Volume One: First Arrival Chapter Thirty-Four: Total Annihilation

The goblin chieftain pulled the short spear from his chest with his clumsy left hand, disregarding the spurting blood as he charged at Meng Xingchen, wielding the log that had been punctured by the weapon.

Meng Xingchen noticed that Li Changfeng, Tongtong, and the others had reached the edge of the battlefield. He pointed toward the top of the ridge, signaling them to cut off the goblin formation's retreat and, together with the transmigrators from the camp, trap the remaining goblins in the low-lying basin of the ridge.

He himself retreated once more, drawing the chieftain away from the main skirmish to prevent any harm to the other transmigrators. Given the strength and speed the chieftain had displayed, any other transmigrator would likely have been crushed into pulp by that massive log in an instant.

Li Changfeng understood Meng Xingchen’s intent and led Tongtong and the others to block the goblins' path, joining the transmigrators from the camp to form a pincer movement.

Watching the hulking, ferocious, and frantic chieftain chase after Meng Xingchen, Tongtong felt a tinge of worry. However, out of trust in him, she joined her mother and the others in attacking the goblins that were trying to return to the ridge top to reunite with their leader upon hearing his roars.

Although Li Changfeng’s group consisted of only six people, Li Changfeng stood in the front holding a shield. Beside him, Tongtong controlled her "flying sword," which zipped back and forth within a five-meter radius, slitting the throats of goblin after goblin. Ye Feng, He Qingwan, Wei Si yuan, and Chen Jiawei provided support with crossbows, while three wild bulls stood on the ridge top, heads lowered and horns pointed, eyeing the goblins below with menace. For a time, they effectively pinned down the goblins, preventing them from mounting a counter-attack.

Meng Xingchen kept most of his attention on Li Changfeng’s group, relying solely on his speed to dodge the chieftain’s attacks. Seeing that Li Changfeng and the others had suppressed the goblins and were temporarily safe, he refocused his attention on the chieftain.

After dodging a horizontal sweep of the log, Meng Xingchen surged forward, his longsword thrusting straight for the chieftain’s throat. Because the log had missed, the chieftain could not pull it back in time to block, so he raised his palm—as wide as a palm-leaf fan—to shield his neck.

The chieftain’s thick palm was easily pierced, yet he seemed not to feel the pain. He pressed down against the sword with his left hand, reaching for Meng Xingchen’s sword-wielding right hand. Meng Xingchen twisted his blade and retreated rapidly, leaving a gaping, bloody hole in the chieftain's palm. The chieftain ignored the wound and lunged forward, raising the log to smash down on Meng Xingchen’s head.

Meng Xingchen realized that the repeated injuries were not weakening the chieftain; instead, they seemed to be fueling an increase in his speed and strength. When the log smashed into the ground where Meng Xingchen had been standing, it left a deep crater in the grassy, solid earth.

Meng Xingchen lunged forward again, stepped onto the embedded log, and thrust his sword toward the chieftain’s heart. The chieftain abandoned the log and opened his arms, trying to crush Meng Xingchen in a lethal embrace to break his bones. Meng Xingchen vaulted upward, evading the deadly hug, flipped over the chieftain’s head, and landed behind him. With a swift turn, he plunged his sword into the creature's back.

He twisted the blade, shattered the chieftain’s heart, and withdrew instantly, avoiding the fountain of blood that erupted from the wound.

***

The situation on Li Changfeng’s side began to turn precarious. Despite suffering nearly fifty percent casualties, the goblins had been unable to cross the line of death drawn by the hail of arrows to reach the human position. Combined with the chieftain's eerie, unnatural howling and the pincer attack from the rear, the goblins lost the will to fight. They abandoned their assault on the camp and turned, swarming in a frantic attempt to flee, launching a desperate charge against Li Changfeng and his group, who were blocking their retreat.

By this time, the five goblin casters had been prioritized and killed by the transmigrators; from start to finish, they had not managed to cast a single spell. It was fortunate that the chieftain had been drawn away by Meng Xingchen and the casters eliminated, for without organization or command, the remaining goblins were disorganized. Had they been led, Li Changfeng’s six-man team could never have held back over a hundred goblins.

Ye Feng had abandoned his crossbow, conjuring a whip of flame in his hand to lash out at the goblins attempting to scramble up the ridge. Among the six, He Qingwan’s ability lacked offensive power, and Wei Si yuan’s power was communication, which also lacked direct combat utility. Chen Jiawei’s ability was invisibility. When he first awakened, it only affected his body, forcing him to run naked to stay hidden. It wasn't until his spirit attribute reached ten points that his power was enhanced, allowing his clothes and weapons to vanish with him. Invisibility was better suited for an assassin or a scout; on the front line, it was of little practical use. Thus, besides the crossbows, only Li Changfeng, Tongtong, and Ye Feng possessed true offensive capabilities.

Facing the charge of a hundred goblins—even disorganized ones—was beyond the strength of the six. Among the hundred transmigrators in the camp, aside from Zhai Yao’s longbow, the others’ crossbows were ineffective at forty or fifty meters due to diminishing lethality and the risk of friendly fire. They could only pick off the stragglers at the back of the fleeing mob, offering no relief to Li Changfeng’s group.

Fortunately, the three wild bulls were there. Any goblin that rushed them was either rammed off the slope or impaled on their horns and tossed into the air. Li Changfeng gave up on using his ability and began wielding his shield like a heavy blade, hacking at the goblins climbing the ridge. Tongtong was the most relaxed, standing in place while her "flying sword" flickered, slicing throats. With every flash of cold light, a goblin would clutch its neck and collapse.

As more and more goblins surged up the slope, Li Changfeng and his group began to buckle. Just then, Meng Xingchen arrived. He unleashed a sword aura through the air, severing the arm of a goblin that was about to club Chen Jiawei. He landed on the back of a wild bull and unleashed several more sword auras, piercing the chests of the goblins that had reached the ridge and threatened the group.

***

Afterward, he stood quietly on the bull's back, observing the battlefield. Fewer than a hundred goblins remained, and their numbers were dwindling rapidly under the pincer attack. Seeing no escape, many goblins jumped into the pond beneath the ridge, hoping to swim to safety. Meng Xingchen’s arrival had freed Zhai Yao, who kept his bow drawn, shooting the goblins in the water. Once in the water, their movements became sluggish, making them sitting ducks. Meng Xingchen only intervened with a sword aura when Li Changfeng and the others were in immediate danger.

The tide of battle turned into a one-sided slaughter. Within minutes, the remaining goblins were wiped out. The conflict ended with zero human casualties and the total annihilation of the goblin force, from the chieftain down to the rank and file.

As Zhai Yao shot the last goblin in the water, every transmigrator received a system notification: "Ding! The emergency quest 'Camp Defense' is complete. Details can be viewed on the quest board."

Although the sight of corpses and blood everywhere made many transmigrators who were seeing the cruelty of war for the first time feel unwell, the moment they heard the quest completion message, they could not suppress their joy. Many cheered aloud.

Meng Xingchen pulled up the quest panel, skipping the description to check the rewards. This time, they received 1,200 biological energy points and 30 points of human contribution, along with two boxes that looked like book covers.

He felt a surge of excitement, knowing he had received another skill reward. Looking closely, he had a choice of two: "Mage Hand" or "Bloodthirsty Frenzy."

At the name "Bloodthirsty Frenzy," Meng Xingchen immediately thought of the skill the goblin chieftain had used. After a red light flashed over the creature, its strength and speed had increased significantly, and the more it was injured, the stronger and faster it became. However, its sanity had clearly been compromised; it had become obsessed with chasing Meng Xingchen, completely abandoning its subordinates.

As for "Mage Hand," it was likely a skill for manipulating objects with magic or mental power, similar to telekinesis. Meng Xingchen already had "True Qi Burst," and "Bloodthirsty Frenzy" clearly didn't fit his style. Since he had already learned "Basic Meditation" and possessed 100 mana points, and planned to level it up to "Mastery" to increase his mental power, he would soon have 200 mana points. Even if "Mage Hand" wasn't very useful in combat, it would provide convenience in daily life. Ultimately, Meng Xingchen chose "Mage Hand."

Suddenly, a wild, boisterous laugh erupted: "Hahaha! Another skill, and it's an offensive one this time!" Although the speaker’s voice was hoarse from excitement, there was no need to look—only Ye Feng would speak like that.

Shaking his head and ignoring Ye Feng’s recurring bouts of "middle-school syndrome," Meng Xingchen walked over to Li Changfeng, who was gasping for breath with his shield propped against the ground. "Are you alright?"

Though Li Changfeng was too exhausted to speak smoothly, he couldn't hide his grin. "I... I'm fine. Better... better than fine!"

Meng Xingchen reached out to pat Tongtong’s head, her face pale, and then looked toward Xu Jingya, Zhai Yao, and the others coming from the camp. "I'll leave the cleanup of the battlefield to you."