Chapter 99: broken teeth part 3

Valeria looked around her immediate surroundings and found that there was virtually no space where she could slip through. Because they were so tightly compacted and their limited numbers, they only managed to form a dense, compact encirclement consisting of at most two concentric rings: a very tight inner rank and a surrounding outer rank.

?Within this tight formation, their long spears overlapped in a menacing grid. The hobgoblins positioned on the very front line consisted of a strategic mixture of specialized Hobgoblins and ordinary Elite Hobgoblins. On the rear rank, however, all of them were ordinary Elite Hobgoblins. Those in the front held their long spears firmly at chest level, their sharp tips extended inward and pointing directly toward Valeria. Meanwhile, those on the outer rank held their spears higher, at shoulder level.

?This layered arrangement on the front line created a terrifying grid with multiple levels of bristling spearheads. Because of the spherical nature of the encirclement, the formation resembled the gaping maw of a shark, studded with rows of jagged teeth pointing directly at her as if a massive, solid monster stood ready to swallow her whole at any given moment.

?Yet, Valeria did not panic. She had seen this specific detachment they were attempting to push deeper toward the settlement inside. She had already left Linda safely up on the wall together with Vespa, which meant she was entirely free of burdens at this moment. The only companions at her side were her pawns.

?Assessing the enemy formation once again, Valeria observed that the opposing side remained completely motionless, holding their ground in disciplined silence. Deciding not to wait around idly , she took the initiative to make a move for herself. She activated her Title, and alongside her two pawns, they immediately launched a sharp, decisive charge toward one side of the encirclement.

?The Hobgoblins did not simply stand by and wait for the enemy to close in. The moment they saw Valeria approach, they executed a coordinated step backward in perfect unison. With a highly synchronized motion, just as Valeria was on the verge of making contact, they thrust their spears forward simultaneously.

?This disciplined maneuver produced a deadly effect, sending two distinct lines of gleaming spearheads thrusting toward her in a brutal, blindingly fast motion. Even though Valeria was protected by sturdy armor, she had already scanned the aura point values of every goblin present. She had discovered that the ordinary Elite Hobgoblins possessed a physical enhancement of only ten percent and most of them were not even at the peak of the intermediate rank. Even with their physical enhancement active, their total aura points hovered around fifty, making them manageable targets that did not pose an immediate lethality on their own.

?However, the specialized Hobgoblins were a far different story. All of them sat comfortably at the peak of the intermediate rank. Upon activating their physical enhancements, their strength boosted by roughly twenty percent, bringing their total aura output to around seventy two points—nearly double Valeria’s own current aura points.

?Because of their superior numbers and strength, Valeria could not afford to give them even a single opportunity to land a direct blow. With the dense wall of overlapping spearheads coming at her, it seemed almost certain that several would connect, given how much space the front rank had to maneuver and strike.

?Yet, even as the glittering array of sharp spears lunged directly at her, Valeria did not panic. In that split second, she performed a move that left the Hobgoblins completely dumbfounded.

?As the spears were thrust forward, Valeria commanded her pawns not to engage immediately, forcing them to halt their momentum right before making contact. Valeria herself, however, continued her forward charge at full speed. When the rows of spears came hurtling toward her—many of them aimed directly at her chest and head—she activated her second skill, Elastic Body.

?With an extraordinarily bizarre, liquid movement, she bent her upper body completely backward at a sharp angle. Through this incredible act of flexibility, she ducked cleanly under both rows of thrusting spears aimed at her vital points. The sharp iron blades passed mere millimeters over her face, close enough for her to see the bright reflections of light glinting off the polished metal edges.

?Without pausing her forward momentum and without even rising back up into a standing posture, she maintained that impossible, bent-back stance and thrust her own spear forward with immense force.

?This unconventional counterattack caught the front-line goblins completely off guard. Trapped in their tight, rigid formation, they lacked the space and time required to dodge. The leading Hobgoblin could only watch helplessly as Valeria’s spear blade drove directly into its stomach. The spear point passed cleanly through its body, exiting out its back, forcing a agonizing cry of pain from the monster’s throat.

?That single strike was only the beginning of her assault. With violent strength, Valeria pulled the impaled Hobgoblin directly toward her, simultaneously twisting her body. The movement hurled the dangling Hobgoblin forcefully to the side, crashing into the spears that had been extended forward.

?This chaotic impact created a temporary gap among the tightly packed weapon tips. Capitalizing on the opening, Valeria instantly snapped back up into an ordinary standing position, stepping smoothly into the open space right between the confused ranks.

?The surrounding goblins desperately attempted to retrieve their overextended weapons, but because their long spears were cumbersome and the formation remained exceedingly tight, they could not pull them back fast enough. Valeria immediately exploited this precious window of time to close the distance on one of the specialized Hobgoblins.

?Recognizing the immense danger, the specialized Hobgoblin attempted to retreat backward to create defensive distance. However, it was already far too late; Valeria had closed in until she was standing a mere meter in front of him.

?the specialized Hobgoblin let go of his long spear entirely, stepped forward, and threw a devastating, heavy punch directly toward Valeria’s chest. The sheer force of the blow created a sharp whistling sound through the air, signaling a strike heavy enough to inflict severe damage even through her armor. Valeria had no intention of testing her armor’s defensive capabilities against such raw power.

?As the heavy fist came flying toward her, Valeria ducked under the punch by twisting her torso with fluid elegance. In that same seamless motion, recognizing that a long spear was impractical for ultra-close combat, she slid her grip rapidly down the shaft of her weapon until her hand rested right behind the long spearhead itself. Using the spearhead like a dagger, she thrust it violently toward the throat of the specialized Hobgoblin.

?The goblin lacked both the time and room to dodge the incoming strike. Desperate to save himself, he gathered his strength and forcibly dragged one of the ordinary Elite Hobgoblins into the path of the attack to serve as a meat shield.

?Valeria, however, had fully anticipated this desperate maneuver. She twisted her wrist in a bizarre, unnatural angle, instantly altering the trajectory of her blade. Rather than hitting the meat shield, the shifted blade bypassed the sacrificial goblin entirely, cutting across toward the open space where the specialized Hobgoblin was moving. To the monster, it appeared as though he were throwing his own neck directly onto the sharp edge. Mid-motion and unable to stop in mid-air, the specialized Hobgoblin’s throat was pierced cleanly by the sharp point.

?Blood gushed violently from the open wound. Although the monster did not die instantaneously, Valeria knew the strike was fatal and did not waste precious time trying to finish him off. Keeping a firm grip on the spearhead like a dagger, she pounced directly onto the adjacent goblin, diving into intense close-quarters combat.

?Her sudden move caused immediate disruption throughout the enemy’s rigid ranks. Issuing a swift mental command, Valeria ordered her two pawns to jump into the fray, and they plunged alongside her.

?Upon seeing their comrades getting ruthlessly slaughtered from within, the Hobgoblins on the far side of the encirclement charged frantically toward Valeria and her pawns, aiming to thrust their spears into their exposed backs.

?Anticipating this pincer response, Valeria issued another rapid command. Together with her pawns, she forcibly burst through the weakened section of the immediate encirclement. The sudden escape caught the charging Hobgoblins off guard, forcing them to pull back their weapons abruptly to avoid colliding with their own teammates.

?Thanks to this decisive burst of movement, Valeria and her pawns successfully broke free from the encirclement.but they did not run far, after taking a few quick steps to reset their footing, they spun around on their heels and leveled their spears, clearly signaling their readiness for another brutal exchange.

?The surviving members of the specialized detachment quickly gathered themselves together to reassess their situation. they discovered that six of the ordinary Elite Hobgoblins had been killed outright. Furthermore, two of their specialized Hobgoblins were critically injured, gasping for their last breaths, effectively counting as dead.

?Seeing that their human opponent had not fled the scene but was actively waiting for another round of combat, the surviving monsters chose not to dwell on their immediate losses. They reorganized themselves swiftly, abandoning the encirclement strategy to assemble into a classic, square phalanx formation.

?On the opposing side, Valeria stood completely still, watching them assemble without moving an inch.

?The specialized detachment wasted no time, falling swiftly into their dense square layout. Following a tense, brief stalemate where both sides leveled their deadly combat intent at one another, the three Hobgoblins positioned on the front rank of the detachment lowered their long spears, creating a formidable, unbroken wall of spears reminiscent of the heavy formations that had previously charged toward Magenta.

?Without wasting a single second, the entire square phalanx charged straight toward Valeria.

?It was a terrifying, intimidating sight. Though they were comprised only of a small number of Elite Hobgoblins and could not fully match the overwhelming force of a massive military phalanx, the sheer momentum of their synchronized charge still produced a heavy, visual impact that shook the ground beneath their feet.

?Yet Valeria and her pawns refused to back down against the oncoming onslaught. Issuing a quick tactical command, Valeria positioned herself at the very front of their small unit, with her two pawns at her left and right flanks.

?Lifting their spears in unison, they reactivated their Titles, as they charged forward to meet the enemy head-on. Although their three-person momentum was far less visually terrifying than the massed wall of goblins charging toward them, Valeria’s eyes remained sharp, completely devoid of any fear.

?Just as the two opposing walls of sharp spearheads converged and were on the verge of clashing, something entirely unexpected happened.