I’m not Goblin Slayer Chapter 004

Gauss didn’t rush to make a move.

Instead, he first chose to prick up his ears, observe all directions, and survey the surrounding environment.

Aside from the stone the goblin was sitting on, there were no other obstacles by the pond. The terrain was open, making it a suitable environment for a frontal engagement.

Once he left the current bush, there would be about ten meters of distance exposed to the sun between him and the goblin’s location.

Ten meters sounded close, but if he charged while making noise, it would be enough for it to react. So, he had to circle around to its back, then quietly sneak up to its side and launch a surprise attack.

Moreover, he had to act quickly, taking advantage of the goblin grinding its weapon to attack it. It would be even better if he didn’t give it time to grab its weapon and get into formation.

A prepared mind against an unprepared one, armed against unarmed, plus the inherent physical advantage, the battle should be a one-sided affair.

Gauss’s mind raced.

Having formulated a plan, he didn’t hesitate. He immediately squatted down and moved slowly, trying to minimize any sound.

Then, little by little, he moved to directly behind the goblin.

Once in position, he gripped the dagger in his hand. Whether from nervousness or excitement, his hand began to tremble.

The sweat secreted from his palm made his skin grip the rough dagger handle even more tightly.

He swallowed.

He looked at the goblin sitting on the stone not far away.

The little green-skinned figure had its back to him, picking its foot while humming and grinding a stone spear, looking very relaxed.

It won’t be long before the dagger in my hand ends its life.

Gauss took a deep breath. In his previous life, he had never actively killed anything, except perhaps accidentally stepping on ants or insects. Now, he was about to kill a living being, and he needed to do some mental preparation.

Moreover, as a monster, and somewhat resembling a human, the burden of killing a goblin was even greater.

However, it truly deserved to be killed.

Gauss closed his eyes.

The moment he saw the goblin, a childhood memory surfaced in his mind as if in a stress response.

It was when the original body was a child, a dozen goblins attacked the village where his family lived. Although the adults in the village organized themselves and drove the goblins away with pitchforks and sickles, a neighbor girl a few years older than him was abducted and never returned.

As for her fate, there’s no need to elaborate.

This was just what the original body had personally experienced. In this land, for thousands of years, similar tragedies were countless.

Gauss opened his eyes again, but this time, there was no hesitation or doubt in them.

His right thumb pressed firmly against his index finger knuckle. The stinging pain from the pressure made his right hand stop trembling, restoring its stability.

He held his breath and slowly crawled out of the bushes on all fours, almost in a prone position.

His movements were very slow and light. The material of the cloth armor itself also prevented him from making extra noise during his slow crawl.

At this moment, apart from the birds chirping and insects buzzing in the forest, there was no other sound.

Even the wind had calmed, and the pond was ripple-free.

Gauss crawled to about three meters from the goblin, then stopped. He didn’t continue crawling.

This was already a very close distance. He could even see the rough hair in the folds of its green skin and the (rúdòng) changes in its muscles as it breathed.

Slowly standing up, he was like a child playing the game of “Statues” in his previous life, restraining his movements as he slowly rose, allowing blood to flow smoothly through his body again.

Once his body no longer felt stiff,

He took a deep breath, then suddenly launched!

Taking a big stride!

His toes stomped hard on the ground, and the recoil force propelled his body forward sharply.

In two quick steps, he leaped directly onto the stone surface.

The goblin, engrossed in grinding its spear, seemed startled by the sudden loud noise. It shuddered all over, instinctively trying to grab the stone spear it was rubbing on the stone.

But Gauss, who had already made ample preparations, wouldn’t give it that chance.

His right foot stomped hard, pressing his entire weight onto the wooden handle of the stone spear.

The goblin failed to grab it, grabbing at thin air, and immediately tried to reach out again.

Gauss was quick with his eyes and feet, directly kicking the stone spear away.

Then, before the goblin could sit up, he pounced on it. His left hand gripped the back of its right head and slammed it onto the stone surface. His left knee directly pressed down on its back, also using the weight advantage of his larger size to pin it against the stone.

“Wah wah wah! Wah wah!”

The goblin let out a sharp howl, pinned and unable to move, but still struggling with all its might.

The fangs so close, and the splashing, foul-smelling saliva, made Gauss’s pupils constrict uncontrollably.

Even though it was pinned face down on the stone, it still burst out with an astonishing will to survive. Its slender arms waved, its gray, sharp nails attempting to claw at his right arm at an unnatural angle.

Unfortunately, this was an extremely difficult angle to exert force, and Gauss’s cloth armor also covered his forearms.

Its scratching merely dug into several layers of cotton cloth armor, causing no significant damage.

But this intense struggle and the fierce resistance rushing towards him still made Gauss’s breathing heavy, and his heart rate rapidly accelerated, as if it would leap out of his chest.

The battles between low-level adventurers and monsters were never elegant.

Gauss didn’t give it any more room to struggle. He increased the pressure on its head with his left hand, while his right hand gripped the dagger, aimed, and with force from both his shoulder and elbow, plunged the gleaming green dagger into its vulnerable neck.

The dark green skin was instantly sliced open by the metal blade as if cutting tofu!

“Pfft!”

Bright red blood erupted from the dagger wound like a surge of mercury.

The fresh blood instantly stained Gauss’s arm and clothes crimson.

Swallowing, Gauss felt the unwilling and frantic struggles of the goblin beneath him, even as it bled profusely. He gritted his teeth and twisted his wrist, savagely churning the dagger in the flesh several times.

This bleeding action accelerated the goblin’s death.

“Ya… guh… ya…”

The sounds the goblin made were already intermittent, like a broken bellows.

Before long, the goblin beneath him finally lost its last breath and stopped moving.

Gauss gasped for air, stood up, and stabbed the goblin twice in its left and right chest with the dagger, ensuring it was completely dead.

Finally, he placed the dagger aside and slumped onto the stone, as if all his strength had drained away.

As a hunter, this body’s stamina and muscle memory for using weapons weren’t that bad; he just needed time to adjust.

Gauss felt his chest heaving violently and the clearly audible, strong heartbeat within it. He was still somewhat dazed.

He glanced at the goblin, now a cold corpse, and the sticky, glaring red blood on his hands. Everything felt incredibly unreal.

This wasn’t a game, nor an adventure; it was a real, tangible killing.

He sat quietly for a while.

Once his breathing calmed down again, Gauss’s unease from his first kill finally subsided somewhat.

Human adaptability is very strong.

Even though he still felt a little awkward, he had calmly accepted the fact that he had taken a goblin’s life.

“Goblin* 1 defeated!”

“Monster Codex officially activated!”

“Total monsters defeated: 1. First blood achieved, reward: Mage Profession Skill, 0-ring cantrip [Mage Hand], Intelligence + 1. Next stage: Total monsters defeated reaches 10.”

“You have defeated 1 goblin!”

“Title [Goblin Hunter] acquired. This title will upgrade with the number of kills.”

“Current effect: Bane. In combat against goblins and related advanced races, attack damage is increased by an additional 10%.”