Chapter 101: the retreat

?And even after finishing the battle with that special detachment and completely annihilating them, they still had the red goblins to deal with. Even while waiting for the other side to make another move, they continued to clear out the remaining horde. As the girls kept pushing forward, the sheer number of red goblins—which had begun like a terrifying, overwhelming tide—was now significantly reduced. Only a sparse few continued to attack with any frequency. Meanwhile, the black-robed goblin made no further moves, merely observing from the direction of the settlement.

?He had already lost quite a substantial number of Elite soldiers. Ordinary goblins had died in massive heaps, but in his eyes, those were merely expendable fodder. The thing that truly pained his heart was the loss of his Elite Hobgoblins; he had lost more than a hundred of them. To make matters even worse, his special goblins were exceptionally rare even within his own territory, and he possessed only a few dozen in total. Seeing ten of them perish in a single brief exchange was as painful as being punched squarely in the face and losing a tooth.

?He no longer wished to linger in this place. With a few swift hand signals, the hobgoblins responsible for blowing the war horns suddenly began to sound their instruments. When the girls heard the sudden blare of the horns,the girls immediately braced themselves, assuming another brutal assault was imminent. They instantly became far more vigilant, their eyes tightly concentrated on the main army even as they finished off the nearby stragglers.

?What they saw next, however, left them utterly astonished. That entire army, utilizing the lingering cover of the remaining red goblins, began to retreat backward into the dense forest. Even as the battle wound down, the girls themselves made no immediate moves to pursue. After some time passed, Velvet finished slaying the final red goblin inside the settlement grounds.

?Gradually, the entire field of the settlement became completely quiet, as if nothing catastrophic had ever transpired. Only the gruesome sight of scattered corpses and the heavy, lingering metallic smell of blood in the air proved that a profoundly bloody battle had just taken place. The very earth was thoroughly soaked in crimson, its color visibly changing underfoot.

?Sarafina and Smith remained up in the watchtower while the main group of the black-robed goblin’s army disappeared past the tree line. Velvet issued a firm command to the group: "We don’t need to chase after them. We are already exhausted from this battle, and we don’t know if that guy has any other tricks up his sleeve. Let’s not act irrationally."

?What she said was entirely true. It could be said that their ability to fight for such a long duration until now was a massive contribution thanks to their Lifebound artifact, the stamina pool, and Velvet’s own skill. While fighting, Velvet was constantly trying her hardest to replenish the stamina pool, giving the other girls enough fuel so they could continue fighting, activating their titles, and unleashing powerful skills without worrying about running out of energy in the middle of a clash.

?Even so, although they could technically press on, their bodies were still organic. Their physical forms were not exaggeratedly invincible; even if a car has a full tank of gas and can keep driving, the engine still requires time to cool down and rest. That was precisely their current situation. They desperately needed to give their physical bodies enough time to recover so they could fight effectively later on.

?After gathering together, they did not lower their defenses completely despite the break in fighting. Although they knew the enemy had retreated, they didn’t know if he was merely feigning a retreat to lure them out. Keeping their weapons drawn, they walked into the center of the settlement. Because of the bloody scene and the corpses littering the area, they first had to clear the battlefield.

?Even as they collected their loot and cleared away the fallen, they maintained a vigilant posture and kept their guards high. After clearing the main area and seeing no further aggressive actions, they paused to rest for a few brief minutes. Confirming that the opposing party had truly retreated rather than preparing some immediate sinister trap, they finally moved to retrieve Smith and Sarafina from the watchtower.

?Valeria gently carried Smith down from the watchtower since he required assistance. At the same time, Magenta went to fetch the wheelchair that had been abandoned earlier during the start of the battle. When she returned with it, everyone was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in remarkably good condition. During the chaotic assault, they had abandoned the wheelchair in order to carry Smith quickly to the watchtower for safety. Seeing that the wheelchair was not severely damaged and remained entirely usable brought a collective sense of relief.

?The red goblins and their allies had not even bothered to smash the wheelchair. Smith felt especially relieved, knowing that if his wheelchair had been destroyed, he would have been transformed into a burden, requiring the girls to take turns carrying him around on their backs. That would have been a deeply embarrassing ordeal. Upon seeing his intact wheelchair, he knew he had been spared from the most awkward moment of his life.

?When the girls noticed the dramatic relief on Smith’s face, they instantly understood what he was thinking, and all of them burst into lighthearted laughter. Even Sarafina began to laugh along with them. This brief moment caused the thick, lingering tension hanging over the atmosphere to suddenly turn into a harmonious one. However, despite the brief laughter, it couldn’t hide the stark fact that they were still standing in the middle of fresh carnage.

?After the moment passed, Velvet spoke up, her tone turning serious once again: "Okay, we know that guy has decided to retreat for now, but we still have to remain extremely careful about his tricks and future moves. We don’t have to panic, but we must keep our guard up constantly. We all know that things may not be simple from now on."

?Smith nodded in quiet agreement from his wheelchair. They all understood that although they had won this current engagement, it didn’t mean the enemy had given up completely. From the very beginning, they had been forced into a passive defensive position. Although the enemy leader had retreated, he was still alive, meaning future trouble would inevitably come their way.

?What made this enemy particularly worrying was what they had observed since their very first encounter. It appeared this enemy possessed the ability to spy on them. They did not know what method or power he used to monitor their movements, which meant the enemy operated comfortably from the shadows while they remained exposed in the light. This asymmetry was precisely why they had to remain on high alert at all times.

?Velvet then smiled reassuringly and added, "But we don’t have to worry too much. Look at it this way: even though this guy is troublesome, our primary goals are almost complete. Even if he comes again, we will be much harder to deal with. In fact, I must say we should actually thank this guy! I have a feeling he will allow us to complete our mission in a very short amount of time, gaining far more rewards while saving us a lot of effort."

?Upon hearing this, the girls smiled, and even Smith had to agree with her logic. They truly had a reason to be thankful to that black-robed goblin. For the Queens to grow stronger, there was only one direct path: slaughter. They had to kill creatures to gain necessary points. Although they were on the defensive side throughout the entire hour-long battle, the sheer volume of high-level foes brought to their doorstep was unprecedented.

?In just a few hours, they had slain more than five thousand goblins, as well as over two hundred intermediate-rank hobgoblins, including the elite hobgoblins from the main army. While not every single kill converted directly into points for every girl, every single girl had gained enough points to boost her combat power significantly. For them, adding a single point felt like gaining three times the strength.

?Velvet, Magenta, Brenda, and Astra had now reached seventeen points, while the remaining girls had reached sixteen points. However, the one who benefited the absolute most in this battle was none other than Linda. While the others gained points mainly from hobgoblins and big goblins, Valeria had purposely assisted Linda in farming points during the fight, helping her even when she was moved to the wall.

?In this battle alone, Linda gained four points. This single wave simplified their objective by a massive margin. if they had actively tried to search the forest for this many high-ranking goblins, it could have easily taken them days to reach this stage. The black-robed goblin had made it possible in just one single battle, which was why they were now genuinely happy despite the exhaustion.

?Just as they were relaxing and chatting happily amid the carnage, Vesper—who was the sharpest and most attentive among them—suddenly froze. She turned her head toward the distant tree line where the black-robed goblin had retreated with his army.

?At that exact moment, the atmosphere around them went completely dead silent. Seeing Vespa’s sudden reaction, the other girls instantly went quiet, assuming another enemy attack was underway. Without a second thought, the girls sprang into action, instantly forming a tight defensive formation around Smith and Sarafina, ready to repel any incoming assault.

?Vesper lowered her stance and whispered, " I have the exact same feeling I experienced back in the forest. It seems that guy is still monitoring us."