Wolves-ridden goblins cutting across the field.
Goblin riders were C-rank, the wolves D-rank, which was still threatening for the Academy freshmen.
“Kerlek. Kerlek!”
They circled around Moru Team and moved towards the relatively weaker defensive line at the rear.
Then they charged towards it.
Moru Team was too busy dealing with the goblins in front of them to contain the riders.
Udududu.
The earth trembled strongly as dozens of cavalry rushed forward; their momentum was formidable.
“Hey, look, there are wolves!”
“Goblins are riding wolves…!”
While most goblins carried clubs, the cavalry were all armed with spears. Though, by human standards, these spears barely reached the size of longswords.
“This isn’t good!”
“Uh, how do we stop them? We’re dead!”
The students in the path of the charge were so terrified that they instinctively stepped backward. Before long, those retreating students found themselves back-to-back with others in the formation.
“Shit, why are you guys here?”
“Hey little bastards, don’t push! Don’t push, I said!”
The circular defensive formation collapsed in an instant.
It was the limitation of an army without strict discipline. The psychological pressure of being surrounded from all sides with one line already broken was hard for students with no real combat experience to handle.
“Kerlek!”
“Kerlek, ker.”
Just as planned, the cavalry arrived. The leading goblin held its spear straight and charged at the armored giant without slowing.
The student had to endure the overwhelming momentum of the charge with his entire body, from a distance.
“Ugh!”
The crude goblin spear couldn’t pierce the steel student armor. However, the shock alone caused the student to lose consciousness and fall.
Of course, the goblin wasn’t unscathed either. It lost its grip on the spear and fell off the wolf.
“Kill him!”
“Shit, you bastard! Die!”
The students’ swords and spears wildly struck the fallen goblin.
The goblin rider was shredded to death.
But it wasn’t over.
One after another, more than ten goblins charged in.
Most of the students caught in the direct impact of the charge fainted and fell where they stood.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Park Hayeon sheathed her sword.
She stood in front of the second wave of cavalry, ready to use her Draw skill and Electric Shock skill.
“Kerlek!”
The captain of the Goblin Cavalry sensed something strange about Park Hayeon and hurled his spear towards her.
“Ahk.”
The spear sliced through the air and hit Park Hayeon’s abdomen before bouncing off.
Unfortunately, she was preparing her Draw and had no time to dodge or block.
Her armor saved her from being impaled, but the impact felt like being hit by a car.
Park Hayeon gritted her teeth against the pain.
As if she would soon pass out, but if she fell, dozens of Moru Team members would likely perish as well.
“Ugh. Die, all of you!”
She screamed and reproduced the technique she had shown in a past tournament.
Electric current flowed through her specially-made sheath, forming a powerful magnetic field along embedded rails.
The ‘Draw’ skill, utilizing the principles of a railgun to maximize the speed of her sword,
Electric Rail Draw Technique.
ZeroSecond.
Zzzzzip.
A golden flash of lightning surged through the rails, accelerating her Draw.
This was the last thing the goblin saw.
From the Draw to the attack, it occurred in nearly Zero Second—an almost golden flash that struck the Goblin Cavalry.
“Kerr―Keeek.”
“Keeeek.”
A crimson storm fell upon the blackened field.
The goblin riders fell to the ground with their bodies severed into two parts, while the wolves fled, their backs scorched to a crisp.
“It’s… impossible.”
“This is… B-rank?!”
Upon seeing this, the students of Moru Team could do nothing but gape in astonishment.
They were just overjoyed that Park Hayeon had been brought in by Shinnoda.
‘So that’s why Shinnoda’s in a relationship with her!’
Thus, the Goblin Cavalry charge was over.
The earlier ones were hacked to pieces by the students.
“Anyone who feels like they’re about to die, speak up! If there’s someone nearby like that, say something!”
Park Hayeon moved around the students, giving instructions to re-establish the circular formation.
If there were any injured, she sprayed potions around.
“Kerl.”
“Kerlek.”
Meanwhile, a sense of despair and unease permeated among the goblins surrounding them.
To goblins, who grow stronger with practice, the cavalry was an object of admiration.
And those admired cavalry had been utterly destroyed in the blink of an eye.
“Now this is easier!”
“It seems like the goblins are scared.”
Naturally, this led to a drop in their morale, making it easier for Moru Team to hold out.
Park Hayeon darted about inside the circular formation, giving students at weaker points time to catch their breath.
*
The Goblin Cavalry moved towards Moru Team.
Shinnoda instinctively realized the time had come.
“Now. Let’s go!”
He took the lead and ran forward while saying so.
“Finally…!”
“Goblin bastards!”
The students of Hammer Team had been eagerly waiting for this.
Excited and eager, they were like hunting dogs.
As soon as Shinnoda’s words faded, they began running after him.
Isiah transformed into a cat while running.
Her clothes tore apart, her golden fur burst out, and she transformed into a giant cat.
Given that maintaining stealth while in cat form would be difficult, she judged it better to shed her clothes.
The Hammer Team emerged from the forest.
There stood Hop Goblin and his unit.
The main force’s numbers included archers, wizards, and a few guards.
Though technically not cavalry since they walked on two legs, Hammer Team moved fast, all members having B-rank Agility or higher.
Waaahh!
Hop Goblin glanced at the approaching giants with a smirk.
“Kerlek. Sorcerers, cast the wall of fire. And archers, once they’re trapped, start firing. Kerlek, kerlek.”
The sorcerers’ staffs emitted a black glow, signaling they were casting.
Casting was already completed.
All they needed was for the incantation to activate, like flipping a light switch.
Laura frowned sensing the ominous energy covering the plain from where she was in the Earth realm.
[It’s a variation of Fire Wall, it seems… Shinnoda, those goblins intend to cast a Fire Wall.]
She knew Shinnoda wouldn’t get hurt by green goblins’ fire wall.
But his soldiers would find it tough.
Hence her reminder of the impending danger.
‘This was unexpected. Damn.’
Shinnoda bit his lip.
Given their use of large-scale magic immediately upon approach, it was clear they weren’t fools.
After some thought, he resolved.
[Please use Dispel.]
Other students hadn’t noticed the incoming magic and, if prevented, wouldn’t realize anything.
That was Shinnoda’s calculation.
[Understood.]
The short-lived goblins.
Their magical power was barely at Chinese peasant level.
The Dispel was easily accomplished.
“Kerlk?”
The goblin sorcerers were dumbfounded.
The already completed spell had been disrupted.
“Kerlek. Sorcerers, what are you doing? Cast it quickly or they’ll reach us soon!”
Hop Goblin urged the sorcerers.
He was slowly getting scared.
Goblins were not naturally brave.
“Kerlek, ker kelek.”
The sorcerers reported that they couldn’t cast the spell.
They were equally terrified.
This had never happened before.
“Kerlk. Cast it now or I’ll kill you right here! Kerlek.”
“Kerlek, ker.”
The excuses of the sorcerers fell on deaf ears.
Hop Goblin approached them with a sword, and soon, the sorcerers’ heads rolled off.
“Kerlek. Useless bastards.”
He was irritated by the sorcerers.
How dare they disobey his commands?
They deserved their fate.
“Kerlk. Archers, shoot now! Kerl.”
Hop Goblin looked behind him to assess any escape routes.
He had already begun sweating cold.
‘Curse those sorcerer bastards! We could’ve killed all those giants otherwise. Why!’
He assumed the sorcerers were retaliating against him.
Originally, goblins lived in small tribes, rarely gathering more than a thousand.
Until one day, in one tribe, a mutant was born who became the chieftain, dominating other tribes and forming a league kingdom.
That mutant was Hop Goblin.
‘Traitors.’
Since many sorcerers hailed from subjugated tribes, they didn’t follow Hop Goblin’s orders well.
This betrayal felt immense to him.
He had taken good care of the sorcerers.
Soon enough, the giant horde reached the main force.
The archers and stone-throwers quickly lost their morale and scattered.
Hammer Team minced the goblins like a blender, marching forward.
Particularly, the red-armored valiant knight, Shinnoda, was unstoppable.
The goblins, of upper C-rank, who were guarding Hop Goblin tried to stop him but were quickly decapitated.
“Kerlek. Should’ve been careful….”
Hop Goblin closed his eyes tight.
