“Gyak?!”
“Gyak-gii!”
Instead of intimidating the goblins, this display only stoked their ferocity.
Several goblins swarmed toward Alec.
Thwip! Thwip!
Two sharp arrows flew from behind him, piercing the skulls of the two leading goblins.
“Thanks, Ange!”
Alec thanked her without turning back, swinging his sword to cut down another goblin.
“Gyaaa—!”
Just then, a burly hobgoblin brandished a broadsword and hacked down at Alec.
Crash—!
But before its attack could land, a greatsword swept through the air, striking the monster and sending it flying.
“You alright?”
“Yeah!”
Alec nodded. He quickly fell back-to-back with Bart, who held a heavy greatsword. Together, they fended off the waves of goblins. Standing at the vanguard of the battlefield, the two were like a steadfast boulder weathering the relentless currents.
Meanwhile, Ange leaped from one carriage roof to another, firing arrow after arrow to support them. The scout Steen, armed with dual daggers, used the carriages for cover to constantly weave in and out of combat, harvesting goblin after goblin. Standing before the civilians they were protecting, York, the mage of the party, unleashed continuous long-range magic to suppress the enemy.
Across the battlefield, the other adventurer parties had adopted similar strategies.
Under their coordinated defense, the goblin onslaught was gradually ground to a halt. Although quite a few combatants sustained minor injuries and two carriages were heavily damaged, they luckily had not suffered any casualties.
“Don't let your guard down! Their boss is still in the back!”
Alec bellowed.
“Gyaoooh—!!!”
Almost at that exact moment, a colossal roar rumbled from the depths of the forest.
“So it really came... the goblin lord!”
Alec's expression grew grim as he fixed his gaze on the forest ahead.
Crash—!
A massive tree was suddenly snapped in half and came hurtling toward the crowd.
“Get out of the way—!”
Alec cried out in warning. The crowd behind him scrambled to dodge.
Crash!
The trunk smashed right into a carriage, splintering the frame into pieces.
Alec had no time to worry about the losses behind him. His eyes remained locked on the goblin lord that had just emerged.
This goblin lord stood over three meters tall, wielding a colossal warhammer made from an entire tree trunk.
Nearly ten hobgoblins flanked him on both sides.
“No goblin mages...?”
Scanning the area, Alec breathed a small sigh of relief when he failed to spot the secondary threat.
“Bart.”
“...”
“Can you tank it?”
“... I'll try.”
“Alright, then let's go—! Ange, York, cover us!”
“Understood!!”
Ange and York replied in unison from behind.
At that, Alec and Bart charged toward the goblin lord together.
“Gyaoooh—!!!”
The goblin lord roared in fury at the two.
“Gyak!”
“Gyak!!”
With that, the surrounding hobgoblin bodyguards rushed forward to intercept them.
“Not on my watch—! Earth Spike!”
As York cried out, the ground beneath the hobgoblins' feet instantly ruptured, morphing into sharp rock spikes.
“Gyaa—!”
“Gyak!”
Two of the hobgoblins were impaled on the spot, while several others were wounded, their movements severely hindered.
“Don't forget about me—! O wind...”
Standing atop a carriage roof, Ange drew her bow to its limit, her eyes locking onto the targets. A brilliant green glow swirled around the tip of her arrow.
“Go—!”
Swoosh—!!!
Like a raging gale, the high-velocity arrow blasted back several of the obstructing hobgoblins in an instant.
“Thanks!”
With fewer hobgoblins in their path, the pressure on Alec and Bart eased considerably as they rapidly closed the distance to the goblin lord.
“Gyaoooh—!”
The goblin lord took the initiative to strike.
Closing the gap in a few massive strides, it raised its gigantic warhammer high and brought it crashing down.
Boom—!
The ground shuddered with a heavy tremor.
Bart slid back several paces while maintaining his defensive stance with his greatsword held high above his head, the white light enveloping his body dimming slightly.
“Bart!”
“I'm fine! Fortify—! Reinforce—!”
Seeing Bart recast his defensive magic, Alec immediately swung his sword at the goblin lord without a moment's hesitation.
“Gyak!”
The goblin lord, who had intended to pursue Bart, was forced to deal with Alec first.
Whoosh—!
The massive warhammer repeatedly tore through the air.
With every swing, it felt as though the very air was being ripped apart.
Clang—!
Yet, every time the hammer was about to crush Alec, Bart, clad in heavy armor, would step in to intercept.
Whenever it tried to smash Bart, Alec would seize the opening to attack, repeatedly adding new wounds to the goblin lord.
This infuriated the goblin lord. These two bugs could clearly be squashed with a single blow, yet they kept slipping and sliding away. How incredibly annoying!
“Gyaoooh—!!!”
Upon hearing its thunderous roar, the nearby goblins locked in combat with the defenders behind the carriage line immediately abandoned their human prey and scrambled back to support their lord.
“What? Don't you dare go over there—”
Ange notched an arrow, intending to stop them, but several arrows suddenly whistled out of the forest, heading straight for her.
She had no choice but to leap out of the way.
“Tch, what a pain!”
Glancing at the goblin archers that had emerged from the forest in response to the lord's roar, Ange clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“York—!”
“I'm on it! Ea—”
York raised his wand high, preparing to unleash his magic.
“Gya—!”
Suddenly, a green-skinned goblin slipped through a gap between the carriages, thrusting its stone spear directly at York's chest.
“Damn it!”
Forced to abort his spell, York swung his wand to parry the oncoming spear, then brought it down hard to bash the green-skinned goblin to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, the armed merchants and passengers in the rear rushed forward and swiftly finished the monster off.
However, because of this distraction, York's support spell fell through.
Alec and Bart found themselves swamped by the goblin mob once more...
“Damn it! These wretched monsters!”
Alec cut down a green-skinned goblin and cursed bitterly at their predicament.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, the sound of tearing wind rushed up from behind him.
“Watch out—!”
Before Alec could even turn around, he was violently sent flying.
“Alec—!”
Bart cried out in horror and dashed toward him.
Crash!
Alec slammed heavily onto the ground, though he hadn't taken too much damage. That was because—
“Damn it, this bastard... doesn't care about his own allies at all?!”
Alec's guard had been up, but there was another goblin standing between him and the goblin lord, which normally would have blocked the trajectory of the lord's strike.
But the goblin lord had not hesitated for a single second, smashing the other goblin out of the way to hit Alec anyway.
Thanks to that goblin acting as a cushion, Alec did not bear the full brunt of the warhammer's direct blow.
“Gyaaa—!”
Just as Alec struggled to pick himself up, a green-skinned goblin lunged at him, viciously thrusting its stone spear.
Alec instantly rolled aside. Evading the thrust, he swept his sword upward, slicing cleanly through the goblin's ankles.
“Gyaaa—!”
With a shriek of agony, the green-skinned goblin collapsed to the ground.
“Behind you—!!!”
Bart's urgent shout pierced his ears.
“Eh?”
A cold chill raced down Alec's spine. Subconsciously tilting his head back, he stared up just in time to see a hobgoblin raising a massive broadsword, swinging it right down toward him.
“Alec—!”
“Alec—!!”
Rate on N.U.
