Lanlock frowned.
It had expected to see two armies still locked in a bitter struggle, but at this moment, the valley was empty except for the burning traces, shattered ground, and those scattered Goblins and Trolls. William's summoned Werewolves and deep blue Golems were nowhere to be found, only deep footprints and chaotic battle marks remained on the ground—
representing that everything that happened minutes ago was not a dream.
"Did they run?"
Victor followed the Goblin's gaze, his emotions stirred violently by William's sheer force. The man furrowed his brows in confusion, "How is it possible...this guy's army is actually so cowardly?" He turned to look at William, with incomprehension in his eyes—
Lanlock snorted coldly, his gaze shifting to another side.
At this moment, Norbert had already struggled up from the collapsed rubble pile, his abdominal wound a mangled mess of blood and flesh, those yellow vertical pupils fixed fiercely in the direction where William stood. The Fire Dragon emitted a low growl tinged with agitation, seemingly wanting to rush over but remembering something else.
As Lanlock's eyes met Norbert's, the Fire Dragon let out a threatening growl, its scorching breath turning the scattered gravel on the ground into glass.
"Keeping it would also..."
Lanlock extended wings from his back and prepared to advance, while Goblins who had crawled out from the ground turned towards Norbert.
Sensing the crisis, Norbert shot a glance at the still motionless William, a flicker of struggle in his yellow pupils, and after a brief hesitation, he let out an angry roar with a warning note to the nearby Goblins, then suddenly turned around. His robust dragon tail swung like a giant axe and struck the air in front of him—
"Screech—"
A spatial rift edged with unstable purple light was forcibly torn open, and Norbert, without further hesitation, shot one last glance at William before diving headfirst into the rift. It closed up quickly, disappearing out of sight.
The valley turned completely quiet.
Only the scattered Goblins, Trolls, three "Avengers" on the hill, and a still "Prisoner" remained.
Lanlock surveyed the suddenly dead silent battlefield, a sense of bewilderment added to its irritation, yet more overwhelming was a twisted elation. It stepped closer to William until it stopped at a distance, gazing at this man who once horribly defeated it, now trapped in a snare.
"Seems like you really are 'skilled in managing your subordinates'—"
Lanlock's voice carried undisguised mockery, the already diminutive Goblin seeming even more diminutive before William, "Even faster than I imagined, Richard, the dragon ran away, the army left behind nothing, now, alone and desolate, what waves can you stir."
While speaking, it raised its right hand wearing a hardened gauntlet, revealing its vicious intent in its eyes.
"Before you rot inside that damned cage, never to escape—"
Lanlock stepped forward, fist aiming at William's knee with a very apparent intention, "Kneel for me first—"
The fist cracked through the air, fiercely striking towards William's knee.
Yet just a dozen centimeters from William's kneecap—
"Buzz!"
A layer of solid silver light burst without forewarning from William's body surface, not dazzling nor seemingly threatening, but the sudden change triggered alarm bells in Lanlock's mind, though at this moment, it was too late to retract the punch.
"Bang—"
The silver light clashed solidly with Lanlock's fist, then spread across its body.
Without any sound, the Goblin's body constructed from black mist collapsed like a sand sculpture hammered down on a beach, disintegrating instantly and transforming back into a thin black-red mist. It floated far away before finally struggling to reassemble, barely maintaining form.
Victor watched from the side, eye twitching wildly, instinctively retreating to distance himself further from William, only then looking at the still shut-eyed, expressionless face with anxious apprehension.
Just now, having been pushed back and forth by dozens of Guardian God trucks hundreds of times, he was very aware of that feeling...
"So this is why I stopped you."
Isadora spoke lightly, turning towards the still struggling mist (Lanlock), "That guy's body instincts and preset protective magic continue to function automatically. Given our current state, clearly, the further away we are from him the better."
Only after a while did the black mist barely re-form into a very indistinct Goblin shape, casting a gaze full of shock and anger at William but daring not to easily approach.
"Now, what's the plan next?"
Victor turned again to Isadora. He wasn't really familiar with this guy, the two and one Goblin had only come together because their goals aligned, yet he said, "Do we have no way to deal with him? We all know, clearly, only killing this man could bring us relief—"
"You only think of 'relief'?"
Isadora's elusive face showed a smile, a dull green glow flickering uncertainly at her chest.
"...Otherwise? Existing for just moments means enduring the agony."
Victor retreated half a step further, suddenly sensing a bad premonition.
"Imprisoning him is just the first step, preventing him from hindering our subsequent plan."
She slowly began, her gaze shifting from William to the northwest—the general direction of Great Britain.
"This guy's power source lies at Hogwarts, in the depths beneath that castle."
Isadora's voice became clearer, "What, you expect us to kill him then just die ourselves? I don't think that's a good idea, Rookwood."
"What do you mean..."
On the other side, the barely goblin-shaped black mist trembled.
"While he's trapped, unable to retaliate."
Isadora took over, a sharp light rising in her grey eyes, "We directly attack Hogwarts, as long as we can seize control of the Secret Vault..."
Victor instinctively chimed in, interrupting, "Attack Hogwarts? Aren't you worried that place might have his left behind countermeasures?"
"Can you propose a more constructive plan?"
Isadora squinted, retorting, "Should we just sit here, wait until he breaks free then kills us?" As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Lanlock. Imprisoning William had exhausted all her abilities, now she was nearly akin to a true Ghost, so she had to rely on this Goblin controlling the army—
Those Ashwinder Wizards were merely extras.
William sure killed more Goblins.
"..."
Lanlock squinted, the scarlet flames flickering momentarily, finally nodding, "After the success, Fifty-fifty split—"
"Who takes the fifty?"
"?"