The Goblins' and Ogres' Counterattack

After living together for a few days, the two little ones finally stopped being so afraid of Phinia. The herd they had been keeping in captivity had grown by a few more heads over the past few days; the harsh winter made them quite satisfied with the stables that shielded them from the wind. Their consumption of fodder had also increased, forcing William and little Alos to venture out into the wind and snow to replenish the feed.

Mishaer cautiously approached the giantess at the other end of the fireplace, her curiosity tinged with a hint of fear, and whispered:

"Phinia, you won't eat Mishaer, will you? I heard Alos and the others say that giants eat children!"

Phinia set down the giant axe she was polishing and replied in a shy, soft voice: "Me no eat you, no eat children either. Only evil wild giants eat people. Me only eat meat."

Upon hearing that the giantess wouldn't eat her, Mishaer immediately perked up. She sat down beside Phinia and began asking questions boldly. The two equally simple-minded creatures found they had quite a lot in common, and soon they were chatting away, growing familiar with each other.

Winter in the North changes in an instant; it was clear and sunny during the day, but by nightfall, goose-feather snowflakes began to drift down. The returning wind and snow not only prevented William from going out, but also subjected the monsters in the deep forest to the trials of extreme cold and hunger. The snow covered the tracks of their prey, making them even harder to find and catch, forcing the monsters to seek new ways to survive.

In previous years at this time, monsters would often come to cause trouble. Back then, the three siblings could only hide in the cellar and wait for the monsters to leave on their own. But this time, William did not want to be so passive. Before the first snowfall, he had already considered preparing for the village's defense.

Recently, William had used hardwood to whittle nearly a hundred short javelins, four to five feet long. He planned to make even more in the future, as these would be his primary long-range weapons.

Heavy snow and low temperatures were a great boon for constructing defensive facilities. On the inner side near the main gate, William poured two "Z"-shaped ice walls, four to five feet high, along the perimeter fence. The goal was to compress the maneuvering space for the monsters after they broke through the gate. He believed that with the Goblins' short, four-foot-tall frames, it would take them quite some effort to cross these barriers.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to hunt wild beasts in the forest. Aside from occasionally catching birds to change up their diet, Chen Jinyang no longer went out specifically to hunt large game. With Phinia by his side to neutralize the side effects of his cultivation, he not only resumed his daily training intensity but even increased the volume and difficulty, practicing tirelessly in the village every day. Whenever he finished his session, he would pull the equally insatiable Phinia to a secluded spot to "plow the fields," much to the bewilderment of the two little ones. Life was quite flavorful.

Deep in the Hidden Forest, in places unknown to men, a large number of monsters began to gather, preparing to march toward the human settlements on the outskirts of the jungle. They split into several groups, and one of the monster clusters was heading directly toward Gnome Village.

At dawn, William was awakened by a chaotic sound of wood being struck. He sat up and listened intently, the strange noise barely distinguishable amidst the howling cold wind. He looked at the three people sleeping soundly, added some firewood to the dying embers to brighten the hearth, threw on a thick wool blanket, and stepped out of the cellar with his iron sword in hand.

The herd in the stables was restless, neighing in agitation, and violent thumping sounds came from the village gate. William reacted instantly—someone was destroying the gate. He rushed to the gate and jumped onto the fence to look outside.

He saw five or six tall figures waving large wooden clubs, laboriously smashing against the iron-reinforced log gate. Around them, a dense mass of short, dark figures jumped and chattered incessantly.

The monsters had truly attacked.

Although the iron-reinforced gate was sturdy, it could not withstand the brute force of the Ogres. It appeared to be riddled with holes and on the verge of collapse. William knew he could not let these large monsters break through; if these immensely strong brutes charged into the village, his prepared defenses would be rendered useless. Even if he could kill them all, the losses would be inevitable.

Fortunately, he had kept the short javelins he whittled daily on the fence. William grabbed the javelins with both hands, swung his arms in a wide arc, and threw them rapidly at the Ogres breaking the gate. The javelins whistled through the air. One Ogre was striking the gate with all its might when a javelin pierced through its left cheek and exited half a foot out the right side.

The Ogre let out a short, muffled howl, stopped smashing the gate, and collapsed to the ground clutching its cheeks. Another javelin struck a different Ogre in the arm. William didn't pause, firing three rounds in quick succession. However, he rarely practiced throwing, so his accuracy was lacking; of the six javelins, only four hit the Ogres, two of which were knocked down and temporarily incapacitated.

The remaining Ogres and Goblins finally noticed the resistance on the fence. They were not fools without the ability to fight back; they clamored and began to retaliate, hurling javelins, stones, clubs, and bone arrows all at once. William dared not hold his ground; he rolled off the fence to take cover. Once the monsters stopped their barrage, he leaped back onto the wall to throw more javelins, only to be forced down again after two rounds.

William bypassed the ice wall behind the gate and climbed the fence from the other side, taking advantage of the monsters' distraction to throw rapidly once more. After two more rounds of javelins, he didn't wait to check the results and rolled off the fence again.

However, the lethality of wooden javelins was limited. Unless they hit a vital spot, it was difficult to kill Ogres—monsters with thick skin and flesh—especially since they knew how to protect their vitals. It was already a stroke of luck that William had managed to kill three of the six tenacious Ogres on the spot. The remaining three, though all wounded, were still fierce.

The iron-reinforced gate suddenly let out a crisp "crack"—it could no longer withstand the monsters' destruction and reached its end, then was pushed over by the remaining Ogres. Reacting with lightning speed, William threw his remaining javelin with all his might toward the falling gate. An Ogre had just broken through the barrier and was the first to step into the village. It excitedly prepared to roar to show off its achievement, but the incoming javelin struck its throat like a bolt of lightning, forcing the roar back into its chest. Its throat made a "gurgling" sound, and it collapsed with a thud. The two surviving Ogres didn't care about their companion's death; they stepped over the corpse and charged into the gate first.

The five-foot-high ice wall was designed specifically for Goblins and offered no defense against the Ogres. Once the two Ogres charged in, the entire defensive system nearly collapsed.

To curb the Ogres' wanton destruction of the ice walls on both sides, William had to choose to attack proactively to kill them quickly. He gripped his iron sword with an underhand grip and charged at the monsters. The Ogre's sallow eyes stared cruelly at the charging William, and it swung its massive club down first. William shifted his feet rapidly, dodging the club, and then, with a snap of his leg muscles, he accelerated suddenly, lunging into the Ogre's chest while it was still in the posture of swinging the club.

William exerted force through his feet, his supporting foot stomping down so hard that the frozen earth splattered, while his body vaulted several feet into the air. His left hand grabbed the Ogre's head, and his right hand drove the iron sword into the monster's eye socket using the "Drill" technique, plunging it in a foot deep. He twisted his wrist, then quickly pulled the sword out; a spray of foul blood mixed with shattered lens and brain matter erupted. The Ogre let out a heaven-shaking howl of pain, clutched its eye, and slumped to the ground, twitching powerlessly.

Having succeeded in one strike, William didn't stop. He vaulted off the fallen Ogre, using the momentum to pounce on the other Ogre that had just turned around—a tough brute that had already endured several javelin strikes. William kicked the end of a javelin still embedded in the Ogre's thigh; the immense force drove the javelin almost entirely through, causing the Ogre to sit down involuntarily.

William used the force of the kick to leap up, grabbed the Ogre's head, and vaulted behind it. He wrenched its massive head back and slashed his iron sword across its throat with such force that he nearly severed the neck entirely. The Ogre immediately clutched its throat and died.

Although this series of battles sounds long, from the moment William climbed the fence until the last Ogre was killed, only about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea had passed. The intense, rapid-fire combat left him almost no time to catch his breath. Once the Ogres were all dead, the breath William had been holding in his chest suddenly escaped. He instinctively thrust out his palm, releasing the out-of-control heat flow as a Palm Flame. The flames, several feet long, landed squarely in the group of Goblins that had charged in and exploded. Six or seven Goblins were burned to death instantly, and even more were injured. At this moment, William, who should have pressed the attack, was drenched in sweat, his limbs so weak he nearly collapsed to the ground.

By then, Phinia and Alos, awakened by the sounds of battle, had run out of the cellar. The giantess charged over, brandishing her Frost Giant Axe. She crouched slightly, swung the axe, and intercepted the Goblins trying to take advantage of William. With a series of ferocious strikes, she shattered the Goblins' morale.

Little Alos clutched a dagger, guarding William, who was struggling to climb behind the ice wall for cover, his eyes fixed nervously on the shifting battlefield. William took a few deep breaths, seizing the moment to recover his strength. He looked at the terrified little one and said with a smile:

"Alos, don't worry. I'm here; everything will be fine."

Turning his head, he saw Mishaer about to crawl out of the cellar entrance. He hurriedly said to little Alos: "Go watch your sister; don't let her run around."

Little Alos looked at the battlefield. Although Phinia had driven away the Goblins that had charged in earlier, more were pouring in through the gate. He said, feeling at a loss: "But..."

"Go! Mishaer is too small; she needs looking after! Go back to the cellar and protect her." As the big brother, William spoke with stern authority, and Alos had no choice but to run toward his sister, who had slipped out of the cellar.

Even though Phinia was strong and tall, she couldn't handle the sheer number of Goblins. Once her initial momentum faded, more Goblins swarmed her. There were several gaps in the ice wall caused by the Ogres, and the cunning Goblins specifically circled behind to flank her, forcing her into a desperate struggle. Having recovered some of his strength, William grabbed his iron sword in one hand and an Ogre's massive club in the other, charging back into the fray.

William twisted his waist, channeling power into his arm, and swung the club in a diagonal upward arc. The Goblins rushing through the gap were sent flying, their bodies mangled. He charged into the gap, cutting off the retreat of the seven Goblins flanking Phinia. Phinia swung her giant axe, taking the opportunity to fell two Goblins. The remaining five, unaware of the enemy behind them, scrambled to retreat. William lashed out with a flying kick, shattering the skulls of two Goblins, and Phinia rushed up to finish off the last three.

William sealed the breach. From then on, the Goblins that charged in could only move along the ice walls; the space between the two walls could only accommodate four or five Goblins side-by-side. The two of them worked together, coordinating to hack down the Goblins one by one, then fought their way to the gate.

William and Phinia guarded the entrance, one on the left and one on the right. These two super-powered freaks swung clubs and axes like a massive dam blocking a river, smashing and hacking the swarming Goblins to pieces. Having exhausted their long-range capabilities early on, the Goblins could only throw their lives away in waves. They charged again and again, only to be smashed into a bloody mess time after time. The snow on the ground turned into dark red mud.

Perhaps the dim light of dawn gave the monsters extra courage, or perhaps hunger and cold forced them to fight to the death; the Goblins displayed unparalleled sacrificial spirit, charging forward wave after wave. By the time the sun rose, the hundred-plus Goblins that had come to raid were nearly wiped out. Only a dozen or so terrified wretches remained, fleeing back into the forest like walking corpses, including the timid leader holding a wooden spear who looked somewhat familiar to William.

William and Phinia were covered in blood and filth. They watched the fleeing Goblins, then collapsed into the bloody mud one after another, looking at each other and laughing heartily. If their strength hadn't been almost completely exhausted, this pair of "dogs" would definitely have started another "battle"—the kind that makes noise.

The two helped each other across the battlefield, ate a bit of food at the cellar entrance as a late breakfast, and began cleaning up the corpses and filth left behind. It took them nearly the whole morning to drag all the monster carcasses into the forest to discard them. The stench of blood and monster musk filling the air made the two little ones who came out to watch vomit uncontrollably. Mishaer, still shaken, hid in the cellar and refused to come out no matter what.

In the afternoon, the heavy snow returned, covering the monster corpses and the smell of blood in the air. This time, if William hadn't discovered them in time and if the gate hadn't been sturdy enough to hold until he found the intruders, they wouldn't have known what kind of misery they would have suffered.

Originally, William hadn't taken Goblins seriously, but after this lesson, he dared not be so reckless again. No one could underestimate those groups that possessed intelligence. William and Phinia braved the wind and snow to chop down a large number of logs, completely sealing the broken gate and pouring snow water over them to freeze into an ice wall. William left only a small exit on the side of the gate that allowed only one person to pass at a time. Later, he widened and thickened the ice wall inside the gate, turning it into a breastwork five feet high and two feet wide, and added several narrow, crisscrossing paths on the outside.

Satisfied, he looked at the slightly formed fortifications and gazed at the night sky filled with swirling snowflakes, exhaling a puff of mist.

What a dangerous and cruel world this is, yet it is the paradise for a martial artist like me.