Chapter 26: Boss Fight!
“KRRREEEEAAAAAGHH!”
The goblin general’s shriek exploded across the entire chamber, making Theo instantly cover his ears along with everyone else.
“Shit! There’s another prisoner here?!” Tara muttered.
“Ara? I don’t think Gen-san appreciates intruders entering his home,” the naked elf said casually while smiling and lazily covering one ear.
Theo and the others still couldn’t process how that elf captive somehow looked completely relaxed in the middle of all this.
But then they saw the exact thing they had been desperately trying to avoid. The sleeping goblins were waking up, the goblin general’s roar had snapped the entire chamber awake at once.
“Kill as many goblins as you can while they’re still disoriented!” Captain Matheo suddenly barked as his battlefield instincts immediately took over.
STAB—SLASH
Everyone moved at once, spears stabbing downward while blades hacked into confused goblins still dizzy from being violently awakened by their leader’s roar.
Whoosh—Thud!
David’s sling bullet smashed straight into a goblin’s skull before it could even fully stand up.
But the momentum didn’t last long.
“VOR BOG DEEE!” the goblin general roared as he rose from his stone throne.
The fully awakened goblins and hobgoblins immediately rushed toward the throne and gathered around their leader. Four hobgoblins and seventeen goblins still remained alive, more than enough to turn the chamber into a brutal fight.
“Everyone! Battle formations!” David shouted as he immediately sprinted away from Theo’s side.
“Squad! Into phalanx! Three ranks deep!” Captain Matheo roared toward his men.
“Archers! Behind the phalanx!” Tara immediately followed with her own order.
The villagers reacted without hesitation.
The spearmen quickly formed into a five-man-wide phalanx three ranks deep, their overlapping spears turning into a solid wall of spearpoints. Meanwhile, Tara and the archers repositioned several meters behind them with bows already drawn and ready.
The two sides stared at each other across the chamber.
All the training David drilled into the villagers instantly took over. Everyone already knew where they needed to stand and what they needed to do.
Well… everyone except Theo.
“Wait! Where the hell am I supposed to go?!” Theo shouted while standing alone in the open.
During all the training and formation drills David taught the villagers, nobody had ever included Theo in any of it. Because honestly, nobody expected Theo to actually fight. He was terrible at it.
“Sorry, boss! You’re on your own! I gotta deal with the leader!” David shouted as he hurried toward the enemies’ right flank, moving for a clearer angle on the goblin general.
The moment he found his position, David began swinging his sling.
Whooosh—Thud!
“KRREEAAGH!”
The goblin general shrieked in pain as the sling bullet half-buried itself into its temple, green blood immediately dripping down the side of its face.
But it didn’t go down. Instead, the monster slowly turned its head toward David, looking even angrier than before.
“Damn… that thing’s got thick skin,” David muttered while already preparing his second shot. “Not demon hound thick, but still damn thick.”
Then suddenly, the goblin general’s body began glowing faintly.
“Huh?”
David immediately released his second shot.
Whoosh—Thud!
“Kieek!”
The bullet struck the goblin general’s temple again. But this time, instead of half-burying into the flesh like before, it only tore the skin open.
“What the…” David frowned.
“Kreekekeke.”
The goblin general chuckled while grabbing the massive greataxe resting beside his throne before slowly advancing toward David.
“Ara? Gen-san received a defense buff from Shaman-kun,” the naked elf commented cheerfully out of nowhere. “Such wonderful teamwork.”
It was honestly bizarre how the elf captive kept casually narrating the battle like a spectator watching a performance.
Still, she gave valuable information.
Everyone’s eyes immediately shifted toward the goblin shaman standing beside the stone throne. The creature had just finished its chant, its staff still glowing faintly from the completed spell.
“Archers! Target the shaman!” Tara immediately ordered.
But the goblin general realized what they were trying to do.
“GRO TRAAK!” it roared while pointing its axe toward Matheo and Tara’s squads.
The goblins and hobgoblins instantly charged toward the phalanx and the archers while the goblin general itself continued advancing toward David.
“KREEEAHH!”
The chamber erupted as goblins sprinted forward from every direction.
“Hold position!” Matheo roared toward his phalanx squad.
“Tch! New orders!” Tara shouted toward the archers. “Cover the phalanx!”
But before the two sides could clash, the four hobgoblins and other goblins suddenly began glowing as well.
“Ah? Shaman-kun gave berserk buffs to the others too,” the naked elf commented happily. “He’s such a hard worker.”
“Why the hell does she keep commentating?!” Theo shouted in irritation.
One of the hobgoblins reached the phalanx first, the berserk buff making it completely ignore the spearpoints aimed directly at its body.
“BRACE!” Captain Matheo shouted from within the formation.
STAB—STAB—STAB
Multiple spears slammed into the frontmost hobgoblin, piercing through rusty armor and flesh alike.
But the hobgoblin didn’t stop, it barely even reacted to the pain. Instead, the creature kept forcing itself forward, pushing deeper into the wall of spearpoints just to get within striking distance of the spearmen.
“It’s still moving!” one of the front-rank spearmen shouted in panic.
STAB!
From the second rank, Captain Matheo suddenly thrust his spear past his own men and drove the spearhead straight into the hobgoblin’s neck.
The creature finally collapsed.
But things immediately became worse.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The three hobgoblins behind it instantly used the dead body as a shield before the front rank could pull their spears free. They shoved the corpse forward together until it slammed heavily against the phalanx shields.
“Gaah!”
“They’re strong!”
The front rank grunted as they struggled to hold their footing.
The second and third rank tried stabbing past their allies to help, but the angle was terrible. Their spearheads could only scrape the hobgoblins’ arms and sides instead of landing proper killing blows.
“HOOOLD!” Captain Matheo roared as the entire phalanx started getting pushed backward.
The second and third ranks immediately pressed their shields against the backs of the men in front, turning the formation into a brutal contest of raw force between the phalanx and the berserk hobgoblins.
Meanwhile, the goblins quickly noticed the phalanx was fully occupied with their bigger brethern. And goblins were opportunistic creatures.
“Kreeegh!”
Shrieking excitedly, several goblins immediately rushed around both sides of the phalanx, trying to flank the formation.
Whoosh—Thud!
An arrow slammed straight into one goblin’s chest, dropping it instantly.
Good thing Tara’s archers had already spread themselves roughly ten meters behind the phalanx specifically to cover the sides.
“Don’t let any goblins reach the flanks!” Tara roared as her archers kept firing.
Theo could only watch the battlefield helplessly.
The phalanx was locked in a brutal pushing match against the hobgoblins. Tara and her archers were busy stopping the goblins from surrounding the formation.
And David…
David was currently running for his life while the goblin general chased after him while keep swinging its massive greataxe.
“Oh? Shaman-kun is chanting again.”
The naked elf’s cheerful voice echoed through the chamber again, still detached from the current situation.
“I wonder what he’ll use this time? Another buff spell? Or maybe offensive magic?” she said while tilting her head curiously.
Theo immediately looked toward the goblin shaman again. The creature was already muttering incomprehensible words while raising its staff upward, clearly in the middle of casting another spell.
“Theo! You heard what that crazy lady said!” Tara suddenly shouted while firing another arrow. “Deal with the shaman!”
“What do you mean deal with him?!” Theo shouted back. “Deal with what?!”
“I don’t know!” Tara yelled without even looking at him. “He uses magic, you use magic! Just stop him already! We’re dead if he keeps casting those annoying spells!”
Then the goblin shaman raised its staff even higher. A glowing sphere of magic immediately began forming above it.
“Oh? Shaman-kun chose lightning strike.” The naked elf gave a few supportive claps. “How exciting.”
“Ah shit!” Theo immediately shoved his open palm toward the goblin shaman. “Here goes nothing!”
He closed one eye, trying to aim properly.
“Mana Pulse!”
Fwoosh!
A blue sphere burst out from Theo’s palm and shot across the chamber—
Thud!
The projectile slammed directly into the goblin shaman’s head.
The impact interrupted its chanting instantly, causing the forming magic sphere above it to collapse and dissolve into scattered particles.
“Yes!” Theo shouted while pumping his fist.
But then the goblin shaman slowly turned its head toward him. Angrily.
“Grrr…”
“Uh oh,” Theo muttered.
The shaman immediately pointed its staff toward him. A fireball twice the size of Theo’s own rapidly formed at the tip before shooting straight at him.
Fwoosh
“GAAAH!” Theo immediately threw himself sideways to dodge.
BOOM!
The fireball exploded against the ground where he had been standing just moments earlier.
“Fireball!” Theo shouted back in panic.
He thrust both hands forward and launched his own fireball toward the goblin shaman. Compared to the shaman’s spell, Theo’s fireball looked almost pathetic. Barely half the size.
But the goblin shaman didn’t even bother dodging.
“Kerr kerr kerr…” The creature chuckled mockingly before casually waving its staff.
Fwoosh!
A translucent magic shield instantly appeared in front of it, causing Theo’s fireball to dissipate on contact without doing anything.
“That’s cheating!” Theo complained immediately.
The goblin shaman only kept laughing as it slowly advanced toward him, dragging its staff forward while preparing to roast Theo alive with superior magic.
Theo quickly looked around for help. Help that won’t came.
David was still busy running for his life while dodging the goblin general’s massive axe swings, occasionally firing sling bullets that now barely injured the defense-buffed monster.
Matheo’s phalanx remained locked in a brutal pushing contest against the berserk hobgoblins.
Meanwhile, Tara and her archers were occupied shooting goblins trying to overwhelm the phalanx from the sides.
So no. Nobody had time to save Theo.
And somehow, while the entire chamber had turned into complete bloody chaos, the naked elf simply stood there clapping cheerfully with a bright supportive smile on her face.
“Oh my, what a lively day this has become. You can do it, everyone~”