Chapter 27 Elite Assassin Goblins

Deep within the forest, inside a room filled with Crystal Balls, many of them dimmed, those Crystal Balls that mercilessly revealed the scenery of the forest now showed nothing but a murky gray.

A distinct Killing Intent seeped through the ugly, verdant face.

"What efficiency. Just who has discovered that I was surveilling them?"

The Goblin King's mind conjured the battle he had witnessed two days prior, and intuition told him that the person who saw through his strategy was the unremarkable youth.

"It could indeed be him; after he spoke with the leader of their team, their leader took action and plucked out my eyes."

The team chasing the escaped Pig lost contact mid-way, and those launching the rescue positioned themselves in a blind spot, never once showing their faces from beginning to end, signifying that they had split their forces to take action.

If there had been many people, my subordinates wouldn't have roared and charged to death like that.

Were they dispatching an elite squad in hopes of ambushing me? How naive.

The Goblin King's face twisted grotesquely, uncovering a harrowing smile. With his vision gone, the Goblin King could no longer monitor the rescue team's every move, but that didn't mean he wouldn't act.

At the press of a button on his chair, several lean goblins carrying daggers dropped from the ceiling.

"Respected King, we answer your call."

These frail-looking goblins might appear unpromising, but the Killing Intent they emitted was formidable, honed through countless bloody battles; underestimating them was a one-way ticket to death.

"Formation 311, area FBA, directive AK for area F."

The leading Elite Assassin Goblin showed a flash of astonishment, and the Goblin King sensed its unease.

"What? Any questions?"

"None whatsoever. You are always right, our great King. You will awaken the spirits of our ancestors, and we shall reign over the world once more," the Elite Assassin Goblin Captain said with utmost respect, firmly believing that their monarch could make no wrong decisions.

"Enough, dismiss."

With a wave of his hand, the assassin goblins vanished from his sight, and soon, the Goblin King pressed another button. This time, an inconspicuous goblin materialized before him.

The unremarkable goblin bore marks like those of leaves, capable of moving swiftly and secretly through the treetops, and it too knelt before the Goblin King.

To listen to the King's commands and pass them on was its task.

"Convey my orders, the ambush troops will retreat for a counterattack. The trap troops shall act as bait."

The inconspicuous goblin nodded then disappeared from the Goblin King's sight.

...

Having the advantage of rest, the rescue adventure group had mostly recovered.

Yang Yu led Sekamens back the way they had come, to meet up with Andro, and repeated the intelligence to Andro once more.

"They are more cunning than expected, and I don't know what kind of ritual they are conducting. We only have one chance, and if we fail this time, allowing it to escape, the next time it appears, it is likely to cause even greater turmoil."

"The situation is more serious than imagined; such practices also have historical references. It is said that during the reign of the Goblin Emperor, there was a period where humans were used for rituals daily. Due to various historical materials being lost, there are conflicting opinions on the purpose of the rituals, but the widely accepted view is that the Goblin Emperor seemed to have had some kind of tool forged..."

Andro's eyebrows furrowed tightly, and his muscles trembled involuntarily,

"Activating it requires a certain amount of sacrifice. It is not yet clear what effect the tool will have once activated, but we need to be prepared for the worst, racing against time. The sooner we resolve it, the sooner we can prevent the situation from worsening."

After speaking, Andro gathered all the members of the rescue team, briefly went over the situation again, and they all looked solemn. The story of the Goblin Emperor was one of the most infamous legends in the world, and nobody wanted to see the rise of another Goblin Emperor.

Every member of the rescue team could feel that they were standing at a historic juncture, and even if unwilling, they too had to shoulder the responsibility.

Perhaps years later, people would tease them, "What Goblin Emperor II? If there really was one, it wouldn't have been dealt with by you bunch of C- and D-rank adventurers—a bunch of braggarts with no shame," but they would be determined to nip the tragedy in the bud regardless.

The rescue team internally reached a startling consensus, deciding to locate the goblin's stronghold and wipe them out in one fell swoop to rescue the missing adventurers.

Morale soared to unprecedented heights, and under Andro's leadership, they all set off again, avoiding the heavily guarded main area, moving cautiously without destroying any of the surveillance.

But, making it smoothly to the goblin's stronghold was just wishful thinking on their part.

On their route lay a large pit, the place where the goblins hid stone spheres. The enormous pit could not have been dug in a day or two, indicating that the traps they encountered were part of a long-standing plan.

With just one glance at the pit, a multitude of feeble goblins wielding shovels emerged and they engaged in battle with them. Despite securing an overwhelming victory in the end, they had made quite a commotion.

Ten slender figures landed on tree trunks; they finally spotted their target and gazed at the progressing rescue team from afar. Two assassin goblins exchanged looks, one leading and the other following, breaking away from the group to coordinate the ambush.

The remaining eight goblins watched every move of the rescue team, deciding to spread fear before the surrounding troops arrived.

The elite had already been separated from this unit, attempting a flank attack on our King—how naive. Our King had already seen through everything. On that side, the Goblin Captain with 30 Elite Assassin Goblins was ready to take on your ace, and what awaited them was nothing but a dead end. And you, the old, weak, sickly, would fall apart under the pincer attack of our great goblin army.

The only thing that caught the eye of the Elite Goblins was the muscular Warrior Mentor. They could sense the presence of a strong being from Andro.

However, the Elite Assassin Goblins speculated that Andro was merely a decoy to lure them, to draw their forces to this side by leaving behind an elite. But one or two elites could do nothing.

Soon, the Elite Assassin Goblins selected their first victim, a youth with a shield in hand and a sword at his waist, looking very naive—a newcomer to the ranks. The goblins could only sense the smell of weakness emanating from him.

The relationships among humans are fragile. Just one inexplicable downfall could spread unease and fear throughout the team.

Target locked, bracing themselves, the Elite Assassin Goblins slid out a row of darts in their hands, and mercilessly threw them.