The Sweet Taste of Victory (Bonus Chapter for Readers)

I have to say, Skar is indeed an excellent fighter. Facing the cornered goblin leader, he blocked, shield bashed, and tripped, delivering a series of fluid strikes that sent the enemy straight to Klavar.

Clearing out the remaining enemies was no different from sweeping a battlefield. In reality, there's no such thing as "X damage per hit" or "enemy HP bars." The goblins lying on the ground, snoring away, only needed a single blow to join their leader.

After taking down the enemy melee fighters, the soldiers of the Flaming Fist, their anger burning, weren't about to let the ambushers get away. A relentless pursuit ensued, and except for a few who were quick enough to escape, all the goblin archers were put to the sword.

During this time, Zhang Yuan, having finished casting his spells, also managed to pick up a few kills. Unfortunately, his teammates, consumed by rage, didn't bother keeping track of who got the kill. The person in question didn't dare to be foolish enough to remind them.

After the aftermath, a total of 68 goblins, including their leader, became ghosts at the hands of the Flaming Fist. Zhang Yuan himself only managed to claim three kills.

Seeing the 65 energy points that had vanished without a trace, he was momentarily speechless with frustration.

Just then, Skar walked over, grabbed his hand, and held it high. Everyone, including Zhang Yuan himself, looked at their captain with confusion.

"My brothers, comrades who have shared life and death, today we have encountered a despicable, shameful ambush," Skar declared loudly for all to hear.

"This group of filthy, ugly goblins tried to crush our confidence and will with their vile tactics and malicious arrows, but they failed, and they never will succeed! Because we are the Flaming Fist! (we are the sword of flamingfist)"

Skar's speech was met with thunderous applause and loud cheers. Only Zhang Yuan was still muttering under his breath, "My arm's getting sore, can you let me down first?"

Skar ignored him. "However, the sneak attack by these beasts has also brought us great trouble. Our brothers bled and died for it, and our situation has become passive."

His tone gradually grew louder. "But we thwarted their shameful scheme! When these goblins madly charged at us, our companion, the Mage Charnem, utterly destroyed these villains with his spells. Let's give him a cheer!"

With that, Skar grabbed Zhang Yuan's arm and lifted him even higher.

Zhang Yuan, already extremely embarrassed, now felt a surge of shame so powerful his mind went blank. In a daze, he was lifted by the crowd and tossed into the air.

After being tossed up and down for a while, he was finally let down. As he landed, his head spun, and he nearly lost his balance.

Lawrence, that guy, came over and asked enviously, "How was it, exhilarating right? Our mage hero."

"Exhilarating my ass," Zhang Yuan thought, rolling his eyes. Too lazy to bother with the guy, he turned and walked towards his summoned creatures.

Little Stone, who had also participated in the battle, swung its fists, as big as sandpots, smashing the head of a goblin. It collected a bit of energy for Zhang Yuan and replenished its own mana bar.

However, Zhang Yuan, having other plans, stopped Little Stone from using its skills, choosing to save them instead.

The road to the next town was still long, Zhang Yuan thought silently, and casually dismissed his pawns.

Passing through the thinning woods of Beregost's southern outskirts, and heading in the direction of the Coast Road, a different landscape unfolded before them.

This was an extremely harsh area, not because of its climate, environment, or soil's infertility, but due to its fearsome terrain.

Steep hills and cliffs pierced the land like broken swords. The undulating terrain created a dense network of precipices and valleys. The originally straight and wide road here became winding and tortuous, like a sheep's intestine.

This kind of terrain was naturally a sacred ground for ambushes, a paradise for bandits, and a graveyard for caravans.

Even the experienced soldiers of the Flaming Fist couldn't help but scratch their heads when faced with such a situation. Their small team, already not numerous, had suffered casualties of three people and five incapacitated warriors after the battle two days ago. Even after treatment from a cleric, two were still recuperating.

If they weren't careful and vigilant, avoiding all possible mistakes and oversights, relying solely on the remaining 29 combatants, it would be truly difficult to pass through this crisis-ridden area and reach Nashkel.

The scouts and rogues, filled with guilt over their previous negligence, now put their lives on the line, ranging far ahead and to the sides of the team, unwilling to miss even the slightest suspicious detail.

To put it exaggeratedly, if it were a pile of dog feces, as long as the pile was large enough, the scouts would pick it up to see if a goblin was hiding underneath.

This meticulous approach paid off. As they approached a pass, before even entering it, the scouts ahead reported enemy contact.

The two who returned both bore arrow wounds. One of them was holding a special arrow, its arrowhead flickering with flames – it was a magic arrow.

"There are kobold ambushes on both sides of the high cliffs ahead, including elite kobold assault teams. If we hadn't acted stealthily and retreated in time, we would have been finished."

Zhang Yuan had also heard of kobolds. They had faces very similar to small lizards and were rumored to have dragon bloodlines. They were named kobolds because of the yapping sounds they made when they spoke.

The combat strength of kobolds was on par with trash like goblins, fatties, and mad apes; it was hard to say which was worse.

However, they were also somewhat cunning, often hiding in the dark or on high ground to fire sneak attacks, rather than charging forward recklessly.

What concerned the Flaming Fist members even more was the kobold assault teams mentioned by the scouts. When some qualified kobolds awakened their bloodlines, only a very small number could become the legendary kobold dragon-blooded sorcerers, transforming into noble spellcasters and reaching the pinnacle of their existence.

But most awakened kobolds could only gain some spell-like abilities, like the most common one: Flame Enchantment.

Kobolds who mastered this ability, while not able to become absolute leaders like dragon-blooded sorcerers, could often hold the rank of captain. Thus, adventurers would be surprised to find that when they were having a great time slaughtering regular kobolds, a kobold captain would suddenly appear with its assault team, unleash a volley of fire arrows, and the kobolds' barking would become the last sound they heard.

Although the Flaming Fist soldiers were all clad in chainmail or scale mail, the power of fire arrows was not something that could be described as a simple +1 or +2 damage bonus like in a game.

Weapons with Flame Enchantment were a nuisance to any physical class without resistance gear. The burns and ignitions caused by fire would rapidly exacerbate even non-fatal wounds. Of course, if you were a high-magic-resistance Drow elf or a Hill Dwarf, that would be another matter.

Captain Skar was also repeatedly pondering a strategy. Directly charging uphill under the kobolds' arrows was definitely not a wise idea. What about taking a detour?

To begin with, there was the question of whether it would alert more terrifying monsters. Then there was the matter of how much time it would take to leave this dangerous area by climbing mountains and taking small paths, abandoning the main road. Even if they detoured, the kobolds had already occupied the high ground, and from their vantage point, it was possible they could be subjected to covering fire from long range.

Running was out of the question; they had to fight. But how could they limit the enemy's ranged capabilities? This question troubled Skar.

Suddenly, he thought of the previous battle and the unfortunate goblin charge. He slapped his palm. "Sory, go fetch that kid Charnem."