Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 28 Reason
"boom!"

The one-handed hammer emitting a metallic luster smashed down fiercely.

Along with the delayed sound of a hard object colliding with flesh, the green snake that had just curled up its body, raised its head and given a warning look, instantly turned into a piece of meat that could only twitch and wriggle.

"There are too many snakes in this forest, aren't there?"

Larry, a fat man in a tight short suit, shook off the blood drops on the hammer with some disgust and complained.

Now, several hours have passed since Xia Nan joined the team.

The complex environment of the misty forest filled with dense bushes and long grass made their journey very difficult, and their physical strength was rapidly depleted.

Faced with a battle that could come at any time, Xia Nan and others could not possibly spend all their energy on rushing on the road (they needed to maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness).

Therefore, they found a relatively safe place and planned to take a temporary rest to recover their strength.

Xia Nan sat in the corner of the camp, leaning against a tree trunk.

The iron-gray beheading sword was placed at an angle beside him, ready to be picked up at any time.

The gauze in his hand was dipped in water and was being wiped with the leather armor on his body.

Although he was not injured in the fierce battle with the duo just now, the enemy's blood was splattered all over him.

It's not that I have any mysophobia.

But the smell of blood could easily attract danger, and he felt uncomfortable with the sticky feeling on his body.

Now that I have some free time, I'll take the opportunity to clean up.

"Xianan, do you usually encounter so many snakes when you are on a mission?"

Larry asked casually as he threw the long snake, which had been hammered into a ball of meat paste, into the bushes beside him.

As they were already members of the team, they naturally introduced their names to each other.

Xia Nan looked up and resisted the urge to rush over and take out the snake's gall.

I couldn't help but think back to what happened when I came here, and I felt a little puzzled.

"It seems that we have encountered quite a lot of different kinds of snakes along the way."

"Even when I was with the Bad Fish and Shrimp Team, there weren't so many snakes in the forest."

He thought so in his heart, but didn't say much.

After all, this was only his second mission, and he was not much more familiar with the Misty Forest than Larry, so he just said:

"Perhaps this area is special? As you know, the Misty Forest is full of strange things. No one can predict what you might encounter."

"Oh? Weird?" The ambiguous statement aroused Larry's interest. "Is it a rare monster? Or a giant plant that can eat people?"

"I heard from my cousin that this 'large magic gathering point' even has a legendary fortress and dungeon from ancient times!"

When discussing something of interest, Larry's voice became a little higher, and the blonde girl next to him pricked up her ears slightly, seeming to be looking forward to the story of the new adventurer who had just joined the team.

But there was no doubt that the other party's topic was beyond Xia Nan's knowledge.

Not knowing how to answer, he just pulled his lips and said helplessly:
"I'm just a newcomer too. I don't really understand what you're talking about."

"Newbie!? You didn't act like a rookie just now!"

"Why don't you ask Wood? He obviously has more experience than me." Xia Nan changed the subject somewhat stiffly.

Hearing this, Larry first shrank his head, looked around slyly, then remembered that the other party had left the camp and was exploring the way ahead.

He leaned closer, lowered his voice, and whispered:

"Him? Except for Hai'an, he looks dead to everyone else. Who dares to ask him?"

"I couldn't utter a word for a long time. No matter what I asked, I just looked at you coldly. If it wasn't for..." "Ahem."

Hai'an deliberately coughed twice, interrupting Larry's speech.

His face looked somewhat helpless:

"Don't listen to his nonsense. Wood is still very competent."

Xia Nan quite agrees with this.

Being able to feel the guard's vigilance towards him did not prevent him from recognizing his professionalism.

I was still thinking about the wooden sign. I didn't have the chance to ask about it because I was in a hurry. But now that the other party took the initiative to speak, I also asked about its origin.

"This?" Larry took the initiative to say, "I bought this when I was out shopping last month, and at that time..."

According to Fat Larry, the wooden sign was first picked up by an adventurer in the Misty Forest. He thought this exotic-style sign could be sold for a good price, but he didn't expect that no store in River Valley Town would buy it.

It could only be sold back to the owner of "Griffin Department Store" in Neum at a low price, and was eventually discovered and bought by Larry.

"I originally wanted to ask that adventurer to come and show me the way, but he refused. In the end, I spent some gold coins to buy the location where the wooden sign was found from him."

"Just you? Why don't you bring some guards with you?"

Xia Nan discovered the blind spot and couldn't help but frown.

Even if a rich young man travels to the countryside, he will at least bring a few personal bodyguards with him.

Larry didn't look like he was short of money, no matter how he dressed or how he behaved.

In this situation, he didn't even bring a personal bodyguard?
Xia Nan didn't understand.

If it were him, he might not even go out there in person. Anyway, he could just stay on the outskirts of the Misty Forest and spend some money to hire dozens of professionals who do this job. This would be both safe and greatly increase the probability of making a discovery.

In response, Larry just grinned and scratched his head.
"My dad never liked... bank accounts... they were all kept secret... secretly..."

While mumbling incoherently, his eyes subconsciously glanced at the blonde girl who was resting nearby.

"Tsk."

Xia Nan curled his lips and shook his head, no longer curious.

Things have come to this point, and whether it's him or Larry, whatever happens is their own choice.

"So what's so special about this piece of wood that made you come here from Neum?"

For Xia Nan, there is no need to elaborate on the source of the wooden sign's attraction.

But what about these people who were born and raised in other worlds?
I'm not an archaeologist. It's not worth it to risk my life and enter a misty forest full of monsters just for a sign of unknown origin.

Larry stopped talking.

Hai'an sighed silently and explained:
"I lead the team." He raised his head, and stared at Xia Nan in front of him with the silver-gray eyes unique to half-elfs.

"I'm not in a position to go into details, but I suspect this wooden sign... is related to the disappearance of a relative of mine."

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but frowned.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard a sudden noise coming from the long grass next to the camp.

He stood up instantly and subconsciously picked up the beheading sword beside him, ready for battle.

Then, Wood's figure wearing black leather armor appeared in front of everyone.

His eyes swept across everyone's faces, finally stopping at the face of the half-elf Hai'an:

"Master, I have discovered something."

(End of this chapter)