Chapter 369: Battle in the Night
"Your Majesty, can you kiss me?"
Li Meng grinned in response to Margarita's request and lowered his head to kiss her red lips.
This scene did not go unnoticed by the daughters lying on the bed, pretending to sleep.
Liya, Lina, and Lisa blushed deeply. They hadn't expected their mother to be so bold in bed.
Time slowly passed, and the night grew darker.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the Goblin Forest.
Deep within the forest lay a goblin tribe.
This goblin settlement was very close to the Misty Mountains.
Under the moonlight, one could see the snowy peaks of the mountain range to the west.
On this quiet night, the goblin settlement lay still under the moonlight.
Looking at the wooden walls of the settlement, one could see silhouettes of patrolling goblins.
The quietness of the settlement wasn't because the goblins were sound asleep—it was because most of them were out hunting.
Goblins preferred hunting at night, using the cover of darkness to make it easier.
"I heard the boss went to the Throne Tribe again. I want to go there too."
"What are you talking about? It should be me!"
"Oh, right, right. I forgot."
"You won't get to go. Wait until you're the boss of the tribe. Then you can visit."
"How long will that take? I'm just a Big Goblin right now."
On the wooden walls, two goblins whispered to each other.
Guard duty in the settlement was the most boring job.
If given a choice, no goblin would willingly stay behind.
The hunting teams, after all, got to enjoy the freshest and tastiest food.
"Do you smell that?"
One goblin suddenly twitched its nose as if catching a scent.
"Smell what?"
"It smells like ratmen's piss."
"Ratmen's piss?"
The other goblin also twitched its nose to sniff the air.
"Yeah, it's the smell of ratmen. Must be carried by the wind."
"If they crawl, aren't they just big ground mice?"
"Not quite. They're uglier than ground mice."
"That's true. Haha, ratmen are uglier than us goblins."
"Are we ugly?"
"I don't know, but I don't like the look of most goblins."
"Not liking the look doesn't mean they're ugly, right?"
"Do you think the boss is handsome?"
"Of course!"
"I think a goblin's handsomeness is tied to their strength."
"No shit. Anyway, back to the ratmen."
"What about them?"
"If we can smell ratmen nearby, isn't that suspicious?"
The goblin's comment drew the attention of other goblins.
"What's suspicious about it?"
"Yeah, what's suspicious?"
"You usually smell ratmen only when encountering them in the forest. They never come near the settlement."
"Are there ratmen nearby?"
"Can't see them, but the smell is getting stronger."
"Should we light a fire?"
"No, firelight is too bright and affects vision."
"Does that mean the ratmen are in the nearby forest?"
"I don't see them."
"Neither do I."
"I see them! Over there!"
A goblin stationed on a watchtower suddenly pointed toward the western forest and shouted.
"Where? Where?"
All the goblins on the wall turned to look.
Sure enough, dark figures could be seen moving at the edge of the forest to the west.
Though the distance made it hard to see clearly, something was definitely there.
"Fire a flaming arrow to check!"
A goblin warrior climbed the watchtower upon hearing the commotion.
The goblin manning the ballista quickly loaded a flaming arrow and aimed it toward the forest.
Moments later, the flaming arrow shot through the air, arcing perfectly before embedding itself in the ground at the forest's edge.
The firelight illuminated the surrounding darkness, revealing a mass of figures at the forest's edge.
Standing there was a dense crowd of ratmen, clad in crude iron armor and wielding long-handled blades.
Their blood-red eyes glinted in the firelight.
"It's the ratmen! So many of them!"
"Sound the horn! Light the signal fire!"
The sight of the ratmen caused panic among the goblins on the wall.
Many began running back and forth along the wall, their faces full of alarm.
"Woo!"
Moments later, an urgent horn blast echoed through the settlement.
The signal fire on the main watchtower was ignited, lighting up the night sky like a massive fireball visible from miles away.
As the signal fire blazed, movement stirred in the northern forest.
A ratman clad in a gray robe stepped out onto the open ground beyond the forest.
It held a wooden staff and raised it high, pointing it forward.
"Squeak!"
The ratman let out a sharp cry, and its army responded instantly.
The mass of ratmen soldiers surged out of the forest like a tide, their footsteps echoing through the darkness.
Thousands of ratmen charged forward, their squeals filling the night.
Amidst the army of armored ratmen were gray-robed figures wielding wooden staffs.
These ratmen mages waved their staffs, chanting in high-pitched tones.
In the darkness, green flames flickered.
Large, football-sized green fireballs rose from the ratmen army and flew toward the wooden walls.
"Boom!"
Explosions rang out as the green fireballs struck the northern wooden walls.
Flames and shockwaves tore through the wooden barriers, sending plumes of green fire and debris skyward.
Sections of the wall were reduced to rubble, and the fires quickly spread, consuming the wood.
"Kill them! Use the hive arrows!"
The goblins in the settlement rallied to defend the north wall.
Ballistae on the watchtowers fired rapidly, launching swarms of hive arrows into the advancing ratmen army.
The air filled with screams as the ratmen fell in droves, like wheat being cut down.
But the sheer number of ratmen was overwhelming.
The black tide of soldiers pressed forward relentlessly, their numbers seemingly endless.
The ballistae on the northern wall couldn't stop the tide.
Green fireballs continued to rain down, striking the walls and towers.
Two watchtowers were already destroyed by the magical bombardment, their sections of the wall ablaze.
The intense heat of the green flames incinerated goblins instantly, reducing them to ash.
The ratmen army pushed through the broken walls, pouring into the settlement.
The green flames seemed to have no effect on the ratmen, who charged through the burning gaps.
Before long, the entire settlement was engulfed in flames.
The central watchtower collapsed in the inferno, consumed by the green fire.