Chapter 175: Quiet Stubbornness

Chapter 175

Quiet Stubbornness

"Phew...I’d say this first fight went quite well." Ellie didn’t even count the battle with the Versekal as proper training for her little Apple because it didn’t contribute much to the fight—it was merely a decoy. With the help of the small spores while fighting with them, the Versekals’ transparency skills were rendered useless, making it no surprise that she fought smoothly.

However, her primary training target wasn’t the Versekals. Ellie chose the forest to the right to avoid interference from any ferocious beasts during her fights. From the start...she had been interested in fighting the goblins.

These creatures had human-like bodies, intelligence, and weren’t overwhelmingly powerful for her to handle. Importantly, some of them were level 1, while others were level 2. The ones she fought were only level 1 goblins who had been skulking around the city looking at her several times. They were essentially like a scouting unit.

Typically, the residents of different cities wouldn’t meddle with each other, considering the inherent strength of each race. However, goblins had a significant weakness: their lust. Because of this, Ellie wandered around casually, making them think she was an easy target.

If she was in the city, the goblins wouldn’t dare to do anything because of the Metises. How could the goblins match the strength of the Metises? The Metises were massive in size with thick trunks, making this forest like a death trap for the goblins. So, the moment they saw Ellie venture out, they were immediately consumed by greed.

They didn’t stop to think why the Metises would obey her commands. Instead, they rashly attacked, assuming she would be so careless and couldn’t handle the first strike.

Their plan was indeed clever. If it hadn’t been Ellie but someone else without high-level detection abilities, they might have been injured. Unfortunately for the goblins, they picked the wrong target...

The three goblins were dealt with by using poison and the attacks from their own specially crafted weapons. Although their weapons lacked the elegance of human-crafted ones, they were made from more high-quality materials than ordinary iron. After all, they were being crafted from 4th-floor resources; the iron ore the goblins smelted was of course superior to ordinary iron.

If a human weapon user stumbled upon these goblins, their weapons could be damaged when clashing with the goblin’s superior iron.

The goblin-occupied city was quite interesting, and Ellie knew that anyone who seized it would gain significantly. They might even become a major producer of level 1 or level 2 weapons in the world.

She knew who had the most potential right now. She also knew that Young Lord Owen wouldn’t overlook the goblin treasure trove. The reason he hadn’t taken over the surrounding cities yet might be because he wanted Ellie to use the time to train here. Perhaps when Ellie grew tired of practicing around here, he would conquer the surrounding cities and build his own new kingdom. After all, the nearby cities had many interesting resources.

Ellie stored the goblins’ weapons in her ring, then sent the little Apple back to the spirit dimension to rest, even though it didn’t show any signs of fatigue.

Using her speed, she ascended to a higher vantage point again. She disposed of the goblin corpses with the Purple Mushroom’s spores. It turned out that her little Purple Mushroom benefited the most from this hunt, absorbing the nutrients from the goblins, while the little Apple received only a small amount of energy from the fight. Since its poison wasn’t high-level and the goblins mostly died from their own weapons, it would be harder for the little Apple to level up compared to the Purple Mushroom.

Ellie hid in the tree, drawing her bow and waiting for the approaching goblins, using the spores to see them. The goblins brought 7 more reinforcements, a manageable number but still too many to take on directly. Ellie planned to take down 1 or 2 of them as soon as they arrived to avoid a major problem later. So, when she heard the “rustle” sound, she quickly released her arrow, just as 3 goblins appeared.

Whoosh!! Thud!!

“Kee!!!” One goblin screamed as it was hit hard in the shoulder. Ellie had aimed for its head, but her timing was slightly off. The goblin had moved quickly, but it paused slightly, so it was slower than she had calculated by 1 second, causing the arrow to hit its shoulder that protruded before its forehead.

“Kee!!” The goblins quickly grasped the situation as their comrade was attacked.

Whoosh!! Bang!!

One goblin raised its shield to block Ellie’s attack. The arrow, not very expensive, was easily deflected by the goblin’s special material shield. Ellie remained calm, exhaling before drawing another arrow, but this time it wasn’t just an ordinary one.

Whoosh!! Bang!! Puff!

Again, her arrow was deflected, but it had served its purpose. It dispersed a powder made from "Itchy Horse Grass," primarily used to handle horses.

Many times, the noble families used it on their horses as a form of discipline. As soon as a horse came into contact with Itchy Horse Grass, it would collapse, writhing and itching uncontrollably. The most terrifying aspect was the feeling of helplessness. When faced with excruciating pain, a creature might seek an escape through “death.”

However, when faced with an unreachable itch, what else could a creature do but scratch in torment? And what if they couldn’t reach the itch because it was internal, and the only remedy was medication? This was why nobles could use it to tame and frighten their beasts, even though it was a last resort. Nevertheless, it remained a widely used substance.

Ellie had acquired this herb from a shop in Gaia City. The merchant sold it to her as a last resort in case peaceful methods couldn’t control her pet. When she got it, it was already in powdered form. Rhea City wasn’t foolish enough to tell them what it was. They made it to be mysterious by adding herbs of various scents. But its real effect was simply causing intense itching.

On the first day she received it, Ellie infused it with botanic power, accelerating its growth immediately. Now she had 1 plot of this grass in her secret dimension, growing beautifully in lush green. If any beasts saw it, they would definitely feel itchy all over.

Actually, Ellie didn’t know if the herb’s powder worked on other species. She considered using it on the Metises but feared they’d think of her as a demon. So, she kept it until this crucial moment.

Using it on beasts like the Versekals would surely work, as the powdered herb’s description stated it was effective on all beast types, with varying degrees depending on the beast’s level. For levels 0-2, it shouldn’t be a problem. The grass was first found in a 4th-floor city, indicating its special potency.

Thus, the next test subjects, aside from beasts, were goblins. If they were affected, it would suggest it wasn’t just for beasts—it might even work on humans. Ellie planned to test this later. Despite her curiosity, she wasn’t about to experiment on herself!

“K-Ki, Kee, Kee!” It didn’t take long for the Itchy Horse Grass powder to spread around. The nearest goblin immediately sensed something wrong. Initially, it intended to throw stones or find a weapon to attack the human female from a distance since they saw her hiding in the tree. However, before it could reach for a stone, it dropped its weapon and started scratching itself all over.

“K-Kee!!!”

“Kee!!!” And then...the first goblin screamed, followed by the second, third, and fourth. They all screamed in unison, unable to stop their hands from scratching. The most intense itch of their lives made their bodies tremble, rendering them incapable of picking up their weapons. If they were mindless beasts, they might have torn at the itchy spots. But the goblins had enough sense to know that doing so would not just make them itch—they could die from it!

“K-Kee...” One goblin whimpered pitifully, tears streaming down its grotesque face. It felt a desperate urge to surrender. Whether it was the retribution or not, but they recalled the tears shed by the females they had captured... Wasn’t their current helpless suffering mirrored that of the women they had violated?

Who would have thought that this hunt would lead some goblins to an epiphany of truth? In a world where hunters didn’t know the meaning of “retribution,” they now experienced it in their final moments...

The petite girl didn’t care how they looked at her. She smiled in satisfaction. Who would have thought that witnessing the agonizing deaths of these disgusting goblins would bring Ellie so much happiness? She still shuddered at the memory of their leering eyes. If she were the prey instead of the hunter today, she couldn’t imagine how they would have laughed...

“Mmm, there are 7 of you, right? Then, I’ll leave 1 alive to observe the effects of the poison powder. Consider it a privilege for those who died peacefully, and condolences to the one who must endure more suffering for a while,”

Ellie said, lifting her knife. However, she suddenly thought it might be better to let her little Apple finish them off. If her little companion dealt the final blow, it would gain the rewards, and she hoped it would level up quickly.

With this thought, she summoned her little Blue Apple. It was slightly confused, not understanding why its master called it out when the enemies were already incapacitated. However, upon hearing her command, the frog-like Apple gradually expanded to a height of 1 meter and opened its mouth slowly, revealing a vine-like tongue.

The little Apple had learned from its previous encounter with the Versekals. It lashed out its tongue, wrapping it around a goblin and pulling it into its mouth. The goblin was terrified, unable to believe it was being swallowed alive one day. The tight grip of the vine left it no chance to escape. With its body weakened by the intense itching, all it could do was let out a desperate "Kee" for mercy. But would the stoic little Apple release it?

One by one, the goblins were swallowed into the larger-than-2-meter little Apple. Once it was full, it shrank back to the size of a palm and hopped onto Ellie’s shoulder, mimicking the Nocturnal Rabbit from earlier. Its impassive face made Ellie dare not send it back to the spirit dimension again.

It was unclear where the little Apple learned this behavior. Perhaps it envied that the Purple Mushroom could happily stayed outside all the time, so it didn’t want to return to the spirit dimension, or it could be when the Nocturnal Rabbit stayed close with their master. This led it to become quietly stubborn...

Ellie allowed it to do as it pleased, knowing she could send it back to the spirit dimension if she needed to keep Luke’s secret. For now, she let it enjoy its time outside.

The bombs on its back had reduced from 3 to 2 since it used one on the goblins earlier, making it seem slightly imperfect. Ellie patted its head a few times, noting its usual stoic expression. However, she could sense that the little Apple was feeling shy...

Not teasing it any further, Ellie let it have its time while she timed the effects of the Itchy Horse Grass patiently.

It seemed the powder’s effect lasted nearly half an hour. Additionally, the Itchy Horse Grass powder could be used repeatedly, making it a truly dangerous substance. No wonder it was so scarce and priced so highly, with just a thumb-sized amount costing several gold coins.

Balance was created by itself. If every herb could grow easily, this world would descend into chaos. The existence of Itchy Horse Grass was a testament to this. Its numbers were limited, it’s hard to cultivate, and there were antidotes that could counteract its effects completely. Hence, it’s not very effective against humans since low-level antidotes could neutralize it. Using it on humans would be a waste.

Otherwise, there would be no need for battles. Just scattering Itchy Horse Grass powder would be enough to conquer different kingdoms.

"Alright...it’s enough with the goblins for today. By the time they realize their comrades are missing, it’ll be a while. In the meantime, let’s go hunt other beasts," Ellie said to the little one on her shoulder, now taking the place of the Nocturnal Rabbit. The Blue Apple didn’t explicitly respond, but its ready-for-action demeanor was clear.

She found this little one truly endearing and thought others would feel the same—if not for the poisonous bombs it carried everywhere...