Chapter 11: Night Battle (Part 1)

Walking through the alleys of the town, they carefully guarded against possible sudden attacks. Monsters could be lurking behind every corner, behind broken rocks and walls, or in the shadows.

The three of them were wearing steel breastplates, padded skirts, and horse boots, with tightly woven chainmail covering their limbs and half-covering helmets. This situation belonged to urban street fighting, which required a balance between defense and agility. Mixed iron armor and plate armor were too restrictive, not to mention the clumsy half-plate and full-plate armor. True heavy armor was only suitable for tournaments or open battlefields.

He swung his sword, cutting a Goblin on the right wielding a flail and its light wooden shield into two pieces. He then turned smoothly and struck downward, knocking a charging Feral Wolf flying. After finishing this, Hiren couldn’t help but curse: “Tch—these damned creatures.” Then he ran toward the Feral Wolf he had just slashed.

The Goblins in front of him were no taller than four feet. They had wide faces and flat noses, pointed ears, large mouths, sloping foreheads, and arms that reached past their knees. Their thin bodies made them walk with a slight hunch, and their dull orange eyes and strange, yellowish-brown skin were especially disgusting.

Although many people just saw them as a bit of a nuisance, if one wasn’t careful, these Evil creatures could cause great damage. Every year, more Adventurers died at the hands of Goblins than at the hands of any other monster. In games, they were known as newbies’ butchers in both the early and late stages. The Wargs nearby were their common allies. Wargs looked like ordinary wolves but were much larger. The one in front of them had a shoulder height of about three feet, a body length of five feet, and gray fur.

Turning his vision, George spotted Hiren on the opposite side. George ducked his head, and Craig behind him took the opportunity to shoot a conical arrow from his Composite Longbow at the target he was aiming at. It hit the right arm of the large Goblin directly in front of George’s left side. The pain of the arrow piercing flesh slowed the large Goblin’s movement, so George quickly seized the opening and charged forward, immediately making a right diagonal slash to completely sever its right arm. Then he thrust forward to end the life of this Evil creature, quickly retreated backward to dodge the counterattack from the large Goblin on his right, and simultaneously moved his Longsword sideways to block a small javelin flying from behind a low wall.

Unlike those third-class disabled Goblins, these two large Goblins were about six and a half feet tall, looking robust and sturdy. One of their skins was dark orange and the other was orange-red, while one had a blue nose and the other had a red nose. However, the exposed hair on both was dark reddish-brown, and their eyes were unclear but likely dark brown. Their teeth, which hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, were stained a scorched yellow, but they wore leather armor with a bright red base and black stripes.

According to known information, large Goblins were different from their messy Goblin cousins. They were a militarized race, extremely aggressive, and often attacked other humanoid races. They possessed rich individual combat skills and strict organizational discipline. In short, every adult large Goblin was a skilled warrior. If a normal adult man with a weapon could kill an ordinary Goblin if he had the courage and was willing to fight to the death, then a large Goblin was an existence that even a trained Militia could not match in equal numbers.

Along the way, George and his two companions had killed many invaders, but they had not found any survivors. Seeing the various incomplete human corpses from time to time was a severe test of will for the living. No wonder Sir Val said this was a trial, not just because of potential monster attacks, but more importantly, the shock to the soul from the bloody scenes left by the slaughter along the way.

For Hiren, who had already served in the Northern Fortress, this was a piece of cake. It was said that there was truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with thousands of cannon fodder and Orcs dying every year. After such training, even those who were originally unaccustomed would become used to this environment. The Eastern cultivation methods George practiced focused most heavily on spiritual tempering, and a series of Visualization Methods had specific practices for this. Combined with the impact of various images and videos from the information age before he transmigrated, he was able to accept this environment quickly.

But for Craig, such a shock was too great; he currently did not have enough close-combat ability. After all, in this situation, keeping him in a position where he might get bloodied was risky; if an accident happened, it would be bad. Sending him back directly wouldn’t work either, as that would lose the meaning of the trial. So, since he was good with a bow, he became a supporting attacker behind George.

At this T-shaped intersection where George and his group were ambushed, Hiren rushed directly toward the side with more enemies, while George and Craig faced two large Goblins and an unknown creature in the distance. Normally, such enemies would not pose a threat to George, but Craig behind him was really not in the right state. To prevent him from getting hurt, the battle on this side seemed somewhat stuck.

One of the two large Goblins was gone, so they could no longer form a pincer attack on George. George narrowed his eyes, took a weighted throwing axe from his belt with his left hand, and threw it hard toward the shadow where a javelin was flying. At the same time, he took a deep breath, charged forward two steps, blocked the large Goblin’s swinging long blade, turned his body sideways, bent down, and slashed its lower body to knock it down. Then he stabbed it in the chest to finish it off successfully.

After dealing with these two, George hurried toward the shadow where he had just thrown the weapon. When he arrived, he found that a certain sleazy Goblin had already been split open by that weighted throwing axe. He had only intended to interfere with the enemy to avoid trouble while he attacked, but he didn’t expect to hit the mark and solve the problem directly. After handling this side, George looked around; the surroundings were in a mess. On the left was the only house nearby that wasn’t on fire, and the body of an adult man lay across the open doorway. Judging from the bloodstains on the ground, the wound should have been crushed underneath. As for the situation inside the house, they could talk about it after Hiren arrived.

Feeling that there were no immediate threats around, George prepared to turn and signal to Craig that this side was fine. But when he turned around, he found that Hiren had already dealt with his enemies earlier and was standing at the intersection of the T-shaped intersection to provide cover for George and Craig. Walking over to take a look, Hiren’s combat area had not a single intact corpse; was this the legendary human meat-grinder combat style?

In another direction, a team composed of Guards and Mercenary Guards was also searching for the monsters invading the town. A young man with chestnut hair, wearing leather armor and holding a spear, asked the sword-and-shield Guard beside him: “Hey, is it really okay to let those Young Masters act alone? The oldest of them has only just become an adult, and the other two are still complete children.”

“Their strength is not something like us small people can compare to,” the Guard with a hooked nose and light blue eyes asked in surprise. “You say just became an adult? According to noble rules, even the oldest among them, Young Master Val, is not yet an adult.”

“No way, that tall Young Master must be at least twenty-two or twenty-three years old,” the Guard who asked earlier said with a face full of doubt.

The Guard lowered his head, shook it, and sighed: “Young Master Val’s appearance does make him look much older than his actual age. If only he could grow up to look like his father, Lord Val.”

This time the Guard was clearly scared: “Impossible, are you talking about Sir Val in the team?”

“Of course, who else would be Sir Val?” the Guard asked back with a look of exasperation.

This time the Guard’s face went blank: “He doesn’t look like it at all, not even a little bit.” He completely didn’t notice the evil smiles on the faces of the few Guard members around them.

Suddenly, the leader’s low command came from ahead: “Enemy contact, all units alert. Archers and crossbowmen, left front, eighty yards. Guard members prepare to charge, Guards protect the archers and crossbowmen.”

Passing the corner, they saw a large Goblin leading more than twenty Goblins besieging a group of people among the broken rocks and walls. Judging by the clothing and movements of the besieged, they should be members of a Caravan. However, looking at the scene, the besieged group was in a dangerous situation; everyone had more or less injuries. Moreover, the Goblins attacking the town this time clearly had received special training. Just seeing how skillfully they could use their weapons and how they coordinated during combat was enough to distinguish them from small groups of Goblins usually found in the wild.

“Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—” A shower of arrows disrupted the Goblins’ offensive deployment. Calling it a shower was an exaggeration; it was just a few scattered arrows. However, the accuracy of these arrows was truly good; at least eight Goblins were nailed directly to the ground, and a few others were clearly injured. Even with the firelight, achieving such results in the deep night could not be denied as luck.

The large Goblin realized that his subordinates had lost more than a third in the enemy’s first wave of attack. Looking at the newly arrived team, it immediately let out a cry that all the humans present could not understand. The Goblins that were previously besieging the Caravan members immediately stopped their actions. They turned their bodies to face the new team, tightly gripping the small light wooden shields beside them and holding them in front of their chests. At the same time, they turned sideways to reduce the frontal area vulnerable to attack, held their weapons in the rear diagonal position, and prepared for immediate counterattacks.

Watching the Goblins slowly retreat and regroup, Sergeant Anson frowned: “By Timora, when did even a bunch of damned Goblins learn to form battle arrays? In this environment, we can only charge directly, but we still hold the advantage.”

With a shout of “Follow me, archers and crossbowmen cover us,” Anson led the Guards in a charge toward the Goblin group, while the loaded crossbows in the rear began to fire “pop-pop-pop.”

Goblins are, after all, Goblins; their innate character of bullying the weak and fearing the strong was deeply rooted in their bones. Facing the arrows flying directly at them, many Goblins shrank their heads behind their wooden shields. This gave the charging warriors an opportunity. Anson led the charge into the Goblin group, thrusting forward and bypassing the wooden shield to pierce a Goblin through and through. Then he kicked the Goblin stuck on his sword away and slashed at another Goblin beside him.

Similar things happened continuously on the scene. Feeling the situation was wrong, the large Goblin turned to prepare to flee. Unfortunately, Anson’s thrown tripwire made him fall to the ground, and the warrior closest to him immediately swung his blade with great force, directly decapitating it.

The entire battle was resolved before the Caravan members could make a decision. But when the Goblins on this side were wiped out, all the Caravan members stared at Anson and his group with wary eyes. They were clearly afraid that this new group of strongmen of unknown identity would kill them off too. Anyway, since this attack was so severe, they could easily let the dead Goblins become the scapegoats.

Facing the attitude of the rescued group, Anson did not want to say much. After all, their caution was experience summarized from the blood of many Caravan members. Although being misunderstood and suspected was not a pleasant feeling, his group had more important tasks to complete. Moving forward one step earlier might save one more person. Holding this mindset, Anson commanded the team to quickly clean up the battlefield. After a short rest on the spot, he led the team and disappeared around the corner of another road.

At the same time, Hiren, who was also resting, kept complaining: “What a bunch of poor ghosts, not even a decent piece of Loot.”

“If Goblins had money, they wouldn’t come out to rob. Besides, some of the weapons of these bandits can be repaired and used, and the rest can be sold as scrap metal, so it can’t be said there was no gain at all,” George couldn’t help but say.

Just after saying this, George began to feel something was off: “No, no! Hiren, why are you thinking about these things at a time like this? If it were you before, you would have first cared about the suffering of the dead and whether there were any survivors.”

Hiren sighed: “If I had stayed in the Northern Fortress for a few more winters, I might have become like me. Just defending, dozens of soldiers died every day, not to mention when we went on the offensive. Dead people! Seeing too many just makes you feel that way. It’s better to think more for the living self and companions. And I’m about to become a Knight.”

“George, what exactly did Hiren just say? I feel like I understand but also don’t understand at the same time,” Craig, who had put away his bow, asked again while tilting his head to act cute.

“Go away and keep watch so you don’t get ambushed by those guys. You’ll understand naturally when you grow up,” George replied with a sigh.

“Hmph!” Seeing he didn’t get the answer he wanted, Craig pouted and reluctantly ran off to stand guard.

To be honest, George understood Hiren’s current situation well. When he officially became a Knight, he could recruit Retainers. Retainers were not just attendants. Current attendants were basically filled by squires who could not become Knights or capable warriors. Although some were paid, most hoped to learn by the Knight’s side and served for a certain number of years for free. Retainers, on the other hand, were composed of all kinds of people; they were more like partners than subordinates. Some were not good at fighting but had other unique talents that could not be abandoned. Therefore, to have Retainers, a Knight not only needed enough charm and charisma but also had to pay a considerable settlement fee. As for the subsequent annuity, it was indispensable.

Hiren’s father, Isolde Wayne Val, had made a great name for himself when he traveled abroad in his early years. Titles like “The Legendary Young Master” and “Sword of the Morning Sun” were known all over the Continent. Naturally, his Retainers were also very excellent, and there was even a Mage among them. Unfortunately, this Mage had to conduct an experiment and did not come along. Fortunately, that Mage did not ask his father to support magical research, otherwise, they definitely could not have afforded it.

Having such a father, who could be said to be great, put a lot of pressure on Hiren, both in terms of reputation and money. Plus, with his experience at the Northern Fortress, his heart must have been a bit confused for a moment, which led to the previous statement. However, if he could not cross this hurdle and solidify his beliefs, he was destined never to become a Knight.

In game terms, Hiren’s current alignment was trending from Lawful Good to Lawful Neutral. ‘I don’t believe Isolde didn’t notice Hiren’s problem, but he might hope Hiren realizes this aspect on his own. I think I should not meddle too much, but a little nudge would be good. After all, in battle, one’s life is at stake, so let’s just treat it as a slightly related remark made by accident.’

George thought for a while and then expressed his opinion on Hiren’s previous words: “Hiren! If you want to think more for the living, you must also consider the feelings of the survivors whose relatives were killed. Your current behavior is like pouring salt on their wounds. If you were an Adventurer or a Mercenary, saying this would be understandable, but as a Knight dedicated to fighting and protecting, it is not quite appropriate.”

“Let’s drop it, let’s not discuss this for now. It’s more important to deal with these beasts quickly,” Hiren obviously didn’t want to continue the topic. “Craig, come over here. I’ll lead the way, and George will cover the rear.”

“Thud—” A burnt wooden beam fell to the ground nearby. Craig immediately turned to face that direction. George walked up and patted his left shoulder to signal that it was a false alarm.

Entering the room with the body near the door, Hiren, who had Darkvision, led the way in the front.

On the table in the largest room inside the house sat a lamp with scratches. When George walked over, he gently ran his gloved hand over it and found it slightly sticky, probably because it hadn’t been cleaned often.

“Come over here, there’s something wrong here,” Hiren’s voice came from the right.

The three of them, who had started to scatter and check the room after not finding any monsters, quickly gathered toward a smaller room on the right side of the house. When George entered the room, he found it was actually a kitchen.

“Look at this.” Hiren reached into a bag in the corner, took out a handful of wheat flour, and placed it in front of George. Then he pointed up.

George looked up and saw that several strips of salted meat were hanging under the roof. It was just a few strips of salted meat! No, this wasn’t the legendary British Royal Navy salted beef; how could there be things ready to eat left in a place attacked by those beasts? Thinking of this, George’s face changed.

“Is there something wrong with those strips of salted meat?” Craig asked, looking very confused as he entered.

Hiren explained first: “Do you think Goblins would leave these behind under normal circumstances? Even if the wheat flour was left because of the inconvenience of eating and carrying, what about the salted meat that can be eaten directly?”

George continued: “So, this is not an ordinary raid or robbery. Besides, these guys rarely have records of attacking human towns.”

Craig proposed his own view: “Could it be that they came to attack us?”

“Impossible, these few guys cannot cause any major harm to our team,” Hiren said definitely.

“Craig, did you find anything on your side?” George asked.

“Except for a dead mother and daughter in the bedroom, there was nothing else,” Craig replied.

George made a decision: “Well, let’s leave here first. We can talk about other things after the cleanup is done.”

Hiren led the way again, and the three of them walked out of the room in a line. Suddenly, George felt all the hair on his body stand up, but before he could issue a warning, his vision went black.