Chapter 13: Night Battle (Part 2)

Facing the pincer attack from the front and back, George did not dare to take risks like he did just now. More importantly, that dazzling charge skill from before had not only consumed a lot of his stamina but also left his spirit feeling a little sluggish. After taking two deep breaths, George calmed his surging blood and energy. The “Golden Light Spell” blessed upon him had been completely used up by the explosion just now, so he quickly cast the spell again while the enemies had not yet approached.

“Damn it, I can’t move.” Hiren cursed in his heart. To be honest, he felt that he was in real trouble this time.

After the rock-throwing attack failed, the leader Bear Goblin Priest pulled a light wooden rod wrapped in snakeskin from his belt with his right hand, while waving his left hand and beginning to chant. Seeing this, Hiren knew things were bad. Although he wanted to speed up, the iron armor that usually protected him had become a burden.

Fifty yards, thirty meters, fifteen yards. Rushing as fast as he could, just as he was only a few steps away from swinging his sword at the Bear Goblin Priest, the opponent finished casting. A glimmer of light flashed, and Hiren felt something stopping him from controlling his body.

After seeing his spell take effect, the Bear Goblin Priest, whether out of caution or for some other reason, did not directly step forward to attack. Instead, he waved his hand to signal the Bear Goblin rushing from behind Hiren to speed up. He himself took off a Holy Symbol and held it high above his head, while a rhythmic voice came from his mouth.

“Move, move, move!” Hiren was so anxious that sweat broke out on his head, but his body still refused to listen to him.

“No, I can’t fall here. I haven’t become a Formal Knight yet, I haven’t inherited the glory of the family, and I haven’t accomplished a deed worthy of the family records. If I die, my father should shed tears for me. Brother Lacia, I’m afraid I won’t be able to see your wedding. And the burden of the family will fall on Alayek. I wonder if he can successfully become a Knight if he starts training now…” In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Hiren’s mind. “If I fall, George and Craig might have even less of a chance. I promised my father I would take care of them. Although I often shirked some of my father’s arrangements, I have never broken a promise to him.”

Immediately afterwards, the tragic scenes Hiren had seen in the town flashed through his mind. “I must make these butchers pay the price. Even if I die here, I will give them the punishment they deserve.”

“Snap—” It sounded like something breaking. Hiren suddenly felt control over his body return. A sharp sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him. Hiren, who was experienced in this regard, ignored his image and performed a side roll.

“Boom—” A loud noise accompanied by flying clods of earth. The large Flail in the hands of the Bear Goblin that came to support the Priest smashed heavily into the ground. Hiren looked at the deep pit on the ground and his heartbeat quickened. These guys looked as strong as bears, so their strength should be considerable. But seeing the power of that strike and its expression of wanting to do more, heh, it was strong. Hiren immediately decided not to fight it head-on.

Observing the position of this Bear Goblin and the Priest, Hiren realized it was impossible to bypass them and threaten the Priest directly.

“Looks like I need to finish this guy quickly. It’s a pity I’m not as small as George or Craig, so it’s not easy for me to find an opening.” Hiren made up his mind and quickly approached the Bear Goblin amidst the “bang, bang” sounds.

At the same time, George was enduring a pincer attack from two Bear Goblins. However, taking advantage of his size and agile skills, combined with the footwork he had recently learned, he was currently not exactly at ease, but he was advancing and retreating with measure and had a slight advantage. This was fully reflected in the angry and irritable roars of the two Bear Goblins.

However, for George, the opponent’s strength advantage was a bit too great. Just now, accompanied by a crisp “Clang!” of weapons colliding, he used the spine of his sword to block a swing of the opponent’s Flail. George was almost knocked flying by the force of the Bear Goblin. Fortunately, he had practiced stance since childhood, so his lower body was stable, but he still retreated five steps to stabilize his figure. If he hadn’t controlled the direction of his retreat well, he would have almost given the other Bear Goblin an opportunity to attack.

Although he wouldn’t lose immediately, it probably wouldn’t be that fast to win. After all, if he went all out against one of them, and the other one dealt a heavy blow, he would at least lose his combat ability temporarily. George thought that given the current situation, the best hope was that Hiren or Craig could come to rescue him before he was finished off. As for the Bear Goblins forgetting to finish him off, that was a gamble he really couldn’t afford to take. Everyone only has one life.

George turned his head slightly and looked in Craig’s direction with his peripheral vision, only to find that he was no longer by the wall. This scared George, but when he saw a Bear Goblin blocking the previous door position, he couldn’t help but smile and think: “What a sly guy. Does that mean his innocent look before was also intentional? I’ll have to ask who taught him that.”

Although he was thinking about things, George did not relax his attention on the enemy at all, and the battle between the two sides was still deadlocked.

Suddenly, a dark but clear blood-red halo flashed in the night, and George felt his body become heavy. Immediately after, the Golden Light Spell took effect, and the two canceled each other out. But in the subsequent fight, George found that the overall strength of the two Bear Goblins had obviously increased under the blessing of this halo. The situation of the battle changed from George having a slight upper hand to being evenly matched. But this made George worry about Hiren and Craig, because not only would the enemy’s strength increase, but their own strength might decrease.

The appearance of that halo just now was obviously because the Bear Goblin Priest had completed another Divine Art. After casting the spell, he put away the Holy Symbol and used some silver-white powder to draw a three-foot diameter circle on the ground centered on himself. Suddenly, the circle emitted a dazzling red light that surrounded the Bear Goblin Priest, and then the brightness gradually decreased until it showed a visual effect similar to George’s Golden Light Spell.

Hiren, who was closest, saw this and was anxious in his heart, but unfortunately, the halo from before still had an effect on him. Originally, relying on his own strength, although he couldn’t crush the opponent, he could easily gain the upper hand. At the beginning of the fight, although Hiren’s strength was on par with the opponent, he had agility and combat skills that surpassed the opponent. By playing to his strengths and avoiding weaknesses, although that Bear Goblin was the strongest in melee combat among the seven, it was still beaten back step by step. But after the red light flashed, the strength of the two sides shifted, and that guy actually gained the ability to fight back.

In this way, all three battles fell into a stalemate. But that Bear Goblin Priest was already free, and if the Bear Goblins had better stamina than George and the others, now was the time to consider how to retreat.

Hiren started to struggle in his heart: “Damn it! I originally wanted to save that move for that bastard Priest, but never mind, if I don’t solve the one in front of me, I can’t threaten him at all.”

Having made up his mind, Hiren jumped back twice in a row to distance himself from the Bear Goblin. He held his sword with both hands in front of his chest, his eyes looking straight ahead, and his expression solemn. Immediately, a word in the language of the Heavenly Realm came from his mouth. Translated into the Common Tongue, this word was “Holy Sword”. The Longsword in Hiren’s hand became slightly blue, and Anti-Evil Runes appeared on it. Strands of golden light constantly overflowed from the sword body, even illuminating the entire alley. The intersection of light and air turned into golden flames.

This was the Word Spirit “Holy Sword” that Hiren could barely use once a day. Moreover, because he had just learned it, the duration of this blessed state was very short. Judging from the usage during previous experiments, it lasted at most six to twelve seconds. Of course, the harsh usage restrictions and short duration were exchanged for a very powerful effect.

“Holy Sword”, as the name suggested, was a copy or improved version of the “Holy Sword Technique” that only a Master-level Paladin could use. Whether it was a knockoff, a copy, or an improvement was unknown; it was an absolute secret of their Val Family. The specific effect was to turn an ordinary steel Longsword into a Holy Sword. In other words, it allowed the user to possess a Legend weapon for a short time. This would have an advantage among ranks below Legend, and for George and the others who were at the elite level, this advantage was overwhelming. Only a family like the Val Family, whose first ancestor was a child of a god, could have such an incredible secret treasure.

“Go to hell, it’s time to pay the price for what you did before. I judge you in the name of Rezeal.” Roaring, Hiren charged and swept his sword.

Seeing that situation, even the ignorant Bear Goblin knew something was wrong and immediately gripped his weapon and shield tightly in front of him in a defensive posture. Unfortunately, once the Holy Sword was out, who could compete? The Bear Goblin’s hammer was blocked and broken, his shield was blocked and destroyed. The armor all over his body was like tofu under the knife, serving no protective function. With one strike, he was cut in two. The Bear Goblin, cut at the waist, didn’t even have time to roar before being ignited by the Holy Flame upon contact and burned into a wisp of green smoke. At the same time, the haze that had existed in Hiren’s heart since last year also drifted away like that wisp of green smoke.

“The path of judgment?” Hiren murmured to himself with a smile, “Perhaps that’s not bad either.”

Taking advantage of the fact that the “Holy Sword” had not yet disappeared, Hiren quickly rushed towards the Bear Goblin Priest. That Bear Goblin saw Hiren’s imposing manner and immediately turned around and ran, making sounds for help. However, the Priest’s running speed was not fast, and even Hiren in heavy armor was gradually closing the distance.

The Bear Goblins attacking George understood from the cries that the Priest was in danger. Their anxiety from failing to win for so long became even stronger. They looked at each other and simultaneously waved their Flails and pounced on George. The original balance was suddenly broken. Although both Bear Goblins exposed huge openings, George’s intuition told him that it was very likely a trap, and the Bear Goblins wanted to trade injuries with him. After all, they were stronger and outnumbered him.

‘Since they started taking risks, it means the other side is getting anxious. It shows Hiren has a huge advantage there.’ George decided that stalling them was his first priority. Of course, he would wait until they exposed a bigger opening before dealing a heavy blow.

But unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. The Bear Goblin that had been held back by Craig gave up chasing him and turned around.

However, this guy looked extremely miserable. There were at least ten arrows stuck in his body, but his thick Scale Armor and strong physique ensured that he still had the strength to fight.

Now it was George’s turn to frown. If the three of them surrounded him together, George felt he probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. The best way was to finish one off before the three converged. The one that had just given up on Craig was not only more seriously injured but also further away from the other two. It should have been a good target, but it was just too far away. If he went to finish that one off and the other two Bear Goblins went to support the Priest, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop them in time.

In this situation, the most important thing was to grasp the degree, or to control the distance. He had to make them unable to rescue during the attack, and also be able to stop the other two from leaving after finishing one off. George had never had this kind of training since he crossed over; in fact, he hadn’t expected to encounter this situation. As for the martial arts from before he crossed over, it was even less useful. That was purely a martial art for humans, in other words, for infighting within the human race. Facing large creatures with different physiological structures, the effect would be greatly reduced.

Just as George was looking forward and backward, Craig walked out of the door with a limp, dragging an injured leg. There were stains all over his body, and quite a few debris stuck to the Breastplate on his torso. There were even many things embedded in the Chainmail on his limbs. It seemed that Craig, who had difficulty moving inside the house, had not only used the terrain advantage that the enemy was too big to move in a narrow space but also used rolls to dodge. Fortunately, he was able to hold back that Bear Goblin for so long and cause it some damage under such circumstances.

In the blink of an eye, Hiren had closed the distance with the fleeing enemy. Seeing this, the Bear Goblin Priest knew he could not escape and had to turn around to face the possible battle. Unfortunately, at this moment, the light of the “Holy Sword” in Hiren’s hand gradually disappeared, and the blue sword body slowly faded back to an ordinary steel sword. Seeing this, the Bear Goblin Priest’s bloody mouth showed a clear upward curve.

The excited cry of “Ow—Ow—” accompanied by the Bear Goblin Priest’s joyful expression of finally seeing the light, gave Hiren the impulse to hack the opponent a few more times. The other Bear Goblins, hearing this cry, simultaneously reduced their previous anxiety. Of course, from another perspective, it also obviously reduced the pressure on George in the battle.

“Does this guy think that without the ‘Holy Sword’, he’s sure to beat me? I’ve never been looked down upon like this before.” Hiren thought indignantly in his heart. “Maybe I should let this guy see the ability I just awakened. Even if it’s a semi-finished product, it’s enough to deal with him.”

Hiren pointed his long arm straight at the Bear Goblin Priest and uttered a word in the language of the Heavenly Realm—”Sanction”. Instantly, a bright light appeared out of thin air, piercing through the protection of the Evil Spirit Light around the Bear Goblin Priest, and a feather-shaped brand appeared on its forehead. Sanction Evil was the new Word Spirit Hiren had awakened just after killing the big Bear Goblin.

Once a day, he called upon the power of goodness to help him fight against powerful evil. Hiren could select a target in his vision to be the object of sanction. If the target of the sanction was of the Evil Camp, a brand of punishment would appear on the target’s head. Every subsequent attack and defense would receive some kind of correction in a better direction. At the same time, the attack would deal extra holy damage to evil creatures and ignore its natural damage reduction.

Obtaining such a powerful ability might not be easy for others. Hiren had clarified his path in the battle just now. Under the guidance of firm beliefs, the Pelor blood that had been sleeping in his body for many years began to fully awaken. And because he chose the path of judgment, this was the first ability he obtained.

After experiencing this change, the Bear Goblin Priest, no matter how low his IQ was, felt that something was wrong. He took a pinch of gray powder from a bag hanging at his waist and sprinkled it on himself. After a “crackling” sound, the Bear Goblin Priest instantly became a whole circle larger. Judging from the way he waved his Flail, his strength had also increased a lot. At this moment, with the attitude of striking first, the opponent changed his previous behavior and directly pounced on Hiren.

“Just what I wanted.” What Hiren feared most now was that the opponent would escape. Since he took the initiative to come up, there was no reason not to be excited. Moreover, although the opponent’s strength increased after his size increased, the inconvenience of movement brought by the large size made it more beneficial for Hiren to use his advantage.

“Clang—” The weapons met, and Hiren accurately blocked the opponent’s swinging Flail. This Bear Goblin was clearly a Priest, but under the blessing of spells, his strength was no less than that of the big Bear Goblin killed earlier. The only problem was that his combat skills were even worse than the previous one, roughly equivalent to the elite soldiers in the Guard.

After parrying the opponent’s top-down attack, Hiren first stalemate with the opponent for a moment. Suddenly, a retreat caused the Bear Goblin Priest’s attack to miss. Immediately afterwards, he leaped to the front left and used the Longsword in his hand to destroy the guy’s balance. Now! Hiren swung his sword at the right hand of the Bear Goblin Priest, who had almost completely lost his balance and was holding a weapon.

“Crack” The opponent’s right hand separated from the body at the wrist, followed by a “Clang” representing the Flail falling to the ground. At the same time, the brand on his forehead flashed, and a golden Holy Flame rose from the wound on the wrist. The Bear Goblin Priest let out a miserable howl of “Ow—”. Knowing that there was no hope of survival, he raised his empty left fist to the sky and let out a final roar.

Although Hiren didn’t know the saying “take his life while he is sick,” he understood the similar truth. He turned his waist and borrowed the strength from his waist to slash at the opponent’s abdomen.

“Tear—” That was the sound of Scale Armor being torn open, followed by the thud of the steel sword entering the flesh. If the opponent had no other trump cards, he would take this life.

Suddenly, a scarlet Flail appeared on Hiren’s right side and smashed towards him. Hiren found that it was too late to dodge, so he quickly used force to pull out the Longsword that had already chopped in and turned around to defend. When the Flail approached Hiren’s body, the air around Hiren seemed to become as dense as gel, and the attack slowed down a bit. Hiren took the opportunity to successfully parry, but unfortunately, he was still knocked flying, and then crashed into the wall of a nearby house, raising a large amount of dust.

And on the wound of the Bear Goblin Priest, the Holy Flame ignited again, taking away all the color in that guy’s eyes.