Escape for Your Life (Part 2)

The young woman's snow-white skin had already turned slightly red from the sun. Unless something unexpected happened, Kana was bound to have a miserable time tonight, both physically and mentally.

Not far away, the few foolish goblins sleeping soundly were the root of all this trouble. Kill them and send them to meet God.

Kana swiped a finger across her throat, and Dean and the other two immediately knew what to do. The mission had originally been to drive away the goblins, but changing "drive away" to "eliminate" was only a change in form—and it was even easier.

Of course, the vast majority of extermination missions also included killing. It simply depended on the executor's intentions and whether they minded slaughtering their way through.

Yanxi was the first to move in. She carried her one-handed sword behind her back and held her one-handed shield before herself. She was the vanguard and the only shield in the team. Even when launching a surprise attack, she had to make sure the enemy's counterattack landed on her shield—or even on her own body.

Lamore was second, following not far behind Yanxi. His first task was to cast healing magic on her.

Next came Dean. The mage kept constant watch over his surroundings. If anything unusual happened, he would have to neutralize or weaken the enemy's attack—even a magical one.

As for Kana, this archer could shoot at enemies from dozens of meters away, or even a hundred meters.

At that moment, Kana was standing atop a scarecrow's head. It had to be said that Kana's sense of balance was exceptionally good. Were all archers like this, able to stand steady on all kinds of terrain?

The scarecrow's head was round—very round—and quite sturdy. At the very least, it had not broken beneath Kana's weight when the grown girl stood on it.

She wore a dress made of very little fabric. To avoid affecting the accuracy of her bow and arrows, she had deliberately reduced the excess cloth. This truly helped archers avoid unnecessary hindrances in many situations, allowing them to move more freely and lightly.

Her bow was a longbow, nearly as tall as Kana herself. Of course, Kana was not tall; she was even a little shorter than the average person.

Standing atop the scarecrow's head, Kana looked ahead. The pupils of her eyes shifted slightly. This was the Eagle Eye Technique, considered a type of martial skill. By manipulating battle aura, it temporarily altered the eyes' ability to focus precisely.

Now, in Kana's field of vision, the goblins were lying beneath a large tree not far away, sleeping in the shade.

There were three goblins: one larger and two of normal size.

One of the normal-sized goblins had fallen asleep clutching a short spear. It had probably nodded off while standing guard.

At that moment, Kana was more than eighty meters from the goblins, while Dean and the other two had already crept to within roughly ten meters.

They could not get any closer. The wheat field had ended ahead, and the area within ten meters of the tree was an open stretch of flat ground, with several stone tables and chairs placed there.

The area around this tree had probably been deliberately cleared as a resting spot. Now, the goblins were resting there too.

It was a perfect approach. Although the goblins were only sleeping, and judging by the look of things, it would take a fairly loud noise to wake them, this still allowed the four-person team to position themselves properly around the area.

Of the three goblins, Kana chose the one holding the spear, while Dean chose another. The largest one—the Goblin Elite—was left for Yanxi.

The four did not speak, but after working together for so long, they no longer needed explanations. Each had found a corresponding target, and there was no awkward situation where two people chose the same one.

The incantation of magic had already begun, but Dean kept his voice as low as possible. Never mind the goblins sleeping ten meters away—even if they had not been asleep, even if they had been concentrating intensely on watching their surroundings, they still could not have heard Dean's murmured whispering unless their ears were extraordinarily sharp.

Of all the magic Dean could use that had any value, he had only one: Basic Binding Spell. This time, however, he recited the incantation twice in succession, devoting his entire body and mind to preparing a single spell. For a mage, this was the greatest indulgence.

Just as the incantation rang out, Yanxi's petite body had already curled up, like a spring compressed to its absolute limit. The moment Dean released his magic, Yanxi would erupt as well.

Lamore had the most arduous task. He had to ensure Yanxi's safety. As for the big fellow, Lamore had already analyzed it: it was most likely a Goblin Elite, one approaching the second rank.

The several scars on the goblin's body were enough to show that it had experienced several bloody battles.

Kana took an arrow from the quiver on her back. She had carefully polished and crafted it herself. Every arrow in her quiver had been made by Kana personally. She said that only this way could she unleash her strongest shot.

She nocked the arrow onto the bowstring, and Kana waited as well—waited for that sliver of darkness.

"Basic Binding Spell!" Dean shouted softly.

A black light instantly appeared beneath the goblins: a magic circle, a Basic Binding magic circle! At the same moment the circle lit up, the Goblin Elite also awoke, somehow already clutching a large blade.

It immediately brought the blade down in a vertical chop. Without caring what lay beneath its companion's feet, it tried to hack the magic circle apart by force. But the Goblin Elite possessed neither battle aura nor magical enhancement, so its attack had no effect on the magic circle.

However, although the chop did nothing to the magic circle, it did affect the goblin. The goblin, having just awakened, discovered the binding circle beneath its feet. At the same time, it sensed a cold killing intent descending from above and instinctively tried to dodge sideways.

Ordinarily, this goblin should have evaded the attack. The large Goblin Elite thought so too, which was why it had held nothing back.

It was a perfect combination. If the attacker had been a close-combat assassin, the Goblin Elite's blade might well have split them in two. Even if they survived, they would have been gravely wounded.

But this sudden attack was a binding spell. Even an ordinary Basic Binding would have been impossible for the goblin to break free from, let alone the Enhanced Binding Spell Dean had prepared by reciting the incantation twice.

The assassin was not split in two. Instead, the Goblin Elite watched as its companion was divided into two by its own blade.

Before the Goblin Elite could recover, Yanxi had already drawn her sword. She stabbed it into the Goblin Elite's thigh, then twisted her one-handed sword, ripping a gaping wound across the goblin's leg.

"Gah!!! Gagagaga!!!"

The Goblin Elite cried out in agony and instantly swung its great blade backhanded, sweeping it across above Yanxi's head.

Yanxi had anticipated that the Goblin Elite would launch a sweeping strike, which was why she had targeted its thigh. The facts proved that this goblin could no longer go anywhere. The major artery split by her sword was spraying blood wildly, and the goblin could only wave its great blade in a dying struggle.

On the other side, Kana had already reached Dean's side, and Yanxi had safely withdrawn as well, leaving only the Goblin Elite sitting there, roaring in impotent fury.

As for the goblin carrying the spear, it had already entered eternal rest in its dreams. One arrow had pierced through its eye socket.

"Gah!!! Gagagaga!!! Gagagaga!!!"

The Goblin Elite roared furiously, blood pouring endlessly from its thigh. But it had already abandoned its struggle. It knew these people would never spare its life.

"Dean, do you feel like you hear something?" Yanxi asked uneasily while the Goblin Elite roared.

"Something? What kind of something?" Dean asked, somewhat confused.

"Basic Life Detection Magic!" Since he could not hear anything, Dean directly used Life Detection Magic.

One... two... three... twenty-eight... More and more lives appeared within the range of Dean's detection magic.

This was only a Life Detection Magic with a range of one hundred meters.

"Run! We have to run!" Dean's face turned pale, and his body trembled slightly. Without time to say more, he grabbed Yanxi with one hand and Kana with the other before sprinting away.

Lamore very sensibly ran at the very front!

Behind them, countless little green dots were closing in on the large tree!