"Commotion" in the Caravan

"We have arrived"

I made sure to follow where she pointed at but all I saw were some pebbles, dried leaves and grass. Aside from those things, it was literally empty. Is this a prank? It's not funny at all.

"Uhm, Sera. Would you be so kind as to tell me where exactly this settlement is?"

"It's just right there"

"Right there?"

"Yeah, at the other side of the river" she said while pointing at the same empty spot earlier.

This is hopeless. "How far exactly from the river? 10, 20 meters?" I wanted to confirm as it seems that this airhead forgot to consider some facts.

"40 meters. Can't you see it? Aren't you an elf?" She replied with a mocking tone.

That explains it. "Oh, I am an elf but In case you forgot Miss Seraline, I'm not an assassin. I don't have night vision."

She exclaimed an "Oh!" before turning silent. She mumbled a weak sound that a human could not even guess but my long elven ears clearly heard what she said. It made my eyebrows twitch, she clearly said the word "Incompetent"!

"You know elves are sensitive to sounds right?"

What I saw next was her puffed up face as she put an effort to suppress her laughter. "So, You really are an elf afterall" her giggling were more insulting than he words. If it was not for the Goblins up ahead, I bet she would showcase her boisterous laugh for the whole forest to hear.

"Are you done laughing? 'cause we still have a goblin settlement to scout" annoyed, I could only change the topic "could we spy on them from a closer distance without getting noticed?"

"Of course, follow me. I'll lead the way" she then guided me to a small makeshift bridge made up of four interwoven logs. The craftsmanship was poor. It was most likely made by the Goblins.

"I scouted the perimeter and found two other bridges, the first one was built near the leader's tent and the other one, the one they used to move the caravan, is located about 200 meters upstream"

We crossed the bridge and slowly advanced using the cover of the bushes. She specifically told me to follow her exact movements as a single misstep could foil our operation. I paid attention to her every move as I'm not used to acting covertly. Stepping on a dried, crisp leaf of breaking a thin twig is enough for us to lose the advantage of an ambush.

Thankfully, nothing went wrong. We are now 10 meters away from the Goblin Leader's Tent and are just waiting for the Goblin Leader to show himself.

We've already identified four of the guards and they were all ordinary goblin spearwomen with levels ranging from 4 to 6. I asked Sera if this is a common thing and she said yes. According to her, most Goblin Wanderers have a ratio of 1 man : 3 women.

Our ears twitched at the same time as noise could be heard inside the leader's tent. A larger Goblin could then be seen coming out from the tent. He was almost a meter tall and was wearing a tattered chainmail as his armor. On his right hand was a spear way taller than him while his other hand held a bottle of alcohol. I read its details and found out that it was called a Goblin Warrior.

"That's a Goblin Warrior, a Level 10. Can you handle it?" I was concerned that it was too much for her. After all, she's only level 8.

"Are you worried for me?" She teased. "Don't worry, assassins are known to fight those with higher levels than them. I also have these babies. The only thing that changes is that you'll have to put in a lot more effort" she then showed off her black Twin Daggers which were the source of her confidence.

[Good Shadow Twin Daggers

Lv. 1

ATK: 58

Enchantment Grade 1

Lv.1 Increased ATK +2

HIT+2

CRIT+2]

No wonder that she could take down those rats in one hit. That's a good quality weapon. The options are a perfect fit for assassins too. Beginner's Pack only contains 3 sapphires. To think she successfully upgraded it 3 times. (See Auxillary - Forging System for more info)

Of course she may have looted a sapphire from monsters but that would still require one to be lucky as gems are quite rare at this point in time. The drop rate would only normalize a few months after every update.

It was also the reason why I was so hesitant to upgrade my gear but I guess I also need to do the same. Players often upgrade the qualities of their equipments first because quality provides the most immediate benefits. Upgrading equipment level is obviously bad as it is limited by the user's level while enchantment grades are more effective only on the higher levels.

I set aside the thought of Forging equipments when the Goblin Warrior walked towards the right where the caravan was located. After conversing with the guard, he dropped his bottle and gave his metal spear to the guard. The guard, in turn, rummaged her backpack for a while before pulling out a brown whip which she handed down to his leader.

Having received the whip, the Warrior went inside the caravan and the sounds of whips, screams, and struggles were then heard.

There were prisoners inside! Goblins were known to kidnap other species to serve as mothers for their children or worse, they are kidnapped just to satisfy their lust.

As if to confirm our guesses, moaning sounds were then heard from inside the tent. It was unknown if it was due to pain or pleasure but if I exercise my judgment, I would say it is the latter. It made me wonder if the intercourse was forced or if it was all part of an S&M play.

I looked at her and noticed she was at a loss too. This is awkward, really really awkward. First, whatever that is happening inside the caravan, we could not rashly act on it. Next, we don't know if we should feel hatred, be disgusted, or if we should just ignore what is happening. The most important thing was that we, me and Sera, a man and a lady, were elves and it means that we could still hear the ongoing 'sounds of passion' in the highest quality audio possible.

Sera gestured with her hands that get out of there as soon as possible. I agreed with her as the surroundings were not suitable for us. We returned to the spot where she first pointed out the location of the settlement to me since it offered an unobstructed view for her and the foliage can effectively provide us some cover.

I upgraded my weapon before we decided to rest. Using level 1 sapphires, the success rate of upgrading from "poor" to "common" quality is at 66% and I succeeded on the first try. Upgrading to "Uncommon" was a 50% chance but my first attempt failed. The second one was a success so the overall forging attempt was quite decent.

Each of us took a power nap to prepare for the battle when dawn arrives. As elves, our body clock was synced with nature and we woke up almost at the same time.

"Ready?" She asked me.

"Let's hope your plan doesn't get me killed"

"Why so pessimistic? Relax Blake, I'm the one doing the hard work here"

"But your plan puts the greater danger on me!"

"You know, I'd gladly swap roles if you want."

"That would be tantamount to suicide! Anyway, the sun's starting to come out now, we should move to our positions"

As if to confirm what I said, She looked up and she was bathe by the rays of the morning's first light which turned her braids golden. With her decisive eyes, she looked at me and started to execute the plan

"Let's Start the Hunt!"