Chapter 104: now this is normal part 3

The girls immediately fell into formation the moment they observed the arrival of the new group. Sensing the heavy malice and radiating hatred pouring from the incoming group Hobgoblins, they realized that the battle was about to take a far more serious turn.

?It was entirely understandable. When someone returned to their home only to discover that their kin and brothers had been slaughtered, and that the killer was still casually lingering nearby—even unceremoniously moving the corpses—it was bound to spark absolute fury. To the returning warriors, such nonchalance was the ultimate sign of disrespect. It signaled that the perpetrator was supremely confident, believing the returning force lacked the power to do anything about it.

?In truth, that confidence was fully justified. For the girls, the arrival of these newcomers changed virtually nothing. Upon carefully observing them, they noted that this particular hunting party was not nearly as large as the main settlement force they had previously crushed. This group numbered only around four hundred goblins, but this force possessed a significantly higher concentration of Hobgoblins.

?Upon closer inspection, the girls noticed a Hobgoblin standing at the very front. His skin tone was visibly darker than that of ordinary Hobgoblins. Observing this, the girls recalled the special Hobgoblins in their previous encounter with the black-robed goblin who they served as his guards. there were at least eight of these special Hobgoblins scattered within the hunting party.

?Radiating immense malice, the hunting party made it clear that they would be considerably harder to subdue than the previous wave. Yet, the girls did not even blink as the force arrayed itself before them.

?A brief stalemate ensued between the two opposing sides. The Tribe Chieftain glared furiously at the intruders, but during the tense silence, he noticed that these trespassers showed zero signs of panic. They made no attempt to retreat. This absolute lack of fear infuriated him to his core.

?The Chieftain unleashed a booming roar—a sound so deafeningly loud that it echoed clearly across the field, saturated with rage and deep humiliation. As if receiving an absolute command, the rest of the goblins roared alongside their leader. With the Chieftain at the vanguard, the entire party charged recklessly toward the girls.

?The girls, already maintaining a solid formation, did not hesitate to alter their strategy. Retaining their structural core, they initiated a counter-charge directly into the advancing hunting party.

?Seeing the humanoid fighters charge straight toward him, the Chieftain grew even more enraged. He ordered all the Hobgoblins to activate their physical enhancements simultaneously. They intended to collide head-on and crush the intruders through sheer physical force.

?The girls did not back down from the challenge. They immediately activated their titles alongside their pawns. As with their previous maneuvers, Magenta, Brenda, and Fiona formed the direct center of the vanguard to meet the head-on collision. Velvet and Valeria spread outward along the flanks to envelope the enemy’s sides. Vespa and Linda held position in the middle, while Astra initiated her familiar routine, releasing deadly volleys of raining arrows over the advancing horde.

?As the arrows rained down, the goblins—driven completely mad by malice—showed no regard for their falling companions. They surged forward relentlessly. Even when arrows pierced their stomachs, those who could still move merely made a harsh grinding sound through grit teeth and continued their advance, ignoring the searing pain.

?The girls were utterly unfazed by this fanatical display. They had not expected their long-range firepower to break the enemy’s formation, knowing full well these guys had lost their sanity to rage. This was simply a standard tactical engagement.

?However, because the Chieftain was personally leading the frontal assault, the girls adjusted their immediate line of engagement. Brenda stepped into the absolute center, leading the spearhead of the vanguard. Just as the two forces were about to collide, Brenda seamlessly switched her weapon. She swapped the massive greatsword she typically used to sweep away ordinary goblins for her light, incredibly fast longsword.

?Simultaneously, Brenda activated her title, selecting attack and speed. She charged directly toward the dark-skinned Chieftain, while Fiona and Magenta branched slightly off to the sides.

?As the two forces clashed, Magenta executed her signature skill: Heavy Stomp. She slammed her foot down, releasing a violent shockwave across the charging goblins. Caught off guard by the kinetic impact, the goblins lost their momentum and stumbled into instability. Capitalizing on the opening, Magenta began swinging her massive axe in wide, devastating arcs, marking the opening exchange of the frontline slaughter.

?When the Chieftain witnessed his mighty warriors being cut down like wheat by these humanoid combatants, he attempted to shift his direction to intercept Magenta before she could cause further casualties. However, just as he turned to engage her, he sensed an immediate threat from his flank.

?Instinctively, the Chieftain ducked to the side and raised his heavy spear to parry an incoming strike. When he tracked the direction of the attack, he found himself face-to-face with Brenda.

?Brenda smirked mockingly at him, her eyes gleeful. "Hey there, big fella! Where do you think you’re going when your opponent is right here? Or am I simply not enough for you?"

?Provoked by her mocking tone, the Chieftain exploded with rage and turned his full attention toward her, launching a ferocious barrage of spear strikes.

?Meanwhile, on Magenta and Fiona’s side, although the Hobgoblins in this hunting party were notably stronger and fought with far greater ferocity than the previous wave, it changed very little about the outcome. For the two girls, the enemy’s elevated combat power simply meant they had to exert slightly more physical effort to execute their slashes. They turned the front line into a relentless meat grinder.

?For Velvet and Valeria on the outer flanks, the engagement posed no extraordinary challenge either. Their lethal strikes hit with surgical precision. Even though the goblins fought like frenzied beasts, their aura points remained unchanged, rendering the engagement no different from the prior battle.

?Further back, the second line comprising Vespa and Linda stayed close to Astra, ensuring that Safina and Smith remained fully protected from any stray flankers. However, it was as though the goblins were entirely blind to the rear guard; they focused all their hatred exclusively on the vanguard attacking them head-on. Any stray goblin that attempted to breach the sides was instantly picked off by Astra’s flawless marksmanship. Thus, the rear line faced no pressuring threats whatsoever.

?Back in the center, Brenda was locked in a intense duel. Although the Chieftain’s physical enhancement leaned heavily into raw attack power, his overall movement speed was noticeably slower than Brenda’s. However, because of the cramped space on the battlefield, Brenda was occasionally forced to parry his heavy strikes rather than rely purely on evasive footwork.

?Suddenly, the Chieftain thrust his spear directly toward Brenda’s chest. Sensing the deadly trajectory, Brenda instantly altered her title’s active boost, switching her boost from attack and speed to defense and speed. Utilizing the sudden surge in defensive stability, she used her sword to parry the spearhead to the right while sidestepping to the left.

?Despite avoiding the lethal point, the Chieftain proved more cunning than expected, Seeing her dodge to the side, he immediately closed the distance between them. Having observed her fighting style earlier, he believed she was merely dodging because her physical strength was inferior to his.

?Confident in his physical superiority, the Chieftain stepped into close quarters and unleashed a devastating left hook aimed straight at her head.

?Brenda did not panic at the sudden shift in attack vector. Instead, she executed an unexpected maneuver: she released her grip on her longsword, letting it drop to the ground. She quickly crossed her arms tightly in front of her face to form a guard.

?The Chieftain did not halt his momentum. Seeing his opponent abandon her weapon to make a desperate hand defense, he put his full weight behind the strike. The heavy fist slammed straight into Brenda’s guard.

?The sheer kinetic force pushed Brenda back several steps, her boots skidding across the dirt. Although she had successfully blocked the blow, the massive difference in raw strength caused her arms to go momentarily numb.

?Seeing her pushed back, the Chieftain pressed his advantage, stepping forward to throw another crushing punch.

?Having anticipated his follow-up, Brenda was ready. As the fist whistled toward her head a second time, she ducked down swiftly. The wind generated by the punch ruffled the stray hairs on her head, indicating that this blow carried even more force than the last. Brenda mentally patted herself on the back for choosing to dodge rather than absorb another direct hit.

?From her low crouching position, Brenda adjusted her title boost back to attack and speed. She delivered a lightning-fast low sweep kick aimed directly at the Chieftain’s support knee.

?Unable to adjust his weight in time, the Chieftain took the full force of the kick to the side of his joint. The sudden impact forced his massive frame to bend onto one knee.

?Capitalizing on his altered balance, Brenda sprang upward from her crouch like a frog, executing a forward roll over the Chieftain’s shoulder.

?The Chieftain whirled around in shock, but as Brenda landed on the ground behind him, she scooped up her fallen longsword mid-roll. Without taking the time to stand up fully, she pivoted on her heel and executed a blinding backward arc swing.

?Before the Chieftain could react, the glowing edge of the longsword cleaved cleanly through his neck. His severed head flew skyward, a look of utter bewilderment frozen on his face. Even in his final moment, the Chieftain could not comprehend how the tides had turned in a fraction of a second. He had assumed that disarming an opponent signaled their absolute defeat, unaware that he was dueling a master who held the title of Unmatched Duelist. From the moment he agreed to single combat, his fate had been sealed.

?The Chieftain’s headless corpse collapsed onto the dirt, spraying a pool of blood across the battlefield. But just as Brenda exhaled, believing the core threat was neutralized, an unexpected reaction from the remaining hunting party caught the girls completely off guard.