CH 99

Chapter 99 – We Were Followed!?

We held our breath and hid behind the wooden wall.

Then I poked my head out and looked at the forest while muttering to Solm, who stood next to me.

“Solm. We should use fire attacks to cut down their numbers first. I will unleash coal and tallow at their feet. Then have the men shoot burning arrows.”

“Very well. Goblins live in caves and are weak to fire. Though, it might cause the boars to go berserk.”

Solm said, but Iria replied with a confident expression.

“You can leave those boards to me. I will not let them get past this wall.”

“Melk will help too. Melk will heal any who are wounded.”

Melk replied, and so Solm said, ‘That would be reassuring.’ Solm had not actually seen Iria or Melk in battle yet, but he must have detected their strength.

As I thought of such things, I started to hear the voices of beasts and the rustling of leaves coming from the forest.

“About ten more steps, and then they will appear.”

As Melk said, they would show themselves any moment now.

“I see… However, they might stop, in order to see how things are on this side. We must wait to see their reaction.”

“Certainly.”

Solm had his archers nock their arrows and prepare to fire.

And then, a high-pitched voice could be heard laughing.

“Hehe! The stench of humans is in the air. They must be sleeping.”

“Kill them! I want a human woman!”

And then numerous other shouts could be heard from within the forest.

What came out then, were goblins. While they were wearing metal armor, most only had breastplates, and were rather lightly protected.

Considering that there were only about a hundred, they might be a reconnaissance or advance party.

I waited for all of the goblins to come out of the forest. Trees were a valuable resource. And so I did not want to burn them.

“Good… Now.”

I stood up, just as I had confirmed that all of the goblins had rushed out of the forest.

Immediately after, I took some melted tallow and coal from my magic workshop, and unleashed it at their feet.

“Humans!? Wh-what is this?”

“It doesn’t hurt! They are trying to scare us!”

The goblins didn’t realize my intention, and they continued to charge.

“Solm, now.”

I said, and he nodded. Then he stood up and raised his sword.

“Fire!!”

Upon seeing Solm swing down with his sword, the knights all unleashed their fiery arrows at once.

“Gyah!?”

“It burns!”

As the arrows hit the ground, the fire spread beneath the feet of the goblins in a blink of an eye.

And then the flames enveloped them.

“Oh, it went well!”

The knights cheered as they watched.

They had succeeded in surrounding all of the goblins with fire. That should kill at least half of them.. However, a strong magical presence then appeared from the midst of the goblins.

As this magic energy expanded, rain suddenly burst from the sky above their heads. And in moments, the fires were extinguished.

“Water magic… A goblin mage.”

I said as I saw the goblin that stood in the center. It was wearing a tree crown. There were some goblins who were able to use magic. And humans called them goblin mages.

“No, we still defeated twenty of them at least! That is enough for an opening move! Commence attack!”

Solm also accepted a bow from one of his knights and began to shoot the goblins. The other knights started to shoot as well.

The goblins replied with spears and stones.

I cast Magic Shield around the knights to protect them. I especially focused on blocking the goblin mage’s water magic.

Upon seeing this, Melk and Asuha also used wind magic to defend against the enemy attacks.

There were some boar-riding goblins that managed to get through the rain of arrows and move close to us, but they were quickly cut down by Iria’s sword.

As this continued, the number of enemies dwindled.

Not only was Solm a great fighter, but so were the knights who had followed him. Even if we were not there, they would have probably been able to deal with the enemy just fine.

As for the goblin mage, it seemed to become frantic after seeing so many of its own fall to the ground.

It then gave an order to a nearby goblin, and that goblin blew into a horn.

And then all at once, the goblins began to run towards the forest.

Solm saw this and muttered.

“…Are they giving up?”

“But something bigger is approaching… Something bigger than a boar. And it’s fast.”

Apparently, Melk had noticed the presence of something else.

After that, Solm and I noticed it as well. Besides, the ground was shaking.

“…An earthquake? No, these footsteps!”

Solm traded his bow for a greatsword and then climbed over the wall.

I followed after him.

“Solm. It must be a…”

“Aye. A Chimera.”

It was a monster that had the head and body of a lion, with a goat’s head on its back and a snake for a tail.

It also had thick skin, so arrows would not be able to penetrate it. That was why Solm had switched to a great sword.

“Iria. Can you go to the frontlines with Solm? Arrows won’t be effective on that one.”

“Not even if I aimed at its eyes?”

“Its eyes are its weakness… But, can you do it?”

“I shall try. Sir Solm, may I borrow your bow?”

Solm nodded and handed Iria the bow and some arrows.

And so Iria nocked the arrow and glared at the forest.

And then something jumped out… By the time I had registered this, Iria had already unleashed her arrow.

The Chimera had dashed out with the speed of a warhorse, and in a flash, it reached the center of the field.

Surely it was not possible to hit something so fast… It wasn’t just me, but everyone must have been thinking that.

However, Iria’s arrow shot through the Chimera’s eye.

The Chimera stood up on its hind legs and let out a scream.

Seeing his chance, Solm rushed forward and swung his giant great sword into the Chimera’s flesh.

“Hahh!”

It cut into the Chimera’s hind legs.

As the Chimera crumbled to the ground, Solm mercilessly attacked it a second and then a third time.

First, he cut off the snake tail, and then he severed the goat head from the body.

When it came to wielding a greatsword, no one in the knights order had been as skilled as him. Even Royg had been jealous.

Lastly, Solm swung his sword over the lion’s head.

After letting out a short scream, the Chimera stopped moving.

“That’s our captain!”

The soldiers cheered as they watched Solm fight.

However…

“There’s another one!!”

Melk shouted, and Solm raised his greatsword as he faced the forest again.

Iria also had her bow ready.

Even if there was another one, surely the results would be the same.

As I thought of such things, there was a sudden roar from the forest.

“Uoooooooo!!”

And then there was a dull ringing sound, and then a Chimera came flying out of the forest as if being blown away.

The Chimera was thrown to the ground and then stopped moving.

Solm and the other knights did not understand what had happened, and were confused.

But Iria and I knew.

What that loud roar was…

“It’s Mette…”

Somehow, Asuha was also here. Mette must have followed us as well. And sensing the danger, she bashed the Chimera with her mace.

It seemed like she was in the forest, but there would be no problem if Solm and the others saw her. So she could come out.

In any case, I nodded to Solm to reassure him.

And then Solm raised his greatsword into the air and shouted.

“We have won!”

And then the shouts of triumph from his knights echoed in the air.