Ch 43 : Survive

Deep within the Gloom Wood Forest, an unassuming goblin encampment suddenly erupted into chaos. Auron and his friends stormed in, catching the goblins off guard. With a powerful Void Shatter, Auron obliterated the encampment's gate, sending the goblins flying with the blast.

The startled goblins quickly armed themselves with rusty swords and crude knives, swarming toward Auron and his group. Walter raised his hammer high and swung it into the advancing horde. Blood splattered across the ground as the goblins fell, their bodies lifeless and cold. Walter, along with the others, froze for a moment, their faces paling as they took in the grim scene. This was their first encounter with the brutal reality of battle. Previously, Auron had incinerated bandits with ease, leaving nothing behind, but seeing the blood-soaked ground unnerved them all.

"Hold yourselves together! How can you journey through this world if you can't handle a little blood? You won't make it far like this!" Auron shouted, his voice carrying both encouragement and urgency. He knew this moment was critical—a trial his friends had to overcome if they were to grow stronger.

Walter gripped his hammer and shield tighter, forcing himself to move past his fear. "I have to do this," he thought, steadying himself. "This is my first step toward becoming someone my friends can rely on. I'll be the shield that never breaks." With newfound resolve, he swung his hammer again, determined to protect his comrades, especially Alice, Thyra, and Eliot, who were still shaken.

"Wake up! We're in the middle of a battlefield, and freezing up will get us all killed!" Walter shouted, blocking a goblin's attack. Some managed to slip through his defenses, leaving shallow cuts on his arms and legs.

A sudden *whoosh* cut through the chaos as a swift Zephyr Bolt struck down the goblins surrounding Walter. Thyra had kept her composure, her keen mind cutting through the fear. She followed up with Wind Cutter and Tempest Arrow, creating a brief reprieve for Walter to catch his breath.

Then, a wave of water surged across the battlefield, holding back the goblins. "Water Mending!" Eliot shouted, casting his spell to heal Walter's wounds, stopping the bleeding and reinvigorating him.

Seeing his friends regain control, Auron pressed forward, focusing on the main tent where the goblin champion lurked. He had to keep the creature occupied while his friends dealt with the swarm.

Meanwhile, a flood of goblins poured into the camp from all sides, threatening to overwhelm Auron's friends. "Die, you wretches!" Alice yelled, her hands crackling with energy as she unleashed Fireball Toss, bombarding the horde with a rapid barrage of fiery explosions. Half the goblins were scorched instantly, their bodies crumbling into ash.

Walter and Eliot worked together to hold the line inside the camp, with Walter smashing goblins left and right while Eliot used Binding Wave and Water Shield to control the flow of enemies, making them easy targets for his comrades. Alice and Thyra covered the outer perimeter, their spells cutting down goblins with deadly precision. Thyra's attacks were particularly lethal, each spell aimed directly at vital points, ensuring quick kills.

As his friends fought valiantly, Auron entered the goblin champion's tent. Inside, he found a cage filled with humans, many of them children. The champion, already enraged by Auron's intrusion, glared at him with bloodshot eyes. The creature's body was grotesquely deformed, as though suffering from some unnatural ailment.

"You dare enter my tent, brat? You're courting death!" the goblin champion snarled, releasing a disturbing aura. The energy it emitted felt foul, like a sickness upon the world.

"What is this murky aura? It's not mana... it feels corrupt," Auron thought, his mystical eyes scanning the creature. Though the aura didn't register as immediately dangerous, Auron remained on high alert.

"You all retreat! There's something wrong with this goblin champion," Auron warned his friends.

The goblin champion sneered. "Where do you think you're going? I haven't settled my score with those old fools, and now they send children to die in my place? No matter, I'll use you to heal myself."

It lunged at Auron, but he remained calm, instructing Xiao Yu, "Full capacity support, focus on extreme vigilance."

Walter instinctively moved to join Auron, but Auron quickly stopped him. "Stay back! This isn't something you can handle. Protect the others while I deal with this."

Walter nodded, positioning himself as a shield for the group, while the goblin champion laughed maniacally. "You think you can play hero, boy? I'll crush you and toy with your friends afterward!"

The goblin champion threw a punch, its fist enveloped in the foul aura. Auron met the attack head-on with Void Shatter, his fist cloaked in flames. As their fists collided, the goblin champion grinned, expecting Auron to fall—yet nothing happened.

Instead, the goblin's arm was incinerated. "ARGH! What... how?! How are you not affected?" it shrieked in disbelief.

"I don't know what this energy is, but it clearly has no effect on me," Auron replied coldly, before striking the goblin's chest with Ripple Palm, flames burning through to its heart.

The champion screamed as its body began to crumble. "How can a mere Tier 1 magus...?"

Desperate, the goblin champion's true form emerged—a murky slime-like creature, wriggling free from the corpse and shooting toward Auron's friends.

"No, you don't!" With Xiao Yu's guidance, Auron moved with lightning speed, using Shadow Glide to intercept the creature, leaving a blazing trail behind him. He unleashed another Void Shatter, sending a burst of flames at the creature and knocking it back.

In one final, desperate move, the creature tried to escape toward Dead Water Hollow. But Auron wasn't about to let it flee. With Xiao Yu's assistance, he summoned his strongest spell: Inferno Lance of Ruin.

A massive, three-meter flaming lance materialized above him, radiating unbearable heat. With a shout, Auron hurled the lance toward the creature. The impact was devastating, leaving only ash in its wake.

As the battle ended, Auron collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted from depleting all of his celestial aura.

"Auron, are you alright?" Thyra asked softly, kneeling beside him and gently cradling his head in her arms.

Auron gave a weak smile, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm fine, just drained. I used up all my mana."

His friends exhaled in relief, reassured that Auron was merely exhausted and not in any real danger.

Walter and Eliot moved swiftly to the cage, freeing the imprisoned humans. Eliot immediately cast Water Mending, healing the injuries of the captives, while the others tended to their wounds with makeshift bandages.

Alice and Thyra handed out water to the hostages, who were malnourished and visibly exhausted. Some had blank, haunted expressions, clearly traumatized by their ordeal. The group worked together, offering whatever comfort they could as the survivors slowly began to recover from the nightmare they had endured.