At that moment, the large wild boar seemed to sense something was wrong in the distance. It squealed and hurried back. Robert Miller quickly ran away, hiding far off, watching as the wild boar roared in anger. Then, a few little wild boars emerged from their hiding places and caught up.

The big wild boar circled around the dead piglet, letting out a mournful cry. After that, it trampled the goblin corpses for a while, making Robert Miller break out in a cold sweat. Then, the big wild boar led the remaining piglets away from the area.

"Good, they've finally left!" Robert Miller said, then hurried down and began to scalp the goblin corpses. Goblin scalps were worth five silver coins each!

He had thought about throwing away the goblin corpses—after all, in this world, people generally don't eat the corpses of intelligent beings, and goblins do count as intelligent life!

Of course, that's only under normal circumstances. In abnormal situations, things can't be generalized.

However, after thinking it over, Robert Miller still put both the wild boar and the goblin corpses into his space. The goblin corpses were buried underground, where the space would quickly decompose them. "Hmm, when I get to the town gate, I have to take out the wild boar and the goblin scalps first, or people will get suspicious. Five scalps equal twenty-five silver coins!"

Since it wasn't safe in the forest, as soon as he finished, he immediately withdrew. As he walked, the yellow wind blew, the swaying leaves rustled, and a faint mist drifted among the trees.

Sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering golden flecks on the ground. These weak rays of light were especially precious in the dim forest, allowing him to see the plants on the ground. Suddenly, a flash startled him.

He stepped forward and found a short sword beside a pine tree.

This short sword wasn't made of ordinary iron—it seemed to be steel, and was much sharper. There was still some fresh blood on it.

At once, he remembered the notice posted by the town mayor about goblin murders.

Could this be the short sword of the deceased?

But if it was goblins, why didn't they take it? Goblins crave iron or steel weapons; if they killed someone, they would never leave a weapon behind.

Maybe it was killed by a wild beast—that was very possible, since beasts don't need weapons. As for the blame falling on goblins, maybe it was just because goblins had been seen nearby, so the crime was pinned on them.

The sun was setting. Robert Miller picked up the short sword, already having a plan in mind. He decided not to visit Master Jeff today, but to bring this and the goblin scalps to town. However people wanted to interpret it, that was up to them. Then he headed toward the town.

It wasn't long before the stone walls of Lika Town came into view. Robert Miller walked along the wall, and as he neared the gate, seeing no one around, he quickly took a piglet and five bloody goblin scalps out of his space.

Chapter 7: Reward (Part 1)

"Oh, is that little Robert Miller?" As he turned to the gate, the town guard Scott Miller, an acquaintance, greeted him. "Hey, what happened to your clothes?"

Robert Miller glanced at the tear in his clothes and said, "Ah, what bad luck! I was hunting in the forest today and got attacked by some goblins!"

"Ugh, damn goblins. Ah, a piglet!"

This piglet weighed about thirty jin. Robert Miller grinned, patted the short sword at his waist, and boasted a little, "Luckily, I have some skills. I even got this—I'll cut off a leg!"

Robert Miller often came and went from the town and was familiar with the town guards. After all, there were only fifty in the whole squad, and Scott Miller was one of them. Sharing some meat was, of course, good for building relationships.

Guard Scott Miller was delighted and said, "Great, I'll take a hind leg then."

"Oh, right, where do I claim the bounty for goblin scalps?" Robert Miller cut off a hind leg for him with the short sword. He was about to go claim the reward but didn't know who was in charge, so he asked casually.

The guard was busy with his own things, his hands moving as he replied, "You can find our vice squad leader Donna Carter, or someone else."

Then, he lowered his voice mysteriously, "But it's best not to go to the squad leader."

Robert Miller was curious and wanted to ask more, but the guards were already calling out, getting ready to switch shifts and go rest.

"That's always how the guards are," Robert Miller complained inwardly, but kept a calm face.

Robert Miller walked in by himself, thinking about dinner. He hadn't gone far when someone called out from behind, "Wait a moment."

He turned and saw it was the squad leader of these guards—a tall man, one of the four squad leaders, Richard Carter.

"Is there something you need?" Robert Miller asked, feeling he had a clear conscience, but still a bit puzzled.

Richard Carter didn't speak, his sharp eyes fixed on Robert Miller. He glanced at the piglet and let it go, but kept staring at the short sword. After a while, he asked, "You were attacked by goblins in the forest today, and got this short sword?"