The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 8: New Adventurer Bern (6). Swift and Decisive

Bern and Blanca’s first priority was reconnaissance.

They couldn’t start a battle without knowing the enemy’s numbers, strength, and the exact location of their base.

Bern’s keen senses allowed him to precisely detect the goblins patrolling the area. At the same time, he remained undetected, observing them from a distance.

“...Are goblins usually this organized?”

“Of course not. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Surprisingly, the goblins weren’t wandering aimlessly, searching for food at random.

They always moved in groups of at least four, minimizing the chance of unexpected mishaps. Even if some of them were killed, the survivors would immediately alert the others.

Wild animals like boars and bears, which °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° would normally be difficult for goblins to hunt, sometimes fought back and repelled them. However, when the goblins called for reinforcements and overwhelmed their prey with sheer numbers, even those creatures fell.

Instead of eating their kills on the spot, the goblins cut them into manageable portions and carried them somewhere.

They did the same with everything—fruits, fish, even the corpses of their own kind that had died in the hunt.

Watching them meticulously recover every usable resource, Blanca felt a chill run down her spine.

The closer they got to the center of the territory, the more frequently they spotted goblins. Meanwhile, traces of other living creatures disappeared.

If the goblins had consumed plants and insects as well, the entire region would have been a wasteland by now.

Additionally, the quality of their equipment noticeably improved as they neared the heart of the goblin domain.

The goblins on the outskirts had crude stone axes and clothes that were nothing more than rags tied together with string.

In contrast, the ones they saw now carried spears with sharpened metal tips and wore stitched garments.

Their base was a large cave, with at least ten goblins standing guard at the entrance.

Bern lowered his voice.

"Even well-guarded manors rarely have more than one or two sentries, yet these goblins have guards to spare."

"Is this really the time for jokes? With that many guards, sneaking in one by one is impossible."

"What about wiping them out with magic?"

Blanca hesitated before answering.

"Low-tier spells won’t be enough. A mid-tier spell could do it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Burning half my mana before we even know how many enemies are inside is too risky. Plus, fire magic is loud—it’ll attract the rest in no time."

Bern was impressed.

Blanca’s composure and logical reasoning exceeded his expectations.

He himself had no doubts about handling this, even in the worst-case scenario. He could at least ensure her safety.

But she was different.

She didn’t know the extent of his abilities, meaning she had to consider the possibility of failure.

She was also aware of what losing to goblins entailed—and how horrific that fate would be.

Most people would either panic and give up, or rely entirely on Bern without thinking for themselves.

But Blanca did neither.

She clearly stated what she could and couldn’t do, and she gave rational explanations for each decision.

A truly competent individual.

Honestly, at this level, she should be recruited into—

...No, that’s not right.

Bern immediately shut down the "Crown Prince mindset" that had surfaced in his thoughts.

Right now, he wasn’t the prince of an empire.

He was an adventurer.

It would be strange for an adventurer to look at a colleague and think, "Ah, I should recruit her for my side and put her to work."

Role-playing. Stay in character.

After taking a quiet breath, Bern spoke.

"You’re right. It’s best to conserve magic for now. We’ll need it later."

"Then what’s the plan?"

"No tricks are necessary. The goblins are already making things easy for us."

Blanca furrowed her brows in confusion.

As if responding to her silent question, Bern explained.

"A large number of guards doesn’t always mean good security."

"What?"

"Take a good look at them."

More than ten goblins loitered around the entrance.

But very few were actually paying attention to their surroundings.

Some leaned against the walls, dozing off.

Others idly played with the sand using their spears.

A few simply stood in groups, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

"They've already wiped out most dangerous creatures nearby. On top of that, there are so many of them that they assume someone else will stay vigilant. Even if they were human, maintaining focus in this situation would be difficult—let alone goblins, who are impulsive and childish by nature."

Whoever had ordered them to stand guard had probably witnessed human sentries during a raid and recognized the concept’s usefulness.

However, they hadn’t understood that too many guards can reduce efficiency rather than improve it.

"I’ll give you a signal. When that happens, count to ten and fire a flame spell into the air where the goblins can see it. The weakest one will do."

"Got it."

"Now."

The moment Bern finished speaking, he dashed forward.

Not a single leaf rustled as he moved through the underbrush.

How was he running so fast without making a sound?

Even as the thought crossed Blanca’s mind, she had already begun counting.

She prepared a low-tier flame spell—"Burning Wood."

It wasn’t nearly powerful enough to kill multiple goblins at once.

But as a distraction, it would do just fine.

Three seconds until casting.

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A stone suddenly flew from the darkness, striking two of the goblins who had actually been paying attention.

Two seconds until casting.

They collapsed with a thud, drawing the attention of those who had been idly chatting or playing in the sand.

One second until casting.

Confusion spread among the goblins.

Just as their uncertainty began to shift toward alertness—

Now.

The flames from Blanca’s hand lit up the air, instantly drawing the goblins’ attention.

Bern didn’t miss his moment.

He leaped from the underbrush, closing the distance in an instant.

The goblins, distracted, didn’t even register his presence before their heads were severed.

Even the ones dozing off were executed before they had a chance to wake.

It was a display of pure speed—lightning-fast, effortless.

Bern turned toward the thicket.

“You can come now.”

“...Do you even need my help?”

It felt like he could’ve just thrown rocks or charged in alone and still taken them all down.

Bern didn’t bother pretending otherwise.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“I probably had a 90% chance of succeeding alone.”

“Then why involve me?”

“Because it’s better to be sure than to roll the dice and lose. You should never put too much faith in luck.”

“You sound just like those gamblers who ruin their lives.”

Bern merely shrugged.

Technically, the dice he used to play with weren’t for gambling, but there was no need to explain.

“Are we cleaning up the bodies?”

“No. If they return and find nothing, they’ll be just as suspicious. It’d be a waste of time.”

“Then wait a moment.”

Bern tilted his head as Blanca pulled out what looked like dried grass from her bag. She scattered it near the entrance, then moved back a safe distance before setting it ablaze.

“It’s called Green Hunter. Goblins and orcs—any monster with green skin—hate the smell. They usually won’t go near it unless they have no choice.”

“Then why not cover ourselves in it? If goblins avoid the scent, wouldn’t that make them reluctant to approach us?”

“That would just make it easier for them to track us. Besides, if they’re too agitated, it won’t work anyway. It’s useless in combat.”

Bern nodded in understanding.

Three years as an adventurer wasn’t for nothing.

With that done, he took the lead and moved forward.

As they advanced deeper into the cave, their strategy remained simple:

Spot the enemy first. Strike first. Take them down before they could react.

Repeat.

Simple, but not easy.

If it were, there wouldn’t be a need for guards or patrols anywhere.

Blanca knew that the only reason this insane assault was working was because of Bern’s overwhelming physical ability.

It’s like he sees twice as far as I do. And his throws... the power behind them is ridiculous.

Still, no matter how sharp his senses were, there were situations where that wouldn’t be enough.

A three-way fork in the tunnel stopped their momentum.

Without knowing where each path led, they risked getting lost inside.

Bern turned to Blanca.

“What would a normal adventurer do in this situation?”

“A normal adventurer wouldn’t even attempt a goblin nest with just two people. But... if I had to answer, the best move would be to block off some of the paths.”

“To avoid getting flanked from behind while advancing?”

“Exactly.”

“How would they do that?”

“If there are obstacles, they’d use them. If they have enough teammates, some would stay behind to guard. If neither is an option, they just burn the tunnel.”

“So for us, the last option is the only one.”

“Except that depends on the cave structure. If the air circulation is bad, we’d suffocate along with them.”

“Can magic help?”

“I’ve heard of spells for that, but I don’t have any. The only magic I know is two fire spells, one for body reinforcement, and one for healing. You think spells are easy to learn?”

She grumbled about how she had to spend a fortune just to learn a mid-tier fire spell.

[Must be tough for a prince who had an entire court of retainers ready to hand him any spell he wanted.]

Ignoring Lucidra’s mocking, Bern considered their options.

The cave didn’t have wooden furniture to burn, and stacking goblin corpses wouldn’t create a proper barricade.

Splitting up was out of the question.

Bern himself would survive, but Blanca...

Fire was also out.

That left only one option.

“We have to move fast.”

“Agreed. ...But what are you doing?”

Bern crouched with his back facing her.

“Get on.”

“Are you insane?”

“Matching your speed would slow us down. Carrying you is faster. I only need one arm, so I can still fight. You can also cast spells while I run. Think of yourself as a mobile turret.”

“Excuse me?! How close do you think we are for you to say that?!”

“Relax. I don’t get desperate enough to lust after my teammates in the middle of battle.”

“Wow. That’s so reassuring.”

Blanca grumbled, but she wasn’t foolish enough to keep arguing when speed was crucial.

With a deep sigh, she climbed onto his back.

“From now on, you’re my artillery.”

“I swear, I’ll shoot a fireball straight into your mouth if you don’t shut up.”

“Alright then. You don’t even need to hold on—I’ll keep you steady.”

And with that—

The two of them shot forward like an arrow.