Goblin Knight - Chapter 301



Only Noblemtl

EP.301 Time Problem (9)

The first thing I felt when I set foot on the rippling ground was that ‘the ground was different.’

It is different from the soil that gives off a soft, lifelike vibe, and the solid rock that seems like it will always stay in its place.

If I had to make a metaphor, it would be a lifeless land where only the bleakness of sand and gravel can be felt.

Or it felt like the earth had been drained of all its life.

But before there was any time to enjoy such leisurely sentiments, the rippling land immediately began preparing to welcome its guests.

Wherever Trasha stepped, circular ripples spread out like a stone thrown into a puddle, causing it to tremble.

After a while, from the center of each ripple, something like a shiny metallic ball shot upward, glowing blood-red and making an ear-piercing “Whaaaaaaahh …

“Ah, what is it!? My ear, my ear… …!”

– Caaeng… … !

Trasha and Blanc, who were already quite perceptive, ran forward while complaining of pain.

The metal ball, which was gradually turning red, began to emit a light so strong that it was impossible to look directly at it… and then scattered sharp metal fragments in all directions at incredible speed.

– Tutatatatatatatang!!

“Huh!?”

Each one was so fast that it was hard to keep track of it with your eyes. The power was incomparable to that of an archer’s arrows.

Since the attacks were made in units of surfaces rather than points or lines, Blanc was limited to protecting Anneli and Trasha with a shield.

The problem is that it didn’t stop at just one time.

Ripples erupted from wherever Trasha stepped, so it would make sense that those unknown metal balls would do the same.

– Boom, Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!

“Ugh… Ugh… … !”

As explosions continued to erupt, metal fragments continued to hit them.

My hands were numb from just blocking it once, but with explosions going off several times every second, I was on the verge of death.

No matter how much he tried to endure, there was a limit. The dragon’s shield began to shake little by little, and the fragments began to graze Trasha’s fur.

If things continued like this, it was a given that we would lose the shield. We had to find another way, either by stopping Trasha or something.

“What, what, what! Sir!? What the hell is this!!”

“Ella!!”

Was it the time for the 12 o’clock girl to wake up!

Blanc shouted at her in the most joyful and desperate voice in the world.

“Get back down and help me stop this! No more, no more… I can’t hold on… …!”

“Huh? Huh- AC, it’s an emergency!!”

Ella, who had just woken up and was dazed for a moment, realized that the situation was very serious and got down to the back of the carriage to form a thick steel shield.

Blanc, who was finally able to rest his hands, put down his scale shield and gasped for breath.

“Ha, haa… Thank you… If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have… … .”

“That aside, what the hell is going on right now! It was so peaceful until I went to bed last night! What are those metal balls and what are those centaurs in the back!?”

“Ah, the name was Centaur… … .”

“What? You don’t know? They were quite famous monsters before they were known to be extinct! Annelly doesn’t know-”

Ella’s face became serious as she discovered Annelie collapsed in Blanc’s arms, suffering from a high fever.

“… … What is this? What’s going on?”

“I… don’t know much… except what the demons that came with those guys did to Annely… … .”

“Centaurs, succubi, harpies, and in the distance, Trent and Alaune. It’s full of monsters that were said to have been annihilated. Did the Federation chase them?”

“Yeah… That guy Yaul was with us… He must have leaked our information… … .”

“I should have cut off that bastard’s head a long time ago.”

Ella muttered with a ferocious look in her eyes, as if she would put those words into action at any moment.

But right after, he realized on both sides that the situation was not right and his face turned astonished.

Firstly, because she knew that the level of monsters chasing them now was not even that of an easy target for her, and secondly… … .

“Hey, wait a minute. Are we in the shimmering land right now? Without the protection of the Silk Road!?”

“Yeah. I had no choice but to do it to shake off their pursuit. It was a do-or-die gamble.”

“Sir, don’t ever gamble again! Oh my gosh, I was wondering what kind of attack you were under to get your ‘armor’ in such a state already!”

As he said, the back of Ella’s thick steel shield was suddenly seen to be completely warped.

I couldn’t understand why they were using up weapons of that power just to welcome the invaders. What on earth is this land for?

The good news was that they weren’t the only ones having trouble moving forward.

– Well, with the protective barrier… it’s impossible now… … .

– Moody has fallen! If we keep up with your pace, the damage to our rear ranks will increase! We can’t hold out!

– … … You go back to the Silk Road and regroup. We can still hold out!

– What!? Don’t do something stupid! Don’t you know how much you’ve stimulated the ‘scar’?

The pursuers could be heard scuffling.

Unlike the small group of Blanc and his men, they brought an army of monsters, so the group of dream horses that were in charge of the all-out defense seemed to have been defeated and were left behind.

This wasn’t the intended outcome, but… it’s a good thing. Blanc let out a small sigh as he realized that the pursuit had been interrupted.

‘But nothing got better… … .’

The road ahead is still bleak.

Although our pursuers are tied down, they don’t seem to have given up, and we must remain on the ground to keep them at bay.

We don’t know how long that period will be, we don’t know what will happen in the meantime, and most of all.

‘Annelli… …!’

There was no sign of Annely’s condition improving.

Every time I heard her groaning, as if she was having a nightmare while suffering from a high fever, my heart felt like it was burning.

It is realistically impossible to kill all of those sleepwalkers, and because their feet are tied, it is impossible to show them to other doctors or magicians.

Does the glass slipper know the answer? At the moment when she was about to ask Ella for directions, holding a thin ray of hope.

– Boom! Krooh, krrr… Krooh!!

“her?”

Trasha, who had been moving forward, suddenly stopped and began to howl loudly in front of him.

Blanc and Ella looked forward side by side, but they could see nothing.

The rippling ground continues to ripple as usual.

Then, as they were wondering why it suddenly stopped, Trasha made her body smaller and pressed Blanc and Ella’s heads.

Immediately afterwards, something hazy and transparent, barely discernible to the naked eye, passed overhead.

It was eerie to see Ella’s ashen hair and Trasha’s mane fluttering in the air.

“If only I had just stayed that way… my neck… … .”

“I told you so!? If you don’t know this place, you’ll die! Who knows what kind of crazy ‘scars’ our proud ancestors might have left behind!!”

It seemed as though the group of pursuers had encountered the same problem as them.

I can hear screaming, shouting, and swearing coming from behind me.

Ella muttered, looking around with trembling eyes.

“Damn, what the hell just attacked us? It felt like some huge axe, but I can’t see it… … .”

“It seems like Trasha knew that an attack was coming. Trasha, how did she not know? There was nothing special about the sound or smell, so how?”

“Probably the eyes! Animals are born with different eyesight. Some can’t see, but others can see better!”

Trasha nodded as if agreeing, but then barked loudly forward.

The moment she reflexively put her scale shield forward, Ella’s body flew into the air with a loud crash.

I couldn’t figure out why that was the case. Ella, who had fallen out, also looked surprised.

The damage done to Ella itself seemed minimal… … .

The problem is that Ella flew away.

In this crazy land where unidentified assailants are after them, and where some kind of metal ball explodes the moment it touches the ground.

“Oops, sir!!”

Ella, who had grasped the situation, tried to return to them as soon as she touched the ground… but the distance was quite far, and the metal ball that had bounced up exploded.

In order to defend, you had to sacrifice movement.

“What the heck… …! Even if it’s only visible to Trasha’s eyes, that means it’s real!!”

Blanc, who had fallen, took out a bucket of water and scattered it in all directions.

For a moment, I thought, ‘What if the balls in the ground react to this water?’ but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

And the effect was sufficient, because I could see the water droplets on the floor splashing, however fine.

Directly at them.

“There you are!!”

The moment Il-Wul-Im swung an invisible axe at Blanc, he raised his shield high to block it.

This time, there was no situation where anyone flew away or anything.

but…….

‘What, what… power…!’

A purely overwhelming force weighed on him.

This was also extremely heterogeneous, as there was no hint of muscle movement, which is what you would expect when wrestling with a living being.

I wondered if this was what it would feel like if an incredibly huge rock had the will to crush him.

It might have been different if the hand holding Annely had been free, but I couldn’t hold on with one hand any longer.

There was no choice. Blanc let go of his shield, released his strength, and escaped sideways while holding Annelie in his arms.

Boom!! The shield bounced back from the force and slammed into the attacker’s torso.

But the attacker did not move, and without showing any emotion, he raised his invisible axe again towards Blanc.

‘Now, I have the strength to stop it… …!’

Blanc, who sensed the limit, looked around urgently.

Ella was still running towards them, but they were still too far away to reach them, and Trasha also tried to attack the invisible attacker with her sword in her mouth, but she was only bounced off with a metallic bang.

There seemed to be no other way… … .

Blanc gritted his teeth and pulled out his silver sword.

Even if my arm was crushed, it was to protect Anneliman.

And the unidentified attacker seemed to have no idea about such a desperate resolve.

He mercilessly struck down the axe he had raised-

– Boom!!

The next moment, something invisible fell into the distance.

It was thrown to the ground with a few “bang, bang, bang” sounds, and it convulsed as something like a small lightning bolt wrapped around its body… and then it fell limp.

The shimmer that had been obscuring his appearance disappeared.

Blanc, who confirmed the identity, couldn’t help but mutter.

“Tin… human… … ?”

What attacked them was something that could only be described as a tin man, wielding a giant axe that must have been over three meters tall.

I was busy thinking, “Is this some kind of monster from the East? It doesn’t even look like a living thing in the first place. Then what on earth saved us just now?”

Meanwhile, a transparent ripple appeared before Blanc’s eyes once again.

“… … .”

“What, what? Another tin man… … ?”

The one who saved them was also a tin man with an axe.

I couldn’t understand the situation at all. I just wanted someone to please explain this confusing situation to me.

And as if responding to that wind… … .

“That’s a really good name, I think.”

From behind the revealed tin man.

A man appeared, laughing heartily and cackling.

It was a familiar face.

“… … Road, Lan?”

“I am honored that you remember me. This is truly a coincidental encounter… … .”

He said this with a half-hearted laugh and a bowed head.

“I am Gilan, Gilan Gale, in charge of the development of the rippling lands of the eastern part of the Empire. It is a pleasure to meet you again, Sir Blanc.”

An unknown merchant, also known as the ‘Golden Omnipotent’, was welcoming them.