Chapter 176 ⤞ Kazuma Wants to Prove Himself

"It stinks."

These goblins have no sense of hygiene at all.

Kazuma grumbled with an annoyed expression but had no intention of leaving. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the goblin settlement 300 meters away.

Currently, he was lying motionless in a dense thicket, confirming the shift change times of the goblin patrol and comparing them with the times he had memorized.

He wasn't with his team members but had come to complete this mission alone — all because he had been looked down upon!

As a member of the 『Hero』 Party that defeated a Demon King Army general and saved Axel, he, Kazuma Satou, was ridiculed by the adventurers of Axel and earned a contemptuous nickname: "The Perverted Man Who Disgraces the Hero's Name"!

Just which bastard spread these rumors behind his back?!

Don't they know that without Adam, I'm the one carrying the 『Hero』 Party? Who dares say I'm dragging down the party? Which bastard said that?!

This is slander! Outright slander!

Just because I practiced gender equality and did a few things they consider extreme? Is that any reason to slander me and gossip behind my back?!

Moreover! Those idle adventurers who only know how to be jealous without thinking — do they really believe those problem children in the 『Hero』 Party are reliable teammates?

Besides Adam, who else can be the face of the team?

Look at the members of the 『Hero』 Party!

Is it the idiot 「High Priest」 who doubles as a goddess, or the chuunibyou Crimson Magic Clan 「Arch-Wizard」, or that super masochistic female 「Crusader」?

Don't be ridiculous! These people are all problem children, completely unreliable!

To outsiders, adventuring with them might seem enjoyable. But if possible, he, Kazuma, would rather team up with a group of reliable muscle-bound men than adventure with these three unreliable problem children!

Yes! Kazuma admits they're beautiful girls. But speaking of females, aren't succubus ladies better? They can create any type of beauty and satisfy any fetish — what more could you want?!

Although you can only meet them in dreams, and there's the downside of losing some vitality.

"…"

No, I'm getting off-topic! Ahem!

In conclusion, to change his notorious reputation in Axel and among adventurers, Kazuma made a decision.

Complete an A+ rank quest alone!

He hoped this would prove himself and reverse the contemptible image other adventurers had of him.

For this purpose, he accepted a quest:

{Goblin Raid}

{Mission Overview: A group of goblins has appeared 10 kilometers south of Axel village, numbering about 200. They roam in packs, smashing, looting, and destroying nearby farmland, and frequently steal livestock from pastures.}

{Mission Objective: Drive away or subjugate this group of goblins.}

{Mission Difficulty: A+}

{Mission Reward: ξ1,500,000}

{Note: It's highly likely that a Goblin Priest has emerged among these goblins. Adventurers who accept this quest, please be extremely careful!}

The note was written in very conspicuous red ink, warning all overconfident adventurers to measure their abilities. In fact, goblins aren't strong; even novice adventurers can easily defeat individual ones without injury.

But once they gather in groups, intelligent goblins emerge. These goblins can command others, making them fight as a unit rather than individually. Adventurers generally call such goblins "Goblin Priests".

Some goblin settlements, under the leadership of priests, will even use tactics and tools! They're one of the most troublesome races!

According to accurate intelligence, this goblin settlement has such a Goblin Priest, which is why the quest is ranked A+. For Axel village, which only has novice adventurers, such a goblin settlement is extremely dangerous!

But this dangerous quest was perfect for him!

After all, to prove his strength, Kazuma couldn't just subjugate a few Giant Toads, those D-rank monsters, right? What would be impressive about that?

If he used that as a talking point, people would certainly laugh at him. So, this quest was perfect!

Three days! He had been patiently waiting here for three days!

Do you know how he endured these three days? Do you?!

Not only did he remain motionless without food or water for three days straight, but these uncivilized, unhygienic goblins also defecated everywhere, and the overpowering stench nearly knocked him out.

Most importantly, to keep the goblins from approaching him, he had smeared the juice of Nori fruit all over his body (that fruit that knocked everyone out in previous chapters). The combination of these two stenches nearly killed him on the spot!

But he didn't leave! Because he wanted to prove himself!

Kazuma waited for three days, just waiting for an opportunity!

Not to prove he was more excellent than other adventurers, but to reclaim the honor of being a member of the 『Hero』 Party!

"It's almost time." In just three days, he had figured out the schedule of the goblin patrol shifts and was now waiting for the next shift change to sneak in!

This mission would definitely be completed!

He was confident. This type of goblin settlement was troublesome but also easy to subjugate. As long as he killed the priest in the settlement, the goblin tribe would become leaderless and fall into disarray without anyone to command them.

Assassinate the Goblin Priest, Complete the Beheading Operation!

This was Kazuma's plan. Under normal circumstances, his plan would have no chance of success.

But he was different. With powerful and practical skills like 〔Lurk〕, 〔Scent Elimination〕, 〘Shamak〙, and 〔Enemy Detection〕, as long as he was careful, completing this mission would be quite easy.

"Phew~ Let's begin." Kazuma exhaled and activated his skills.

Watching for the gap during the goblin patrol shift change, he sneaked into the settlement.

Dirty, messy, chaotic!

This was his first impression, along with a nauseating stench that hit him. If a normal person smelled this stench, they would surely vomit immediately.

Fortunately, anticipating this possibility, he hadn't eaten anything, so he didn't expose himself.

"Next, let's find the Goblin Priest's location."

Infiltrating the settlement was just the first step; the crucial part was successfully assassinating the Goblin Priest to complete the beheading operation.

But the settlement was filthy and chaotic. All tents looked similar, and the terrain was extremely complex. Under these conditions, finding the Goblin Priest's location seemed nearly impossible.

But Kazuma didn't give up. He carefully observed everything.

Although the tents were similar in size, the number of goblins in each tent varied. Some had 10 goblins, some had 5. He immediately realized that higher-ranked goblins would likely have fewer roommates.

If that was the case, then the Goblin Priest must be living alone!

With this basis, finding the target became much easier. Relying on his lurking skills to move quickly through the settlement, Kazuma finally discovered his target in a position slightly left of center.

Although he couldn't clearly see the goblin inside the tent, there was only one goblin there — it must be the Goblin Priest!

Kill it!

Kazuma's eyes gleamed. This was an honor battle to prove himself; he absolutely would not let this mission fail!

Taking out a sleeping potion he had purchased from Wiz, he placed it at the tent's air vent, then opened the bottle, allowing the potion to evaporate and fill every corner of the tent.

After a while…

Thud!

The muffled sound of a heavy object falling came from inside the tent. Kazuma knew he had successfully put the Goblin Priest into a state of unconsciousness.

Now's the chance!

He took out his short sword and tiptoed into the tent, seeing a goblin different from the naked ones outside. It wore tattered clothes, had bandages wrapped around its head, and clutched a staff it wouldn't let go of even while collapsed.

It was the Goblin Priest!

Now it was sleeping soundly. The sleeping potion had worked!

Yes! Kill it and clear his name!

Thinking this, Kazuma raised his sword and thrust it directly at the Goblin Priest's chest! In the next second, he would complete the mission!

However, what he didn't expect was that the short sword failed to pierce the assassination target's chest!

Clink!

A staff collided with the short sword, producing a crisp sound!

"What?!"

Kazuma's shocked expression contrasted sharply with the Goblin Priest's fury!

Major crisis!

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