Chapter 33: Goblin Attack

"At that time, Lady Aurora and you were in Winter City because His Majesty the King needed Lady Aurora to make the Glorious Potion. Veronica was the one who received me. She was quite surprised that someone would choose to travel alone to Sky Castle... and then immediately attacked me," Ryan said with a bitter smile. From his expression, everyone could tell this wasn't a pleasant memory. "It was Lady Griffin, who happened to be a guest at Sky Castle, who recognized me."

"Pfft~ You actually ran into her," Teresa laughed softly, like an ice lotus blooming. "Why did you go to Sky Castle alone?"

"It was both for training and to deliver something. Lady Dieter Lind asked me to find a harpy's heart, which I managed to get, so I took it to her," Ryan raised his right hand. "And I used the money to get this spatial ring."

"Wow, I'm so jealous~" The half-elf gazed at the ring on Ryan's right index finger with envy. "In the forest, only woodland lords and chant mages—our equivalent of wizards—can own spatial rings."

The wood elves' ability to produce magical items was not as advanced as that of their high elf cousins. Humans were also not a race suited to using magic, so magical items were quite rare. This scarcity was mainly because creating a magical item required a significant loss of the creator's magic, which took a long time to recover through training and rest. Thus, magical items were very precious.

"A harpy's heart is incredibly rare! Mr. Ryan, how did you get it?" Rost, listening to the conversation, saw everyone was in good spirits and decided to join in.

"It's simple, really. There are two steps: first, stick your hand into the harpy's chest, and second, pull out its heart," Ryan joked.

"Hahaha!"

"Indeed, quite simple."

"Mr. Ryan makes sense, just pull it out, right?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Ryan's words elicited laughter from the caravan.

"Next time you come to Sky Castle, let me know. I'll arrange a room for you, and I'll show you the most beautiful sea of clouds from Sky Castle," Teresa said warmly, looking at the sea of clouds before them.

"Wow! Is that an invitation?" Ryan rarely joked flirtatiously. "Our mission has just begun... if we complete this task smoothly, visiting Sky Castle wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Then it's settled," Teresa nodded, smiling at him, her lips curling in a captivating manner.

The other men present all pouted. To be invited by a Garon Council member was quite the fortune for this kingdom knight.

The horses trod on the soft meadow, and the wagons moved forward smoothly. The scenery from the mountain ridge was breathtaking: clouds above, fog in the valleys, creating a fairy-tale world at the edge of the sky.

After traveling for more than three hours, the noon sun indicated it was time to eat. Everyone sat down on the ground to boil water and cook food. Ryan showcased his ability again, easily lighting the woodpile with a flash of light from his hands. The caravan quickly enjoyed hot water and hot food.

After lunch, they were preparing to move on when a black dot appeared at the edge of their vision. Rost reacted the fastest: "What's that? Bilger! Bilger is back! Something must be happening!"

Ryan instinctively stood up. Bilger, in his gray robe and riding a fast horse, soon arrived in front of everyone. "We have a situation. There's a group of goblins heading our way!"

"How many? What kind?"

"About twenty to thirty goblin wolf riders, and more goblin spearmen. They'll be here in about ten minutes," Bilger reported loudly.

"Aik, Rost, Estelle, come with me! Teresa, stay with Virt to protect the caravan," Ryan quickly made a decision and mounted his horse. "Mr. Bilger, protect Mr. Oliver and the others."

"Understood!"

The caravan guards reacted quickly, clearly experienced with such situations. They skillfully surrounded the wagons to form a defensive perimeter, while Ryan and the others mounted their horses.

"Ahhh~ They're coming! Gentlemen, it's time to fight!" The wandering knight Aik was very excited. He mounted his horse, drew his sword, and raised his shield. The other wandering knights quickly followed suit, with Estelle already charging ahead on his horse.

Pulling the reins, it was time for battle.

They reached the hilltop, where black dots appeared at the edge of their vision.

These were small creatures with broad faces, long ears, and sunken noses, very vicious-looking, green-skinned, holding crude spears and wooden clubs, riding tall wolves. They also spotted Ryan and his group.

"Waaaaaagh!" The leading goblin, slightly larger, shouted, and the rest of the goblins echoed, "Waaaaaagh!"

"Humans! Kill!"

"Kill!!!"

"Tsk, it's funny to see these goblins shouting like that." The half-elf Estelle, having seen much of the world, stood on the hill, drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and let it fly with a whistle.

A goblin riding a wolf was hit, dropping the reins and rolling down the hill with its mount.

"Whoosh~" The second arrow followed the first, hitting the wolf's head dead center.

"Rapid-fire arrows," Ryan murmured.

Everyone knew that rangers and warriors seemed to follow different paths. Simply put, warriors were close combatants, and rangers were long-range fighters.

But reality wasn't a game. Many rangers also used curved blades, longswords, and spears in combat, though they rarely carried shields. Many warriors also knew how to use bows and crossbows for long-range attacks, though few mastered them.

When a ranger, after years of training, became an elite and mastered the secrets of archery, rapid-fire and split-shot arrows became their symbols. Any ranger Ryan knew who could use these techniques was over thirty years old.

Well, Estelle was a half-elf with wood elf blood. Wood elves were all archery masters. From his appearance, Estelle couldn't be more than eighty years old, equivalent to a thirty-year-old human.

With such a powerful ranged fighter, Ryan felt reassured. He raised his warhammer, "Advance, warriors!"

"Charge!!!" Aik didn't wait for Ryan to finish and immediately charged down the hill.

"Charge!!!" The other wandering knights also charged madly at the goblin wolf riders.

"...Don't these people know how to follow orders? Never mind, they're just goblins, it should be fine," Ryan muttered, giving up on directing as he saw even Rost charging down.

Aik, wielding his longsword, charged at the goblin wolf rider in the lead. The goblin shouted, urging its wolf to charge. At the moment of engagement, Aik slightly adjusted his body, dodged the spear, and his longsword gleamed as it sliced off half the goblin's body.

The goblin's red blood sprayed in the air, further inciting the bloodlust of the wandering knights. In close combat, the goblin wolf riders were no match. The goblins' short stature and crude weapons were almost useless against the well-equipped and trained knights. The wolves had some fighting ability but were quickly killed by the knights' swords.

Goblins were never symbols of strength. These creatures, lower in status than orcs among greenskins, embodied weak power, weak morale, and poor leadership. Goblin armies usually faced total collapse after losing just ten percent of their troops. Their leaders were often the first to flee. In contrast, the wandering knights, though without titles or ranks, were professionally trained soldiers with decent equipment, easily defeating the goblin wolf riders.

"Whoosh~" An arrow hit a wolf's eye, sending it tumbling down the hill.

The half-elf drew his bow again, nocked another arrow.

"Whoosh~" Another arrow struck a wolf's jaw, flipping it over and leaving it howling in the thick grass.

"Excellent skills! Estelle, people say wood elves' volleys are like torrential rain. Seeing it today, it's true!" Ryan didn't rush forward but stood beside Estelle. The enemies were too weak for him to be interested in fighting.

"In my homeland, my archery is not outstanding. Every adult in the forest has practiced archery for at least twenty years," Estelle said gracefully, his long hair flowing.

"Twenty years means little to you, but for humans... that's half their life, Estelle. Just call me Ryan," Ryan watched as the wandering knights routed the goblin wolf riders, leaving a few bodies behind as they fled.

"Twenty years isn't that short for me either, Ryan. Nor for my father. When I was deemed capable of handling myself at thirty-five, he finally left this world," Estelle said, putting down his bow as the goblins fled beyond his range. "But after many decades, my mother still looks as beautiful as ever. I now look older than her."

"Is that why you didn't want to stay in the forest?" Ryan thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Yes, I felt out of place and weak. When I was with them, I felt they saw me as a baby... which was probably not my imagination. Unlike staying with humans, where I feel like an elder, even a giant," Estelle said, showing disdain. "In the forest, anyone who can hold a bow knows rapid-fire and split-shot arrows. But here? In Nord, I bet there are fewer than twenty rangers in a full lord's army who know these techniques."

"True, but human soldiers can be trained to a certain level of combat effectiveness in about six months

," Ryan said, watching the wandering knights fully rout the goblin wolf riders. "And elves?"

"...Alright, a qualified woodland guard takes at least ten years because elves always learn more slowly," Estelle admitted, mounting his horse. They waited a while, as Aik and the others were still busy showing off their prowess. Rost returned, holding two goblin ears. "Something's off, Mr. Ryan."

"Too few, right?" Ryan spread his hands, showing no panic. "We were told there were over thirty goblin wolf riders and more spearmen. We've seen no more than fifteen riders and no spearmen. This is a trap, Rost. Goblins are cunning."

Yes, compared to orcs, goblins were barely capable of some strategy, like knowing whether to charge directly or throw a rock first.

"A feint! We've been tricked! Another goblin force has distracted us! Mr. Oliver and the others are in danger!" Rost exclaimed, then relaxed. "Ha! Silly me, Mr. Oliver and the others are very safe."

"Yes, so let's clean up and head back," Ryan smiled.

Sure enough, when they reunited with the wandering knights and rode back to the caravan, they were met with a scene of devastation.

Mercenaries and guards had scattered, charging at the goblins. It was a one-sided slaughter. Oliver's guard, Falk, shouted his name, raised his shield to easily block a goblin's spear, and lunged at the goblin spearman. The short goblin was quickly caught and killed. Falk chopped off its ear and looked for his next target.

The Blood Axe Mercenary Company's leader, Virt, wielded his greatsword, hacking with abandon. The recent misfortunes seemed to be vented in this moment. His greatsword left goblin limbs and bodies scattered everywhere. The mercenaries, following his lead, pushed the goblins back step by step.

The leading goblin chieftain shouted, "Retreat! Retreat!"

Before he finished, a white ice bolt shot from afar, hitting the chieftain's neck and decapitating him. The mercenaries scrambled to present the head to the caster.

"Should I be more polite sometimes?" Ryan subconsciously touched his neck, thinking that an angry woman was indeed powerful.

Especially a woman from Garon.

"Move aside, not a single greenskin escapes today! Move!" Teresa stood in the middle of the caravan, raising her staff. Deep blue arcane energy swirled around the purple staff, then unleashed under her direction. "Frost Nova!"

Centered on Teresa, the magical power froze a fan-shaped area within a hundred meters in front of her. All goblins trying to retreat were caught in the ice, including a few mercenaries who didn't retreat in time.

The battlefield fell silent.

This was the power of magic.