Chapter 6

The air slowed it down, but not by much. It tore through the horde, sweeping goblins by the broad length, butchering others with the intact branches. Armor, numbers—none of it mattered. When the spell dissipated and it finally landed, it rolled and squashed, then rolled and squashed some more, taking tens of goblins with it, only stopping when an ogre took it on the knee with a grunt.

"H-Holy..." Magni uttered.

"Uncle Markus, that... Can White Mages even...?"

"Kid, I don't even know anymore."

That should buy them enough time to get it together, but not enough to just stop and heal. Willow reached into her waist pack hidden under her cloak, pulling out the cold vial she had bought from an alchemist's shop this morning.

"Catch."

"Woah!" Magni caught it. "A health potion? High-grade? Yeeesh, these are expensive!"

"Take Markus and make sure he doesn't die. I'll catch up in a minute."

Willow didn't bother waiting for their response. She just sprinted towards the horde, her cloak trailing behind her.

The lead ogre was a big fellow, even by their standard. He wore crude leather armor and wielded an equally crude hammer. His expression was as dull and brutish as the weapon he carried, a face so simple that Willow doubted it could even register anything more complex than pain and anger.

The other ogre, fat and angry, wanted to move, only to be held back by the leader. A frustrated snarl left its lips. For all their equipment and size, the bigger ogres just hung back while goblins gathered around.

The lead ogre signaled the horde. A line of goblin archers took aim.

"[Barrier]."

Arrows bounced off of her shield. The goblins in her way, she ran over with the translucent wall. Those that went around and tried to poke her with their pointy weapons, she just snatched a spear from the ground and pummeled them away with the blunt end. The arrow volley ended, and she dropped the shield, casting a weak [Reinforcement] to show them the proper way to swing a spear.

"Hup!"

A strong, wide sweep and blood splattered her boots.

Exhaling, she dropped the spear and stepped over the bisected corpses. Her hand was covered in a film of blood, and so was her magic staff, despite her efforts. She wiped the blood on her cloak, leaving behind a dark green streak.

Seeing so much of their own fall like flies, the goblins that were just about to go in instead turned tail and ran. Willow ignored them and just kept mowing down whoever was in front of her.

No need to kill them all. Just enough to make them fear for their lives.

The lead ogre roared, urging goblins to get back in the fight. Its words sounded like it was just a bunch of guttural noises made with a mouth not made for speech. The goblins seemed to be swayed—not because of its command, but because another hundred of some goblins were there to back them up and try again as a line of archers, still alive, prepared their second volley.

She wouldn't let them.

From the many destroyed trees lying around, she just picked one, cast another [Featherlight], and then hurled. The tree sailed in the air, gusts in its wake, like a fetch stick.

Arrows shot out in panic but lodged into the wood. The goblins who failed to duck became smears on the ground. The lead ogre swung with its hammer, and the impact broke the tree in two. However, its momentum sent the lead ogre tumbling along with it.

With nothing to hold it back, the other ogre stepped up. It tried to do the same thing she did, lifting a tree—one of the longer ones—with veins popping out of its forehead.

Willow deadpanned as she stopped just out of its reach. When it swung, all it accomplished was wiping out some of its own army.

Between her and the ogres, the goblins just didn't exist anymore.

The ogre howled, tusks showing in a facsimile of a smirk, as if what it did was something to be proud of, daring her to come closer as it raised the long tree like it was about to throw.

Willow huffed.

"[Featherlight]. [Telekinesis]."

Several stones shot into the air. She plucked one out and hurled it like a bullet.

The ogre barely turned its shoulder in time to block it, but for the ones that followed, it wasn't so lucky.

Two broke the jaw.

One punctured the temple.

And the last one lodged right inside its eye socket.

"Ugghhhrrrgg!"

It screamed, clutching its face and roaring in pain. Big mistake: the tree it was holding fell over its head, and the ogre crumpled. Some goblins failed to move away and were crushed under its butt, before getting crushed again by the tree.

The horde was in shambles. She seemed unstoppable, otherworldly. Even as the lead ogre struggled on its knees, pointing at her with authority in its voice and rage in its eyes, no one dared to face her.

Willow let out a low, shuddering breath. For whatever reason, the way the lead ogre was acting all tough and commanding, not once bothering to step out and help while everyone else suffered, had pissed her off.

Her blue eyes pierced into the souls of the damned, promising a swift summary execution.

She moved.

The horde bristled, ready for her to bring death into their ranks. Goblins dove behind trees, and the lead ogre raised its arm to protect its head.

And with a swish of her cloak, Willow just ran away.

...

"...Urrgh?"

Willow was out of mana and out of stamina.

Casting [Featherlight] on so many things took too much out of her, and now there was a throbbing emptiness in her bones.

Her everything burned. Her clothes were drenched with sweat, her legs were shaking, and her muscles ached. The heat produced by the enhancements had been cooking her under her skin. Unless she defied the Laws of Thermodynamics, her self-reinforcement was a ticking bomb.

Push too far, and mana deprivation would be the least of her worries.

She hadn't been too far behind. The others were boarding Magni's wagon when she arrived.

Magni had the reins, and Sven was moving as Willow hopped beside her. The wolf girl reeled at the White Mage's blood-drenched appearance.

"D-Did you kill all of them?"

"I'm good, but not that good. More are coming, so we'll need to leave quick. How's Markus?"

"Knocked out, but alive. Nikolas is taking care of him back there."

"...Good."

Willow breathed a sigh of relief. The worst outcome had been averted. For now.

Life as an adventurer could take any turn. If not today, then it would be tomorrow, and all of this may have been a waste of effort, delaying the inevitable. But as futile as it may be...

"What about you?"

Willow tilted her head. "Hm?"

"You look terrible."

"...I'll be fine." Willow pulled her cloak around tighter, hiding the shakes. "Just part of the job."

She was still a White Mage, after all.

Magni stared. There was an undecipherable emotion behind those eyes, one that made Willow a little uncomfortable. The Merchant opened her mouth to say something, only...

Sven let out a loud shriek. The bird dug its feet, and the whole wagon lurched as they skidded to a stop.

Far up ahead, the road was blocked.

Countless little green men lined up with their clubs and daggers. They filled up the entire width of the road, mixing in with those emerging from the forest on both sides. They were giggling and cackling, as if they knew something they didn't.

Willow had a guess.

Behind the primary group blocking the road, goblins scrambled in and out, lugging rocks in their arms. They dumped them into piles. A few even started pushing and shoving just to meet their quota first.

Looming over them was the fourth ogre. Strangely, it was shorter, leaner. Its skin was red as hellfire, each breath blowing steam from its nostrils, and its tusks dripped with green blood. It licked its chops, like it had just eaten a delicious snack.