Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Idiot Heroes?
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#34.
‘Are they idiots?’
Seo Woo-jin clicked his tongue as he watched the heroes charge toward the goblins.
Right ahead of them, goblins were lying in wait.
He couldn’t tell the exact number, but he could sense it wasn’t a small force.
The knights seemed to have already noticed.
But not a single one of the heroes, who were stronger than the knights, had picked up on it.
“What should we do?”
Aileen asked.
She was looking at the heroes with utter disdain.
Fine, maybe they couldn’t sense the monsters’ presence.
‘But anyone could see this setup screams trap.’
They hadn’t noticed that either?
“Are they really idiots, or do they know and just don’t care?”
Somehow, the latter felt closer to the truth.
No matter how many goblins there were, the heroes probably believed they couldn’t hold a candle to them.
“Let’s just watch.”
They wouldn’t die, but they’d suffer for it.
Seo Woo-jin stepped back a pace to spectate.
“Yeah, sounds good.”
Aileen apparently thought the same, folding her arms as she stood beside him.
And so a comedy of errors began.
* * *
Jo Jang-ho was buzzing with excitement.
He’d been a bit spooked earlier by the ruined village.
But once he confirmed the enemies were goblins, his confidence surged back.
‘I’ve killed dozens of those punks before!’
Compared to him, a level 23 A-rank, they were no better than bugs.
The thought of hunting them and bragging about it back home already had him pumped.
“Huh?”
He was about to swing his sword at a goblin whose eyes had widened upon spotting him.
Swoosh-!
Something sliced through the air, hurtling toward them.
‘A trap?’
Startled, Jo Jang-ho twisted his body and swung his blade.
Clang-clang-clang-!
Poison needles.
The kind that paralyzed you completely if they pierced you.
But that only worked if they could penetrate a hero’s skin.
“Hmph!”
Jo Jang-ho snorted and brought his sword down.
It was a show of confidence—he could tank as many poison needles as they threw.
“What’s this? Hiding, huh?”
“Look at these chumps trying to play smart, the tutorial trash mobs.”
The other heroes following behind him halted too, glaring at the goblins.
Seo Woo-jin had thought they knew and ignored it, but no.
The heroes genuinely hadn’t noticed the goblins hiding.
But they didn’t care.
“Kill them a……!”
Kieeeek-!
Jo Jang-ho, the highest ranker in the squad, was about to issue the order to attack.
Suddenly, the goblins let out shrieks and struck first.
“Such crude poison needles!”
Jo Jang-ho shouted as he swung his sword.
True to his Magic Swordsman class, gusts of wind erupted from the blade.
Wind Cutter.
The blades of air sliced through not just the poison needles, but the goblins and even the forest ahead—carving up anything in his path indiscriminately.
The frail things couldn’t block a Wind Cutter.
“See that? That’s what a hero—huh?”
Jo Jang-ho paused mid-boast, smug at the goblins dropping like flies.
Pew-pew-pew-pew-!
What he saw before him was an uncountable swarm of poison needles.
He was certain they couldn’t harm him.
He’d tank them bare-skinned, then follow up with magic to wipe the goblins out.
But that was a miscalculation.
“Aaack-!”
Jo Jang-ho screamed and collapsed.
“What the—why all of a sud—urk!”
“Kyaa!”
In an instant, all nine heroes went down.
Every one clutching their eyes……
* * *
“They got hit in the eyes?”
“Yeah.”
Goblins were cunning.
They’d always hunted monsters stronger than themselves.
There were records of them taking down orcs, kobolds—even ogres.
And these guys had charged straight into a deliberate trap.
‘Not falling for it would’ve been the surprise.’
The goblins’ poison needles seemed random, but they had intent.
Lull the enemy, scatter their focus, then strike unexpectedly.
A crude, simplistic tactic—but more than enough against these heroes.
Honestly, a little caution would’ve prevented it entirely.
These were powerhouses who could flatten knights without breaking a sweat.
“Lack of real combat experience is this dangerous, huh.”
If it were Seo Woo-jin, he’d have shielded his eyes the moment he saw the needles.
A hero’s body was tough, but eyeballs didn’t harden.
Once eyes were safe, he’d unleash the widest area attack to shatter their lines, then dive into the chaos.
Goblins wouldn’t stand a chance.
Even if they fired more needles, they’d risk friendly fire and be left charging with daggers.
Without tactics, Seo Woo-jin alone could butcher them all.
But these nine heroes, blinded by overconfidence, had walked right into disaster.
‘Should I just let them die?’
The heroes lay paralyzed on the ground.
Left like this, the goblins would slaughter them soon enough.
‘They might become enemies in the future anyway. Letting them go like this……’
Might not be so bad?
As Seo Woo-jin pondered, he glanced around.
“Tch.”
The knights were all staring at him.
Their eyes asking what he planned to do.
If Seo Woo-jin were an ordinary hero, he’d have jumped in to save them by now.
‘But I’m not a hero.’
No need to reveal his full strength.
“Aileen, handle it.”
“Me?”
She shot him a look like what the hell.
“Please.”
Aileen stared into his eyes for a moment, then nodded.
She figured he had his reasons.
“Alright, I’ll be right back.”
With that, she leaped into the goblin horde.
The goblins guarding that side panicked and unleashed a volley of needles, but she wasn’t some dimwitted hero.
Ting-ting-ting-!
Aileen ignored everything but the ones aimed at her eyes.
She knew they couldn’t pierce her armor anyway.
Then she swung her sword.
No fancy techniques—just raw power, and the goblins crumpled.
Wiping out dozens took only a few minutes.
“Good work.”
Aileen smirked at Seo Woo-jin’s praise.
It wasn’t even worth the compliment.
“Anyway, what about them?”
She pointed to the fallen heroes.
“You guys’ll have to help with that.”
Seo Woo-jin turned to the knights.
“We’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.”
The knights wordlessly hoisted the heroes.
The paralysis would wear off in a few hours, so they’d have to carry them in the meantime.
“Let’s head back.”
Seo Woo-jin decided to retreat once more.
“No more searching?”
“Too much for me alone. You all know I’m just D-rank.”
Low rank, low ability—time to call it quits.
The knights gave awkward smiles and nodded.
With all the other heroes down, a lone D-rank continuing the search wouldn’t look right.
Of course, they’d been humiliated the moment they fell to goblins.
“Let’s go back.”
Seo Woo-jin chuckled at the knights lugging the heroes, then started the return trip.
It was a mess.
Back at headquarters, the first thing Seo Woo-jin saw was heroes stiff as boards.
‘Our squad wasn’t the only one.’
It made sense.
No way the other squads had real combat vets either.
They’d pulled the same bonehead moves and gotten rescued by knights.
Still, not everyone was down.
“Mister! You okay? Wow, did you see those goblins? Just firing needles everywhere……”
One of the unscathed was Lee Ji-ah.
“Yeah. You alright?”
“Of course! After sparring with you every day, no way some needles take me down. Ahem.”
Just a week, but her daily beatings from Seo Woo-jin had honed her battle instincts.
She’d gotten into the habit of defending first.
“Da-hye’s fine too.”
Apparently, Kim Da-hye had summoned a massive shield the instant she spotted the needles.
It covered her from head to toe, blocked everything, then she charged and swept them clean.
‘Definitely versatile.’
Her combat power wasn’t huge, but the flexibility to handle any situation.
Used right, she’d be a major asset.
“Oh, and those kids over there are all safe too.”
Lee Ji-ah pointed to one side.
Naturally, the S-rank elites were gathered there.
‘Those guys really are on another level.’
Not just their ranks—they’d put in personal effort.
Unlike the others, they probably had real battle experience.
Did he sense Seo Woo-jin’s gaze?
‘Sword God’ Baek Si-woo turned and looked his way.
‘Damn…….’
He’d rather avoid them.
No telling what weird questions the guy would throw at him.
But defying Seo Woo-jin’s hopes, Baek Si-woo approached like he’d been waiting.
“Sigh.”
A glimpse of Sung Yu-ra’s sharp glare behind him drew another sigh.
“Long time no see.”
“…Yeah.”
“Sorry about that day. I get fixated and act without thinking……”
Baek Si-woo bowed his head in apology.
Seo Woo-jin had pegged him for a lunatic at first, but he had manners.
“It’s fine.”
Seo Woo-jin accepted with a faint smile.
No point holding a grudge.
“Good to see you unscathed. I was worried—everyone got hurt from letting their guard down.”
“Eh, I just hung back and watched.”
Not a lie.
“Then join us? The others will take hours to recover.”
Goblin paralysis lasted 3-5 hours typically.
“Where to……?”
Not like they were grabbing dinner.
“We found a goblin village. The longer we wait, the more damage they’ll cause. We’re heading out to wipe them now.”
Only about a dozen heroes were still fit.
The elites, Seo Woo-jin, Lee Ji-ah, Kim Da-hye, and a few others.
‘What to do?’
Clearing a goblin village would be a cakewalk for them.
That’s how strong they were.
Even without him, they’d manage.
Still, Seo Woo-jin hesitated, then nodded.
‘I’ll tag along and gauge their strength.’
It’d help him figure out how to handle them going forward.
“Sounds good.”