The battle began with Rei’s first arrow.

The head of the Goblin Shaman was blown off.

This sudden assault stirred confusion amongst the monsters.

However, under the Goblin King’s control, they quickly regained their composure.

Rei: “Begin the operation!”

At Rei’s command, the attention of the monsters shifted.

Then, Dominic, the shield-bearer, activated his ability 【War Cry】.

The target of the monsters switched from Rei to Dominic.

However, it seemed the Goblin King resisted the effect of 【War Cry】.

While the others started rushing toward Dominic, the King began to target Rei.

Peter: “Like I’ll let you!”

Raising his club, the King blocked the ability 『Slash』 used by the swordsman Peter.

Taking advantage of the moment, Rei began to move.

The Goblin King was being held up by Peter.

The remaining monsters had their attention on Dominic.

The tide of the battle was entirely in Rei’s team’s favor.

Emma: “『Firestorm』”

Emma, the witch, completed her chant and unleashed the spell.

A massive vortex of flame erupted from her wand.

The vortex swallowed the monsters that had been charging at Dominic from the side.

After finishing moving away, Rei began to eliminate the monsters that Emma’s magic had missed.

Her impeccably accurate volley of arrows targeted the monsters’ vital points.

In a matter of seconds after the start of the battle, the grunts had been felled.

Only the King remained.

Dominic: “Come on, you clumsy bitch !”

Orc King: “GRAAAH!”

Due to Dominic’s 【War Cry】, the King’s target switched from Peter.

Peter: “Eat this!”

Orc King: “GYYYAAAH!”

Peter’s sword slashed through the completely exposed back of the King.

His HP significantly decreased, and he couldn’t help but let out a scream.

Emma: “『Fire Arrow』”

Rei’s arrow and Emma’s magic pierced the arm of the King, who was trying to counter-attack.

With the accumulated damage, the Goblin King knelt.

Dominic: “It’s over!”

The mace swung by Dominic struck the King’s head directly, shattering his skull.

The King, with eyes rolling back, fell on the spot, causing a slight tremor.

Dominic: “Did we get it?”

Peter: “Wait… Confirming the target’s silence.”

Emma: “That should conclude the stampede.”

Rei: “…”

The members of【Brave Sword】 felt a sense of relief after defeating the boss monster.

Only Rei stared at the corpse of the Goblin King with a grave expression.

(Is it over? This Goblin King caused a stampede of that scale? Really?)

It all seemed too easy.

In Rei’s heart, an indescribable sense of unease was swirling.

――A tremor

The quiet forest.

Animals, birds, insects.

As if waiting for a storm to pass, all living creatures in the forest were held their breath.

Brave Sword Party Member: “What… is this?”

Brave Sword Party Member: “Is this a… Goblin King?”

As if embodying Rei’s unease, it emerged from deep within the forest.

At first glance, the monster looked like a Goblin King.

The difference was its size.

Its massive body, exceeding five meters in height and muscular, caused a small tremor with each step.

Moreover, the giant held a huge ax in its right hand that looked as if it was chiseled from a rock.

Rei immediately used her 【Appraisal】 ability to check the monster’s information.

Rei: “A 【Goblin Emperor】? Its level is… 【129】?”

As befits the guildmaster, Rei’s level was over 80.

Even for her, the only information she could get was that the monster that appeared was of the species 【Goblin Emperor】 and that its level was 【129】.

This could only mean that the Goblin Emperor possesses a power that is incomparable to the Goblin King.

And that the four of them here are no match for it.

The eyes of the Goblin Emperor caught the four.

Its target was Emma.

The giant ax was raised to the sky.

Rei: “! Evade!”

Rei gave instructions to the members of 【Brave Sword】.

It might have been an order to rally her own fear-stricken self.

However, in front of the powerful monster that had appeared suddenly, Emma was too afraid to move.

Even though she was a seasoned B-rank adventurer, she couldn’t resist the pressure emitted by the Goblin Emperor.

Dominic: “Emma!”

Dominic: “Damn it!”

Dominic raised his large shield and wedged himself between Emma and the Goblin Emperor.

And then, he activated his ability.

Ability 『Iron Wall』.

The effect of which is to increase the user’s VIT (Defense) by 1000% during the activation of the ability.

Dominic, who is a shield bearer with high base VIT, also has his VIT increased by his equipment.

Furthermore, the large shield 【Mithril Shield】 also has an effect of reducing physical attacks by 10%.

His use of the 【Iron Wall】 showed immense defensive power.

The large axe that was swung down clashed with the Mithril Shield.

The heavy metallic sound echoed in the forest.

The victor was the Goblin Emperor.

Dominic, who was blown away, crashed into a tree dozens of meters away.

The Mithril Shield that he was holding was completely shattered by the shock of blocking the large axe.

Peter:  “This piece of-!!”

Rei: “Wait!”

Peter, who had lost his composure, attacked the Goblin Emperor.

The ability he used, 『Arc Slash』, changes the damage multiplier based on the level of one’s 【Swordsmanship】 skill.

Peter’s 【Swordsmanship】 level is 7.

This high-power ability can reach a multiplier of 700%.

In front of this, the Goblin Emperor calmly prepared his large axe.

Sparks fly through the air.

The sword and the large axe fought against each other.

For a moment, it seemed like Peter’s sword was pushing the Goblin Emperor back.

However, after that, the positions of the two didn’t change at all.

The ability was blocked, and the Goblin Emperor’s fist approached Peter, who had showed a gap.

At that moment, an arrow applied with fire attribute launched by Rei came flying.

A blow enhanced by the ability 『Celestial Bow』, increasing the power of elemental attacks.

If it’s a Goblin type monster that is weak to fire, it can’t avoid taking heavy damage.

That’s how it should have been.

Rei: “No way…”

Instead of blowing away the Goblin Emperor’s arm, Rei’s arrow only managed to slightly stick into the thick skin.

Annoyed, the Goblin Emperor pulled out the arrow stuck in his arm, punched Peter away, and grabbed Rei with his huge hand.

The grip strength was like a vice, making her bones scream.

Rei’s HP started to decrease at a tremendous rate.

(It wasn’t the Goblin King. It was this guy who caused the stampede.)

As her consciousness faded, Rei regretted her own mistakes.

The last thing that came to her mind was an apology to the townspeople she couldn’t protect.

 

 

 

—At that moment, a dagger pierced the Goblin Emperor’s eyeball.