20 Defending the village
As the battle raged on, the barbarians and lumberjacks carved a path through the sea of goblins, their blades cleaving through flesh and bone with merciless efficiency.
It was a very bloody and brutal battle.
Different races went at each other's throats for a place to live.
Nearly 60 goblins gradually drew closer to them. Their ugly heads had unmistakable anthropomorphic killing intent.
The Ruins was where the goblins had lived for generations. Humans taking over the ruins meant their home and lands had been robbed from them.
It was a conflict that would have no peaceful end.
Any race that wanted to survive in this forest either needed to drive away or kill the ones residing in it.
Leon wanted to live, so he had to annihilate the goblins.
Autumnvale needed to be developed. The deaths of the goblins had to pave the way for that development.
It was that simple.
The law of the jungle was that of assimilation or annihilation.
As such, Leon showed no mercy. Besides, he was the invader in this situation.
With things being as they were, there was no turning back.
Withdrawing was not an option.
The goblins sneakily moved forward. With more than 400 of them crowding the place, the village seemed to be overflowing with blackened beings, which inspired feverish confidence in those stupid yet brutal ugly beings.
Their confidence was backed by the advantage of sheer numbers. Their arrogance was fueled by the fact that they remained undiscovered throughout the ambush process.
However, none of the goblins expected that their cover had been blown. The humans, who had been soundly sleeping, were simply waiting for the goblins to show up. When the time came, they dropped their act and retaliated in an extremely ferocious manner.
The retaliation was efficient and effective.
The goblins were almost in a panic because of their failed plan.
The goblins standing at the forefront were only able to have their green eyes grow wide as rows of sharp swords and axes were slash at them. Seething pain was felt in their abdomens before they were put to the ground by those weapons.
They were able to do little else but open their eyes and fang-filled mouths wide in vain.
The low-pitched noises they made were that of misery and despair as their lives were completely lost when they hit the ground.
The cold sheen of the swords and axes was stained red under the bright moonlight.
The Barbarians and Lumberjacks, which were all armed with swords and axes, served as the main force of the battle.
Blood splattered all over the place. The thick stench of blood permeated throughout the forest.
"All hail Autumnvale!"
Leon shouted as he brought his sharp blade down on the throat of a goblin who had fallen but was still alive.
He was boosting the morale of all the combatants on the field.
There was no voice comparable to that of a lord's encouragement. It meant that everyone was still fighting alongside their lord and there were still ample compatriots left standing to fight.
It was also a sign that they had yet to lose.
"All hail Autumnvale!"
The Villagers shouted as well.
They closely followed by the sides of the barbarians and lumberjacks. Their spiked clubs, which came from the killed goblins, were being brought down left, right, and center like they were sabers and halberds. The left bloody wounds on the goblins that never wore armor.
More than 50 goblins died as soon as close-quarters fighting erupted.
However, Leon and his men never let that go to their heads. They remained determined as they advanced.
They also suffered casualties.
"No, save me... Ugh..."
The shrieks of Villagers were heard from the flanks.
Some of them were pounced on by goblins. Spiked clubs filled with iron nails were brought down hard on them. The villagers did not wear any armor, so they were only able to rely on their bodies to resist the attacks.
The outcome was brutal.
"Arghh... Help me..."
More of them were being brought down to the ground by spiked clubs of the goblins. Their wounds were rendered indistinguishable by the nails on the clubs.
However, most of the injuries were concussive damage dealt by the weight of the clubs, which went all the way into their bones. They no longer needed to worry about further damage. The goblins, using their claws tore out their throats right after they were downed.
Nine villagers fell and lost their lives.
"Hold the line! Hold the line!"
Leons eyes were bloodshot. Those villagers were an important part of his workforce. It was quite a waste to see them lost in the battle.
Then again, the casualties thus far were still considered tolerable.
"Kael" Leon, seeing the toll the battle was taking, shouted out to Kael, his trusted companion.
"Cover me for a minute," Leon instructed, his voice urgent as he prepared to unleash his own magic upon the enemy.
The goblins seeing their companions died, no longer dared to press forward head-on at the advancing army formations. They began to scatter at the flanks, leaving behind more than 40 bodies.
Those goblins knew that without armor and shields, they had no chance of getting past to them.
Even if the goblins managed to make it to the flanks, the villagers still gritted their teeth as they brought their spiked clubs down onto the beasts.
They were doing it for their home.
They were doing it for their village.
They were doing it for Autumnvale.
The Villagers were just as willing to put their lives on the line to defend what they held dear.
They had to put their lives on the line.
The brutal retaliation threw the goblins off guard. This is the opportunity Leon is looking for.
Leon sheathed his sword with a fluid motion, the clink of metal echoed through the air. With Kael defending him, Leon brought two fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle that cut through the battle. The sound carried far and wide, a call that spoke of loyalty and kinship.
Caww~
Moments later, a distant cry pierced the sky,as Cid, his eagle companion, descended from the skies, delivering a withered scepter. With lightning reflexes, Leon extended his hand, his fingers closing around the scepter with unyielding determination.
•|In the heart of darkness, where shadows writhe and flames dance,
I call upon the abyssal fires, born of chaos and chance.|•
Leon began to chant, summoning a frigid aura that enveloped him.
•|With words of power, I weave my will, To shape the flames, and bend them to my skill.|•
Dark magic circles materialized behind him as he focused his mana, channeling it into ten dark flaming orbs that appeared ominously in the air.
•|So heed my words, and witness my might, As I unleash the fire, burning through the night.|•
•| I forge a bullet of humid dark. With whispered words and arcane art, I shape the fire, swift and smart. A blazing missile that will pierce their heart.|•
The goblins, like a relentless tide, continued to press forward, their sheer numbers overwhelming the defenders. Just as it seemed the tide might turn against them.
•|Firebullet|•
With a determined thrust of his scepter, Leon unleashed the spell sending the orbs hurtling towards the goblins with deadly precision.
Boom!!
Explosions erupted in their wake as the dark flames consumed the remaining goblins, their agonized cries echoing through the forest.
The sudden explosions did not give the stunned goblins any time to recover. Seeing their dead compatriots lying on the ground, the lucky ones, who managed to escape the purge of the tribe before, seemed to have recalled all the fear they experienced the previous night.
The courage of a single individual was not necessarily constant.
The goblins, being of creatures of flesh and blood, were not actually fearless.
They were very capable of fear.
"Arrghh!!" Pain cries of goblin was heard as the dark flames consumed them.
The goblins retreated in fear, subconsciously dropping their crudely made spiked clubs, which were cobbled together with wood and nails. However, they remained oblivious to the terror that was about to appear.
Boom!!
Another burst of flame erupted in the midst of the fleeing goblin horde, scattering them in disarray.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't leave us out of the party!" a voice exclaimed, as Wiz, one of the wizards, stepped forward, summoning flames to his palm and hurling them at the enemy. His fellow wizards followed suit, unleashing a barrage of fireballs that wreaked havoc upon the goblin ranks.
Bang!!
Explode!!
Boom!!
Seizing the opportunity, the cannon unleashed another devastating shot, further throwing the goblins into chaos. The lumberjacks, fueled by adrenaline, swung their axes with wild abandon, felling any goblin that dared to stand in their way.
"Kill them all!"
Shouts were heard as the archers seemingly emerged out of nowhere in the night.
Shortly after, deadly arrows appeared.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Sounds of sharp arrows tearing through the air were heard, the arrows which traveled over 25 feet, nailed ten goblins, who had not managed to escape, onto the ground.
The Barbarians and lumberjacks held their swords and axes out and crashed into the flanks of the messy formation of the goblins like meteors. Their massive inertia sent several unlucky ones flying while their pointy swords penetrated several goblins. The weapons put them to the ground writhing in pain, and they were unable to do anything about it.
"All hail Autumnvale!"
The appearance of those five wizards and the attack Leon made boosted the morale of the troops. They quickly cheered, feeling their spirits rise.
The weapons in their hands were covered in blood. The bodies of goblins were sprawled all over the place before them.
"Kill them!"
Leon shouted as he looked at the fettered goblins, which all wore fearful expressions.
He realized that the goblins are getting scared because of the wizards and his magic. Wizards or shamans are feared and revered in goblin tribes. All of that caused them to lose morale, so much so that they wanted to immediately escape.
More than 100 goblins retreated in fear. Although they had been sneaking about in the dark of night, they did not know if shaman were lurking about. They quickly retreated. In their haste to retreat, they were fully willing to drop the spiked clubs they were holding. They all succumbed to mass panic. None of them had an ounce of courage left for fighting.
The mass panic was so severe that the other goblins began to flee in fear.
Fear and low morale quickly spread.
More than 160 goblin bodies were left behind in the village, but more goblins chose to flee in terror.
The battle ended very quickly.
"Stop pursuing them and come back."
Leon gave his orders. He denied the troops request to give chase.
Leon, exhausted, stood at the village forefront, watching the goblins disappear into the forest. His expression became somewhat less harsh.
He had won the battle.
