In the early morning on the edge of Croma province, Zarba and his group have finally arrived at the Great Zasa jungle that is filled with yellowish flora and dangerous fauna, which separates the Croma and Zenobia provinces, as the group stops the carriage and takes a break on the outskirts of the jungle after long hours of travel on the carriage through the night. They are going to recuperate and resupply here for a day, and then the group is going to continue traveling through the jungle to Zenobia.
After the Zar-Bros cleared out the area as they made a camp, some of them also moved into the jungle to hunt and forage for food while the Pro-Maids prepared breakfast and did laundry for the trio who were coming down from the carriage to wash their faces and brush their teeth with natural toothbrushes that were made from an herbal plant called the white mint, which just looks like normal mint but bigger and, well, white. This white mint is a plant that has many benefits and can grow really fast, like a weed, and can be found all over the middle continent where the Great Golden Empire is.
Nadia, who was dressed in a white linen shirt and purple pareo skirt over her bikini that she borrowed from Zarba and Xin, glanced at the reincarnated prince with a little blush on her cheeks as he was brushing his teeth next to her with Xin, who was also brushing her teeth absentmindedly by his side, still sleepy.
"Hmm?" Zarba felt the glance on him and turned his face to see Nadia, who quickly looked away as she felt embarrassed. He smirked a little as he noticed that the muscular woman has been acting like a young maiden in love for quite a while now, and Zarba felt his ego become inflated since she is like this because of him.
What really happened is the two of them, Nadia and Zarba, had finally taken the last step and smashed each other for ten chapters long a few days ago after Nadia couldn't hold herself back any more and let herself go completely one night under the two perverts' persistent teasing as Zarba kept her company for the entire night until she lost consciousness and fell asleep on top of him.
The muscular woman has now become quite confused and embarrassed about that and doesn't know how to treat her first man and her enslaver. It's giving her quite a dilemma, as she didn't exactly have an option to refuse him, but she also doesn't hate it as much as she thought she would when they made love...
Xin, who had watched everything unfold by her husband's side at that time, felt quite pleased as their slave finally showed a sign of being tame. The smut books she has read thus far have not disappointed her, as pleasure and affection are really effective against this type of woman who only knows about fighting.
When they are done with the morning ritual, the three of them separate as Nadia goes to her greatsword and starts to swing it around to get her mind off things, and Xin just takes her spot on the picnic blanket with the two summoned maids combing her long raven hair and manicuring her fingernails as she watches Zarba walking towards the jungle with two of his Zar-Bros accompanying him to scout ahead.
They are about to move into Zenobia, where the possibility of the Duke Habanero's assassins and greedy mercenaries waiting to ambush them is very high, according to the letter from Seraphina, so it's wise to scout out the path ahead.
There's also some small concern for the monsters and dangerous fauna inside the jungle, but they can only be an inconvenience at best with the powerful combatants of their group unless an actual dragon-level threat pops up, of course…
"It's always fighting and fighting after we escaped the capital…" Xin mused as she wanted to sigh at their circumstance of having to rush out of the empire. After they managed to leave the empire territory, she hoped that they could take it easy and spend more time visiting different towns and cities to look around the new places and try new foods and unique delicacies.
The half-elf really wants to travel around like she is on honeymoon with her husband, it seems…
÷×÷×÷
Inside the Great Zasa jungle, the yellow leaves reflect the sunlight and make the jungle glow like it is made of gold as Zarba in his hunter getup glances around for any sign of a living creature. He could feel the temperature of the jungle was pretty warm but not very humid since they were still at the outer area of the jungle.
Zarba and the other two Zar-Bros continue to move through the dense vegetation of the jungle carefully as the Zar-Bro in front of him uses the Excellent to cut vines and bushes like a machete to open a path for the two behind him.
The constant cries of birds and some animals from the distance keep Zarba alert as he wades through the bushes and tall grasses behind his summoned unit. Sometimes some big-ass bugs and snakes come out, but the summoned unit just cuts them apart or smacks them out of the way with his short sword.
The three of them walk deeper inside the jungle for half an hour before they finally come across a group of goblins, the child-sized, green-skinned humanoid monsters with primitive clothes and improvised weapons sitting around the small clearing as they eat the bloody meat of some animal carcass that they had probably hunted before the Zarba group stumbled upon them.
'This is the first time I've seen them…' Zarba thought as he peeked at the group of goblins feasting while making animalistic growls and laughing like a hyena behind the tree and bushes ten meters away from them with curiosity. They are pretty ugly and scrawny, just like he had heard from the other people who have seen them.
'There must be a nest nearby…' Zarba came to a conclusion while he counted the goblins, as this group had twenty-six goblins, too large for them to be just a stray monster group. That means the goblin nest must have a couple of goblin brood mother variants, a genuine threat for the villages and travelers if left alone for a long time, as they can pop out a dozen new goblins at a time per month, forming a large raiding horde or actual monster army.
'Might as well kill them now before they spot my camp and run back to alert the other goblins…' Zarba decided to get rid of them as he summoned ten more Zar-Bros around him before he commanded them to sneak out to encircle the goblins' position. He is going to hit them hard from every direction with a volley of arrows and then quickly charge at them before they can realize what is going on.
The goblin is individually weak, just like a twelve-year-old child, so it doesn't pose much of a threat to the Zar-Bros, who are heavily armored and never get tired. It's going to be a quick fight, as the goblins didn't have any metal on them from Zarba's observation.
While the goblins are enjoying their food, the Zar-Bros are creeping around them quietly behind the vegetation as they slowly surround the goblins' position. If they are normal humans, this might not work, as the goblins have pretty good noses that can sniff out human sweat, but the Zar-Bros can't sweat, so that's irrelevant.
Zarba calmly watches as the summoned ranger knights get into position while he readies his bow before he nocks an arrow and waits for the perfect moment to start the surprise attack.
The goblins are still oblivious to the danger, laughing and fighting over scraps of meat like filthy savages. One particularly ugly goblin screeches as he is about to lose and bites another's ear off, making the others howl with laughter.
Then a sharp whistle from Zarba's lips cuts through the jungle noise, startling all of the goblins, who stop what they are doing and look around for the sound, not realizing that it is the signal to attack.
Instantly, arrows cut through the air from all sides in a synchronized volley. The goblins barely have time to react before half their number drop, bodies jerking unnaturally as projectiles punch through their vital spots. The survivors cried out in alarm and scattered like startled rats, tripping over carcasses and each other, their shrieks rising in pitch.
The first attack is successful; not a single arrow misses.
Zarba exhales through his nose, already nocking another arrow while the Zar-Bros charge out of their hiding spots, blades gleaming under the jungle's golden light. They advance without hesitation, forming a tightening circle around the panicked goblins.
One goblin, faster than the rest, makes a desperate lunge toward a gap in the foliage in hope of escaping—only for a Zar-Bro's sword to sever its neck mid-leap as its head flies off.
Seeing that they are surrounded and have no way to escape, the remaining goblins turn feral, hissing and growling as they use their crude weapons to threaten the Zar-Bros before they charge to attack. Their movements are frantic and chaotic—no discipline, no formation whatsoever.
Zarba, who is staying out of the melee, releases his second arrow, watching it skewer one of the goblins through the throat mid-charge. Blood sprays from the goblin's neck, painting the yellow grasses crimson.
Then the Zar-Bros step forward, ready to clash as they let the lunging goblins impale themselves on their short swords. Most stop, but some of the foolish ones that actually impaled themselves gurgle, clawing at the blade embedded in their gut before the Zar-Bros kick their small bodies off. Blood and intestines from the kicked goblins splatter across the surrounding area, steaming in the humid air.
The fight dissolves quickly into butchery within seconds, just as expected, as the Zar-Bros carve through the goblins' pathetic weapons easily, their movements almost casual—no wasted movement, no unnecessary dramatic pose.
A desperate goblin leaps onto one of the Zar-Bros' backs, biting and hitting savagely at his helmet, only to be yanked off by another Zar-Bro and hurled into a tree a moment later. The impact leaves the goblin stunned before a boot stomps on its face against the ground, and then a blade pierces its chest, killing it after.
Zarba remains at his position, bowstring cracking as he picks off the remaining goblins. His fingers are slick with sweat now as the jungle's heat seems to intensify with the slaughter.
The goblins' frantic squeals thin out, replaced by the wet thuds of steel meeting bone and flesh. One particularly brawny goblin—perhaps a leader of this group—snarls and charges a Zar-Bro, wielding a femur studded with jagged teeth, but the goblin's charge is proven useless as the summoned unit just sidesteps the incoming goblin effortlessly before he counterattacks by driving his short sword up through the creature's jaw. The goblin's eyes bulge as the tip erupts from the top of its skull, its body instantly going limp and hanging on the sword.
"That's the last of them..." Zarba muttered as he surveyed the small clearing now littered with the green-skinned monster corpses while the Zar-Bros methodically checked each body, ensuring none feigned death as the goblins' blood seeped into the ground beneath their lifeless bodies.
"Guess I'll look around some more before going back to the camp." Zarba said as he lowered his bow and mentally commanded two Zar-Bros to follow him to continue scouting the jungle and dismissed the rest.
÷×÷×÷
"Hmm? I feel like I missed a fight…" Back at the camp, Nadia stops swinging her greatsword as she turns towards the jungle with a frown…