Chapter 123: The Stubborn Goblin (4)

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After Li Bucai entangled the Goblin Chieftain, no Goblin could match the Young Marshal; the Young Marshal flipped onto a horse, her mount a unicorn, which unlike ordinary warhorses fears the Qingwolf Beast not at all. Among the blue‑clothed guards, Jian Yu is outside the encirclement, commanding Blade Badge Warrior together with Yue Ji's troops to attack the encirclement, and eleven blue‑clothed guards carve out a space around the Young Marshal.

The Young Marshal's mount is tall, clearly visible from the saddle; aside from the line of troops in the middle, the cavalry on both sides are being besieged by Goblins, struggling to hold on there.

"All soldiers, obey the order: form a circular formation and clear the Goblins within it," the Young Marshal made time and immediately organized the troops she was with.

Hearing the command, everyone rushed toward the Young Marshal; each person who approached automatically lined up beside her, gradually forming a large circle of a hundred people, holding against the Goblins on the outside.

When everyone had gathered together, the people whose horses had been killed and the mounted archers were enclosed in the inner circle; the Young Marshal swiftly pointed left and ordered, "Open a gap."

The outer edges of the circular formation on both sides are guarded by blue‑clothed guards; they understand the Young Marshal's intention to rescue the other two groups of troops split off by the Goblins. When the left side hears the order, two blue‑clothed guards quickly move to the sides, and the people beside them follow, creating a gap in the circle.

"Turn left, move the circle!"

The Young Marshal shouted sharply; the circle began moving left. Because a large gap opened on the left, during the movement a massive horde of Goblins was swallowed into the formation through the gap.

"Combine formation!"

With the command, the blue‑clothed guards forcefully cut off the endless stream of Goblin formations trying to surge into the circle, sealing the gap. The Goblins that had been swallowed into the circle were like turtles in a jar; the foot soldiers without mounts and the archers in the center of the circle attacked together. Moreover, among the cavalry on the outer edge of the circle, every third rider rushed in to assist those inside. Soon, seventy to eighty Goblins were brutally slain in the center of the circle.

The circular formation is a formation used to defend and eliminate the enemy; this tactic requires extremely refined personnel to be effective. The Young Marshal could wield it freely precisely because she had these eleven green‑quality guards, and because the Goblins' combat power was all beneath the Silver Armored Imperial Guard.

The Young Marshal, at the center of the circle, saw that the Goblins just swallowed had already been eliminated and hurried to rescue the other two groups. She ordered the archers in the circle to fire arrows at a 45-degree angle toward the forward direction. Though few in number, a sparse rain of arrows still caused a great chaos among the Goblins ahead.

"Circle contracts!"

With another command from the Young Marshal, everyone slowly stepped back, shrinking the circle into a dense formation, which is more suitable for moving amid a tightly packed enemy and prevents the gap from being blown open. She ordered the archers to fire toward the left and right flanks, suppressing the Goblins' forward thrust, and commanded a full‑force charge forward to support the troops on the left.

【7】 The cavalry in the left encirclement, seeing the Young Marshal charge, also rushed toward her with all their might. After a chaotic fight of more than half an hour, they finally converged with the Young Marshal, gathering over 300 people; among them, more than a hundred warhorses had already been killed by the Qingwolf Beast.

【8】 The two groups merged, making the formation larger, and on the right side, infantry had already broken through, supporting the cavalry's breakout, so no further aid was needed. The Young Marshal quickly organized the over 300 troops to charge outward, finally carving a gap, leading a dozen riders out of the circle to block the Goblin encirclement gap, covering the foot soldiers as they fled the Goblin circle, leading the cavalry to fiercely hold the Goblins. After all the foot soldiers had cleared a distance from the encirclement, she then led all the cavalry to retreat.

【9】 The Goblins surged like a tide, pursuing closely from behind. Before Li Bucai charged in, he had already ordered Wu Zhuoyue and Yin Ji to position the archers here. When all the troops returned, 160 archers fired together, halting the pursuers at a distance of one arrow range.

【10】 At this point, whether Li Bucai's troops or the Goblins, after a bout of chaotic fighting, all units were extremely disordered. The Goblins, blocked by the rain of arrows, ceased their forward charge and, at a distance of one arrow range, reorganized their formation. The Young Marshal and Yue Ji also rearranged their troops, standing opposite more than a thousand Goblins at a distance of over two hundred meters.

【11】 Behind the Goblins, nearly a mile away, several hundred Goblins formed a huge encirclement, enclosing Li Bucai and the Goblin Chieftain within the circle; at this moment the two were locked in a fierce battle inside the circle.

【12】 Everyone's gaze turned to the circle, and the Goblins guarding in front of the Young Marshal and others had now shifted their aim to prevent the forward troops from breaking through to rescue. They knew that the one battling their own chieftain inside the circle was the leader of the humans. This time they no longer formed a single long line, but three dense square formations; as long as the opponent dared to charge through any of the gaps between the two formations, they could swiftly flank from both sides, cutting them at the waist into several sections, then divide the encirclement.

【13】 In that encirclement, Li Bucai and the Goblin Chieftain had already fought for over a hundred rounds. Since it was a duel between them, all Goblins outside the circle would not lend a hand unless their chieftain was defeated, but from the situation, their chieftain fully held the initiative.

【14】 The Goblin Chieftain's strength was only slightly higher than Li Bucai's. Li Bucai remained standing calmly, not taking the initiative to strike. Whenever the Goblin Chieftain advanced, Li Bucai merely waited for the axe to come within reach, then either evaded with lightness skill or blocked with a scepter. Whether evading or blocking, the exertion was far less than that of a forceful attack. Li Bucai's "Cloud‑penetrating Leap" is a Lord Skill; the Goblin Chieftain is two tiers below it. Although the Chieftain surpasses Li Bucai slightly in other abilities, the Chieftain was originally a shield guardian, relying on ancient holy armor that rendered ordinary weapons ineffective. Moreover, when it obtained the ancient holy armor, it abandoned its shield and switched to dual axes. A shield guardian's agility is inherently far lower than a warrior's, and even though the ancient holy armor grants it much agility, in terms of lightness skill, Li Bucai can leap more than ten meters farther.

【15】 Thus, each time Li Bucai evaded with lightness skill, the Goblin Chieftain had to double‑jump twice to catch up, further wasting its energy. After more than fifty rounds, Li Bucai tried blocking a few times, gradually feeling his hands no longer numb; his strength had been depleted to nearly match the Chieftain's.

【16】 "It's time for you to taste it," Li Bucai thought. When it attacked again, he swiftly leapt backward with lightness skill; as he landed, the Goblin Chieftain was in midair on its second jump. Li Bucai lunged at it, delivering a "Plum Blossom Snack" thrust to its face.

Li Bucai suddenly shifted from defense to offense; the Goblin Chieftain was caught off guard and hurriedly blocked with its axe. Li Bucai's spear missed, but in midair he twisted his body and executed a "Qinglong Tail Sweep" waist cut. With a loud "thud," the Chieftain blocked the first strike but failed to stop the second, which struck its waist and sent it flying.

Li Bucai did not pause; with a light step he chased the Chieftain's soaring body. Just as it was about to land, Li Bucai caught up, and before its feet touched the ground he delivered another "Wind Assault Stab" to its chest. The Goblin Chieftain, now footingless, was blasted away, toppling two Goblins outside the circle, and flew more than fifty meters before crashing heavily to the ground.

Li Bucai knew that a scepter strike of this magnitude would not be enough to kill it; after this thrust, he ceased pursuing the Goblin Chieftain. By then, the Head Wolf had already bitten the Chieftain's mount dead. Li Bucai snapped his fingers; the Head Wolf understood and charged. Li Bucai leapt onto the wolf's back; the Head Wolf carried him forward, sprinted fiercely for a stretch, then vaulted high, leaping over the top of the Goblin encirclement, and charged straight toward the Goblin formation opposing his own troops...

At this moment, whether Li Bucai's troops or the Goblins, after a bout of chaotic fighting, all forces were in great disorder; the Goblins, blocked by a rain of arrows, ceased their charge, fell back a short distance and reformed their ranks, while the Young Marshal and Yue Ji also reordered their troops, and, standing over two hundred meters away from more than a thousand Goblins, faced them again.

And about a mile behind the Goblins, several hundred Goblins formed a huge encircling ring, enclosing Li Bucai and the Goblin Chieftain within it; at this moment the two were battling inside the circle.

All eyes turned to the circle, and at this time the Goblins guarding the Young Marshal and others had changed their purpose to prevent the forward troops from charging through to rescue the captive. They knew that the one inside the circle fighting the Chieftain was the leader of those humans. This time they no longer formed a single long line, but three dense square formations; as long as the enemy dared to charge through any of the gaps between the two formations, they could quickly flank from both sides, cutting them at the waist into several sections, then divide the encirclement.

In that encircling ring, Li Bucai and the Goblin Chieftain had already fought for over a hundred rounds; because it was a duel between them, none of the Goblins standing outside the circle would lend a hand unless their leader was defeated, and from the current stance their leader was clearly in the dominant position.

The Goblin Chieftain's strength was only slightly higher than Li Bucai's; Li Bucai remained standing calmly, not taking the initiative to strike back. Whenever the Goblin Chieftain advanced with a thrust, Li Bucai simply waited for the axe to come within reach, then either dodged with his lightness skill or blocked with his Scepter. Whether dodging or blocking, the effort expended was far less than that required for a full‑force attack. Li Bucai's "Cloud‑Piercing Leap" is a Lord Skills, two tiers below the Goblin Chieftain's; although the Chieftain surpasses Li Bucai slightly in other abilities, the Chieftain was originally a shield‑bearer, relying on his ancient sacred armor that rendered ordinary weapons ineffective. Moreover, when he obtained the ancient sacred armor he discarded his shield and switched to dual axes. A shield‑bearer's agility is inherently lower than a warrior's, and even though the ancient sacred armor grants him considerable agility, Li Bucai's lightness skill lets him jump more than ten meters farther.

Thus, each time Li Bucai dodged with his lightness skill, the Goblin Chieftain had to double‑jump twice to catch up, further draining his energy. After more than fifty rounds, Li Bucai tried blocking a few times and gradually felt his hands no longer went numb; the Chieftain's strength had been exhausted to almost the same level as his own.

"It's time for you to taste it," Li Bucai thought to himself. When the Chieftain attacked again, he swiftly used his lightness skill to leap backward; as he landed, the Goblin Chieftain was in mid‑air on its second jump. Li Bucai suddenly sprang toward it and thrust a "Plum Blossom Snack" straight at its face.

Li Bucai suddenly shifted from defense to offense; the Goblin Chieftain was taken off guard and hurriedly blocked with his axe. Li Bucai's spear attack failed, and in mid‑air he twisted his body, delivering a Qinglong Tail Sweep that swept at the waist. With a booming "dang," the Chieftain blocked the first strike but failed to block the second, which struck its waist and sent it flying.

Li Bucai did not linger; with a quick step he chased the Chieftain's airborne body. Just as it was about to land, Li Bucai caught up, and before its feet could touch the ground he delivered another Wind‑Assault Stab to its chest. The Goblin Chieftain, now footingless, was blasted away, toppling two Goblins outside the circle, and flew more than fifty meters before crashing heavily to the ground.

Li Bucai knew that a Scepter strike of this magnitude would not be fatal, so after that thrust he stopped chasing the Goblin Chieftain. By then the Head Wolf had already killed the Chieftain's mount. Li Bucai performed the Snap Finger Technique, and the Head Wolf, understanding, charged forward; Li Bucai leapt onto the wolf's back, the wolf hauling him as it sprinted ahead, then vaulted high, leaping over the top of the Goblin encirclement and charging straight toward the Goblin formation opposing his own troops…