Chapter 42: Crush Them!

  The victorious soldiers, faces beaming with smiles, advanced in unison toward the dire where Crk had fled.

  Ange, who khe truth, shouted in a clear and bright voice:

  "We are the lord's soldiers, the shield that guards the territory, the sharp bde that defeats the enemy!"

  "In a few mihe remaining members of the sver group actually piheir hopes on a few hundred kobolds, waiting for us to suffer heavy losses, and then they’ll e out to take advantage."

  As soon as these words were spoken, the soldiers burst into ughter, and Ange quickly added:

  "I guess the reason is simple: the sver group is scared, they've lost their belief in victory!"

  "But they are destio be disappoihe lord personally dealt with all the kobolds, and we catch them off guard again!"

  When Matthew was mentiohe soldiers all looked at him with reverence. Old John seized the moment and shouted:

  "Victory!"

  The soldiers shouted in unison:

  "Victory!"

  The fervent cries echoed across the ft wastend and reached the ears of the sver group.

  A someanicked Crk pointed in the dire of the voices and murmured in disbelief:

  "These definitely aren't some newly recruited militia; they must be elite troops sent by the Ser Family!"

  Bloodhand Kahn, full metallic armor, standing at 1.9 meters tall, wielding a single-edged rge axe, exuded a terrifying killing i.

  As a warrior on the verge of being a high-tier professional, Bloodhand Kahn not only possessed immense power but was also very experienced in battle.

  Since joining the Pfizer Caravan, he had been through dozens, if not hundreds, of battles, big and small, entering many dangerous and terrifying oppos.

  He had personally killed burly orcs of tremendous strength in direbat.

  He had also beheaded trolls known for their exceptional regeive abilities.

  He had eveured deep into the northern wildero hunt massive ogres with extraordinary power.

  But he had never seen any enemies who possessed the terrifying coordination and momentum of these soldiers.

  Their individual strength wasn't formidable; some weren’t even professionals.

  But their coordination was terrifying beyond words.

  The unified march, the seamless formation, and the overwhelming momentum couldn't be expined away by Crk's cim of "elite troops."

  At this moment, Kahn realized that trouble was brewing!

  Not to mention the mysterious spellcaster Crk spoke of, who was likely hiding among them.

  From this perspective, this young lord was clearly prepared for battle!

  With a somewhat helpless frown, Bloodhand Kahly made up his mind: if things went south, he would retreat immediately.

  Making money was important, but staying alive was more important!

  Before the battle had even begun, the differen battle resolve betweewo sides was already apparent.

  This showed just how hard Matthew had worked to create the appearand effect of an overwhelming victory.

  Woof! Woof! Woof!

  Barking sounds echoed from afar as hundreds of figures emerged from the dark ers of the Dark Forest, snarling and baring their fangs.

  The sver group members, who had been a bit uneasy, finally rexed, silently praying in their hearts.

  Watg the tide of kobolds rushing forward, Bloodhand Kahhed a slight sigh of relief. Thankfully, they had this trick up their sleeves—it at least stabilized the situation.

  But he was also very clear that he couldn't rely solely on these hundreds of weak kobolds. The oute would still depend on these greedy and reckless thugs under his and:

  "We were never particurly good at head-on bat—dirty tricks are nature."

  "As long as we win, the st oanding is the victor!"

  "Once we defeat these soldiers, Bay Vilge will be ours for the taking."

  "Haven't you all been holding back for a long time? Show them what you're made of!"

  "And as for the sequences of failing to plete the mission, I don’t o remind you, do I?"

  Hearing Bloodhand Kahn's cold tohe already anxious members of the sver group shuddered.

  Spurred by both fear and greed, they flushed with excitement, gring at the soldiers drawing closer, preparing for the bloody battle ahead.

  A bloodthirsty grin spread across Bloodhand Kahn's face as he lowered his silver-white metal mask, leaving only his murderous eyes exposed. He shouted in a muffled voice:

  "Melee fighters, charge with me! Once we break through the first line of defense, victory will be ours!"

  "The rest of you, fnk them and attack from both sides. I advise you all not to sck off, or I'll take matters into my own hands before any punishment arrives!"

  The anxious members of the sver group adjusted their positions, preparing for the fierce sughter to e.

  The advang soldiers spotted the surging wave of kobolds ahead.

  Kobolds were small, only about 1.2 meters tall.

  They had dark red, scaly skin and pointy heads, resembling upright lizards more than anything else.

  They were called kobolds because of the sounds they made—barking and howling that filled the air.

  The kobolds wore no armor, only draped in dark red, tattered cloth, seemingly dyed with some kind of pigment.

  Their ons were equally shoddy, full of nicks and rust, clearly not well-maintained. Some kobolds even wielded stone hammers.

  Despite their numbers, their formation was scattered, giving the impression they might flee at any moment.

  Even with the overwhelming differen numbers, the soldiers remained highly spirited.

  They believed in what ander Ange had said—that the mysterious and powerful lord would deal with these ignorant kobolds.

  In fact, many of them were curious about how the lord would handle such a rge number of kobolds.

  Matthew lightly stroked his staff, cheg his remaining mana.

  After drinking a mana potion, his mana had recovered to 280 points, allowing him to cast 28 first-tier spells.

  sidering the extra ption of three fireballs, he o reserve 90 mana points, leaving him with 190 points to freely use.

  A regur Level 2 mage could only cast three 0-tier spells and three 1-tier spells in total!

  This was the power of an arist!

  And it demonstrated the terrifying potential of Matthew's talents!

  The soldiers had left the reed field of the wastend and reached the edge of the Dark Forest.

  The kobolds burst from the thicket, r as they charged.

  The soldiers in formation didn’t halt their steps; instead, they marched forward with rger strides under Ange’s rallying cries.

  They formed into square formations, eyes resolute as they spotted the sver professionals behind the kobold ranks.

  Aood up, raising her sword to point at the fully armed, burly warrior. Her body shone even brighter as she shouted crisply:

  "Crush them!"

  FAL