NOVEL WEB Chapter 201
Chapter 201. Growth
An abandoned town. Collapsed buildings, roofless houses unfit for living. Shops covered in dust, their purpose long forgotten.
The scene evokes the end of the world, leaving no hope for the future. Amidst this desolate landscape, something kicks through the rubble, walking out from the ruins.
A group of humans appears, walking down the road.
Three green-skinned monsters, carrying wooden sticks, spot the humans and start running. Goblins. A dungeon must have appeared somewhere. These creatures possess strength comparable to adults and enough intelligence to attack humans.
“Gi!”
With their clubs in one hand, the goblins bar their teeth, standing in the path of the humans, displaying a filthy grin.
The group consists of about ten people. There are only three goblins. Despite their adult-like strength, they are outnumbered and should be easy to defeat, yet they grin confidently.
The reason for their confidence soon becomes clear. Five hobgoblins, larger and more muscular, appear from the ruins, walking leisurely. Behind them is a goblin knight, clad in armor made from iron plates.
Goblin archers, armed with bows, can be seen lurking in the shadows of the ruins. The humans realize they’ve walked into an ambush.
The goblins eagerly await the humans’ screams of terror and their attempt to flee, planning to catch and eat them alive. They excitedly bang their sticks on the road, anticipating the chase.
However, instead of fleeing, the humans appear relaxed, causing the goblins to hesitate. Why aren’t they running? The goblins glare at the humans, who remain unperturbed.
It’s strange. The goblins have a perfect formation, even with a knight among them.
Ignoring the goblins, the humans start chatting casually.
“It looks like a dungeon has appeared here.”
“Yeah. There shouldn’t be any goblins left around here.”
“Those pesky black bugs, I wish they’d change their name to something with ‘go’ like goblin. Luckily, we ran into them before they caused any damage.”
Despite being surrounded, the men talk calmly, showing no fear or anxiety.
A man, as large as a hobgoblin, steps forward, holding a spear.
“I’ll take the front line, brother.”
The goblin knight raises a hand, baring its jagged teeth in a mocking grin. This is a signal for the goblin archers to aim and shoot, but the humans are quicker. Four archers swiftly draw their bows and fire rapidly.
“Fire!”
“Yes!”
Sharp arrows fly accurately, hitting the goblin archers hiding in the shadows.
“Gyaa!”
“Gyo!”
Hit by arrows, some goblin archers drop their bows in pain, while others try to retaliate but miss due to panic and fear. The goblin archers, with only level 1 archery skills, struggle under pressure, their accuracy plummeting.
It’s unclear if the humans have archery skills, but their training allows them to aim precisely, giving them a significant advantage in the shootout.
With the long-range battle won by the humans, only close combat remains.
“Whoooa!”
A large man, dressed in fur, with a camouflage-painted face and a necklace of fangs, charges forward, thrusting his spear.
The spear, painted red, pierces a goblin’s torso with a sharp sound.
“Gugh!”
Ignoring the fallen goblin, the man faces the next one, who swings a wooden stick. He deflects the stick with the butt of his spear and strikes the goblin’s head, making it stagger. He then thrusts his spear into the retreating goblin, knocking it down.
He swiftly moves on to another goblin, defeating it before confronting the hobgoblins.
The five hobgoblins, much stronger than humans, are deadly. Their powerful blows can kill an adult with ease. These five hobgoblins approach, their muscles bulging.
The man, with a vicious grin, converts his mana into aura.
He lowers his stance, holding his spear horizontally, and activates his martial skill.
[Trip]
The spear’s range, covered in a red aura, extends, sweeping the hobgoblins’ legs.
“Gobo!”
“Bub”
“Gyao!”
The hobgoblins fall, kicking up dust. The man uses his martial skills to deliver the final blow.
[Strength Enhancement]
[Attack Speed Up]
Using the remaining mana to boost his strength, he thrusts his spear into the necks of the fallen hobgoblins. They let out death cries, spraying blood.
But the Hobgoblin, far stronger in muscle power than humans, springs up with force, directing a glare.
[Punch]
[Punch]
[Punch]
They wrap their arms in a red aura and engage in combat. Even in basic combat, they possess more punching power than a heavyweight professional boxer. For ordinary people, it’s a devastating force that crushes faces and ruptures organs, potentially causing instant death.
But the man just grins and says.
“Baba-san, leave it to me!”
Taking a big sideways leap, his voice filled with embarrassment as he flees, causing the Hobgoblins to hastily regain their footing to continue the fight. Then a deep voice echoes out,
“Well done! Charge, men!”
An old-fashioned cry is heard as hooves clatter on the ground, accompanied by the neighing of horses.
Suddenly, three huge horses appear, their riders wielding spears and charging towards the Hobgoblins.
“Haah!”
“Mmm!”
“Ho!”
The three mounted men swing their spears, charging at the Hobgoblins and stabbing into their torsos. Despite being on horseback, they fight with stable cores, quickly dispersing their foes.
“You!”
The Goblin Knight charges at the cavalry with an enraged expression, wielding a massive sword resembling a lump of iron. The Goblin Knight moves with agility surpassing that of humans, wearing heavy armor and helm, wielding a sword so heavy it takes several adults to lift, fearlessly confronting the cavalry.
However, the cavalrymen calmly narrow their eyes, readying their spears for combat.
[Horse Charge]
Covered in a red aura with their horses, the three charge like a single spear, meeting the Goblin Knight head-on.
[Hard Crash]
The Goblin Knight envelops his sword in a red aura, thrusting it forward.
“Waaah!”
“Graah!”
Their fighting spirits clash, roaring as they push against each other. Their intense energies vie to overpower each other.
“We’ll assist!”
“We’ll lend our aid!”
Yet, as the remaining two cavalrymen join in, the Goblin Knight is overwhelmed, thrown back, and crushed.
“We’ve defeated the Goblin Knight! Eliminate the remaining enemies!”
The cavalrymen raise their spears triumphantly, rallying with their fellow soldiers to eliminate the remaining Goblins.
The sentry watches the battle with admiration.
“Well done, Ooki-kun. And Baba too. You’ve finally learned to fight while mounted.”
“Yeah, thanks to the crystal you somehow got ahold of, I acquired the [Horsemanship] skill. Seems humans are strong when mounted as cavalry.”
Shingen chuckles, a proud expression on his face. Indeed, combined with horsemanship, their combat skills are quite formidable. But I have a small doubt.
“Hey… aren’t you going to ride a horse? It’s your skill, right? I’m sure I passed it on to you. It was that rare find from Chiba City.”
“Sakimori… I’m getting old. It’s more fitting for me to stand firm in the rear. You know, some are walls, some are castles, and Ooki is a sturdy fence.”
“I hear you, Lord Shingen!”
Shingen’s feigned coughing makes Cook smile wryly. Well, that suits Shingen’s age better. And Ooki-kun plays the role of a fine wooden fence.
“With just the Shadow Snake, we can now conquer the dungeon. Well, maybe we won’t even need the Shadow Snake anymore.”
The droplet of ethereal body evaluates the current scene, reassuring me. Even if I were seriously injured, Sei is here. I’ve finally become capable enough to adventure on my own.
“We’ve also decided to start selling Skill Crystals.”
“Research by scientists in Chiba City into Core Stores resulted in the acquisition of a secret technique: Skill Crystals. We’ve secured an exclusive contract with Tenshuga Hara Corporation.”
We’ve managed to scapegoat Chiba City successfully. Chiba City’s scientists are amazing, indeed.
I need to explain the Equivalent Exchange Store to Celica soon, but for now, I’ve decided to crystallize skills I didn’t know how to use and sell them as Chiba City’s secret technique.
Even if she was a saint, saying she had conducted highly confidential research would be convincing. …Maybe. Some will doubt, especially the fox. That girl never learns.
“Hehehe, leave it to Vice Captain Rei of the Jester Knights to work miracles!”
I feel relieved as the droplet dances happily through the air. Recently, it seemed lost in thought, so I’m glad it’s in a good mood. But it seems to have something planned, and it won’t tell me, which makes me a bit uneasy. I want to be of help, after all, it’s my partner. That’s why we’re partners for moments like this.
Well, it’ll tell me later. But more importantly…
“Baba, change of plans. You guys go find and crush the Goblin Dungeon.”
[Mike]
With a snap of my fingers, from my shadow emerges Mike, a pitch-black tiger with semi-transparent crystal-like fur tips. He directs his terrifying gaze at me.
“Meow.”
As always, despite appearances, he lets out a cute meow. He’s my Level 5 familiar with top combat capabilities. He can crush Goblin Kings with a single blow.
“Unless it’s a crisis, just observe. Watch over Baba’s fight for me.”
“Meow, meow.”
“Alright, I’m off.”
Baba and his team leave with Mike, leaving only me, Shingen, and Ooki-kun.
“Well then, shall we head to the outer town?”
It’s been a while since I visited the outer town, so I head there with Shingen and the others. I have a secret transaction to attend to. I wonder if Numata and Captain Anayama are doing well.