Chapter 79 The Battle of the Great Snow Mountain Castle

"That—that's a Goblin castle?"

The few people standing on the dragon's back were all dumbfounded for a moment.

They saw the castle towering, its gates tightly shut, and two flags with special emblems hanging from the city walls.

Naruto recognized the green emblem.

It symbolized the god of awareness!

Above the city walls, Goblin scouts, clad in simple leather armor and armed with bows and arrows, patrolled back and forth; in the snowy, icy weather, they didn't seem to feel cold at all, which only goes to show that Goblin physique is forever a mystery.

Smoke curled up from within the city, and Goblins were busy everywhere.

Some Goblins were repairing the city walls on wooden frames built against them.

Some Goblins were mining ore from the cliff faces of the Great Snow Mountain.

And some Goblins even knew how to smelt and forge, with the clang of metal being hammered echoing from the blacksmith's shop.

The scene before them was clearly a military fortress.

The most terrifying thing was that Goblins had no concept of old, weak, women, or children.

They were all soldiers!

However many Goblins there were, that was how much combat power they possessed.

"Such a large city, there must be more than just a few hundred Goblins openly visible."

Naruto stood on the edge of the dragon's back, looking down at the castle in the Great Snow Mountain.

The Goblins were as small as green ants, but he could still see them clearly.

Naruto was searching for traces of the Goblin King and clues to the Green Moon Altar.

Otherwise, without another word, a few Wind Release: Great Ball Rasengan thrown down would solve it with nuclear peace, and any castle would turn to dust.

"I don't know where these despicable green-skinned brats found this castle ruin, but no matter how impregnable this fortress is, it can't withstand an attack from the sky."

"Attack!"

The Silver Knight, seeing hundreds of Goblins in the castle, showed no fear; instead, due to his contempt for Goblins, he arrogantly initiated a surprise attack.

In reality, with their setup, descending from the sky and eliminating the hundred or so Goblins on the surface was certainly achievable.

First, the surprise attack would catch the Goblins off guard, and attacking from the sky avoided a difficult siege battle.

The Lizard Monk, who had transformed into a wyvern, heard this, slightly folded his dragon wings, and swooped down.

The gill-like organs on both sides of the dragon's neck constantly vibrated open and closed, and the flame chamber hidden in his neck lit up with a brilliant white-orange glow, followed by a torrent of hot, high-temperature flames erupting from his mouth.

Dragon's Breath!!

A scorching stream of fire, about ten meters long, was like a flamethrower, continuously spewing out.

As the wyvern flew low, sweeping over the castle, its head continuously spat out scorching Dragon's Breath, and the top of the wall immediately became a sea of fire.

One by one, the Goblin scouts, like lit torches, screamed and ran wildly, then turned into charred black remains and fell to the ground.

A large section of the city wall was scorched black and smoking.

The wyvern couldn't keep spewing fire either.

When the flame chamber reached its limit, the wyvern landed with a loud thud, its two strong rear claws gripping the city wall.

The Goblin scouts guarding nearby shrieked "Guaji!" and charged forward fearlessly.

Without Dragon's Breath, the powerful body was still the wyvern's greatest weapon.

A sweep of the dragon tail, a slap of the dragon claw, and ordinary Goblins were no different from ants.

"Hahahahaha, a few hundred Goblins probably aren't enough for us to kill!"

"It's agreed, the reward distribution will be based on the number of Goblins killed."

The Silver Knight laughed loudly, his blood already boiling.

He twirled his spear into a flourish, then, shouldering the long spear, he leaped down from the dragon's back and charged into the Goblins, basically one spear per Goblin, and when the spear moved like a dragon, one spear could even pierce through several Goblins, like skewers.

His speed in eliminating Goblins was not at all slower than the Lizard Monk in his wyvern form.

"Hmph, when it comes to killing Goblins, I'm not much worse than you humans."

The High Elf Archer said proudly, drawing three arrows from his quiver at once, his arm blurring into an afterimage as he continuously drew and shot his bow.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh…"

Arrows shot out like green light, soaring into the air, then falling like a torrential rain, each arrow piercing a Goblin's head. His killing efficiency was comparable to the Silver Knight!

"Goblin Slayer, aren't you going to make a move?"

The Dwarf took a sip of wine and looked at Naruto with a puzzled expression.

Naruto shook his head and said, "Not yet, I'm afraid of startling the snake by beating the grass."

Goblins are naturally cunning, let alone the even more intelligent Goblin King.

Naruto was afraid that if he started slaughtering everything, killing gods and devils alike, the Goblin King would be scared and escape through a secret passage.

The Great Snow Mountain is vast and boundless; finding him again would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Startling the snake by beating the grass? I don't understand, but I'm going to make my move, otherwise, let alone meat, there won't even be any soup left to drink!"

The Dwarf pulled a handful of pebbles from his pouch, tossed them into the air, and chanted, "Roll, roll, earth spirits, even a tiny grain of sand will become a stone if it rolls long enough."

The tiny pebbles thrown by the Dwarf floated in mid-air, as if influenced by some mysterious force, constantly tumbling.

And as they tumbled, they grew in size and became sharp, like stone spearheads.

"Stone Bullets!!"

The Dwarf finished his chant, and with a wave of his hand, a volley of stone bullets shot out, splattering the blood of nearby Goblins.

And the Dwarf himself was not weak.

He leaped down from the dragon's back, pulled out the small metal hammer hanging from his waist, and rushed forward, smashing it onto a Goblin's head, shattering its skull and splattering its brains.

The Priestess, however, did not leave the dragon's back, holding her staff tightly, ready to cast the Earth Mother God's miracles to support her teammates at any time.

However, at present, she was not needed at all.

Several Silver Rank adventurers were wreaking havoc.

"Hahahaha, these green-skinned brats are really weak."

"Too weak, too weak, I don't understand why humans would be afraid of such weak creatures."

"Heh heh, we adventurers aren't afraid of Goblins, it's only ordinary villagers who are."

"Dwarf, you haven't killed as many Goblins as I have yet."

The Silver Knight conversed with the Dwarf with ease while eliminating Goblins.

"Neither humans nor Dwarves can compare to us High Elves."

The High Elf Archer, who was shooting arrows, said arrogantly.

In an instant, the city wall was littered with corpses.

Naruto frowned slightly and couldn't help but remind them, "Don't be careless, I haven't found any high-ranking Goblins yet. The real danger is still hidden in the shadows."

"Hahahaha, what high-ranking Goblins are there?"

"Even if there are so-called Goblin Heroes, we'll just eliminate them."

"Goblin Slayer, are you too timid? How did you kill thousands of Goblins like this?"

"Too bad, I haven't been able to see your methods—"

The High Elf Archer, whose nerves had already become numb with carelessness, was speaking when a sneak attack arrow arrived, sharp and sinister, aimed directly at the High Elf Archer's throat.

"!?"

In a moment of crisis, the quick-witted High Elf Archer dodged sideways, avoiding the vital throat, but the arrow still struck his shoulder.

The terrifying force attached to the arrow even directly knocked the High Elf Archer over, sweeping him off the dragon's back.

He fell heavily onto the city wall.

"Guji!"

The surrounding Goblins were incredibly excited, swarming forward, ready to take advantage of his injury to finish him off.

It was the Lizard Monk who came to his rescue; with a flick of his dragon tail, he swept across the field, and seven or eight Goblins couldn't stop him, being flung away like rag dolls, either smashing against the wall and shattering into pieces, or falling outside the city wall and splattering into a puddle of blood and flesh.

"You all, be careful—"

The Lizard Monk spoke in a booming voice, his dragon claws rising and falling, killing Goblins as easily as crushing insects.

However, his words had not yet finished.

From the empty arrow towers at both ends of the city wall, several tall and burly figures suddenly appeared.

They had green faces and fangs, wore simple leather armor, were muscular, and wielded giant bows two or three times taller than ordinary Goblins, all aiming at the Lizard Monk standing on the city wall.

Goblin Heroes!

Giant bows and heavy arrows, combined with the monstrous strength of the Goblin Heroes, were almost like the ballistas used for city defense in human cities.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Sharp, piercing sounds of air being torn apart rang out, and heavy arrows, far surpassing those of the elves, transformed into more than a dozen streaks of dark light, piercing through the sky, carrying terrifying force, shooting in from all directions.

With the wyvern's enormous size, it had no time to maneuver or move, and was directly struck by the arrows.

The terrifying heavy arrows actually broke through the dragon scales, piercing the Lizard Monk's body, causing him to roar in pain and frantically flap his dragon wings and swing his dragon tail.

"Partner, calm down, calm down, don't accidentally injure your teammates."

"They're just Goblin Heroes, let's go over there and deal with them!"

The Silver Knight quickly shouted, comforting the injured Lizard Monk.

At this moment.

"Guji! Guji! Guji!"

More Goblins continuously emerged, like an endless tide, blocking the path of the Silver Knight, the Dwarf, and others.

Not only that, they also saw Goblin Wolf Riders.

And they weren't just ordinary Wolf Riders; they were Big Goblins riding Frost Giant Wolves!

"Woof—"

The Frost Giant Wolves raised their heads and howled, carrying the Big Goblins, leaping from the corner of the wall to the top in a couple of bounds, their wolf claws treading on the battlements as if on flat ground.

They continuously approached Naruto and the others from all directions, their crimson, bloodthirsty beast eyes glaring at everyone, saliva dripping from their pale fangs.

"How—how could this be?"

"Where did they come from?!"

"There are a hundred Goblin Wolf Riders alone, and ordinary Goblins probably exceed a thousand, right?"

The Silver Knight, Dwarf, and High Elf Archer, who had been rampaging and full of bravado just a second ago, saw the once somewhat empty castle suddenly overflowing with a dense mass of Goblins. Their faces instantly turned pale, their morale completely gone, and they abandoned the idea of fighting the Goblins to the death, constantly retreating, shrinking their circle with the Lizard Monk at the center.

The Dwarf swallowed hard and suggested, "Brother Long Spear, should we retreat?"

"I—I agree—"

The High Elf Archer no longer had his previous arrogance, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and the arm holding his forest bow trembled.

"Go!"

A wise man knows when to cut his losses; the Silver Knight didn't hesitate at all, leading the Dwarf and the High Elf Archer to quickly climb onto the Lizard Monk's back, urging the Lizard Monk to leave.

Although the Lizard Monk had been hit by several arrows, he could still fly. He vigorously flapped his dragon wings, preparing to take off.

Naruto scanned the castle, while reminding them, "Beware of the Goblin Hero's second wave of attacks."

"Priestess, cast Holy Wall."

"O-okay—"

Although the Priestess was also frightened by the sudden turn of events, she was not a new adventurer after all; she quickly reacted, her expression serious, and chanted a prayer: "Merciful Earth Mother God, please protect us frail ones with the power of the earth!"

Holy Wall!

A golden, translucent field formed out of thin air, like a wall of light, blocking everyone's path.

"It's not enough, cast Holy Wall again."

The Priestess's face paled, and she didn't argue. She quickly followed Naruto's instructions, recited the incantation, and cast the second Holy Wall.

The moment the Holy Wall miracle formed, arrows once again shot from the arrow towers on both sides of the city wall, violently striking the Holy Wall, like boulders thrown into a lake, creating ripples.

The Priestess struggled to hold on, while the Goblin army surged onto the wall, a vast, dark mass, roaring as they charged forward.

Even the Dwarf's efforts to cast Stone Bullet Spells were futile.

The Goblins he could kill were still too few; a mere handful was just a drop in the bucket for an army of hundreds or thousands of Goblins.

"Hey, pointy-eared one (High Elf Archer), aren't you ready yet?! I can't hold on by myself!"

The High Elf Archer pulled out the arrow that had pierced his shoulder, drinking potion after potion, both for antidote and blood replenishment.

"No, the injury is too severe."

"Priestess who believes in the Earth Mother God, quickly give me a healing spell."

"Al—Alright—"

The Priestess nervously agreed, one hand gripping her staff to maintain the Holy Shield, the other placed on the High Elf Archer's shoulder wound, and she chanted again: "Oh, compassionate Earth Mother God, please soothe this person's pain with your hands."

The High Elf Archer's wound was enveloped in a faint yellow, misty holy light.

Before the Healing miracle finished, the Silver Knight impatiently urged, "What time is it now? You're still bothering with a minor scratch. You should be concentrating all your efforts on maintaining the Holy Wall."

The High Elf Archer retorted angrily, "Without my arm to shoot arrows, how are we going to buy time for this big lizard to fly?"

"Who are you calling a big lizard?!"

Naruto frowned.

At such a critical moment, they were still squabbling internally. Did they all have a death wish?

The shortcomings of the hastily assembled adventurers' team were immediately exposed.

"Guji"

Quite a few Goblins had already broken through the Dwarf's Stone Bullet Spells and rushed beneath the Lizard Monk, pulling out short swords and daggers to fiercely stab at his dragon claws.

"Roar—!!"

The Lizard Monk, in pain, roared, releasing Dragon's Might, and an invisible shockwave spread out,

temporarily stunning the surrounding Goblins.

With a loud "Bang, thump."

Suddenly, the Lizard Monk, transformed into a winged dragon, collapsed a section of the parapet. Rocks fell, and its massive dragon body lost its balance, about to tumble from the city wall into the abyss below. Just then, its dragon claws gripped the stone slabs, and its two broad dragon wings flapped desperately, barely managing to take flight.

"It—it's flying?"

"That's great! We've successfully escaped!"

"That was really close just now."

"When we return to the Adventurers' Guild this time, we must gather more adventurers to come and once again subjugate the Goblin castle in the Great Snow Mountain."

"You're right! Find ten Silver Rank—no, organize a hundred-person subjugation team for stability!"

Seeing the winged dragon successfully take flight, the survivors breathed a sigh of relief, overjoyed, even wanting to high-five and cheer.

The Goblins standing on the wall cursed loudly, "Giri Guala," and some Goblin Archers shot arrows at the continuously ascending winged dragon, but the "flimsy" arrows met the strong winds generated by the Lizard Monk's flapping dragon wings and were directly scattered, causing no damage at all.

The heavy arrows shot by the Goblin Hero from the arrow tower could break through the strong winds, but they would be blocked by the Priestess's Holy Wall. Even if the Holy Wall wouldn't last long, it only needed to hold until the winged dragon flew away.

The Big Goblin, riding a Frost Giant Wolf, stood on the wall, only able to curse and roar, raging in futility.

Just as the situation seemed to be improving.

A cryptic and hard-to-understand sound came from inside the castle.

It was Goblin language.

But Naruto, equipped with the Apperceiving God's Rune of Wisdom, could understand any race's language.

"Oh no, there's an ambush on the cliff!"

Naruto exclaimed.

"Guji! Guji!"

From an inconspicuous crevice in the cliff wall on one side of the castle, one Goblin Shaman after another emerged.

They waved their bone staves, casting magic together, and one fireball after another condensed in the direction of the cliff.

If one fireball was a red dot, then from dots to lines, from lines to a surface, it finally transformed into a spectacular rain of fire, shooting like "swish, swish," covering the winged dragon in mid-air.

"Nearly a hundred Goblin Shamans!?"

"Wh—why is this happening—"

The fiery rain filling the sky reflected in their pupils, filling everyone with despair.

Even if the Priestess stacked the two Holy Walls together, blocking above the winged dragon, it couldn't withstand the continuous bombardment of a hundred fireballs.

"Crack."

The two golden translucent light walls shattered, and surging flames were about to engulf everyone when a clear and transparent water curtain rose from thin air, successfully defending against the hundred Goblin Shamans' rain of fire.

"Water magic—is—is it Goblin Slayer-sama?!"

The Dwarf turned his head and saw Naruto making hand seals, surprised and delighted.

"Goblin Slayer can actually use magic? I thought he was just an ordinary Ranger or Assassin."

"Amazing! Thanks to you, otherwise we would have all been done for just now—"

The Silver Knight didn't finish his sentence. The winged dragon, struggling to gain altitude, swayed up and down, high and low, like it was drunk, flying erratically in mid-air.

"Companion, what's wrong with you?"

The Silver Knight quickly asked with concern.

"Heavy arrow—poisoned."

The winged dragon spoke with difficulty, then suddenly became completely paralyzed, unable to flap its dragon wings, and plunged diagonally from a low altitude towards the ground.

With a loud "Thump."

Snowflakes surged like a thousand-layered wave. The massive winged dragon, after crashing to the ground, ploughed a ditch over ten meters long, pushing layers of snow, and finally came to a stop.

Except for Naruto, the Silver Knight, the Dwarf, the Priestess, and others were thrown around, dizzy and unable to stand steadily.

"Crack—crack—crack—"

"Thump!!"

The tightly shut city gate slowly opened as the hinges scraped.

A fully armed Goblin Paladin, covered in armor, led the Goblin army out of the castle, aggressively approaching the crash site of the dragon, surrounding the winged dragon and Naruto's group.

"Nine Goblin Heroes, dozens of Big Goblin Wolf Riders, plus over a thousand regular Goblins. This lineup is enough to attack a human town. It's over, we're completely finished."

The Silver Knight's face was ashen.

He hadn't expected that he, who was about to celebrate with his companions, would fall here, at the hands of cunning and weak Goblins.

"I—I don't want to be captured by Goblins!" The Priestess hugged her staff with both hands, her eyes trembling, her expression terrified, her whole body shaking.

As someone who had grown from a rookie adventurer, she had naturally heard how tragic it could be for women captured by Goblins.

"Hehe—wine—old man's wine—"

"It's not bad to have a drink before dying."

The Dwarf fumbled around, finding his wine flask crushed under the Lizard Monk's dragon wing. He picked it up and saw a large hole in the bottom of the flask; all the wine had leaked out, not a drop left.

"Now I can't die in peace—"

"The only thing I don't understand is why there are so many green-skinned brats in the harsh environment of the Great Snow Mountain? And they've already become a force!"

The Dwarf angrily threw away the wine flask and looked at the Goblin army, which surrounded them but did not attack.

What—what did they want to do?

The Goblin army, which had surrounded them so tightly, suddenly parted, creating a path. A Goblin, thinner than a Big Goblin but taller than a regular Goblin, closer to human size, walked to the front.

At first glance, there was nothing special about it.

Until the Goblin Paladin took out a crude crown and placed it on its bald, green head,

then pressed one hand on his knight's sword, knelt on one knee, and respectfully shouted, "Greetings, King!"

"King! King! King!"

"Our King—!!"

At this moment, the silent and quiet Goblin army immediately erupted into deafening, incredibly fanatical shouts.

The roar shook the heavens, echoing through the mountains, even triggering an avalanche in a distant mountain hollow.

The Goblin King raised its arm, and its knuckles moved twice, signaling everyone to be quiet.

Those frenzied, insidious, and cunning Goblins actually obediently shut their mouths, waiting for the Goblin King to speak.

The Goblin King lowered its arm, pointed at the panic-stricken Priestess, and spoke human words: "Woman, breeding stock."

"Breeding stock! Breeding stock!"

"Men, eat."

"Eat! Eat! Eat!"

"Dragon, sacrifice."

"Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!"

"Child—"

The Goblin King finally pointed at Naruto, baring a few yellow teeth, smiling obscenely and chillingly: "My comrades, we cannot sit idly by. We must fight back to the death—!!"

The Silver Knight, leaning against the winged dragon, struggled to his feet. One second he was tottering, the next he gripped his long spear tightly, and a sharp light burst forth from his eyes. He erupted with unprecedented strength, transforming into a silver flash in the snow, his figure suddenly darting, stabbing towards the Goblin King.

He wanted to...behead him!

Capture the leader first!

Unfortunately, the Goblin Paladin, comparable to Gold-Grade, had been guarding the Goblin King's side and was simply not someone a mere Silver Rank Silver Knight could contend with.

"Clang."

The Goblin Paladin drew his knight's sword. With [Godspeed] attached, he suddenly moved, passing the Silver Knight as a string of afterimages.

With just that one strike, the Silver Knight spat blood and flew backward, rolling several times in the snow, losing the strength to resist.

Everyone's hearts sank into complete despair.

Even the strongest fighter was like this now; there was no way to fight, not even a chance to turn the tables.

The Goblin King sneered mockingly, "Humans, overestimating yourselves."

"Huh?"

Naruto, who had remained silent, stood up, walked to the front of the group, rubbed his other shoulder with one hand, and simultaneously swung his arms, stretching his muscles and bones.

He raised his head, his azure eyes looking directly at the Goblin King.

"Humans, overestimating yourselves? Hehe—? You're just a mere Goblin, yet you dare to speak such words."

"Since I've successfully lured out a big fish like you, I won't hold back anymore, green-skinned brat. Let's have a big fight!"

Naruto chuckled coldly, his eyes slightly wide, radiating an imposing aura without anger. The title "Goblin Slayer" above his head also lit up.

A mountain wind happened to blow from behind Naruto, swirling snow and ice, his clothes flapping, stained with a bit of wind and frost.

By himself, he actually exuded a powerful aura capable of confronting the entire Goblin army!