Chapter 28 : Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Invasion
As Jiang Lin’s sword strike fell, of the hundred goblins in the forest, only a little more than a dozen Ogre Goblins remained alive.
Those massive goblin variants roared as they groped through the darkness for Jiang Lin’s figure.
Although they were highly adapted to fighting in the dark, Jiang Lin’s speed had reached such an extreme that they could not make out where he was at all.
One Ogre Goblin let out a roar. Just as it raised the weapon in its hand, the cold gleam of the Cangwu Sword flashed before its eyes, driving straight for its throat.
In the next moment, blood sprayed through the pitch-black forest, mixed with a foul stench.
The instant Jiang Lin’s figure appeared, the Cangwu Sword shot toward another nearby Ogre Goblin.
Every strike went straight for a vital point. He would never waste even a sliver more Spiritual Power or stamina than necessary.
As one Ogre Goblin after another collapsed, Jiang Lin did not stop moving. With a shift of his will, he recalled the longsword that had been left embedded elsewhere.
“There is something very wrong with these creatures. They actually managed to pass through Dusk Forest.”
Trelis’s voice rang out as well, carrying both surprise and confusion.
Without slowing in the slightest, Jiang Lin rushed toward the town outside Dusk Forest.
If these beastmen were not the first wave, then Wheatfield Town was likely already in disaster.
His figure moved with incredible speed. After only a few steps, he landed directly atop the Cangwu Sword. Wrapped in Spiritual Energy, he flew upon the sword and rapidly wove through the forest.
At the same time, his Divine Sense spread out once more, and in the darkness ahead, more beastmen figures appeared again.
Jiang Lin had originally been standing with his hands behind his back, but now a clear gleam flashed through his eyes in the dark. His right hand formed a one-handed seal, fingers pressed into a sword sign. Spiritual Power gathered at his fingertips and compressed into one Spiritual Power sword phantom after another. In an instant, dozens of them took shape, and with a single gesture from him,
those dozens of Spiritual Power sword phantoms all shot forward.
The whole process took less than a minute. Jiang Lin, flying on his sword, had already arrived above the beastmen ahead.
As screams and furious howls rose from the beastman horde below,
the swords condensed from Spiritual Power rapidly harvested their lives.
The shock in Trelis’s heart only deepened after witnessing the entire scene. At this point, it could only be described as utter astonishment.
This was the power Jiang Lin displayed. It was the first time Trelis had ever seen such strength, power that could be unleashed without communing with the Magic Web or chanting an Incantation.
Jiang Lin, meanwhile, had no idea how shaken the Artifact Spirit Trelis was. He looked ahead, where light was already beginning to appear beyond the forest.
Between the crisscrossing black silhouettes of the trees, an unnatural blaze shone from the direction of the town, proving that Wheatfield Town had already suffered an invasion by these beastmen.
Jiang Lin formed hand seals again, even faster than before.
The instant he burst out of Dusk Forest, he saw towering flames erupting within the town. Houses along the outskirts had already been engulfed by fierce fire, dyeing the surrounding wheat fields crimson under the pitch-black night sky.
The closer he drew, the more clearly he could feel the heat radiating from the fire, along with the scorched smell in the air mixed with a dense reek of blood.
And there were the growing sounds of screams, sobbing, and desperate cries.
Standing atop the Cangwu Sword, Jiang Lin swept into the town at high speed.
Under the glow of the flames below, beastmen could be seen everywhere.
Small goblins darted through the town’s buildings, carrying all sorts of food and valuables they had looted.
Other goblins were dragging struggling townsfolk outside, leaving trails of blood across the ground.
The Ogre Goblins stood in the central square of the town, piling together the corpses of the townsfolk dragged over by the goblins into heaps like a small hill.
Some goblins were even howling with excitement beside those corpses, violating them in a frenzy.
The woman let out a shrill scream, her face covered in blood, trembling uncontrollably as those goblins pinned her beneath them and brutalized her at will.
The louder her screams became, the more excited the surrounding goblins seemed to grow.
Everywhere in Wheatfield Town, the same scenes unfolded.
It was a vision straight out of hell.
Jiang Lin did not pause for even a moment. Instead, he accelerated toward the tavern.
Dozens of sword phantoms condensed from Spiritual Power shot toward the goblins in the square.
As sword light flashed, dozens of goblins were instantly pierced through the throat, struggling in disbelief.
The goblins on the ground also discovered Jiang Lin’s figure in the sky.
The Ogre Goblins even grabbed the weapons in their hands and hurled them toward him.
But before those weapons could even leave their hands, the Spiritual Power sword phantoms had already pierced through their throats.
The moment the Golden Traveler Tavern entered Jiang Lin’s sight, he saw that an Ogre Goblin and a crowd of smaller goblins were already standing in front of it.
Those goblins had already forced open the tavern doors, and that Ogre Goblin had begun probing its way inside.
A cold light flashed through Jiang Lin’s eyes. The Cangwu Sword beneath his feet instantly shot forward, piercing straight toward the enormous Ogre Goblin.
The tremendous force carried the creature crashing directly into the tavern.
With a violent impact, countless tables and chairs inside the tavern shattered and flew apart.
Seeing that, the other small goblins let out even more excited howls. Waving the weapons in their hands, they swarmed over the Ogre Goblin’s body, trying to pull the Cangwu Sword out of it.
“A pack of beasts through and through.”
Dozens of Spiritual Power sword phantoms instantly pierced through those goblins as Jiang Lin rushed into the tavern.
The main hall was in complete ruin, littered with the corpses of townsfolk. All the liquor and food behind the counter had been swept clean.
Clearly, this place had already been ransacked by the beastmen.
“Miss Martie!”
Jiang Lin rushed to the second floor at great speed, searching room after room.
But after searching all over the second floor, he still did not find Martie.
Without stopping, Jiang Lin went straight up to the third floor, to the attic storeroom where he had once stayed.
The moment he pulled open the storeroom door, he abruptly stepped backward.
At the same time, a knife came flying out.
With a sharp clang, it embedded itself in the wall behind him.
“Miss Martie, it’s me.”
Jiang Lin looked at the figure hiding between the wine barrels, and only then did he finally let out a breath of relief.
Martie seemed to have been frightened far too badly. Her body trembled uncontrollably. After hearing Jiang Lin’s voice, she blankly lifted her head, then threw herself toward him in terror.
“Those beastmen attacked the town... so many people died... they all died, Jiang Lin. What do we do...?”
Clearly, this sudden attack had cast a tremendous shadow over Martie’s heart. The usually sharp and capable young woman was now trembling without end.
No matter how clever she was, she was still just an ordinary person. Having never gone through anything like this, she was naturally terrified.
Especially after witnessing how those goblins behaved with a greed and brutality even worse than wild beasts.
“It is all right now. I will take you out of here. Pull yourself together, Miss Martie.”
Jiang Lin patted her on the back and spoke as gently as he could.
His Divine Sense had already spread over the town, tracking the movements of those beastmen.
Outside, firelight blazed in every direction, and the crying of the townsfolk had still not ceased.
Once Martie had finally calmed down, Jiang Lin took out the Sword of Trelis and handed it to her, his expression serious as he said,
“From this moment on, Miss Martie has to fight too. Only then can you protect yourself.”
Martie wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes in one motion, took a deep breath, and nodded seriously. Although the terror had not yet fully faded from her face, she was already much better.
Perhaps Jiang Lin’s arrival had given her enough of a sense of safety.
“Let us go. We are heading to Gerson City. What happened here has to be reported there.”
As Jiang Lin spoke, once he had confirmed that Martie was all right, he headed downstairs.
When the two of them reached the lower floor, they saw several goblins already rushing over in excitement.
“Miss Martie, watch carefully.”
Jiang Lin’s gaze turned cold. Looking at the goblins charging toward them, he flicked up the Cangwu Sword in his right hand, thrusting straight through the throat of one goblin. Then his body spun, and the Cangwu Sword swept sideways again, beheading two goblins in an instant.
When he turned his head back again, the only remaining goblin was already charging straight at Martie.