Chapter 98: Broken teeth part 2

The commander of the Hobgoblin detachment barked out a series of frantic orders to his troops. Panicked and rattled, the Hobgoblins were on the brink of complete formation collapse. Yet, hearing their leader’s commands, they managed to calm down and execute the maneuver immediately.

?To the suprise of Magenta and Fiona, the Hobgoblins in the center—who were actively trying to put on resist and fight back for their lives—suddenly stopped resisting. They threw down their weapons and started throwing themselves directly onto the two girls. Though the girls continued to brutally slaughter them, the Hobgoblins used their bodies to forcefuly close the distance. Because Magenta and Fiona wielded long-reach weapons, they were forced to take a step back and adjust their stance to counter this sudden desperate assault.

?That brief hesitation and adjustment gave the remaining Hobgoblin detachment just enough time to break off and retreat. The elite Hobgoblins wasted no time pulling back.

?Unwilling to let the enemy escape so easily, Magenta and Fiona surged forward, speeding up their attacks to clear the Hobgoblins stalling for time. But by the time they cut them down, the tide of Frenzied Red Goblins had flooded back into the gap. Magenta and Fiona hacked away, trying to carve a path through the Red Goblins, but it was too late—the detachment had already fallen back too far from their reach.

?To make matters worse, Magenta and Fiona were now in danger of being completely swarmed and surrounded by the horde of Red Goblins. Realizing they realized that they couldn’t catch up in time, the two girls began a tactical retreat back to their own line. Rejoining Brenda and the defensive front, they re-established their Wall of Steel, effectively holding off the onslaught of Frenzied Red Goblins.

?On the other side of the battlefield, the detachment commander breathed a heavy sigh of relief after escaping those two monsters. However, when his remaining troops gathered and he took a headcount, his heart sank: only about 40 percent of his force remained. He had suffered over a 60 percent casualty rate—a devastating blow.

?Even so, credit was to be given to the Hobgoblins. Normally, any army taking over 20 percent casualties would instantly route and collapse into chaos. Yet these Hobgoblins had endured losing more than half their forces without breaking, showing incredible discipline and morale. The detachment commander also deserved credit for his sharp instincts; had he not acted immediately to pull them out of that sink hole, his entire unit would have been wiped out without a trace.

?The commander quickly relayed orders for his battered detachment to fall back toward the main army. Gloom hung heavily over the surviving soldiers as they rejoined the ranks. Nearby, the black-robed Goblin remained entirely silent, making no comment on the grim defeat. He simply watched quietly as the commander slipped back into line, as if nothing had happened on the battlefield.

?As time passed, the girls began to wonder if the enemy mastermind had given up. On their side, the number of Red Goblins had been cut in half, significantly reducing the overwhelming pressure. If the mastermind was going to make a move, it had to be now.

?As if answering their thoughts, the mastermind launched his next attack.

?At first glance, this new detachment seemed no different from the previous one and it was even had even less members, but its composition had changed completely. Instead of a hundred standard elite Hobgoblins, this group contained only fifty—plus members and ten specialized Hobgoblins with the darker skin color and wearing superior armor and equipment. These ten were clearly the personal guards of the black-robed Goblin.

?Unlike the previous unit, which had marched forward steadily to wear down the girls’ psychological stamina, this detachment immediately activated their physical enhancements and charged forward at full speed, led by the ten specialized guards.

?Seeing this, both Magenta on the field and Astra atop the wall grew tense. They couldn’t gauge the exact strength of these special Hobgoblins, but it was clear they were far superior to the common ones. Not taking any chances, the girls raised their guard.

?As the small detachment charged, the surrounding Red Goblins parted like the Red Sea to let them through. Any Red Goblin too slow to move was effortlessly swatted aside by the spear-wielding special Hobgoblins leading the vanguard.

?To everyone’s surprise, the charging detachment did not head for Magenta and Fiona on the open field. Instead, they veered toward the wall.

?Reaching the base of the wall, they executed a practiced, fluid maneuver. One elite Hobgoblin placed his back against the wall while another stepped beside him, linking their arms to form a sturdy platform. With a sudden upward launch, they catapulted the others up and over the wall. The motion was so smooth it was clear they had practiced it many times before.

?Their true target was not Magenta and Fiona—they were aiming for Velvet and the team inside the settlement.

?Astra quickly fired a volley of arrows at the scaling detachment. But as the arrows reached their targets, the special Hobgoblins deflected them with their spears as effortlessly as swatting flies.

?Astra’s eye narrowed. Even though she couldn’t scan the precise aura points of these special Hobgoblins, their ability to easily defect her arrows meant their physical attributes and ranks were at least at the peak of the Intermediate rank. On the wall, the girls could only pray that Velvet’s team would hold out, as they were too pressed on their own front to offer immediate aid.

?After pulling up the two Hobgoblins who had served as the launcher platform, the specialized detachment wasted no time and surged into the settlement.

?It didn’t take long for them to encounter their first opponent: Velvet.

?As they laid eyes on Velvet, she looked like a humanoid harvesting machine. She moved at terrifying speed, flanked by her two pawns to prevent any sneak attacks. She swung her dual katanas so fast they left only whistling shadows and arcs of blood, leaving behind a trail of dismembered and broken Red Goblin corpses.

?The thick stench of blood hung heavy in the narrow settlement alleyways. Wind rushed through the wooden structures , but the rhythmic thud of armored boots behind her only sharpened her senses. And after shifting her focus on the encoming enemy she saw the special Hobgoblins moved with absolute military discipline—their steel-tipped spears gleaming under the light, locked in a lethal, tight formation meant to pin down prey with ruthless efficiency.

?Seeing her fighting alone and with such terrifying efficiency, the special Hobgoblins identified Velvet as the greatest threat in the area. Leveling their spears, they immediately charged to eliminate her.

?Velvet caught sight of the charging detachment. Without missing a beat, she abruptly shifted her direction and sprinted away, choosing not to engage them head-on.

?Seeing her flee, the Hobgoblins immediately gave chase. They assumed she was terrified of facing them or exhausted from her continuous slaughter.

?They couldn’t have been more wrong. Thanks to her Blood Replenishment skill—which converted the blood of fallen enemies into stamina—Velvet was far from exhausted. She simply had her own plans and didn’t want to engage now.

?Obsessed with chasing Velvet, the detachment failed to notice three shadows slipping out from behind a nearby tent, flanking their rear.

?Before the Hobgoblins in the back could react, a silver flash cut through the air. Three Hobgoblins were instantly impaled through the throat by spears, dropping dead without a sound.

?The nearby soldiers shouted a warning to the Hobgoblins in the front and after hearing that an enemy was picking off their rear guard while they pursued Valeria, the leader realized they had a severe problem.

?They glanced back at Velvet, they found that she hadn’t stopped running. If they continued to chase her, the enemy behind would slice them apart one by one. If they split their forces, they risked taking heavy casualties. They made a quick decision: deal with the immediate threat behind them first, then finish off the slaughter machine later.

?Taking advantage of their momentary pause, Valeria and her two pawns didn’t pause and thrusted again, striking another Hobgoblin who was still reeling from the surprise attack.

?Immediately after her strike, several spears thrust out from the front-rank Hobgoblins, aiming straight for her face.

?Having anticipated the counter-attack, Valeria immediately activated her second skill: Elastic Body. She contorted her body to the right with unnatural flexibility, using her legs to spring backward and clear the reach of the spearheads.

?As Valeria stabilized her stance, she looked around. The air rippled with tension as the surrounding special guards and Hobgoblins closed the distance, they moved with shoulders against each other to lock out any quick path of slipping through them. Her two pawns retreated at her right and left flanks, the they stold their just raising their spears ready for any sudden movement on thr Hobgoblins side.

?In that brief moment of the stalemate, the small detachment of special Hobgoblins had successfully closed in and surrounded her.

?Valeria smiled, knowing things were about to get a little troublesome.