Back when he read the Guild's notes in the compendium entry for the White-Haired Goblin, Zelier had agonized over it for quite a while.
*Kill any spellcaster on sight as quickly as possible.*
*Sigh.*
*That's how it is for us mages—the moment we show up on the battlefield, we practically come with a built-in taunt aura.*
Leaning on its bone cane, the White-Haired Goblin walked out of the cave step by step. Beside it, the Orc Goblin stayed glued to its side, warily scanning their surroundings without pause.
Zelier gave a cold sneer.
*Pretty clever, knowing to keep a bodyguard at its side at all times.*
*Then let's see if this bodyguard of yours can stop what's coming!*
Exchanging a glance with Vallis, the two reached a silent understanding.
Vallis nocked an arrow to his bowstring and began fusing his battle aura into the shaft.
Meanwhile, Zelier raised his ash wood wand base, channeling energy to prepare an Arcane Missile.
Two surges of violent power built up within the bushes!
Just then, the White-Haired Goblin raised its bone cane as well.
It hopped up and down on the spot, grotesque and bizarre, muttering a series of malicious curses and screeching incantations.
It was casting a spell too!
Along with the strange shrieks, a psychic wave laden with negative emotions swept across the battlefield in an instant.
Mental magic—Vile Tongue!
Marcus, Gray, and Gak felt their heads suddenly grow heavy, as if struck hard with a blunt instrument, and their movements slowed in tandem.
Under a siege, such an opening was fatal.
"Ga-wa-ka!" The White-Haired Goblin thrust its bone cane violently toward the trio.
*(Kill them!)*
The goblins, already holding the upper hand, grew frenzied once more; the White-Haired Goblin's emergence had injected them with fresh vigor.
Marcus and the others were still reeling from the lingering effects of Vile Tongue, unable to mount an effective defense in time, and the situation immediately turned dire.
Right at that moment, a swift black figure cut into the battlefield from the flank.
It was Shir!
Keeping low in a high-speed sprint, she tore into the goblin horde in an instant.
Her twin daggers flashed with chilly gleams, their blades wrapped in sharp layers of battle aura!
Wherever Shir passed, any goblin blocking her path had its throat slit by a fierce horizontal slash. Brilliant bursts of blood sprayed out as she darted straight for the White-Haired Goblin!
Such a brazen assassination attempt immediately caught the White-Haired Goblin's attention, and it shrieked shrilly.
"Dulu-wa!"
*(Seize that woman first!)*
The White-Haired Goblin's command diverted the goblins that were about to overwhelm Marcus's group, and even the two Orc Goblins charged toward Shir.
"Hmph..."
Shir gave a disdainful smirk. Flicking open her cloak, she flung two round pellets forward.
*Bang! Bang!*
Thick white smoke instantly erupted around Shir, concealing her form and leaving the goblins without a target.
Shir's maneuver drastically relieved the pressure on Marcus's front. Gasping for breath, they immediately rallied their spirits, focused their will, and broke free from the influence of Vile Tongue.
At this exact moment, the ambushers lurking in the shadows were in position to strike!
Vallis released his bowstring.
Thunder Arrow, unleash!
Infused with battle aura, Vallis's arrow crackled with lightning as it exploded forward, aimed true at the White-Haired Goblin!
*Swoosh!*
Its terrifying destructive power obliterated three ordinary goblins blocking the line of fire, blasting their bodies to pieces before striking the bodyguard standing beside the White-Haired Goblin!
The residual force knocked the bodyguard off its feet, leaving the White-Haired Goblin completely exposed!
It snapped its head around, eyes wide with shock.
*The humans actually had snipers waiting in ambush?!*
Before the White-Haired Goblin could react, the next wave of attack crashed in right behind it.
Arcane Missile!
Vallis's Thunder Arrow had cleared all obstacles from the path, leaving Zelier's Arcane Missile completely unobstructed.
With nowhere to dodge, the White-Haired Goblin could only watch helplessly as it took the spell head-on!
*Boom!*
The blast of the missile detonated with an ear-splitting roar. Spilling mana kicked up a massive cloud of dust, swirling the surrounding mist into a vortex!
Blinding blue light erupted!
Direct hit!
*Boom!*
The impact of the Arcane Missile seemed to freeze the entire battlefield. Goblins and adventurers alike widened their eyes, staring toward where the White-Haired Goblin stood.
What... what happened?
The smoke slowly dispersed.
The strands of hair on the White-Haired Goblin's head fluttered slightly. The expression on its face was frozen in that moment of shock—but its lower half was gone.
Yes, completely gone.
The Arcane Missile had torn away everything below the waist, slaying it where it stood!
The decapitation strike was a success!
When the goblins saw the gruesome death of their leader, a speechless silence washed over the field, and terror took root in their hearts.
*The leader... died just like that?!*
"Strike!" Marcus roared.
This was the golden opportunity to wipe out the goblin settlement. The six-man party held nothing back, launching a full-scale assault!
Vallis drew his bow once more, and after channeling power, unleashed another Thunder Arrow!
This time, his target was the Orc Goblin in front of Marcus.
The Thunder Arrow struck home, obliterating its shoulder and half of its upper body!
Flesh and blood sprayed everywhere as the Orc Goblin collapsed, wailing in agony.
Marcus followed up with a vicious shield bash, then cleanly decapitated it!
Zelier provided ranged support as well, condensing an Arcane Missile that blew the top of the skull clean off the Orc Goblin before Gak.
Red and white scattered across the ground; the Orc Goblin died on the spot!
Before battle aura and magic, their physical resilience was utterly fragile.
The successive deaths of the White-Haired Goblin and the Orc Goblins utterly shattered the horde's morale.
At this sight, the ordinary goblins lost all will to fight, wailing and shrieking as they scattered in all directions.
But Gray had no intention of letting them go.
"Hahaha! Running now? Too late!"
Gray laughed aloud, his longsword thrusting and stabbing, claiming the lives of two more goblins.
Under Gray's relentless pursuit, the green-skinned bastards routed completely, stripped of every shred of fighting spirit.
Some goblins tried to flee back into the cave to hide, but under the cover of smoke bombs, Shir had long since outflanked them to cut off their retreat, sealing away their last hope of escape.
Daggers struck first, followed by phantom-like throwing knives.
Against these creatures, Shir did not even need to expend battle aura. Hidden weapons rained from her hands, and with an array of lethal tools at her disposal, her killing efficiency was astonishing!
When the final wail cut off abruptly, silence finally returned to the battlefield.
The goblin tribe was wiped out!
Zelier lowered his wand and let out a sigh of relief.
Lv. 5 (22/200) -> Lv. 6 (102/225)
Level up!
In the battle just now, Zelier had personally killed a White-Haired Goblin, an Orc Goblin, and several ordinary goblins, earning a total of 280 experience points.
Chapter 46