'Are they stupid?'
Seo Woojin clicked his tongue as he watched the Heroes rushing towards the goblins.
There were goblins hiding in front of them.
The exact number was unknown, but there was definitely a considerable amount of hostile energy.
The knights seemed to have already noticed this fact.
However, not a single Hero stronger than the knights seemed to have realized it.
"What should we do?"
Irene asked.
She looked at the Heroes with a contemptuous expression.
Sure, let's assume that they might not sense the monster's energy.
'But it clearly looks like a trap to anyone, right?'
They couldn't even notice this?
"Are they really stupid, or are they deliberately ignoring it?"
Somehow, the latter seemed closer to the correct answer.
Even if a few goblins gathered, they believed that they would not be formidable opponents.
"Let's just watch."
They won't die, but they'll probably go through some hardships.
Seo Woojin took a step back to enjoy the spectacle.
"Sure, let's do that."
Irene, seemingly with the same thought, stood next to Seo Woojin and clenched her fist.
And so, a comedy unfolded.
* * *
Cho Jang-ho was excited.
When he saw the ruined village earlier, he was a bit scared.
But after confirming that the opponents were goblins, his confidence soared again.
'I've killed more than a dozen of those guys!'
Compared to himself, who has reached level 23 of Class A, the monsters were nothing more than bugs or worms.
Thinking about hunting such creatures and boasting about it when he returned, he already felt proud.
"Huh?"
He was about to swing his sword at the goblin, when his eyes suddenly widened.
Swoosh-!
A sound of something cutting through the air towards this direction was heard.
'A trap?'
Startled, Cho Jang-ho twisted his body and swung the sword.
Tadadang-!
It was a poisonous stinger.
A lethal paralysis poison that, once stabbed, rendered the whole body immobile and unable to move.
However, such a thing was only possible when it could pierce the skin of a Hero.
"Hmph!"
Cho Jang-ho snorted and swung the sword.
His confidence in being able to withstand something like a poisonous stinger was evident.
"What's this? Were you hiding?"
"Look at you using your head, you pathetic mob."
Other Heroes who followed behind Cho Jang-ho stopped and glared at the goblins.
Seo Woojin thought they were deliberately ignoring the fact, but that wasn't the case.
The Heroes truly did not know that there were goblins hiding.
But they didn't care.
"Everyone, kil—!"
Keek-!
It was the moment when Cho Jang-ho, boasting the highest rank in the group, was about to command the attack.
Suddenly, the goblins roared and took the initiative.
"Such crude stingers like these!"
Cho Jang-ho shouted and swung his sword.
As befits the name of his profession as a 'Wind Swordsman,' wind poured out from the sword.
It was called 'Wind Cutter'.
The wind blade cut through not only poisonous stingers but also goblins and forests.
It indiscriminately cleared the way, cutting down everything in its path.
The feeble creatures couldn't stop the 'Wind Cutter.'
"Did you see that? Man, this is a Hero… huh?"
Cho Jang-ho, who was elated at the sight of goblins dying off helplessly, paused.
Pew pew pew pew!
What he saw before his eyes were countless poisonous stingers.
Cho Jang-ho was confident that these wouldn't harm him.
He could easily block something like a poisonous stinger with his bare body and then use magic to hunt them down again.
But that was a miscalculation.
"Aaaah!"
Cho Jang-ho screamed and fell.
"What's happening all of a sudden, why—ugh!"
"Aaah!"
In an instant, nine Heroes fell.
Each one with their eyes closed…
* * *
"Did they get hit in their eyes?"
"That's right."
Goblins are cunning.
And they've always hunted monsters stronger than themselves.
Records even show they've hunted creatures like orcs and kobolds.
Without a second thought, they charged at such creatures head-on.
Even in a trap that was deliberately set.
'It's strange not to get hit.'
The goblin's venomous stingers seemed to be shooting randomly, but there was a clear intention behind it.
Complacency, distracted attention, and unexpected strikes.
It was a simple and crude strategy, but for the Heroes, it was enough.
Honestly, if they had paid a little more attention, they wouldn't have fallen for it.
They were strong enough to easily defeat even knights, the so-called strong ones.
"It's so dangerous not to have real combat experience."
If it were Seo Woojin, he would have shielded his eyes the moment he saw the stinger.
No matter how exceptional a Hero's body was, their pupils were not strong.
After shielding his eyes, he would have swiftly destroyed their formation with the widest range attack possible and then plunged into melee combat.
Then the goblins would have had little they could do.
Shooting the stinger would likely result in friendly fire, so they would have no choice but to charge with daggers or something similar.
Seo Woojin alone was able to slaughter all the goblins who could not use strategy.
However, the other nine Heroes, caught off guard in their complacency, had brought danger upon themselves.
'Should we just let them die?'
All the Heroes became paralyzed and fell to the floor.
It was obvious that if things were left like this, they would all be killed by the goblins soon.
'They might become an enemy in the future, but I can't just let them die like this… … .'
Wouldn't it be okay?
Seo Woojin pondered such thoughts and discreetly surveyed the surroundings.
"Tsk."
All the knights were looking at him.
It was a gaze that seemed to ask, "What are you going to do?"
If Seo Woojin were an ordinary Hero, he might have stepped forward to save the Heroes right now.
'But I'm not a Hero.'
He had no intention of showcasing his skills.
"Irene, can you handle this for me?"
"Me?"
She looked at him as if asking what he meant.
"I'm asking for a favor."
Irene glanced at Seo Woojin for a moment, then nodded.
It must have meant something, she thought.
"Then I'll be back."
With those words, Irene leaped into the midst of the goblins.
The goblins guarding this side were taken aback and shot their venomous stingers at her, but she wasn't some foolish Hero.
Ting, ting, ting!
Irene ignored everything except the venomous stingers coming toward her.
She knew they couldn't penetrate her armor anyway.
Then, she swung her sword.
She didn't use any particular technique, but the goblins fell mercilessly.
It took only a few minutes for dozens of goblins to be completely wiped out.
"Good job."
In response to Seo Woojin's words, Irene grinned.
It wasn't a task worthy of hearing words of appreciation.
"By the way, what should we do with them?"
Irene pointed to the fallen Heroes.
"They seem like they need some help from your side."
Seo Woojin asked the knights.
"We'll take care of them."
"Then, please."
The knights silently took care of the fallen Heroes.
It takes a few hours for the paralysis to wear off, so during that time, the knight had to carry and move them in their arms.
"Well then, let's go back."
Seo Woojin decided to go back once again.
"Are you not going to continue the search?"
"It's too much for me alone. Don't you all know? I'm a Grade D."
With a low grade, he couldn't handle it, so it meant it was time to go back.
Upon hearing this, the knights awkwardly chuckled and nodded.
In the situation where all the other Heroes were in trouble, it didn't look good for a Grade D Hero to continue the search alone.
Of course, it was a fact that the Heroes were at a disadvantage against the goblins from the moment they were attacked.
"Let's go back."
Seo Woojin smiled at the knights who surrounded the Heroes and started the return journey.
It was a mess.
The first thing Seo Woojin saw when he returned to the base was the frozen Heroes.
'Our group wasn't the only one who suffered.'
If you think about it, it was natural.
Even in other groups, there was no way there would be a Hero with actual combat experience.
Naturally, they would have done the same foolish things and been rescued by the knights.
Still, there were some who were unharmed.
"Sir! Are you okay? Wow, did you see the goblins? They were shooting poison needles, but I blocked them…."
One of them was Lee Ji-ah.
"Yeah. Are you okay?"
"Of course! I've been sparring with you every day, so I'm not the type to get hit by poison needles. Ahem."
Although it had only been a week, Lee Ji-ah had gained some combat experience through sparring with Seo Woojin.
She had developed a habit of defending herself because she had been hit so often.
"Da-hye is fine too."
According to the conversation, Kim Da-hye summoned a huge shield as soon as she found the poison needles.
She blocked all the poison needles with a shield that covered her from head to toe and then rushed forward, sweeping them all away.
'It's certainly versatile.'
The combat power itself wasn't particularly significant, but it possessed a flexible ability to adapt to any situation.
If utilized well, it could become quite a formidable force.
"Oh, and everyone over there is safe too." Lee Ji-ah pointed to one side.
Naturally, elite friends of S-rank or higher had gathered there.
'As expected, those guys are different from the others.'
While they were of high class, they must have put in a lot of personal effort.
They might have experienced quite a bit of practical combat compared to other Heroes.
Did he feel Seo Woojin's gaze?
'Sword God' Baek Siwoo turned his head to look in their direction.
'This… '
Usually, he preferred not to get involved.
It was because it would be awkward if someone came over and asked strange questions.
However, as if betraying Seo Woojin's wishes, Baek Siwoo approached as if he had been waiting.
"Sigh."
A sigh involuntarily escaped at the fierce gaze of Seong Yura behind him.
"It's been a while."
"…Indeed."
"I apologize for that day. I have a tendency to act without thinking when I'm fixated on something…"
Baek Siwoo bowed his head to Seo Woojin and apologized .
At first glance, I thought he was just crazy, but he seemed to have common sense.
"It's okay."
Seo Woojin accepted the apology with a slight smile.
There was no need to hold a grudge.
"Fortunately, you don't seem to be injured anywhere. We were worried that someone might get hurt while everyone was off guard."
"Well, I just stood back and watched from behind."
It wasn't a lie.
"Then, will you come with us? It seems like it will take quite a while for the others to recover."
Goblin paralysis usually takes about 3-5 hours to wear off.
"Where…?"
It probably wasn't a suggestion to hold hands and go eat.
"We found a village where a group of goblins were gathered. The longer we delay, the more damage will be done to the surrounding area, so we plan to subdue them right away."
Currently, there are only about a dozen intact Heroes in total.
Elite friends, Seo Woojin, Lee Ji-ah, Kim Da-hye, and others.
'What should I do?'
Sweeping away the goblin lair wouldn't be difficult for them.
They were that strong.
Honestly, even if he wasn't there, they could handle it easily.
Nevertheless, Seo Woojin nodded his head after some contemplation.
'Let's go and see how strong they are first.'
That way, he could get an idea of how to deal with them in the future.
"I will."