When he had first read the Association's notes in the White-Haired Goblin entry, Zeliel had wrestled with the decision for quite a while.
Take out any magic-user as quickly as possible.
Sigh.
That was what it was like for us mages. The moment we showed up on the battlefield, we came with a built-in taunt aura.
The White-Haired Goblin leaned on a white bone staff as it stepped out of the cave, one step at a time. The Orc Goblin beside it stayed glued to its side, warily scanning their surroundings.
Zeliel gave a cold laugh.
Pretty clever. You know enough to keep a bodyguard by your side at all times.
Let's see if that bodyguard can protect you!
After exchanging a glance with Vales, the two understood each other without a word.
Vales nocked an arrow and began fusing his fighting spirit with it.
Meanwhile, Zeliel raised his ashwood wand, preparing to charge up an Arcane Missile.
Two surges of violent power were building in the bushes!
Just then, the White-Haired Goblin raised its white bone staff as well.
It hopped up and down on the spot, looking utterly bizarre as it muttered a string of malicious curses and strange cries.
It was casting a spell too!
As the strange cries rang out, a wave of mental energy steeped in negative emotions swept across the battlefield.
Psychic magic: Malicious Words!
Marcus, Gray, and Gak felt their minds grow heavy, as if someone had struck them hard with a blunt object. Their movements slowed along with their thoughts.
Against a surrounding attack, that was a fatal opening.
"Gawaak!" The White-Haired Goblin suddenly pointed its white bone staff at the three men.
(Kill them!)
The Goblins, who already had the upper hand, grew even more excited. The White-Haired Goblin's arrival had given them a much-needed boost.
Marcus and the others were still feeling the lingering effects of Malicious Words. They couldn't organize an effective defense in time, and the situation immediately turned dire.
At that moment, a swift black figure suddenly cut into the battlefield from the side.
It was Hill!
She crouched low and sprinted forward, plunging into the middle of the Goblins in an instant.
Two daggers flashed with a chilling gleam, their blades wrapped in layers of razor-sharp fighting spirit!
Every Goblin in her path had its throat slit by a fierce horizontal slash. Brilliant sprays of blood burst into the air as she headed straight for the White-Haired Goblin!
The brazen assassination immediately caught the White-Haired Goblin's attention. It let out a sharp cry.
"Duruwa!"
(Grab that woman first!)
At the White-Haired Goblin's command, the Goblins who had been preparing to surround Marcus and the others changed targets. Even the two Orc Goblins charged toward Hill.
"Hmph..."
Hill smiled scornfully, swept aside her cloak, and sent two round pellets flying.
"Bang! Bang!"
A large cloud of white smoke immediately billowed around Hill, and she vanished from sight. The Goblins couldn't find her.
Hill's move abruptly eased the pressure on Marcus and the others. They gasped for breath, then quickly rallied and focused their minds, shaking off Malicious Words.
At that very moment, the hidden snipers were ready to strike!
Vales released the bowstring.
Thunder Arrow—fire!
After being infused with fighting spirit, Vales's arrow crackled with lightning as it shot toward the White-Haired Goblin!
"Whoosh!!!"
Its terrifying destructive power instantly killed the three ordinary Goblins in its path, blasting their bodies to pieces. Then it struck the bodyguard beside the White-Haired Goblin!
The arrow's remaining force sent the bodyguard tumbling to the ground, leaving the White-Haired Goblin completely exposed!
It whipped its head around, shock filling its eyes.
The humans had another sniper hidden in the shadows?!
Before the White-Haired Goblin could react, the next attack came rushing in.
Arcane Missile!
Vales's Thunder Arrow had cleared the obstacles from the path, leaving Zeliel's Arcane Missile with nothing in its way.
The White-Haired Goblin had nowhere to dodge. It could only watch as the spell struck it head-on!
"Boom!!!"
The explosion's roar was deafening. Surging magic power kicked up a huge cloud of dust, twisting the mist into a spiral!
A blinding blue light burst forth!
Direct hit!
"Clang!!!"
The Arcane Missile's impact seemed to bring the battlefield to a standstill. Goblins and adventurers alike stared wide-eyed at the White-Haired Goblin's position.
So... what happened?
The smoke slowly cleared.
The fur on the White-Haired Goblin's head fluttered slightly. Its face was still frozen in shock, but its lower body had disappeared.
Yes, completely disappeared.
The Arcane Missile had torn away everything below the White-Haired Goblin's waist, killing it on the spot!
The swift kill had succeeded!
When the Goblins saw their leader's gruesome death, wordless silence swept across the battlefield. Fear began to take root in their hearts.
Their leader... was dead just like that??
"Attack!" Marcus roared!
This was their best chance to wipe out the entire Goblin tribe. The six-member team had nothing left to hold them back, and they launched a full-on assault!
Vales nocked another arrow. Once it was charged, he fired another Thunder Arrow!
This time, his target was the Orc Goblin in front of Marcus.
The Thunder Arrow hit, blasting away the Orc Goblin's shoulder and nearly half its body!
Blood and gore rained through the air. The Orc Goblin fell to the ground, howling in unbearable pain.
Marcus followed up with a vicious shield bash, then finished it off with a beheading!
Zeliel provided ranged support as well. He formed an Arcane Missile and sent it straight into the head of the Orc Goblin in front of Gak.
Red and white matter scattered across the ground. The Orc Goblin died on the spot!
Against fighting spirit and magic, their bodies were pitifully fragile.
The deaths of the White-Haired Goblin and the Orc Goblins in quick succession severely shook the Goblins' morale.
The ordinary Goblins could no longer bring themselves to fight. They shrieked and scattered in every direction.
But Gray wasn't about to let them get away.
"Hahahaha! You're only running now? Too late!"
Gray laughed aloud. His longsword stabbed and thrust, killing two more Goblins.
The green-skinned mongrels stood no chance against Gray's pursuit. Their will to fight had completely crumbled.
Some Goblins tried to flee back into the cave and hide, but under cover of the smoke bombs, Hill had already circled around behind them, cutting off their last hope of escape.
First came the daggers, then the ghostly throwing knives.
Hill didn't even need to use fighting spirit against these enemies. She flung a rain of hidden weapons, and with all kinds of deadly tools at her disposal, her kill rate was astonishing!
When the final agonized cry abruptly fell silent, the battlefield finally returned to peace.
The Goblin tribe had been wiped out!
Zeliel lowered his wand and breathed a sigh of relief.
Lv.5(22/200)-Lv.6(102/225) Level up!
During the battle, Zeliel had personally killed one White-Haired Goblin, one Orc Goblin, and several ordinary Goblins, earning a total of 280 experience points.
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