As food!
Hearing those words, the other goblin nodded frantically in fear.
Every winter, members of their tribe would be devoured by trolls. The mere thought of those scenes filled this goblin's mind with indescribable terror.
Before this, they had never imagined that Agu would do something so insane as to request the trolls' help.
Those terrifying monsters…
Looking at Agu, who emerged unscathed, the goblin could hardly fathom what it must have been like for him to face the trolls.
At the very least, in the presence of trolls, he would likely be too terrified to even speak.
The thought filled the goblin with awe for Agu.
"It's fine." Agu said softly to the two trembling tribesmen. "It's summer now, and food is plentiful. The trolls won't eat us."
"W-what do we d-do now?" The stammering goblin asked.
In truth, the tribe believed that neither trolls nor powerful humans were beings they could afford to provoke. It was best to stay out of it.
Unless that human ventured into the depths of their jungle, the trolls wouldn't care.
"He is the tribe's greatest hero. We have to save him." Agu said, clenching his teeth. "We'll return to the tribe, gather everything of value, and beg that human to spare him."
Half a month ago, Mugu, who had gone to the jungle's outer regions, suddenly vanished, followed by the deaths of numerous goblins.
They had learned what happened from goblins who fled from the outer regions to the jungle's depths.
According to their descriptions, the human's strength was terrifying. Even powerful ogres were easily slain by him!
This sent the entire Gigu Tribe into a panic.
From the strength this human displayed, it was clear that the Gigu Tribe could not oppose him!
Agu had no choice but to risk visiting the trolls' cave to request their help against the human.
The result… the trolls didn't care at all.
...
Two days later.
Upper Fire Moon, July 2nd.
In the jungle.
"Grrroooar!"
"Grrroooar!"
Low, guttural roars echoed through the forest.
Two massive magical beasts, nearly three meters long and taller than a man, pawed at the ground. Their heads lowered, baring sharp, drooling fangs as they circled Adam.
"Is this your territory? If I leave now, is it too late?" Adam asked, one hand holding Mugu, the other lightly gripping his sword hilt. His eyes flicked between the two beasts circling him, one in front and one behind.
"Raaaargh!"
"Alright, looks like a no." Adam said, shrugging, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Mugu was already so terrified he barely dared to breathe.
These two magical beasts were covered in thick black fur and resembled oversized magical wolves, but they weren't.
Magical wolves were pack animals.
Moreover, these beasts had distinct features: two horns protruding outward from their heads.
Most striking was the black chain wrapped around each beast's body, like a snake poised to strangle its prey. As the beasts moved, the chains shifted slightly, not hindering their movements at all.
Invisible Hounds!
Some called them Hellhounds!
A fearsome type of magical beast in the Great Forest of Tob, capable of hunting ogres.
Their level was higher than that of ogres, and with superior agility, speed, and unique attack methods, they held a significant advantage over the bulky, strength-reliant ogres during hunts.
Over the past two days, with goblin numbers drastically reduced, Adam had been forced to expand his search range.
As a result, he had inadvertently ventured closer to the jungle's depths and entered the territory of this pair of Invisible Hounds.
Thus, the current situation.
Adam's gaze swept over the black chains on the Invisible Hounds, feeling a bit troubled.
As the saying goes: iron head, steel bones, tofu waist.
For canine beasts, the abdomen was the easiest target and the most likely to cause serious injury.
But the chains wrapped around the Invisible Hounds completely negated this weakness. Moreover, those chains weren't just for defense.
"Grrroooar!"
The Invisible Hound circling behind Adam, its greenish-brown eyes fixed on his back, let out a low growl. Its slow, deliberate steps paused.
Whoosh!
Unable to hold back, the Invisible Hound lunged, its hind legs propelling it off the ground toward Adam's back.
The Invisible Hound's sadistic hunting instincts made it enjoy toying with its prey, tormenting it and killing it in despair, their favorite pastime.
Yet now, it had abandoned this preference to attack first.
Clearly, Adam's presence made the two Invisible Hounds feel threatened.
Whoosh!
The Invisible Hound's massive black form, carrying a foul stench, hurtled forward. Its drooling, reeking maw opened wide, aiming for Adam's sword-wielding right hand.
Hearing the noise from behind, Adam's expression remained calm. He swiftly sidestepped to the left, simultaneously swinging his right hand to strike behind him.
A flash of swordlight!
Bang!
The iron sword's blade collided with the Invisible Hound's horn, producing a dull thud.
"Raaargh!" The Invisible Hound let out a pained growl as its head was forcibly pinned to the ground by the sword. Panic flashed in its brown eyes.
It hadn't expected this human, so much smaller than itself, to possess such immense strength. The ogres it had hunted were the strongest creatures it had encountered in this forest.
Creak! Creak!
The blade ground against the horn.
The Invisible Hound's rapid breathing filled its nostrils as it struggled to lift its head, but it couldn't.
The other Invisible Hound, which had been preparing to attack when its companion lunged, froze in shock at the sight of this human pinning its partner to the ground with a single strike.
"Not attacking?" Adam said, keeping one hand on the sword pinning the first hound. He tilted his head to look at the second, hesitant Invisible Hound and gave a slight smile. "Then I won't hold back."
***
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