With the goblins running back to cut the trees, the group decided to hide and watch them a bit more. It was boring, but they also learned some stuff.
For example, the normal goblins had trouble communicating with each other using simple orders; most of the time, it was not clear, while the older ones were more experienced.
As sunset arrived, they all stopped working and started going back to the hut. This time they enjoyed a bigger plate of food before carrying the axes with them behind the log storage area.
The supervisor didn't come again, as he probably thought none dared to slack, and he was right. None left earlier for food as they didn't want their heads to fall.
The chef went around picking up the plates, leaving them on a side before he went to the hut's storage area. Waiting a bit and seeing that only the chef was left inside with the workers gone, they exchanged glances and signalled that it was time.
Lucius sneaked up to the hut; a smell of rotten meat assaulted him, causing him to frown. Not bothered by it, he continued with the others behind him. The chef was busy at the back of the hut, moving some stuff, and a sound of chopping was heard. As they reached the storage area, what they saw made them almost throw up.
The [Goblin LvL3] was covered in blood, and in front of him were piles of rotten meat. There were a lot of animals ranging from wolves, tigers, elks, and snakes, but also humans. The humans were filled with wounds and missing parts.
As they looked, the goblin picked up a male human body and placed it on a wooden table. Using the makeshift butcher axe it had, it cut its neck before placing a wood bowl under it to gather its blood.
Then it proceeded to cut the body up and smash it into multiple parts before placing them in the bowl. Feeling nauseous, Talon moved a bit, making a sound, and the group saw the goblin turn around, ready to shriek and yell as it had intruders. But instead, its mouth opened to welcome a sword passing through it to the other side.
The goblin made 'Gu, Gu' sounds, choking on the blade and spewing green blood before falling dead. Lucius proceeded to hold the body to land it softly so it wouldn't make noise. Turning, he looked at Talon, who had almost blown the operation. Knowing it was his fault, he looked down but still held his mouth, wanting to throw up.
"Go outside, take Lily with you and get it out of your stomach. Then meet here; we don't know how long we have," saying this, he bent down at the goblin, looking for clues.
Lily pulled Talon and headed outside; she too was disturbed, but it was a life and death situation, not a game. Making a simple mistake would be dire.
''This is bad for the stomach,'' Kevin muttered, looking at the pile of bodies, then turned to Lucius. ''How many do you think are here?'' he asked, pointing at the severed hands and body parts.
''Who knows, maybe 100 bodies,'' Lucius frowned, continuing to search for anything that could be helpful.
Talon and Lily returned, their faces still pale from the sight they had witnessed. Talon felt sick, but at least his stomach was now empty.
''Okay, let's go check out the log storage area; this place seems to be just the workers' dining area,'' Lucius said, standing up and using the hut as cover to approach the log area.
The next building was a large wooden storage area with piles of logs and two goblins guarding it, looking bored as they sat on the floor. The supervisor and other workers were nowhere to be found.
''Talon, can you headshot one of them?'' Lucius asked the archer.
''This... it should be possible; we are close enough,'' Talon replied, assessing the distance.
Nodding, Lucius picked up a stone and threw it, making a noise behind one of the guards. He positioned himself to sprint with his sword drawn.
The goblin, hearing the stone land, turned its head to check it out, moving a bit away from the other guard and exposing its back to the group. Seeing this, Talon aimed for the goblin looking in their general direction nocked an arrow, pulled the bow, and released with a silent whoosh.
The arrow flew and instantly landed in the goblin's eye, killing it without a chance to register pain. It fell to the ground lifeless.
Lucius, already sprinting when the arrow was in the air, reached the other goblin from behind. It heard something fall on the ground and turned around to look at its fellow goblin, only to see the world upside down and some green liquid flying in the sky.
Standing up, he quickly checked around, making sure each of them took a position around the storage area. Seeing that it was safe, he walked in and was met with a massive pile of wood stacked up on each other. The logs were not cut uniformly; some were thicker than others, but there were loads of them.
Nothing else was in the storage apart from wood and some hay. Walking outside, Lily pointed in the distance where the smoke was even more visible now. With the sun still out, giving light, they decided to wait inside the log area, keeping an eye out for any unexpected visitors.
Instructing them to drag the bodies inside and clean traces of fights, they took the necessary precautions to minimize the risk of being discovered.
After a while, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Peering through the cracks in the wall, they saw two normal goblins, one at level 1 and the other at level 2.
The goblins arrived at the storage and then let out a soft shriek as if to inform others that it was time for the shift change.
The two goblins saw no one guarding, and they were confused, thinking their fellow workers had left early.
They entered to inspect, but as they stepped inside, they were ambushed and killed without making a sound.
With the rotation of guards complete, they now had some time before the supervisor or someone else came to cover or search for them. They decided to wait until it was dark before venturing further into the area.
Lucius opened the system, curious to see how much EXP he had gained and how much his health had recovered.
[Status Panel]
[Name: Lucius Maxwell]
[Age 36/200]
[Level 3 Exp 110/300]
[HP 90/150]
[MP 100/100]
[Free Attributes 0]
[Strength 16]
[Health 15]
[Agility 13]
[Intelligence 10]
[Mana 10]
Skills 'Empowered Luster'
Gold 41
He had gained a total of 60 EXP and 6 Gold.
30 EXP and 3 Gold from the Chef, and killing the two guards granted him an additional 30 EXP and 3 Gold.
The injuries were also recovering rapidly, almost reaching his full previous health.
Seeing the amount of EXP gained, he knew this was the right call and looked forward to the night ahead.