It had to be said that Skar was indeed an excellent warrior. Facing the stubborn hobgoblin chief, he blocked, bashed with his shield, tripped, and sent the enemy straight to meet Klavar in one smooth series of strikes.
Clearing out the remaining enemies was no different from cleaning up the battlefield. There was no such thing in reality as dealing a certain amount of damage with one slash or enemies having a certain amount of health. The goblins lying on the ground fast asleep only needed one slash to send them after their chief.
After taking down the enemy melee fighters, the Flame Fist soldiers, their hearts blazing with fury, had no intention of letting the real culprits behind the ambush escape. After a relentless pursuit, all the goblin archers except for a few swift enough to flee were put to death.
After finishing his spell, Zhang Yuan also managed to claim a few kills. Unfortunately, his enraged teammates had forgotten all about leaving some heads for him, and no one had dared to foolishly remind them.
Once everything was counted, a total of sixty-eight hobgoblins, including their chief, had fallen beneath the Flame Fist's blades, while Zhang Yuan himself had only managed to claim three kills.
Watching sixty-five points of energy vanish into thin air, Zhang Yuan was so choked up that he could not say a word for a while.
At that moment, Skar came over and grabbed his hand, raising it high. Everyone, including Zhang Yuan himself, stared at their captain in confusion.
"My brothers, my comrades who have lived and died together! Today, we suffered a vile and disgraceful ambush," Skar declared loudly before everyone.
"These filthy, ugly goblins tried to crush our confidence and resolve with despicable tactics and vicious arrows, but they failed, and they could never succeed! Because we are the Flame Fist! We are the sword of the Flaming Fist!"
Skar's speech was met with a wave of enthusiastic applause and loud cheers. Only Zhang Yuan was still muttering under his breath, "My arm's getting sore. Can't you put me down before continuing?"
Skar ignored him. "However, this pack of beasts' ambush also brought us great trouble. Our brothers bled and died because of it, and we were thrown onto the defensive."
His tone gradually rose. "But we thwarted their despicable scheme. When these arrogant goblins charged at us, our companion, the mage Charnem, completely destroyed these villains with his spells. Let us cheer for him!"
As he spoke, Skar raised Zhang Yuan's arm even higher.
Already feeling extremely awkward, Zhang Yuan now felt his shame explode. His mind turned into a complete muddle, and he could not remember a thing. Then, in a daze, everyone hoisted him into the air and tossed him skyward.
Only after being thrown up and down for quite some time, in a display of men piled upon men, was he finally put down. When he landed, the world spun around him, and he nearly lost his balance.
Lawrence even came over and asked enviously, "How was it? Pretty great, right, our mage hero?"
"Great my ass." Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes and could not be bothered to answer him. He turned and walked toward his summoned creature.
Little Stone, who had also joined the battle, swung his wok-sized fist and smashed a hobgoblin's head apart, collecting a little energy for Zhang Yuan while filling his own mana bar to the brim.
However, Zhang Yuan had other plans and stopped Little Stone from using his skill, choosing to save it instead.
The road to the next town is still long, Zhang Yuan thought silently as he casually dismissed his chess pieces.
After passing through the gradually thinning woods south of Beregost and following the direction of the Coast Road, an entirely different vista appeared before them.
This was an extremely wretched place. It was not that the climate, environment, or soil was particularly harsh or barren, but rather that the terrain was terrifying.
Steep hills and cliffs jutted from the earth like broken swords. The undulating landscape created a dense network of precipices and ravines, while the originally straight and spacious road twisted like a sheep's intestine.
Terrain like this was a natural paradise for ambushes, a haven for bandits, and a graveyard for caravans.
Even the experienced Flame Fist soldiers could not help scratching their heads at the sight. Their already small squad had lost three men and had five more rendered incapable of fighting in the battle two days ago. Even after receiving treatment from the cleric, two were still recovering.
Unless they proceeded carefully and avoided every possible mistake or oversight, the remaining twenty-nine combat-capable soldiers would have a hard time crossing this perilous region to reach Nashkel.
The scout rogues, still guilt-ridden over their carelessness last time, now ranged tirelessly ahead and along both sides of the formation, refusing to overlook the slightest suspicious detail.
To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, even if it was a pile of dog shit, as long as it was a large pile, the scouts would still poke it up to see whether a goblin was hiding underneath.
Their thorough search was not in vain. As they approached a pass, the scouts reported enemy contact before they had even entered it.
The two returning scouts both bore arrow wounds. One of them was even clutching a special arrow, flames dancing restlessly around its tip. It was a magic arrow.
"There are kobolds lying in ambush on the high cliffs on both sides of the road ahead. There are even elite kobold assault squads among them. If we hadn't moved covertly and retreated in time, we probably wouldn't have made it back."
Zhang Yuan had heard of kobolds before. Their faces looked very much like those of small lizards. It was said that some of them even carried dragon blood. They had been named kobolds because of the barking sounds they made when they spoke.
Kobolds' combat ability was practically on par with such trash as goblins, xvart monsters, and dire apes. It was genuinely difficult to say which was worse.
Yet they were also somewhat cunning. They often hid in darkness or on high ground to fire sneak attacks, rather than recklessly charging straight in.
What concerned the Flame Fist members even more was the kobold assault squad mentioned by the scouts. When some talented kobolds awakened their bloodlines, only a very small number could become the legendary kobold Dragon-blooded Sorcerers, transforming into noble spellcasters and reaching the peak of doghood.
Most awakened kobolds, however, could only gain a few spell-like abilities, such as the most common one: Flame Enchantment.
Kobolds who mastered this ability could not become absolute leaders like Dragon-blooded Sorcerers, but they could usually manage to become captains. Thus, adventurers would have the unpleasant surprise of discovering that just when they were enjoying slaughtering ordinary kobolds, a kobold captain would suddenly appear with its assault troops and serve them a rain of flaming arrows. The kobolds' barking would then become the last sound they ever heard.
Although the Flame Fist soldiers all wore chainmail or leather ring armor, the power of flaming arrows could not be described as merely one or two points of extra damage, as it was in a game.
Flame-enchanted weapons were troublesome for any physical combatant without resistant equipment. The burns and ignition caused by the flames would make originally nonfatal wounds rapidly worsen. Of course, high-magic-resistance drow or mountain kings were another matter entirely.
Captain Skar was also repeatedly pondering how to respond. Charging uphill directly into the kobolds' arrows was absolutely unwise. But what about taking a detour?
Leaving aside whether they might alert even more frightening monsters, and aside from how much time it would take to abandon the main road, climb the mountains, and follow the side paths out of this perilous region, the kobolds had already seized the high ground. From above, they could cover the detour with their ranged firepower.
They could not run. They could only fight. But how could they restrict the enemy's ranged power? The question stumped Skar.
Suddenly, he thought of the previous battle and that pitiful hobgoblin assault squad. He slapped his palm with his fist. "Sorey, go get that brat Charnem."
Before you continue