At that moment, the other goblin riding a wolf finally charged up and thrust its spear at Lin Yun. But without the momentum of a charge behind it, the attack didn't feel nearly as dangerous.
Mm-hmm.
Just as Lin Yun had braced himself for the pain, something unexpected happened again. The shield stopped the goblin's spear, preventing it from getting any closer. Unlike the first goblin, this one kept a tight grip on its spear, but the force of the impact sent it flying off the wolf and onto the ground beside it.
The wolf that had lost its rider turned to look at the two pathetic goblins, seeming a little dazed. Meanwhile, the wolf still carrying its goblin rider lunged at Lin Yun.
Wolves were animals and generally considered absolutely neutral creatures, so Protection from Evil had no effect on them. That meant Lin Yun's Armor Class against the wolf was only 18.
Its morale had hit rock bottom, making the wolf exceptionally vicious. It broke through the Shield spell and sank its teeth into Lin Yun's thigh. Well, with a goblin on its back, it could hardly reach his upper body, and he was wearing scale armor there anyway.
The ferocious attack left Lin Yun's thigh in terrible pain. It felt as if it were about to be torn apart. It was simply horrifying.
In an instant, Lin Yun's HP, which had recovered to 22, plunged as if it had dived into the sea, leaving him with only 6. His face turned ashen.
D20+2=22, Critical Hit.
After biting down, the wolf began to drag him away. But this time, Lin Yun fought back with incredible ferocity. The pain made his adrenaline surge.
He gave a powerful jerk, flinging the wolf off his leg. It had been clamped onto his thigh so tightly that it had almost bitten down to the bone. The wolf hit the ground, and the goblin that had been riding it came down with it. The goblin was fairly agile, though.
It had dropped its weapon, but when the wolf fell, it leaped down nimbly and landed without being thrown off balance.
Seeing Lin Yun injured, the Goddess Priestess and the Female Fighter sprang into action.
The Female Fighter rushed to the wolf that had dared to bite Lin Yun. She unleashed a flurry of attacks on the creature as it lay on the ground. Apparently, just beating it with her stick wasn't enough to vent her fury. She tossed the stick aside and stomped on the wolf three times.
She planted one foot on its head, another on its rear, and the last on its kidneys. She looked utterly vicious, especially with that final stomp. She pressed down hard, then gave a forceful twist of her foot. The wolf rolled its eyes back and passed out.
Meanwhile, the Goddess Priestess used her second Divine Magic spell of the day on Lin Yun. "O Merciful Earth Mother." A gentle light appeared in her hands, and Lin Yun's excruciating wound, which had almost gone numb, began to heal. After a bout of itching, it was still painful and he couldn't move for a while, but it was no longer quite so debilitating.
Lucky Healer really was lucky. That last blow had been a little too brutal, but he'd be fine.
Lin Yun's HP jumped from 6 to 14, restoring 8 points. He was safe for the time being.
That wasn't all. The Female Mage in the rear launched an attack too. She wanted to save her spells, so she chose to use her crossbow instead. Believing the wolf was the greatest threat, she aimed her Light Crossbow at the wolf that had turned to look at its foolish rider, then pulled the trigger.
After using it so many times, the Female Mage seemed to have picked up a few tricks. Her bolt struck the wolf right in the rump, causing it considerable pain.
"Awooo!" The wolf yelped in pain and turned to glare at the Female Mage, who was obviously the culprit. But when it saw everyone standing between them, it chose to attack Lin Yun instead. By then, Lin Yun had recovered somewhat. Gripping the Lantern Staff with both hands, he swung it at the wolf.
D20+2+2=24, Critical Hit. D20+2+2=13, Critical Hit confirmed. 2D6+3+1=13.
The staff came down hard on the wolf's head, nearly crushing it. The wolf collapsed to the ground.
...What was going on today? Why was everyone so ferocious? Either I landed a Critical Hit or the enemy did, and there were a bunch of misses in between. Lin Yun was shocked, and even a little spooked. This whole situation was so bizarre that he felt like running away.
The two goblins whose wolves had died let out a shriek and tried to flee. The one on the ground tried to crawl away, but Lin Yun and the Female Fighter were standing right there.
Lin Yun swung the Lantern Staff with both hands at the goblin that was still standing.
D20+2+2=22, Hit. D6+3+1=7.
He swung with such force that it was like hitting a golf ball. The blow sent the goblin flying, but although it could barely stand, somehow it managed to get back on its feet and stagger toward the main group.
The Female Fighter was a little slower to act. When she reflexively tried to kick the goblin with her beautiful leg, she was a beat too late. It had already run ahead.
With no other choice, the Female Fighter focused on the goblin crawling on the ground and stomped on its head twice. The fact that it didn't die on the spot was a stroke of luck.
By then, the distant sounds were rapidly approaching. And that goblin that had escaped death—oh, right. It hadn't escaped death after all.
Just then, the Female Mage at the rear pulled the trigger again. The goblin was just about to escape into the darkness and rejoin its companions when the bolt pierced its throat. It fell to the ground in front of them.
As the goblin hit the ground, figures began to emerge one by one. They were slightly taller than ordinary goblins, perhaps around 1.6 meters instead of 1.5. More importantly, they wore simple Leather Armor and carried all kinds of iron weapons. One of them even had a shield.
They were on an entirely different level from ordinary goblins. They were still a long way from being an army, but they were beginning to look like one.
Lin Yun furrowed his brow slightly.
Then the one at the front, a goblin carrying a greataxe, let out a roar. Lin Yun felt the goblins' spirits change, and then the greataxe-wielding goblin charged straight at him.
There was no way Lin Yun could back down now. He gripped the Lantern Staff with both hands and prepared to hit the greataxe goblin with a home run. He also shoved the Female Fighter back out of the way. If that girl took a blow from the greataxe, she'd probably be killed on the spot.
But as Lin Yun pushed the Female Fighter behind him, he didn't notice her looking like a lovestruck girl.
The greataxe goblin swung at Lin Yun with tremendous ferocity. Unfortunately, it seemed to have more bluster than strength. Or was the greataxe simply too heavy? Protection from Evil's power deflected the blow slightly, and the goblin's axe struck the ground beside him.
Seeing his chance when the goblin's axe missed, Lin Yun gripped the Lantern Staff with both hands and swung.
D20+2+2=15, Hit. D6+3+1=8.
His blow landed viciously on the greataxe goblin's head. The flames on the lamp oil made the goblin reflexively jerk its head backward.
The other goblins charged too. Since they were bigger than the ordinary ones, only two could rush forward at a time. The rest waited behind them for an opening.
Four arrows shot out of the darkness. One seemed to lack enough force and fell halfway through its flight, but at least it didn't hit an ally. The other three struck Lin Yun's shield.
One arrow pierced through Lin Yun's shield and hit his arm, while the other two simply dropped to the ground, useless.
But it seemed the arrow hadn't had enough force. It struck Lin Yun, only grazed him, and then... fell to the ground.
Lin Yun hadn't lost even 1 HP. He didn't even need to make a saving throw against poison. Pathetic.
Meanwhile, the two goblins beside the greataxe goblin—a scimitar-wielding goblin and a battle-axe-wielding goblin—both swung their weapons at Lin Yun.
Unfortunately for them, Lin Yun was now practically immune to Ironless Strike attacks unless they were from a cheat like a wolf. Their attacks struck Protection from Evil. Ah, no—the one with the battle axe had at least broken through Protection from Evil, but then the Shield spell stopped it. How hopeless.
At that moment, the Female Fighter darted out and attacked the greataxe goblin. Her punch landed on its chin, and she almost uppercutted it right off its feet. Still, the greataxe goblin seemed like a minor leader, and it was remarkably tough. Just as the Female Fighter was about to throw a second punch, the goblin shouted something incomprehensible. The scimitar-wielding goblin beside it rushed over, blocked her punch, and switched places with the greataxe goblin. Lin Yun and the others could even see the goblin grin as it ran off.
The goblin that had taken the Female Fighter's punch nearly rolled its eyes back and threw up. Then she kicked it away, and it fell to the ground, lying there with its mouth open and eyes shut.
At that moment, a goblin wielding a Pickaxe, which had been waiting for its chance on the outer edge of the formation, rushed forward and swung at the Female Fighter. But it was too slow. The incredibly nimble Female Fighter easily dodged the goblin's attack.
Behind Lin Yun, the Goddess Priestess had taken out the Light Crossbow and pulled the trigger at the greataxe goblin. She was timid, and as a priestess she felt uncomfortable hurting another living being, but she still... closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. She hit her target, but the bolt landed right beside the goblin's foot.
Before you continue