Red Monster

Chapter 87: Taking Care of the Troublemakers

Red did a round to pick up the kobold’s equipment, but he didn’t return right away. He kept the weapon and armor close to the village. When the sun was down, he snuck into the village.

That was right, he made sure no one knew his return. That was part of the plan as he made his way to the back of the village. He met Tob and asked where the troublemakers were.

The goblin guided where the hob was hiding, at the back of the village. They were staying near the back storage where the village kept the female human and unidentified treasure.

There were only five of them; one hob was missing. Tob informed him that the last hob was hiding near the main kitchen. That was a pity because he would take action right now if they were all here. He decided to wait until all of them gathered.

They seemed to be waiting for that one hob. That one hob took the job to capture Darla. However, they ran out of patience as they made their way to the village.

Red followed them from a distance, ensuring they didn’t notice him. As he guessed, they were heading toward the main kitchen. That was when they spotted Darla, leaving through the back door. He also spotted her.

She was leaving in a hurry, and one goblin was about to rush over until he stepped onto dried leaves and twigs, making a noise that alerted Darla. That was when a shadow approached Darla from behind, catching her.

She was struggling to break free, doing her best to scream. That was when the goblin rushed over and struck her in the belly. Not just once, but three times.

Red took out an arrow and aimed his bow at the hob who captured Darla. He almost fired the arrow, but [Levelheaded] was triggered as he calmed down. He told himself to be more patient.

It was in his and her best interest not to complicate things. If he killed these six troublemakers inside the village, or in the open like this, over a slave. That one hateful Matron might try to use this against him.

He might be fine. The Chief would not punish him harshly, considering the impending war, but it would be totally different for Darla.

First, the Chief might take her from him, deeming her the source of the problem. Second, the Chief or the Matron might decide to kill her regardless of her ability to cook for them.

The Matron wanted him dead for a trivial slight, and it was, by extension, the people around him, too. The Matron would kill Darla even if it meant the village couldn’t enjoy the good food anymore. If that meant they would lose the garden they had built up.

That was why Red didn’t want to give the Matron an excuse, whether he was in the right or not. He must clean this up properly, even if it meant using Darla as bait.

He lowered his bow and trailed the group. He thought they would bring Darla into the cave where the other female humans were kept. To his surprise, they brought Darla out of the village.

He gleamed coldly as they picked the best spot. He followed for a while, and after making sure they were far enough from the village, Red started to take action.

The first target was the hobgoblin who held Darla. He fired his first arrow, and the arrow pierced through the head. His second arrow, aimed at the goblin close to Darla, hit the target accurately. His third arrow hit another goblin in the head.

[Bow Mastery (Passive) has reached Level 3!]

Red received a notification, but he didn’t pay attention to it. His next target was the second hob, destroying both of its knees in two shots. The remaining goblins were scrambling in panic. Then another arrow fired, hitting the third goblin’s right knee.

The panicked goblins tried to escape, but their escape was running toward the village, toward where Red was. That made it easier for him as he shattered their knees. He fired another three arrows, making sure to destroy the three goblins’ remaining knees.

By the end of his ambush, all goblins were on the ground, groaning and screaming in pain. That was when Red stepped out from his hiding spot. That was when the one hobgoblin and three goblins saw the attacker. They were shocked to see Red come out with his bow.

In their panic, they were begging for his life, screaming and crying. But he put on deaf ears, rushing toward Darla’s side. He freed her from the hobgoblin body, and she jumped at him. She hugged him tightly, sobbing.

It was a similar situation when he returned late, but the situation was more understandable now. She was in fear because the hobgoblin kidnapped her. He understood her distress now, caressed her back, trying to comfort her. Even though he didn’t know what to say.

It took a while for her to calm down, more than breaths. She calmed down, forcing herself to calm down.

"Wait..."

Darla nodded, wiping the tears. That was when she witnessed Red kill the hobgoblin and goblin cold-bloodedly. He approached them one by one and sliced their necks without mercy.

"Loot!" Red pointed at the five goblins, telling her to exchange their bodies for loot.

Three goblins were level 6, and two of them were level 7. Since he was level 8, he could not exchange them for loot. He could, but he would not be able to get the cores, just the coins.

Coin was the last thing he wanted. Darla mentioned that the coin was important, but he didn’t really know how to use it or what it was for. He could not see its usefulness. The core was far more important for them.

Darla’s heart drummed up, confused. She looked at the goblin, then she looked up at Red. She didn’t understand what he tried to tell her.

’Does he want me to skin the goblin’s meat?’

"Loot!" Red kept repeating the same word, pointing at the goblin.

He thought it was easy to understand, yet it seemed Darla didn’t know what he was talking about. That was when he approached the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin was level 10, meaning he could get the core from the hob.

He directed his hand at the body and willed it that he wanted the loot for the body. The hobgoblin’s body burst out into light particles, and Darla watched it with her eyes widened in surprise. That was when she spotted the two cores and ten copper coins.

Darla was marveled by the process. She then kept looking between the cores and Red for a moment, finally understanding what he tried to tell her. He asked her to exchange the loot.

’Now I know what he means, but how?’

That was a good question because she never actually ever got loot directly from the monster. She bought the cores from her savings, the worst quality core, the inferior core.

She knew the adventurers or mercenaries got the cores from the monster loot, but that was the limit of her knowledge. She didn’t know the whole process. Her best guess was that they extracted the core from the monster’s body, or maybe it was a skill.

Seeing it in action directly might be a skill. With how the hobgoblin’s body disappeared, it must be a skill. That was another problem; she didn’t have the skill.

’Does he think I have the skill?’

Red didn’t understand what went through in Darla’s head, pointing at the goblin’s dead bodies, "Loot! Get loot!"

"I..." Darla pointed at herself, "don’t have the skill." She repeated the word one by one, trying to get the message across.

It took a while for Red to understand her. Red shook his head, "No skill. Heart... Not heart... think... Think loot..."

He wanted to come up with an intention, but he hadn’t learned the word. That was why he came up with a heart, then came up with a thought later on.

Darla didn’t know it was not skill, so they had the conversation for a while, almost turned into an argument. They were doing it among the dead bodies around them.

Darla only understood it after some time. By that time, Red had already done a second demonstration with the second hobgoblin. He got three cores. She finally understood that she didn’t need a skill, but it was just an intent.

She was unsure at first, but she approached the dead goblin. Red told her to think about loot. She figured out that he might try to tell her to use her intent.

She directed her right hand to the body. As per Red’s instruction, using her intent to exchange the body for loot. She wanted the loot from the dead body. She was unsure at first, but then her eyes widened in surprise as the goblin’s body burst into light particles.

There it was, the loot, two cores, one red and one blue, along with three copper coins. She had heard it from her friend how a goblin had one of the worst loots. But again, she was inexperienced and didn’t know how much she was supposed to get from a monster.

"Take! For you!" Red scooped the cores and stuffed them into her hand, "Use!"

Darla looked up at Red, shaking her head, "You take!" She subconsciously handed the cores to Red, but Red shoved them back to her chest.

"Take!"

That was the first time that Red was being forceful with her. She didn’t dare to talk back like usual after what she experienced. She listened and absorbed the two cores.

Red told her to exchange the remaining four goblins for loot. She listened to him, exchanged them all for loot, and was told to absorb them all. For the first time in her life, she held so many cores.

Darla got twelve cores in total, including the first goblin. She didn’t even record her gain because Red hurried her.

"Go back... Don’t... tell anyone..."

Red told her to go back first. He could not go back together with her to avoid suspicion. His alibi was to retrieve the weapon and armor from the kobold he killed today. He would take a detour to retrieve the items that he had put close to the village.

Darla wanted to say something, but she decided not to. She grabbed the coins and started to make her way back to the village.