A deep green wave settled over the gloomy forest.
Goblins filled the view like green algae that took over a reservoir, and each one of them was emitting a menacing aura as they glared at the subjugation force.
The goblins had an unusual air about them everywhere they looked. This caused the morale of the soldiers and mercenaries to visibly waver.
“What’s with those goblins’ eyes…?”
“How are there so many of them?”
“We weren’t told about this! There’s easily over a thousand of them!”
In terms of numbers alone, they were outnumbered by nearly eight to one.
Naturally, the mercenaries who had underestimated the situation were the first to become uneasy.
“Silence! Are you really afraid of mere goblins?”
“And you call yourselves mercenaries?”
“Get a grip!”
The commanders and the captains of each ten-man squad worked to steady the shaken morale.
Fortunately, the soldiers quickly regained their composure.
It helped that their spirits had been relatively high on the way here.
“That’s right! They’re just goblins!”
“We can handle them, even if they come in droves!”
“We’ve got the knights on our side!”
Typically, the soldiers who were more skilled than the mercenaries trusted their comrades.
In contrast, the morale of the mercenaries was lower than expected.
Unlike the soldiers, they recalled the recent news of mercenaries being wiped out in the Black Forest.
“If we’re unlucky…”
“Aren’t we going to end up dead like those guys from the rumors?”
But regardless of their thoughts, the situation wasn’t going to change.
The two commanders leading the attack gave the order to charge.
“Raise your shields! Don’t show any gaps!”
“Move forward, brave warriors of the Empire!”
With no chance to retreat, the mercenaries eventually raised their prepared shields and advanced.
Soon after, the human army clashed with these “green dwarves”.
***
Despite the initial wavering morale, the battle itself raged fiercely.
The mercenaries, who had come out to hunt, now fought with all their might to survive, and the soldiers had prepared paralysis-resistance potions to counter the barrage of poisoned darts.
The mercenaries also managed to secure their own potions.
When the goblins’ famous paralysis poison failed to have its usual effect, they started to be pushed back by the humans.
“Man, that Chloe must be rolling in money by now.”
Scattered across the ground were countless potion bottles. There were many different brands, but the ones that stood out the most were the Gillen Merchant Guild’s.
“She really knows how to do business.”
On the other hand, Jun observed the battlefield’s overall situation using his [Keen Eyesight] skill.
Amid the fierce heat of battle, the troops were gradually advancing, little by little.
However, that momentum wouldn’t last long.
The main force of the enemy had yet to appear.
“It’s about time that thing showed up.”
Goblins by nature were cruel and cunning.
Especially a Goblin Lord who combined that cunning with wisdom.
So at the most perfect timing, just when the humans’ momentum was at its peak, it would appear.
Kyrrrrrrghaaaaah――!!
To shatter the morale of the overconfident humans.
***
Its arrival began with an enormous roar that filled the entire forest.
Kyrrrrrrghaaaaah――!!
The goblins who had been pushed back by the humans shouted in response to its arrival.
Their numbers had dwindled slightly from a thousand, but the goblins still glared at the subjugation force with eyes full of killing intent.
At the same time, the subjugation force felt their bodies grow unusually heavy.
Their shields which had been blocking the goblins’ clubs required more strength, and their steps grew heavier.
They soon realized that this change was due to the Goblin Lord’s appearance.
In terms of distance, it wasn’t that far away.
A goblin so large that it was clearly visible to Jun’s eyes kept pounding its chest and shouting.
Unlike the other goblins who mainly used clubs as their main weapon, this one wielded a bronze sword and shield.
Moreover, judging from the dark green magical power that covered its entire body, it was clear that it was strengthening its body.
It’s a Goblin Warrior.
Then the creature began to move. As to be expected from a goblin, the cunning beast avoided the strong knights in the center and instead targeted the flanks.
Alongside this large Goblin Warrior, other goblin warriors who followed it thrust their crude spears into the gaps in the subjugation force’s shields.
“Damn it! Hold your shield up straight!”
“Shut up and stab your spear properly! Their numbers aren’t going down!”
“Fu*k, there are a few of them in front! Argh!”
“Damn it all!”
With the Goblin Warrior’s appearance, the goblins charged forward even more recklessly. The poisoned darts flying from all directions were becoming increasingly annoying.
Even though they had taken paralysis-resistance potions beforehand, repeated hits were bound to have an effect.
It was the mercenaries who began to crumble first before the relentless onslaught of the goblins.
The grueling march over the past few days had taken its toll, and most of the mercenaries couldn’t use magical power
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had a relatively higher proportion of magic users tried to fill the gaps, but even they were no match for the Goblin Warrior.
“Gah!”
Unlike the goblins, which were only about the size of ten-year-old children, the Goblin Warrior and its warriors were as large as an adult male. Maybe slightly smaller.
The bronze sword wielded by the Goblin Warrior even split the soldiers’ wooden shields.
The Goblin Lord’s wide-range aura and their numerical superiority restricted the knights’ movements.
Meanwhile, the Goblin Warrior and its warriors surged forward without any problem. As if they were swimming through the sea.
“The flank has been breached!”
“Damn it!”
“Sir Mardin! We must break through them!”
“Ugh!”
In the end, both commanders made their decision.
It was clear that dragging out the battle would bring no advantage to them.
It was hard to assume that the goblins’ numbers were finite, and the relentless waves of attacks were quickly wearing down their forces.
“Sir Chern, I trust in your honor!”
“Of course!”
Of the two commanders, the one with slightly lesser skill made the decision.
Rather than continue to be dragged around by the Goblin Warrior, it was better to have one of them activate their aura and break through the enemy lines.
However, this strategy could allow the remaining commander to claim all the glory while fighting the Goblin Lord.
After all, the duration of the aura wasn’t long.
But given the circumstances, the two commanders quickly struck a deal and moved to turn the tide of battle.
Meanwhile…
“Oh… So that’s an aura. It’s definitely impressive.”
Jun, who was watching the scene from afar, was overwhelmed by a strange sense of awe.
Seeing the aura he had only seen on game screens with his own eyes was an incredible experience.
“The goblins are really being sliced like tofu.”
The knight who had activated his aura was like a tank in an ancient war.
Nothing in front of him could stop his advance, and with each swing of his sword, five or six goblins were cut down.
Perhaps it was because their comrades were being helplessly slaughtered in less than a second,?
Even the once-arrogant goblins now moved to avoid the knights’ attacks.
Thanks to this, the knights were almost upon the breached flank.
“Aura really is overpowered.”
How long would it take for Aiden to reach that level?
“Ha.”
When Jun entertained that thought and glanced to the side, he found that Aiden was fully focused on the knights’ movements, as if he didn’t want to miss a single detail.
He’ll surely learn it soon enough with that kind of talent.
He couldn’t say exactly when, but it likely wouldn’t take long.
Jun had been thinking like that for a while before he looked at Ginovan. The latter was similarly gripping the hilt of his sword.
“Are you ready, Commander?”
“Hmm. Just say the word.”
***
“Now, Sir Chern!”
“Haaahp!!”
Amidst the swarm of goblins, the knight known as Chern activated his aura.
His target was the Goblin Warrior who had no intention of hiding its presence amidst the waves of green.
It was impressive how the Goblin Warrior had managed to push deep into the humans’ flank, but in the heat of battle, it made a critical mistake.
It had gone too far.
It belatedly discovered the knights’ presence and tried to retreat, but its escape route was already cut off.
The goblins behind it desperately struggled to clear a path, but the humans who finally recovered from their initial crisis blocked their retreat with all their might.
“You’re finished now!”
Chern’s aura surged and he swiftly cut down the goblins blocking his path before reaching the Goblin Warrior.
The Goblin Warrior also had no intention to go down easily, so it raised its bronze sword.
However, the bronze sword that felled so many humans before snapped like a toothpick in the face of the knight’s aura.
Kyarrk――!
At the same time, the Goblin Warrior’s neck was severed from its body and flew through the air like its sword.
It was a hollow end for the Goblin Warrior who had once driven the humans to the brink.
“It’s dead!”
“The Goblin Lord is dead!”
“The knight has beheaded the enemy leader!”
“Waahhhhh!!”
The soldiers and mercenaries who witnessed the scene erupted in cheers.
They used that momentum to press the goblins even harder.
The two knights also wore wide smiles, satisfied with their achievement, but then—
“Hmm…? Why aren’t the goblins…?”
“Retreating?”
The first to notice something strange were the two knights, Chern and Mardin.
Although they weren’t as skilled in gathering information as Ginovan, they were still elite graduates of the military academy.
They had gathered some intelligence on the Goblin Lord.
Goblins were cunning creatures. They typically scatter in small groups when their leader falls.
The reason the two knights had used their aura to swiftly take down the Goblin Warrior was precisely because of this.
However, the goblins before them showed no sign of retreating.
And then—
“Commander, the, the rear!”
“Goblins at the rear!”
“Additional goblin reinforcements have appeared!!”
The two knights soon realized the reason and grimaced.
They instinctively understood.
The Goblin Warrior they had just killed was not a Goblin Lord.
***
“There were plenty of hints.”
First, for a cunning goblin, it fought in such a straightforward manner.
Just as humans know about them, goblins also know about humans.
To be more precise, they know how to deal with enemies stronger than themselves.
Yet the Goblin Warrior appeared too openly for that.
It was a good attempt to penetrate deep into the ranks of the knights while maintaining a formidable presence, but there were still flaws.
After all, it had no way to deal with the knights.
“And the aura it had was different from what a Goblin Warrior should possess.”
Jun, who was forcing strength into his arm that was about to go limp, knew exactly what this meant.
“A Goblin Shaman. The Lord of this generation and the Irregular is a goblin shaman.”
A Goblin Shaman’s aura.
The curse of weakening had spread throughout the entire subjugation force.
If the Goblin Warrior they killed earlier had been the Lord, it wouldn’t have been the humans who weakened, but the goblins who would have grown stronger.
“It would have been hard to tell the difference on the front line. When it’s a matter of life and death, it’s not easy to tell”.
Am I losing strength or is my enemy growing stronger?
Honestly, it would’ve been difficult to know amidst the battle.
Unless you were someone like Jun who stayed in the rear.
“And most importantly, the shape of the totem they set up made it all clear.”
A totem that evokes disgust in anyone who sees it.
Jun observed the totem’s appearance carefully.
It was hard to make out due to being dried out by the sun, but there was no doubt.
“It was made from the head of a young goblin.”
If the Goblin Lord had been a Warrior, the totem would have been made from the head of an old goblin.
A totem crafted from the head of a young goblin was the signature of a Goblin Shaman.
“It reminds me of the old days. Once I noticed the difference, it became much easier to subdue the goblin lord.”
This was an element hidden inside <Blackout>, and it wasn’t something you could find in the community’s strategy guide.
It was a small detail that only “Lee Jeong Jun” knew.
“And compared to a Warrior, a Goblin Shaman is far more cunning.”
So much so that the <Blackout> community was filled with the complaints of newbies.
Kyarrrrrrtutaka――!
The sound of a goblin war cry echoed from the rear.
And beyond the newly appeared wave of dark green, a Goblin Shaman draped in rags came into view as expected.
“Well then, let’s see how our novice commander performs.”
Of course, Jun was also fully prepared to take part in the action.
***
A Goblin Shaman appeared at the rear.
There were nearly three hundred goblins around the Goblin Shaman.
It seemed that they had deployed fewer troops in the rear to avoid detection by the subjugation force.
However, the number three hundred was still equally threatening.
The force guarding the rear consisted of only about twenty soldiers under Ginovan’s command.
“Prepare for battle!”
One of the veteran soldiers shouted and the soldiers gripped their shields tightly.
A desperate crisis.
The troops on the frontline were still preoccupied with the goblins swarming them, and the rear had only Jun, Aiden, and Ginovan’s forces.
Did they notice the crisis?
“S-Sir Ginovan! Sir Ginovan!! Where are you, Sir Ginovan!!”
The shrill scream of Baron Dortagon echoed through the air, but Ginovan was nowhere near him.
If there was any silver lining, it was that Baron Dortagon was closer to the center rather than the rear, making it harder for the goblins to kill him outright.
Of course, Baron Dortagon didn’t think that way at all.
What kind of wealth and glory did I expect to find by coming here?!
If only he had stayed in the Imperial Court.
He immediately regretted the decision of his past self, who had come to Blackout with a determination to shatter the limits of a barony.
Meanwhile, right from behind the soldiers who were forming the defensive line, Jun who had been gathering his magical power was the first to cast a spell.
[Detecting Target]
[Lightning Whip]
He finally found the chance to use the magic he had paid a hefty price to learn.
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