The lord of Roland Town was no good person, let alone a philanthropist.

Although he had just arrived in this world, it was clear from the snippets of conversation among the locals and the forced conscription methods that this lord was definitely no saint.

The reward of 100 copper coins for killing a goblin seemed generous, but for these civilians who had never experienced combat and were generally malnourished due to food shortages, those creatures were not easy to handle. One careless move could cost them not only the reward but their lives.

But now that things had come to this, there was no choice but to follow the main force and take things one step at a time.

This group of conscripts numbered around two hundred people, divided into more than forty small squads. Under the watchful eyes of the guards, they left the town and marched toward the nearby Roland Forest, the source of the goblin and other monster attacks on the town recently.

It was noon, the weather was just right, a warm breeze brushed their faces, and dazzling sunlight poured down, bathing everyone.

Lin Mo looked into the distance, faintly seeing the edge of the forest.

The distance from Roland Town to Roland Forest was closer than he had imagined.

As they walked, the formation naturally dispersed, each small squad proceeding according to the prearranged groups.

Lin Mo observed his few teammates again: two fairly robust middle-aged men who seemed to have decent family conditions among the civilians.

One was a tall, thin youth, with a sallow complexion and a frail appearance, living a hard life.

Finally, there was a boy of only fifteen or sixteen who had not spoken a single word since earlier, silently trailing behind them holding a sword. The two middle-aged men would occasionally glance back, fearing he might escape when they weren't paying attention.

Although runaway conscripts would definitely be caught and punished, having one less person right now would seriously affect their upcoming actions.

“Don’t be so quiet, everyone.”

The thin youth broke the silence first: “When I was running errands at the tavern, some adventurers said those green-skinned dwarves are only a bit taller than half a person, not as scary as those gossiping women say. As long as you swing your blade once...”

He waved his old weapon, the worn blade cutting through the air with a dull whistle.

“You can chop off their heads!”

His eyes sparkled with excitement, as if he already saw himself carrying a bag full of goblin ears back to claim countless copper coins and feast at the Demon Hunter Tavern.

While speaking, his stomach grumbled loudly.

The two middle-aged men exchanged glances and nodded knowingly: “This young brother is right. As long as we work together, those goblins might not be as tough to deal with as we thought.”

One of the men took a piece of black bread from his clothes, tore off a small half, and handed it to the youth: “My name’s Larry, this is my neighbor Leo. We’re on the same team, fate has brought us together. Here, eat something first.”

The youth took the bread and swallowed it in one bite. The hard bread stretched his cheeks and slowly softened with saliva, filling his mouth.

Larry then divided the remaining bread between Lin Mo and the still silent boy.

After struggling to swallow, the youth named Barnes became even more excited: “Thanks, Uncle Larry. The first goblin ear we cut off, I’ll give it to you.”

Lin Mo was not hungry at the moment and stuffed the bread into his pocket, carefully glancing sideways at the two middle-aged men.

They looked completely like gentle neighborhood uncles, with faint smiles at their lips and deep eyes full of worldly adult experience.

Next, everyone introduced themselves one by one.

“Raine.”

Lin Mo looked at the boy who suddenly spoke—his first sentence. His voice still carried a trace of childishness, his pronunciation stiff, clearly not fond of socializing.

They kept moving forward as the two men remained vigilant of their surroundings. Lin Mo quickly withdrew his gaze from the boy and cautiously examined the forest ahead.

About ten minutes into Roland Forest, the grass grew taller, some already reaching above their calves. Occasionally, flying insects zipped past, startling them.

“Phew~”

Barnes slapped a beetle off a tree with the back of his knife, relieved: “Just bugs again. Damn, you scared me.”

Rustle rustle—

Just as he complained, a rustling sound suddenly came from the grass ahead.

In an instant, the squad members straightened up, their eyes fixed intently on the patch of grass.

Rustle rustle—

The sound came again. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, not daring to breathe.

Finally, a white figure darted out from the grass and disappeared in a flash.

“Oh, it’s just a rabbit...”

Barnes lowered his knife. “Should’ve surrounded it and caught it to roast!”

Imagining the taste, he smacked his lips and licked them: “I haven’t had real meat in at least two months. The last time was when a wealthy customer gave me some leftover roast. That flavor, simply—”

His words were abruptly cut off as a sharp-edged stone struck his temple with precision from the side, instantly denting his skull. Blood splattered, splashing onto Lin Mo’s clothes.

“Watch out!”

As Barnes fell, Larry shouted, gripping his knife and looking toward the direction the stone came from.

In the grass, a few small figures crouched, their green skin blending perfectly with the foliage. Their mouths curled into grotesque, disgusting smiles.

These green creatures blended almost perfectly with the grass, making them nearly invisible if one did not look carefully.

Another stone flew over, but the group was prepared and easily dodged it.

Lin Mo held his sword and naturally stepped back a few paces, helping his teammates guard against potential threats from behind.

After several more stones failed to hit, the frustrated goblins finally shrieked chaotically and charged out from the grass, weapons in hand.

As a transmigrator, Lin Mo was quite familiar with goblins, which often appeared in many fantasy works, but seeing those weak creatures from games and comics in reality, he realized they were surprisingly terrifying.

Sharp fangs, ugly faces, ferocious expressions and grins, and eyes gleaming with the cruel excitement of a hunter spotting prey.

“Don’t be afraid, only five of them, we can handle this!”

Larry shouted loudly, as if trying to boost his own courage.

He swung his sword blade but only half-heartedly stepped forward.

The image of Barnes getting killed by a headshot was still vivid in his mind, and he did not want to be the next victim.

The next to rush out was the silent boy who had never spoken.

He swung his blade and chopped toward the goblin at the front.

As mentioned earlier, goblins were cunning and timid creatures, seemingly intimidated by his momentum. The goblin flinched and wildly swung a wooden club studded with nails, which Raine easily dodged.

“Crack—!”

The rusty blade struck down but was blocked by the goblin’s arm. Raine roared in anger, exerted more force, and pinned the goblin to the ground, inching the blade closer to its throat.

Shock filled the eyes of the two middle-aged men, who then summoned courage to step forward and block the goblins behind, preventing Raine from being attacked from the rear.

Lin Mo followed their steps but still stayed behind them, using Larry’s sturdy figure as cover.

The two men seemed to have completely forgotten his existence, naturally standing in front without hesitation.

The goblins also appeared to not notice him at all, focusing entirely on the other three.

Skill [Slacking Off] activated!

Lin Mo carefully observed the battle ahead. At the moment Larry was struggling to block two goblin attacks and knocked one to the ground, Lin Mo flanked from the side and stabbed his sword through that goblin’s throat.

[Proficiency +1]

A line of translucent small letters flashed at the corner of his vision, followed by a series of messages that made his eyes light up.

“Skill [Slacking Off] Lv4 (100/100) upgraded!”

“Current skill [Slacking Off] Lv5 (Max)”

“Agility attribute points +2 gained!”

“Automatically evolved into new skill — Stealth!”