... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

To be honest, when Ophelia first learned she would be facing a goblin warrior, she had assumed it would be a complete rout.

But she never expected that with the help of her senior and teammates, she would actually manage to hold her ground.

’Are a Necromancer’s [Weakness Curse] and [Pain Curse] really this effective when paired together!?’

’Why have I never tried teaming up with a Necromancer before?’

She was starting to get excited.

Her fighting spirit ignited.

"Bring it on."

With a sharp cry, she stopped defending passively and took the offensive. Stepping forward, she blocked and parried with the round shield in her left hand. Battle aura circulated through her body as the Longsword in her right hand became a blur of cold light. She unleashed a flurry of stabs, thrusts, and slashes at the goblin warrior’s vitals. For a moment, she was locked in a fierce melee with the powerful foe.

Although she was still at a disadvantage in strength and combat experience—straining to block and occasionally having to dodge desperately—she was completely fearless, relying on Avril behind her to provide a constant stream of Holy Light.

She even found this kind of battle—dancing on a knife’s edge, the weak fighting the strong—to be uniquely exhilarating.

The more she fought, the more excited she became. Under the pressure, her Body Technique and swordplay grew progressively more fluid and refined.

But while Ophelia was having the time of her life, the goblin warrior was simmering with absolute frustration and rage.

"RAAAAAAWR!"

It let out a series of furious roars, its steel scimitar a blur in its hands. It wished for nothing more than to cleave the annoying human girl before it in two.

But the [Weakness Curse] prevented it from using even seventy percent of its full strength. Worse, the [Pain Curse] made every exertion, every impact feel like torture, causing its movements to become unavoidably distorted and sluggish.

It felt like it should be able to shatter her shield with a single blow, yet its strength always failed it at the critical moment.

It would spot an opening and lunge, only for intense pain to make its muscles spasm, causing it to miss the perfect opportunity.

It possessed superior strength and vast combat experience, yet it was completely shackled by the two Curses.

The goblin was like a savage beast caught in a mire, forced to watch helplessly as the human girl, sustained by Holy Light, stubbornly fought it to a standstill, pinning it in place.

Ophelia’s tenacious fighting spirit and burgeoning combat skills made even Lynch raise an eyebrow in appreciation.

’Looks like the girl wasn’t lying. She really can fight.’

Lynch had been about to send a few elite Skeleton Guards to assist her, but it seemed that wasn’t necessary for now.

’Better let her get some practice in.’

Lynch stopped focusing on the main battlefield and turned his attention to the other side.

His gaze fell upon a smaller hut next to the chieftain’s.

Unlike the surrounding chaos stirred up by the Fireball, this hut’s wooden door remained shut, as if the fighting, flames, and clamor outside were of no concern.

But Lynch knew perfectly well that the creature hiding inside was the most troublesome foe in this assault, second only to the goblin warrior.

A goblin Shaman.

Thanks to his prior intelligence, this goblin Shaman naturally hadn’t escaped Lynch’s notice.

Suddenly, at the back of the hut, a beast-hide curtain was gently lifted, revealing a narrow gap.

A figure even more stooped and diminutive than an ordinary goblin slipped out quietly.

It wore a tattered, feathered cloak and held a Magic Staff topped with a crystal. Various bone fragments hung from its body, and its eyes darted about in the darkness, gleaming with cunning and malice.

This was, of course, the goblin Shaman Lynch had been watching for.

Clearly, it planned to use the chaos as cover to circle to the rear of the battlefield and launch a sneak attack with Magic against Lynch, the most conspicuous person there.

Unfortunately for the Shaman, it had no idea it was already on Lynch’s recruitment list. The only reason Lynch was making himself so obvious was to lure the two fiercest monsters into his trap.

The goblin Shaman had only taken a few furtive steps, sticking to the shadows of the hut, when...

CLATTER-CLATTER~

...a sudden, dense clatter of bones erupted right beside it.

From the surrounding piles of junk, earthen pits, and shadows, scrawny Fishman Skeleton minions began to rise. They had clearly been lying in ambush here for some time.

Their leader, of course, was Bone Valor · Witch Demon King.

In the next instant, Bone Valor led its Fishman Skeleton minions in a swarm, surrounding the goblin Shaman and hacking at it relentlessly.

The sudden ambush naturally took the goblin Shaman by complete surprise.

"Gwaah!" it shrieked in shock and anger. The crystal atop its Magic Staff suddenly erupted with crimson light.

A searing ring of fire instantly formed with the Shaman at its center, expanding outward with incredible speed to become a scorching shockwave.

BOOM—!

A crimson wave of fire swept through the area.

Under the fierce impact of the flames, the front line of Fishman Skeleton minions collapsed in a clatter. At least a dozen of them were instantly blown to pieces.

Bone Valor, who had been right on top of the Shaman, was also sent staggering back by the shockwave. Scorch marks and cracks instantly covered its bones, and the Soul Fire in its eye sockets dimmed considerably. It was clearly heavily injured.

But that wasn’t all.

Its panic subsiding, a vicious glint flashed in the goblin Shaman’s eyes. It thrust its other hand—a withered palm adorned with a ring—forward.

CRACKLE~

A bolt of lightning shot from its ring, the blue-white arc instantly striking the staggering Bone Valor.

CRACK—BOOM!

Blazing arcs of electricity coursed through its body, and Bone Valor was blasted to pieces on the spot. Charred bone fragments scattered everywhere.

The lightning’s aftershock didn’t dissipate immediately. Arcs of electricity continued to fan out, zapping the nearby Fishman Skeleton minions that had survived the initial blast. They convulsed and collapsed in a heap with a final, crackling rattle.

In an instant, Bone Valor and its Fishman Skeletons had been annihilated by the goblin Shaman with two powerful, instant-cast spells.

’Such a powerful Shaman. This will be another fine general for my ranks.’

Lynch’s eyes narrowed in admiration. ’It’s almost at the level of a Tier One Caster,’ he thought. ’And it has plenty of real combat experience. Its reaction to the ambush was incredibly fast.’

But it was precisely the heroic sacrifice of Bone Valor’s unit that had baited out the Shaman’s two powerful, instant-cast spells it kept for self-preservation.

And Lynch, having prepared for this, was not about to let the opportunity slip by.

Almost at the same instant Bone Valor shattered—before the aftershocks of the lightning had even faded—Lynch had already swung the skull Magic Staff in his hand.

The tip of the staff flashed.

The [Summon Skeleton] spell he had stored in the staff was instantly activated.

A dark, spatial vortex materialized out of thin air a short distance in front of the Shaman.

And then...

...a brand-new Bone Valor · Witch Demon King crawled out, much to the goblin Shaman’s utter astonishment.

...