Chapter 25: Goblin Encirclement

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Goblin Encirclement

Hesia’s gaze was locked on the strange mud doll swaying in the wind at the top of the Bell Tower.

Based on his observations while circling the perimeter, the boundary of the silenced area was a distinct arc.

If this was a giant, circular field of Silence, then its epicenter... was very likely that Bell Tower with the mud doll hanging from it!

’That thing is almost certainly the source of the town’s Silence! I have to destroy it,’ he thought, certain.

Hesia told Baron Uer his theory, then raised a hand. A steady white light ignited at his fingertip. "The Light Technique consumes very little Magic Power. We can use it to clear a path. Let’s push directly toward the Bell Tower."

"If Captain Cardan sees the light, especially since we’ll be moving toward the Bell Tower, he should understand our intentions! Even if he can’t respond, as long as we can break the Silence, we can reorganize the townspeople."

Baron Uer looked at the light on Hesia’s fingertip, then gazed into the depths of the deathly quiet town, a flicker of resolve in his eyes.

"Alright!" He nodded firmly and tightened his grip on his Longsword. "We’ll do as you say! Form up! Protect Hesia."

"Yes, my Lord!" the Guards answered in unison, quickly adjusting their formation to shield Hesia in the center.

Bruce pressed close to Hesia’s leg, his ears perked vigilantly and his nose twitching nonstop.

...

The group no longer tried to force their way in from the north. Instead, they moved along the western edge of the town, looking for an area with fewer goblins.

Soon, they found an opening.

A few straggler goblins spotted them and immediately charged, brandishing their ragged weapons.

Hesia didn’t waste Magic Power casting the Light Technique. There were too few of them to be worth it, and it would only attract more nearby goblins.

Baron Uer and the Guards moved in a flash of swords and a thrust of spears!

SQUELCH!

CRACK!

The few goblins were cut down in an instant, their green blood splashing onto the dirt.

The group charged quickly into the town.

The moment they stepped into the silenced zone, the world fell deathly quiet.

The sounds of footsteps and breathing vanished immediately.

All that remained was the vibrating sensation of their hearts pounding in their chests.

The deeper they went into the town, the stronger the suffocating stench—a mix of blood and rot—became.

Under the moonlight, dark red bloodstains bled into the soil.

The doors and windows of some houses had been smashed open, revealing ransacked interiors. Broken pottery, overturned carts... and even a few dismembered corpses were scattered along the roadside.

Hesia felt his stomach churn. His breathing grew heavy, but in the absolute silence, all he could feel was the rise and fall of his own chest.

Bruce let out a silent whimper, and Baron Uer’s face was ashen.

They proceeded cautiously along the town’s main road.

Suddenly, a young Guard in the group’s eyes flew wide open. He stared intently at a house by the road with a smashed-in door—it was his home!

The color drained from his face in an instant, and he recklessly started to charge toward it!

"Stop him," Baron Uer mouthed, but no sound came out. He reached out to grab him but was a step too slow!

The Guard had already rushed into the house!

The nearby goblins were immediately alerted!

Several pairs of murky yellow eyes snapped toward them as the creatures let out silent snarls, brandishing their weapons and closing in!

’Dammit!’ Baron Uer cursed inwardly, but his movements didn’t slow in the slightest!

"Kill!" he roared silently, charging forward to meet them!

The Guards formed a tight formation, thrusting with their spears and slashing with their swords! Hesia immediately provided support.

Light Technique.

A ball of white light exploded in the middle of the goblin mob.

Several goblins screamed, clutching their eyes and dropping their weapons.

The battle raged in dead silence. With their superior equipment and combat skills, plus Hesia’s precise support with the Light Technique, the dozen or so goblins were quickly cleared out.

But the Guard who had rushed into the house... never came out.

Hesia and Baron Uer exchanged a look, each seeing the grim expression in the other’s eyes.

Bruce bared his teeth at the house.

Hesia nodded.

Baron Uer gave a hand signal, and the group immediately closed in, cautiously approaching the house that now reeked even more strongly of blood.

The orb of light from Hesia’s fingertip was the first to float inside.

By its glow, they saw a leg in a Guard’s leather boot extending from the threshold of an inner room, lying limply on the ground.

It was the young Guard who had charged in!

Hesia’s heart sank.

He raised his hand again and threw a Light Technique directly into the inner room!

The moment the light illuminated the inner room, several goblins that had been lying in ambush shot out from the shadows on either side of the doorway. They were clearly blinded by the sudden flash and were painfully rubbing their eyes.

The Guards reacted in a flash.

Several spears precisely pinned the ambushing goblins to the wall.

Hesia and Baron Uer rushed into the inner room.

The sight that met their eyes made them burn with a furious grief.

The young Guard lay on the floor, his upper body... mangled beyond recognition, a mess of flesh and blood.

Several dead goblins lay beside him, still clutching pieces of flesh in their mouths.

...

The party continued toward the Bell Tower.

The closer they got to the town center, the more goblins they encountered.

Hesia no longer conserved his Magic Power.

Light Technique.

Light Technique.

Light Technique.

Blinding balls of white light exploded continuously to their front and flanks like signal flares.

The goblins were left disoriented by the flashes, mouths agape as they stumbled around in chaos.

Baron Uer and the Guards acted like a meat grinder, carving a bloody path straight through the chaotic goblin horde.

Bruce was also exceptionally fierce. Using his agility, he focused on attacking the goblins’ ankles and the backs of their knees, helping the Guards trip and wound them.

They entered an alley that led to the Bell Tower’s plaza.

The silhouette of the Bell Tower grew clearer in their vision!

Hope seemed to be just within reach!

However, just as they were a few dozen meters from the plaza, something unexpected happened!

A stooped figure, a full head taller than the other goblins, appeared in the middle of the road!

It was about 1.5 meters tall, its skin a sickly purplish-red, covered in wrinkles and dark spots.

It wore a grotesque mask made from a beast’s skull, and two points of eerie green light glowed from within the empty eye sockets.

In its hand, it held a Wooden Staff wrapped in vines and bone ornaments.

’Is this the Caster? A Shaman, perhaps?’

Alarm bells screamed in Hesia’s mind!

The Shaman’s murky eyes swept over Hesia and the others before finally landing on the light at Hesia’s fingertip, a flicker of what looked like fear and anger in its gaze.

It raised its Bone Staff, chanted something under its breath, and slammed it hard onto the ground.

An invisible ripple spread out.

The surrounding goblins, which had been cowering slightly from the Light Technique, suddenly froze.

Then, their murky yellow eyes instantly turned blood-red.

All the goblins went berserk!

Fearless of death, they lunged wildly at Hesia and his group.

Their speed was far greater than before.

Baron Uer’s Longsword became a blur of cold light, instantly cutting down the two berserk goblins at the front of the charge.

But more goblins surged forward like rabid dogs!

The pressure on the Guards increased dramatically!

A spear pierced one goblin’s chest, but the creature seemed to feel no pain. Its blood-red eyes remained fixed on the Guard as it used its last ounce of strength to hurl its Stone Axe!

THWACK!

A Guard was struck in the shoulder by the Stone Axe and staggered back.

A gap instantly appeared in their defensive line!

More berserk goblins poured through the opening!

Bruce barked silently, pouncing on a goblin that was trying to ambush Hesia and knocking it to the ground.

Light Technique.

Light Technique.

Hesia frantically cast his Magic.

But after the white light flashed, the berserk goblins only faltered for a moment before charging again.

The intense light’s effect on them was greatly diminished.

Like sharks that had smelled blood, goblins poured out from every nearby alley to join the assault.

They were surrounded!