Chapter 383 - 314: The Battle Begins (Part 2)

Chapter 383: Chapter 314: The Battle Begins (Part 2)

"Then what should we do?" Pazani immediately asked, his tone urgent. "Should we have the Centaurs use their Sword Rain right away?"

"No, not now," Shire said, narrowing his eyes. Through his telescope, he could already see the leaves in the forest rustling. ’It must be a large group of creatures moving through the woods. Only the Petrifying Lizards could cause such a commotion.’ "This time, I’ll have my men show you something fun."

With that, he immediately ordered Lame Leg to have the goblins load the ammunition and fire the Cannonballs using the third and longest-range setting.

Soon, constant shouts echoed from the front of the formation. A group of goblins fumbled about, operating something. Pazani watched through his telescope for a couple of seconds. "What are those black tubes? Is that what you’re planning to use against the Petrifying Lizards?"

His tone was laced with deep skepticism. The Naga Prince clearly had no faith in such a strange device.

"Maybe we should retreat for now..." Before he could finish, a few shouts erupted from the front of the formation. He then saw something arc through the air. ’What is that? A little black dot... It looks familiar.’

At the same time, the RUSTLING from the distant woods grew louder, until finally a six-legged lizard, its head swaying and tail lashing, burst out from the undergrowth. It wasn’t particularly fast, perhaps due to the winter cold, but that didn’t stop it from locking its greedy, bloodthirsty gaze on the goblins ahead. The allure of food was too strong.

More Petrifying Lizards charged out one after another. After a brief pause, they swarmed toward the Shire Race. Bald Hide had intentionally been reducing the Petrifying Lizards’ rations to bring out the ferocity in these cold-blooded animals.

"So many... so many lizards!" Pazani yelled. He held the telescope in one hand, reaching out with the other to grab Shire. Fear had him ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

But in the next instant, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A series of explosions erupted. A cloud of smoke and fire shot into the air, bringing the Petrifying Lizards’ Charge to a dead stop. Many lizards were blasted onto their backs, their bellies turned to the sky. Others, ignited by the Blazing Fire Glue, let out sharp HISSES as they rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames on their backs. Unfortunately for them, the fire from Blazing Fire Glue was not so easily extinguished.

"Straight ahead, third setting, fire a salvo!" Lame Leg commanded, shouting imperiously from atop a large blue disc. The "Big Treasure" held him aloft, letting him float two meters above the ground where he had a clear view of the carnage among the Petrifying Lizards.

At Lame Leg’s command, the goblins giggled and laughed as they continued to load Cannonball Fruit and fire. The twenty Rune Mortars launched a continuous barrage. Since they didn’t use gunpowder, there was no risk of the barrels exploding, and the goblins treated the mortars like toys.

"Get serious! This is a battle!" Lame Leg shouted. But it was no use. The goblins paid him no mind, still jabbering and laughing amongst themselves.

The Cannonball Fruit rained down on the horde of Petrifying Lizards. The explosions and flames struck fear into many of them. They crowded together, crashing into one another in a panic. Some even tried to retreat. However, many others were driven into a frenzy by the scent of blood and began charging toward the Shire Race once more.

"Straight ahead, second setting, fire a salvo!" Seeing that a number of Petrifying Lizards were charging again, Lame Leg immediately changed his command. Thanks to their previous training, the goblins operating the Rune Mortars didn’t fumble. They immediately adjusted the barrels and began firing Cannonball Fruit at the closer targets.

"These things are impressive, but their effect is limited," Pazani remarked, clutching his telescope in amazement. "If even a few of those lizards manage to break through, it will surely cause chaos."

"Don’t worry, they won’t cause any chaos," Shire said with a confident smile. He then turned to a nearby goblin and commanded, "Have Caocao charge in. Stop any of those big lizards from getting past."

A moment later, a hulking, gray-white figure rose with a WHOOSH from within the ranks. He brushed some food crumbs from his hands, then hefted two giant iron hammers from the ground and charged to the front with a THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

The moment he reached the front line, Caocao sent the lead Petrifying Lizard flying with a single swing of his hammer. Just before the Giant made contact, the lizard’s blood-red eyes had flashed with a brilliant light. It was a pity, however, that its Petrifying Gaze had absolutely no effect on the Giant.

"Eighty! Eighty!" Caocao bellowed as he swung his hammers, shouting the word Shire had taught him. He had no idea why he was supposed to shout it with every hit, but Shire had said it would make him feel powerful. After a few swings, Caocao really did feel full of might.

"What a fearsome Giant," Pazani said through gritted teeth, his barbels trembling. Clad in a full suit of Bone Armor, Caocao was single-handedly holding back the entire swarm of Petrifying Lizards. "Why doesn’t the Petrifying Gaze work on him?"

"Ah, just a few auxiliary measures for Magic Immunity," Shire shrugged, but the twitching corner of his mouth betrayed how much it had cost him. ’To get that Bone Armor inlaid with a Magic Immunity effect... that so-called Magic Artisan actually dared to charge me that much money.’

"But there are too many Petrifying Lizards. He can’t possibly hold them all off by himself, can he?" Pazani said, his voice laced with doubt.

As if in response to his words, Caocao slammed his shoulder forward. The Shoulder Armor, made from the incredibly hard head of a Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish, sent a Petrifying Lizard that had climbed onto another’s back for a sneak attack flying. Caocao then let out a great roar. A red liquid began to ooze from the seams of his Armor, slowly pooling together until, at last, a red figure identical to Caocao appeared on the battlefield.

The two "Giants" coordinated, once again holding off the siege of the Petrifying Lizards. Thanks to his sturdy Bone Armor, immense strength, and a Regeneration Ability that seemed to steam as it worked, Caocao remained standing firm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The Cannonball Fruit continued to explode. After the switch to the second setting, the range was shorter, and the barrage became faster and more concentrated. Driven by terror, the bloodthirsty Petrifying Lizards began to flee or even turn on each other.

But there were simply too many Petrifying Lizards. The Cannonball Fruit and Caocao alone were not enough to completely turn the tide of battle.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Just as Pazani was about to say something, a volley of Sword Rain fell from the sky, instantly turning several Petrifying Lizards into pincushions.

The Centaurs had begun arcing their Sword Rain into the sky. Shire had told them beforehand not to worry about Caocao in the middle of the battlefield. The Giant had sturdy Bone Armor and a Regeneration Ability; he wouldn’t die even if he were riddled with Arrows.

And so, Evita led the Centaurs, unleashing their Arrows without restraint. Unlike the excitable goblins, the Centaur Warriors were utterly silent in battle, like emotionless firing machines that only knew how to draw their bows, nock their Arrows, and shoot.

"We’ve finally stopped the Petrifying Lizards’ Charge," Shire murmured. He wasn’t using his telescope this time. Instead, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the ever-growing pile of lizard corpses in the distance.

’He looks so calm and collected.’ Pazani lowered the telescope from his eyes and glanced at Shire beside him. The other’s bearing couldn’t help but make the Naga Prince feel a trace of envy. ’So confident.’

「At the same time.」

Several Flying Goblins landed in front of Bald Hide. "Military Leader, the big lizards can’t break through! They’re being held back!"

Although these goblins could fly high enough to see the whole battlefield, they didn’t have eyes like eagles, nor did they have telescopes. They could only report on the general situation as they saw it.

"They actually managed to stop the big lizards..." The corner of Bald Hide’s mouth twitched repeatedly. ’What strange Magic are those guys using now? Whatever. All of you, go!’

He waved his hand, deciding to send in all the Flying Goblins.

At his command, a great swarm of goblins began to float up from the woods. Carrying sharpened wooden sticks or handfuls of rocks, they started flying toward the Shire Race.

"Flying Goblins?" Shire glanced up at the sky, then said to the nearby Red Eyes, "You’re up."

Red Eyes bellowed, rallying the surrounding goblins. Each of them carried a long tube and began to chant:

"Ah Pi Chicken! Ah Pi Chicken!"