“Ga?!”“Gaki!”

  Far from intimidating the goblins, this sight only fueled their ferocity.

  Several goblins swarmed toward Alec.

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  Two sharp arrows suddenly flew from behind, piercing the skulls of the two leading goblins.

  “Thanks, Anjie!”

  Alec didn’t turn around—he just thanked her, swinging his sword to cut down another goblin.

  “Gao——!”

  At that moment, a burly Big Goblin wielding a broadsword hacked at Alec.

  Boom——!

  But before the attack landed, a giant sword swept across, hitting the Big Goblin and sending it flying far away.

  “You okay?”

  “Yep!”

  Alec nodded, then quickly stood back-to-back with Bart, who held a heavy sword. Together, they fended off the endless stream of goblins. Standing at the forefront of the battle, the two were like a reef, standing firm against the onslaught.

  Meanwhile, Anjie hopped back and forth atop the beast cart carriages, firing arrows to support them. Stein, the scout, wielded two daggers, using the carriages as cover to launch hit-and-run attacks, picking off goblins one by one. York, the team’s mage, stood in front of the protected crowd, providing constant long-range magical suppression.

  Across the battlefield, the other adventurer teams had adopted similar formations.

  Under their combined efforts, the goblins’ offensive was gradually repelled. While many people suffered minor injuries and two beast carts were severely damaged, fortunately, there were no casualties.

  “Don’t let your guard down—their leader is still behind!”

  Alec shouted loudly.

  “Gao——!!!”

  Almost simultaneously, a thunderous roar echoed from the jungle.

  “So it’s here...... the Goblin Lord——!”

  Alec’s eyes turned grave as he stared intently at the jungle ahead.

  Crash!

  A large tree was suddenly snapped in half and flew toward the crowd.

  “Dodge——!”

  Alec yelled in alarm, and the people behind scrambled to get out of the way.

  Boom!

  The tree trunk slammed into a beast cart, smashing the carriage to pieces.

  Alec had no time to worry about the damage behind him—his gaze remained fixed on the newly appeared Goblin Lord.

  This Goblin Lord stood over three meters tall, wielding a massive warhammer with a trunk as its handle.

  Nearly ten Big Goblins surrounded it.

  “No Goblin Mages......”

  Alec scanned the area and let out a slight sigh of relief—he hadn’t spotted the second-most dangerous threat.

  “Bart.”

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  “......”

  “Can you hold it?”

  “......I’ll try.”

  “Good. Let’s go——! Anjie, York, cover us!”

  “Got it!!!”

  Anjie and York replied in unison from behind.

  Alec and Bart charged toward the Goblin Lord at the same time.

  “Gao——!!!”

  The Goblin Lord roared angrily at them.

  “Ga!”“Ga!!”

  The Big Goblins guarding it all charged forward to meet the two.

  “Don’t even think about it——Earth Spikes!”

  With a shout from York,

  the ground beneath the Big Goblins suddenly erupted, forming sharp rock spikes.

  “Gao——!”“Ga!”

  Two Big Goblins were impaled instantly, and several others were injured, their mobility severely impaired.

  “Don’t forget about me——Wind, heed my call......”

  Anjie stood atop a carriage, drawing her bow to its full extent, her eyes locked on the front. Green light swirled around the arrowhead.

  “Fly——!”

  Whoosh——!!!

  Like a storm, the high-speed arrow blew away several blocking Big Goblins in an instant.

  “Thanks!”

  With fewer Big Goblins in the way, Alec and Bart felt much less pressure as they closed in on the Goblin Lord.

  “Gao——!”

  The Goblin Lord launched an attack first.

  It took a few steps and was soon in front of them, lifting its massive warhammer high before slamming it down.

  Thud!

  A dull tremor shook the ground.

  Bart maintained his posture of holding the giant sword above his head, sliding back several steps. The white glow on his body dimmed slightly.

  “Bart!”

  “I’m fine! Fortify——! Enhance——!”

  As Bart re-cast his magic,

  Alec didn’t hesitate—he swung his sword at the Goblin Lord at full speed.

  “Ga!”

  The Goblin Lord, who had been about to pursue Bart, was forced to deal with Alec first.

  Boom——!

  The massive warhammer swung repeatedly through the air,

  tearing at the wind with each strike.

  Clang!

  But every time the warhammer was about to hit Alec, Bart—clad in armor—stepped in to block.

  And every time the Goblin Lord tried to crush Bart, Alec seized the opportunity to attack, leaving more wounds on the Goblin Lord.

  This infuriated the Goblin Lord. These two were just bugs he could squash with one hammer, yet they darted around relentlessly—it was unbearable!

  “Gao——!!!”

  At its roar, several goblins fighting the defenders behind the carriage barrier immediately abandoned their targets and rushed back to the Goblin Lord’s side.

  “What? Don’t you dare——”

  Anjie nocked an arrow to stop them, but suddenly several arrows flew from the jungle toward her.

  She had to dodge in a hurry.

  “Tch, troublesome!”

  Seeing the Goblin Archers rushing to support at their lord’s call, Anjie clicked her tongue.

  “York——!”

  “On it! Ea——!”

  York raised his magic wand high, preparing to cast a spell.

  “Ga——!”

  Suddenly, a green-skinned goblin slipped through the gap between the carriages, raised a stone spear, and stabbed at York’s chest.

  “Damn it!”

  York was forced to abort the spell, swinging his wand to parry the spear before knocking the green-skinned goblin to the ground with a blow.

  The merchants and passengers holding weapons behind him seized the opportunity to rush forward and finish off the goblin.

  But because of this interruption, York’s support failed.

  Alec and Bart were immediately surrounded by goblins......

  “Damn it! These cursed demonic beasts!”

  Alec cut down a green-skinned goblin and cursed at their predicament.

  Whoosh——!

  A sudden whistling sound came from behind.

  “Watch out——!”

  Before Alec could turn around, he was sent flying.

  “Alec——!”

  Bart shouted in alarm and rushed toward him.

  Thud!

  Alec crashed heavily to the ground, but his injuries were not severe—because—

  “Damn it, this thing...... doesn’t care about its own allies at all?!”

  The Goblin Lord had ambushed Alec successfully because there had been a goblin between them. Normally, that goblin would have blocked the attack.

  But the Goblin Lord didn’t hesitate for a moment—he smashed through the goblin and hit Alec.

  Thanks to the goblin acting as a buffer, Alec hadn’t taken the full brunt of the warhammer.

  “Ga——!”

  As Alec struggled to get up, a green-skinned goblin raised a stone spear and stabbed at him fiercely.

  Alec rolled to the side, dodging the attack and swinging his sword upward to hit the goblin’s legs.

  “Gao——!”

  The green-skinned goblin screamed and fell to the ground.

  “Behind you——!!!”

  Bart’s urgent voice rang out.

  “Huh?”

  A chill ran down Alec’s spine. He looked up instinctively and saw a Big Goblin raising its broadsword, about to slash down at him.

  “Alec——!”“Alec——!!”