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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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My heart pounded.
Not only had I mercilessly killed a creature that, despite being a demon, possessed a human-like form, but I had also inflicted inhumane violence upon another. If this were Earth, gobulin rights activists would come and beat me to death.
“Haa…”
The feeling of plunging my sword into the gobulin’s lower back, piercing through it, lingered. It felt as if the sensation had seeped from the blade and absorbed into my own body.
“Damn it.”
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
I wasn’t some bloodthirsty berserker; I wouldn’t feel good about killing something. I simply focused on my breathing to calm my battle-induced excitement as I followed my companions.
“Heh… impressive skills. To take down a Gobulin in one blow. I’ll show you my skills soon enough.”
Jaemison, who had stuck close to my side, spoke to me, stroking his beloved weapon with a dark chuckle.
“How long have you been using that weapon?”
“A few months…”
I thought it would have been years.
Still, I was curious. How would this man with the bizarre weapon fight? Would he be able to transcend the limitations of a spearman with that strange spear?
Lost in those thoughts as we moved…
Stop.
Song, at the front, quietly raised his hand.
Three fingers extended, the signal that he had found the gobulin settlement.
We immediately lowered our stances, moved towards Song, and surveyed the situation.
“Kerelek! Kek, kek!”
The gobulin we had beaten up started to cry out and run as it approached the settlement. It had finally reached home. It was time to tell on the very bad, no, the very inhumane older men who had beaten him senseless.
“We need to strike now.”
Song suddenly spoke.
Right now?
Shouldn’t we observe the situation?
“The gobulins are still unaware of the attack. We need to go now to take advantage of the surprise element.”
“Oh…!”
Indeed.
My judgment had been naive.
As Song suggested, it would be more effective to launch a surprise attack before the gobulin could reach the settlement and alert everyone.
I was about to raise my sword and follow his command, but…
“Wait! We need to assess the situation!”
Gujuman shouted, so I lowered my voice.
“Gujuman, speak softly. And it would be best to follow Song’s lead right now.”
“I’m the leader!”
What was this guy on about?
“And I have experience! We need to observe the situation before attacking!”
Who shouts so loudly right in front of the enemy camp…!
I was so frustrated I wanted to punch something, but I couldn’t say anything now.
“I agree. It’s better to assess the enemy’s numbers first.”
Had they become close or something? Ogisu, who had been bickering with Gujuman, now supported him.
But I disagreed. As Song had said, it would be best to attack now, killing any gobulins we saw, and retreating only if their numbers seemed overwhelming. Waiting now would only give the enemy time to form ranks.
Then we’d be screwed.
“…”
Song watched this unfold, then closed his mouth for a moment.
“It seems we’re too late. They’ve heard us.”
“What?”
He was right.
“Kerek, kereeeek!”
“Keryaaak!”
“Keruk!”
Gobulins wielding weapons poured out of a cave-like dwelling. There were over ten of them.
Damn it!
“We could have taken out half of them if we had attacked…!”
It was because of this idiot Gujuman shouting!
“Gujuman! It’s because you yelled!”
“I, I just…!”
I swallowed my frustration!
Now was the time to fight!
“Song! What should we do in this situation! Give us instructions!”
“Form a defensive formation and fight.”
“Understood! Jaemison! Protect Song, our relative expert, from the left and right flanks!”
“Got it…!”
Fortunately, Jaemison was someone who listened to reason.
“Gujuman! Ogisu! Join the formation!”
“Uh, uh-huh!”
“Understood!”
And so, the five of us huddled together, forming a defensive circle. Everyone drew their weapons. One bizarre spear and four swords.
“Keruuuk!”
“Keryaaak!”
The gobulins, seemingly in a frenzy, screamed madly and charged towards us.
“Huh…!”
The sight sent shivers down my spine, and the exploding tension blurred my vision.
A horde of over ten, wielding stone spears and axes, was charging!
And they were doing so to annihilate the enemies who had invaded their territory!
Clench!
I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on my sword. Their momentum was frightening, but there were five of us. We had formed a formation, and our individual combat abilities were superior to those of the haphazardly charging gobulins.
We won’t lose!
We’ll win!
Don’t be afraid!
Picture the GOAT in your mind!
How could I survive in this martial world if I was intimidated by something like this!
Fight and win!
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
I roared with all my might, and…
“Keruk!”
I faced the onrushing gobulins.
“Ha!”
“Chop!”
The first to score a kill was Song, at the forefront. He deflected a stone spear aimed at him with the side of his sword, then sliced the gobulin vertically. Next, Jaemison, who had the longest reach among us, thrust his strange spear into a gobulin’s collarbone.
And I…
“Keruk!”
Faced with a gobulin that charged like a madman, jumped, and swung a stone axe, I took a step back to dodge the attack, but…
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
I suffered a minor injury.
The stone axe grazed my forearm.
This damn stone axe hurts like hell!
“You son of a bitch!”
I thrust my sword.
I stabbed at the landing gobulin’s head with all my might, but!
Clang!
It was absurd to think I could pierce a creature’s skull with my strength. My sword grazed the gobulin’s scalp, tearing the skin, and lodged itself in its shoulder.
“Keruuuk!”
The gobulin went berserk, dropped its stone axe, and jumped at me.
“Shit!”
I immediately reached out with my left hand and grabbed the neck of the gobulin, which had jumped to the height of my head.
“Keruk! Kereeeek!”
“This crazy…!”
Incredibly aggressive!
The frenzied opponent wildly swung its arms and kicked, trying to kill me. So violent. Faced with such raw savagery, I was momentarily taken aback, but…
“Die!”
Thud!
I plunged my sword into its belly, dispelling my fear.
“Gahk…!”
The impaled gobulin went limp. It was a battle that took place in a single moment, but the tension and exhaustion it produced were immense. To think a single gobulin could frighten me this much…!
So this is what war is like!
“Uwaaaaah! Uwa, uwaaaah!”
“Dieeeee!”
The situation quickly descended into chaos.
Gobulin reinforcements emerged from the cave.
“Shit!”
The group, initially numbering a little over ten, swelled to twenty, and the five of us were surrounded.
Slash!
Fortunately, Song was quite skilled with his sword, and Jaemison was adept at spearing gobulins, preventing our formation from breaking, but…
“Haaaaak!”
“Ugh!”
Gujuman already looked near exhaustion, and Ogisu kept getting pushed back, as if he were about to break formation.
That couldn’t happen!
“Ogisu!”
I threw a corpse at the gobulin attacking Ogisu.
Thud!
“Keruk!”
“Don’t break formation! You’ll die for sure! Stay together!”
“Ugh…!”
I didn’t know for sure, but I was certain that the moment the formation collapsed, we wouldn’t escape fatal injuries.
Of course, this knowledge of mine came solely from war movies and the like. Whenever I watched them, the moment a formation broke, everyone got swept away. So, thinking we had to maintain the formation…
“Kerguk!”
“This bastard!”
Seeing the gobulin thrust its spear at me…
Wham!
I raised my sword and parried the spear upwards!
“It worked…!”
The technique I learned at the White Sword Martial Arts School worked! The technique of raising the sword to deflect the enemy’s weapon! If I followed up with the next technique…!
Slash!
My sword, swung diagonally downwards, sliced through the gobulin’s body.
“Ooh…!”
My martial arts worked perfectly!
But there was no time for admiration. We steadily held our ground and dispatched the gobulins, but eventually, a gap opened in our formation.
“Uwaaaak!”
“Help me!”
Gujuman fell, and Ogisu broke formation!
“Damn it! Ogisu! Come back!”
“Aaaaaak!”
Ogisu, gripped by panic, ran away.
“Song!”
“Geun-hyeop! Jaemison! Surround Gujuman! Hold out until he gets up!”
“Got it! Jaemison!”
“Heh…!”
Even in this extreme situation, Jaemison didn’t lose his smile. I resolved to emulate him and maintain composure and cheerfulness no matter the circumstances.
“Gujuman! Get up!”
“My, my leg…!”
He’d been injured in the leg!
“Still!”
The number of gobulins had dwindled to six or less. It seemed there were no more reinforcements. In the heat of battle, we hadn’t been accurately counting the enemy numbers.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Realizing this, I immediately screamed like a madman, broke formation, and…
“Kim Geun-hyeop?!”
…kicked the axe-wielding gobulin in front of me.
Thwack!
“Kek!”
The gobulin I kicked went flying. A sudden incident accompanied by a strange sound. This drew the attention of the gobulins fighting the others towards me.
In other words, they had looked back during the fight.
“Kill them quickly! Those are the last ones!”
“What? Ah!”
“I see…!”
By briefly grabbing their attention during the fierce battle…
Thwack!
“Kek!”
“Kahk!”
The skilled damage dealers instantly dispatched the gobulins who had shown an opening.
Song’s sword decapitated one, and Jaemison’s strange spear pierced through another’s torso. Gujuman, who had managed to sit up, grabbed a gobulin, mounted it, and rained down punches.
With that, all the gobulins were neutralized.
“We won! We wooooon!”
I shouted triumphantly and fell to my knees…!
We won!
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