"Boom!" A red beam of light swept across the gate, and a fireball erupted just outside!
The guard's eyes widened in shock, and he instinctively raised his wand toward Lupin.
But at that very moment.
Behind him, the screams that broke out amid the flames made the guard freeze, and then he snapped to attention!
He shouted:
"Ambush! Get out of here, all of you!"
A massive shockwave tore through the smoke and dust.
It slammed into the hidden figures, sending them flying.
"Damn it! We've been discovered!"
The goblins were both startled and furious.
They couldn't understand why they'd been exposed at the last second when they'd been hiding so perfectly!
Damn it!
The goblins stared at the women and children fleeing into the camp, their eyes filled with malice.
They'd been so close to swinging their axes into the tender skulls of those human youngsters and hearing their delightful screams...
Goblin: "If we're discovered, so be it! Charge, brothers!"
"Kill all these humans—ah!"
A scream.
The howling goblin was sent flying!
Lupin held his wand, breathing heavily, his heart racing.
He felt his long-dormant blood stirring once more.
He recalled his days in the Order of the Phoenix, fighting alongside his comrades against dark wizards.
Lupin thought.
He had long since lost his old drive and passion, mired in poverty and hardship.
After Lord Voldemort's downfall, the warriors of the Order of the Phoenix had either died or gone mad.
The Ministry of Magic had tossed them aside like a broken crutch, ignoring them entirely.
For the sake of profit, it had groveled before pure-blood families.
And then there were the traitors...
Lupin's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, a flash of pain crossing his face.
He steadied himself, turning his focus back to the battle at hand.
He waved his wand with precision.
His lips moved, chanting swiftly:
"Protego! Wingardium Leviosa! Slam!"
"Bang!"
The goblins were hoisted up by an invisible hand and then smashed hard into the ground.
Their bodies bounced twice before they lay there, groaning in agony.
Lupin said in a low voice, "Hurry, get the others to safety! You must have a basement dug out here!"
The guard looked at Lupin in astonishment, suddenly feeling like they'd brought back a god of war.
Are servants from wealthy families all this impressive?
"Quick! To the cellar!"
Enemies were ambushing the back gate, and who knew how many more lurked in the forest.
Hiding in the camp might not save them—if the camp fell, everyone would die.
But at least there might be a sliver of hope.
"Thanks, old man."
The bearded guard gratefully patted Lupin's shoulder.
Lupin was deeply touched.
I'm only in my early thirties...
"Uncle!"
Little Amy, with her red hair, was being pulled along, but she kept looking back, gazing at Lupin with anxiety and worry.
Lupin gave her a faint, reassuring smile, waving as if everything was fine.
But just then.
From the front of the camp came a tremendous explosion!
"Boom!"
A plume of black smoke and fire burst forth!
It was the goblins' siege cannon!
Lupin stared at the rolling black smoke, his brows knitting tightly once more.
In 1612, goblin alchemical inventions were even more advanced than in modern times.
With no restrictions holding them back, they were utterly devoted to war.
Alchemical bombs, siege cannons, enchanted weapons...
All sorts of destructive devices had emerged one after another.
Not to mention, this time, in their bid to seize ancient magic, the goblins had pulled out all the stops!
The fiercest fighting wasn't at the rear, but at the main gate!
"I hope Ethan has the power—and the will—to turn the tide..."
Lupin murmured, praying to Merlin in his heart.
He turned, facing the goblins screeching as they charged out of the forest, and raised his wand.
At the main gate of the camp.
"Rumble—"
Under the assault of the alchemical cannon, the gate was finally blasted open.
Stones shattered, and thick smoke billowed.
Wizards lay sprawled on the ground. Eve Black clutched her bleeding arm, her fair face smeared with ash.
She panted, glaring furiously at the collapsed gate.
"Bang!"
After the guard golem shattered and crumbled under the hail of earth and stone, the triumphant, sinister faces of the goblins were revealed.
Goblin leader Kook kicked away the golem's round head, staring at Eve with a malicious grin spreading across his lips:
"Don't struggle. My soldiers outnumber yours several times over, and they're armed with the goblins' most advanced alchemical devices and plenty of bombs."
"You feeble wizards will only end up slaughtered by us, hahahaha!!"
Eve said coldly, "You're dreaming."
Just drag this out as long as possible, so the non-combatants can escape...
Suddenly, the goblin spoke:
"You're not thinking of stalling for time so the others can flee, are you?"
Eve's pupils contracted.
The next second, her grim premonition came true.
"Pfft—hahahahahaha!!!!"
The goblins suddenly erupted in laughter, swaying and doubling over in fits of giggles!
Seeing Eve's rigid expression, leader Kook's lips curled into a wide, wicked grin as he said with satisfaction:
"My subordinates have been lying in wait at the back gate for ages."
"By now, they've probably wiped out all your people!"
With a bang!
As if struck by lightning five times over, Eve's face turned ashen in an instant!
"—I'll kill you all!!"
She roared in grief and fury, forcefully waving her wand. Stones rose into the air, transforming into sharp spikes that hurtled toward the goblins!
But in that moment, she was blinded by emotion.
She didn't spot the sharp axe flying from her blind spot!
By the time the flying axe entered her view, it was too late to dodge.
The enchanted axe could shatter magical barriers, and its keen blade, backed by tremendous force, could cleave a human skull in an instant.
In that split second, Eve could only shift her stance so the axe wouldn't hit a vital spot and kill her outright.
In her vision, the axe spun and loomed larger.
Stained with human blood, its blade had turned a rusty brown.
Is this the end?
Eve thought.
There was no fear of death, only hatred for the invaders and sorrow for her fallen comrades!
Those children—goblins had no notion of taking prisoners, and even if they escaped the camp, survival in the chaos of war would be nearly impossible.
Damn it! She hated it!
Unwillingness gnawed at her chest, and threads of bloodshot crept into her emerald eyes.
It made her stern, sharp features look somewhat terrifying.
She wanted to curse. She wanted to pour everything into a curse.
Curse these goblins to a horrific end— "Portal."
A voice as warm and clear as a spring breeze, completely out of place on this brutal battlefield, rang in Eve's ear.
The next second.
"Whoosh!"
A pitch-black door suddenly opened before her eyes!
The flying axe plunged into it, then emerged from another door, embedding itself with a thud into the wall.
The air fell abruptly silent.
Leader Kook's triumphant smile froze.
He squinted, glaring darkly at this sudden intruder.
And when he saw who the newcomer was.
He burst into laughter once more:
"Are you wizards running out of people? You're even dragging out half-grown kids to fill the ranks?!"
Eve also turned in surprise toward the figure who had appeared—her newly acquired destitute young master, "Wright"!
She said anxiously, "What are you doing out here?! Why aren't you hiding?!"
As she spoke, she even shoved "Wright," urging him to run.
Though she didn't know what kind of magic that had been, it seemed capable only of relocating objects, with no real destructive power.
A pure, harmless young wizard like "Wright" coming out here was just courting death!
Ethan brushed Miss Black's hand away: "Don't touch me if you're not eating."
Then, under her suddenly choked gaze, he looked at the goblins across from them with keen interest.
10.—20.—30.—Yay! More than enough!
Ethan clapped his hands, cheering gleefully.
His radiant smile made it seem as if he weren't on a battlefield where death could strike at any moment, but rather out on a pleasant picnic!
Eve was stunned.
This... is this kid insane?!
Why wasn't he afraid at all? Instead, he looked excited, as if he'd spotted dessert???
Noticing Miss Black's expression, Ethan reassured her:
"It's okay. With me here, it'll be perfectly safe."
As he spoke, he flipped his wrist, drawing out a card that radiated a chilling aura.
On the goblin side, they erupted in laughter again!
Leader Kook: "What 'with me here'? Kid, are you still dreaming of being a hero? It's okay, today I'll show you what real—i—ty is—"
His words cut off abruptly.
His pupils constricted, and along with his subordinates, his gaze shifted upward, ever upward.
He saw an unbelievably massive, pure white skeleton, like the spine of the earth itself, rising continuously.
Curving in an arc, it floated above all living beings like an inverted bowl, enveloping the entire camp.
No matter the creature, there's an innate fear of colossal things.
When this skeleton appeared in the goblins' view, they trembled involuntarily, feeling an oppressive weight bearing down from above!
"Wh-what is this—?"
Leader Kook asked hoarsely, frozen in a daze.
He suddenly shivered, then abruptly realized the surrounding temperature had dropped sharply.
Cold air, like morning mist, slowly rose from the ground.
Like a gently flowing river.
Crack, crack.
White frost spread rapidly.
In just a few breaths.
The ground, the shattered walls, were coated in a layer of ashen white.
"Hoo—"
Eve exhaled a puff of white mist.
She blinked, and tiny ice crystals fluttered down from her long, black eyelashes.
What happened—?
What on earth was going on?
This was the question burning in the minds of every living being present.
Humans and goblins alike.
Because this scene utterly defied the comprehension of both races.
In a silence thick with terror.
Like a chick breaking from its shell, limb-like legs extended from both sides of the spine, swaying in mid-air like a gigantic dragonfly.
Then, the spine rotated.
Revealing the pale skulls clustered along the spine.
?!!
It was like dropping a bomb into water.
The goblins' eyes bulged, and their fear spiked to its peak!!
Wh-what kind of monster was that?!
Each enormous skull was the size of a house, its hollow, pitch-black eye sockets staring down at the goblin warriors below, mindlessly opening and closing its jaws.
As if it were a projection from another world.
Because such a thing couldn't possibly exist in the mortal realm.
"Click."
A battle-axe clattered to the ground.
The goblins trembled, gazing up at the unimaginable monstrosity, all will to fight evaporated.
One goblin, his voice choked with sobs, murmured:
"I didn't know I had to fight a god. If I'd known about this thing, I wouldn't have joined—I'd have gone home to farm!"
In the midst of that tangible fear.
Only Ethan curved his lips into a smile, looking at the countless skulls in mid-air with appreciation and fondness, saying delightedly:
"This is the sacred guardian beast—'Trojan Horse'~"
Inspired by myths and legends, where all are sheltered within a certain creature's body.
Created using the sacred spinal relic left by Mr. Black, plus 'Chilling Aura'.
Using that broad spine to protect the creatures enveloped within it.
Seeing it, anyone would naturally feel a sense of security, right?
Ethan thought confidently.
He turned, seeing Miss Black, dumbfounded and frozen in place.
He nodded in satisfaction.
See, she's so at ease she's not even making a sound.