He Xi fixed his gaze on the bizarre Mud Doll swaying in the wind atop the bell tower.
From what he had observed while circling around earlier, the boundary of the silencing zone formed a distinct arc.
If this was a gigantic circular silencing field, then its center... was very likely the bell tower with the Mud Doll hanging from it!
He was certain of it. That thing was almost certainly the source of the town's silence! We have to destroy it.
He told Baron Ul what he suspected, then raised his hand. A steady white light gleamed at his fingertip. "The [Light Spell] uses very little mana, so we can use it to clear a path. We'll head straight for the bell tower."
"If Captain Kadan sees the light, especially if we move toward the bell tower, he should understand what we're trying to do! Even if he can't respond, once we break the silence, we can organize the townsfolk again."
Baron Ul looked at the light at He Xi's fingertip, then toward the silent depths of the town. A look of resolve flashed in his eyes.
"Good!" He nodded firmly and gripped his longsword. "We'll do as you say! Form up! Protect He Xi."
"Yes, Lord!" the guards answered in unison, swiftly adjusting their formation to shield He Xi in the center.
Bruce pressed close to He Xi's leg, ears alert, nose twitching constantly.
The group stopped trying to force their way in from the north and instead followed the western edge of town, searching for an area with fewer Goblins.
Before long, they found an opening.
A few stray Goblins spotted them and immediately charged, waving their battered weapons.
He Xi didn't waste mana on the [Light Spell]. There were too few to make it worthwhile, and casting it might attract more Goblins nearby.
Baron Ul and the guards' swords flashed as spears thrust forward!
"Thwack!"
"Crack!"
The Goblins were cut down in an instant, green blood splattering across the dirt.
The group rushed into town.
The moment they entered the silencing zone, the world fell utterly silent.
Their footsteps and breathing vanished.
Only the pounding of their hearts against their chests remained.
The farther they went into town, the stronger the stench of blood and rot grew, nearly suffocating them.
Under the moonlight, dark red bloodstains spread across the dirt.
The doors and windows of some houses had been smashed open, their interiors left in disarray. Broken pottery and overturned carts littered the roadside... along with several mangled corpses.
He Xi's stomach churned, and his breathing grew heavier despite himself. But in the absolute silence, all he could feel was his chest rising and falling.
Bruce whimpered soundlessly in his throat, and Baron Ul's face was pale with fury.
They proceeded cautiously along the town's main road.
Suddenly!
A young guard in the group suddenly widened his eyes and stared at a house by the roadside with its front door smashed open—that was his home!
The color drained from his face, and he made a desperate dash for it!
"Stop him!" Baron Ul shouted, but not a sound came out. He reached for the guard, but was a step too late!
The guard had already rushed inside!
The nearby Goblins were immediately alerted!
Several pairs of murky yellow eyes turned toward them in unison. They silently roared and surged forward, waving their weapons!
Damn it! Baron Ul cursed inwardly, but his movements didn't falter!
Kill! he roared soundlessly, charging forward first!
The guards formed a tight formation, thrusting their spears and swinging their blades! He Xi immediately backed them up.
[Light Spell]
A ball of white light burst among the Goblins.
Several Goblins screamed, clutching their eyes and dropping their weapons.
The battle unfolded in silence. With their superior equipment and fighting skills, and He Xi's precise [Light Spell] support, they quickly wiped out the dozen or so Goblins.
But the guard who had rushed into the house... never came back out.
He Xi and Baron Ul exchanged a glance, both seeing the grimness in the other's eyes.
Bruce bared his teeth at the house.
He Xi nodded.
Baron Ul signaled, and the group immediately gathered around, cautiously approaching the house, where the stench of blood was even stronger.
The ball of light at He Xi's fingertip drifted inside first.
By its light, they saw a leg in a guard's boot sticking out from the inner room's threshold, dangling limply on the ground.
It belonged to the young guard who had rushed inside!
He Xi's heart sank.
He raised his hand again and flung a [Light Spell] straight into the inner room!
The instant the light illuminated the room!
Several Goblins that had been lying in wait in the shadows on either side of the doorway suddenly sprang out. The unexpected glare had clearly blinded them, and they rubbed their eyes in pain.
The guards reacted instantly.
Several spears pinned the ambushing Goblins to the wall.
He Xi and Baron Ul rushed into the inner room.
The sight before them made everyone's eyes blaze with fury.
The young guard lay on the ground, his upper body... mutilated beyond recognition, flesh and blood in a mangled heap.
Several Goblin corpses lay beside him, bits of flesh still hanging from their mouths.
The group continued toward the bell tower.
The closer they got to the town center, the more Goblins they encountered.
He Xi stopped conserving mana.
[Light Spell]
[Light Spell]
[Light Spell]
Balls of blinding white light burst repeatedly ahead of them and along their flanks, like signal flares.
The Goblins staggered around, dazzled and disoriented, their mouths agape.
Baron Ul and the guards were like a meat grinder, carving a bloody path through the panicked Goblins.
Bruce was unusually fierce as well. Using his agility, he targeted the Goblins' ankles and the backs of their knees, tripping and biting them while the guards moved in.
They entered an alley leading to the bell tower plaza.
The outline of the bell tower grew clearer and clearer!
Hope seemed within reach!
But!
When they were still dozens of meters from the plaza, everything suddenly changed!
A hunched figure, noticeably taller than the other Goblins, appeared in the middle of the road!
It stood about 1.5 meters tall. Its skin was a sickly purplish red, covered in wrinkles and dark spots.
A grotesque mask made from an animal skull covered its face, and two ghostly green lights glimmered in its hollow eye sockets.
It held a wooden staff wrapped in vines and bone ornaments.
Was this the spellcaster?
A shaman?
Alarm bells rang in He Xi's mind!
The shaman's murky eyes swept over He Xi and the others, finally settling on the light at He Xi's fingertip. A hint of wariness and anger seemed to flicker in its eyes.
It raised its bone staff, muttered an incantation, and slammed the staff hard against the ground.
An invisible ripple spread outward.
The Goblins around them, who had been shrinking back from the [Light Spell], suddenly stiffened.
Then their murky yellow eyes turned bloodred.
Every Goblin went berserk!
They charged at He Xi and the others without a care for their own lives.
They moved far faster than before.
Baron Ul's longsword became a blur of cold light, instantly cutting down the two berserk Goblins at the front.
But even more Goblins swarmed toward them like rabid dogs!
The pressure on the guards mounted!
A spear pierced one Goblin through the chest, but it seemed not to feel any pain. Its bloodred eyes stayed fixed on the guard as it mustered its last strength and hurled its stone axe!
"Thud!"
The stone axe struck a guard in the shoulder, making him stagger backward.
A gap instantly opened in the line!
More berserk Goblins poured through it!
Bruce barked soundlessly and lunged at a Goblin trying to sneak up on He Xi, knocking it to the ground.
[Light Spell]
[Light Spell]
He Xi unleashed spell after spell.
But when the white light flashed, the berserk Goblins it struck only faltered for a moment before charging again.
The blinding light was far less effective against them.
Goblins poured out of every alley like sharks scenting blood, joining the attack.
They were surrounded!
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