Chapter 2 - 2 2 Defending the City_1

“Thank you, Young Master Gaven.” The rescued militiaman kept thanking him, still a bit bewildered and hardly able to believe his own eyes. When had Young Master Gaven become so formidable? In just a handful of seconds, he had killed two wolves and severely injured another. This splendid record of combat was still ongoing. The longsword he tossed struck a leaping wolf, pinning it dead in midair. The hand axe on his belt slid into his hand and was backhandedly buried in the forehead of another wolf. Then, facing the charge of a wolf, he let it rush into his embrace and plunged a Pig Slaughtering Knife into its throat. Afterward, it wasn’t the wolves that sought him out, but he who sought the wolves. Every weapon he picked up from the ground wielded terrible lethality. Most terrifying was his precise prediction of the wolves’ actions, striking each with a single blow, wasting neither time nor effort. The physique and equipment of a Legendary Warrior might not be there, but the combat skills were. Against these wolves, it was indeed like using a bull-knife to kill chickens. “You continue to team up to block those goblins; leave these beasts to me.” Gaven’s tone wasn’t loud but carried absolute reliability. This reliability didn’t come from his status but from the terrifying hunting achievements just displayed. In less than a minute, the number of wolves that had fallen to his hand had already surpassed ten. It wasn’t just the Nort Militia who were astounded; the wolves themselves were utterly shocked. There was no need for Gaven to approach; a mere glare was enough. The remaining wolves howled one after the other, tucked their tails, leaped up, and then darted back into the main goblin force, not daring to show themselves again. After all, they were just beasts, not true soldiers. That said, even real soldiers usually crumbled when casualties exceeded one-third. Gaven casually walked back to his original position, picking up his Long Spear again, and as he thrust it forward, he said, “What are you waiting for? Raise the shield, thrust the spears.” “Long live Young Master Gaven.” A burst of spirited roars erupted from the Nort Militia, and their Long Spears thrust forward with even more force. The Diamond Babes, who had been a bit flustered by the wolves’ assault, immediately regained their footing and loudly said, “Hold firm, we don’t need to wipe them all out, just hold on until Captain Zalanda and the others destroy those three trebuchets.” Boom! A loud explosion ensued. A piercing scream came from the castle behind them. A round figure tumbled out, running and crying, “Captain Zalanda, something’s gone terribly wrong – the goblins have dug a tunnel right under our castle and breached the hall! Where’s Captain Zalanda? Who allowed the castle gates to be opened? Close them, close them now.” This was none other than the current Baron of Nort Castle, Rogan Nuote. “Reporting to Lord Baron, Captain Zalanda is leading a force to destroy the enemy’s trebuchets. We cannot close the castle gates. If we do, and the goblins come to the rescue, Captain Zalanda and the troops will be trapped and unable to return to the castle,” Nola replied while swinging her giant axe. “This is utter chaos,” Rogan shrieked. “As the Lord of this land, I order you to close the castle gates and repel the goblins in the tunnel.” The surrounding Nort Militia hesitated at once. Zalanda had a high reputation among them, but ultimately, he was just the Captain of the Guard. Rogan, on the other hand, was the one they swore fealty to, holding the power over their life and death – his orders could not be disobeyed. Screams rose and fell, emanating from the castle hall, indicating the chaos within. The civilians of Nort Castle were all taking refuge inside. Militiamen worried about their families’ safety were immensely anxious, wishing they could immediately charge into the castle hall. Yet the castle gate stood wide open, surrounded by hundreds of goblins whose numbers seemed not to have decreased but were increasing instead. The rate at which they were killing goblins was nowhere near the rate at which the goblins were gathering. A war of attrition. This was always the strategy goblins were best at. Diamond Babe, all of a sudden, felt confused and wasn’t sure whether to rush into the castle hall to check the situation or to hold her ground, waiting for Zalanda’s return. Gaven spoke in a deep voice, “Nola, stay calm. The castle gates absolutely cannot be closed. This goblin tribe is so organized and premeditated; there must be support and command from a Hobgoblin Tribe behind them. Once the gates are closed and Captain Zalanda’s team can’t retreat in time, if they’re surrounded by Hobgoblins, we could see significant casualties. Don’t be too anxious about the situation in the castle hall. These goblins have only been besieging Nort Castle for a few days; they couldn’t have had time to dig a large tunnel. The number of goblins that could come through will certainly be very limited. And we still have Commander Oster inside. His character isn’t that great, but his strength is decent. A squad or two of goblins can’t handle him.” “What he said was not conjecture, but fact, obtained from another world at a terrible cost.” “Rogan was the epitome of an incompetent team member, and one with great power at that.” “If allowed to continue his reckless command, he would surely repeat past mistakes, letting the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry catch Zalanda’s Cavalry Squad and decimate the last of Nosenburg’s elite troops.” “And here, the only one who could oppose him was me—not with my strength, but with my status.” Searᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “Gaven, you dare defy my orders? I am the Baron now; everyone must obey me. If you continue…” Rogan, seeing that his orders were not carried out, suddenly roared in anger.” Gaven lunged to Rogan’s side in a quick step and threw a punch at his fat belly without leaving a trace.” Although the punch wasn’t strong, it hit the liver, causing Rogan so much pain that he couldn’t straighten his back and was about to scream, but Gaven covered his mouth and said deceitfully, “My lord, you’ve been injured, sit down and rest a bit. Continue, everyone; we must not allow the Goblins within our walls, nor close the gates of the castle.” At the same time, he whispered in Rogan’s ear, “Shut your mouth. If you dare say another word, do you believe I won’t hesitate to stab you to death? Do you think they would avenge a foolish Baron like you, or pledge their loyalty to me? “My dear brother, don’t think I’m unaware of the disgusting things you’ve done in the past. I have kept an account of every one!” “He is nothing but a despicable character, more trouble than he’s worth.” Putting aside their lifelong enmity and not to mention old grudges.” Their real grudge was sealed when, during the great retreat, Rogan conspired with his Guard Commander to trap him, leading to his capture by monsters, sold to the Santarin Association, and tortured to death. If it weren’t for Zhang You’s timely transmigration, it would have all been for naught.” Killing Rogan was Gaven’s obsession before he died.” If he didn’t do it now, it would negatively impact his reputation in Thacel.” The Pig Slaughtering Knife in Gaven’s hand was already plunged in.” But it wasn’t the right time. Now that he was back, Rogan would die sooner or later. He just needed to wait until he had made ample preparations—he wouldn’t let Rogan live to see his departure from Thacel.” Rogan’s howls were stifled in his belly, his fat face reddening to the color of a pig’s liver, and he dared not move.” Not only because of the sharp Pig Slaughtering Knife at his waist, but also because of the undisguised loathing and impatience in Gaven’s tone.” He didn’t believe that the bastard who had stolen his father’s love from him since childhood had the courage to publicly kill a noble, to kill his own brother.” But he didn’t dare to bet on it since he couldn’t afford to lose, even if the chances were slim.” As the screams in the castle hall slowly subsided, the panicked Militia regained their composure.” They remembered that Commander Oster, Rogan’s inseparable companion, had not come out and must be inside leading the fight.” If it was just a group of Goblins, they’d be no match for Commander Oster, a fifth-level warrior with a professional template.” With Rogan’s meddling out of the way, the indomitable Nola was like a stabilizing anchor, firmly planted at the castle gate and unmovable.” Because Gaven knew she hadn’t yet used her most formidable power—Berserk.” She wasn’t a warrior, but a Barbarian.” “Success, success! Captain Zalanda and her troops have succeeded,” came an excited cheer from the battlements. Zalanda had led the Cavalry Squad to successfully destroy the Goblins’ siege engines.” But Gaven knew their greatest test still lay ahead.” The Hobgoblins had completed their encirclement, ready to devour the most elite part of Nort Castle.” Gaven could only help Zalanda by clearing the obstacles within the city.” He was powerless over the combat outside and could merely pin his hopes on Zalanda herself.” He wasn’t worried about Zalanda’s capabilities.” With the knowledge from another world, he knew exactly what kind of glories she had achieved.” She was the undefeated female General who had unified the war-torn Thacel into a realm under a Queen.” It was just a pity that he had no place in that glorious chapter.” This time, he was determined to change that history.” “Hobgoblin, it’s the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry… Captain Zalanda and her troops are in danger.” “It’s a trap, a trap targeting Captain Zalanda and her troops,” another cry of alarm came from the battlements.” “Follow me up,” Gaven prodded Rogan with the Pig Slaughtering Knife, as his line of sight was obstructed here and he couldn’t see the distant situation outside the city. In his former life, he and Rogan had clashed over closing the castle gates and ended up fighting below, missing the chance to see what happened.” “[Goblin Wolf Cavalry]”