The Goblin Lord froze in place for a full three seconds before finally snapping back to its senses.
“Gah-oh——!!!”
After letting out a deafening roar that shook the trees,
the dozens of green-skinned goblins in the tribe—who had been standing around dumbfounded—froze for a split second. Then they all began scurrying about in a frenzy, chattering “Gah! Gah!” nonstop.
Some grabbed crude wooden clubs; others snatched up stone spears or bows and arrows. A few scrambled up the rude watchtower and blew the horn mounted atop it.
“WOO——!”
As the horn’s long, low blast echoed through the forest, the dozens of unpoisoned green-skinned goblins gradually gathered in front of the Goblin Lord.
Meanwhile, Hulim Heyerar, hidden in the shadows, kept her eyes fixed intently on the Goblin Lord.
“The toxin didn’t work? Could it be that this Goblin Lord is strong enough to resist this poison......”
The Goblin Lord had eaten more than any other goblin in the tribe—meaning it had ingested the largest dose of the toxin by far. Yet while every other poisoned goblin was writhing on the ground clutching their stomachs, the lord showed not a single sign of being affected. For a moment, Hulim Heyerar couldn’t tell if the poison would work on it at all.
“No. I can’t leave it to chance. Opportunity waits for no one—and right now, the odds are already in my favor......”
The dozens of green-skinned goblins hadn’t fully assembled yet. If she waited for them to form a proper formation, and if the Goblin Lord really was immune to the poison, her chances of victory would plummet drastically.
With that thought, Hulim Heyerar’s eyes sharpened. She hesitated no longer, gripping her wooden wand tightly with both hands as she stepped toward the goblins. The various concealment spells cloaking her body faded away, and she began chanting new incantations under her breath.
“【????????????????????????】”
“Fortify!”
A faint white glow flickered to life around her body.
“【??????????????????????????????】”
“Haste!”
Her speed surged instantly.
“【???????????????????????????????????????】”
“Barrier!”
A brighter, more distinct layer of white light clung directly to her skin.
“【??????????????????】”
“Battle Roar!”
A red aura blazed to life, completely drowning out the white glow......
......
“Gah——!?!”
The Goblin Lord stared at the ragtag group of green-skinned goblins trickling into formation before it, confusion flickering in its eyes.
In the next instant, that confusion turned to unbridled rage.
Not a single Hobgoblin remained standing—and worst of all, there was no sign of the Goblin Mages anywhere!
I, the lord, gave them status second only to my own! And they dared to desert me in the heat of battle?!
“Gah-oh——!!!”
The Goblin Lord screamed furiously at the sky, ready to tear those Goblin Mages limb from limb the moment it laid eyes on them.
In truth, though, the Goblin Mages were not to blame. Despite being high-ranked goblins, they were specialized in mana and intellect—their physical constitutions were pitifully weak, even weaker than the lowliest green-skinned goblins.
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And because of their elevated status, each Goblin Mage had been given a hut of its own. No goblin except the lord dared to enter these huts uninvited. As a result, the Goblin Mages—who had been the first to succumb to the poison and pass out from the pain—had not been noticed by a single soul.
“【????????????????????????......】”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the tribe, growing steadily closer.
The goblins turned toward the sound—and there they saw a petite human female, walking toward them with a wand in hand, muttering incantations under her breath.
“Tidal Surge!”
BOOM!
A towering wave materialized out of thin air, surging toward a group of goblins armed with bows and arrows who were rushing over. It sent them flying, scattered in all directions.
The sudden turn of events left the goblins dumbfounded.
“Gah-oh——!!!”
But at the Goblin Lord’s thunderous roar, the green-skinned goblins finally snapped out of their daze: the enemy had breached the camp!
“Gah!”
“Gah-lu!”
“Gah-lu!”
“Gah......”
A horde of green-skinned goblins charged at Hulim Heyerar, screaming wildly as they waved their crude wooden clubs and stone spears.
But Hulim Heyerar paid them no heed. Her target was clear: she needed to take out the most threatening ranged attackers first!
Bolstered by the buffs she had cast earlier, Hulim Heyerar kept her distance from the melee-wielding goblins. She pointed her wand at the goblin archers, who were still scattered from the tidal wave, and began chanting her next incantation at lightning speed.
“【??????????????????????????????????????????????】”
“Lightning Strike!”
BOOM——!
A bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky,
striking dead-center in the middle of the goblin archers.
“Gah——!”
“Gah!”
“Gah!!”
Terrifying electric currents surged across the damp ground, and the goblin archers immediately let out screams of agony.
When the lightning faded, only charred, smoking corpses remained in their place.
“Gah-oh!!”
The Goblin Lord was enraged beyond reason.
THUD!
It slammed its stone axe into the ground, creating a crater as it roared furiously and charged straight at Hulim Heyerar.
Any green-skinned goblins that got in its way were either trampled to death or swatted flying by the axe.
But for Hulim Heyerar, now was not the time to face the lord head-on.
“【?????????????????????????????????????????????????】”
Raging flames erupted from the earth, forming a towering wall of fire.
A few green-skinned goblins that had charged to the front were caught in the blaze, their bodies bursting into flames as they screamed in agony.
The Goblin Lord skidded to a halt just before it slammed into the fire wall.
Its eyes glowed blood-red, its fury reaching its peak.
“Gah-oh——!!!”
With a deafening roar, the fire wall trembled violently, rippling with the force of the sound.
Then, in an exaggerated motion, the Goblin Lord swung its stone axe back over its shoulder, gathered its strength for a single second, and then hurled the millstone-sized axe forward in a horizontal arc.
WHOOSH——!
The gale whipped up by the axe’s swing tore through the fire wall, dispersing it instantly.
But when the Goblin Lord looked closely, the human female was nowhere to be seen behind the wall of flames.
“【???????????????????????????????????????】”
“Wind Slash!”
The familiar sound of an incantation rang out to its right. The Goblin Lord spun around—and there it saw the intruder, unleashing spell after spell as she cut down the remaining goblin archers.
“【??????????????????????????????????】”
“Water Arrow!”
A transparent arrow of water pierced through a goblin archer perched atop the watchtower, who had been aiming directly at her. Hulim Heyerar twisted her body immediately afterward, dodging a crude wooden club swinging at her from the side.
She swept her wooden wand sideways, tripping the attacker to the ground.
Then she grabbed the shaft of a stone spear thrusting toward her, using the goblin’s own momentum to yank it forward. She followed up with a kick to the stumbling goblin’s chest, and the stone spear slipped from its grasp.
WHOOSH——!
She twirled the spear in her hand, flipping the sharp stone tip to face forward.
Then Hulim Heyerar drove the spear straight into the goblin in front of her.
“Gah——”
The goblin collapsed to the ground, spitting blood.
Without hesitation, Hulim Heyerar pulled the spear free and spun around to stab the goblin she had tripped earlier.
“Gah!”
In the blink of an eye, the two goblins that had closed in on her were dead.
SWISH——!
A stone-tipped arrow whizzed past her ear.
Hulim Heyerar darted sideways, her eyes locking onto the archer who had fired the shot in an instant.
“【???????????????????????????????】”
BOOM!
A blazing fireball slammed into the watchtower. The structure exploded in a shower of splinters, and the two goblins atop it fell to the ground, their bodies engulfed in flames.
“Gah-oh——!”
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from behind her. A split second later, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over her from her back.
Hulim Heyerar’s pupils contracted sharply. She didn’t have time to think—she unleashed a spell immediately.
“【?????????????????????????????????????】”
BOOM!
A stone wall erupted from the ground between her and the threat.
But almost the moment the wall materialized, a giant wooden stake smashed through it, hurtling straight toward Hulim Heyerar.
