novelraw Chapter 87: Goblin Attack (01)
Chapter 87: Goblin Attack (01)
Ethan didn’t waste time on speeches, as he saw no need for them.
Their enemies were goblins. Speeches wouldn’t be necessary against goblins.
If they lost, they would die, and everyone there knew that all too well.
Their throats would be slit, and their wives and children turned into a food supply for the winter.
Each of those men had to fight with everything they had, or they would lose everything they had.
Slowly, the guard organized itself.
Fifty men took up positions directly in front of the gate, forming a U-shaped defensive barrier.
Just behind them, a second barrier of about one hundred and twenty men of fighting age was forming, far worse equipped, without shields, composed of barely trained men.
By then, Roderik had joined the defense, for he had achieved much in Goldenveil and had no intention of losing what he had built.
The first line, on the other hand, looked like a real army.
All the guards carried quality shields and swords, wearing leather armor, and those in the second stage even wore iron breastplates.
Of the six towers erected around Goldenveil, two stood at the front gate, rising just over four meters high.
In the tower on the left, ten hunters took their positions with bows and arrows.
In the one on the right, Alice stood alone, already preparing to unleash her flames upon the enemies.
Fortunately, goblins usually didn’t have archers, so she was in the safest position she could be.
"Ethan... They’re coming." Alice’s voice echoed through the air, a burning sphere of flames appearing between her delicate fingers.
Ethan nodded.
He stood with his sword at the ready in the center of the U-shaped formation, alongside Evelyn, Doran, and the other second-stage guards.
"Don’t get hurt..." Alice said one last time before focusing her mind.
She didn’t want to distract Ethan, nor did she want to be a burden.
As soon as her words faded into the air, a series of system notifications appeared.
[Attention! Goldenveil is under attack by a goblin horde!
All participants in the defense will receive rewards based on their contribution.]
The notification reached all the inhabitants of Goldenveil, drawing looks filled with shock.
For Ethan, however, the notifications were slightly different.
[You are defending Goldenveil against a Goblin Horde. Your rewards will be calculated based on your individual contribution and the success rate.
The success rate will be calculated based on casualties and power difference.
If the success rate exceeds S, the host may choose a Golden Lord Ring skill from a list of thirty randomly generated skills.]
Ethan had to fight to contain his excitement.
He already had two incredibly overpowered abilities, and with one more, what Golden Lord in the world could compare to him?
He calmed himself, his eyes fixed on the gate, widening slightly.
On the other side, through the cracks in the wood, an army emerged from the forest.
Over six hundred goblins marched toward Goldenveil, led by four hob goblins.
Among them, a strange figure stood out: a goblin in long gray robes, a staff in his hands.
The creature struck the staff against the ground, and a small ball of crackling electricity appeared before him.
"Goblin Shaman!" Alice roared from the top of the tower.
She didn’t hesitate.
She cast her own fireball before the Shaman’s attack had even reached halfway, the air ahead of her heating up as the flaming sphere turned into an orange blur in the sky.
With an powerful explosion, fiery flames engulfed everything within a ten-meter radius.
With that single strike alone, seven goblins were incinerated and one hobgoblin was left slightly injured. Alice even leveled up.
Ethan had made the entire guard drink XP bonus potions, completely depleting his entire stock.
Fortunately, it would be worth it, as those who didn’t die that day would emerge much stronger.
A few seconds after Alice’s fireball killed the Shaman, the corpse’s attack landed on the gates of Goldenveil.
A thunderous crash shook the air, splinters of wood flew in all directions, and a thick cloud of dust rose above the city entrance.
When the smoke cleared, one of the hobgoblins stepped forward.
He was the most imposing of the four, his massive body casting a long shadow over the rubble of the destroyed gate.
"Cowardly hoomaaan..." His voice echoed, hoarse and ragged like the growl of an empty stomach. "You duel me!"
He roared, pointing his sword at Ethan, who simply shook his head and took a step forward.
"You don’t have to honor a hobgoblin’s challenge to a duel, you idiot." Evelyn stopped him, gripping his sleeve firmly.
"I know, I just want to test a few things. I’ll be fine." He leaned slightly toward the tanned beauty and took her lips in a quick kiss.
"If you don’t stay fine, I promise I’ll piss on your grave." She punched Ethan hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of him for a brief moment.
"I know you will, love." He laughed heartily and then walked toward the hobgoblin.
The creature was taller than the hobgoblin he had killed during the previous goblin camp attack, reaching two meters twenty.
Instead of a club, it held a large axe in both hands, its rusty blade marked by ancient battles.
Stopping in front of it, Ethan was met with a grin full of sharp, rotten teeth.
"Hoomaaan die." The hobgoblin declared firmly and swung the axe.
Ethan wasted no time.
He activated the Burning Blood body enhancement technique, and his blade collided with the hobgoblin’s with a powerful crash that echoed across the field.
With his fourteen free attribute points allocated to strength and the body enhancement technique active, he possessed simply tremendous raw strength.
The hobgoblin’s blade, which should have outmatched any human of the same level, ricocheted violently, the creature’s eyes widening in surprise.
The green skin barely had time to react, leaning backward and preventing Ethan’s blade from slicing through its neck.
Even so, its chest was torn open, greenish, putrid blood flowing endlessly down the creature’s body.
"Hm... I wonder if the target needs to be dead." Ethan flashed a slight smile, activating the Blood Emperor’s Ring.
[NT: What do you guys think of Elena so far? Hehehe]