Chapter 72: Town Adventurers vs. Hobgoblins v2c25

—Marnell—

The greatsword the hobgoblin used approaching right before me.

「Kh!」

To avoid that and preparing for the large gap I would expose after that, I threw myself to the side and rolled on the ground.

After a beat, I could hear the sound of the greatsword hitting the ground from a distance, it was when I understood I managed to survive.

Surely by the time that hobgoblin with the greatsword came after me, I would have finished rebuilding my posture.

「COME TO GET KILLED?」

「No way…… Another one at this timing!」

……But the relief I had at that time disappeared with what came to my sight the moment I raised my head.

Standing in front of me, who was still in a bad posture, was a hobgoblin with an axe.

Yes, I was so absorbed in running away from the hobgoblin with the greatsword that I rolled right next to another hobgoblin.

「Shit!」

Realizing that, I tried to get up immediately, but it was clear I wouldn’t make it in time.

The hobgoblin was laughing as if ridiculing me and raised its axe overhead.

「Gie-!」

「Are you okay, Marnell!」

It was then, Gozzu, who had come back to the battle unnoticed, interrupted.

His sudden interruption caused a moment of confusion for the hobgoblin.

And Gozzu didn’t miss that opportunity.

「Oraaaaaaaa!」

The next moment, Gozzu’s sword smashed the neck of the hobgoblin with an axe and sent its head flying.

Seeing that, I finally understood my life wasn’t in peril anymore.

However, I realized I couldn’t afford to take my time here.

Ignoring my body that was screaming from my unreasonable movement, I stood up, turned around, and readied my greatsword.

Then, as I imagined, there was a figure of the hobgoblin with a greatsword chasing after me.

Moreover, it pointed its greatsword at Gozzu which was full of gaps after swinging his greatsword.

「Your opponent is me!」

I swung my greatsword at that hobgoblin.

Just before my greatsword reached its torso, the hobgoblin noticed my attack, though, it was too late.

「Gigiii!?」

Equipped with a greatsword that was known to have low maneuverability, the hobgoblin was unable to defend itself, my greatsword sunk into the middle of the hobgoblin torso.

「Gii, HUMAN, MUST KILL.」

Even in such a state, the hobgoblin was still alive.

Just before its last breath, it tried to reach for my face with its hand —— but before it could, Gozzu’s greatsword ran through its head.

「You saved me!」

「Likewise.」

So it reached him on this battlefield, I said my short thanks to Gozzu loudly.

To be honest, this was a situation where I should be thanking him as he helped me, but now, I couldn’t spare that much time on that.

「More importantly, the townsfolks!」

I told several adventurers, including Gozzu, to leave the battlefield to help evacuating the townsfolks.

In other words, Gozzu returning to the battlefield meant whatever the situation, it had been settled.

I asked Gozzu for the report.

「…About that, I gave up. Now they’re at the back with the injured.」

What he told me was bad news.

Hearing that, I silently bit my lips.

The possibility of not being able to evacuate the townsfolks isn’t an unimaginable situation.

After all, given the hustle and bustle of the surroundings, it seems this is not the only place where this is happening.

Moreover, we also have violent adventurers in this city.

In the current situation where we don’t know what’s happening, it’s no wonder Gozzu and the others decided it’s better to let them stay here than to entrust these townfolks to others.

Concluding that, I decided to stop holding Gozzu back.

「Alright, now go.」

「Yeah, I leave it to you. Just remember what the hobgoblin from before do when you fight them.」

「I know. I know I need to fight them seriously if I don’t want to be killed.」

After Gozzu heard my words, he said nothing more and ran to the frontline.

Looking at his back, I showed a hint of relief on my face as I thought, as long as Gozzu on the frontline, there won’t be an immediate danger to the townsfolks at least.

However, that relief was soon drowned by anxiety.

…This safety is not something we can depend on, that I know.

Seeing my comrades still fighting fiercely against the hobgoblins strengthen that belief.

The hobgoblins we were fighting currently boasting strength on the level of abnormality.

In addition to its evident intelligence, they probably were stronger than orcs from Middle-Layer, while being more numerous.

Against hobgoblins like that, it was only a matter of time before we lost.

With the return of Gozzu who was trying to evacuate the townfolks, the situation became better to some extent.

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The proof was now I could afford to look around.

Still, it was clear the situation would gradually worsen at this rate.

「…If only their number hadn’t been reduced so much in the beginning.」

In the beginning, because they challenged the hobgoblins without knowing their true strength, many of my comrades were severely injured and incapacitated.

If only that didn’t happen, I couldn’t shake off that idea while I was in battle, and I bit my lip hard.

If we are all here, the situation would be better, that was the belief I had.

That wasn’t the only regret I had.

「No, at least, if I have my armor…」

I only wore my normal clothes now, I stared at my hand as I said so.

Right, I wasn’t completely armored even now.

The reason for that was because I had to give some instructions to my comrades first.

Because of that, I couldn’t go to the frontline to act as a tank.

In the end, I was only useful for stopping the hobgoblins that slipped through my comrades like the one from earlier.

I could have managed to get rid of this stalemate if I at least wear my armor, I thought as I glared hatefully at the hobgoblins.

「……Wait a minute,」

It was then that I noticed something strange.

The battlefield was still in a stalemate.

Seeing that, I opened my mouth in blank amazement.

「…Why hasn’t the situation changed from earlier?」

Yes, the battlefield I currently observed hasn’t changed.

Even though quite a few adventurers, including Gozzu, had come back.

It’s as if someone is in control and they made the battlefield to be in a stalemate.

「Hey! Something is weird …」

When I noticed that, I opened my mouth to tell my comrades about it.

──But it was too late at that time.

「AIM FOR THE BACK. MORE HUMAN THERE.」

「Wha-!」

It was uttered by a hobgoblin in the back.

I raised my voice involuntarily, and at the same time, I finally understood the hobgoblins’ objective.

The injured and the townfolks were hiding in the building behind us.

The hobgoblins keeping the battlefield in a stalemate to buy time so they could rummage around.

All to kill more humans.

「Absolutely don’t let them pass!」

The moment I noticed that I ran to the hobgoblins while shouting loudly.

This wasn’t the time to say it’s too dangerous because I have no armor.

No matter what, we must stop the hobgoblins.

My comrades too, perhaps also noticing that the injured and the townfolks were being targeted, launched an attack on the hobgoblins.

……But the thoughts of my comrades didn’t connect.

The hobgoblins had begun to move toward the building in the back with unprecedented momentum.

The attack of the adventurers, including me, killed some of the hobgoblins, but that was all.

「Shit!」

Their momentum couldn’t be stopped at all, the hobgoblins ignored us and kept going to the building in the back as it was.

Imagining the scene of the townfolks getting slaughtered, I grimaced.

The only adventurers in that building were the injured and the healers who were hardly capable of fighting.

In other words, the moment the hobgoblins setting their foot in that building, it was certain many would be sacrificed.

Even if we could eventually annihilate the hobgoblins, if that building would become a battlefield, many injured people and the townfolks would die by then.

…Even though I knew that, there was nothing I could do anymore.

The hobgoblins were approaching the building, they were out of my reach.

What went through my head was the image of the boy who was holding a sword before in the morning.

That boy was my first disciple.

…But I couldn’t save that boy even if it was only him.

「──!」

Despair covered my face once I realized that — It was then it appeared with a roaring sound.

「…………Huh?」

Something that landed on the ground crushed the hobgoblins that were leading their charge to the building.

For a moment, I didn’t realize it was a person.

「…Barely in time, huh?」

I only realized the moment that person said so.

Hearing that familiar voice and confirming the identity of that person left me stood dumbfounded.

To me, that person —— Raust-san, opened his mouth with a serious expression different from his usual demeanor.

「Thank you, everyone. I will take care of the rest.」

At that moment, I realized that we were saved.

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