Chapter 103: Castle goblins assemble!

It was Gopugiga!!!

The giant dude had arrived just in time, planted his feet firmly on the ground and raised his massive shield, meeting the incoming blade-like legs head-on.

CLAAAAANG!!!

The impact was tremendous!

Even so, Gopugiga managed to hold his ground for a brief moment before unleashing all his strength.

"GRRRRAAAAHHH!!!"

BOOOOM!!!

The force of his Shield Charge sent the spiders stumbling backward several steps!

Of course, Gopugiga wasn’t completely unaffected, either.

His enormous body was pushed backward as well, his boots scraping against the ground. His arms trembled from the impact, and he had to dig his feet into the earth to keep himself from being thrown off balance.

HOLY SHIT!

THAT WAS CLOSE!

If he’d arrived even a second later, my two dear Gopuro and Gopuran would’ve become spider food!

Just then...

"POWER SHOT!"

A voice rang out from behind!

FWIP!

An arrow zipped through the air and struck one of the spiders directly in the eye!

Blood spurted from the wound as the arrow sank halfway into its eye socket.

KIEEEEEEEEK!

The monster recoiled violently, letting out a piercing screech as it jerked its head backward.

Gopuro immediately turned around.

And there, standing a short distance away with her bow drawn, was Gopuberry!

The blue-haired goblin girl was already preparing another arrow. Her eyes remained fixed on the spiders as she searched for her next target.

FWIP!

Another Power Shot!

Another spider took a direct hit and stumbled backward.

"Nice shooting, Berry!"

Meanwhile, the others were rushing into the battle as well! Gopuflammy and Gopushadow arrived from behind, ready to join the fight. Within moments, our entire team of six goblins had gathered together again!

Their faces were a little pale from all the blood they’d lost during the ritual, and some were still breathing heavily. They clearly weren’t in the best condition.

But they were standing together now, and they could still fight.

At least we weren’t facing this nightmare with only two goblins anymore.

However, just as I was starting to feel a little relieved, Gopugiga suddenly asked.

"Ermm... Big Boss?"

His voice was trembling, and so were his legs.

"Can you... please give me that protection, too?"

...

OH, SHIT! RIGHT!

I’d been so focused on the battle that I’d almost forgotten about him!

The spiders’ fear aura was still a serious threat. Without protection, there was no way my goblins could keep fighting effectively against those monsters.

The reason Gopugiga had managed to block their attacks was that he’d activated Shield Charge from outside the aura’s range and rushed straight in. He’d been able to make that one move, but staying here without protection was another matter entirely.

I immediately activated my skill.

"[Blessing of Protection], ACTIVATE!"

A golden glow descended upon my remaining four goblins, enveloping their bodies in warm, radiant light.

With the blessing in place, they could finally face the spiders without being overwhelmed by their terrifying aura.

Gopugiga rolled his shoulders, Gopuro raised his flaming axe, while Gopuran lowered her stance.

Gopuflammy gripped her massive hammer with both hands, and Gopushadow silently slipped into position.

Even Gopuberry, standing farther away from the others, looked considerably more confident as she drew another arrow.

Alright! Now we’re talking!

Castle Tribe warriors, assemble!

Unfortunately...

Things were about to get a whole lot worse.

....

The ground trembled again.

From the darkness beyond the clearing, more enormous shadows began to emerge.

One...

Two...

Three...

They just kept coming!

I hurriedly counted the monsters approaching us.

Five spiders had already appeared.

Then seven.

Then ten.

And before long...

TWELVE DARK GIANT SPIDERS!

Twelve of those horrifying monsters were now charging straight toward my goblins!

And there were only six of us!

Two versus two had already been a close fight. And now... it was six against twelve?

Not to mention, more spiders probably gonna appear soon.

I really didn’t want to admit it, but our odds now seemed terrible.

Worse still, maintaining [Blessing of Protection] on all six goblins was draining my Castle Points at an alarming rate. I couldn’t afford to keep the blessing active throughout a prolonged battle.

We needed to find a chance to retreat. Soon.

Still, before we could escape, we needed to buy enough time for everyone else to get away safely!

I immediately turned my attention toward Gopuberry.

"Berry!" I commanded. "Tell the others to run! Hurry! We’ll hold these monsters off for as long as we can!"

"YES, BIG BOSS!"

Gopuberry immediately turned and relayed my message to the elderly shaman, who had just finished his healing spell.

The shaman’s expression tightened as he looked toward the approaching spiders.

"Alright!" he shouted, turning to the remaining members of his tribe. "You heard her! Everyone, move! Run as fast as you can!"

The goblins didn’t hesitate.

Those who could still walk helped the more severely injured survivors to their feet, while others supported their wounded companions and hurried away from the clearing.

Within moments, the entire group was scrambling toward safety.

Of course, Gopuberry had already told them which direction to take so they could reach my castle.

Meanwhile, the Sacred Blood Transfusion had stopped, which meant the ritual had succeeded. The chieftain’s HP should have recovered to fifty percent of his maximum.

There was just one problem.

The giant Hulgagoblin remained unconscious, his massive body still lying motionless inside the ritual circle for some reason.

"Berry!" I called out. "Ask the shaman how long it’ll take for the chieftain to wake up!"

Gopuberry quickly passed along my question.

The shaman glanced at the unconscious chieftain before answering.

"Just give me half a minute!" he shouted.

Thirty seconds, huh?

That was going to be tough.

But... if it was my goblins, then I believed they could pull it off!

I shifted my view back toward the twelve Dark Giant Spiders rushing toward us.

Their crimson eyes glowed like the eyes of demons, while their countless legs scraped against the ground with a horrible, bone-chilling sound.

Twelve enemies.

Six goblins.

A dwindling supply of Castle Points.

And thirty seconds to buy.

Well...

I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?

"GUYS!" I shouted. "LET’S SHOW THESE BASTARDS WHAT WE’VE GOT!"