I'm not a Witcher anymore.

The roars outside grew closer, the chaotic footsteps of goblins mingled with the clanging of weapons as Sieg covered their retreat, all pressing in, but Ravenna's movements remained steadfast.

She cleaned up the several deeper sections of rope, trapdoors, and alarm mechanisms.

"Valeria, that's enough."

Valeria nodded, raised the kite shield in front of her, and she and Ravenna rushed to the main castle gate one after the other.

Ravenna slung her shortbow behind her back, placed her hand on the short sword at her waist, and followed closely beside her.

Lucy and Hill were a half step behind. The old hunter and the two villagers instinctively turned to look at Sieg, but still protected the two of them as they moved towards the door.

"You go in first."

With a backhand slash, Zieg sliced ​​off half the face and shoulder of a goblin that pounced on him, kicking the corpse away and tripping several goblins that were chasing after it.

The steel sword scattered into dust in his hand, instantly reforming into a yew longbow. Two arrows flew from the bowstring, and the two goblins that had been pursuing him the furthest from behind fell to the ground.

At this moment, the main gate of the castle was in sight.

The door was badly damaged; half of the door panel was drooping, and the other side had completely collapsed into the interior, leaving only a dark, gaping entrance.

Valeria handed the shield in, then stepped in herself.

Ravenna stayed by her side the whole time, slipping to the other side.

At that very moment, the two goblin guards who had been lurking in the shadows launched their attack simultaneously.

They were stronger and more agile than the chaotic goblins outside, hiding on either side of the door, clearly waiting for someone to break in.

The one on the left lunged straight at Valeria's chest, its short sword grazing the bottom edge of her shield;

The one on the right, using the darkness to conceal its form, lunged diagonally toward Ravenna's waist, intending to take down the lightest one first.

But as soon as the two guards rushed out, blood was drawn by the door.

Valeria didn't retreat, but instead pressed her shield down, tilting it slightly and deflecting the dagger.

The next moment, she took a half step forward, her shoulder armor and shield slamming into the guard's chest, slamming him so hard that he stopped breathing and lost his footing.

She thrust her longsword along the edge of the shield with her right hand, getting incredibly close, and with a swift movement, pierced its neck.

On the other side, Ravenna didn't even engage the guard in a direct confrontation.

When the thing crashed into her, she stepped aside and dodged to the side of the doorpost.

The goblin missed its target with its stab, and as it was pulled forward, she drew her short sword and plunged it deep behind its ear.

When the blade pierced the bone, the little devil only managed to squeeze out half a strange sound from his throat.

Ravenna used the momentum of its lunge to twist her wrist, and the head immediately tilted to the side, the whole body slumped down inside the door.

Valeria quickly scanned the area around the door and several nearby blind spots to confirm that the floor near the entrance was clean.

"Come in!"

The group rushed into the room one after another, none of them daring to stop, the wooden floorboards creaking underfoot.

Zieg was the last one to come in.

He had barely stepped back inside when the goblins that had been chasing him the fiercest outside pounced within three meters of him.

Zieg turned around and swung his sword, slicing the first one, which had just poked its head in halfway, straight through.

The body fell backward, lying across the doorway, and the others behind it immediately scrambled together.

That's enough time.

"Lucy!" Valeria's voice turned somber.

Lucy gripped the holy emblem tightly as she entered.

His fair knuckles tightened with force, and the holy emblem in his palm shone brightly.

She whispered the prayer, her voice low but clear, so clear that it couldn't be drowned out by the increasingly loud screams and crashes outside.

A soft white light quickly shone on the emblem.

"Holy Wall!"

The light started as a sliver, quickly spreading along the door frame and the ground, then rose up and instantly sealed off the entire entrance.

The goblins that rushed in from outside crashed into the sacred wall with a series of muffled thuds and screams. Their claws, clubs, and daggers slammed into the soft white light, but they couldn't squeeze through.

The entire main castle seemed to have been forcibly peeled away from that stench and clamor, with only the sound of banging at the door still continuing to drift in.

Valeria confirmed that no one was injured, then turned to Lucy.

"How long can it last?"

Lucy stood by the door, her hands still tightly clasped around the emblem, her knuckles gleaming in the light.

Her breathing was more rapid than before, and her voice was a little strained.

"Five minutes... I can last five minutes."

Valeria nodded, then looked at the old hunter and the two villagers: "You stay here. Shoot arrows through the sacred wall, or poke them with wooden spears if you like. They can't get through; don't let them get a foothold at the entrance."

The sacred wall will only block those priests who harbor ill will towards the Mother Goddess.

The old hunter responded and raised his bow.

The two villagers gritted their teeth and stood behind the sacred wall, gripping their wooden spears and forcefully stabbing at the green-skinned imps that kept charging at them.

Zig and the others walked along the empty corridor, their voices carrying deeper into the corridor.

After passing through the lobby, the space in front suddenly opens up.

This is the largest hall deep inside the main castle.

Broken beams weighed down the high place, and overturned wooden cabinets and broken boxes were piled up against the wall. A few rays of sunlight leaked down from the cracked roof and broken windows, illuminating the hall in patches of light and shadow.

The five girls from Kawaki Village are located at the very back.

Their hands and feet were bound with ropes, their faces were full of terror, their lips were white, and they didn't even dare to cry out loud.

Five goblin guards pressed against their backs, some holding short swords to their necks, others grabbing their hair and shoulders, holding them down tightly.

The remaining three were placed on either side.

Standing behind the goblin guards was the giant goblin.

It was much taller than a normal goblin, with a broad chest and back, and carried a crude but heavy giant axe. Its eyes darted around in the dim light, clearly not expecting them to rush here so quickly.

Upon seeing Valeria and her companions appear, it first let out a roar, then opened its mouth and uttered a stammering sentence in Common.

"Put...put down your weapons!"

Saliva dripped down his fangs, and his voice was hoarse and strange.

"No, otherwise...they'll die!"

The moment the words were spoken, both sides moved.

Sieg didn't utter a single unnecessary word, and raised the yew longbow in his hand.

The bowstring vibrated three times, and the three arrows, head to tail, were aimed straight at the three goblin guards who were holding the girl.

Ravenna also fired her bow at the same moment.

The two arrows, one after the other, were aimed at the remaining two guards.

The eight guards opposite reacted almost simultaneously.

The three guarding the two sides rushed out together, trying to flank them from both sides;

The five who had been using the girl as a shield all released their grip, grabbed their short bows, and started shooting at the adventurers.

Arrows flew straight at us.

The angle was tricky, and the distance was close; theoretically, this round should have been enough to penetrate a person.

But those arrows that should have pierced the shoulders, chests, and faces were instead gently deflected by an unseen force, grazing the edges of the shields, the sides of the ears, and the cuffs, before embedding themselves in pillars, walls, and the ground.

Hill's previous protection against arrows was still active.

However, none of the five arrows fired by Sieg and Ravenna missed their mark.

Five screams erupted in the hall.

Of the three goblin guards targeted by Sieg, one was shot in the throat, another had his eye socket pierced, and the last one was shot in the chest, causing him to fall backward.

Ravenna's two arrows hit vital points, one piercing its neck and the other being embedded in its open mouth.

The five girls felt empty behind them, and their bodies went limp.