Goblin

'It hurts so much! My left arm feels like it's broken...'

In the pitch-black underground, Sun Lei, who had fortunately survived, regained consciousness.

His body was crying out in pain. Sun Lei furrowed his brows, but no matter what he did, he couldn't open his eyes!

'They're dead. They're all dead... Those monsters... They were too strong!'

Rumble...

Patter, patter, patter, patter...

The sewer continued to shake violently. A rapid set of footsteps echoed from the distance, followed by Luo Wei's voice.

"Faster! We have to destroy the World Gate before it stabilizes completely, or we'll be in trouble!"

Sun Lei gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and followed along with the team.

He turned his head and looked around, unable to keep his brows from knitting together.

The light was too dim, and the passage had become so wide!

Under these circumstances, the chances of being ambushed by monsters would increase greatly!

A more cunning monster might even deliberately let its prey pass, then attack from both front and back together with the monsters behind it!

Don't assume that monsters were unintelligent beasts. Some monsters were hardly less intelligent than humans!

Sun Lei noticed this danger and hurriedly quickened his pace. He came to Luo Wei's side and said:

"Captain Luo, we should be more careful!"

"We don't even know what kind of monsters we're facing this time!"

"It's so dark around us. If we run this fast, we might be ambushed by monsters!"

Luo Wei turned to glance at Sun Lei. He nodded, then shook his head.

He agreed with Sun Lei's opinion, but the circumstances didn't allow them to do that!

After all, Sun Lei was still a fledgling. Three years of experience was simply too little!

The descent of the World Gate would bring part of an alternate-world space with it!

Once the World Gate stabilized, that portion of alternate-world space would be fixed in place, becoming a base for transporting monsters!

It was easy to imagine what would happen when a new space was forced into an area that had already been fixed.

The space would be compressed and filled until the original terrain became a new terrain!

This phenomenon would be relatively harmless on the surface, but they were underground now—and in a sewer, no less!

That made things troublesome. If they weren't careful, this place could collapse!

Moreover, the underground around here contained the magical circuits of the City Guard Magic Array. If the circuits were damaged by a collapse...

The city gates currently under attack by the monsters would probably be pushed down in an instant, allowing the monsters to charge into the city!

"So we can only go fast, not slow!"

Luo Wei's explanation left Sun Lei silent. He no longer said anything.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, and continued onward.

That was right. They couldn't afford to slow down now.

The team continued forward. Before long, the scouts ahead returned with news!

"The monsters have appeared. So far, we can only see Goblins—about thirty of them!"

A scout emerged from the darkness and told Luo Wei as he ran:

"Goblins..."

A solemn look flashed through Luo Wei's eyes. He immediately turned around and shouted to the team members behind him:

"Be careful! They're the monsters' vanguard! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

An orderly shout rang out from the team. Everyone picked up their weapons, preparing to face the battle ahead!

As a captain himself, Sun Lei also issued battle orders to his own team members.

The sounds of swords being drawn rang out one after another. The team's formation began to change, and more than a dozen Shield Guards carrying shields stepped forward and blocked the front!

Sun Lei tightened his grip on his sword hilt as well, slowly drawing the sharp sword from his waist!

Just then, a slightly frightened voice suddenly sounded behind Sun Lei.

"Captain, are they really Goblins? I heard they're terrifying monsters..."

Sun Lei felt someone tugging at his light armor a few times, and he turned around.

She was a beautiful girl with a petite figure. She wore the same City Guard equipment as him, and her face was filled with fear and panic.

Sun Lei thought for a moment before remembering that she was a member of his squad.

She was a newcomer who had joined the City Guard three days ago. Her name should have been Zhao Xiaoqin.

Remembering who the person before him was, Sun Lei gave Zhao Xiaoqin a reassuring smile and said:

"It's fine. They're only Goblins."

"But my teacher at school said that they're dangerous monsters comparable to Giant Dragons... They can easily destroy a city."

Zhao Xiaoqin remembered the monster knowledge her teacher had taught her and the hellish scenes of Goblin attacks in documentaries. Even her voice trembled as she spoke.

"They're only thirty Goblins. That number isn't a problem for the City Guard."

"The kind you're talking about number at least several hundred thousand and form a Goblin March led by all kinds of high-level Goblins."

Sun Lei reached out and patted Zhao Xiaoqin on the head. His voice was stern but encouraging as he said:

"Pull yourself together! You passed the assessment, after all—you're a genius. As long as you stick with the team during the battle, nothing will happen to you!"

"Yes, yes!"

Zhao Xiaoqin trembled in fright at Sun Lei's shout and answered loudly.

"Thank you..."

Just as Zhao Xiaoqin was about to thank Sun Lei, a tense shout suddenly rang out!

"Careful! It—it's a Goblin!!!"

That shout immediately put the entire team on edge!

Everyone looked ahead in unison, and several white beams of light shone forward as well!

Tap, tap, tap...

In the dim sewer, the sound of footsteps gradually approached in waves. Several short black shadows appeared under the light.

Their skin was dark green, and they had long, pointed ears. They hunched over and looked no bigger than children.

When the few Goblins were spotted by the team, dozens of eyes also emerged from the darkness behind them, beyond the reach of the light.

They silently approached the City Guard. Apart from their faint footsteps, they didn't make a sound.

"As expected of monsters skilled at ambushing. If we hadn't scouted ahead of time, they might really have ambushed us."

Luo Wei held up his longsword and looked at the monsters exposed beneath the lights. The corner of his mouth curled up without the slightest trace of a smile.

"Yah~!%#@#%!!"

Realizing that they had been discovered, the Goblins cried out incomprehensible sounds. They raised their crude wooden clubs and charged at the City Guard!

"Attack! These are only ordinary Goblins. Finish them quickly!"

Luo Wei roared and charged at the Goblin horde with his longsword in hand!

"Charge—!"

The Warriors following close behind also raised their weapons and charged forward under the Shield Guards' protection.

The Archers and Mages standing at the rear launched their attacks as well!

Dozens of arrows and flames descended into the Goblin horde first!

"Come on, we'll flank them from the side!"

Seeing that Luo Wei's and Li Wen's teams had already engaged the Goblins head-on, Sun Lei turned around and shouted to the team members behind him.

Sun Lei immediately led his team members toward the right, while Wang Xian's squad carried out the flanking maneuver from the other side according to plan!

The two squads quickly reached the left and right sides of the Goblin horde. Under the three-sided assault, the situation instantly tilted!

Battle Qi Slash!

Sun Lei swung his white-glowing longsword and charged straight into the already chaotic Goblin horde!

Whoosh! Slash!

In the blink of an eye, a streak of white light flashed!

Accompanied by the sound of flesh being cut, a spinning Goblin head flew into the air!

Sun Lei paid no attention to the Goblin he had decapitated with a single strike. The longsword in his hand continued to flash as he repeatedly hacked at the Goblins before him!

In less than a moment, four or five Goblins had already died beneath Sun Lei's sword!

The thirty Goblins were quickly dealt with by the City Guard, and the team members began cleaning up the battlefield!

"That was amazing, Captain!"

Standing beside Sun Lei, Zhao Xiaoqin panted heavily as she gazed at him with admiration.

"You killed several Goblins in one move, Captain. I didn't even get a chance to attack from behind you."

"It was nothing. These monsters aren't very strong..."

Sun Lei replied indifferently. He shook the blood from his sword and returned it to its sheath.

"Let's go. After we clean up the Goblin corpses, we still have to continue forward."

"Mm!"

Zhao Xiaoqin nodded with a smile and hurried toward the Goblins. The fear on her face was already gone.

After all, with such a powerful captain around, Zhao Xiaoqin felt that this mission should be safe.