Volume One: First Arrival Chapter 27: Annihilation

This was the handiwork of the earth-controllers. Among the transmigrators, three had awakened the power to manipulate earth, and all three had signed up for the patrol squad.

However, there were only twenty crossbows available. Besides Meng Xingchen, Li Changfeng, and Tongtong, the three earth-controllers did not use them either, as they had other duties.

While earth-manipulation powers that had just been awakened could not instantly soften the ground into a trap, it was possible to prepare in advance if the goblins' path was known, effectively turning the terrain ahead into a snare. Should the goblins manage to charge the front lines, these controllers were also responsible for raising earthen walls as cover.

Suddenly, a silver flash streaked through the air. Blood sprayed from the throats of three goblins as they collapsed almost simultaneously. A flat, shuttle-shaped iron blade had sliced through their necks in an instant. After cutting through them, the blade’s kinetic energy diminished and its speed slowed, causing it to spin and fly back to Tongtong.

This was a "flying sword" custom-made for Tongtong, designed by Zhai Yao and forged by Tongtong herself using alloy. It was no more than eight centimeters long and two centimeters at its widest point. The "blade" was as thin as paper, pointed at both ends, shuttle-shaped, and sharpened on both sides. The entire weapon was light, thin, and razor-sharp. After circling Tongtong twice and gaining a bit of momentum, the flying sword shot out again like a bolt of electricity.

Beside Tongtong, her mother, He Qingwan, fired her crossbow at the goblins while simultaneously releasing a square metal block—about one cubic meter in size—from her dimensional space. If they came under attack, Tongtong could command the metal block to extend into a shield to protect them.

At that moment, the goblin spellcasters far in the rear released two ice arrows and one fire arrow toward the transmigrators' position. Meng Xingchen swung his sword in rapid succession, sending out three streaks of sword qi that intercepted all three magical projectiles. Li Changfeng, holding his shield in his right hand, saw that no attacks were reaching their lines and began launching wind blades at the goblins.

Seeing that the goblin force had no other long-range capabilities besides the three spellcasters, Meng Xingchen pulled an alloy short spear from his back and hurled it at the goblin spellcaster preparing to cast another fire bolt. Through observation, he had deduced that this fire-attuned goblin was likely the commander of the group.

The short spear flew toward the fire-attuned goblin at high speed. While still chanting, it had no time to react before its head was blown apart. The other two goblin spellcasters let out piercing shrieks as they watched their comrade collapse, headless. Before they could act, another short spear struck, blowing the head off the ice-attuned goblin spellcaster.

Meng Xingchen only carried two alloy short spears. Ever since he acquired them, he had discarded his iron-tipped ones, and for convenience, he only kept two spears and his long sword in the pack on his back. Seeing the final spellcaster turn to flee, Meng Xingchen pulled a copper coin from his pocket, infused it with his inner energy, and flicked it out. The coin traced a pale yellow streak through the air, striking the fleeing goblin in the back of the head and embedding itself in its brain.

In the blink of an eye, all three spellcasters were dead. The goblins attempting to storm the transmigrators' position were held firmly at a distance of four or five meters. Under the barrage of arrows and supernatural abilities, thirty to forty goblins had been killed, with countless others wounded.

Such casualties caused the morale of the goblin force to collapse instantly, and they all turned to flee. On the transmigrators' side, most had run out of arrows and were unable to pursue. Only a few, including Li Changfeng, Ye Feng, and Xiao Yun, were still capable of chasing them down.

One might think that over a hundred goblins were easily defeated by twenty-something transmigrators, suffering heavy losses. However, this was due to the advantages of asymmetric information and superior weaponry, coupled with Meng Xingchen eliminating the spellcasters. If the transmigrators had engaged the goblins in a head-on melee, only a few like Li Changfeng would have prevailed; the rest would have been beaten into pulp by the goblins' clubs within a single round.

These goblins were Tier 1 creatures. Even when pelted by two hundred crossbow bolts at close range without any cover, fewer than forty had died. In reality, many had fallen to Tongtong’s flying sword and Li Changfeng’s wind blades; perhaps only twenty were actually killed by bolts. This was because the goblins used their wooden clubs to block some of the projectiles, and their physical constitution far exceeded that of ordinary humans. Unless struck in vital areas like the heart or head, receiving two or three arrows would not completely incapacitate them.

Li Changfeng took the lead, accelerating to catch up to a goblin, then used his shield like a broadsword to deliver a heavy blow to its neck. Ye Feng conjured a whip of flame that lashed out like a viper, coiling around another goblin's neck. Xiao Yun charged forward and unleashed a wave of fire, knocking down two goblins while setting them ablaze. At his current power level, the flames could not burn continuously on the enemy's skin; the goblins only needed to roll once to extinguish them. However, as he knocked them down, Xiao Yun pulled a small earthen jar from his waist and smashed it between them. The jar shattered, splashing the aviation fuel inside, and the flames on the two goblins flared up violently.

Three others also caught Meng Xingchen's attention. They threw away their crossbows and let out low growls as their muscles began to bulge, stretching their well-fitting clothes to the limit. They picked up the wooden clubs dropped by fallen goblins and, within a few steps, caught up to the fleeing enemies. Each selected a goblin and brought their clubs down on the heads of the panicking creatures with such violent force that their skulls shattered like watermelons.

This must have been the "Berserk" ability. Meng Xingchen recalled it: it could significantly boost strength and movement speed for a short time, followed by a long period of exhaustion.

Seeing the goblins beginning to break away, only Li Changfeng and the three in their berserk state could keep up. Meng Xingchen stepped forward, closed the distance, and swung his sword, sending out waves of sword qi that felled six goblins in an instant. The sword qi did not strike their vitals, but instead severed their legs.

Soon, the three transmigrators who had awakened the Berserk ability returned to their normal size; they could no longer hold their clubs, letting them drop as they leaned on their knees, panting heavily. Li Changfeng, after piercing the back of a goblin with the edge of his shield, stopped his pursuit as well.

Seeing the goblins beginning to cross the river to escape into the mountain forest on the opposite bank, Meng Xingchen turned to Xu Jingya and said, "Organize a team to recover any usable arrows. Then give Zhao Lei and his two companions more bolts and have them finish off those six goblins."

Meng Xingchen went to find the bodies of the three goblin spellcasters. After cutting open their chests, he retrieved two pale blue and one fire-red beast core. By the time he returned, Zhao Lei, Chen Yang, and Guo Yu had already shot the six goblins he had crippled.

Meng Xingchen handed the three cores to them, saying, "After you upgrade, I suggest you prioritize putting your spirit points up to ten."

This was compensation for the three of them. They had used their powers to create traps, preventing the goblins from charging the formation, but because they hadn't directly participated in the kills, they had not gained any biological energy. Furthermore, the construction of their future camp would rely heavily on these three earth-controllers; getting their spirit points up early would be beneficial for the camp's development.

The system notified them that the goblin raid mission was complete. Meng Xingchen checked his task panel and saw a reward of 1,000 biological energy points. He noted the system prompts below: the goblin spellcasters were still Tier 1 hostile creatures, each providing 30 points of biological energy.

At that moment, Ye Feng shouted, "Damn it, I got a skill! I knew I was..." He suddenly noticed Xiao Yun looking at him with a half-smile. Recalling the awkward situation when he first awakened his power, he decisively shut his mouth. Seeing that Ye Feng didn't continue, Xiao Yun sighed with disappointment and muttered, "The kobold leader has actually become smarter."

According to the statistics, the twenty-six people who participated in the defense received between 300 and 600 biological energy points each, excluding Meng Xingchen. Those who performed exceptionally—Li Changfeng, Tongtong, Ye Feng, and the Berserk trio—received skill rewards in addition to the energy. There were two types of skill rewards: Basic Meditation and Basic Battle Qi.

Leaving the menial task of cleaning the battlefield to Li Changfeng and Xu Jingya, Meng Xingchen decided to pursue the fleeing goblins to scout the enemy's situation. He needed to find where their lair was and determine how much fighting strength they had left after this battle.

In a few leaps, Meng Xingchen crossed the small river in front of the village and followed the chaotic footprints and bloodstains left by the fleeing goblins. Many of the survivors were wounded by arrows, leaving a trail of blood. Even at night, it was easy for Meng Xingchen to track them, thanks to his night vision.

Knowing the goblins also possessed night vision, Meng Xingchen stopped behind a large tree after a while, hearing the faint sounds of chaotic footsteps ahead. He didn't want to be discovered. Since there was a blood trail to guide him, he wasn't afraid of losing them.

Tracking and stopping like this, in less than an hour, Meng Xingchen spotted firelight flickering ahead. Soon, a commotion reached his ears; the fleeing goblins must have returned to their nest. Once the noise died down, Meng Xingchen crept toward the light.

The fire ahead was bright, and the terrain opened up. At the edge of the clearing, Meng Xingchen chose a tree with dense foliage, leaped onto a branch, and hid within the thick leaves. Peering through the gaps, he saw a stone wall about as tall as a man, roughly twenty or thirty meters away. Inside the wall, a massive fire was burning, with a large number of goblins gathered around it.