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After we left the city through the river, we landed on the western side and then headed north while hiding in the forest.

We could already hear fierce sounds of the battle from the castle walls behind. If they started going for the walls, we had to hurry and take down the Goblin Lord from behind as fast as we could.

The difference in numbers was just that big.

“S̲h̲i̲t̲, it pissed me that I can’t fight at a time like this.”
“Forget that and just keep moving. We are short on time, right?”

The ones participating in this surprise attack were Kayle’s party, myself, as well as Leon and Ellen, the Adventurers that helped me when coming to Raum.

They also have taught Finia the sword for some time.

Us eight were planning to deal a surprise attack on the Goblin Lord.

Honestly, our numbers were quite worrisome in terms of combat power, but if we took any more people it would only burden Cortina’s side, so we decided to go with a bit less.

The magician in Kayle’s party could use Breathing and Water Walking spells, so we could go around the Goblins without problems.

That said, Kayle and Leon seemed to have a bad affinity, they quarreled all the time. They didn’t really hate each other, of course, but whenever Kayle started complaining Leon would start to rebuke him.

Ellen warned about that over and over while mixing sighs. Even I wished they stayed quiet for a bit.

“You two should quiet down already. There’s no guarantee that Goblins aren’t looking our way.”
“Whoops, you’re right. Sorry about that, Aste.”

I also used Aste as my nickname this time around. Gideon was a strong enough fighter to create his own swordsman sect, so his name might have been known. It was pretty stupid that I only realized that after we had already departed.

Then I was disguising myself, I thought I had to make sure not to get exposed in any way, so I chose to go with someone who no one in this city knew, yet I knew, which might have been a mistake.

Fortunately, no one found my appearance to be out of place, so it ended without incident.

At this rate, it would be quite impossible for anyone to trace my appearance to the actual me. There would be fewer risks of getting traced compared to Haumea.

Yeah, I’m really grateful towards that guy now.

“Hey, can’t we get behind them from around here?”

After a while, Kayle said that towards his comrades.

We were certainly in a good place to reach their backs now. However, the magician silently shook his head and rejected his proposal.

“Why now? Aren’t we in a race against time?”
“It would be bad to do it from here. The river has its currents. If we try to cross it here with Water Walking, we’ll get carried southward.”

The magician replied in annoyance at Kayle’s honest opinion.

Southern side, in other words, towards the city. If we started crossing the river right behind them, the currents would drag us to the south and we’d end up right in the middle of the monsters.

Naturally, we could advance north to eliminate that possibility, but in that case, we’d have to advance diagonally for a long time above the river with no obstacles to hide us.

That was something that we’d rather avoid given that our mission was something that was not allowed to fail.

“Kh, so we have no choice but to cross it after heading north some more?”
“Yeah. So hurry up.”

After that, we hurried up to the north.

On the way, there were few places where Goblins were vigilant, but each time I went ahead and warned everyone so they hid themselves.

Fortunately, we managed to earn enough distance to not get detected and managed to get behind them.

“Okay, let’s cross the river here and begin our attack.”
“Finally! I can’t wait anymore.”
“Still, these monsters really don’t have any provisions on them, huh?”
“They are still just evolved Goblins, in the end. Besides, they themselves are their own food.”

They kept going on a forced march, and used their weakened comrades as food on the place. Normally, the group numbers were limited due to such food shortages, but with the Goblin Lord around, their high level of reproduction gave them an unlimited supply of meat.

Like that, they formed a force that went beyond their normal retention rate, being maddened through hunger and brainwashing, and forced to attack human settlements in great numbers.

“Okay, let’s go!”

With Kayle’s signal, the magician man cast Water Walking on all of us. Once we confirmed that, we silently dashed across the river.

In battles, this would normally be the time we raised war cries, but this was a surprise attack. It was to our advantage for the enemy to notice us as late as possible.

It felt strange for sure crossing the river above it. We were advancing forward, but the direction of our movement was off due to the currents.

The sensation as if the floor under our feet was moving made our legs slow down.

Even so, being able to run on it as we would on the ground was a huge plus. We luckily managed to get to the other side without being detected and succeeded in our attack from the back.

“Taryaaaaaaaaa!”
“Seyaaaa!”
“Gugya!? Gyaaaaaa!”

Kayle and Leon in particular took the initiative to charge and cut their way through the Goblins. Fifth-ranked Kayle was one thing, but even Leon held the skill of a fourth rank, so neither of them was falling behind the other.

From our sudden appearance behind their back, the Goblins clearly grew restless.

That said, we couldn’t relax here. It was a surprise attack of eight people. Our numbers couldn’t even be compared to theirs. Unless we put an end to the Goblin Lord fast, we would get surrounded in the blink of an eye.

If that happened, it would be us who’d get trampled down due to the sheer numbers they held.

I also kept slaughtering the Goblins by swinging my spear in every direction.

I stole a glance towards the sky, and I found a single pigeon there. It was probably the familiar that Cortina dispatched.

She was observing the battle from above like this to understand the full situation. With this and the Guild staff, she could access the information quickly.

Naturally, scouting done by a familiar would get found out if it was used against humans. But the opponents were Goblins, so this method of scouting could be used.

I took down the second and third Goblin, continuing to cut through the enemy’s rear guards. And before long, one Goblin that was a size bigger than normal stood before me.

“…Goblin Lord. To think I would be the one to find it first.”

Due to the confused battle, there were no comrades nearby me. Rather, everyone was busy fending for themselves. There was no hope for reinforcements to come. In other words…

“So you’re telling me I have to defeat this guy myself, huh?”
“GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOARR!!”

A low-pitched war cry like that of repeated blows of drum had reached my eardrums. With that as a sign, the Goblin Lord charged at me.

Like this, without intending it, I ended up having to face the enemy ringleader in a solo battle.