bodies smooth and hairless. Their size was only half that of a child, yet they wielded wooden clubs as thick as an adult’s thigh.
Pointed ears, long noses.
Looking closely, they were clearly not human.
“Target identified: ‘Timid Goblin’.”
“Timid Goblin (Pale Red / One Star).”
Goblins?!
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Wang Xi was stunned.
Clearly, these were monsters from a fairy-tale-like otherworld. The unfortunate cart driver had been ambushed and killed by a band of goblins here.
‘Should I detour to avoid them or launch a surprise attack?’
He pondered.
Since the monsters hadn’t noticed him, he could probably slip away unnoticed. But if he chose to attack, he wasn’t sure he could win, as this was his first encounter with such creatures.
‘Damn it!’
Glancing at his gear and considering the many cards he had at his disposal, his eyes hardened.
His inner voice urged him:
‘If you run now, won’t you be the “Timid Goblin”? They’re only one star monsters—nothing to fear! You need to capture more supernatural powers to survive in the dangerous main world!’
‘Let’s do it!’
Silently, Wang Xi took down his crossbow, loaded an arrow, cranked the string tight.
He raised the crossbow, aimed at the back of a goblin’s head.
Breathing deeply, he pulled the trigger sharply.
Twang—
The bowstring released, the arrow flew.
A muffled “thud” was heard as the green creature twenty meters away lunged forward, then collapsed motionless into the mud.
“Waa! Aiyaaa!”
The remaining three goblins panicked, stood shouting wildly, waving their arms.
They quickly dropped the fruits and vegetables and, clutching their wooden clubs, turned and fled.
But a yellow, bulky figure suddenly charged from the side.
Wang Xi, already donning protective gear, held his sword with both hands and thrust with momentum.
Thrust—
Before the goblin could react, the sword pierced through its throat!
Dark green blood sprayed onto the glass visor.
Wang Xi wiped his face and kicked hard, striking the small creature’s face and sending it flying several meters.
The goblin rolled on the ground, eyes wide, clutching its neck and twitching before dying.
The remaining two goblins made no attempt to avenge their fallen comrades and ran even faster.
“Wahya!!”
They screamed in panic.
Wang Xi raised his sword and gave chase.
Facing enemies who fled without resistance, he felt considerably more at ease.
With quick strides, he caught up behind one goblin and plunged his sword through its back and chest.
Ignoring its screams, Wang Xi drew his sword again and slashed.
Though lacking finesse, his powerful strikes tore open the last goblin’s abdomen.
After a few blows, the creature collapsed.
“Whew…”
Wang Xi exhaled, looking around.
Along the narrow path, three green-skinned corpses lay overturned.
Wait—three corpses?
Where was the fourth?
Realizing something was amiss, he hurried back to where the cart had overturned.
The goblin originally struck by the arrow in the mud was nowhere to be seen.
“Ran away?!”
Wang Xi was shocked.
He noticed a long trail of green blood leading into the forest.
Without hesitation, he followed the blood trail.
Sure enough, after about fifty meters, he found the injured goblin.
The arrow was still lodged in its back; it lay on the ground, gasping heavily and clearly too wounded to run.
‘Playing dead to escape...’
Wang Xi was astonished.
He also lamented his poor aim; at twenty meters, he had aimed for the head but missed.
Raising his sword, he pierced the goblin’s throat.
Only after it stopped moving did he withdraw the arrow, wiped it with dry leaves, and returned it to his quiver.
“Target eliminated!”
“Can the ability to capture ‘Timid Goblin’ be acquired?”
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Wang Xi naturally answered yes.
A white light surged from the corpse at his feet into his forehead.
At the same time, the goblin’s body visibly blackened, shriveling as if a plant withering, curling into a ball.
Wang Xi watched in surprise.
Soon, from the shriveled black corpse, a green mushroom the size of a fist sprouted with a soft popping sound.
Wang Xi bent down and plucked the mushroom.
“Goblin Mushroom: A mushroom containing magical energy. Through photosynthesis, it absorbs ambient magical energy from the air and can grow into a new goblin.”
“Uh…”
Wang Xi held the green mushroom, stunned.
So goblins weren’t born from mothers, nor were they animals, but mushrooms transformed?
If left unattended, wouldn’t the mushroom release spores and grow more goblins?
What a bizarre fairy-tale world!
Wang Xi couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
‘But since it contains energy, Kaerus should be able to absorb it, right?’
He thought for a moment and sent the command to his mind.
The next second,
The green mushroom in his hand vanished!
“Energy: 150”
A lot!
Wang Xi’s eyes lit up.
He hadn’t expected a single goblin mushroom to contain 150 energy points, equivalent to a 150-gram magic stone.
He immediately turned and ran back to the path.
The three goblin corpses were already shriveled, blackened husks, each with a green mushroom sprouting on top.
“Can the ability to capture ‘Timid Goblin’ be acquired?”
Two more prompts appeared.
‘One prompt less—looks like not every monster drops cards...’
Wang Xi frowned and answered:
“Yes.”
Two light orbs appeared and he captured them.
He harvested all the green mushrooms and handed them to Kaerus to convert into energy.
“Energy: 600”
“Can draw 6 times”
‘Perfect! There are two card pools in my mind, each holding three cards. I can draw them all at once!’
Wang Xi smiled inwardly.
He swapped out the “Cupid Protective Suit,” converting it back into a card for safekeeping.
Then he began drawing cards!
He first selected the “Timid Goblin” card pool.
The first draw consumed 100 energy.
Three white lights intertwined and spun like a wheel in his mind.
Soon, one flew out, shining brightly.
“Wah! Hehehe!”
A goblin’s lecherous laugh rang out.
Wang Xi suddenly had a bad feeling.
He reached out and caught it.
“Knock Your Horse (Skill Card)”
“Quality: White One Star (Cannot be upgraded)”
“The timid goblin cautiously approaches the cart, then bravely knocks on the horse’s head. They are skilled at ambushes, and this time is no exception.”
“Using this card allows you to strike a target with blunt force, especially effective against horses. Each use consumes stamina.”
Wang Xi’s face darkened as he held the card.
He muttered under his breath:
“Knock your horse!”