The requests on the board were of a higher level compared to what they had seen in the past. Only magi could complete them. The simpler ones were taken immediately.
"How about that one?"
Felicia pointed at a request to eradicate a goblin nest. Her bones shook with hatred just seeing the word goblin.
"The reward is not bad. How about you take it?"
Henry smiled. This could be an opportunity for her to become independent. She had been relying a lot on him lately.
As her master, he wanted to expand her wings now that she was in the second class. She should be safe as there were fewer things dangerous for her because of her strength.
Felicia was aghast at his suggestion. She panted, and her fear for the goblins reemerged.
She would be comfortable if Henry were with her, but she was afraid of entering a goblin nest alone because of her trauma.
"You will be safe." Henry tried to reassure her.
"No… I don't want to go alone!"
Felicia strongly shook her head.
She hyperventilated, and her eyes widened as the scene back then replayed in her mind. She could feel the disgusting sensation of the… again.
Henry took a step forward, putting her in his embrace, and gently ran his fingers through her hair.
"I'll accompany you."
Henry thought she had already gotten over it. He sighed and felt a little awful trying to put her in a cave with goblins.
"Thank you…"
Felicia immediately calmed down. His words were magic to her ears.
And so the duo took the request and headed out in a carriage while the sun was nearing its highest point.
The goblin nest's location wasn't specified. The information in the request only pinpointed the spot of the last sighting.
It wasn't far. They arrived at the village just as nighttime arrived.
Henry paid the coachman and walked to the door of the biggest house in the village.
"Hello! We're here to investigate the goblin sighting."
Henry knocked on the door.
Felicia stood behind him. She looked around the area with caution. Knowing there were goblins here made her nervous and combat-ready.
A noise came from inside the house, and the door opened.
"Yes..?"
An old man opened the door. A young woman walked behind him while rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"We accepted the request to exterminate the goblins."
Henry's eyes scanned the two. The old man appeared sickened and nearing his end. As for the young woman, she appeared to be in her twenties. Beauty was faintly hidden in her sleepy appearance.
"Ah-hhh! Yes… There are goblins south..!" the old man's eyes shook with fear. He struggled to say those words because of his aging body.
"Grandpa, I'll talk to them."
The woman patted the old man's shoulder and gently pushed him aside. She took a step forward and stood before Henry.
"I'm Julia. The goblins have kidnapped a few of the village's children. I… also know where they are hiding."
Julia closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. She was reminded of the lost children. Her heart ached knowing they were kidnapped by goblins.
She already knew the fate they suffered. Thus, she was determined to help Henry find the goblin's nest.
"Thank you. Lead the way."
Henry nodded his head and smiled. He tried to use his body language's confidence to reassure her that he would take care of the goblins.
Hearing their conversation, Felicia turned around and looked Julia up and down. She noticed her hidden beauty.
All of a sudden, the peace was broken.
"Help! Goblins!!"
The four were shocked as a bloodcurdling scream came from far away. Henry turned his head and looked straight into the darkness.
He found nothing except the vegetation and trees shaking with the nightly wind. The source of the scream was much further than he could see.
"Let's go!"
Henry ran ahead, Felicia behind him, and Julia last.
From afar, Henry saw the goblin's yellow eyes reflecting the moonlight's reflection. A woman was frantically hitting several goblins.
They were carrying her and dragging her along the ground. Some of her clothing was almost removed as parts of her fair skin became exposed.
Felicia became angry seeing the woman suffering what she had suffered that night. She raised the white staff and pointed it at the sky.
A bright ball of light shot out and hovered above, revealing dozens of goblins around the hut.
Henry pointed at the goblins. Flames shot out and burnt the skins of the goblins. They instantly scattered and ran away.
The appearance of magi was enough to spook the weak goblins. Their instincts were greatly afraid. After all, those who weren't would not have the chance to reproduce.
This instinct was strong. It was why the hobgoblin from before was so afraid to let Henry go. Its instincts were screaming at it to kill Henry. Although, it didn't know the reason why.
The real reason was that it would die if it let a witness go.
The spooked goblins ran in the same direction. They ran to return to their nest, where they were safe. At least, that was what they thought, not knowing that they were leading the exterminators to their nest.
"Take care of her," Henry said to Julia.
He ran after the goblins with Felicia and used wind magic to silence his footsteps. Felicia noticed and did the same.
Their silence gave the goblins confidence to run back to their home.
They followed and followed and soon arrived at a grassy area. A hole was dug in the ground, and the goblins rushed in.
Henry stopped outside. The nest entrance was much smaller than them. They wouldn't fit.
However, it was just the perfect size for the small goblins to fit through.
"There is definitely no hobgoblin inside."
Henry was confident about it. The size of the entrance would be too small for the hobgoblin as it was the size of an adult human.
"Do we flood them with water?" Felicia asked, unsure if it would work.
"Water won't work. They're underground. If we can conjure poison spells, it will be simple."
"Can't we?"
"Not yet. Poison spells are a combination of death and wind magic. Forcing it would result in unintended effects."
By suspending death magic into wind magic, it would be possible to create a poison gas that would kill the goblins. Unfortunately, Henry lacked the ability to mix magics yet.