"W-were it the weak hoomans?"

Inside the hut of a powerful third-stage hobgoblin, the trembling voice of one of the great tribe’s two lieutenants echoed off the rough wooden walls.

"Skriiik!"

"Krakakak!"

"Wraagh!"

Dozens of horrific sounds followed those words, every pair of eyes locking onto a single imposing figure.

The leader of that tribe, commander of an army of over two thousand three hundred and seventy goblins.

He stood tall, almost as tall as an orc, his powerful body coiled with thick muscle, eyes glinting with an intelligence clearly no less than that of a human.

Second-stage hobgoblins were already only slightly less clever than humans, and those of the third stage lagged behind in nothing.

Of course, they were still goblins.

"No." The chieftain leaned over the twenty corpses sprawled across the floor, sniffing them with flared nostrils, his yellowish fangs glinting in the orange light of the bonfire.

"Those damned weaklings from the north!"

The goblin chief’s eyes flashed with murderous intent, his diction too perfect to be compared to that of his peers. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He stomped hard on the stone floor beneath his feet, and the entire hut shook, fine threads of dust drifting down from the ceiling beams.

"Me gather soldiers! Me kill them all!"

One of the other two leaders spoke up, quickly followed by his brother, both kneeling before the goblin chieftain, who nodded gravely.

"Kill them, strip them of their food supplies, and bring me their females!" the third-stage hobgoblin roared, droplets of saliva flying from between his fangs.

Soon, each of them had gathered six hundred goblins, and together they set off toward the two camps to the north, their march swift and heavy with a palpable thirst for blood.

The goblin leader merely grunted in irritation.

Those damned inferiors had dared to disrespect him, marching all the way to his own camp to kill his children.

He wouldn’t let that slide.

A cruel smile twisted his thick lips as he turned and stalked back into the depths of his harem. Before long, terrible sounds and disgusting moans began to echo throughout the hut.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long.

A powerful explosion echoed a few hours after the two hobgoblin deputy leaders had left, and the tribe chief was forced to rush out of his hut.

His eyes widened as they focused on the gates, now ablaze with orange flames, and his lips parted in a terrifying roar.

"Ugh... that pig has some truly disgusting murderous intent." Evelyn shuddered beside Ethan, who nodded in agreement, watching the gate Alice had just blown apart.

"Charge! Keep your formation and don’t die!" Ethan roared, rising to his feet and taking a step forward, descending toward the goblin camp.

Dozens of small green creatures crowded the broken gate, watching the Goldenveil troops advance toward them—six hundred well-equipped human soldiers.

Above them, Alice, protected directly by Aerick, raised her hands.

Dozens of small fireballs flickered into existence a few meters above her head, a circle of magical runes forming behind her back, pulsing in crimson hues.

Her blue eyes blazed with fiery red as she pointed forward, unleashing the barrage upon the goblin camp.

Dozens of small but powerful explosions engulfed the goblin lines, the air filling with the stench of charred flesh and burning hair, scraps of green skin raining down across the dirt.

In desperation, the goblins rushed toward the advancing army, trying to push through their ranks to reach the woman who was clearly the source of that attack.

Alice had killed roughly fifty in the first barrage, but over a thousand one hundred goblins still remained, pouring against the Goldenveil guard like an unstoppable tide.

The front-line soldiers halted, locking their shields together into an impenetrable barrier, forming a line of a hundred men, with five more lines positioning themselves behind in a tight formation.

The most veteran guards, all second-stage, took the front, while the rookies and militiamen held the rear.

As soon as the formation was ready, the mass of goblins crashed into the shields.

The sound of crushed flesh and screams filled with rage and despair echoed through the air, the dull thud of bodies striking iron rolling across the battlefield like a war drum.

The guards’ feet tore into the muddy ground as they were pushed back, holding firm against the goblins’ unstoppable assault.

With clenched teeth, they put into practice the first two forms of the Golden Dragon Emperor’s fencing, their blades wreathed in a powerful golden aura, as if the head of a roaring dragon accompanied each of their movements.

Soon the slaughter began, the guard and the goblins locked in a bloody clash, the few hobgoblins shoving their way to the front lines to fight as well.

Many, of course, tried to flank the army, but Evelyn and Doran were holding the flanks.

The captain of the guard kept his position to the left of the army, while Evelyn’s massive axe relentlessly tore through goblins on the opposite side, bathing her tanned skin in thick, dark blood.

Ethan watched the battle but did not join it, stepping firmly inside the palisades surrounding the goblin camp.

His eyes fell upon the third-stage hobgoblin, already clad in a makeshift leather armor, his gaze brimming with pure bloodlust.

Upon his head, he even wore a crown of gold, and on his back, a cloak much like those worn by human kings—which drew a look of pure contempt from Ethan.

"You seem pretty desperate to imitate humans for such a disgusting creature, huh?"

Ethan drew his elven sword, activating the Burning Blood body enhancement technique and the lost Crimson Blade technique, his body engulfed by a golden aura wrapped in blood-red threads.

The hobgoblin growled with rage, gripping his axe, his voice losing that perfect diction as fury allowed his savage nature to overwhelm him completely.

"I kill you, insolent human brat!"

The auras of two powerful third-stage warriors clashed, and they charged forward at the same time, aiming for each other’s throats with nothing but the purest murderous intent.