Chapter 27: Withdraw!

William and David reached the southeast side of the village, then used the area where houses were relatively dense to set an ambush, installing traps in the houses on both sides of the intersection and setting up the magic crystal's magical runes, so that when the goblins chased after them they could blow up the houses to block the road and delay the goblins' advance.

Since William and his group discovered the goblins' movements, over an hour has passed, enough time for the villagers to evacuate to a safe distance; perhaps the first batch of villagers who fled by cart have already reached Mobius Town.

The next task is to buy some time for Bulande and the others to evacuate from the village's southwest direction, after which William and David can retreat safely; if things go smoothly, William can resolve the goblin attack crisis without any casualties in Bigen Village.

As for the destroyed houses and fields, they can be rebuilt; as long as people are alive, merely losing property is already the best outcome.

David and William had just finished setting the traps in the third row of houses when they saw Bulande and the others running toward them from the north road; after the group reached them, William stepped forward and asked, "How did you get here so quickly? Didn't the traps delay the goblins?"

Bulande panted and said, "The traps initially worked, but the goblins, unable to tell which houses had traps, simply set fire and began burning the village; we could only retreat."

"Have you lured all the goblins over?"

Bulande pointed behind and said, "Yes, they're lured, right behind us!"

William nodded and said, "Alright, you take John and the others and leave the village via a detour to the southwest; we'll handle things here."

Bulande had no hesitation, turned directly to John and said, "John, you take Xiao Lin and the others and leave; I, William, and Uncle David will stay behind to buy you time."

John was about to nod in agreement when he saw William glare at him, causing him to swallow his assent; Bulande and William were both his elder brothers, and William's status in his heart was even slightly higher than Bulande's, so he felt torn—neither going nor staying seemed right, and he didn't know what to do for a moment.

After glaring at John, William said to Bulande, "Bulande, you are their eldest brother and the strongest among them; without you, what would they do if they encountered goblins on the evacuation route? Although you might not like hearing this, my strength is considerably greater than yours; if you stay and something happens, not only would you be unable to help, you might even drag me and my father down."

David also said, "Bulande, you are responsible for protecting John and the others; with me here, William will be fine."

Bulande thought it over and felt William was right; compared to staying here to help intercept the goblins, protecting John and the others during their evacuation would be more useful, so he agreed, saying, "Alright, William and Uncle David, take care."

"You too, stay safe."

Bulande and the others handed over their bows and remaining arrows to William, then headed toward the village's southwest; William and David stored the arrows, hid in a house at the corner of the road, and stared down the road awaiting the goblins' pursuit.

Upon spotting Bulande and the others, the goblins immediately gave chase in the direction they fled; the goblin chief, upon learning that the slaughter of so many of his goblins was actually just a few human brats, grew even more furious and ordered the entire army to attack the direction those little brats had fled.

Soon after, a subordinate beside the goblin chief said to him, "Hulla-hulla jiji gua." (They seem to be trying to escape to the southeast.)

Upon hearing this, the goblin chief stroked his chin and thought for a moment, finding the subordinate's inference quite plausible, then ordered the elite goblin beside him: "Whoo-la whoo-jee-gu, jee-jee whoo." (Take your men and flank to the southeast,

"Block their path.").

The elite goblin received the order, leading the surviving dozen or so elite goblins to advance ahead to flank the village's southeast.

Not long after Bulande and the others left, William and David saw countless goblins charging from the north side of the road toward them; without hesitation, upon sight they drew their bows and shot at the advancing goblin soldiers.

William and David's bow strength and accuracy far surpassed Bulande's group; the two arrows they released struck the foreheads of the two leading goblin soldiers, knocking them to the ground.

As soon as the arrows flew, William and David didn't even pause to check whether they had hit their targets, immediately pulling more arrows from their quivers and firing again.

The incoming arrow barrage was seamless, each arrow finding a goblin soldier's vital spot; in an instant, the goblins at the front all fell dead, while those behind hurried to take cover behind the buildings on either side of the road—any who tried to peek out had their heads pierced by an arrow, causing the others to abandon any thought of looking.

Although David's archery was superior to William's, he was genuinely impressed by his son's superb skill; knowing that Finley's profession was archer but had only taught William scouting and trap-making, William's displayed archery must have been honed in his past life before his rebirth.

He could conclude that William's previous incarnation was certainly not an adventurer stronger than himself, and thus inferred that William's past life must have endured great hardship to forge such versatile abilities, leaving him with a faint sense of unease.

The goblins hid behind the buildings for a while; once the goblin shield bearers with shields arrived from the rear, they emerged from behind the buildings, taking cover behind the large shields of the shield bearers and advancing slowly.

William and his father ceased firing upon seeing this, waiting until the goblins reached the position of the first row of houses where the traps were set; David then nodded to his son William, who immediately crushed the slime's magic crystal core he held in his hand.

"Boom!"

The explosion blew up the houses on both sides of the road, causing them to collapse inward and bury the leading goblin soldiers under the rubble.

Southwest of Bigen Village.

As Bulande and the others made their way to the outskirts of the village's southwest, they encountered no goblins along the way and were secretly relieved, when suddenly they heard a massive explosion coming from the village behind them and all turned to look.

"That's the direction where William and the others are; I don't know how they're faring now or whether they can evacuate safely," John said, worrying as he watched black smoke rise from the village's southeast.

Bulande also worried greatly about William and Uncle David's safety, but like William he bore responsibility and duty; his top priority now was ensuring John and the others' safety, and he said firmly, "All right, William and the others will be fine; let's hurry and leave."

The other children also nodded in agreement and set off from the southwest, taking a roundabout route to Mobius Town.

The collapsed house ruins buried over a dozen goblins; adding the few killed directly by the blast, another twenty or so goblin soldiers died, making the battle utterly devastating for the goblin side.

But war is like that—it's either you die or I do; in his previous life, nearly ninety percent of Bigen Village's villagers were slaughtered by goblins, a horror William still keeps in mind.

The goblins behind had received a death order to kill the few of them, so they didn't bother with the burning house ruins, instead laying their large shields on the ground and leaping straight over the wreckage.

When the goblin soldiers who had passed through the wall of fire reached the position of the second row of houses where the traps were set, William crushed another magic crystal in his hand, causing an explosion to erupt from the surrounding houses once more, killing another twenty or so goblin soldiers.

The goblins behind, like fearless warriors, continued to leap over the second wall of fire and charge toward the spot where William and David stood.

"Boom!"

The third Magic Crystal shattered; the third row of houses, which had been rigged with traps, collapsed instantly. At the moment the third row of houses exploded, William and David showed no hesitation, exerting all their strength to flee rapidly toward the southeast.