Lin Yun and the others lay in ambush near the back entrance. Of course, they couldn't actually turn invisible, so all they could do was hide around the gap.
Since it was a back entrance and the gap had formed naturally, it wasn't very wide. Even one person would have had a tight squeeze getting through, especially someone like Lin Yun, who was wearing armor. In theory, it wouldn't have been strange if he got stuck halfway and couldn't get out. So they could only lie in wait outside.
It was inconvenient for Lin Yun and the others, but for little creatures like goblins, the gap was practically roomy enough for one goblin to walk through. If they squeezed in, two could probably get through without much trouble.
Then came a rustling sound, followed by some panting, and three goblins emerged from the gap.
The goblin in front immediately spotted the villagers, whose faces were slick with nervous sweat as they continued filling in the pit. It chattered and charged at them, intent on attacking.
Then... Lin Yun and the others, who were hiding behind them, attacked.
That was Lin Yun's plan. After coming through the gap, the goblins could still spot them if they looked carefully. But Lin Yun had anticipated this and had the villagers act as bait. He had explained all this to them beforehand, of course.
The villagers were also quite noble and brave—or perhaps the few who had come here simply weren't afraid of dying. Two of them had even been ready to charge in with a fearless, heroic rush...
"D20+2+2=16, hit." Since they were attacking by surprise, the goblins had no chance to react.
Lin Yun gripped the Heavy Mace in both hands. He hadn't even brought his shield. He swung the weapon straight into the back of the last goblin to emerge. At that moment, Lin Yun thought he heard the unmistakable crack of a bone breaking.
"D8+3=8." When wielding a weapon with both hands, you could add one and a half times your Strength modifier to the damage. Since Lin Yun's Strength was 14, this blow dealt an extra +3 damage.
The heavy blow to the back made the goblin stumble. Before it could react, it collapsed to the ground. Seeing Lin Yun attack, the Goddess Priestess and the Female Mage followed the plan and began firing their Light Crossbows.
The two girls squeezed their triggers. Perhaps because the Goddess Priestess had taken a little time to get used to the weapon, her shot hit the goblin in front with remarkable accuracy. It was only a Light Crossbow, but it still fired a bolt, and the tremendous force sent the goblin stumbling. Even so, the shot clearly hadn't killed it.
As for the Female Mage, perhaps her strength was too low. Her hand shook as she fired, and the bolt struck the ground beside the goblin in the middle instead of hitting it... Somehow, it felt like this Female Mage could never land a ranged attack unless it was something guaranteed to hit, like Magic Missile.
The Female Fighter had already charged forward. As soon as she saw the last goblin fall, she rushed toward the one in the middle and swung her club, smacking it across the neck. The goblin went flying and landed off to the side, sprawled out with its mouth open and its eyes rolled back.
"Hu...man." The goblins noticed Lin Yun and the others' attack and hurriedly turned around, startled. One of them clutched a stone battle axe and charged at Lin Yun. But... as it turned, the villagers behind it raised their weapons and rushed forward instead.
Four villagers, holding manure forks that were supposed to be stuck in the ground, charged the goblin. The first and second forks struck the unprepared goblin, but as it fell, the third missed. Seeing the fallen goblin, the third villager hesitated, unsure whether he should attack. It was fair to say that the goblin hadn't died in vain. At least, this was the sort of thing that only a Witch Hunter should have had to endure.
After dispatching this small squad, Lin Yun directed everyone to drag the goblins' bodies aside. They gave them a final blow—ah, no, a final mace strike—then concealed them, while the villagers continued filling in the pit.
About a minute later, the goblins below seemed to realize something was wrong. Another squad came running over. The Female Fighter cautiously peeked around the edge of the gap, then held up eight fingers to Lin Yun.
Eight goblins had shown up at once! Lin Yun was startled. And that wasn't all. He could also see the Female Fighter gesturing like a beast, then holding up two fingers.
All right, eight goblins and two wolves. Goblins might be stupid, but they weren't idiots.
"Awooo." A wolf seemed to sense something, and its howl came from the other side of the gap. The gap kept the air from circulating well, but a wolf's sense of smell was no joke. Though faint, the two wolves had clearly caught the scent of blood, as well as the smell of humans.
After the wolf howled, a goblin carrying a spear and walking beside it—who until then hadn't seemed very concerned—started to react. It chattered a few times, and the goblins and the two wolves shifted into battle formation.
Two goblins mounted the wolves and brandished their spears as they charged into the gap. The five goblins behind them began entering cautiously. But one goblin sneaked off in the opposite direction as the others charged ahead.
Goblins might be stupid, but they weren't idiots. This goblin had clearly sensed something was wrong and wanted to run back to report it, ready to raise the alarm at any moment.
Unfortunately, the Female Fighter spotted it. She signaled to Lin Yun; they had agreed on these gestures beforehand. Lin Yun nodded slightly, then held out a hand toward the Female Mage.
The Female Mage nodded. Lin Yun looked at the goblin about to flee back into the mine and said, "Come." The goblin stopped in its tracks.
Then... it ran even faster.
"..." Damn, it must have passed its saving throw. Lin Yun stared, dumbfounded, at the goblin that had disappeared from sight.
Meanwhile, the goblins that had already been prepared for trouble grew even noisier when they saw Lin Yun appear.
They charged straight at Lin Yun. But he shifted his body slightly and raised his shield, while the Female Mage behind him stretched out her delicate little hand. "Burning Hands—flaming fire, convert to lightning!"
Lightning flickered in the Female Mage's hand, then spread out in a fan-shaped arc, starting at her palm and extending fifteen feet—that was, 3.3 meters—ahead. In other words, it covered all the goblins.
Seven goblins and two wolves were caught in it. In that instant, three goblins instinctively dropped to the ground, and both wolves did the same. But that only shoved the two goblins riding on their backs right into the path of the Burning Hands spell, now converted to lightning damage. One of them might have been able to dodge, but too bad.
Only two goblins and the two wolves barely managed to avoid the brunt of the lightning. Even so, they still took some damage.
The 1st-Circle Magic Burning Hands dealt as much as 3D6 damage. The goblins who hadn't avoided the brunt of it crackled with electricity. Foam poured from their mouths, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground.
The two wolves and the two goblins who had barely avoided the brunt of the spell also took damage. Even the wolves' normally gray fur had turned a little charred.
The two wolves bared their teeth, snarling through the paralyzing pain, then lunged toward the Female Mage. Whether from the pain or from anger at the riders who had sold them out, they were ready to attack—but Lin Yun had anticipated this and blocked their way. So the wolves could only attack him instead.
Perhaps because he hadn't cast Shield, or because hatred and fury had made the two wolves explode like Super Saiyans, the clever beasts moved too quickly for Lin Yun to react. One bit into each of his thighs, and they began tearing at him, dragging him down.
"D20+2=17, save succeeded."
"D20+2=6, save failed." Lin Yun let his guard down for a moment, and the wolf on his right yanked him down with its jaws. He hit the ground hard on his backside, feeling three kinds of pain at once.
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