The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

BOOM! A brilliant green light shattered, followed by an explosion of powerful Magic Energy.

As the shockwave radiated outward, Evita was thrown to the ground, her body tumbling uncontrollably.

But she quickly scrambled back to her feet and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. If not for the exceptional Anti-Magic properties of her Armor, that last blast might have knocked her unconscious.

"A young Centaur." Earth Goblin Evil Throat clutched his red cape with one hand, pointing his Longsword at Evita with the other. "Have you come here to die?"

Evita tightened her grip on her Lance. ’This is the first time I’ve faced such a formidable enemy directly. It feels different from when I fought those two Chimeras with Shire. Back then, I had many teammates by my side, and Commander Shire wasn’t flustered at all, instead giving orders with practiced skill.’

"I’m here to kill you," she shouted, trying to calm herself and suppress her agitation. She deliberately kept her distance from the Earth Goblin, giving herself room to Charge.

"Just you?" Evil Throat made no effort to hide his disdain. The powerful Magic Energy Burst from just moments ago had blasted several nearby goblins who couldn’t escape in time, and their agonized cries seemed only to underscore his immense power.

"You’re not so fearsome." Evita couched her Lance, her gaze locked onto her opponent. "Without your Holy Water, without your Slave Soldiers, you’re nothing."

"What a foolish Centaur." Evil Throat raised his palm and shouted again, "Powerful Magic Energy Burst!"

The potent Magic Ability erupted once more, a brilliant green light flashing where Evita had been standing. This time, however, she was clearly on guard. Seeing him prepare to cast the Magic, she immediately leaped aside on all four hooves.

The blast of air went WHOOSH past her, kicking up a cloud of dust. But Evita didn’t hesitate, gripping her Lance and accelerating into a charge toward him.

Seeing that his Magic had failed to harm the Centaur girl, Evil Throat prepared to cast another spell. However, the swiftly running Evita had clearly received excellent combat training. She made several consecutive sidesteps, making it impossible for Evil Throat to track her. By the time the Earth Goblin was ready to cast again, Evita had already closed the distance.

He had no choice but to tighten his grip on his Longsword and assume a defensive stance. ’Dammit.’

CLANG! The sound of weapons colliding rang out. Evil Throat stumbled back a few steps, struggling to regain his balance. In that instant, he had hastily dodged her high-speed charge while also swinging down hard with his Longsword. Because of his clumsy reaction, his red cape flew off and landed in the nearby grass.

Evita planted her hooves, kicking up a cloud of dust. She twisted her torso, pacing back and forth with a CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP as she prepared for another Charge.

As they had passed each other, the Earth Goblin’s sword had struck her lower body. ’If not for the Armor I’d put on beforehand, my flesh would be torn open and bleeding freely right now.’

"You’re not getting away today! I will avenge my father!" Evita gripped her Lance tightly, searching for an opening.

"Father?" Evil Throat stood his ground, his eyes darting toward his fallen cape. ’That cape contains something incredibly important—the source of the Evil Throat Army’s "Holy Water." I can’t let anything happen to it.’ "I see," he said. "You’re the daughter of that old Centaur geezer."

He pointed his sword at Evita, a cold sneer on his face as he eyed the necklace on her chest. "No wonder I didn’t find this necklace on his corpse when I killed him. So, he’d already given it to you."

"But it doesn’t matter. You’ll be seeing him in the Nether Sea today."

"Hmph," Evita snorted. "The only one dying today is you. It’s just as Shire said: without your Holy Water and Slave Soldiers, you’re just a paper tiger."

"Paper tiger?" It took Evil Throat a moment to understand the phrase. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he gave a cold, teeth-grinding sneer. "You’ve got some nerve. Is this Shire also a Centaur from your tribe?"

"No." Evita leveled her Lance, once again searching for a path to Charge. "He’s not a Centaur. He’s from a Race you wouldn’t even notice. He’s a goblin."

"A goblin?" Evil Throat was stunned for a moment, then he recovered. "Trying to distract me with this nonsense. The one who told you that must belong to an arrogant Race. Maybe even a powerful human Mage."

"Just as Shire said," Evita feinted, then immediately charged again, kicking up a billowing cloud of dust with her hooves. "Scum of the forest like you only blindly believe in power, completely ignoring what’s truly important."

"Powerful Magic Energy Burst!" Evil Throat yelled again, trying to halt her attack. Unfortunately, the Earth Goblin was no natural-born Mage; he lacked the talent for spellcasting. The explosion still had little effect on the Centaur girl.

THUD! He narrowly dodged her Lance, but the high-speed Centaur still collided with him, knocking him to the ground.

Coughing, he rolled twice on the ground before using his Longsword to push himself up. He glared with sinister eyes at the valiant Centaur before him.

Evita held her Lance upright. She had taken some damage from the last Magic Energy Burst; she could feel her organs trembling and a wave of dizziness washed over her. But she forced herself to focus, vowing that she would kill this Earth Goblin. "It’s infuriating, isn’t it? You never imagined you’d be defeated by a band of Centaurs and goblins. That you’d lose to a mere goblin."

"Goblins," Evil Throat spat viciously, a wad of bloody phlegm hitting the ground. "They exist only for our Enslavement."

"Too bad for you. Today, you’re being defeated by the very Race you enslaved," Evita declared. She gripped her Lance, her four hooves stomping rhythmically on the ground. Her Armor glinted in the sunlight, and the metal tip of her Lance shimmered with a deadly light, like the gaze of the Death God.

"I cannot be defeated!" Evil Throat roared and, gripping his Longsword, charged directly at the Centaur girl. ’His thinking was simple: if I can just get close, she won’t be able to build up speed for a Charge, and that Lance will be useless in close combat.’

Seeing him change his Combat Technique, Evita’s brow furrowed. She immediately began running sideways, trying to create distance, but this only put her at a disadvantage.

"Powerful Magic Energy Burst!" Evil Throat cast the spell again, but this time he aimed ahead of the Centaur girl, locking onto her path of movement.

BOOM! The Magic Power erupted once more. Amid the green light, Evita was flung to the ground. She coughed up a mouthful of blood as she struggled to get back on her feet. The powerful Magic had wounded her. ’If not for the Armor Shire gave me, I’d be on the verge of death by now.’

"Go dream in the Nether Sea!" Evil Throat shouted, charging with his Longsword raised. At such close range, the Centaur girl had no choice but to break into a gallop to evade him.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, roars and screams echoed from all sides. The Earth Goblins and Ogres were surrounded by enemies in an open field. Although Evil Throat wanted nothing more than to kill the Centaur before him, he also knew that the longer this dragged on, the worse his situation would become.

He narrowed his eyes, then ignored Evita completely. He turned and ran straight for his fallen red cape, glancing over his shoulder, ready to unleash a Magic Energy Burst on the Centaur girl at a moment’s notice.

’If I can just get close enough, I’ll risk taking a minor injury to kill her outright.’ Evil Throat made up his mind. He sensed he couldn’t cast many more powerful Magic Energy Bursts, and with Evita still staring him down, he had to eliminate her immediately. ’As long as I have the item in my cape, the Evil Throat Army can rise again.’

When Evita saw the Earth Goblin suddenly stop chasing her and try to flee, she immediately adjusted her stance, couched her Lance under her arm, and charged straight at him.

Her eyes were fixed on Evil Throat’s retreating back. ’Just a few more seconds, and I can kill him.’

However, the running Earth Goblin suddenly dropped into a forward roll, spun around to face Evita, and thrust out his right hand. With a savage grin, he shouted, "Powerful Magic Energy Burst!"

They were so close that the charging Evita had no time to dodge. She could already see Evil Throat’s ice-cold eyes, his ugly red nose, and his sharp, yellow fangs—every detail broadcasting his savagery.

Despair washed over her. In that instant, Evita felt time slow to a crawl. The surrounding chaos seemed to fade away, leaving only the sound of her own breathing and the savage sneer from across the gap.

SWISH! A sharp whistle cut through the air. A flash of light shot past, and an Arrow struck Evil Throat’s raised palm. The impact not only interrupted his spell but also foiled his entire plan.

The Arrow froze his movements for a critical second. Just as he tried to raise a defense, he saw the Lance tip already inches from his face, and beyond it, a pair of furious eyes.

THUNK! The Lance pierced clean through his chest. The tremendous impact sent Evil Throat flying backward, the Lance skewering him straight through the heart. He let out a GACK, vomiting a huge mouthful of blood. He desperately grabbed the shaft of the weapon, but pain and weakness instantly flooded his body. His eyes remained fixed on the Centaur girl as blood spilled uncontrollably from his lips.

"I..." He opened his mouth, trying to say something. ’Why? How could I be killed by these Centaurs and goblins? Who is really behind you?’ But he would never get the chance to ask. Darkness consumed him. Earth Goblin Evil Throat’s hands dropped limply to his sides. He was motionless, his eyes staring blankly into space.

Evita tightened her grip on the Lance, staring at the enemy she held impaled in mid-air. Once she confirmed that he was well and truly dead, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

"Father."