Fortunately, thanks to the repairs done last night, the barricades were not completely breached. The main force of goblins attacking from the front was mostly halted by the barricades and couldn’t fully enter the village.
At this point, Sophia and Hans had a clear task: to leap over the barricades and cut down the goblins. Meanwhile, Isaac and Ras were to rescue Dig, who was isolated in the watchtower.
Once the situation was stabilized and the two groups joined forces, victory seemed achievable. Moreover, the villagers, who were currently in a state of confusion, would eventually calm down and come to support. Hans believed this firmly.
Creeeak!!
Hearing the sound of clashing swords from behind, Hans nodded. It seemed the Master had already begun. They needed to quickly fulfill their roles. Hans raised his sword.
“No one shall pass through here!”
With a short roar, the massive greatsword that fell like a rock swept through the goblins as it cut through the ground. In response, Sophia also used her bow to pick off goblins one by one.
“There are shamans and archers behind.”
“Well-trained goblins, it seems.”
“There might be someone behind the goblin army.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll defeat them all.”
“I’m sure you will.”
While Hans and Sophia were holding back the goblin main force with their veteran skills, Ras was staring blankly at Isaac’s back. It was understandable.
It happened in an instant. Just when Ras thought the Master had drawn his sword, the Master suddenly sheathed it again. As Ras wondered what was happening, he witnessed a shocking scene: the heads of the goblins in front of him were severed all at once. Isaac had beheaded a multitude of goblins with a single strike.
“Ras! Stop staring blankly!”
“Y-yes! I’m sorry!!”
“Quickly, retreat with Dig to the rear. Don’t forget to inform the village chief about the current situation.”
Finally coming to his senses thanks to Isaac’s command, Ras quickly ran up to the watchtower. Meanwhile, Dig was still in a panic, unable to regain his composure.
“Uaaaaaah!! S-save me!!!”
“Shut up and stay still!”
“Y-you, who are you?! Are you a goblin too?!”
“Your colleague, you piece of trash.”
Seeing Dig, who was panicking and pointing fingers in shock, Ras briefly considered whether it might be better to knock him out. But remembering Isaac’s words from the previous night, he managed to hold himself back.
Meanwhile, after confirming that Ras and Dig had retreated to the rear, Isaac slowly began to reflect on what had just happened. Although he had adopted the concept of fighting solely with sword skills, he never imagined it would actually turn out that way.
It was clear that even though he was still trash, he had the strength to be a guild master.
“I’ll decide on the sword skills concept later. For now, I need to quickly send reinforcements.”
Isaac already knew that Hans and Sophia were extraordinary individuals, but leaving them to continuously face the large goblin force alone was a poor strategy.
Since he couldn’t predict when a stronger force might appear, he needed to conserve as much energy as possible. Even if the opponents were just small fry. Isaac moved quickly.
If he hadn’t happened to spot the goblin group sneaking around behind the watchtower, he would have been even more focused. Frowning as if he had seen a bug, Isaac scowled. What were these trash creatures up to?
“Master! I’ve taken Dig to the rear and returned immediately!” “How is Dig now?” “He was in a panic, so I left him as he was.” “Good job. Can you fight?” “Yes! I can fight!”
In response to Isaac’s question, Ras nodded and answered firmly. At least in the past, he had never felt this strongly about wanting to fight for others. For some reason, it was different now.
‘I want to be recognized by the Master. To do that, I need to show my skills…’
The desire to be recognized by the Master gave Ras the courage to act. Additionally, he calculated that with the veterans around, he wouldn’t die easily.
“Good. Then join those two right away. I will handle the goblins moving in the back and then join you.”
“Are there more goblins?”
“Yes. They seem to be planning an attack from behind.”
“Even those trash are smart enough to think that far.”
“It means they must have a commander.”
Goblin troops themselves aren’t a significant threat. Of course, that’s an exception for the powerless villagers. At least someone who has been an hero in Gideon wouldn’t be a threat.
However, if there is a commander, the story changes. Goblins are essentially chaotic soldiers created to match human numbers. Therefore, the danger varies significantly depending on the commander.
‘It seems like they have someone with a decent head on their shoulders.’
Isaac had no intention of letting things flow as the goblins wanted. To put a spanner in the works, Isaac quickly followed them.
Thanks to this, Isaac was able to see the goblins entering a hole they had made. It was not a hole made from the outside but from the inside. Was there a traitor?
But there was no time to doubt. The hole the goblins had made led directly to the shelter where the villagers had evacuated. If he was late here, they might really be in danger.
“Where are you going?!”
With a short roar, Isaac unleashed a slashing attack. The swift blade once again cut through the goblins’ necks in an instant. The thunderous roar drew the goblins’ attention.
However, it was already too late. The hole the goblins had made was split in half along with the slash. Naturally, the goblins that had already gone inside could not escape death.
Having quickly dealt with the goblins, Isaac finally spotted some children sitting not far away. Were they harmed by the goblins?
Isaac quickly checked the children. Fortunately, there were no visible injuries. However, there was one notable point: one child was shielding a younger child.
“Protecting your sibling like that, excellent.”
It seemed like the child, thinking it was all over, finally opened their eyes, which had been tightly shut. The moment Isaac’s eyes met the child’s, he realized immediately.
Black hair and shining golden eyes.
There was no doubt. This child was the protagonist, Zeke.
Hold on, here’s a cool line:
“I want to be a hero!”
A dream that every child who reads fairy tales admires. Originally, parents would support such a dream. Unfortunately, the child had no parents. The child was an orphan in the village.
With only a younger sibling as family, the child had to take on odd jobs in the village at a very young age. Otherwise, they couldn’t survive.
After helping with chores and getting some food and supplies, when the child returned home, it was always around sunset. Still, the child didn’t give up and held onto the dream.
And they subtly shared this dream with others. Perhaps they wanted to hear encouragement like “You might make it.”
But the responses were mostly cold.
[Hero? Is that important right now?]
[You have family, don’t you?]
[Stop with the nonsense and help with the work.]
No one acknowledged the dream of an orphan with no connections. It was only natural for the child to bow to the harsh reality.
“Yeah, what kind of hero am I? I need to take care of my sibling first.”
Though he had already given up mentally, his heart still couldn’t let go of his dream. It was the same that day. He wanted to see the heroes defeat the goblins with his own eyes.
But the cost was far more brutal than he imagined. The moment he stepped outside the shelter, he encountered the goblins. Yet, the child had a chance. He could simply run away.
“What’s this? Why are you out here alone?”
“Hey, you…!!!”
If his sibling hadn’t followed him, he might have managed to escape. But it was already too late. The sudden appearance of his sibling startled him, and he made a noise.
Hearing that noise, the goblins turned their heads toward him. The child unconsciously hugged his sibling. That was all he could do at the moment.
However, no matter how much time passed, the pain didn’t come. So, wondering if he was already dead, he slightly opened his eyes and saw it. A man with silver hair shimmering in the moonlight.
The man had swiftly dealt with all the surrounding monsters with a cold expression. As the man briefly scanned the area, his gaze soon landed on the child. Then the man spoke.
“It’s admirable that you threw yourself to protect your sibling.”
“Can I also become a hero?”
He knew it was an unexpected question. But in his desperation, that was the best he could manage. He thought he would never get an answer if he didn’t ask now.
“What are you talking about?”
The man, who had been silent for a moment in response to the child’s question, then smirked and laughed. For a moment, his heart sank. Was he really not going to become a hero? He had jumped to a conclusion out of fear.
“What kind of hero would you be if you didn’t throw your life away for your family?”
“…Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“From the moment you willingly threw yourself for others.”
But it wasn’t so. The conclusion he had hastily reached was erased from his mind. The accumulated frustration and denial from working odd jobs in the village were wiped away. In their place, one single phrase was added.
“You are already a hero.”
The one phrase he most wanted to hear.
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