Chapter 32: Efficient Cooperation
Hiding, Gauss had already silently cast Mage Hand.
Because he feared that the scent might give them away, the remaining teammates hid at relatively distant spots.
Only Gauss stayed within about ten meters, limited by the range of Mage Hand.
However, Meiva had already helped him with a hiding spot and to mask his scent.
So the six goblins, getting closer and closer, hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
When they reached the Gray Rabbit, one of the goblins even carefully threw a stone in its direction.
“Plop!”
The stone hit beside the Gray Rabbit, and still nothing happened.
Seeing this, the goblins visibly relaxed.
One by one, they looked around, confirming that the few-meter‑radius open area nearby held no other creatures, then eagerly came under the tree.
The largest of them, the lead goblin, grabbed the Gray Rabbit with both hands.
A cruel and excited smile appeared on its face, and murky drool dribbled from its thick lips.
With the force of its yellowed claws, it ended the Gray Rabbit’s life in an instant.
“Wah wah wah!”
The other goblins rushed over, bouncing around the Gray Rabbit in the hands of the leader.
It seemed that this unexpectedly found food made them very happy.
After all, goblins are omnivores, and they don’t always have meat to eat.
Before they could start celebrating—
“Click!”
There was a faint sound of a mechanism being triggered.
Startled by the noise, the goblins lifted their heads toward its direction.
What they saw was a large net quickly dropping down.
The capturing net had been triggered by Mage Hand and released from its mechanism.
Weighted magnets at the edges accelerated the net’s fall.
In the blink of an eye, it landed above the goblins.
Realizing what was happening, the goblins tried to flee—but it was obviously too late.
Grouped together, the goblins who hadn’t run away in time were directly covered by the big net.
Thanks to a special closure mechanism driven by magnets, the capturing net tightened, entrapping them like a constricting sack.
“Wah wah wah!”
“Wah wah!”
Iron spikes attached to the net pierced the goblins’ bodies, instantly causing them to scream in pain.
And with their instinctive struggles, the tangled trap ensnared them further.
The more they struggled, the tighter the spikes bit into their flesh, trapping them even more firmly.
At the same time, poison pre-applied on the spikes began to take effect.
“This simple?”
Gauss, who was closest, saw it most clearly.
The mechanism made by the rogue apprentice Meiva worked even better than he had expected.
A group of goblins, enough to give everyone a bit of trouble, were directly trapped.
Though he didn’t know how long they’d be trapped.
Gauss had already noticed that some goblins, enduring the pain, began cutting the net with weapons.
The rest of the Night Owl team emerged from their hiding spots.
But their speed couldn’t match Gauss, who’d been responsible for triggering the mechanism and was closest.
On their way over, Gauss had already strode forward, rapier in hand, charging at the goblins.
He wouldn’t miss such an excellent “head‑popping” opportunity.
Arriving beside the trapped goblins, his rapier mercilessly and swiftly stabbed at their vital points.
Blade after blade struck flesh!
With each thrust, a bloody hole appeared in its body, and thick, foul-smelling blood gushed out like a spring.
He felt no emotion—no sympathy—toward the goblins.
The sword in his hand felt as cold as a fish-gutting knife.
“Goblin killed *1”
“Total monster kills: 13”
…
“Total monster kills: 14”
“Total monster kills: 15”
…
“Total monster kills: 18”
All six goblins fell under Gauss’s merciless rapier, becoming digits in the Monster Encyclopedia’s kill count.
One step closer to the next stage of fifty.
And whether it was an illusion or not, after killing those six goblins, he found his grip on the rapier more fluid and coordinated.
The extra sense of harmony felt like he had somehow practiced with the rapier for several more days.
By the time Gauss’s rapid “slaughter” of goblins ended, the others finally arrived near the trap, slowly.
Since there was no urgent danger, they hadn't hurried.
And seeing Gauss already swinging his blade, they were even less inclined to rush.
A kill is still a kill, and Gauss’s rapier was less likely to damage Meiva’s trap.
“Gauss, just so we’re clear, we’re not dividing the mission rewards based on the number of monster kills, okay?”
“Even if you did trigger the mechanism, that doesn’t mean you get all the credit for these six goblins,” Levin joked.
“Understood.” Gauss nodded, inwardly pleased. He had already earned the reward he wanted most—everything else was just a bonus, and he wouldn’t be left out of the mission pay anyway.
“I simply wanted to hone my swordsmanship against goblins,” he casually explained.
He was quite happy inside. Compared to the exhausting fight in Birch Village last time, these six goblins felt practically like freebies.
All thanks to the pre-arranged trap.
Gauss quietly committed that to memory.
As long as one used tools and traps wisely, even he alone might be able to easily and unharmed eliminate a small goblin group.
He had mostly been good at making beast traps—small in scale.
For these larger ones, he might need to learn from Meiva.
As a half-baked Hunter, he clearly wasn’t as skilled in trap-making as Meiva, who was a Rogue Apprentice.
Thinking this, he suddenly understood why Meiva didn’t mingle well with the team, didn’t like to talk much, but still held an unshakable position within the party.
Every team needed someone like her—able to scout, craft traps and poison, and offer combat support from the flanks with a dagger and a hand crossbow.
This gloomy figure under a cloak might actually be the true core of the Night Owl Team.
Gauss glanced over at Meiva, who had silently returned to the group.
In the future, I’m definitely recruiting a strong rogue for my own team, Gauss thought to himself.
Just imagining how he could continue to pick off easy kills like this made a faint smile creep onto his lips.
That sudden smile made Doyle, who had been silently watching him from the side, shiver.
Killing a few helpless goblins—was that really something to smile so joyfully about?
Was Gauss actually mentally unhinged? Or did he have some dark past, like a deep hatred for goblins?
Doyle couldn’t help but speculate wildly.
“Alright, everyone. Prepare for direct combat,” Levin suddenly called out. “The enemy should be arriving any moment.”
“Understood.”
“Got it.”
“Received.” Gauss also snapped out of his thoughts.
The earlier commotion—the net dropping, footsteps, and the goblins’ prolonged screams—would definitely have alerted those within the ruins.
Meiva had scouted 15 to 22 goblins.
After deducting the six Gauss had just killed, that left around 9 to 16 goblins.
Silently calculating, the team had already taken formation, ready for battle.
Not long after, a cacophony of footsteps sounded in the distance.
A group of goblins arrived at the scene.
Five goblins carrying small wooden shields and clubs took the front, followed by three wielding stone spears and two more holding steel blades.
The last four goblins, all archers, lagged behind the formation, clearly looking for good shooting spots.
Fourteen goblins in total.
Although there weren’t any unusually large goblins like those seen in Birch Village, this group was clearly more disciplined, with even basic but complete role divisions.
The four archer goblins, in particular, posed a real threat and couldn’t be ignored.
This was what a goblin tribe nearing twenty in number should be like.
The Birch Village incident was just a merger of two small teams—other than the large-bodied goblin, they hadn’t formed any significant combat force.
Observing their numbers and formation from afar—
Levin quickly issued tactical instructions.
“Meiva, Oliver. Take care of the goblin archers. We’ll handle the front line.”
“If needed, I can support from range with Magic Missile,” Gauss added. He still needed real combat practice with his skill.
To become stronger, he would seize any opportunity to steal kills in battle. After all, his role in the team, aside from using Magic Missile to target key enemies, was that of a free agent.
Who said stealing kills couldn’t be a form of support?
“Thanks, much appreciated.”
“Alright then, everyone—prepare for battle!”
“Kill them all!!”
Levin slammed his oak shield down in front of him, and the whole team instantly entered combat mode.