I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 11: Blood and Fire in the Forest

“Eighteen of them!”

“Everyone, be careful!”

Gauss quickly counted the number.

Although he didn’t understand where the mission intel went wrong, there was no time to dwell on it.

They all had to face the enemies in front of them first.

Eighteen goblins—even if the four farmers who followed could each hold one—

That still left fourteen, meaning each person would have to face at least three at once.

That number didn’t sound huge, but when a horde of small monsters with grotesque faces surrounded them, their yellow-brown lips and fangs hissing in unison, that wild aura rushing inward sent chills down one’s spine.

One goblin versus a swarm of goblins brought a completely incomparable sense of threat.

“Wahh!!!”

The dark forest echoed with beastly roars, giving Gauss goosebumps all over.

In an instant, the battle began!

Goblins swarmed toward them, the battlefield divided into several sections.

A goblin wielding a spear charged straight at Gauss, its murky eyes full of greed, yellowish-brown teeth dripping sticky saliva that slid off its thick lips.

It dashed forward, arm swinging, its vine-bound stone spear thrusting upward toward Gauss’s jaw.

At the critical moment, his 7-point intelligence kicked in again!

For a moment, the world in his vision seemed to slow, more accurately, his thoughts sped up!

Not only did he focus on the goblin before him, but from the corner of his eye he noticed another goblin with a dagger approaching from behind.

Plus, another goblin beside him had spotted him as well.

In an instant, he was nearly surrounded by green-skinned brats.

In the accelerated mindset, Gauss had time to analyze the situation.

Facing an encirclement…

He stomped his foot, using the boot sole’s rebound off the soil, and dodged sideways into an open space.

The spear and dagger cut through the air.

He barely evaded the treacherous strikes, and sweat started to form on his back.

He might be intelligent, but his other physical attributes were only average for a healthy adult male.

Even though his thoughts reacted quickly, his body felt a bit sluggish compared to his accelerated mind, and he needed to adjust to that disconnect.

Moreover, the goblins were too close.

After briefly losing sight of him, the three goblins lunged again, baring claws.

He wanted to seize the opportunity to take one out first—like how he’d killed that scouting goblin in an instant earlier.

But reality dictated he had to keep maneuvering first.

Don’t underestimate goblins—they’re small, but muscular, agile, and surprisingly strong.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, he felt a bit afraid.

Three goblins in front of him were far more threatening than that lone scouting goblin’s ambush.

“Ah!!”

A painful wail sounded not far away.

While dodging and using his round shield to block attacks, Gauss looked toward the sound with his peripheral vision.

The first casualty of the battle had appeared.

A villager guide knelt on the ground, his abdomen pierced by a long spear.

Blood gushed from the wound, forming a pool beneath him in an instant.

A goblin pounced on him like a hyena, repeatedly stabbing the wound with its dagger.

Like an executioner performing lingchi, or a devil presiding over a massacre ritual, that goblin’s face twisted into an indescribable excited grin as it overwhelmed the farmer.

“Ah!!!”

The villager struggled and howled, his organs being attacked inflicting unbearable pain that drove his mind into despair.

The torch in his hand fell into the blood, yet it stubbornly continued burning.

With flesh and blood flying and flames rising, the firelight cast monstrous, long-eared shadows like demonic ghosts—it was horrifying.

The gruesome scene made Gauss’s mouth go dry and his eyelids twitch—he’d never felt death’s shadow so close; these demonic goblins sent chills across his scalp.

His heartbeat raced wildly, his entire body burning hot—a complex mix of unease, excitement, and tension coursed through his veins.

No… he couldn’t be afraid.

They would all die if he was!

He gritted his teeth, and the panic that had settled in his chest transformed into a strange calm, struck by the sheer brutality before him.

To be precise, the massive threat of death forced him to cast aside his cowardice and fight with all he had.

“You scum! Die!”

In the darkness, a crisp bowstring twanged.

A dark arrow spun through the air, cutting with a tearing roar.

“Shkrrk!”

After a brief sharp sound came the dull thud of a blade embedding deep.

Hailier, not far away, had nocked an arrow and released a precise shot, pinning the goblin that was finishing off the farmer in place.

Her chest heaved hard, clearly shaken.

It wasn’t that goblins were incredibly strong, but that raw, bloody imagery hit hard.

“Careful!”

Gauss, eyes still tracking his comrade, noticed another goblin sneak toward Hailier while she recovered, her attention drawn by the horrific scene.

He quickly cast Mage Hand.

An invisible spectral hand coalesced rapidly beside Hailier and struck the goblin’s right wrist.

The goblin had leapt high, dagger aimed to slash down her neck, but the invisible force—about ten pounds of it—deviated its trajectory.

“Bang!!”

The dagger struck the metallic plate on Hailier’s back with a screeching clash.

She staggered—though the armor absorbed the blade, the recoil shook her body.

“Cough cough—”

She took two stumbling steps forward, her throat emitting a muffled groan.

Luckily, after a momentary daze, she snapped back to focus.

She grabbed the dagger by her boot, and as the goblin shook from the recoil, she fiercely slashed.

The dagger slid from chest to lower abdomen.

Slash slash slash.

With entrails spilling out, the goblin tumbled backward in defeat.

“Thanks!”

Hailier, shaken, looked gratefully toward the nearby Gauss.

If not for his timely intervention, she might have fallen.

However, as if sensing Gauss’s identity as a mage, more green brats stampeded toward him.

At least six or seven goblins hurried to pounce on him.

Seeing the circle tightening around Gauss, Hailier drew another arrow from her quiver and knocked it onto her bowstring.

“I’ve got your back!”

With Precision Aim activated, a surge of power gathered in her arms.

The fully drawn bowstring unleashed the arrow’s terrifying force.

Fwoosh!

One goblin next to Gauss had its chest punched through by the arrow, swaying in place, struggling to breathe.

Seeing this, Gauss simultaneously dodged and thrust his spear with precision.

Hssk!

The spear’s tip pierced the wounded goblin’s chest, blood spraying forth!

Gauss’s follow‑up strike was clean—successful execution.

“Goblin killed ×1”

“Total monsters slain: 3”

He glanced at Hailier, and she looked back at him.

They both understood each other’s meaning.

The battlefield was split into sections.

Mia, Bell, and the three villagers were each fighting separately.

They had to unite to handle the goblins, then only could they start to help others.

“No need to use skills too often!”

Gauss shouted as a reminder.

He knew each use of skill drained Hailier’s stamina heavily.

Once calm, Gauss recognized his own advantage.

As a human, even with just average 5-point stats in body, stamina, and strength, he surpassed goblins in power and durability.

Ordinary humans struggle to fend off more than two goblins at once mainly because they can’t parry attacks from multiple directions; under constant assault, they’d soon be overwhelmed and torn apart.

But his 7-point intelligence seemed to grant faster combat thinking.

Combined with the suitably practiced Mage Hand…

He was enough to keep maneuvering amongst multiple goblins.