Even the most cowardly and timid of goblins would go mad when winter was approaching.
Leilin could see the bloodshot eyes on the faces of the goblins rushing toward them.
Although their bodies were small—like a swarm of green-skinned little dwarves charging at you, which looked rather comical—the wolf-like gaze in their eyes was enough to make even old Ba'er, a retired soldier, shudder.
Dying at the hands of an enemy was one thing, but dying at the hands of goblins? Most likely, even your corpse would be dragged back as food!
The thought of such an undignified death made old Ba'er's hands and feet tremble.
"Guests, please ride the horses and go!"
At that moment, a flash of resolve crossed old Ba'er's face. He pulled a rusty longsword from beneath the carriage seat and unhitched the worn-out draft horse.
"Even if it's a nag, those little runts can't catch up to you. Once you break through the encirclement, ride straight back and don't stop until you reach the port..."
Old Ba'er handed the reins to Leilin, then turned and assumed a defensive stance. "As a young noble, you must have learned horseback riding, right?"
"Mm!"
Leilin nodded but didn't leave immediately. After all, his luggage was still on the carriage.
"Can you tell me why you're giving me the chance to live?"
He asked with some curiosity.
"Did it on a whim—why are you nobles so troublesome... Hurry! Hurry, there's no time!!!"
Old Ba'er roared. By now the goblins had nearly surrounded them entirely. You could see the filth on their green skin, and the stench was overwhelming.
"You're a true soldier! But... I'm not some fragile noble either..."
Leilin walked forward calmly, his eyes narrowing sharply. A terrifying pressure erupted from his body.
[Intimidation]!!!
Like a dragon's domain exploding outward, it immediately froze the goblins in their tracks.
"You filthy, wretched mongrels!!! How dare you block the path of a great mage—your deaths would be far too merciful!!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Brilliant orbs of flame materialized around Leilin in rapid succession.
[Minor Energy Fireball!]
Several searing energy spheres shot outward, then detonated within the goblin ranks.
BOOM! BOOM! The flames tore through goblin flesh, scattering dirt and gore. Even the bugbear goblins could not withstand the power of the spell!
Several large craters appeared, and the goblins broke!
Even though they could go mad for food, that didn't mean they could challenge a dragon! If they pressed any further, every last one of them would die here—it was an instinctive warning screaming in their minds!
"Ook!!!""Ook!!!"
Amid panicked shrieks, the first hundred-plus goblins had already lost over a dozen to Leilin's spells. The rest howled and turned tail to run, discarding wooden clubs and stones all along the way. There was even trampling—goblins that had fallen and been seriously injured crawled desperately in the opposite direction from Leilin, as if fleeing a demon.
"So you are a respected mage!"
Old Ba'er wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. As a commoner living near Silver Moon City, he was no stranger to the power of magic.
"Thank you!" Old Ba'er immediately expressed his heartfelt gratitude. Without Leilin present, he would have surely ended up as goblin dung. The gods above—that was no glorious way to die.
"And this level of power... it's not just a wizard apprentice or an early-stage mage—this is at least mid-rank mage strength..."
Old Ba'er thought to himself.
Just then, the front carriage tumbled and broke apart, revealing the panicked faces of several young female apprentices.
"Sister... I've used up all my spell slots!"
Aisadora said with a tearful expression.
"Hold on! We'll get reinforcements from Silver Moon City soon!"
Beshanni gritted her teeth. A hazy layer of light glowed on her hand and shot outward.
[Daze Spell]! A bugbear goblin that had rushed up beside them staggered dizzily, dropping the wooden club in its hand. It rubbed its head, but before it could recover, a butler-like figure nearby swung a great axe and severed its head.
"Good work..." A flash of joy crossed Beshanni's face, but then she saw that person get knocked to the ground by even more goblins. Several goblins opened their brown maws, revealing sharp teeth...
"No..." Beshanni wept. The sound of gnawing almost made her break down.
"Are we going to die here? I don't want to! I'm a noble, and I'm a mage—I shouldn't end up like this! I... my destiny..."
On the other side, Aisadora looked as if she were about to collapse. In contrast, although Ina was usually quiet and taciturn, she could hold steady in critical moments. If not for her help just now, Aisadora would have been dragged away by goblins long ago.
Just as Beshanni was also approaching despair, a carriage behind them suddenly caught her attention.
Powerful magical fluctuations emanated from it. A young mage stepped down from the carriage and, with just a few fireballs, completely broke the goblin siege.
"That's... Leilin! We're saved!" Wild joy surged across Beshanni's face, and she waved her handkerchief frantically. "Leilin!!! Mr. Leilin!!! Please save us!!!"
The girl's young, shrill voice pierced through the air, catching Leilin's attention.
"Hm! Didn't expect to run into acquaintances!"
Leilin recognized these young girls he had met on the ship. "Since we've crossed paths, consider it your luck!"
A simple act of goodwill—he didn't mind doing it. It could even raise his favorability, after all.
Of course, three wizard apprentices were beneath his notice at this stage. What he truly cared about was the opinion of Silver Moon City.
This incident would inevitably involve an investigation by Silver Moon City's city guard, and posing as a good-aligned mage would always be better received than an evil and cold-blooded one.
Leilin never acted against his own principles—everything was calculated for his own benefit.
"[Fourth-rank Beast Summoning Spell!]"
The light of summoning flashed, and from it leaped four wild wolves standing over two meters tall.
Spell-light blazed around Leilin once more. After two rounds of summoning, the wild wolves under his command numbered twelve.
These large carnivores had tough, coarse fur, razor-sharp fangs, and astonishing leaping ability. Their eyes brimmed with killing intent and bloodlust!
"Charge!"
Guided by Leilin's Spiritual Power, the twelve wild wolves surged into the crumbling goblin horde.
"Awooo!!!""Awooo!!!"
Wolf howls echoed faintly through the air. Snow-white, cold fangs periodically tore through the bodies of slower goblins. Some goblins bitten in half collapsed to the ground, weeping and howling, which only further terrified the fleeing goblins ahead.
With Leilin's level of Spiritual Power, controlling these wild wolves was child's play.
Moreover, under his direction, the scattered goblins were herded with purpose, driven straight toward the carriage procession ahead.
"Ook!!!"
The leading bugbear goblin roared, smashing a deserter's skull with its spiked club, but it couldn't stop the frenzied, broken mass of fleeing goblins—it was swallowed up by the tide.
The hundred goblin deserters that had been besieging Leilin crashed into the rear goblin ranks, instantly triggering massive chaos!
Although goblins were never orderly creatures to begin with, they at least had unified orders for advancing and retreating. Now they were thrown into utter bedlam—trampling and shrieking everywhere, and even the bugbears and bear-goblins roaring thunderously could do nothing about it.
Outside, wolf howls echoed. Suddenly, a wild wolf leaped up and tackled a bear-goblin, its sharp fangs sinking directly into the creature's throat!
Under Leilin's command, the wild wolves ignored scattered individual goblins entirely, but any goblin that tried to regroup became their collective target—and the bear-goblins and bugbears received especially focused attacks.
Once their command structure was completely shattered, a total rout was only natural.
Countless goblins dropped their wooden clubs and stones, fleeing in all directions and abandoning the carriage procession and the survivors.
At this point, only eight of Leilin's twelve wild wolves remained, and every one of them was injured. But Leilin felt no pang of loss, since the summoned beasts would return to their original realm once the spell dissolved anyway—dead or alive.
"Even a mid-rank mage wouldn't find it so easy to defeat over five hundred goblins..."
Old Ba'er's eyes held both surprise and awe. "Especially that final charge—I saw the traces of military tactics. Is that what the legion commander once called the art of command..."
Leilin was fairly satisfied with the outcome.
Releasing the right spell at the right time had always been a mage's essential discipline.
To disperse this goblin horde at minimal cost—keeping casualties among the attacking wolves to a bare minimum—gave him considerable satisfaction in his spell control.
"Are you all right?"
Of course, this was merely a passing thought. With the wealth of experience from his original body, if Leilin couldn't accomplish something like this, he might as well bash his own head in.
"We're fine! Thank you! Leilin!" Beshanni said gratefully, her eyes reddening again as she threw herself onto a nearby mutilated corpse and burst into tears. "Waaah... waaah... Uncle Eita..."
The corpse was missing many of its parts and covered in fine bite marks—a horrifying sight. All of this was the goblins' handiwork. If Leilin had arrived any later, everyone in the carriage procession would have ended up the same way.
That prospect made Ina and her sister shudder to their cores, and they thanked Leilin profusely.