Translator: CinderTL
"Darco," Roland said, raising his arm to gently stop the panting Darco behind him, lowering his voice. "Something's not right up ahead. Wait here while I scout ahead."
"Alright..."
Blood loss and intense pain had left Darco dizzy and disoriented. He nodded weakly, his entire body heavy with exhaustion.
Though they had already passed the goblins' patrol range, Roland cautiously scanned the surroundings to ensure their safety.
Once he confirmed the area was clear, he carefully helped Darco lean against the sturdy trunk of a thick tree.
With his companion settled, Roland began to move forward silently.
He deliberately lightened his footsteps, each step precisely avoiding the fallen branches and leaves on the ground.
As the distance closed, the faint sounds of fighting grew clearer.
When he was close enough to the source, Roland swiftly ducked into a dense thicket of bushes.
Holding his breath, he slowly parted the interwoven branches, his sharp gaze piercing through the gaps to peer ahead.
"This is..."
Roland's pupils constricted slightly, and the scene before him stole his breath.
Behind the bushes lay a sunken depression, its steep terrain sloping downward to form a natural arena. At the center of the depression was a massive earthen pit.
On the western side of the depression, dozens of humans stood back-to-back in a circular formation, locked in fierce combat with a tide of goblins.
They were well-equipped, their silver half-plate armor covering vital areas. Wielding longswords and kite shields, their movements were synchronized and disciplined, clearly the result of rigorous training.
White cloaks billowed in the wind behind them, their golden sun emblems embroidered on the fabric standing out vividly in the dim forest.
"They're from the Blazing Sun Church."
Recognizing the familiar sun emblem, Roland slowly frowned.
The Parish School he had attended as a child had been funded by the Blazing Sun Church.
The most distinctive symbol of the church's followers was the sun emblem, its rays radiating outward like the sun's own light.
Yet in his memory, the church's followers had been mostly elderly or middle-aged men in white robes, resembling learned scholars more than warriors.
He had never seen a warrior of such formidable strength.
As he pondered this, hundreds of goblins surged toward the Blazing Sun Church's warriors like a tide. Their crude weapons swung wildly, accompanied by ear-splitting howls.
Yet the Church's warriors remained utterly unfazed.
Their swords struck with deadly precision, each swing punctuated by a goblin's scream.
Their shields held firm, their steps synchronized, forming an impenetrable steel wall.
No matter how many goblins charged, they could not halt their advance.
"These goblins seem to be guarding something," Roland murmured, watching the goblins throw themselves in front of the Church warriors. His gaze followed their charge in the opposite direction, finally settling on a deep pit in the center of the depression.
Something seemed to be down there.
The slanting sunlight reflected off the pit's bottom, creating a blinding white glare.
Roland narrowed his eyes, focusing intently.
A massive white object was half-buried in the mud, its jagged outline covered in mottled cracks and dried stains.
"Is that... a bone?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Roland's eyes.
The object resembled the rib of some colossal creature, its broken edges rough and jagged. Even in ruin, it was terrifyingly massive.
Even more unsettling, faint crimson patterns, like dried bloodstains, swirled across its surface.
"These patterns..."
Roland stared at the scene before him, his mind involuntarily recalling the goblins he had slain earlier.
"They look somewhat similar to the red markings on the goblins..."
As he pondered this, a piercing shriek suddenly sliced through the air.
Following the sound, Roland saw a Blood-Colored Goblin standing at the edge of the pit, holding aloft a white, staff-like object. Sunlight danced across its surface, refracting an eerie light.
In the next instant, Roland's pupils abruptly constricted, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.
He clearly saw several fist-sized flames spontaneously erupt around the Blood-Colored Goblin.
The flames flickered under the scorching sun, their blinding light resembling molten red gold in constant motion.
The intense heat warped the surrounding air, creating visible waves of heat that distorted the scene.
Whoosh!
With a wave of the Blood-Colored Goblin's white staff, the fireballs shot forth like arrows loosed from a taut bowstring.
Boom!
A deafening explosion ripped through the battlefield.
The searing fireballs struck precisely in the center of the Blazing Sun Church warriors' formation.
Wild flames erupted outward in a radial pattern, scorching dozens of horrifyingly deep black craters into the ground.
The powerful shockwave, like an invisible giant hand, sent the well-trained warriors sprawling in all directions.
Shattered armor fragments and broken weapons flew through the air, mingling with a crimson rain of blood that fell in a swirling dance, kicking up clouds of dark red dust on the scorched earth.
The once-impenetrable defensive formation shattered under the devastating assault, the orderly ranks instantly transformed into a scene of utter chaos and ruin.
As the aftershock of the fireball's explosion still lingered, the Blazing Sun Church warriors who hadn't been knocked down rose again, their eyes burning with even fiercer fighting spirit. They launched another assault on the goblins.
In contrast, the Blood-Colored Goblin seemed to have exhausted all its strength. It collapsed to the ground, its chest heaving violently, and even the vibrant crimson patterns on its skin had faded to a dull glow.
Without its support, the battlefield once again descended into a stalemate, with both sides locked in a fierce, indecisive struggle.
"That must have been magic," Roland muttered, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he slowly retreated back to Darco's side.
"Roland... you... you're back?" Darco asked, barely audible, forcing his eyelids to stay open.
"Yes, I'm back," Roland replied, his voice tight. "But we'll probably have to take a detour."
Recalling the terrifying scene, Roland still felt a chill run down his spine. The fireballs that had appeared out of nowhere, the Blazing Sun Church warriors blown to bloody pieces...
All of this was beyond his comprehension.
He crouched down swiftly, his muscular arms tensed.
"Come on, Darco. We don't have time to waste. Climb onto my back. I'll carry you out of here."
"This..."
Noble pride instinctively urged Darco to refuse. But when he saw Roland's resolute gaze and looked down at his bloodied and mangled leg, he could only resign himself to nodding.
As Darco's full weight settled onto his back, Roland took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and immediately began moving swiftly along the edge of the depression.
"That was definitely magic!"
Though he had never witnessed magic in this world firsthand, the ability to conjure fireballs out of thin air left Roland with no other explanation.
He suddenly remembered something Bronson had said earlier.
"...Other races need time to relearn magic, but demonic beasts... they just need instinct."
"But for goblins to master magic... it's simply..."
In games, novels, and legends from both his past life and this world, goblins were always the weakest demonic beasts.
Roland's previous combat experiences had instilled this belief in him.
But what he had just witnessed completely shattered his understanding.
His brow furrowed as the images of the battle flashed through his mind.
"Using magic... Could it be related to the white staff the Blood-Colored Goblin held?"
"And that giant skeletal remains... What's that about?"
Despite his chaotic thoughts, Roland didn't dare slow his pace.
Based on his assessment, his full power output was only comparable to the Blazing Sun Church's elite warriors at best.
If even the well-equipped Blazing Sun Church warriors had suffered heavy casualties from the fireballs, he stood no chance against them.
This wasn't the time to indulge his curiosity.
Survival was the top priority!
With this thought, Roland quickened his pace once more.
When he finally reached the forest's edge, the sounds of fighting and explosions from the ravine still faintly reached his ears.
Roland pushed aside the dense undergrowth.
When the familiar muddy path came into view, he felt a warmth he'd never experienced before for this uneven, potholed road.
"Darco!"
Roland gently shook his shoulders, rousing the young noble from his near-faint.
"Where should we go next?"
"This way... uh..."
Having escaped the gloomy forest, Darco's spirits visibly lifted.
He forced his heavy eyelids open, his brow furrowed as he scanned the surroundings.
After a moment, he raised his arm with great effort and pointed toward a winding path.
"This is the path west of the manor. If we follow it for a short distance, we should be able to return to the manor."
"West? Looks like we took a long detour in the forest."
Once he confirmed their direction, Roland immediately adjusted his posture and began walking steadily along the path Darco had indicated.
The moment they left the forest, he felt the agility boost from his adaptive training abruptly vanish, making his steps suddenly much heavier.
Fortunately, their return journey was uneventful.
As the setting sun painted the sky crimson, the familiar silhouette of the manor finally came into view.
"Damn it! We're finally back!"
Darco's voice was thick with barely suppressed excitement.
He gently patted Roland's shoulder, his voice weak but resolute.
"Roland... let me down."
Seeing the stubborn glint in the young noble's eyes, Roland carefully knelt down.
"Hiss..."
The moment Darco's foot touched the ground, a suppressed gasp escaped through his clenched teeth.
Despite the pain, Darco stubbornly leaned on his iron sword, dragging his injured leg as he limped towards the manor gates.
"Halt! Who goes there? Young Master Darco?"
Captain John's familiar voice echoed from the wall.
When he saw the blood-stained face of the approaching figure, his voice rose sharply.
He shouted for the guards to open the gates while scrambling down from the wall, simultaneously sending someone to alert the manor.
"Young Master Darco, what happened to you?"
Looking at John's clueless expression, Darco's anger flared even hotter. His trembling hand snatched his iron sword, poised to strike.
Bang!
A strong hand clamped firmly around his wrist.
"Darco..."
Roland's low voice calmed the enraged young noble slightly.
Roland slowly lowered Darco's arm, speaking softly.
"What you need right now is a physician."
Darco's chest heaved violently before he finally nodded dejectedly.
"Right, right..."
He glared at John with disgust, his voice hoarse.
"If Roland hadn't stopped me, I'd have chopped you into pieces and fed you to the dogs!"
The iron sword clanged heavily back into its sheath.
"What are you waiting for? Go fetch the physician!"
The manor erupted into chaos.
Amidst the panicked scurrying of servants, Roland noticed something amiss.
The number of guards patrolling the manor had more than doubled.
Their faces were tense as they frantically moved weapons and supplies.
The entire manor reeked of Combat Readiness.
"Captain John..." Roland called out in a low voice, stopping the guard captain who was staring at the ground in silence.
"Thank you for earlier, Roland."
Watching John repeatedly wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, Roland said nothing.
He understood John's situation.
After all, Young Master Darco often returned from his hunting trips late at night, and the guards had grown accustomed to it.
This time, it was truly no fault of theirs that they hadn't noticed anything amiss.
"What exactly happened between you and Young Master Darco?"
"Let's not talk about that for now," Roland said, waving his hand to cut him off. "Is something wrong at the manor?"
John's expression tightened. After cautiously scanning his surroundings, he leaned in and whispered, "The manor is fine... but..."
He sighed heavily. "It's the Black Cedar Forest..."
As they spoke, hurried footsteps approached from nearby.
(End of the Chapter)
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