I'm not a Witcher anymore.

She pushed off with her foot, and her shield slammed into the goblin at the front.

The kite-shaped shield deflected at an angle upon impact, striking the goblin's outstretched shoulder and elbow.

The creature was holding a sharpened wooden spear, roaring as it lunged forward. Halfway through its advance, its arm was knocked askew, causing it to lose its balance. Its feet slipped in the wet mud, and half of its chest and ribs were exposed.

The longsword was thrust forward along the edge of the shield without any hesitation, the blade advancing from below and piercing directly into the goblin's throat.

Blood spurted out.

Before the green-skinned imp could even let out a complete scream, its body still hanging on the edge of the shield, it slid down softly.

The second one charged forward, stepping over the corpse of its companion.

It was thinner than the one before it, clutching a chipped dagger, and tried to slip in from Valeria's right side amidst the chaos.

But as soon as it took half a step, Valeria turned her shoulder and pulled back her shield, the edge of which slammed heavily against its wrist holding the sword.

The cracking sound of bones splitting mingled with a shrill, distorted scream, and the dagger flew from his hand into the mud.

Valeria swung her longsword horizontally.

The sword light was not large, but it was extremely fast.

The ugly head instantly tilted to one side, half of its neck almost cleanly severed, blackish-red blood splattered on the crumbling wall, and even dripped from the withered vines nearby.

There were also things moving on the left and right sides.

A goblin, which had been hiding by the collapsed log, tried to sneak up from the side with a wooden stick in hand.

The other one was even more sinister, huddled in the shadow of the broken wall with its mouth open, clearly wanting to let more of its kind in the village hear the commotion.

Ravenna's arrows were faster than theirs.

She didn't get too close to Valeria's back, but instead used the gap created by the two fallen corpses and the edge of the breach to shift her body and raise her shortbow.

The sound of the bowstring snapping was extremely short, like someone suddenly snapping a thin thread next to your ear.

The first arrow should be aimed directly at the right side.

The goblin, wielding a wooden club, had barely taken a step when an arrow shaft appeared in its eye socket.

Its small body was thrown to the ground by the force, its limbs twitched wildly a couple of times, and then it couldn't get up again.

The second arrow followed immediately after.

Just as the goblin under the broken wall was about to scream, its mouth opened wide, an arrow pierced its throat. The force was so great that it shattered the rest of its roar in its throat.

It clutched its neck tightly with both paws, crashed into the rotten wood behind it, and fell down the wall.

Sieg squeezed through the gap that Valeria had made beside her.

He didn't venture deeper; instead, he stepped on the very line he had previously memorized using the vision provided by the poisonous vine.

The broken logs, collapsed rocks, abandoned stakes, and those untouchable spots had already formed a clear path in his mind.

At that moment, he pressed down and plunged straight into the path, moving as fast as a gray shadow skimming the ground.

Before the goblin could react and had only raised its broken sword halfway, Sieg's steel sword arrived first.

The sword's edge swept diagonally across its throat, leaving a narrow and deep cut.

The little devil instinctively covered his neck with both paws, blood and foam gushing from his mouth, and his body slumped down.

The second one attacked from the left, its wooden spear aimed straight for Sieg's ribs.

Without pausing, Zieg shifted his feet and cut right into the spear shaft.

The spearhead grazed his leather armor, making a short, sharp scraping sound.

The next moment, he twisted his wrist, and the steel sword pierced the goblin's jaw from bottom to top, the blade sinking into the skull.

The third one arrived even faster.

It clearly saw that Sieg was heading towards the main castle, so it simply abandoned the others and, with its eyes red, charged forward, trying to block the road with its body once again.

Zig planted his left foot firmly, twisted his shoulders and back, and used his steel sword to first deflect the wooden club that was swinging down. Then, using the force of that deflection, he turned around and slashed horizontally.

This sword strike was extremely short and extremely ruthless.

A flash of cold light passed over the goblin's chest, slicing through the thinnest part between its ribs.

Blood and bits of flesh spilled out, but the thing's forward momentum hadn't stopped. It staggered forward another half step before collapsing to its knees, its face falling into a patch of mud and broken grass.

Just as Zig was about to continue forward, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air above the roof on his right.

That was an arrow.

The attack was both stealthy and swift, clearly the archers hiding in the shadows had seized this moment to launch a surprise attack when he charged forward.

The arrow was already close in the blink of an eye, but just as it was about to graze his shoulder and neck, the arrow seemed to be gently pushed aside by something, suddenly tilted, grazed his side, and slammed into the mud at his feet, its fletching still trembling.

Protection from arrows.

The elves' magic can deflect arrows and stones thrown by their mortal enemies.

Zieg glanced in the direction the arrow came from, but didn't bother to search for it.

Because Ravenna moved first.

She followed behind Zieg, positioning herself perfectly.

Just as the arrow grazed past Zieg, she turned her bow arm in the direction of the arrow and locked her gaze on the small shadow on the roof that was about to shrink back.

With a twang of the bowstring, the arrow pierced through the chaotic screams and fleeing figures, precisely striking the goblin archer in the eye socket.

Half of the green head tilted back.

It didn't even have a chance to take out a second arrow before it flipped out from behind the broken wooden frame where it was hiding, crashed to the ground, and turned into a pile of mangled flesh.

Zieg didn't turn around, but simply uttered a sentence in a deep voice.

"Stay close to me. Follow in my footsteps."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pressed forward along the safety line he had memorized.

Ravenna stayed close to his right rear, her short bow always half-raised, her gaze constantly sweeping over collapsed houses, broken walls, and high places where archers could easily hide.

She didn't try to lighten the mood again, her expression was very serious, but her steps were surprisingly light, and she darted across the gap that Zieg had just opened up.

Through the gap in the wooden wall, the old hunter and two villagers finally rushed in.

They had clearly never seen anything like it before; as soon as they stepped into the fortified village, their faces turned pale from the overwhelming stench.

The ground was covered with mud, excrement, broken bones, overturned wooden barrels, and goblins rolling and screaming in agony. The air seemed to be filled with the steam rising from rotting flesh, blood, and filth, and just one breath was enough to make your stomach churn.

The three of them didn't let the team down after all.

The old hunter, bow in hand, walked slightly to the left. Two villagers, carrying wooden spears facing outwards, practically shielded Lucy and Hill with their shoulders and backs, and followed closely behind.

Lucy's breathing quickened noticeably, but her hand remained on the medicine bag; Hill carried a cane in one hand and held his shawl in the other, his steps slow but steady.

"Don't get distracted, watch his feet," Hill whispered a reminder.

Lucy gave a soft "hmm," her eyes no longer looking at the writhing and howling goblins around her, but focusing on the spot where Sieg had landed, and followed him forward.

The road ahead is not safe.

The laxatives knocked out many goblins, but didn't completely turn the outer village into a death trap.

Many of those who were still able to stand were startled by the sounds of battle and screamed as they scrambled up from between abandoned houses, under rubble, and in the mud, rushing straight toward the ranks.