Stiffened corpses were scattered in every corner of the village, motionless.
"They have lost their vitality," Galadia leaned over and observed them carefully for a while, "I can't feel the surge of power and magic."
…
These monsters resurrected from the dead are completely lifeless.
The frightened villagers looked at the horrific scene in the village in horror until the village chief beat the gong and called them out of their homes.
With dark circles under his eyes, Griffith took off his helmet and rested against a corner.
During last night's battle, he found that the goblins whose heads had been chopped off did not come back to life and fell to the ground unchanged. At dawn, he insisted on chopping off hundreds of heads with his own hands and piling them on a small cart.
His forehead was hit by a stone during the battle. Although he was wearing armor, his head was still bruised and bloody. Dried blood covered half of his face, and his right hand, right chest and shoulder were covered with wounds. Although the double-layer armor blocked the fatal attack, it still left him with dense wounds and bruises.
"Don't move, let me take a look!" Galadia checked around to make sure there were no new enemies. Then she came to the trainee knight, helped him untie the damaged leather armor, and then took off the mail and looked carefully. Looking at his wound, "I'll put some medicine on you, but don't move."
The elf took out a green ointment and applied it to Griffith's wound. Waves of comfortable coolness came over him, and just as Griffith was about to praise him, the wound immediately turned into burning pain.
"Ah! It hurts so much. Why does it hurt so much!?" Griffith grinned and asked, "Shouldn't the elf's secret medicine be as comfortable as eating pudding?"
"Who told you? He lied to you~ Your leather armor is almost broken," Galadia's fingers slowly traced the wounds of the trainee knight, "You are really covered in cuts and bruises... You are obviously wearing two There are so many bruises and wounds on the layer of armor.”
"Armor is not omnipotent. I heard that the magic shield can achieve comprehensive defense." Griffith felt the slender, cold hands wandering around his body. His whole body became distracted, and he said a little embarrassed, "Next, what are you going to do? Are you going to search their nest?"
"Well, the number of Goblins guarding the lair should be greatly reduced. And they are not mindless livestock. After being forced to engage in such a bloody battle, when the survivors escape back to the lair with the news, there will be many who fled the original Clan." Galadia looked at the strong and strong body, "The lines are good, it would be better if there were not so many wounds. Hurry up and put on clothes."
"Look! Look!" The excited shouts of the militiamen suddenly rang out from the earthen wall at the end of the village.
An armed procession came from a distant road. They consisted of dozens of civilians armed with spears and wooden shields, with a warrior wearing leather armor walking at the front of the group.
The village chief ran over to the team as soon as he saw it, held the hand of the warrior leading the team and said excitedly: "I've been waiting for you to come."
"How is the situation in the village? Where have the monsters gone?" The leading warrior looked at the large blood stains on the ground in the village and was quite surprised. "We were attacked by some goblins last night and injured several people. "
"They were driven away. Many people died in the village. Thanks to these two in the end!" The village chief brought the warriors to Griffith and Galadia. More than two hundred goblin heads were piled not far from the two of them, which made the warriors and militiamen horrified.
"I am the captain of the Izmir militia, a warrior of the Ayden family. Are you a soldier of the Eastern Legion? Well done!" The warrior looked at Griffith first and nodded with satisfaction, "Who is this? Elf ? I really didn’t expect to trouble Your Excellency Ranger.”
Galadia nodded slightly to the warrior, then patted Griffith on the shoulder and turned to walk to the hut on the side: "I want to rest for a while, let me know when you leave."
…
A few hours later, Griffith and Galadia followed dozens of militiamen out of Manisa Village and headed towards the hills. Ulan, who was in suspicious circumstances, was locked in a house by the villagers and looked after by a trainee nun.
Galadia already knows the location of the goblin lair, but it can be found even without everyone.
During last night's battle, a few goblins escaped from the village, and intermittent blood trails extended from the village to the depths of the woods. After entering the forest, from time to time you can see the corpses of one or two goblins who died of serious injuries. The footsteps and bloodstains were dense, and it looked like the creatures didn't break up as they fled.
"They still maintain their organization," Griffith said with a stern expression. "Have you noticed? Even after suffering heavy losses like last night, they can still gather together and escape."
"We eliminated their shaman in last night's battle," Galadia walked at the front as a hunter, checking for traps set by goblins along the way. "In this case, they are still They move in groups towards the nest, which means there are other superior species there."
"A Goblin warrior?" said the samurai leading the militia. "I heard from the instructor that this is a very strong Goblin. Be careful if you encounter it. But this is unreasonable. It shouldn't be with such fighting power. Commit yourself to last night's battle and leave the shaman to guard the lair?"
"That's true..." Galadia tilted her head in confusion, "But there won't be two shamans in one lair, which is even more strange. In terms of habits, goblins don't really care about treasures and lairs. .”
Griffith thought for a while and said, "This shows from another aspect that the target of the Goblins is you. In addition to the plan to siege the village, it is not ruled out that you will go directly to the lair, so some of the strength is left behind. .”
The elf's eyes fluctuated for a moment, and he remained silent.
After walking for a while, the militia captain remembered something and asked the two of them: "Before setting off, I heard that some adventurers had received the mission. How are their conditions?"
Griffith briefly talked about the adventure team's situation. After last night's events, Ulan was detained in the village, with novice nuns taking care of her. The remains of their companions have also been collected, awaiting investigation by the local resident mages and official agencies.
After hearing this, the militia captain just sighed lightly and had nothing to say.
The fighters on the Eastern Front lasted a full five years. In the eastern provinces closest to the battlefield, citizens who refused military service or corvee service would lose their inheritance rights and the qualifications to hold public office. If healthy young people of school age do not want to be drafted into the army and join the meat grinder-like Eastern Front, they can only choose to flee their hometown and become adventurers.
Relatively speaking, adventurers will receive tasks of varying difficulty based on their strength, from slaying giant rats in the sewers to driving away monsters attacking villages.
The difficulty of the task is actually difficult to assess. The official agency issuing the quest can only describe the monster's power based on reports from villagers and merchants. It is also common for adventurer teams to suffer casualties in battle.
When the adventurers return to the town with their dead and wounded companions and information, the officials will understand what they are facing and dispatch militiamen or apply for support from the regular army accordingly.
"Your world is really dangerous~" During the break, Galadia sat under a big tree and looked at the exhausted militiamen and said, "Human novices have only received a few years of combat training and do not have sufficient knowledge. You start fighting with your equipment, and when you encounter an opponent that is difficult to defeat, you can’t run fast.”
"Yeah." Griffith nodded.
"That means there are more of you, otherwise the species would have been extinct long ago by lining up to die like this." The elf girl gently rubbed her ankles, "You don't value your own life very much."
"If they don't become adventurers, most of them can only become farmers or auxiliary soldiers in the army," Griffith said while checking the equipment. "Our war in the east has been going on for several years, and this area is close to the front line. , is the main source of supplies and auxiliary troops. It is very difficult for the locals to pay taxes and make a living by relying on the output of the land. Although adventurers are dangerous, the bounty they receive can buy a lot of good things locally. "
"You look very clear~Have you ever considered becoming an adventurer?" Galadia hugged her slender legs, rested her head on her knees and looked at the trainee knight beside her.
"I am the second son of a feudal knight who owns a territory. Although I have no inheritance rights, I have attended a national school and received systematic combat training." Griffith shook his head. "When I was twelve years old, the army drafted me I entered the free Junior Sergeant School, and when I was fifteen years old, I was sent to the battlefield as Shutoral, the Young Guards."
"Hmm~" Galadia nodded, "I know this. If no one in the family serves the kingdom and the army in one generation, the entire family will be deprived of their fiefs and titles. This is a tax that is not paid in the form of currency. What is it called in human language?"
Griffith tilted his head back, leaned against the tree trunk, and whispered:
"Blood tax."
