Chương 33: Bringing Down the Ogre

Wielding this weapon felt like swinging a solid slab of iron—not unlike the massive greatsword Guts used before he acquired the Dragonslayer. When this gargantuan blade slammed into the Ogre's waist, it produced a screech of twisting metal. Yet, it left nothing more than a faint white scratch on the creature's hide. The Ogre swung its wooden log in a wide horizontal sweep. Li Qinwu rolled nimbly to the side, evading the attack with ease.

He sprang back up, shouldering the greatsword while keeping his eyes locked on the giant's movements. He's powerful, but his attacks are telegraphed and sluggish, Li Qinwu noted. I can dance around him. All he needed was one more minute for the five ballistae to finish reloading, and the beast would be dead meat. With that thought, Li Qinwu took another step back, dodging a third overhead smash. Watching a mere mortal defy a giant sent shivers down the spines of the humans hiding in the rear.

Steward Monde crept up beside Hana.

"Miss Hana, it would be best if you did something to aid the Goblin leader." Hana blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected the steward to advocate for a monster. Monde sighed helplessly.

"Miss Hana, without a stronghold, we cannot survive in the Magic Forest. We must rely on this leader. He may be a monster, but he has shown extraordinary rationality and a strict adherence to order. Look at how many Goblins he has executed just to maintain discipline. Under his rule, not a single one of our women has been harassed to death. If we want to live, he is our only hope. If he falls, his army will break, and we will be captured and eaten—either by other Goblins or the Kobolds."

"I... I understand," Hana murmured. However, her staff was still in Li Qinwu's possession. Without it, she couldn't cast high-tier spells, leaving her with only a few minor auxiliary incantations. On the other side of the field, the Kobold Shaman saw Li Qinwu successfully entangling the Ogre while the five terrifying war machines were steadily being cocked. Sensing impending disaster, he began another frantic ritual dance. A sphere of purplish-black energy coalesced at the tip of his bone staff.

Once the power reached its peak, the Shaman thrust the staff forward. The dark energy streaked across the battlefield, homeing in on Li Qinwu. Li Qinwu's back was turned to the Shaman, his focus entirely on the Ogre. He never saw it coming. The energy slammed into his back; while the crocodile-leather armor absorbed some of the impact, seventy percent of the hex surged into his body. His eyes instantly clouded over with a purplish-black mist. He froze in place. This book was originally published on Royal Road.

Check it out there for the real experience. In Li Qinwu's vision, a blurred image appeared: he saw his Goblin tribe growing into a massive empire of millions. But suddenly, humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, and all the powerful races of the continent launched a simultaneous invasion. Within months, his hard-won empire was razed. He, the King of Goblins, stood atop the highest tower of his capital, watching the indiscriminate slaughter of his people. Agony, screams, and blood.

Li Qinwu held a broken sword, powerless to stop the carnage. Finally, a great red dragon swooped down, its breath turning him into a living torch. Overwhelming despair and fear gripped his heart. Li Qinwu stood like a statue, unresponsive to the world around him. But the Ogre was still moving. It raised its massive log high, preparing to crush the motionless Goblin into a pulp. At the final heartbeat, Hana raised her hand from the rear.

A sphere of pale blue energy formed in her palm, which she hurled toward the battlefield. The blue light sank into Li Qinwu's body, dispelling the dark mist and restoring his clarity. Li Qinwu gasped as the vision of his fallen empire vanished. His eyes regained their spark just in time to see the massive log descending toward his skull.

"SHIT!" He dove into a desperate roll. The log grazed his side and slammed into the earth, nearly taking his life. Cold sweat soaked his back as he stared at the crater in the ground. He glanced back at the Kobold Shaman, who was jumping in rage—the hallucination had clearly been his doing. Hana's voice drifted from behind: "Careful! Don't let his Fear Hex hit you!"

"Fear Hex, huh?" Li Qinwu growled. The lingering feeling of helplessness and humiliation made him grit his teeth. His mental fortitude had been shaken. That's some nasty stuff. He immediately adjusted his positioning, making sure he was no longer turning his back to the Shaman. Now he could monitor both the Ogre's swings and the Shaman's movements. After two more rounds of dodging, Gob-Bow's voice shouted from the ridge: "Boss! It's ready! Get clear!" Li Qinwu didn't hesitate.

He performed a flying leap away from the giant. A split second later, the air hissed with a series of sharp cracks. SWISH-SWISH-SWISH! At a distance of less than fifty meters, the ballista bolts were even more lethal. All five struck the Ogre. Two pierced its chest, two buried themselves in its stomach, and one punched straight through its thigh. The Ogre let out a final, agonizing howl. The pain was so intense it shattered the Shaman's purple haze.

With a thunderous THUD, the giant collapsed, vomiting blood, its leg shattered by the bolt. With the Ogre neutralized, Li Qinwu exhaled. The greatest threat was over. He looked toward the ongoing melee and barked an order to the Hobgoblins:"Go! Kill the Kobolds! Capture the Shaman with the bone staff alive!" The Hobgoblins charged with a roar. With their intervention, the end of the battle was only a matter of time. Li Qinwu ignored the remaining skirmish and walked back to the humans, shouldering his greatsword.

He stopped in front of Hana.

"You saved my life. You may ask one reasonable request of me." Hana's face lit up, but she quickly hesitated. A reasonable request? What counts as reasonable? After a moment's thought, she held out her hand.

"Give me back my staff!" Li Qinwu narrowed his eyes, staring at her intensely. Hana's heart began to race. After a long silence, Li Qinwu reached out and pulled the staff seemingly out of thin air from his storage. Hana stared in shock. How did he do that? Does he have a rare spatial magic item? Li Qinwu held the staff out, but just as she reached for it, he pulled it back.

"Miss Hana... now that you have your staff, you won't be aiming for my back, will you?" Hana snorted.

"A noble mage does not stoop to backstabbing!" Li Qinwu finally handed it over.

"I hope so, Miss Hana. You wouldn't want to find out how I treat traitors."