The beams from the eruption of Magic Power dissipated.
The abdomen of the large goblin had a fist-sized hole pierced through it.
"Bang!"
The goblin crashed to the ground, its machete and body slamming into the earth, raising clouds of dust.
Gauss still maintained the posture from which he had just cast the Magic Missile, motionless.
His gaze was directed towards the last three goblins on the battlefield.
The goblins that had been besieging the villagers earlier were also drawn by the huge surge and noticed the strong, large goblin being instantly defeated by that powerful spell and saw Gauss's eyes fixed on them.
One by one, their bodies began trembling uncontrollably like shaking beans.
Even though ordinary goblins only had low intelligence, they understood that the black-haired, green-eyed human male wielded a terrifying power that could easily kill them.
Without any hesitation, the goblins abandoned their opponents and the dismembered bodies of their kin littering the ground, leaving all dignity behind, discarded their helmets and fled.
Goblins, rightfully so, are just that kind of creature.
"It's over."
Gauss looked at the forest, which had returned to calm once more, and sighed in relief.
He had no intention of pursuing and eradicating the three goblins that had already fled into the woods.
In reality, goblins separated from their group often find survival extremely difficult.
Unless they can find another goblin tribe's power and be accepted by a leader, solitary goblins often fall to beasts and other natural threats.
Besides, the most important thing was.
Gauss's inner Magic Power was completely exhausted.
In fact, before using the Magic Missile, his Magic Power was still relatively abundant.
After all, as a 0th Ring Trick, the Mage's Hand does not significantly consume one's Magic Power.
Even though his physical strength was completely depleted in the recent battles, he still had a considerable reserve of Magic Power.
But just now, after casting the Magic Missile that instantly killed the large goblin, his Magic Power was completely drained by that spell.
The demand for Magic Power of the Magic Missile seemed alarmingly huge.
The consequence of the drained Magic Power was the enormous physical and mental burden.
His head throbbed in pain.
After defeating the strong enemy, it seemed his spirit was overly consumed.
This was also the main reason he remained motionless, not simply for show.
Fortunately, using the remaining prestige of Magic, just one look from him scared away the three goblins.
Otherwise, given the current state of everyone, they might have still faced significant trouble.
"Adventurer sir, are you alright?" The three villagers also had some injuries, but they were not hampered in movement.
Actually, ordinary goblins have no advantage over humans, but the fight just now was not a normal one-on-one scenario; the group of goblins could exert much more power, and the deep darkness of the night posed more difficulties for humans.
Seeing Gauss motionless, not giving any other instructions, but his eyes turning to the depths of the forest, the three men for a moment did not understand his intentions.
After a brief hesitation, they cautiously approached him.
They now also realized this raggedly equipped, unremarkable-looking man was indeed the true leader of the group.
His strength was extraordinarily strong, especially that comet-like miraculous Magic cast at last, which left them with a very deep impression.
Henceforth, Birch Village would likely have new topics of conversation during tea and meals.
"The battle is over."
"Go search for the victims in the cave," Gauss still stood in place. "Also, please return to the village quickly to get help; my companions are injured and need aid, as do your fellow villagers..."
Gauss looked at the other members of the team; this adventure was truly tragic beyond measure.
As for Bell, the swordsman, his leg was broken, uncertain if it could recover.
After seeing Gauss release the powerful Magic and claim victory, his strained nerves finally relaxed, and he immediately fainted.
Mia's injuries were similarly severe, though hers were internal, as she lay immobile on the ground, blood continuously pouring from her mouth.
Both were in very bad shape; though this fight ended in a bitter victory, how their subsequent recovery would proceed remained unknown.
Gauss and Haylir were in much better condition than Mia and Bell, but they also lost the ability to move for now.
As for the villager first attacked, he had not moved for a long time, likely having lost his life.
Soon after, the dark forest was once again illuminated by a procession of torches.
...
Dawn.
The rooster calls of Birch Village once again punctuated the sky of the village on time.
After a restless night.
The village was cloaked in a strange air of sadness.
The good news was that the two female villagers were successfully rescued, though their bodies in the cave were barely covered, stained with grime, and bruises, yet their lives weren't endangered.
As for whether there were other harms, Gauss's emotional intelligence wasn't so low to probe inconvenient questions.
The bad news was that one villager died.
The deceased man was Elsa's brother.
Initially, when villagers waiting in the town learned of the death, and it was one of their own, they harbored some resentment.
They felt the adventurer team couldn't even handle a few goblins, which led to their own's death.
But when they reached the goblin nest and saw that tragic scene, their former grievances got stuck in their throats and couldn't be voiced again.
The earth was stained dark red with blood, the pungent stench of gore filled the air, scattered everywhere were broken green arms, hands, thighs, and unspeakable intestines, livers, and the foul, slimy, smelly remains.
The rot of flesh, waste, and corpses lingered in the air, refusing to dissipate.
Many villagers not strong of heart, seeing such a tragic scene, even bent down and vomited on the spot.
In addition to the severely injured Bell and Mia, and three surviving villagers' detailed accounts of the fierce battle, the villagers held nothing but gratitude for Gauss and others.
This adventurer team had become the village's heroes.
Gauss and the others were placed in the village's best stone house for rest.
The village had no doctor, but the Herbalist watched over the two injured through the night.
In fact, aside from basic bandaging, this Apprentice Herbalist couldn't provide much more assistance.
However, Bell and Mia's injuries were temporarily stabilized and not further deteriorated.
Because Haylir fed them a type of red secret medicine pill, said to be able to quickly stimulate Life Energy within the body, temporarily stabilizing their conditions.
But the pills can only temporarily suppress the wounds and are harmful to the body, so they can't be taken multiple times in a short period. Therefore, the severely injured two haven't truly crossed the danger threshold yet.
They still urgently need proper medical treatment.