The sudden encirclement sent a shockwave through the group. The warlock continued its low, guttural chant, ignoring the chaos. Acting on pure instinct, Clay hurled a volley of sharpened earth spikes at the creature in a desperate attempt to disrupt the spell, but they shattered harmlessly against the shimmering dark barrier. The warlock’s lipless mouth twisted into a mocking grin.

  “Clear the line!” Eira’s voice cut through the panic. She raised her new rod, Rudy, her focus absolute.

  Without a second’s hesitation, a bolt of lightning—brighter and sharper than any she’d cast before—forked down from the clear sky. It struck the center of the goblin horde separating them from the front line, not with a paralyzing web, but with a single, cataclysmic CRACK. A dozen goblins were incinerated instantly, leaving only scorched earth and the smell of ozone and charred flesh.

  It was a rough imitation of Marin’s spell, born of Eira’s intense study. She knew Marin’s magic carried a familiar echo, a resonance that reminded her painfully of her mother’s power.

  “Eira?!” Arsha gasped. The power was staggering, especially for a rookie she had only recently taught. With just a conductor lacking a magic stone? She’s not just talented… she’s something else entirely, Arsha thought.

  Eira took a sharp, controlled breath, already gathering mana for another cast. Clay, Maia, Ester, and Corona stared, their minds struggling to reconcile the shy rookie healer with the destructive force that had just cleared their path.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Clay muttered under his breath.

  But there was no time for awe. The warlock was still chanting, its barrier impenetrable. The veteran facilitator’s mind raced. Capture was the priority, but survival was the prerequisite. Swallowing his pride, he made the call. “Forget the advance! Support the front line, regroup, and fall back! We hold until reinforcements arrive!”

  On the other side of the goblin-scorched zone, a hobgoblin’s massive club swung down. Aspis caught the blow on his shield with a grunt, the impact driving his boots into the dirt. Seizing the opening, Lapuk and Darius surged from behind him. Lapuk’s sword plunged into the creature’s gut, while Darius’s axe came down in a brutal arc, cleaving its skull.

  The second hobgoblin lunged. Aspis braced, his shield taking another punishing hit, using the momentum to shove the monster back. “Retreat!” he roared.

  The trio turned to sprint back to the group, but the enraged hobgoblin gave chase, closing the distance fast.

  Zzzzt-CRACK!

  A bolt of lightning sizzled past Lapuk’s ear, so close he felt the heat. He shot a furious glare back at Arsha, thinking it a deliberate near-miss, only to see the hobgoblin behind him locked in a paralyzed seizure. In the same instant, Dain was there. His new greatsword flashed in a single, devastating diagonal slash that cut the hobgoblin clean in two.

  “What the–?!” Lapuk blurted out, stunned by the sheer, casual power of the strike.

  “Thanks,” Aspis panted, nodding at Dain.

  Dain offered only a silent nod in return, his eyes already sweeping the battlefield, his entire being focused on the space around Eira.

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  Before they could fully regroup, the ground began to tremble. Another stampede of terrified animals—deer, boar, and a band of wild horses—burst from the tree lines to the left and right of the warlock’s boulder, fleeing directly toward the adventurers.

  “Now what?!” Lapuk yelled over the thunder of hooves.

  “More goblins! Behind the herds!” Lyra shouted from her perch.

  Two new waves of goblins, led by an even larger hobgoblin, were driving the animals forward, using them as a chaotic screen. As the panicked herd swept past, a small, pure white foal with a silver mane stumbled and collapsed, a deep gash on its flank.

  Eira’s eyes locked onto the wounded creature. “Eira! No!” Dain shouted, but she was already running, Arsha right on her heels.

  “Don’t make unnecessary moves!” Dain tried to lecture, but Eira was singularly focused. She knelt by the foal, her hands glowing with a warm, golden light as she cast a potent healing spell. The gash sealed over in seconds, the flesh knitting together flawlessly.

  But something else happened. A small, pearlescent horn began to sprout from the foal’s forehead.

  “Your healing magic is terrifying, Eira,” Arsha said, her joke laced with genuine amazement. “If I get hurt, send Ester, okay? I don’t want a horn in my forehead.”

  “Ehh?” Eira finally noticed the new protrusion, her eyes wide with confusion.

  The foal, though healed, lay panting, exhausted from its ordeal. “Its stamina is spent. It will recover,” Arsha assured her.

  But there was no time to see it. The two goblin waves were almost upon them. “Mages, focus left! Warriors, right!” Clay bellowed. “Lyra, Noren! Keep pressure on the warlock, find a weakness!”

  Eira raised her rod again. A wave of shimmering energy flowed out, washing over every member of their group. Everyone felt a surge of vitality and a lightness in their limbs—a wide-range enhancement spell.

  “You might need this,” Ester said, pressing a blue mana potion into Eira’s hand. “Group buffs are draining.”

  “Thank you,” Eira said with a grateful smile.

  “You’re learning fast,” Arsha grinned, flexing her fingers as the speed boost took effect. “This feels great! Maia, ready?”

  The water mage, Maia, nodded, already chanting. A massive orb of water coalesced above the left goblin wave. Arsha darted forward, positioning herself. As Maia released the water ball, drenching the horde, Arsha unleashed a crackling Chain Lightning that danced through the wet, shrieking monsters. A moment later, Corona’s fireball exploded in their midst, steam and screams filling the air.

  Eira, however, kept her eyes on the warlock. She watched every deflected arrow, every blocked earth spike. Physical projectiles are useless. What kind of attack can bypass that shield? she thought, her mind racing.

  On the right flank, Aspis roared, activating his skill, Guardian’s Roar. He slammed his shield into the earth, a wave of taunting energy washing over the approaching goblins. The largest among them—a Hobgoblin Champion, by the look of it—reached him first. It leaped, aiming to crush him. Aspis heaved his shield upward, catching the massive creature mid-air. The impact drove him to one knee. With a final, straining shout, he used the monster’s own momentum to hurl it sideways, directly toward Dain.

  “It’s all yours!” Aspis grunted, deactivating his skill as he turned to face the wave of lesser goblins.

  Dain didn’t flinch. He simply settled into his stance as the hulking creature scrambled to its feet. It was big, but compared to the Goblin Emperor, it was nothing.

  The Champion was cunning. It snatched a rock and hurled it. Dain deflected it with the flat of his blade. Seizing the distraction, the Champion lunged with a powerful right hook. Dain shifted his weight, letting the fist glance off his shoulder. The monster charged for a crushing, two-armed slam. Dain took a single, precise step back, the attack cutting through the empty air where he had just been. His body was already coiling for the counter.

  It happened too fast for most to follow. Dain spun, his greatsword a silver crescent. A clean, horizontal slash passed through the Goblin Champion’s neck.

  The creature’s body took two more steps before collapsing, its head rolling to a stop in the dirt. The whole exchange had lasted less than five seconds, obscured by the dust kicked up from the Champion’s missed attack. Clay, glancing over, saw only the result: a dead Champion and Dain standing calmly amidst the fray.