The next day.
Before leaving the city, they bought a horse for Yvanna to increase their travel speed.
…
Looking at the dark clouds that hung above the horizon, Alaric clicked his tongue. “It seems like we have run out of luck.”
Another snowstorm was approaching and from the vast cluster of clouds, it looked like it would be more severe than the most recent one.
The faces of the two old warriors turned serious upon seeing the gloomy weather.
The Enchanted Woodlands was more than three hundred miles away from Turtle Fort.
Normally, it would have taken them less than ten hours to get there, but because the land was covered in snow, they would need to slow down and be careful on the road. If they moved carelessly, they might fall into a pit or encounter some venomous creatures.
As usual, Henry took the lead in navigating the road. He cautiously eyed the surroundings, ensuring that no danger was present.
In the next few hours, the group managed to travel fifty miles without getting into an accident, but things took a turn when they reached a ninety-mile distance.
They saw a large group of goblins hunting a herd of Iron Tail Buffaloes.
The sharp shrieks of the goblins and the furious roar of the Iron Tail Buffaloes resonated in the air.
There were more Iron Tail Buffaloes, but they were helpless against the aggressive goblins.
“My lord, we have an issue here. There are goblins-” Before Henry could give a report, he saw Alaric zooming past him on his horse.
“Huh?! My lord! What are you doing?!” Henry widened his eyes when he saw Alaric charging towards the goblins with his swords unsheathed.
After a moment of surprise, Henry shot a glance at Arthur and said. “Stay here and protect Lady Yvanna. I will go and support Lord Alaric.”
Without waiting for Arthur’s response, Henry squeezed his legs and urged his horse to rush forward.
Meanwhile, Yvanna sent Arthur a confused look and asked. “What’s happening? Why did Alaric…”
Arthur was similarly baffled.
“I have no idea, my lady.” He shook his head with a bitter smile.
At this moment, Alaric had already attacked the nearest goblin, chopping off its head with a single swipe of his sword.
Swoosh!
“Die, you fucking goblins!” He shouted with a crazed look in his eyes.
___
Mission: Kill the Goblin Chieftain
Rewards: 150 Battle Points, 15 Stat Points, Random Trait Upgrade Card x1
Penalty for failure: – 800 Battle Points, – 5 EXP
___
Even without this mission, he would still attack these goblins. The mission only gave him one more reason to attack them.
Subsequently, some goblins turned around and lunged at him, brandishing their weapons furiously.
Eiiik!! Eiiik! Eiiik!
Their strange shrieking sounds drifted into Alaric’s ears, making him even more annoyed.
“Shut the fuck up you filthy creatures!” He roared.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
All the goblins that attacked him were cut into pieces and their mangled bodies fell into the snow-filled land.
Seeing the death of their brethren, the few hobgoblins leading the group became furious. They abandoned the Iron Tail Buffaloes and changed their target.
One, two, three… Hm… Five hobgoblins in total.
Alaric narrowed his eyes and his face suddenly turned serious.
I have 48 stat points now including the one I got from this morning’s daily mission. I’ll use everything to increase my speed.
Thinking about this, Alaric didn’t even hesitate.
Stat Points: 48 —> 0
Agility: 43 —> 91
Alaric sensed a huge change in his body.
His swords felt lighter in his hands and the monsters in front of him seemed to have become slower.
With my current speed, riding on my horse will only slow me down.
After assessing the situation, Alaric jumped off his horse and rushed towards the enemies.
He moved so fast that he left the Wind Horse in the dust.
When the monsters were within his range, he released a flurry of slashes, cutting down everything that blocked his path!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
No goblins could touch him. Even the powerful hobgoblins fell under his sword.
In the next moment, he had already killed half of the goblin warriors.
Henry who was about to support him pulled the reins of his horse and watched the scene in utter disbelief.
What in the bloody hell is this?
It was a total carnage. The goblins and hobgoblins died one after another.
Was he always this fast?
Henry’s mouth went agape upon witnessing Alaric’s lightning-fast sword strikes.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Henry turned his head and saw a muscular goblin holding a massive hammer made of wood.
A goblin chieftain?!
“My lord, be careful! There’s a goblin chi-“
“Huh?”
Henry’s mouth twitched all of a sudden.
Instead of retreating, Alaric actually charged at the goblin chieftain!
I need to help him!
Henry squeezed his legs and pulled his sword.
“I’m coming, my lord!” He shouted.
At that moment, Alaric and the goblin chieftain had clashed.
Bang!
The massive hammer struck the ground and created a large pit.
However, it was unable to hit Alaric.
Before it could touch him, he turned his body and riposted, pushing his swords into the abdomen of the creature.
Kshhkk! Kshhkk!
The goblin chieftain stared at the tiny human in front of it with its eyes wide open.
Alaric pulled his swords, drawing a spray of blood in the air.
The goblin chieftain staggered after being stabbed deeply.
Rrraaahh!!!
It roared and smashed its hammer towards Alaric, intending to crush him into a pulp.
However, with a simple footwork, Alaric nimbly dodged the destructive blow.
Bang!!
Another pit was made after the massive hammer struck the ground.
While it was still in the process of lifting its hammer, Alaric took the opportunity to land a few more hits. This time, he stabbed the tendons on its legs, making it sway and fall awkwardly on the ground.
Thud!
As soon as it fell, Alaric stabbed its head with his sword.
“Die!”
Ksshhkk!!
The monster died on the spot with its eyes staring wide at him.
It’s weaker than the one we fought in the Evergreen Forest.
Alaric thought while pulling his sword from its forehead.
“My lord!”
Alaric turned his head and nodded to Henry. “Sir Henry, please help me check the bodies of those hobgoblins. See if we can find some beast soul crystals from them.” He instructed in a calm voice.
Henry took a deep breath. He was still processing what he had witnessed.
Just how fast is he progressing?
“Yes, my lord.” The old man responded with a blank look.
Alaric moved his gaze back to the goblin chieftain’s corpse and made a cut on its chest. He then pushed his hand inside to see if it had a beast soul crystal.
Soon, he felt a round object hidden within its internal organs.
Alaric pulled it out from the corpse, revealing a small green-colored crystal with splashes of brown. Its color was way more unique compared to the beast soul crystal from the other goblin chieftain.
What an interesting combination of colors!
Alaric wiped off the blood on the crystal using his clothes before putting it inside his leather pouch.
With the death of the goblin chieftain, the remaining goblins and hobgoblins retreated.
Alaric didn’t chase them since his target was only the goblin chieftain.
___
Mission Complete!
Rewards: 150 Battle Points, 15 Stat Points, Random Trait Upgrade Card x1
___
[Do you want to use the Random Trait Upgrade Card?]
[Yes] [No]
Alaric glanced at the card that appeared in his hand. He had already received something like this before so he knew what it was used for.
Alaric pressed [Yes].
[Congratulations! Your trait, Tracking (F) has been upgraded to Tracking (E)!]
A new set of information flooded his mind in that instant.
From the footprints of specific animals, their behaviors, and many other aspects related to tracking were incorporated into Alaric’s mind.
So tracking had these many different elements…
The method I learned when I was a kid is nothing compared to this.
This will be useful when hunting down enemies.
He chuckled. He then focused his attention on the progress in his stats.
He had gotten 150 Battle Points and 15 Stat Points.
I should push my agility to 100 and distribute the remaining points to my stamina.
Thinking about this, Alaric immediately made the adjustments.
Alaric Silversword [Knight] EXP: 444/500
Potential: B
Traits: Horseback Riding (C), Swordsmanship (SSS), Close Combat (C), Archery (F), Hunting (E), Tracking (E), Sixth Sense (F)
Strength: 100
Stamina: 40+
Agility: 100
Vitality: 27+
Endurance: 42+
Mana: 48+
Battle Points: 3290
Stat Points: 0
(Requirements for next advancement: 500 EXP, 100 in all attributes, and 5000 Battle Points)
He had already maxed out two of his attributes and it made him feel satisfied.
“My lord, I only found two beast soul crystals from the hobgoblins’ corpses.” Henry’s voice drifted into his ears while he was looking at the cyan screen.
The old man handed him the two crystals he had found.
The harvest this time is decent.
Alaric thought after getting the two beast soul crystals from him.