Chapter 55. Cooking can win hearts (2)
Everyone looked at Ian when he shouted that. Alice, Tacan, and all the villagers wondered what Ian was going to talk about.
They all stared at him with curious eyes, and Ian finally opened his mouth.
"You all know that I saved you today."
Just the start of the speech was enough to make the villagers anxious.
Even Alice and Tacan were staring at Ian with bewilderment written all over their faces.
Still, Ian ignored them and continued.
"Of course, I'm not asking for any compensation whatsoever from you all. I have already talked about the reward I would receive for my troubles, with the Village Chief Gustav."
All the villagers calmed down when they heard that. Their anxiousness lessened, but they still looked a little wary of what's going to come next.
"But I would ask one question from you all. You all have been rescued from the prison. What will you do now?"
It was a simple question and one girl quickly raised her hand and answered.
"I, I would like to go home."
Others also agreed with her and nodded in response.
"Yes, I want to go eat my mother's food."
"My wife must be worrying about me."
"I want to meet my friends."
They all have something they wanted to do. They wanted to meet their friends and family.
They can't wait to hug them and cry out their sorrows.
Their life in the prison was not good. They all have sorrows and scars accumulated in them, and only their family would be able to heal them.
But Ian's next words made them scared.
"You all want to go home but can anyone guarantee that the place you called home, the place your family lives in is safe?"
Ian's words were enough to make the villagers realize their cruel reality.
Even if they went home, Goblins would still attack them.
Sooner or later, they would be captured again.
It was their cruel fate just because they were powerless. The villagers became scared thinking about it.
"Didn't you said that you will kill the Goblin king?"
At that moment, a young vigilant guard member raised his hand and asked.
All the villagers looked at Ian. Hope was coming back in their eyes. For them, Ian was their saviour.
He was akin to a hero, and he would surely be able to kill the Goblin king.
"It is true that I have came here to kill the wicked Goblin king and to free all the nearby villagers from his fear."
Ian replied positively, and a bright smile soon formed on the faces of the villagers, but Ian was not finished yet.
"But I want you all to think about it for a moment. Can someone really go against 2000 Goblins by himself? I do have the support from Alice and Tacan, but fighting that many Goblins with three people is just a pipe dream."
Despair surged on the faces of the villagers when they thought about that.
Ian was indeed correct.
Everyone knows that he was powerful but still, going up against 2000 Goblins was just like banging their head on a wall and dying.
The problem was not Ian's strength but the quantity of the Goblins.
Even Tacan wasn't sure if they would be able to defeat the Goblin king or not, but he decided to believe in Ian.
Alice was also skeptical about the victory. However, she was a player and doesn't have to worry about dying, but she still wanted Ian to kill the Goblin king.
It was to get a good footage.
The audience liked to see someone achieving a victory after endless struggles. Alice was aiming for that.
"Then, what should we do?"
"If even the saviour can't help us, then there is no hope of surviving."
"Those wicked Goblins will capture us again."
The villagers started murmuring among themselves when they heard Ian's words.
Their faces were pale.
They were thinking about the time they have spent on prison and how the Goblins have killed their comrades.
Maybe, they would be the next one to die.
"Actually, there's a way to kill all the Goblins."
At that moment, Ian suddenly said that, and all the villagers looked at him.
Their eyes were staring at him like they were asking, 'What is the way to kill the Goblins?'
"What method can we use to kill the Goblins? If it's feasible, I would even give away my life to kill those wicked monsters."
From the side, Tacan asked with a fire burning in his eyes. He really hated those Goblins.
'Great! I was waiting for that question.'
Ian gave a thumbs up to Tacan in his mind as he began to squirm his eyes across the villagers.
They all wanted to know the way to kill the Goblins.
Ian opened his mouth.
"Actually, the way to kill the Goblins is you all. I can't kill the Goblins alone, but if you all helped me, then we can slay those wicked monsters."
From the start, Ian's plan was to use the villagers in order to fight the Goblins.
The captured villagers were not enough to form an army but it was still enough to form a small troop, and Ian was content with that.
"How can we help you? We are powerless."
"We have several injuries and just a blow from a Goblin would kill us."
"It's just suicide."
Of course, their were objections from the villagers. Ian also didn't think that they would accept immediately.
Fighting the Goblins has a risk and one can die. For NPCs, dying was the end. They can't respawn like the players.
Moreover, most of the villagers were fearful of Goblins because of getting captured by them.
They don't even want to think about fighting them.
But they were not just fearful of them ...
'They are also angry with them.'
The villagers had seen their friends and comrades dying in the hands of the Goblins.
More than fear, there was a feeling of vengeance inside their hearts.
Ian just to have stimulate this feeling.
"I know that you all are scared, but think about it, the Goblins had killed your friends and family. They are merciless and they will continue to do so in the future, if they are not stopped."
Hearing those words, the villagers thought about the dead bodies of their friends. Some had been stabbed and some were beheaded.
The Goblins hadn't shown any mercy towards them.
If they can, they wanted to rip apart the bodies of the Goblins in shreds, but they were too scared that they would meet the same fate as those dead bodies.
"Even if we fought against the Goblins, we don't have weapons and we are even injured."
One of the vigilant guards member said. Injuries were well apparent on his bodies. He can't even think about fighting in this state.
The Goblins already took their weapons. They can't fight barehanded.
"I have a solution for that."
Ian have already thought about the solution to this problem. He was not foolish enough to make the villagers fight barehanded.
That's why, he opened his inventory and took out the item drops he had gotten after killing the Goblins till now.
In just a second, items like swords, daggers, short swords, breastplate, arm guards dropped on the ground.
Ian also took out some health potions.
These were enough to heal the wounds on the villagers body.
He had bought these potions for his own use, but the situation has changed now. He was willing to let the villagers use these potions.
It was a loss, but overall, he would make a big profit if he succeeded in the quest.
'They are still hesitating.'
Ian thought as he looked over the villagers. There was still some hesitation in their eyes, and they can't decide.
That's why, Ian opened his mouth again.
"It's a sad reality but you don't have any other option. I would request you all to fight with me. I promise that I won't let anyone die."
Ian was pushing but the villagers were still just staring into the air, contemplating whether they should agree or not.
'Will it not work?'
As soon as that thought crossed Ian's mind, a young girl stood up and picked up a sword and a shield.
"I would fight with you."
That was the trigger for the other villagers. Most of them were the members from vigilant guards. They can't let a young girl fight when they are just sitting on the back.
"I will fight too."
"I will help you kill those green
monsters."
"I won't back down now."
The villagers realized that it was a do or die situation for them, and the only thing that can do was to help Ian.
They were scared, but more than that, they wanted revenge.
'My plan worked.'
Ian showed a bright smile seeing that his plan worked. He first showed the villagers the cruel reality.
Then, he persuaded them into believing that the only way to live peacefully was to help Ian in killing the Goblins.
It was a method his master often used.
He would first show Ian the reality and then, he would show him the only way.
Ian would then give it his all.
It was a simple technique which was often used by those tyrant bosses in big companies.
They would scold the employee everyday and then, they would praise him a little.
This way, the employee would get happy and work harder.
'I have a small group now.'
It was better than fighting the Goblins with just three people.
As they were NPCs and Ian has high reputation among them, he also don't have to worry about them ignoring his orders.
"They are my precious assets. I can't let anything to happen to them."
Ian already understands the value of life for a NPC. Even if he was using them to fight the Goblins, he won't let them die.
"Cheww!!"
As Ian was thinking of implying tactics on the villagers, he suddenly heard a shriek. He was familiar with that voice.
It was a Goblin. More specifically, it was a group of Goblins led by a Goblin leader.
They had came here after smelling the Goblin vegetable soup.
Ian had already guessed that the soup would attract the monsters.
So, he was not much surprised by this, but this was not the same for the other villagers.
"Ahh, G-Goblins."
"Help …!"
"They have weapons."
Most of the villagers were startled by the Goblins. That's why, Ian quickly came forward and said in a raised voice.
"Don't be scared. It's just a group of them. You won't be able to fight 2000 Goblins If you are scared of a mere 20."
The villagers calmed down slightly when they heard that. Ian has easily taken the position of the leader here.
"Yeah, we should not be startled."
"They are just Goblins."
"We also have weapons now."
The villagers raised their weapon.
It was not just Ian, but this was also the effect of the Goblin vegetable soup.
As their attack power against the Goblins have increased, their fear has gone down. It was a subconscious effect.
So, the villagers were not even aware of it. They were just following their instincts.
"Cheww!!"
The Goblin leader let out a shriek as he rushed towards Ian with his sword.
"You are too weak."
Ian didn't back down as he swung his Crevice spear around. He made a twisting turn and stabbed the Goblin leader.
Unfortunately, this was not enough to kill him.
'I have just started.'
Ian thought as he used spiral spear and a vortex appeared on the tip of his spear. Ian quickly thrusted the spear again.
Thrust!
That was the end of the Goblin leader as blood spluttered around.
That messaged appeared and Ian looked at the remaining Goblins. Instead of killing them themselves, he shouted.
"Attack!!"
Just a single word but the villagers knew that Ian was telling them to attack.
They didn't waste anymore time and rushed with the weapons in their hands.
It was a massacre for the Goblins!!