Elite Assassin Goblin

Deep within the forest, in a room filled with crystal balls, quite a few of them had gone dim. The crystal balls that had mercilessly displayed the forest scenery before its eyes were now shrouded in gray.

Obvious killing intent showed on its emerald-green, ugly face.

"They're quite capable. Who exactly discovered that I was watching them?"

The Goblin King recalled the battle it had witnessed two days earlier. Its instincts told it that the one who had seen through its scheme was that inconspicuous young man.

"It could indeed have been him. After he spoke with the commander of the group, their commander took action and plucked out my eyes."

The team pursuing the fleeing pigs had also lost contact halfway through. The rescuers had remained in blind spots, never showing their faces from start to finish. This meant they had split off part of their forces to take action.

If there were many of them, my subordinates couldn't have charged in roaring like that.

Did they send an elite unit to launch a surprise attack on me? How naive.

The Goblin King's expression gradually twisted into a chilling smile. Losing its sight meant it could no longer monitor the Rescue Corps's every move, but that did not mean it would do nothing.

It casually pressed a button on its chair, and several small, skinny Goblins carrying daggers immediately dropped from the ceiling.

"Honored King, we have answered your summons."

These skinny Goblins looked frail and weak, yet they radiated formidable killing intent. It had been tempered through countless bloody battles. Anyone who underestimated them would find only death waiting for them.

"Formation 311. Area FBA. Area F command AK."

The leading Elite Assassin Goblin revealed a shocked expression [ ], and the Goblin King vaguely sensed its unease as well.

"What? Do you have a question?"

"Nothing. You are always right, our great King. You will awaken the souls of our ancestors, and we will surely rule the entire world once more." The Elite Assassin Goblin Captain bowed respectfully. It firmly believed that its king would never make a wrong decision.

"Enough. Withdraw!"

With a wave of the Goblin King's hand, the Assassin Goblins vanished from its sight in a flash. Soon afterward, it pressed another button. This time, an inconspicuous Goblin appeared before it.

The inconspicuous Goblin bore markings like leaves across its body, allowing it to move swiftly and stealthily through the canopy. It too knelt before the Goblin King.

Its task was to listen to the King's orders and relay them.

"Pass on my command. Have the ambush forces withdraw and attack from both front and rear. Let the trap unit serve as bait."

The inconspicuous Goblin nodded and disappeared from the Goblin King's sight as well.

After resting and recovering, the Rescue Corps was nearly back to full strength.

Yang Yu led Seka Mens back along the original route, reunited with Andeno, and repeated the intelligence to him.

"They're even more cunning than we imagined. I don't know what kind of ritual they're conducting. We only have one chance. If we fail and it escapes, then when it appears again, it'll likely cause even greater chaos."

"The situation is even more serious than we thought. This kind of practice seems to have existed in history as well. I heard that when the Goblin Emperor swept across the world, there was a period when people were used in rituals every day. Because so many historical records are missing, there are many theories about the ritual's purpose. The one most widely accepted is that the Goblin Emperor seemed to have had someone forge some kind of artifact."

Andeno's brows knitted tightly, and even the muscles on his body began to tremble.

"Activating it requires a certain number of sacrifices. We still don't know what effect that artifact will have once activated. We need to prepare for the worst and race against time. The sooner we eliminate it, the sooner we can stop the situation from worsening."

After speaking, Andeno gathered everyone in the Rescue Corps and briefly repeated the findings. Grim expressions filled the group. The tale of the Goblin Emperor was one of the most infamous legends in this world. No one wanted another Goblin Emperor to emerge.

Everyone in the Rescue Corps could feel that they were standing at a turning point in history. Even if they did not want to, they had to shoulder the responsibility.

Perhaps years later, someone would mock them. "What Goblin Emperor II? If there really was one, it wouldn't have been dealt with by a bunch of C-Rank and D-Rank Adventurers like you. What shameless bragging." Even so, they would still charge ahead without hesitation to strangle the tragedy in its cradle.

The Rescue Corps reached a remarkable consensus. They would find the Goblins' main base, wipe them out in one fell swoop, and rescue the missing adventurers.

Their morale soared as never before. Led by Andeno, everyone set out once more, avoiding the main area covered in watchful eyes and advancing carefully without destroying them.

However, reaching the Goblins' main base without incident was nothing more than wishful thinking.

They passed by a massive pit, the place where the Goblins had hidden the stone spheres. Such a huge hole could not have been dug in a day or two, which showed that the traps they had encountered had been planned long in advance.

After taking only one look, a large number of weak Goblins wielding shovels poured out of the tunnel and fought them. Though the Rescue Corps ultimately won a crushing victory, they still caused quite a commotion.

Ten skinny figures landed on the tree trunks. They had finally found their targets. Gazing at the advancing Rescue Corps from afar, two Assassin Goblins exchanged looks and peeled away from the group, one ahead and one behind, to coordinate with the forces attacking from both sides.

The remaining eight Goblins watched the Rescue Corps's every move. Before the encircling forces arrived, they decided to spread fear first.

The elites in this team have long been separated. Trying to launch a surprise attack on our King from the flank—how utterly naive. Our King saw through everything long ago. Over there, the captain is leading thirty Elite Assassin Goblins to deal with your trump card. Only death awaits them. And you old, weak, sick, and crippled lot will collapse under the Goblin army's pincer attack.

The only one who drew the Elite Goblins' attention was the warrior instructor covered in muscles. They could clearly sense the aura of a strong man from Andeno.

However, the Elite Assassin Goblins guessed that Andeno was one of the elites left behind to lure them into concentrating their forces here. One or two elites could accomplish nothing.

Very quickly, the Elite Assassin Goblins chose their first victim. He was a young man carrying a shield and wearing a sword at his waist. He looked immature, a newcomer fresh from the village. The Goblins smelled only the stench of weakness on him.

Relationships between humans were fragile. As long as one person fell for no apparent reason, unease and fear would spread through the group.

With their target locked on and preparations complete, rows of throwing darts slid into the Elite Assassin Goblins' hands, and they hurled them without mercy.