Four days have passed since the destruction of the first Goblin Nest. During those four days, we scoped the next Goblin Nest, reduced their numbers a bit, and on the fourth day, raided the Nest with all intents to slaughter them.

It was a repeat of the first nest, so to say. Goblin scouts were lured then killed, Goblin parties were also lured and killed, and once that was done, KEELHAUL ALL YE BASTARDS!

So yeah, not a very eventful four days. At least I got a significant amount of EXP during the mass slaughter.

2550 EXP gained!

EXP: 3470 / 10000

[Gorilla Body] lv 9 -> MAX

[Gorilla Go Smash!] lv 6 -> MAX

[Gorilla Fighting Tech] lv 7 -> 8

All in all, the result is satisfactory, although my EXP bar is still far from full.

We are currently setting up camp in the middle of a clearing. We change campsites regularly to throw off some monsters if they ever find out about our camping spots.

"Jionni, good work," Lennon smiles at me before returning to tend to the fire. Kayla, who was snuggling beside him, glares at him and me for a moment, before returning to her action of snuggling. Grurnuir is busy drowning in a bottle of alcohol, Sogtharoch is sharpening his halberd, and the twin Elves are making out in their tent.

Dear God, why are they horny in the middle of a dangerous forest? historical

Shaking my head at the distracting thoughts, I push myself off my lazy (not really) ass and proceed to climb a tree.

"I'll be on the watch, you all get your rests," I said as I bring myself into the patches of green, which are now darkened in color because of the lack of light.

I move through the treetops with finesse and ease, my efforts of practice from the nights before helping my growth. I circle the camp every 10 minutes, keeping a close watch on every angle. I didn't dare use fire because I fear I may get spotted by scouts, keeping myself well hidden with my blackish fur, as well as getting my eyes used to the dark.

It takes me a few more loops before I spot something amiss. A gleam in the dark takes my eye away from the pale moon and into the dark bushes. I hide above the trees, careful not to make a sound, and wait for anything to come near.

My patience is awarded once a snout of a dog appeared from beyond the dark, and the rest of its body followed. It was dressed in a ragged, leather cloth hugging its upper frame, and a loincloth covers its genitalia.

It was coated in dark brown fur – though it would probably pass as brown during the day – and held a dangerous-looking dirk in its hand. Its ears were pointed straight up, kind of like horns, and its mouth was in an ever-present scowl. It walked on its two hind legs and was walking through the bushes carefully like it was searching for something.

It sniffed the air once, twice, then thrice, before it decided to move on, into my direction no less.

'Shit, it got my scent from when I was looping around the camp,' I slowly backed away and looked for something I could throw. I grabbed a twig that was near me on top of a thick tree branch. I had to settle for a twig at the moment since I didn't want to make any noise.

The dog got closer and closer, its sniffing in the air getting more and more intense the nearer it got. I lined up my hand and got ready to throw.

It got close enough that its head quickly snapped in my direction. Taking that as a cue, I throw the twig toward the dog. My throw was strong, but my aim was crap and the twig missed its mark by a meter. The dog yelped when the twig landed against the ground with a loud snap.

Taking that momentary distraction, I focus my Mana and conjure an Earth Spike to impale the dog through the chest. It notices the shifting in the earth and snaps out of its shock, dodging the spike at the last second.

'Smarter than a Goblin,' I drop to the ground quickly, a loud thud accompanying my descent. The dog glares at me, but I pay no mind to its hostility. I rush at the dog, who in turn, rushes at me as well, serrated dirk held in a tight grip.

I equip my armor during my rush, shocking the dog momentarily, but not enough to distract it completely. I punch at it with a wide swing while covering my face. It dodges easily and proceeds to gut me with its knife with a snarl.

'Heh, bad move, dog,' the dirk impacted my unarmored skin due to the experienced wielding of the dog, but it didn't penetrate, shattering upon contact. 'My gamble paid off.'

I smirk and grab the dog before it can realize it lost its weapon and escape into the darkness. It yelps and howl, but I quickly grab its snout to silence the dog and slam it against nearby tree bark, its teeth, blood, and spit splaying in the air and into the ground.

It hissed in pain and anger, but I smashed it against the tree one more time before its whole body goes limp.

50 EXP gained!

'Double EXP than Goblins, huh..' I look at the corpse of the dog with brows furrowing. 'If I'm not mistaken, this is a Kobold..'

I sigh and toss its corpse inside my inventory. The others will need to know about this, and time is not on our side.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][]

~ Third Person POV ~

"Len," Kayla called out to Lennon who was tucked inside his sleeping bag within their tent. He tilted his head so he could better see the face of his lover, which he now noticed was full of worry. ".. This was.. How can we escape? You say the only way is Jionni's dungeon, but-"

"Kay, listen to me," Lennon brought a hand to her face and stroked her cheek. "I know it's risky, but we have no other choice. You know the Hunter Association's rules.."

"I know, I know, Hunter's are to be drafted towards the army force in the region they currently work at," Kayla said with a frown. "Shitty rule, we aren't soldiers, damn it.."

"We've been looking for a way out for months now," Lennon stroked her hair and brought her closer into a hug. "This is our only shot at freedom."

Kayla sobbed into Lennon's chest as they cuddled in closer.

Meanwhile, in Sogtharoch's tent, the said Demon could be seen twiddling a circular object that was in his palms.

'Don't worry, it'll work..' Sogtharoch continued twiddling the object as he sat on a chair. 'I just need to get the timing right.'

On the other hand, Grurnuir could be seen snoring inside his provided tent, an alcohol bottle in hand.

"Mrm.. Hougrana.. Forgive.. Noleada.." Grurnuir's face scrunches up as he twisted and turned inside his sleeping bag.

The twin elves, however, were both naked underneath their sleeping bags, bodies packed together closely like sardines inside a can.

"Sis, can we trust that.. beast?" Mariona frowned while she hugged her older twin sister.

"Look, Mari, I know it's hard to trust anyone at the moment," Merethyl stroked the blonde hair of her younger twin sister. "But we have no choice. We refuse to subordinate ourselves to these humans and their petty squabbles, but the beast.. Jionni at least, has some form of human decency, wherever it came from."

"I know, but.." Mariona was silenced with a passionate kiss to the lips, their tongues playing about inside both of their mouths. They separated after a few seconds, both of them gasping for breath as a strand of saliva formed between their two lips.

"No need to worry about that for now, Mari," Merethyl's lips formed into a sultry grin. "We haven't had our fun in nearly a week, and you might get stress marks if you stress on the problem too much."

"Argh! Alright, alright! I get it!" Mariona fumed in mock anger, and both of the twin Elves laughed heartily. The previous solemn and depressing atmosphere was gone, and in its place, hot sighs and moans of pleasure took root.

A few minutes later, Jionni would arrive bringing grave news.