It didn't take long for the news about the appearance of an army, composed of a thousand or so goblins, to spread to the populace. The surrounding villages were understandably concerned, and so was the kingdom that'd brought the situations upon themselves.

Deliah was hardly worried.

A thousand goblins sounded impressive on paper, and to some it was, but it wasn't an overwhelming threat that brought her concern. She and her husband had faced against bigger armies before, and against monsters far more dangerous than simple goblins.

If she wanted, she could most likely take out a good two hundred, perhaps even double of that if she played dirty. She wouldn't however; the entire thing was commision made by the kingdom, and she had no desire to have people come up and demand compensation for her unregistered participation in the event.

Still, this presented a wonderful opportunity for her son. He wasn't going to go off against the main army; she'd never let him, but goblins were, by their nature, unruly. Even under the commands of the goblin lord, some goblins would slip away, forming little groups as they went.

What's to say one of those groups wouldn't give them a visit?

Of course, if deemed necessary, she'd step in. Her son might've gotten stronger, but he wasn't invincible.

No one is.

Idly, she wondered how many goblin variants the goblin lord had amassed. Her son had encountered normal and bulky goblins, and she'd killed several intruding goblin mages herself. There were probably a few more variants that existed, but she was no goblin expert.

...Actually, were goblin experts even a thing?

That aside, it'd probably be best to urge her son to get more wooden knives to carry around. Twenty knives on his person was certainly great, but more would be better.

No more than one metal knife however. She wasn't allowing more than that until she was confident enough.

Some healing potions would probably help as well, though she wasn't quite sure how she'd gain some. There were no alchemists in this village, and as great as [Cooking] was, it didn't translate well into potion-making.

She tried it once. The result was a very explosive failure.

Bandages would do just fine, she supposed. They'd only stop bleeding, but that was far better than leaving a wound open and dropping down from blood loss.

Her village couldn't sell her any; there was no one qualified enough to make it, but her [Seamstress] was at its fourth level. She'd do just fine making some of her own.

Now, if only she could find that spatula she'd been searching for the past few minutes...

A Goblin Raid.

That was what everyone said was coming. He didn't know if there was something special about it, but judging from its name, it probably meant that there was a large number of goblins that were approaching. His mom said that he didn't need to worry so much though.

The amount of dried blood he found all across the surrounding forest was quite concerning however. The blood was always scattered haphazardly; dragging across the dirt and even up in the trees, as if the wound they came from was created from a large, serrated blade.

He didn't do it, his mom said that she didn't do it, and he couldn't remember anyone from the village that could create such splotches of blood.

Maybe it was mister Garnt?

...No, most likely not. Mister Garnt did carry a large sword, but it was sharp and clean, and the blood he spilled from that one goblin he killed was minimal.

Would be cool if it actually was mister Garnt though. He hadn't seen the man in months!

But mister Garnt was probably busy at the moment, so he wouldn't want to disturb him.

Oh, and he almost forgot.

The Crossing Over project!

After some time, the two goblin tomatoes flowered, and he had his chance. Using a small wooden stick he carved, he rubbed it over one flower, making sure he'd gotten some of its pollen and bringing it to one of the flowers on the other plant. He did this for all the flowers that grew, hoping at least one would produce something different.

And three did! Instead of the usual pure green, the three special tomatoes had small white dots scattered over their green skins. It looked strange, diseased even, but they were probably fine to consume.

He still had to wait until they matured however. Unfortunate, but he could wait.

After all, dad said that a farmer with no patience would grow nothing at all.

Now, a while back, his mom said that she'd gone and ordered several more wooden knives for him to hold. He wasn't sure why she did; he already had twenty strapped onto him at the moment, but more knives to throw was always nice.

He should probably make a visit to the village's carpenter soon.

"Oh my." Deliah pursed her lips, shifting slightly atop the tree she was standing on.

There, hidden just behind a wall of trees were goblins. There were maybe twenty or so, holding knives and clubs as they sat around.

They were mere footmen. There were no mages, nor were there any special infantry. If anything, they almost looked like some sort of scouting group; a disposable team sent to investigate the surrounding area.

Except they were clearly lost, their ugly faces contorted with worry as they grumbled and groaned to one another.

She could easily kill them all; her sleeves had more than enough thread for the task, but she wouldn't. It'd take away valuable experience that her son could receive, and that'd be quite the unfortunate thing.

But sending the entire group to her son would be a bit much. She could cripple them, but her son would get awfully suspicious about it. She could trap them for him, but that'd present the same situation.

Or she could separate some of them.

Hmm...

At her command, the thread from her sleeve unfurled, tying themselves around a nearby branch. She then pulled them back, the force snapping the branch and sending a sharp crack throughout the forest.

The goblins were immediately alarmed. They all looked around, trying to see where that sound came from.

A bulky goblin, one she assumed was their leader, began grumbling and speaking in a language she could hardly understand. It then pointed to a couple goblins, and the two made a sharp cry as they left the group, searching for wherever that snap might've come from.

From on high, Deliah smiled as she began to move.

Evel couldn't help but feel slightly worried.

A few minutes ago, he heard a branch snap in the distance, a tad too far to determine where it came from. Still, branches snapping from old trees wasn't all that uncommon, and so he dismissed it.

But then another snap happened a few seconds after, and then another, and another, and he couldn't quite dismiss it for any longer.

So he stood outside, his belt of wooden knives worn and his metal knife securely held in his hand, waiting as the sound came closer and closer.

And then a loud screech sounded, and he turned to see two normal goblins come out of the woods. They snarled at him, knives in hand before they charged at him with a loud cry.

Evel silently narrowed his eyes, pulling out one of his wooden knives and aiming it at one of the approaching goblins. He took a quick step back, and with his arm reared back, he threw the wooden knife with all his strength.

The goblin noticed far too late, and it could only cry out as the knife slammed right into its neck, sending it crashing onto the dirt below. It struggled for a moment, hands shaking as it tried to pull the knife out of its throat.

The goblin died soon after.

You have killed [Goblin - Lv 1]! Gained 15 Exp!

The other goblin froze, surprised to see its brethren fall so quickly.

Surprise quickly shifted to pain as a wooden knife flew right into its chest, spraying goblin blood all across the soil. It growled, pained and tired as it turned to him.

The last thing it saw was another speeding wooden knife before all blacked out, the knife having stabbed into its forehead.

You have killed [Goblin - Lv 1]! Gained 15 Exp!

And just like that, the encounter was over.