The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Piper didn't see anything.

The short man squatted beside the campfire, holding a twig in his hand, pretending to fiddle with the ashes left over from last night.

"Shut up!" Eileen glared at him and hurriedly began to tidy up the cloth bag at her waist, her movements much more forceful than usual, with constant rattling sounds coming from inside.

Lorraine climbed out of the tent, shook her still numb left hand, and looked at the cloth bag containing the materials with heartache.

"Let's have breakfast," he said.

After eating the dry rations in the strange atmosphere, Eileen's expression returned to its usual indifference, but she didn't know that this was something that Lorraine couldn't hide from her.

[...heart racing]

Lorraine suppressed a laugh, pulled her gaze away from her hair, got up, put the rolled-up curtain back up, and tied it back to her backpack.

"Set off!"

The three continued walking in the direction marked on the map, and the trees in the forest began to become increasingly dense.

The pine trees and various other trees he couldn't name were crammed together, making it even more difficult to observe the environment.

However, the cold weather actually had some unexpected advantages.

In the misty forest during the cold winter, there is basically no fog, so at least they won't go around in circles; they just need to spend more time carefully finding their way.

They walked straight for half a day without encountering anything along the way.

"We should be there soon."

Lorraine stopped and glanced at the map at the surrounding terrain, saying, "The map marks the camp near a cave, with a large open area around it."

"The woods ahead are noticeably hilly, everyone be careful. We don't know if the goblins will be patrolling."

He pointed ahead and continued, "Let's divide the tasks beforehand, so that the chances of problems arising during the battle will be much smaller."

"I've learned a new area-of-effect spell. I'll rush in and deal with those goblins first..."

"When did you learn magic?" Eileen asked in surprise.

"That's just how we warlocks are."

Lorraine was spouting nonsense with a straight face:

"Don't interrupt, just use magic for ranged attacks and take good care of yourself."

"You! Fine..." Eileen gritted her teeth.

"Pip, you're smaller and more agile, so hold off that goblin for now. We'll come help you after we deal with the goblins," Lorraine continued.

"Okay!" The short guy nodded.

Eileen hesitated for a moment, then took a vial of red medicine from the pouch at her waist and handed it to him, saying:

"Don't die."

Lorraine glanced down at it, then looked at her in surprise: "Minor healing potion?"

Goodness gracious... Have they hooked up with a rich woman? This may not look like a whole bottle, but it's at least a third full.

That's 33 gold coins!

Their reward for this trip was only 40 gold coins.

"Well, the medicine isn't very strong; it'll only leave you with a complete corpse." Eileen took out another vial and handed it to Piper. "You too."

"Thanks! Piper knew you were the best!"

The little dwarf had clearly forgotten Lily.

"Let's go, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back." Eileen rolled her eyes. This shorty really knows how to bring up the most awkward things.

The three climbed towards higher ground, where large areas of gray stones had been piled up and formed a stone mountain.

A high vantage point makes observation easier, and finding a campsite would be ideal; otherwise, it helps determine the next direction.

"Pip seems to be watching them." The little guy stood on a stone platform and pointed to the side and below.

Lorraine looked in the direction he was pointing.

Below the cliff not far away, there is a naturally formed cave, with a circle of crooked wooden stakes encircling the open space at the cave entrance.

Several goblins that Lorraine knew very well were gathered around a large pot, cooking something, though it was unclear what they were doing.

"Why is there so little? Did you go hunting?" he wondered.

Eileen wasn't as physically fit as them; when she climbed up, her forehead was already beaded with sweat, which she wiped with the back of her hand.

"Most likely, monster attacks are more frequent in winter, mainly because of the reduced food supply. Goblins don't hibernate, so they can't stay in the camp all the time."

Lorraine suddenly had the feeling of carrying a textbook with him. He nodded and said, "This is a good thing for us. It's safer to clean it up in batches."

"Can your spells reach that far?" he asked Eileen.

The red-haired monk calculated the distance, shook his head, and said, "Too far."

"Then let's go down and take care of them first, but try not to make too much noise. Then we can lie in wait in the cave and wait for them to come to us." Lorraine changed the plan.

They carefully descended the mountainside, using the trees and tangled bushes as cover to approach the camp.

"Ready?"

Lorraine gently leaned her backpack against the tree and gestured to the two of them with her mouth.

Eileen nodded slightly, preparing her casting posture.

The short man gave him a thumbs-up, then pounded his chest with his fist, entering a berserk state, his short legs poised to strike.

"superior!"

The three of them rushed out from behind the tree at the same time.

"You green slugs, taste Grandpa's new hammer!" The little guy charged forward like an arrow released from a bow.

The power of the superior-level weapon was even more exaggerated than Lorraine had imagined.

Piper slammed his hammer into a goblin that was standing guard by the fence, and the poor creature was instantly turned into flying sparks that flew in all directions.

This terrified the other goblins, who screamed and scattered in all directions, some even getting stuck in the fence and flailing their legs.

Some fearless individuals grabbed weapons and charged at them, only to be instantly killed by Eileen's magic missile.

Lorraine easily dispatched the remaining few with a swing of his sword, then shook off the bloodstains from his longsword with a hint of satisfaction.

These goblins who had previously driven him to desperation now seemed like stray dogs on the street.

Seven corpses, all within ten breaths.

The short man looked around; the warhammer in his hand was still smoking. He muttered, "Pip hasn't warmed up yet."

"Let's clean up the battlefield first. The goblin might be in the cave, so be careful," Lorraine said.

"Let me cast a spell and see."

Eileen emerged from behind the tree, glancing warily at the cave entrance. She whispered a spell and pointed her staff toward the cave entrance.

"Agnir Ignis!"

A flaming arrow shot from the tip of the staff, trailing an orange-red tail of flame as it flew into the cave, illuminating a massive outline deep within.

"roar!--"

The flaming arrow seemed to have struck the thing, and it let out a painful roar.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the dark cave, and a burly figure over seven feet tall squeezed out of the cave.

This bear goblin was even bigger than Lorraine had imagined; its entire body was made of solid muscles, and its shoulders were as broad as a door.

"Humans...are there...short-lived people?"

Its mouth, with its two twisted fangs, twitched and uttered a harsh Commons phrase, its two tawny eyes sweeping maliciously over the three of them.

"die!--"