Chương 97: The Goblin Lord

Countless goblins rushed towards the town's walls with ferocious expressions. They crowded over the 2-meter-wide hole in the wall, rushing over their companions' corpses only to be killed by the guards. Some chose another path entirely, using the cracks on the wall to climb up, jumping on the unprepared guards on the walls. Most guards were exhausted, with many injured. If the situation didn't change, the walls would soon fall. If the situation didn't change…

"Boom!" A giant fireball fell on the horde of goblins clawing through the hole in the wall, incinerating most of them. This was followed by a barrage of spells. Wind blades a dozen meters long, lightning bolts covering the range of a stadium, and giant fireballs almost a meter wide. In just a minute, over a thousand goblins besieging the town's walls were slaughtered. At the same time, the guards felt an invigorating breeze sweeping over them, giving their tired bodies newfound strength.

"Lady Selene," Varn quickly bowed to the violet-haired woman hovering over the walls. Selene nodded at him before turning her head to look at Kaelen, who had appeared beside her at some point. ….

"Should we take the opportunity to exterminate all goblins now?" Kaelen's gaze swept across the goblin horde filling the plain outside, his gaze filled with killing intent. If he and Selene took action, it wouldn't take more than half an hour to exterminate all the goblins. However, he quickly suppressed his irritation as he looked at the countless red dots flowing out from the corpses and flying into the sky.

"I don't recommend it." Selene's eyes were fixed on the red barrier.

"This ritual is very similar to the Bloodfallen's ascension ritual. Although I'm not sure of the effects yet, I can tell at least that any further killing within is fulfilling the mastermind's purpose." Selene calmly said. She shifted her gaze to the carbonized remains of the goblins near the city walls. Barely any red dots flowed from their corpses.

"The only way to exterminate these monsters without abetting the cult is to completely incinerate their corpses, not leaving a drop of blood behind for the ritual to absorb."

"I see." Kaelen nodded. His gaze swept through the thousands of goblins still pouring out of the underground entrances before shifting his sight away. Now wasn't the time to exterminate the green midgets.

"So is there a way to interrupt this ritual?" Kaelen asked. Selene carefully looked at the red barrier before cupping a few red dots and closely looking at them; her eyes flashed a violet hue.

"As I said before, it's similar to the Bloodfallen ascension ritual used in Velkaris over a decade ago, using the blood and vitality of the creatures inside the ritual to massively increase the power of a single being. However, this ritual is quite different. I need to investigate further to find the creature receiving this power and how to break the ritual." She released the red dots in her palm before turning to look at the red pillars. Her gaze eventually fell on the pillar in the southern district.

It was not only the closest but also the weakest link. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"I need you to hold the battlefield. Try to repel these goblins without killing too many of them. I'll head to the southern district to investigate the ritual point." Selene looked at Kaelen and said.

"It shouldn't be a big issue if it's just those rabble, but what if other rank 2 monsters pop out? I won't be able to hold up if it's just me." Kaelen said with a frown on his face.

"You won't be by yourself. They have arrived." Selene looked outside the barrier with a faint smile on her face. Even though several kilometers away, through the red barrier, she could see the figures approaching at breakneck speed, passing through the red barrier unobstructed. It took them just a few minutes to cross several kilometers, cutting through the goblin horde along the way, slaughtering several rank 1 mutant goblins before jumping up the town's walls.

"Took you long enough." Selene had reined in her smile at some point, rolling her eyes at the figure at the head of the team.

"Sorry, sorry. We were trapped for a while." A man with slicked-back hair replied helplessly. It was Richard, the president of the adventurer guild. He was wearing exquisite enchanted leather armor; his purple cloak fluttered in the wind. He nodded at Kaelen, who was standing with his arms crossed, before shifting his gaze back to Selene.

"I know you have a lot to ask, and I also have many questions for you, but there's no time for that. We have to interrupt this ritual." Selene said with a serious expression on her face.

"I see. Investigate with peace of mind. I'll hold down this place with all my might." Richard said, his gaze already scanning the battlefield. ….. Selene didn't say anything further. Her robes fluttered as she flew towards the red pillar. Her brows furrowed as she watched the goblins running amok below. Her staff glowed, hurling fireballs at any rank 1 mutant goblin she saw on her way, burning them to a crisp. Finally, she stopped in front of the massive red pillar.

"As expected," Selene muttered. The pillar extended up from underground. Just a few hundred meters away from the last ritual point she destroyed. Remembering the haunted manor and the ritual point she saw last time, she couldn't help but think of Kyle, the young man who played a crucial role in locating the ritual point. She shook her head and descended. Now wasn't the time to reminisce. The area near the red pillar was littered with goblin corpses, some charred and some decayed.

Two figures stood near the red pillar, seemingly studying it.

"You're…" Selene's eyes widened.

"Marielle and Nerissa!" ….. On the southern walls, Richard and Kaelen stood next to each other, exchanging info about the current situation.

"So the base was a decoy after all." Kaelen overlooked the battlefield with his arms crossed; he wasn't surprised by Richard's encounter. In fact, he had expected it.

"But still, with your strength, you shouldn't have taken so long to come back. Did you face some obstacle?"

"Yeah. There was a heavily mutated rank 2 giant goblin in the base, but that wasn't an issue. The problem was a disorienting magic array that was activated the moment we sneaked into the base. It took us a while to find its core and break it," Richard nodded and said.

"That should have also been the work of the Old Imperial Cult. Even now I don't understand their purpose." Kaelen said with a frown.

"Indeed. The Old Imperial Cult isn't like those fanatic Evil God cults; they always act with purpose." Richard stated, looking at the silver-grade adventurers hunting the rank 1 goblins in the distance. They paid special attention to just breaking the goblins' limbs or restraining their mobility, trying their best not to cause them to bleed.

"Time is ticking. Whatever the cult's goal is, they should be acting any second." Kaelen said, looking up at the tiny red dots that filled the sky. The barrier had absorbed a tremendous amount of vitality. Tens of thousands of goblins and thousands of human casualties. Even the number of deceased rank 1 monsters and human professionals had probably exceeded 100. If the cult's purpose was channeling such a massive vitality, they should be acting any second. And indeed they did.

"Boom!" Having absorbed enough energy, the ritual had reached the critical point. A massive column of energy suddenly dropped from the red barrier into a small hill less than 2 kilometers away from the town's wall. It pierced the soft dirt and bloodstained grass, drilling into the depths of the earth. For a moment, the battlefield fell silent; even the goblins froze.

"Roar!" It wasn't just a sound; it was pressure. The shockwaves tore through the battlefield. They travelled along the underground tunnels, shaking the goblins inside and causing them to collapse, frothing at the mouth. The walls trembled beneath Kaelen and Richard's feet. Dust fell from the watchtowers. A moment later, the ground exploded. A massive figure sprang from underground, carrying a large enchanted axe. It wasn't a mere hobgoblin or a giant goblin; it was something else.

Its eyes, dyed a red hue by the ritual's energy, swept across the battlefield before landing straight on Kaelen and Richard on the walls. It was the goblin lord.