While walking toward the Heights' ground, Paul spotted Gunther arriving with the Raven Unit (200 cavalry troops) and said, "Oh... looks like Gunther has arrived."
Upon reaching the Heights, Paul searched for a sturdy tree trunk to climb while communicating with Gunther. "Gunther, assist Brunhild in attacking the goblin settlement," he ordered, leaping onto a strong trunk he'd chosen. He perched himself, took aim with his sniper, and focused on the goblin settlement.
When Renya followed and landed on a nearby sturdy trunk, Paul received Kruger's confirmation: "Roger." Peering through his sniper scope, Paul asked Renya, "Are they ready?" (referring to the assassins hidden in the goblin settlement).
When Paul asked that, Renya immediately activated the portable Core Channel 5 device she carried (backpack-style) and spoke into the mic: "This is the leader—are you all ready?"
After a brief pause, fragmented replies crackled through the channel:
"5 more minutes..."
"Ready..."
"Yes, already!"
"3 more minutes..."
"..."
Hearing this, Renya rubbed her forehead as if nursing a headache and answered Paul, "Not yet... seems like 5 more minutes."
Paul simply replied, "OK."
Five minutes later.
Paul glanced at Renya and repeated, "Are they ready now?"
Renya relayed the question through Core Channel 5, then turned back to him. "They're ready, but infiltrating the king's tent might be tricky."
Paul gave a terse nod. "OK."
Without hesitation, he activated his headset and commanded in a steely tone, "Operation start."
Kruger, Greta, and Gunther responded in unison: "Yes!"
Kruger launched a firework into the sky—BOOM!
The explosion lit up the night, its shockwave rippling across eight guard posts and the goblin settlement.
As screams of "AAAAaaaaa!" echoed through the camp, Paul adjusted his sniper scope toward the source—a tent where the Goblin King's enraged voice boomed. "Oh... seems the King is pissed," he muttered, finger resting on the trigger.
Suddenly, a hulking figure clad in robes burst from the tent. Paul didn't hesitate. "One shot, one kill."
Thwip.
The suppressed round struck true—plunging straight through the cloaked goblin's skull. Thud. The massive body collapsed like a sack of stones at the tent's entrance.
But as the dust settled, Paul gritted his teeth. "Damn it." Through his scope, he recognized the fallen figure: not the King, but the Goblin Champion.
Beside him, Renya lowered her binoculars and giggled. "You'resounlucky, Prince."
When the Goblin King saw his champion's corpse sprawled before the tent, he unleashed a guttural scream—"AAAAaaaaa!"—that sent the entire settlement into pandemonium. Goblins scrambled in every direction, knocking over torches and barricades in their panic.
Paul's grip tightened on his rifle. "Oh no..." He winced, voice laced with awkward guilt. "Looks like I messed everything up."
Renya, still peering through her binoculars, didn't lower them. Instead, she gestured sharply toward the settlement's perimeter. "No, Prince…" A sly grin crept across her face as she observed the gates. "It seems your plan isperfect."
As Paul watched the live drone feed circling above the goblin settlement, he muttered in stunned realization, "Yes... yes..."
What initially seemed like panicked chaos was actually organized mobilization. The goblins weren't fleeing randomly - they were arming themselves, mounting their beasts, and now pouring out of the gates in a frenzied but purposeful exodus. They moved like hunters searching for prey.
Spotting the opening, Paul instantly opened a channel to Kruger, his voice sharp with urgency: "Kruger, deploy the Striker and Adventure teams for ambush. They're hunting snipers but still unaware we've surrounded them."
A crisp "Roger" crackled through the comms before Paul terminated the link.
Across all four approaches, soldiers fluidly transitioned formations - from tight defensive boxes to lethal diamond configurations:
Frontline: Two tower shields with longswordsMidguard: soldiers held polearms tipped with hooked blades, angled forward and poised to thrust between the shield-bearers at the first opening.Rear: Archers nocking arrows
Like shadows, the units melted into the brush, encircling the goblin settlement's exit routes.
Paul turned to Renya, his gaze intense. "Any movement from the King's tent?"
Binoculars still pressed to her eyes, Renya hesitated. "Nothing new... but last contact came in Morse code." Her voice carried uneasy weight as she scanned the chaotic camp.
Paul's eyebrows lifted slightly. "What's the message?" he asked, a flicker of interest cutting through his focus.
Renya's grip tightened on her binoculars. "The King woke up… and he's on high alert." Her voice was edged with tension. "After that, the messages stopped." A frustrated sigh escaped her lips.
Paul just nodded slowly."Okay..." his voice was heavy, as if considering a strategy.
Suddenly— The clanging of swords and war cries broke the silence.
"AaaaAAgh!"
the panicked goblins screamed, echoing the "Hyaa!" cheers of the soldiers and the "Hiyyaah!" of the adventurers who were fighting. Paul immediately turned toward the commotion. "It looks like the battle has begun," he muttered as he watched the attacking troops begin to fight with the goblin horde.
Paul's eyes narrowed as he observed the battlefield. Something felt off. Only six soldier teams and six adventurer squads were actively engaging—their attacks precise but oddly restrained. The rest of Brunhild's forces lay concealed in a sprawling two-wing formation, their positions carefully obscured by terrain.
Then it clicked.
"Oh... so that's her play," Paul murmured, a grin tugging at his lips. He nodded approvingly. "As expected of Sister Brunhild. Brilliant."
While Renya observed one of the nearest squads through the thermal binoculars, she muttered, "Yeah... she's really smart," clearly impressed by the hidden formation. Still watching the carefully executed maneuver, she added, "Brunhild used that cunning special goblin to set a trap," admiration in her voice.
Because the goblins had scattered to search for hidden snipers, the striker teams were able to pick them off with ease. As the clashes broke out between the goblins, the soldiers, and the adventurer teams, the sounds of battle echoed deliberately toward the goblin settlement—baiting the rest of the goblins to react.
Hearing the sound of fighting, the cloaked goblin looked out from atop the gate. The cloaked figure atop the gate stiffened as battle cries erupted from four directions. he quickly rang the small bell on his belt—clang-clang-clang!— and darted off toward another gate, alarmed by the battles erupting from all four directions.
The effect was instantaneous.
Goblins mid-charge skidded to a halt. Those scattered in the fields abandoned their searches. Like a dark tide receding, the entire horde turned and scrambled back toward the settlement's defenses.
Paul's finger hovered over his rifle's trigger. "Frightening, right...?" he murmured, tracking the cloaked figure's retreat through his scope. The way the creatures responded to that single bell... unnerving.
Renya's thermal binoculars followed the same target. "Yeah... terrifying," she agreed, before frowning. "Why aren't you shooting, Prince?" Her eyes darted between Paul's idle rifle and the escaping threat.
Paul's finger shifted from the rifle's trigger as he pointed toward another cloaked figure moving stealthily along the settlement's edge. "Look...told you it wasn't the only smart one," he sighed, the weight of their miscalculation evident in his voice.
Renya's grip tightened on her binoculars. "Maybe it's just a decoy," she countered, though her tone betrayed doubt.
With a resigned shrug, Paul shouldered his coil rifle. "Alright, let's test that." He raised the coil rifle, took aim at the running goblin, and — Thwip! The hypersonic round obliterated the fleeing goblin's skull, sending its body tumbling from the wall. Thud.
Silence lingered for half a breath.
Then—clang! clang! clang!—three new alarms erupted from different corners of the settlement as identical cloaked figures sounded their bells. Paul slowly turned to Renya, eyebrows raised in a silent "See?"
Renya could only muster an awkward "Hehehe..." as the reality of their trap's flaw settled over them.
As the last goblin scrambled inside, the settlement gates slammed shut with ominous finality. The elite forces—cloaked commanders, hulking champions, and goblins with tightly closed cloaks—disappeared into the King's tent like shadows merging with darkness.
Five minutes of eerie silence passed.
Then—"AAAAAAAARGH!"—a bloodcurdling shriek tore through the tent's fabric. The flaps burst open, revealing rows of identical robed figures now moving with unnatural synchronization. They split into four groups, each marching toward a different quadrant of the settlement.
The ordinary goblins fell into formation behind them with military precision, their earlier chaos replaced by chilling discipline. What had been a rabble was now an army—four perfect battalions advancing toward four direction.
As they watched from their vantage point, Renya spoke quietly beside Paul, "Got a Morse code signal on the Goblin King… he's out."
Paul's eyes narrowed as he spotted movement near the gate. Four goblin troops were forming up, each one preparing to march out toward the four earlier ambush zones. They hadn't yet crossed the gate, but their intent was clear.
Without delay, Paul contacted Kruger. "Four goblin units have split up—they're heading toward the earlier ambush sites," he said, his voice firm.
"How many?" Kruger asked through the line.
Paul took a deep breath. "Roughly two thousand in each unit. And… there's a special goblin leading each one."
He paused briefly before adding, "The Goblin King is among them. I can't confirm which one—it's hard to tell with that cloak covering him."
Kruger gave a short, steady response. "Roger," and ended the call.
As the four goblin battalions began marching through the gates, Paul exhaled slowly and whispered, "Sis Brunhild… I'll leave the rest to you."