Free Web NovelChapter 48: Chapter 47: So That’s How It Is
Undead dropped from above while others scrambled up protruding planks. In an instant, over 200 Undead had stormed the Goblin Fortress, launching into a fierce battle with the goblins. Even more Undead were surging toward the fortress, but it had already finished turning and was beginning to accelerate.
"Hyah—kill!"
"Aargh!"
"Push them off!"
"Charge!"
No matter how terrified they were, no matter how much they didn’t want to face the Undead, the enemy was upon them. There was no escape. It was either fight to the death or be killed. The goblins went berserk. Raising their Weapons, they charged the Undead in successive waves, using every trick they knew. If a pitchfork didn’t work, they used a dagger. If a dagger failed, they swung a wooden club. If the club was useless, they bit with their teeth. They resorted to any means necessary.
Their only goal was to drive the Undead from the fortress!
Only the goblins shrieked their war cries. The Undead were silent, not even unleashing a Soul Roar. Faced with these filthy, despicable, and cowardly creatures, they could barely muster the will to fight. They advanced in silence, fought in silence.
A goblin’s Sword struck bone with a crisp CRACK, leaving a fissure. Immediately, Spears from either side pierced its abdomen. The goblin shrieked in pain, spraying foul saliva and blood onto an Undead, which raised its Bone Saber and slit the goblin’s throat.
Three or five goblins would manage to knock an Undead to pieces, only to be swarmed by more. Before they died, they would see the shattered Undead Splicing itself back together—picking up its own arm to reattach it, then grabbing its Skeleton head and placing it back on its neck bone, even giving it a hard twist. It hadn’t died. Their attacks were futile.
Atop the fortress, the Undead gradually closed in, hemming in the goblins. At the same time, they dragged the bodies of the dead goblins away and threw them from the fortress.
"Boss, aren’t we going to give chase?" Liu Xingxing came to Li Ziyu’s side, unable to stop himself from asking as he watched the Goblin Fortress recede into the distance.
He had taken advantage of the chaos to merge his own fortress with the Undead Fortress and had made his way into the Undead Main Tower.
That Goblin Fortress had just been chasing him around like a dog. Even with Liu Xingxing’s easygoing nature, he was now seething with anger. ’What the hell? I never did anything to you, yet you chase me down and attack without saying a word. Is that any way to behave?’
Li Ziyu shot Liu Xingxing a sidelong glance. ’One look was all it took to confirm it: this guy just loves to court death.’ Ever since he’d met Liu Xingxing, it seemed the man had never stopped finding new ways to ask for trouble.
He didn’t answer Liu Xingxing, nor did he give the order to pursue the Goblin Fortress. ’The sun hasn’t set yet,’ he thought. ’Activating the Undead Fortress now would consume Soul Energy. And for what? To chase the Goblin Fortress? It’s not worth it. I don’t have a way to destroy their fortress quickly right now. Even if I caught up, all I could do is kill a few more goblins, not annihilate them.’
’So what’s the difference whether I chase them or not?’
’If they want to run, let them. I’ve already killed a good number of goblins, so it’s not a loss.’
Yu Gangbo cowered in the main tower, nervously biting his fingernails. Huge drops of sweat rolled down his face as the constant war cries from outside made his fat body tremble. For the first time, he felt he was in mortal danger, so close to death.
’If the Undead get in, how will I have to beg for them to spare me?’
’From the moment I saw the Undead, I knew the goblins couldn’t put up a fight,’ Yu Gangbo thought. ’Running was the only option. And if we can’t escape... well, then I’ll just have to surrender.’
BANG!
The door to the main tower was thrown open. Yu Gangbo leaped from his chair in fright, eyes squeezed shut as he waved the small knife in his hand. "Stay away! All of you, stay away!"
"City Lord?" The goblin who had just entered jumped in surprise, looking around nervously, completely baffled.
’There’s nothing here. All the other goblins went outside to fight the Undead. The City Lord is the only one in the main tower... Who is he fighting?’
Hearing the goblin’s voice, Yu Gangbo stopped waving his knife. He opened his eyes and saw it was indeed one of his own goblins. "Ahem, what’s the situation outside? Are the Undead still here?"
The goblin’s face lit up with joy. "We’ve repelled the Undead! We’re safe!"
"The Undead didn’t give chase?" Yu Gangbo was stunned for a moment before asking urgently.
"Nope! They climbed down from our fortress and ran off, fast!" the goblin screeched excitedly, puffing out his chest with pride. He felt this was a victory for the goblins; they had defeated the Undead. Otherwise, why would the Undead have retreated?
’Trash like you could actually repel the Undead?’
Yu Gangbo didn’t believe it for a second. He tilted his head, listening intently. The sounds from outside were cheers of goblin celebration—a familiar sound, very different from the earlier war cries.
’Could it be? Have the Undead really retreated?’
’I have to see for myself.’ Unable to hold back any longer, Yu Gangbo rushed out of the main tower.
On the mismatched platforms, a horde of goblins was jumping and dancing, flailing their limbs in a chaotic frenzy. The fortress was on the move. Below, Yu Gangbo could see the Undead rapidly receding into the distance; they had already disembarked and were now on the ground, searching for goblin corpses.
’W-we won!’
’The goblins actually repelled the Undead?!’
Yu Gangbo’s eyes filled with disbelief. ’Goblins, such a weak and moronic Race, actually managed to defeat the Undead? Holy crap! I guess the Race under my command is pretty strong after all! We were just outnumbered. If I had more of them, maybe I could even capture the Undead Fortress!’
A strange delusion made Yu Gangbo feel like he was back in the game, like he was on his feet again. Ambition even began to stir within him. He would gather resources, produce more goblins, and then seek out the Undead to avenge this earlier humiliation!
’Just you wait, Undead! I’ll be back!’
First came a wave of smug satisfaction, which then turned into a silent, teeth-gritting vow. ƒrēewebnovel.com
The dispatched Undead regrouped, collected the goblin corpses from the ground, and dragged them back into the Undead Fortress.
Some twenty-odd goblin corpses were piled before Li Ziyu. Although he had reviewed information on goblins before, this was his first time observing one up close.
The goblins before him were of the most common variety. They had green skin, stood about 1.2 meters tall, and were bald. They had yellow, goat-like eyes, long pointed ears, and hooked noses. Their teeth were sharp and yellow-black, the color you’d expect from a chain-smoker who never brushes.
These creatures were filthy and unhygienic, emitting a foul stench. Facing them felt like standing in front of an outhouse.
Li Ziyu pinched his nose and glanced at them. Unable to stand the stench any longer, he waved his hand and had the system promptly decompose them.
[Decomposed goblin +1. Obtained: Skeleton x1 unit, Goblin Ears x1 pair, Soul Energy x40 units.]
...
’Huh. No wonder people say goblins aren’t very intelligent. A normal sentient being has 50 or more units of Soul Energy, but goblins only have 40. That’s barely more than a clever Wild Beast.’
’The decomposition also yielded ears. If the system separated them out, they must be useful for something. But I have no idea what,’ Li Ziyu mused. ’I’ll just have to set them aside for now and figure it out later.’
The twenty-odd goblin corpses yielded Li Ziyu over twenty units of Skeleton and nearly a thousand units of Soul Energy. The Undead suffered no losses. All in all, the battle was a small but clear profit.
