The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

A massive, dark shadow slowly emerged from the woods, its reddish-brown skin illuminated by the flickering firelight, and its pair of yellow eyes appeared unusually cold.

He was almost twice the height of an ordinary goblin, his strong muscles bulging out of his slightly worn leather armor, a longsword at his waist, and the headless corpse of the adventurer in his hand.

Hobgoblin.

A member of the goblin family.

They are a strictly militarized, disciplined, and order-loving humanoid race, a species far more dangerous than ordinary goblins.

Compared to those weak goblins who are like cannon fodder, they are more ruthless, more ferocious and warlike.

Goblins are soldiers from birth. Every goblin undergoes rigorous military training from childhood. Those who can adapt go to the army, while those who cannot are assigned to menial jobs.

As natural leaders of goblin-like families, they often ruled over their less intelligent cousins, forming small legions.

These teams, composed of goblins, bear goblins, orcs, and even humans and ogres, could strike fear into the hearts of almost any adventurer, let alone the lowly minions present who didn't even have a class level.

"Damn it, what are we going to fight with?"

This thing should be considered an elite unit, right? These lousy nobodys wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth, let alone the restless goblins under the control of the goblins around it.

The goblin slowly walked to a spot where everyone could see it, casually tossed the corpse to the ground, and threatened in a hoarse voice in Common:

"Surrender, or die."

Upon hearing this, the goblins became incredibly excited, their tattered weapons flying around as if cheering on their leader.

"┗|｀O′|┛Aww~~"

Surrender my foot! Only a fool would believe that...

Lorraine leaned against a carriage, feeling a numbness and pain in the web of her hand.

This was his first time fighting so hard, and he didn't know how to control his strength. He gripped the sword hilt too tightly, and now his fingers were almost unable to straighten.

While this focused attack was highly effective, killing a goblin in just a few hits, it also greatly depleted his stamina, making it difficult for him to continue.

Just then.

"I surrender! I surrender!!"

A coachman crawled out from under the carriage, trembling, and staggered toward the direction of the goblins with his head down.

"How could I possibly defeat them... I have a wife and daughter, I can't die, I can't die here..."

He hypnotized himself as he ran, trying to fool himself into getting through the ordeal.

"Ouch!"

The driver's head hit a solid wall, and he cried out in surprise.

He looked up and met those fierce eyes.

In that instant, he felt as if his soul had fallen into an ice cave, and even his breath had stopped.

He stood there, frozen in place, his eyes fixed ahead, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpoints.

A warm sensation flowed down his inner thigh, and fear and shame awakened him, making him watch helplessly as that large hand reached out to pinch him.

"Well done, you're a smart person."

The goblin patted him on the shoulder, smirked, and offered a cold word of encouragement.

"Ha...haha, hahaha!"

The driver was so shocked by the slap that he almost fell to the ground. He quickly shook his arms to steady himself, and then a sense of relief, as if he had just escaped death, overwhelmed him, making him feel as if he were floating in the sky.

"My lord, I... I can work. I can feed the horses, move goods, and repair vehicles. Thank you for sparing my life. From now on, I will be your slave..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Five fingers gripped his neck tightly, pulling him up from the ground.

The driver's face turned red, his legs kicked wildly in the air, and he made meaningless noises.

"Ho-ho-ho-"

The goblin lifted him up to his eyes and tilted his head to look at him.

Then he clenched his five fingers.

Click.

The driver's body went limp, and his head drooped at an odd angle.

"There really are idiots."

The goblin dropped the corpse, shook the blood off its hands, and gave a mocking smile.

"Kill them all."

The goblins were silent for a moment, then erupted in an even more frenzied howl before charging wildly toward the camp.

Elite unit? That's at least a mini-boss, right...?

Lorraine took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

He counted the swarming goblins with a grim expression... There were at least twenty more at a glance.

If that's all there is to it, it's not so bad. There are at least a dozen people in the camp who can pick up weapons, so they shouldn't be afraid of these bastards.

But that goblin... if we don't kill him, everyone will die here.

Lorraine's mind raced.

A direct confrontation is definitely not an option.

Even with his strength increased, he only had 13 points, which was clearly no match for that guy.

Although Piper looks like a formidable fighter, after hitting so many heads, he probably doesn't have much strength left.

As for Sauron? That guy's practically a roadside dumpling...

Lorraine looked around but couldn't find him; he'd probably run off somewhere to hide.

[Burning Hand]

If I still have any means to threaten the other party, then this strange spell is all that's left.

He stared at the description in the skill bar, recalling the scene of using it to light firewood before.

Wood can catch fire, so surely flesh and blood couldn't withstand it, right? This thing isn't a dragon, after all...

We have no choice but to give it a try.

But how can I get close to him?

That guy was standing at the edge of the forest, surrounded by goblins. If he dared to take a few more steps forward, he would be surrounded and killed.

We need to at least find a way to lure those goblins away.

"Pip, see that big guy?"

Lorraine lowered his voice and gestured towards the goblin with his mouth.

Piper heard the sound and came over. He was panting heavily, and his whole body was bigger than before, with a faint red tinge, as if he had entered some kind of berserk state.

The cloth strip wrapped around the handle of the hammer in his hand was already soaked with blood, and thick liquid was dripping down.

"Isn't that obvious?" he asked, puzzled.

Stay calm...stay calm...

Lorraine adjusted his tone, trying to sound sincere, and said, "I'll lure the smaller ones away later, and you find the right opportunity to smash that big guy in the face with a hammer."

Upon hearing this, Piper picked up the hammer again, cracked his neck, and then laughed loudly:

"You should have said so earlier! I've been wanting to meet him for a long time."

Lorraine was about to explain his plan, but before he could even speak, he saw the halfling let out a mad howl and charge towards the goblin surrounded by goblins.

"Holy crap! You can't rush it like that!!!"