Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 416 Two Kinds of Corpses
"Wow..."

The surging tides crashed and churned, splashing countless tiny waves onto the surface of the dark brown reefs.

Without the obstruction of rocky peaks and buildings, the sea breeze swirls and howls, relentlessly unleashing its violent fury from the depths of the ocean.

Colin was breathing rapidly, his heart was pounding, and there was still a smear of scarlet blood on his cheek that he hadn't had time to wipe away.

"Why……"

Why did things get to this point?

He never intended to offend anyone and always held the greatest respect for the adventurers in his fleet.

Even though he received preferential treatment in the crew because of Mr. Xia Nan, he still kept his position as a "trainee sailor" in mind and never took advantage of this relationship to seek any benefits or bully other crew members.

But after all, he was just a young boy from a remote village. His age and experience limited him so much that he could only realize, through personal experience, that every gift from fate came with a hidden price.

It's like becoming an apprentice hunter in the village when you're young. You have to do less farm work on a daily basis and it's not as hard, but it also increases the danger of facing ferocious wild beasts.

Even though Colin didn't really take advantage of his relationship with Xia Nan, it inadvertently freed him from having to clean toilets like other new sailors, sleep in the gaps between cargo and luggage, and not even be able to stretch his legs.

Similarly, the orc Bone Card, who wanted to ease his relationship with Xia Nan, approached him at the banquet and eventually almost forced him to come to the small house on the edge of the village.

Then, it is now.

Colin is currently located on a rocky beach in the northern part of Cliff Island.

The orc bone card beside him disappeared, replaced by the remaining two members of the "Silver Claw Osprey" squad, and the short halfling playing the harp.

He had only recently regained consciousness and his memory of what exactly happened was hazy.

All he could recall was the horrifying chewing sound coming from the room, the goosebumps on the orc's back, the wooden wall that exploded like a blast, and the burly, imposing figure that was faintly visible in the thick smoke before he was knocked unconscious.

Colin only gradually learned what happened afterward when he was questioned by the villagers and adventurers who arrived later.

What he and Bone Card encountered was probably the ferocious monster that was rumored to be lurking around the village.

Originally, it only attacked lone villagers and domestic livestock outside, and there was never a case of it entering human settlements.

Unexpectedly, the arrival of the Black Gull attracted the attention of most of the villagers and the young guards who were originally responsible for patrolling and guarding. The monster took the opportunity to sneak in and attack a house on the edge of the village. It just so happened that Bone Card, who had slipped out of the banquet to have some fun, ran into it.

Judging from the traces left at the scene, after Colin fainted, the orc and the monster engaged in a fierce battle, with Colin at a disadvantage.

When the villagers and the Silver Claw Osprey squad arrived, based on the bloodstains on the ground, Bone Card should already be in a state of serious injury.

The monsters themselves seem to possess high intelligence, lacking the desire to fight, or perhaps their sanity is overwhelmed by ferocity.

After noticing the commotion of the villagers rushing over, he immediately carried the heavily injured orc away.

The mangled corpses were left in the ruins of the wooden house, and Colin lay unconscious on the ground.

After years of fighting side by side and finally developing a tacit understanding, the Silver Claw Osprey was not about to let their team member, who was someone they could entrust their back to, get kidnapped.

The adventurers responsible for transporting goods were attacked in the village. Although the village chief of Cliff Rock Village was aware of the danger, he also acted with great responsibility and immediately led the villagers out to search for them.

Fortunately, Lyda, the archer of the Silver Claw Osprey Squad, is a half-elf ranger with a special ability called "Blood-Seeking Scent," which allows her to track monsters even after they have vanished without a trace, by observing the scent they leave behind.

Of course, this specialization is not without its limitations. It requires a medium related to a monster to be effective and can only collect traces left by the target within half an hour.

This is precisely why these three adventurers have brought along Colin, their "burden"—he and the monster that attacked them had, to some extent, close contact, meeting the conditions for the [Blood-Seeking Smell] medium.

Behind them, the figures of village chief Steven and the villagers standing in the same spot grew farther and farther away, and the noise in the air gradually dissipated, leaving only the howling of the waves and the howling wind in their ears.

With limited time, the conditions for using [Blood-Seeking Smell], and the uncertain fate of the orc bone card, the adventurers unconsciously quickened their pace.

Following the trail, the group arrived at a beach filled with sharp reefs and turbulent currents.

Only adventurers can advance safely while maintaining speed; even the most experienced fishermen struggle to keep up. And if a fight were to break out, ordinary villagers would be of little help in such a harsh environment.

Therefore, after an emergency discussion during the journey, Steven led the villagers to temporarily stop their pursuit and instead went around to the other side of the northern cliff to block the gap, while the adventurers continued to venture deeper.

"How far is it?"

With one hand draped over Colin like luggage, squad leader Nick lifted his leg over a reef, his brow furrowed as he asked the half-elf leading the way.

“I’m not sure. The moisture from the seaside diluted the lingering scent in the air.” Leda said intently, running her fingertips over the bloodstains on Colin’s chest, then holding the fingertips to her lips, her nostrils flaring.

"But there's definitely no problem with this direction; it's heading towards the sea."

Nick's expression grew increasingly grim.

Having been adventurers for many years, the group quickly made a judgment about the monster's approximate size and type based on the traces left at the scene.

The size and depth of the footprints on the ground, the strong fishy smell in the air, and a saw-shaped fish tooth embedded in the corpse suggest this.

The creature that attacked Colin and Bone was an aquatic...or at least a large amphibian monster from the sea.

But now, the other party has already escaped to the seaside.

If this monster disregards everything and jumps into the water with Bone Card, then they will truly have no chance at all.

To leave the land and fight monsters in the sea with a human body, losing even a tenth of one's strength, is undoubtedly courting death.

All they can do right now is track it as quickly as possible while praying that the monster won't bring the bone card underwater.

The Silverclaw Osprey team's ability to survive in the Southern Islands environment to this day is largely thanks to Captain Nick.

Like most team leaders on this continent who have been adventurers for more than five years, he is mature and tactful, calm yet cautious. Even if he occasionally loses control under the temptation of profit, he can quickly adjust his mindset and enjoys a very high reputation among his team members.

Even though he suspected the orcs had perished at sea, Nick still had no intention of giving up.

On the one hand, teammates who have been working together for so long are indeed rare, and even if there is only a slight chance of survival, it is worth searching the entire coastline.
On the other hand, it was also from Leta's perspective.

As fellow team members, how could I so easily abandon Bone Card when his fate was unknown? How would the half-elves view him as their captain in the future? How could the team possibly continue?

only……

She glanced down at Colin, whose face was pale, nestled between her arms.

Nick felt a pang of regret. Ironically, when the kid and Bonecard left the banquet, he and Steven, the village chief of Cliff Village, were on the second floor discussing a hunting commission for monsters that would attack the villagers.

Nick thought he should take this opportunity to learn more about the mission from them. If it was within their capabilities, once they returned to Barracuda Bay and explained the information to the association, their team could accept the mission as soon as it was posted again.

By then, with ample preparations made at Suyu Bay and having already visited Qiaoyan Island, the environment won't be completely unfamiliar, and we'll have some understanding of the terrain and other conditions. This should allow us to achieve twice the result with half the effort when carrying out the mission.

But to my surprise, in just over ten minutes, when I went downstairs again, the orc had already disappeared from the hall.

Then came the loud noise that came from afar, and the commotion that followed.

Thinking of this, Nick's face grew even more gloomy.

What made him even more uneasy was the black-haired youth named "Xia Nan" in the fleet.

According to the village chief, he had left the village much earlier to search for the wooden house of some old friend on the cliff.

If the other party is currently with them, given Xia Nan's previous display of strength, their safety can be guaranteed to a great extent.

However, the enemy has not returned yet, causing the team's combat strength to plummet.

To some extent, this is one of the reasons why he wanted to take Colin along to investigate further.

Given the relationship between this kid and Xia Nan, once the other party returns and discovers the situation, they might come to his aid, which serves as a safety net.

Thinking of this, Nick paused slightly, glancing sideways and behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Fortunately, the short, halfling who seemed to be a bard was quite kind-hearted; he followed along without even asking.

She was carrying her small lute on her back, following them with light steps.

With these two connections, if Xia Nan can return in time and discover the situation, he should be able to catch up immediately.

Encountering such an unexpected event midway through the mission, Nick felt as if his mind was a ball of yarn, worrying about potential dangers while also considering the feelings of his teammates, creating an incredibly chaotic and tense situation.

Just then, a low shout suddenly rang out in front of him, interrupting all his thoughts.

"alert!"

My body tensed up involuntarily, and my consciousness returned to reality.

With a sudden release of his grip, Colin fell to the ground.

The two short swords at his waist were already drawn.

Without needing to lower her body or assume a fighting stance, the half-elf Lyda could already smell the strong stench of blood wafting from ahead.

The original positioning, which focused on tracking, quietly changed. In just a few steps, Nick, as the only front-line member of the team, had already moved to the very front of the group.

At the half-elf's prompting, Colin covered his mouth and knelt on the reef, trembling as he tried to make as little noise as possible.

Nick gestured behind him, signaling the others to follow, and carefully moved forward, keeping his pace slow.

Colin was left behind, while the three of them moved on.

Just a few minutes later, as the group rounded a bend behind a rocky outcrop, the source of the bloody smell came into view.

There were more than a dozen broken and scattered fish-man corpses, almost covering a large section of the reef.

The manner of their deaths was extremely gruesome.

Some had their heads severed, with fluorescent blue blood flowing from the cuts in their necks; others had no limbs left, only a bare torso.

Everywhere you look, there are broken limbs and shattered, crude weapons.

The bloody and gruesome scene made even the experienced adventurer Nick unconsciously frown, and the half-elf following behind him turned pale.

"This...this was all done by that monster?"

Nick whispered to his teammate behind him, who had better perception.

Just as the half-elf was about to nod, Alton's voice suddenly rang out from the side.

"not necessarily."

The short, half-human figure had somehow crouched down beside several dismembered corpses, holding a twig he'd found somewhere, rummaging through the broken limbs like a picky child.

"look here."

The end of the branch pointed to a corpse that had been cut in half. At the break, there were obvious signs of being torn apart by a wild animal. The wound was irregular, with blood and bone fragments remaining.

Just seeing this fish-man's corpse makes one imagine the agonizing scene of his body being bitten off by some ferocious monster.

"And then this side."

The branch traced an arc in the air and landed on another corpse a little distance away.

Compared to the former, it is still relatively intact overall, but a fish-man's head has disappeared from the neck, and the cut is extremely clean, as if it was instantly cut by some sharp object, with even the bone fragments being shaved parallel to the surrounding muscles.

The wounds on the two bodies were completely different.

After being reminded by the halfling Alton, the two members of the Silverclaw Osprey Squad also realized that something was wrong.

After careful examination, it was discovered that the corpses on the scene were very strange, showing two completely different ways of dying.

It looked as if it had been devoured by a wild beast, its flesh and blood splattered, utterly filthy;

Another type of death is usually caused by a sharp weapon cutting vital organs. Most of them have their heads severed, and some show signs of missing limbs, but the cuts are always clean and done in one stroke.

What chilled Nick and Leda even more was...

The former's body had almost completely bled out, indicating that it had been dead for a long time, at least several hours ago, or even earlier than when they arrived at Cliff Island;
Judging from the freshness of the fish-men's corpses, the latter probably died within half an hour, or even less!
This means that the culprit behind the horrific scene before us is very likely... nearby!
"Clap."

Suddenly, the sound of undisguised footsteps rang out from the deep hollow beneath the reefs to the side.

Nick felt a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head, and his whole body tensed up instantly, almost making him jump up from the spot.

(End of this chapter)