Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

8. Battle

The next day, Nord continued gathering herbs smoothly.

Since herbs were gathered near the forest, they gradually ventured deeper into the woods,

but the amount collected didn’t decrease because the herbs thrived more in the deeper parts.

Nord’s fishing skills remained useful, and he was welcomed at camp, managing to get decent meals.

On the first day, it was just bread and fish, but by providing the fish he caught, he could get soup as compensation from the second day onward.

Apparently, one of the adventurers had ranger skills and made soup with mushrooms, wild herbs, fish, and some salted meat someone had brought.

Camping in the forest, even in the warm season, was still chilly.

The nearby forest served as a windbreak, making it bearable, but Nord had heard from his family with military experience that in the open plains, the night wind would steal your body heat with nothing to block it.

Compared to that, this job where he could enjoy warm, salted soup with ingredients was a stroke of luck, Nord thought as he spent his days gathering.

Then, as they finished the planned schedule and had only one more day until returning, one day while Nord was gathering herbs as usual deep in the forest, his ears caught the sound of battle.

The faint sound of battle coming from beyond the forest’s rustling indicated the location was far.

Nord spent a brief moment considering whether to move away from the sound or head to provide support.

Over the past few days, he had fought monsters in the forest a few times, but they were not much different from wild animals, low-threat monsters.

The battles were over quickly, and the same was true for the other adventurers, as Nord had heard during mealtime at camp.

However, the sound of battle he now heard didn’t cease; it was clear a life-or-death struggle was unfolding.

Naturally, the adventurers facing this enemy were likely dealing with a formidable foe.

Without knowing what the enemy was, avoiding danger was one option, as life is precious.

But Nord immediately decided to head toward the sound—to provide support.

Though he had to earn for his family, Nord had sworn never to act recklessly.

However, abandoning adventurers who might be struggling, even if he had given up the path of knighthood, was a choice he couldn’t make.

§

As Nord sprinted through the forest, the sound of battle grew louder and more intense.

Suppressing his anxious feelings, he ran at full speed.

Over the past few days, he had gotten the hang of moving through the forest, though only vaguely.

He hadn’t just been wandering for gathering but had also had the chance to ask a scout-ranger adventurer about forest travel.

The forest was filled with overgrown trees, scattered roots, and fallen branches, often hidden by undergrowth, making it hard to see and walk.

Having slightly overcome this difficulty, Nord reached the source of the sound in the shortest time.

──He could see it!

Ahead, through the gaps in the trees, figures came into view.

Their equipment was very different from that of adventurers, and their skin was a dirty green.

It was a group of goblins, hideous little creatures he’d fought many times in dungeons.

The goblins were gathered in significant numbers.

Their appearance differed from the goblins he’d fought in the dungeons.

In the dungeon, they only wore a ragged cloth around their waists and wielded broken daggers, but the goblins before him now wore what looked like animal-skin clothes, and some carried rusty swords and spears likely crafted from sharpened wood.

(Some of them are well-equipped goblins.)

Among the goblins, a few wore what appeared to be armor, and though rusty, some wielded metal swords and spears. These were likely goblins that had grown stronger through experience.

The goblins were confronting the adventurers in an open area of the forest, with their backs to the trees.

There were over twenty goblins by a quick count.

The group of adventurers seemed to be five, forming a formation where they guarded each other’s backs.

The goblins, using their numbers to their advantage, surrounded the adventurers, and it seemed a group of spear-wielding goblins was attempting to encircle them.

Naturally, being surrounded in battle is fatal.

Even if the goblins were individually weaker, once surrounded by their numbers, the adventurers would be attacked from all directions,

and though they might take down a few goblins, they’d soon be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, sustaining wounds until they could no longer stand.

The goblin’s encirclement was about to close.

Judging by the goblin corpses and pools of blood on the ground, the adventurers had already defeated many of them, which explained the intense sounds of battle.

However, the adventurers were now in dire straits, their position surrounded by sheer numbers,

and they were facing certain doom.

Nord arrived at just that moment.

The adventurers noticed Nord rushing through the forest.

Next, one of the goblins closest to the forest also noticed him.

The rustling of leaves from the forest behind them, muffled by the battle’s noise, caught their attention.

The goblin turned around in response to the sound, and then──a gleam of light caught its eyes before it died instantly.

§

With the momentum of his dash through the forest, Nord burst out like an arrow released from a drawn bow.

Among the goblins encircling the adventurers with their backs to the woods, the closest one started to turn, so Nord swung his sword at it.

Without even realizing what happened, the goblin was cleaved in two, and Nord immediately followed through, cutting down the one beside it.

Targeting the gap between its neck bones, the sword sliced clean through, and the goblin’s head flew off with no resistance.

Blood sprayed from the now-headless body as Nord stepped forward, using it as a shield.

At this point, the other goblins, realizing they were being attacked from behind, tried to turn toward Nord.

One of them, the closest to him, was the first to notice the intruder and attempted to attack with its weapon.

But the body of its decapitated comrade acted as an obstacle, preventing it from landing a blow.

Nord, without hesitation, thrust his sword into the goblin’s neck, killing it instantly.

In mere moments, Nord had dispatched three goblins. He pulled his blood-soaked sword from the body.

The sound of the corpses thudding to the ground alerted the remaining goblins to the presence of a third-party attacker.

They shrieked and screeched. Were they shouting to kill him or expressing rage at the interruption?

—Probably both, Nord mused.

Now that the ambush had been discovered, the one-sided attack was over.

The goblins, having realized Nord’s presence, were now warily holding their weapons.

However—

“—Reinforcements!? Thank god!”

One of the adventurers, who was about to be surrounded by the goblins, let out a heartfelt cry of relief.

Because they were fighting in a nearly circular formation, the other adventurers had their backs to the forest and hadn’t noticed Nord’s arrival.

They started shouting in surprise and gratitude, “Is it true!?” “Thank goodness!”

Their voices were full of joy, and it seemed that the heavenly help had somewhat restored their spirits, despite the dire situation.

The goblins’ half-surrounding formation, just moments away from completing a full encirclement, was now broken by Nord.

To surround the adventurers meant that the goblins’ numbers were spread thin, acting as a wall.

The adventurers had already significantly reduced their ranks in the intense battle, and with the three goblins that Nord had slain from his surprise attack, there was now a hole in their encirclement.

This shifted the battle from a full-on surround to one where the adventurers could fight on two fronts.

Realizing this, the adventurers adjusted their formation.

When surrounded, all five of them had to focus on protecting their backs, but now, with the shift to fighting from both sides, though still at a disadvantage, they could at least cover each other’s flanks.

That slight difference would determine the outcome.

Nord fought while being mindful not to get caught up in the goblins’ ring himself.

This created local pockets where Nord and the adventurers were able to trap goblins between them.

It’s obviously disadvantageous to fight when surrounded, and the goblins, whose individual combat strength was inferior to that of the adventurers, were gradually picked off.

Nord continued cutting down goblins, working in makeshift coordination with the adventurers.

These goblins were better equipped, stronger, and larger than the ones he’d fought in the dungeon, but a goblin was still a goblin.

As long as Nord remained wary of those few goblins with good armor, the rest were easily dealt with—after all, he’d killed many of their kind before.

The ease with which Nord fought came in part from the difference in equipment.

The adventurers, judging by the way they fought, seemed to only be armored in vital areas like the chest, which meant they had to be much more cautious of enemy attacks.

In contrast, even though Nord’s armor wasn’t as high-quality as what he’d worn in the dungeon,

it still covered his entire body, allowing him to fight with greater advantage.

Even discounting the steel plates he’d hidden in his armor, the tough leather was more than enough to block the crude wooden spears the goblins wielded, as long as they weren’t metal swords or spears.

Thanks to Nord’s tactical movements, the goblins became easy prey for his sword.

§

After Nord had cut down about ten more goblins, the entire goblin group had been wiped out.

One of the adventurers who had been surrounded delivered the final blow to the last goblin.

Nord surveyed the area for any further threats, but there was no sign of reinforcements.

One of the adventurers who had been surrounded approached Nord as he stood on guard.

“You saved us. Thank you.”

The adventurer, wearing a leather breastplate and wielding a sword, looked to be about the same age as Nord.

Nord recognized them as the group he had seen chatting in the wagon earlier on the road.

“My name’s Genius. What’s yours?”

They shook hands as Genius introduced himself, his body covered in wounds.

“I’m Nord. You’re injured—are you alright?”

Not only Genius, but the other adventurers also seemed to have taken quite a beating.

Nord, concerned, asked about their well-being.

“Yeah, Nord. Thanks to you, we managed to escape with just injuries. And look over there.”

At his words, Genius pointed in a direction. Nord followed his gaze and nodded in understanding.

The woman who had been speaking with Genius in the wagon was tending to the other adventurers’ wounds.

“Her name’s Recess. She’s the cleric of our party. Without her, we’d have been dead long ago.”

Looking closer, Nord noticed Genius’s clothes were torn, soaked in blood from the battle.

The blood wasn’t just splatter—it was from Genius’s own wounds. He might have even had a hole in his abdomen.

Recess, the cleric, murmured a prayer, her hands glowing softly as they healed the wounds of the adventurers.

Once the healing was finished, Recess and the others approached Nord and Genius.

One by one, they shook Nord’s hand, expressing their gratitude with firm grips and heartfelt words.

They introduced themselves as Shino, Almina, and Gaygos.

Recess offered to heal Nord as well, but he politely declined. The goblins’ attacks had been deflected by his armor, leaving him with no real injuries.

After healing Genius’s wounds, Recess became dizzy, staggering from exhaustion due to overusing her magic.

Caught by Genius, she didn’t pass out, but it was clear she couldn’t continue pushing herself.

Nord himself was exhausted from the battle after running through the forest at full speed.

The fight had taken some time, and the sun was beginning to set.

Without anyone needing to suggest it, the group silently agreed it was time to return to the camp.