The leading goblin raised its broad-bladed cleaver over its head, the purple runes etched into the blade suddenly flaring to life. It let out a raspy battle cry, and the goblins behind it surged toward Roger's group.
The other two elite warriors each led a small squad of infantry, flanking them from both sides.
Stine did not stand by and wait for them to complete the encirclement. He immediately led a portion of the retainers to charge the leading goblin. His objective was clear: take down the frontal threat before the flanking forces could close in.
Sword clashed violently with cleaver, sending sparks and fragments of light spraying into the air. The leading goblin was forced back half a step by the blow, but it instantly steadied its footing and forced Stine back with a backhand sweep.
At that exact moment, Roger's arrow left his bowstring, flying straight for the leading goblin's right eye.
The goblin jerked its head aside at the last second, and the arrow grazed its cheek, leaving a bloody gash.
Roaring, it swung its blade, sending a purple arc of light toward where the arrow had come from. Roger, having already activated Windwalk, sidestepped to dodge. The blade energy slammed into his previous position, blasting a charred crack into the rocky ground.
“This thing is even tougher than the one at Fort Morris,” Roger cursed inwardly. Without pausing, he nocked a second arrow.
Irene charged toward the left flank with her sword raised, colliding head-on with the first flanking elite warrior halfway there.
The harsh screech of clashing blades echoed briefly off the rock face. This elite warrior's strength was a notch below the leader's, but it was faster, wielding its heavy cleaver like a nimble scimitar to unleash three consecutive slashes from different angles.
Irene blocked the first three strikes. She deflected the fourth by angling the flat of her blade, then immediately delivered a backhand thrust into the opponent's shoulder.
The elite warrior grunted and retreated, but it quickly raised its cleaver again and launched a second fierce assault.
On the right flank, the final elite warrior pressed forward at the same time. The soldiers' shield wall was breached during the initial impact, but they held their ground with all their might, thrusting their spears frantically through the gaps to barely keep the creature at bay.
Roger glanced at the situation on the right flank out of the corner of his eye, then opened his right hand as Chain Lightning condensed in his palm.
A blue-white electrical arc shot from his fingertips, striking the elite warrior locked in combat with the retainers.
The arc jumped from its body to the surrounding minion goblins, bouncing repeatedly through the dense ranks as agonized screams filled the air.
“Points +600, Total: 3,100.”
When the electricity finally dissipated, the elite warrior was down on one knee, the runes on its chest mostly faded, but it had not yet fallen.
Drawing his Windwood Bow, Roger decided to seize the opportunity while the elite warrior was crippled by the Chain Lightning to finish it off quickly, secure the kill, and then refocus his firepower on the leading goblin.
He released the bowstring, sending three arrows wrapped in swirling air currents slicing through the wind.
However, the elite warrior suddenly looked up and rolled to the side, causing the arrows to thud harmlessly into the ground. It then sprang back up and lunged toward Roger's position.
Roger hastily activated 【Iron Wall】 just as the elite warrior's cleaver slashed toward his face in the next instant. A powerful force transferred through, jarring him back several steps and leaving his head spinning slightly.
“Iron Wall has increased to Lv4.”
Regaining his footing, Roger began using the speed advantage of Windwalk to circle around, maintaining his distance from the elite warrior while continuously targeting its joints with his arrows.
The elite warrior swung its cleaver relentlessly, sometimes deflecting the arrows and other times slashing at Roger, but every strike landed only in the wake of his movement.
By the third lap, the elite warrior's turning speed was visibly slower. Seizing this opening, Roger unleashed Chain Lightning once more.
The blue-white arc struck the elite warrior square in the chest, piercing through its front Life Energy shield at point-blank range and knocking it flat on the ground for good.
“Points +300, Total: 3,400.”
He caught his breath, then immediately turned his attention back to the main battlefield.
Faced with the heavy encirclement of these green-skinned creatures, Stine pressed forward instead of retreating. His sword swung faster and faster, slicing any minion that dared draw near into two.
The retainers beside him also formed a tactical formation to relieve the pressure on him.
Soon, the surrounding minions did not dare to step forward. The leading goblin barked a few raspy curses and stepped forward to engage him personally.
Panting heavily, Stine still held his stance before the creature.
Roger quietly moved to the leader's flank, climbing onto a waist-high boulder and positioning himself in the creature's blind spot.
Noticing Roger's movement out of the corner of his eye, Stine immediately cooperated by intensifying his frontal pressure. He swung his sword repeatedly, each blow striking heavily against the leader's blade as sparks flew with every clash.
Roger nocked an arrow, aiming at the leading goblin's elbow joint.
Just as the battle hung in the balance, he released the bowstring.
The arrow pierced the leading goblin's elbow. With a sharp scream, its sword-arm jerked open uncontrollably, and its cleaver clattered to the ground.
It stumbled as it tried to turn, but Stine was already upon it, his sword slicing deep into its body.
Roger seized the opportunity, firing another arrow to claim the kill.
“Points +450, Total: 3,850.”
Stine dropped to one knee, leaning on his sword to support himself as he gasped for air. Several retainers rushed forward to support him.
On the left flank, Irene had backed her opponent against the rock wall.
The runes on this elite warrior had been rendered dim and lifeless by her blade, and the purple glow on its cleaver was down to its last flickering embers.
Irene gave it no room to retaliate. She struck the same shoulder wound three times in rapid succession, severing the sword-arm at the shoulder before driving a straight thrust right through its heart.
Seeing their three leaders killed one after another, the remaining goblin minions threw down their weapons and fled into the deep forest.
Roger fired arrows in quick succession at their retreating backs, attempting to harvest a few more points.
Ten goblins fell to his arrows, but only 300 points were credited.
“Total: 4,150.”
Roger couldn't help but wonder if the points fluctuated because these minions had thrown away their weapons.
Once the battle was over, Stine ordered the disposal of the corpses, and the squad continued to rest and recover on the terrace.
Roger cast Heal on each of the wounded in turn. Perhaps because their injuries were more severe, his experience bar filled faster than before. By the time he had treated everyone, the experience bar for 【Heal】 was only a third away from leveling up.
Afterward, he leaned against a tree and closed his eyes to run his meditation method, trying to recover as much mana as possible before the next battle.
After disposing of the corpses of the goblins and their fallen comrades, resting for a while, and checking their ammunition and equipment, the squad continued their march upward. After consecutive battles, exhaustion was plain on everyone's faces.
Fortunately, they did not encounter any more ambushes.
Once they cleared this stretch of the mountain path, the terrain opened up again.
The ridgeline ahead was faintly visible beneath the clouds. The dark clouds had parted slightly at some point, and the remnants of the setting sun spilled through the gap, painting the ridge in a dull gold.
Stine sent someone ahead to scout the terrain, and the scout quickly returned with news.
There was a natural cave ahead, and a human army was currently camped there.
Judging by their banners, it looked like a mercenary group.
Stine frowned. Since when did Count Nigel's army have an independent mercenary group?
But the scout's description was very clear: their banner featured a falcon spreading its wings inside a golden ring. Stine did not recall any family among Count Nigel's vassals that used such a coat of arms.
“It's the Golden Falcon Group,” Irene murmured when she heard the description of the banner.
Rate on N.U.
