Chương 16: Encounter and Unease

As Kyle walked back, feeling a bit depressed, he couldn't help but think about the job of adventurers: completing quests posted by the adventure guild or other employers. It's almost like the job of a hired thug.

'Unfortunately, this is just how things are. I don't have a better option. Besides, it's common for humans to eliminate threats near them. I shouldn't get too caught up thinking about this.' Kyle took a deep breath and suppressed his discomfort. There was still much ahead of him; he couldn't get too caught up feeling bad for a few pups.

'It's just because they're cute, reminding me of the pups I raised in my past life. If they were goblin cubs, I guess I wouldn't blink twice before finishing them off.' He smiled wryly, feeling that he was being hypocritical. As Kyle walked on a dirt path in the forest, his thoughts jumbled. A cry suddenly sounded not far away.

"Help!" A woman cried out, followed by the sound of branches breaking and noise coming his way. Kyle quickly snapped out of his daze and placed his palm on the hilt of his sword, vigilantly looking at the source of the sound. A woman suddenly burst out from the bushes ahead, her eyes lit up upon seeing him. She quickly ran towards him while crying.

"Help me! They're going to capture me! Please!" She cried as she approached him; four goblins followed behind her, viciously laughing as they waved their weapons, a perverse light flashing in their eyes. Kyle glanced at the disheveled woman hiding behind him before turning to look at the goblins. He slowly approached them; mana flowed through his veins as he used [Mana Enhancement].

Deflecting an arrow shot by one of the goblins, he suddenly leaped forward, kicking one of the goblins away, crushing its ribs and organs with his immense power, before slashing the neck of another. The last two goblins stopped their march forward, looking at Kyle vigilantly. The one holding the bow shot at him again as the one holding a wooden club stepped back. Kyle sidestepped the arrow and burst forward, killing the last two goblins in a single motion.

'Oh, that one is still alive.' Kyle thought as he looked at the goblin he kicked away, still barely breathing, and thrust his sword in its neck, ending its misery.

"Are you okay?" Kyle looked at the disheveled woman and asked.

"Yes! Thank you very much; you saved me!" The woman clasped her hands and profusely thanked him, her face filled with gratitude, tears seeping from the corners of her eyes.

'He really has a dwarven-forged sword!' Denise roared internally, her gaze drifting slightly to the unsheathed sword in Kyle's hands, eyes shining with excitement.

"My lord! You must be a great adventurer. Please help us. My companions are about to get killed!" Seemingly remembering something, the black-haired young woman pleaded. She quickly approached Kyle and held his arm to her chest. Her massive chest deformed as she squeezed it around his arm while looking up at Kyle with teary eyes. Kyle's expression changed as he felt the softness on his arm. His face reddened slightly as he tried to pull it out, but the woman held on tightly.

"Wait, I'm just a rookie adventurer. Explain what happened to you and your party, and why are you being chased first!" He helplessly asked, suppressing the throbbing in his body. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

'Tch! Curse this teenage, hormone-filled body!' Kyle complained internally. Although he maintained the look of a shy, inexperienced boy on the surface, he was secretly vigilant.

"I'm part of a new adventurers' party. We accepted a quest to exterminate a small goblin settlement, but the number of goblins is much higher than what was said on the quest! Now, my teammates are struggling to hold on. That's why I ran out to look for help." The dark-haired woman frantically said, tears seeping from her eyes.

"Then why don't you run to the adventure guild to ask for help? How could you be sure that there would be other adventurers nearby? Besides, I'm just a newbie adventurer, so I might not be able to help," Kyle said, his eyes narrowing.

"The town is too far away; my teammates won't be able to hold on for that long! I could only helplessly run around, seeing if I could find someone nearby. Thankfully, I found you, my lord! You're strong! You can definitely kill those hateful goblins!" She squeezed her chest around his arm even tighter.

"Please… they won't last much longer… I'll… I'll do anything, just save them!" The implication was obvious: she was willing to do anything if he saved her teammates. Kyle looked at her pitiful, tearful face for a moment before turning his head and walking ahead.

"Fine, lead me to your teammates. But ugly things need to be said upfront. If I face danger, I won't hesitate to escape," Kyle calmly said.

"Yes! That's fine! I'm sure you can save them, because you're so strong!" The woman nodded and said, her tearful face filled with admiration and worship. She turned and quickly ran back the way she had come. Kyle closely followed behind.

'The situation is a bit strange. I have a feeling that this woman is lying about something. Her statements are filled with loopholes. I'll see what's going on first. If they are truly just adventurers who need help, I'll save them if I can. If it was a ruse, I'll deal with the situation accordingly. Worst-case scenario, I'll have to kill people today.' Kyle narrowed his eyes, secretly raising his vigilance. The two of them trod through the forest, quickly arriving at a hilly area.

The woman stopped after climbing up a hill and pointed down.

"They're down there, lord adventurer. Please hurry! They can't hold on for much longer!" The woman hurriedly said, pointing at the two people fighting at the bottom. Kyle looked at the two people at the foot of the hill. Two adventurers, male. A warrior barely holding down over a dozen goblins by himself and an archer supporting him from the back. Several goblins' corpses were lying around, but the two of them seemed exhausted. Kyle narrowed his eyes as he looked at the situation below.

'Judging by their movements, they seem to be just regular people, not even apprentices. But how could two regular people hold down over a dozen goblins without a trace of injury, and how did this woman walk up this hill and run so far away, with several goblins following behind her, and she "just happened" to stumble onto me? The situation is getting stranger and stranger.' Kyle became even more vigilant. He cautiously observed the surrounding area for any trace of ambush but couldn't find anything.

He glanced at the woman who looked as if she were going to cry if he remained still any longer, then back down at the battle below.

"Follow me." He said before running downhill. He couldn't sense any immediate danger… but something still felt off. He finally decided to go down and kill the goblins first. Kyle ran down the hill, jumping up just as he was about to reach the bottom. He unsheathed his sword and thrust it into the head of one of the goblin archers, instantly killing it. Quickly pulling his sword, he turned around and beheaded the second goblin archer.

"Hold them down for a second!" Kyle shouted at the warrior as he ran towards him. The warrior complied and assisted him in holding down the goblins, preventing them from scattering away. What followed was a one-sided massacre. Kyle barely used [Mana enhancement]. Relying just on his physical strength and swordsmanship, he dispatched one goblin after the other. The warrior and the archer assisted from the side. Even the woman from before pulled out her daggers and assisted in killing two goblins.

"The last one." Kyle pulled his sword from the neck of the last goblin, flicking the blood away before sheathing it.

"Hahaha! Thank you very much, brother, you saved us!" The warrior sheathed his sword and walked towards him, laughing jovially. The archer nodded at Kyle with a faint smile on his face but didn't put away his bow. He looked around cautiously before focusing on the lair of the goblins, a cave not far away, seemingly guarding against any goblin left behind.

"You're amazing, Lord Adventurer!" The woman also walked towards him with a look of adoration on her face, her eyes narrowing in a crescent.

"It's fine. I'm glad to help. How did you end up in this situation?" Kyle replied with a smile on his face, his palm on the hilt of his sword.

"Ah, I guess we were unlucky. I'm Mike, and that's Denise and Joe. Thanks again for the help." The burly man introduced himself with a smile, then extended his hand for a handshake. Kyle looked at his jovial expression and extended his hand. The moment the two shook hands, the jovial expression on Mike's face disappeared. He ferociously squeezed Kyle's palm while extending the other one to hold his shoulder.

"Now!"