Gun Chapter 59: Stepping In (Patreon)

Wakasha stood before the entrance of the abandoned mine, brows slightly furrowed, fingertips lightly brushing the refined-iron dagger at his waist.

The stench from the entrance mixed with the reek of rotting flesh and rushed straight into his nose. Even though he had long grown used to the smell of monsters in the forest, he still had to hold his breath slightly. He did not step in rashly. Instead, he pushed his Perception to its limit. The sharp insight granted by 9 Perception spread out like an invisible net, instantly covering the ten meters around the mine entrance.

Faint footsteps came from just inside the entrance, accompanied by the goblins’ characteristic sharp, stupid whispers and the crisp sound of metal clashing. Clearly, the goblins had placed sentries at the entrance, and they were even equipped with crude weapons.

Wakasha slowly backed away and hid behind a massive black boulder, his figure completely swallowed by the shadows. At the same time, he stirred his mana, and the summoning marks on his wrists glowed with a faint purple light. Six semi-transparent Mage Servants quietly condensed beside him, their slender forms hovering soundlessly like ghosts.

“Go. Scout the first fifty meters inside the entrance. Check for traps. Mark the positions of goblin sentries. Do not alert them.”

Wakasha gave the command through mental power, his tone calm and utterly steady.

The six Mage Servants nodded slightly—probably?—then flickered forward like phantoms toward the mine entrance. Their figures gradually merged into the darkness without making a sound.

While waiting, Wakasha checked his gear again. The near-Bronze-grade black leather armor fit his body snugly, without the slightest looseness. The refined-iron dagger at his waist was razor-sharp, its anti-slip hemp-wrapped handle steady in his grip. The bag on his back was heavy, but the supplies, wound medicine, torches, and illumination stones inside were all neatly arranged and easy to reach. As for Deathbird, the twin guns would appear instantly with a single thought.

He took a deep breath and suppressed the slight heaviness in his heart. The mine’s interior was complex, full of traps, with fifty or sixty goblins plus an elite chief. This would absolutely be a hard fight. But he had no path of retreat. Whether for advancing to Bronze-rank adventurer or rescuing the villagers of Rockfall Village, he had to move forward.

About half a minute later, feedback from the Mage Servants’ scouting came back, clearly appearing in Wakasha’s mind.

Twenty meters inside the entrance, there were two goblin sentries hiding behind rocks on both sides. Each held a rusty iron spear. Their alertness was low, and they were currently whispering to each other with lowered heads.

Five meters before the sentries, there was a concealed trap. Loose gravel and dry grass covered the ground, and below it were sharp wooden stakes. If triggered, it would also release an ear-piercing alarm.

Farther in, the main tunnel extended straight ahead. Abandoned ore and broken mine carts were scattered along both sides. No other goblins had been found.

A cold light flashed in Wakasha’s eyes. With a thought, the pure black twin guns—Deathbird—appeared in his hands. The purple-gold crow patterns on the gun bodies shone with a cold gleam in the faint morning light, and two snow-white mental bullets condensed silently at the muzzles, wrapped in soft magic fluctuations.

He slowly peeked out, locking his gaze onto the two goblin sentries inside the entrance. EX-rank Precise Strike locked on instantly, and the vital points of the two goblins appeared clearly in his mind.

Their brains.

Although Wakasha could not see them directly from his current position, they were still perfectly clear within his perception.

Bang! Bang!

Two extremely muffled shots rang out, almost completely covered by the noisy goblin chatter inside the mine.

The two mental bullets shot out like meteors and, with absolute precision, struck the two goblins between the brows.

The goblins did not even have time to scream. Their bodies froze instantly, eyes still wide and faces still carrying the expressions they had worn mid-conversation. Then they slowly collapsed to the ground and lost all signs of life.

Wakasha did not pause. His figure flashed out from the shadow of the boulder like a hunting cat and quickly rushed into the mine.

His movements were light and swift. His footsteps made no sound, and the quality of his leather armor was good enough that it produced no friction noise at all. The moment he entered the mine, the light dimmed sharply. The cold, damp smell in the air grew stronger, and the goblin stench became even more pungent.

He did not light a torch right away. Instead, relying on his perception and the guidance of the Mage Servants, he carefully avoided the trap.

Beside the two goblin corpses, one Mage Servant was using the refined-iron dagger to cut off their left ears. Although the commission only required twenty, collecting more could still be exchanged for extra bounty at the guild.

Wakasha had no time to do such things himself now, and this was exactly where the Mage Servants proved useful.

He signaled for the Mage Servant to store the severed goblin ears somewhere safe. With a slight movement of his fingers, the six light-shadows lined up neatly on either side of him like loyal guards.

The inside of the mine was pitch black. Only the faint morning light from the entrance barely illuminated the few meters ahead. Droplets of water clung to the damp rock walls, falling with soft tap-tap sounds that echoed through the empty tunnel, making the place feel especially eerie.

He did not light a torch. The sharp awareness brought by 9 Perception was enough for him to clearly capture every movement within ten meters: cracks in the rock walls, gravel on the ground, and even the low growls of goblins farther away. Everything appeared in his mind like an image.

Wakasha lowered his body, moving as lightly as a civet cat as he slowly advanced along the main tunnel. The tiny sounds made by his leather armor and clothes were perfectly covered by the dripping water inside the mine.

The main tunnel was wider than he had expected, wide enough for two goblins to walk side by side. Broken mine cart remains and shattered ore were scattered along both sides. Some of the ore still had dark red bloodstains on them, likely left behind by previous adventurers or villagers.

After walking about fifty meters, the tunnel ahead became narrower. The goblin stench in the air grew even thicker, now mixed with a faint smell of gunpowder—probably from the crude fire-oil bottles the goblins used.

Wakasha stopped. His perception spread instantly, clearly catching three goblins about thirty meters ahead. They were squatting on the ground, gathered around a worn clay jar and whispering to each other. In their hands were rusty iron knives and wooden spears, and they looked like they were dividing up food.

On the rock wall behind them hung several crude oil lamps. The dim yellow light illuminated a small area, also exposing their position.

What made him more cautious was the faint scratch mark on the ground beside the three goblins, extending to the bottom of the rock wall. That was the trigger mechanism for a trap. Judging from the mine’s layout, it was most likely a falling-rock trap. Once triggered, loose stones overhead would pour down and bury the target.

Wakasha did not act rashly. Instead, he gave orders to the Mage Servants beside him through mental power.

“Two on the left, circle behind the goblins and restrain the one on the far right. Two in the middle, trigger the trap mechanism without alerting the others. Two on the right, coordinate with me to kill the remaining two.”

The six Mage Servants nodded slightly, then flickered away like ghosts, their invisible forms almost impossible to detect in the dim tunnel.

The two on the left moved slowly along the rock wall, silent and unseen. Before long, they had circled behind the goblins and hovered quietly, waiting for the order.

The two in the middle crept toward the trap mechanism, their slender light-shadow hands lightly resting on the trigger device.

Meanwhile, Wakasha tightened his grip on Deathbird. Mental bullets condensed at both muzzles, and EX-rank Precise Strike instantly locked onto the vital points of two goblins.

“Now.”

As Wakasha’s mental command fell, the two central Mage Servants pressed down on the trap mechanism.

Click.

A soft sound rang out. The rock overhead immediately loosened, and gravel poured down like rain.

The three goblins shrieked in fear and tried to dodge in the chaos, but it was too late. The goblin on the far right was firmly restrained by the two Mage Servants on the left and could not move. It was instantly struck by the falling stones and let out a miserable scream before dying on the spot.

The other two goblins avoided most of the stones, but they were still dazed and knocked stumbling to the ground.

Wakasha seized the opportunity and gently pulled the triggers.

Bang! Bang!

Two muffled shots rang out. Two mental bullets struck their brains with perfect precision, giving them no chance to resist.

The Mage Servants immediately moved forward, quickly cutting off the left ears of all three goblins and placing them with the previous two. Then they cleared away the gravel from the ground, revealing the sharp wooden stakes beneath the trap. If he had not noticed it beforehand and stepped on it carelessly, even a class-holder could have had his foot pierced or injured badly enough to lose or impair mobility.

Wakasha stepped forward and checked the goblin corpses. He found that the cloth pouches at their waists contained some moldy wheat cakes and a small number of copper coins—clearly the goblins’ food and savings.

He paid no attention to the copper coins, only having the Mage Servants collect the pouches. Perhaps once he got back to the guild, they could be exchanged for a small reward.

Continuing deeper into the tunnel for about another hundred meters, he reached the first fork, exactly as marked on the map. The left path led to the abandoned mining area, while the right path led deeper into the mine.

Wakasha stopped and pushed his perception to its limit, carefully probing both paths.

From the left path came faint goblin whispers and the sound of ore clashing. Within his perception, there were about five goblins, all with weak presences—probably ordinary goblins. There were no obvious trap fluctuations around them.

From the right path came denser goblin snarls mixed with the sound of metal striking metal. The presences there were stronger too. There were at least a dozen goblins, and among them was one aura much stronger than an ordinary goblin’s—probably a goblin squad leader or something similar.

“Clear the mining area on the left first, to avoid being attacked from both front and rear.”

Wakasha calculated silently. If he went deep into the right path first, the goblins on the left could very likely sneak up from behind. If that happened, he would be attacked from both sides. Even as a Level 1 Demon-Hunting Gunner, he would be forced into a disadvantageous position.

He signaled for the Mage Servants to scout ahead while he followed behind, slowly advancing along the left path.

The left tunnel was narrower than the main passage. On both sides were abandoned mining pits filled with scattered ore and broken tools. The dust in the air was thicker than in the main tunnel, enough to make one want to cough.

After walking about thirty meters, the mine pit ahead opened into a small mining field. Five goblins were gathered around a mine cart, striking ore with iron pickaxes. It looked like they were mining ore, perhaps to make traps or weapons.

Their alertness was extremely low. They were focused only on their work and had not noticed Wakasha or the Mage Servants at all.

Wakasha did not waste time. With a thought, Deathbird appeared again in his palms. The pure black gun bodies gleamed coldly, and the purple-gold crow patterns flickered in and out within the dim tunnel.

His fingers moved slightly as he stirred mana, loading Mage Hand into the mental bullets. Two bullets wrapped in faint white halos condensed at the muzzles. Mage Hand’s precision effect would let him maintain perfect accuracy even in this dark environment, without worrying about bullet deviation.

The five goblins only kept hammering away at the ore with their iron pickaxes. The clanging echoed through the mining field, and they were completely unaware that danger had arrived.

They were short, with gray-black skin, tattered animal hides on their bodies, and ugly scars all over their faces. They muttered stupidly from time to time. Their rusty pickaxes rose and fell awkwardly, each strike clumsy and laborious.

Wakasha lowered his body and silently circled to the side of the mining field, using a large piece of ore as cover. At the same time, he gave orders to the Mage Servants through mental power.

“Three on the left, restrain the goblin on the far left, the one in the middle, and the one on the far right. Don’t kill them. Just restrict their movement. Three on the right, circle behind the mining field and block their escape route.”

The six semi-transparent light-shadows flickered and silently spread out like ghosts, moving between the abandoned mine pits.

The three Mage Servants on the left slowly approached the goblins. Their slender hands lightly rested on the goblins’ shoulders, and invisible force instantly bound their movements.

The goblins froze, terror appearing on their faces. They wanted to swing their pickaxes and resist, only to find that their bodies could not move at all. All they could do was let out sharp hisses, but under the mental pressure of the Mage Servants, even those voices became weak and hoarse.

The three Mage Servants on the right quickly circled behind the mining field, hovering at the passage entrance and forming an invisible barrier that completely cut off the goblins’ retreat.

Seeing this, Wakasha tightened his grip on Deathbird and slowly peeked out. EX-rank Precise Strike instantly locked onto the five restrained goblins, and the vital points of each appeared clearly in his mind.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five extremely soft muffled shots rang out in succession, almost covered completely by the sounds of pickaxes striking ore and the goblins’ weak hisses.

Five mental bullets wrapped in pale white halos shot out like meteors and struck the foreheads of all five goblins with perfect accuracy, giving them no chance to resist.

The goblins’ hisses stopped instantly. Their eyes remained wide, their faces still carrying terror, as their bodies slowly collapsed to the ground and lost all signs of life.

The Mage Servants immediately moved forward, quickly severed the five goblins’ left ears, and placed them with the rest. Then they cleaned up the bloodstains and dragged the goblin corpses into a corner deep inside the mining pit, preventing other goblins from discovering them during the later stages of the operation.

Wakasha stepped forward and checked the mining field. He found that large amounts of iron ore and a small amount of copper ore were scattered here, along with several rusty mining tools and a battered old mine cart.