Ethan’s sword met the hobgoblin’s axe.

Sparks burst from the point of impact, dancing like fireflies the air.

The ground between them cracked beneath the monstrous pressure, and both warriors took a single step back, eyes brimming with murderous intent before they hurled themselves at one another once more.

"Ah... has anyone ever told you how bad your breath stinks? Even with your pathetic attempt to look like a human king, you’re nothing but a pig in a crown!"

Ethan taunted, his blue eyes locked on the hobgoblin’s blood-red gaze as their swords remained crossed.

The hobgoblin answered with a guttural roar. "I’ll rip out your tongue, hooman!"

Ethan smiled and ducked low, narrowly avoiding decapitation.

The blade of the hobgoblin leader’s axe scraped across his helmet with a sharp hiss of metal grinding against metal.

He had realized immediately that this hobgoblin possessed human intelligence.

The angrier the creature got, however, the more that intelligence crumbled away.

Just two sentences, and the beast was no longer trying to contain its aura.

The young lord had read about this in an ancient manual—a perfect technique for dealing with hobgoblins, orcs, any greenskin endowed with human intelligence.

Good old ragebaiting.

And the fact that it worked made everything so much easier for him.

"Come on, pathetic green skin!"

"SILENCE! Skrak... SHUT UP!" The hobgoblin kept roaring as he attacked frantically, the handsome young man slipping beneath blow after blow with mocking ease.

Finally, the perfect opening for a counterattack revealed itself.

Ethan’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He let the hobgoblin’s axe whistle over his head, crouching low and slashing upward in a single fluid motion.

The rank A elven sword struck the hobgoblin squarely in the groin, continuing its merciless ascent until it tore through the creature’s chin.

Greenish blood stained the blade and splattered onto the dirt floor.

The creature tried to launch one final desperate attack, but Ethan obviously wouldn’t allow it.

He spun his body in a swift, circular motion.

His blade severed both of the hobgoblin’s wrists and, with one last swing, took its head as well.

Ethan smiled as the severed head hit the ground with a wet thud, rolling for several meters before coming to rest in the dirt.

[You killed a third-stage hobgoblin!

+120% XP]

[You leveled up! 66 -> 68

+6 free attribute points]

With this advancement, the number of Ethan’s unallocated attribute points reached twenty-nine, and his lips curled in satisfaction.

His gaze fell upon the hundreds of goblins hurling themselves against Goldenveil’s shield wall as if leaping into a meat grinder.

Without hesitation, he charged forward, activating Golden Steps and tearing through the goblin rear ranks like a gleaming storm.

With their master fallen and Ethan striking from the rear, the goblins didn’t last long.

The Goldenveil army soon broke through the goblin "formation" and executed the third form of the Golden Emperor Dragon’s fencing.

In that instant, with shields lowered and heavy footsteps thundering across the bloodstained ground, Goldenveil’s troops pressed forward in their slaughter.

The battle lasted about twenty minutes. All told, just over a thousand goblins fell, while only a few dozen managed to escape, fleeing deep into the forest.

When it was over, both Ethan and Evelyn were drenched in dark green blood, as was the entire front line of the army.

The exhausted men gradually broke formation, weary boots stepping over twisted goblin corpses as they gathered the bodies of their own fallen comrades.

Three Goldenveil guards had died. Five were seriously wounded, and another twenty needed immediate medical attention to keep their conditions from worsening.

All things considered, three human deaths in exchange for a thousand and one goblins didn’t seem like a bad toll.

Even so, watching the corpses being carried away, Ethan couldn’t contain the pain and rage squeezing his chest.

Three Goldenveil deaths for a hundred human enemies? That he could easily accept.

But for goblins?

Not even a million corpses at his feet would bring him peace. That was how little value he placed on the lives of those damned creatures.

He looked at Alice, who was already casting healing spells on the many wounded soldiers, and let out a heavy sigh.

Alice had reached level seventy-two, while Evelyn had hit seventy. He himself was now also at level seventy.

"Aerick." Ethan called the vice-captain of the guard, the man responsible for protecting Alice and who had barely seen any combat.

"Gather the hundred most rested men and go exterminate the female goblins and their babies. Collect all the loot." Ethan ordered, then summoned Mireya with a flick of his hand.

"Accompany Aerick, but try not to use up too much of your strength. It may be needed should any trouble arise." He instructed the death knight princess.

Mireya merely pouted, ignoring the surprised stares she drew from the soldiers around her.

Her cheeks puffed out in pure indignation, and she brushed a strand of misty white hair from her face with a dismissive flick of her fingers.

"Couldn’t you have just used me to kill those disgusting creatures earlier? Your army wouldn’t even have had to tire itself out." She said, inflating her chest with pride.

The motion thrust her generous bosom forward, her heavy globes straining against the dark fabric of her armor..

Having absorbed countless souls during the massacre, Mireya had already reached level seventy-five, and she was eager to put her new power to use.

"Don’t worry. When we get home, I’ll have a private battle just for you." Ethan smiled, letting a hint of teasing slip into his voice.

Mireya didn’t catch on right away. But the moment she caught the mischievous glances Evelyn and Alice exchanged, her cheeks flushed a deep red, and she followed the order she’d received in silence.

’Or maybe I should ignore his orders? Those delicious spanking slaps and—’

Realizing the lewd thoughts invading her mind, Mireya clenched her teeth tightly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Look what that bastard had done to her, a princess!

She would make him pay!