【Andhis: Lv53

  Race: Human

  Class: Royal Knight

  Titles: Defender of the Realm, Knight of Glory, Leader’s Charisma…

  HP: 930

  Strength: 240

  Defense: 287

  Skills: Silver Light Slash, Sword Chant, Sword Dance, Power of Glory…

  Equipment: Fine Silver Armor, Fine Alloy Longsword, Cape

  Overall: 1000】

  The stats were decent.

  But his overall power was only slightly stronger than Rodel’s in his forties—and Rodel was of royal blood, a disciple of the Sword Saint.

  His skills were utterly unremarkable—just what you’d expect from an ordinary knight captain.

  Tian had expected to encounter a real threat.

  The rest hovered around an overall score of 900.

  Meanwhile, the second-generation Greater goblins that had just leveled up each had a score of about 700.

  Surrounded by these goblins, it would be impressive if they lasted even three minutes.

  At this point, Tian’s own power had soared to 1500. He had mastered both the Elemental Crossbow and the bladeless draw technique.

  His growth was accelerating rapidly.

  “Hmph, you’re counting on this trash to save you? Rodel, you’re all hopelessly deluded.”

  Tian couldn’t help but sneer.

  The Silver Blade Captain lowered his head with a deep sigh.

  “You’re right... we were too naive. Even after a brief clash, I realized—you’re a truly dangerous opponent. If left unchecked, you’ll become a disaster for the Empire.

  But luckily, the Sword Saint will come for you. She is the Empire’s Holy Sword—she’ll cut down monsters like you!”

  The other survivors chimed in,

  “That’s right! Lady Sword Saint is on her way to wipe you all out!”

  “Still obsessed with that woman?”

  Tian found it almost funny. He glanced at the remaining captives and drew the shortsword at his waist.

  The Silver Blade Captain’s heart skipped a beat.

  “You—what are you doing? Wait! Stop!”

  "Slash!"

  In an instant, Tian slit a man’s throat.

  “Pssshhh—!”

  The carotid artery burst. Blood sprayed ten meters in a high arc.

  The human heart was truly a powerful pump.

  “Aaahhh... Captain, save me... I can’t breathe...”

  The man gasped in agony before quickly going into shock and collapsing lifelessly.

  Tian called over the highest-level Greater goblin—a Goblin Assassin—and ordered him to devour the corpse and level up as quickly as possible.

  After devouring every last scrap, the goblin reached level 48.

  Still two levels short.

  Tian continued the slaughter, dispatching two more as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs.

  Unfortunately, not a single level was gained.

  Experience requirements were skyrocketing. It looked like he’d need seven or eight more Level 40–50 humans just to push a single goblin into Greater evolution.

  Goblins with enough aptitude evolved at set thresholds: Level 30, 50, 70, 90, and 100.

  But sometimes, evolution failed.

  Watching his men die one after another, the Silver Blade Captain reacted very differently from Rodel.

  He remained eerily calm—no roaring, no screaming.

  After all, he had fought on imperial battlefields. Death was nothing new to him.

  He simply murmured,

  “What a pity... Lady Sword Saint, they couldn’t hold on until you arrived.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Reality wasn’t like a game or anime.

  Once you fell into enemy hands, nine times out of ten you died. Hope was just wishful thinking.

  That was the harsh truth.

  Tian actually had a bit of respect for the Silver Blade Captain. He granted him a swift, clean death.

  “Rest in peace.”

  Then he let the goblin devour his body as well.

  Resources had to be concentrated. The sooner they produced a new Hero-tier goblin, the better.

  The corrupted forest had been hunted clean—no more experience sources remained nearby.

  This was now Tian’s biggest headache.

  “You monster! I’ll never forgive you! NEVER!”

  Rodel had completely lost control, barking like a rabid dog.

  Tian was sick of the noise. With a single blow, he knocked Rodel out cold.

  He then mounted his bipedal wyvern and flew toward Bright Town to scout the situation.

  If the Sword Saint actually showed up, things could get dangerous.

  ...

  Dawn was just breaking, but Bright Town was already bustling with activity.

  Inside the tavern, members of the War Roar squad laughed and chatted. They hadn’t slept all night, keeping watch for a possible dragon attack.

  Even at this early hour, they were knocking back whiskey to perk themselves up.

  It was classic War Roar squad style—rowdy and wild.

  “Those guys are way too useless, huh? Gone for days and still haven’t taken care of a few goblins? Hahaha!”

  The War Roar Captain laughed heartily, clinking glasses.

  At that moment—

  A strange gale roared toward Bright Town and hovered overhead.

  “Thud!”

  Suddenly, a spearman tumbled down from the sky—covered in blood, missing a leg, bones broken from the fall.

  The townspeople in the street screamed in terror, thinking it was a monster invasion, and scattered in panic.

  The spearman fought to stay conscious. Even with shattered bones, he crawled forward, refusing to give up.

  In the end, he collapsed unconscious.

  From afar, the Sword Saint noticed him. With a few leaps, she reached his side and carried him toward the tavern.

  “Lady Sword Saint! You’re here? Want a drink?”

  The War Roar Captain jumped to his feet, but when he saw who she was carrying, his expression changed instantly.

  Everyone rushed over to check on him.

  The healer immediately cast healing spells.

  The War Roar Captain couldn’t believe it.

  “Weren’t they supposed to be dealing with goblins? How did he end up like this?!”

  You’d think they’d gone dragon-slaying instead.

  The Sword Saint replied calmly,

  “I don’t know. I just saw him fall from the sky and faint.”

  Not long after—

  The spearman finally regained consciousness, but he was extremely weak.

  Everyone asked anxiously,

  “What happened? Where are the others? How did you end up like this?”

  “Cough... cough... Lady Sword Saint, did you all stay up all night again? You’ve worked so hard...”

  The spearman coughed violently, blood and clots pouring from his throat.

  The Sword Saint quickly produced a high-grade recovery potion to treat him.

  But he refused.

  “My injuries are too severe... the potion won’t help anymore. Lady Sword Saint, please... go save the Captain and the others. They’ve been captured by a horde of goblins—two Hero-tier ones, dozens of Greater variants. It must be a massive tribe.

  And be careful! These goblins are abnormal. Every single one is at least twice as strong as a normal goblin! Cough... cough...!”

  The War Roar Captain frowned.

  “A massive tribe? That doesn’t make sense. Even two Hero-tier and a bunch of Greater ones shouldn’t be able to capture them—they’re just goblins!”

  “Hey! Hey! Stay with us!”

  At that moment, the spearman finally couldn’t hold on. His eyes rolled back, and he died, unwilling, in the pale dawn light.

  The Sword Saint looked down at him and sighed.

  “He was a royal knight... How could he end up like this? Missing leg, multiple puncture wounds, lungs damaged... Those goblins must have iron weapons.”

  “Damn it! The last survivor of the Wind Spear family... dead just like that!”

  The War Roar Captain roared in grief and rage, staring at the corpse in sorrow.

  He never imagined the Silver Blade Knights would fall to a bunch of goblins.

  Low-tier monsters they normally wouldn’t even bother looking at.

  Just moments ago, they’d been laughing and drinking—now they’d been slapped hard in the face.

  The other squad members were just as baffled.

  “Even with two Hero-tier and a bunch of Greater ones, they shouldn’t have ended up like this. They didn’t even get a chance to escape.”

  “Damn it! Let’s go! I’m going to wipe out those filthy beasts!”

  The War Roar Captain’s rage boiled over. He grabbed his double-bladed greataxe and charged for the door.

  But his teammates held him back.

  “Wait, Captain! He just said these goblins are abnormal. We can’t rush in blindly!”

  “Who cares! I’ll chop their heads off and shove them somewhere the sun doesn’t shine!”

  The War Roar Captain gnashed his teeth, his fists cracking with fury.

  At that moment, the Sword Saint spoke.

  “Calm down, all of you. If you leave, I won’t be able to protect the townspeople from two ancient dragons and a swarm of wyverns. There’s even a chance the goblins could sneak in while we’re gone.”

  “Then what, Lady Sword Saint? We just sit here and wait? If we’re too late, the entire Silver Blade squad will be finished!”

  The War Roar Captain sat back down, fuming with frustration.

  Whether to go or not—both options sucked.

  The Sword Saint hesitated, then said,

  “Return to the capital immediately and bring back reinforcements. When the time comes, I’ll personally exterminate those goblins and the dragons. For now, just hold Bright Town.”

  “But... what about the Silver Blade squad—”

  A squad member cut him off.

  “Do you really think any of them are still alive? Look at the state of the one who made it back.”

  Even the one who escaped didn’t survive.

  As for the captured ones... some goblin has probably already digested them and shat them out by now.

  The War Roar Captain finally cooled off a bit.

  “Sigh... fine. That’s all we can do.”

  “No need to rush. Leave rescuing the Silver Blade squad to me.”

  A cold voice suddenly rang out.

  It was Kasimov, Captain of the Death God Knights.

  He was the sole survivor of the Battle of Death Canyon.

  His strength far surpassed that of the other captains.

  The Sword Saint looked at him.

  “You’re going alone? Even an entire knight squad was wiped out.”

  “Back in Death Canyon, I survived alone against four Titan Warriors. A bunch of goblins won’t even touch me.”

  Kasimov removed his pitch-black helmet.

  When everyone saw his true face, they recoiled in shock.

  He had no hair. His face was covered in burn scars, jagged knife marks crisscrossing everywhere.

  He looked like a monster—no one could imagine what kind of hell he had crawled out of alive.

  The War Roar Captain let out a relieved laugh.

  “Hahaha! Knew you wouldn’t let us down! But showing off in front of Lady Sword Saint? Getting cocky, huh!”

  “I wouldn’t dare compare myself to the Sword Saint. But cleaning up trash like you? That’s easy.”

  Kasimov sneered.

  The War Roar Captain nearly charged over to punch him, but his teammates held him back.

  Without another word, Kasimov mounted his horse and rode straight into the depths of the corrupted forest.

  Not far outside Bright Town, atop a mountain, Tian sat on his bipedal wyvern, observing from afar.

  【Kasimov: Lv60

  Race: Human

  Class: Desperate Knight (When fighting alone, gains 30% attribute buff)

  Titles: Survivor of Despair, Guardian of the Kingdom, Knight of Glory, Bearer of Duty…

  HP: 800

  Strength: 310

  Defense: 303

  Skills: Death Roar, Reaper’s Harvest, Knight’s Glory…

  Equipment: Black Iron Armor, Black Iron Longsword, Black Cape

  Overall: 1300】

  From a distance, Tian saw everything clearly.

  "Hmph, decent strength. But coming alone to wipe us out? Isn’t that a bit too naive?"