Chapter 10: Content to Be the Supporting Actor

Blind obedience is an instinct for most living creatures, especially those that are gregarious. Humans are like this, and so are goblins.

As long as they could create enough panic, the enemy would also be used to their advantage.

When the twelve regular cavalrymen and twenty heavy militiamen followed closely behind, the "sheep-herding" tactic was essentially a success.

Hundreds of goblins swarmed in a chaotic mess toward the newly organized hobgoblin formation.

Although the names "goblin" and "hobgoblin" differ by only one character, they are not the same species at all.

The difference between the two is as great as that between a halfling and a human—no, it should be said that it is even greater.

An adult male goblin is on average less than ninety centimeters tall. With their long arms and large heads, combined with a habit of walking with a hunched posture, they appear even smaller and are easier to deal with.

An adult male hobgoblin can reach an average height of two meters, and females are rarely shorter than one meter eighty or ninety. They are the most typical military race; from top to bottom, they revere physical strength and martial prowess. Hobgoblins never call the tribes they control "tribes"—the smaller ones are called warbands, and the larger ones are called legions. From childhood to adulthood, they receive military education and training.

Their tribes are either at war or on the way to expanding through war.

This lifestyle is related both to the goblin god they worship and to their innate desire for conquest and control.

Most importantly, they are intelligent humanoids. Their IQ is not much different from that of humans; they have their own military organization and their own blacksmiths. Compared to goblins, their equipment is truly worlds apart.

Even if this hobgoblin warband outside Nott Castle wasn't particularly wealthy, at the very least, they all had leather armor and decent weapons.

By the time Zalanda and Gavin led their team, driving the routed goblins toward the hobgoblin camp, this hobgoblin warband had already assembled into a neat military formation. Standing in front of the formation were three bugbears, who looked wilder and had more massive builds.

"Loose arrows!" a cold command came from within the hobgoblin warband.

*Hum! Hum! Hum!*

A rain of arrows, no less intense than that at Nott Castle, was unleashed from the hobgoblin warband, covering the sky.

Gavin and Zalanda didn't even pay it any mind, keeping their heads down and charging forward.

At a distance of twenty meters, the threat of these arrows to them was quite low. Less than half had iron heads; most were sharpened hardwood that couldn't penetrate their armor at all. Even the iron-headed ones were generally of poor quality; Gavin clearly saw several shatter upon impact against Zalanda's magical armor.

For the routed goblins, who were essentially bare-chested, even the hardwood arrowheads were deadly. They fell in rows, and those who managed to scramble to the front of the hobgoblin formation were cut down by the blades swung at them.

The fear these routed goblins felt toward the hobgoblins was far greater than that toward Gavin and Zalanda. Many tried to divert to the sides, but the cavalry team, split into two, drove a portion back to form a second wave of impact. The heavy militiamen, who had been jogging behind, would also drive a portion back to form a third wave.

The three-layered wave of routed soldiers, aside from wasting a few volleys of the hobgoblins' arrows, did not cause much impact on their military formation. At the very least, not a single hobgoblin died in the chaos.

Gavin and Zalanda had not expected these routed goblins to break the hobgoblin formation. If they were that easy to deal with, Zalanda would have already trampled them with her troops long ago.

The routed goblins they drove were mainly there to trigger traps and scout the path. The traps outside the hobgoblins' camp were mostly destroyed by these panicked goblins, posing no threat to them at all.

*Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!*

The three bugbears in front of the hobgoblin warband could no longer restrain themselves. The giant morning stars in their hands swung wildly, sending the flesh and blood of the surrounding routed goblins flying as they roared and charged toward Zalanda and Gavin.

The commander of the hobgoblin warband made no attempt to stop them.

The intellectual deficiencies of bugbears destined them to be nothing more than high-level cannon fodder to the hobgoblins, forever placed in front of the formation rather than integrated into it.

"I'll take out one first, My Lord, you provide support!" Gavin tapped his warhorse lightly, rushing ahead of Zalanda to meet the foremost bugbear.

Gavin doing this was not out of arrogance, believing his skills from his past life surpassed Zalanda's.

On the contrary, he had a clear understanding of his current strength and was content to play the supporting role, acting as a foil to Zalanda.

Compared to ordinary people, the most formidable aspect of a professional is their synchronization with the Weave, which forms a magical damage enhancement. This enhancement is not instantaneous; there is a small window of time for magical convergence.

What Gavin needed to do now was not to inflict heavy damage on the bugbear, but to create an excellent attacking opportunity for Zalanda, allowing her to exert maximum power with every synchronized strike.

In gaming terms, attacking a vital point makes it easier to land a critical hit.

Gavin’s spear, thrust forward with the momentum of his horse, did not aim for the bugbear's body, but for the giant morning star it was swinging high.

Two massive forces collided in mid-air.

The spear snapped at the base of the tip on the spot.

Gavin had already anticipated this. The moment he felt the massive recoil, he let go of the spear, drew his one-handed sword in one motion, and backhanded a cut across the bugbear's arm as he swept past, ignoring the result behind him and continuing his charge.

The giant morning star in the bugbear's hand stalled in the air for a few seconds.

At this moment, Zalanda arrived just in time. All she had to do was drive her spear into the throat of the bugbear, which was now wide open.

The force of this thrust was so great that the spearhead pierced straight out the back of the bugbear's neck.

Zalanda let go of the spear, drew her longsword, and couldn't help but shout, "Good!"

It was the first time Zalanda had experienced such smooth and fluid combat coordination. The sense of total satisfaction was indescribable; not only did she not feel the slightest bit tired, but she felt as if her muscles and bones had been loosened, and she had an endless supply of strength.

*Cough! Cough! Cough!*

The bugbear, pierced through the throat, did not die on the spot but fell into a state of dying frenzy.

While clutching the spear shaft, trying to pull it out, it chased after Zalanda, swinging its giant morning star wildly.

Zalanda didn't wait for it; instead, it stumbled and charged toward the hobgoblin formation.

"Throw spears!" Another command came from the hobgoblin formation.

Five or six spears rose into the air simultaneously, shooting toward the injured bugbear.

Clearly, the hobgoblins fully recognized the combat power of the bugbear and gave it no chance to approach the formation.

This brave, hulking monster finally collapsed three meters away from the hobgoblin formation.

On the other side, Gavin and Zalanda didn't pay any attention to this small interlude, spurring their horses to charge toward the next bugbear.