Topple That Wall!

"Here?" Landen asked with a slight frown as she looked at the stalactite in front of her.

Of course, she was asking the Bear Hobgoblin captive. And the place they were in was, naturally, the Stalactite Zone.

The Stalactite Zone covered a vast area and contained countless stalactites. An idle adventurer had once counted them, claiming there were ... stalactites in all. Every single one was at least wide enough for ... people to encircle, and their heights were astonishing. Even the shortest stood over ... meters tall, while several of the tallest reached all the way to the ceiling above.

It was a spectacular sight, but not an attractive one. Almost no one who came here had come specifically for the stalactites. This was a ruin, and naturally, visitors came for the things hidden within it.

Apart from the stalactites, the only other things here were the remains of buildings, almost completely eroded by the underground drafts, with only a few corners left standing. Yet those fragments were what attracted the attention of most visitors.

Every corner had been searched more than a hundred times. Even the ground nearby had been permanently lowered by repeated excavation. In fact, the entire floor of the Stalactite Zone was even lower than the surface of the Blackwater River. That was how it had ended up that way.

Of course, the stalactites had not been completely ignored either. After all, that ancient intelligent race had chosen to build a civilization here. It was impossible for the stalactites to have nothing to do with it. Some had even speculated that the stalactites were man-made and had begun researching and exploiting them.

In the end, however, they had been disappointed. After damaging more than ... stalactites without finding anything at all, they finally gave up. After that, fewer and fewer people came here to explore, until Matriarch Isis domineeringly declared the place her territory and gave it to Landen. Since then, no one had come back.

Now, Landen stood before one of the many stalactites. It was neither the tallest nor the shortest, neither the thickest nor the thinnest. Yet at least for today, it was definitely the most special.

That was because, after the Bear Hobgoblin captive arrived, she had led Landen and the others straight here and pointed out this stalactite. It was covered in all sorts of very fresh marks, which had naturally been left by the Bear Hobgoblins only recently.

"This one?" Landen continued. "So, are we supposed to dig downward? Or break it open?"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and knocked on the stalactite. The sound was deep and heavy. Hmm, it was solid.

Hearing Landen's words, the Bear Hobgoblin frantically shook her head and kept gesturing with her two thick claws.

That was the tragedy of not sharing a language. No one knew where this Bear Hobgoblin group had wandered from, but they did not even know the Underworld Common Tongue. On Landen's side, meanwhile, there was no one who knew the Hobgoblin language.

Landen was speechless as well. These brutes could clearly understand her, yet they simply could not speak. No wonder people said that although Bear Hobgoblins were the strongest fighters among the goblin races, they were also the laziest. It really was true. Even the Hobgoblins knew the Underworld Common Tongue, yet these wandering Bear Hobgoblins did not.

"Stop!" Landen cut off the Bear Hobgoblin's frantic gesturing, which looked like nothing short of a psychotic episode, and tried her best to communicate with her.

"Charge!"

The order was issued just like that. The moment they heard it, ... Hobgoblin Knights charged forward.

They had originally been at the very back of the formation. Once they charged, they immediately split to the left and right, circling around both sides of Vivian's formation. As soon as they split up, the formation that had still looked somewhat presentable was scattered completely.

Seeing this, Vivian's brows drew together even more tightly. This circus troupe's formation was charging forward like a heap of loose sand. At this rate, they probably would not even reach the enemy. They would collide with one another as soon as they entered the passage. And yet they had dared to launch the first charge. Where had they gotten such confidence?

Vivian was not the only one. Her subordinates reacted the same way. Most of them wore expressions of contempt and disdain. Even the Dark Dwarves, who were the least skilled at expressing their emotions, showed varying degrees of disdain and speechlessness.

Amid those emotions, the ... Hobgoblin Knights charged messily to the entrance of the passage. At that exact moment, Hogg, who had remained steadily at the rear, suddenly let out a long howl.

Amid the howl, the giant Rock Lizards leaped into the air one after another!

Not a single Hobgoblin Knight entered the passage. Instead, all the Hobgoblin Knights had scattered onto the mountain walls on both sides!

Rock Lizards could naturally climb mountains. Having grown up beside volcanoes, they often crawled into volcanic craters in search of semi-cooled lava at a suitable temperature. Thus, even sheer vertical cliffs like these were as easy for them to traverse as flat ground!

It was not only Vivian's side. Everyone who saw this scene, including the troops of the Qivita Family on the other side, was stunned.

However, this was only the beginning.

Hogg's second howl followed close behind.

The Hobgoblin Knights, who had been scattered like loose sand, began to gather. In the blink of an eye, a "2" appeared on each of the mountain walls.

Hogg really could train these Hobgoblin Knights, but she was merely the chief of a clan, not a tactical expert. Landen certainly was not one either. Thus, the Hobgoblin Knights had never focused on formation tactics during their training. Their formations were as simple as could be: either a single line or a double line. There was no third option!

The third howl arrived as expected. Amid the cry, the fifteen Hobgoblin Knights in the first row accelerated once more.

It was only a short burst of speed. After a few simple accelerating steps, the ... Rock Lizards leaped again!

The first time they leaped, the Rock Lizards jumped onto the mountain walls on both sides. The second time, they left the walls.

They left the mountain walls and pounced at the enemies blocking the passage!

Boom!

A single, perfectly synchronized sound rang out. The Hobgoblin Knights swung the warhammers in their hands and smashed them viciously into the tower shields blocking the way. The collision of their forces created this deafening boom, and the boom in turn told everyone just how tremendous the force behind that collision was!

No one could have imagined that a few Hobgoblins could unleash such tremendous strength. Yet at this moment, that was the reality!

Even the several incredibly powerful Orcs could not withstand such force. They let out shrill cries and were sent flying by the tremendous impact. Without them holding the shields, the tower shields naturally lost their purpose and were trampled beneath the feet of several Hobgoblin Knights!

At the same time, the remaining ... Hobgoblin Knights had already leaped into the Lizardfolk troops positioned farther behind!