Paul's scope settled on a lone cloaked figure skulking near the goblin settlement's—one of the few elites left behind. "Start operation," he murmured to Renya.
Twip.
The suppressed round struck true. The goblin's hood snapped backward as its knees buckled. Thud.
"Next..." Paul whispered, already scanning for another target. His crosshair drifted toward a second figure frantically scrambling toward the armory.
Core Channel 5 Activation, Renya's voice cut through the radio, icy and precise: "Execute Operation."
Inside the King's abandoned tent, shadows detached from darkness itself. Shink!—blades flashed. Before the remaining goblins could scream, twelve throats opened in perfect unison. The assassins melted back into the canvas folds, leaving only spreading pools of black blood.
While scanning for each special goblin, Paul asked, "So... how many hostages are there?" Twip—his sniper fired another shot toward the goblin settlement.
Renya, watching the feed through the binoculars, sighed. "Around 104 people…" she answered, then added with a confused tone, "But... 56 of them are already registered as slaves."
She barely had time to process it when the sounds of battle echoed from the four fronts—shouts and clashes rang out:
"AAAAAA—!"
"Hold the line!!"
"Kill that monster!"
Clang! Clang! Clag!
Paul nodded slightly, as if the answer only deepened his resolve. "Is that so…" he muttered.
Then, with a steady voice, he spoke into the mic, "Greta, now... there are approximately 104 hostages," his tone firm and serious.
When Greta replied with a sharp, "Roger," Paul immediately cut the comm and refocused, returning to his rhythm—aiming and eliminating goblins within the settlement with precise shots.
Meanwhile, Greta emerged swiftly from the treeline, sprinting toward the goblin settlement with practiced ease. Upon reaching the outer wall, she scaled it in one fluid motion and vaulted over the top.
As she leapt, her body twisted midair with a graceful horizontal spin. Twip. Twip. Twip. Arrows flew from her bow, striking the goblins in her line of sight with deadly accuracy.
Still mid-spin, she rotated back and landed solidly—thud—one foot first. The moment she hit the ground, the impact was enough to kill a goblin that had been too close, its skull crushed beneath her descent.
As she ran toward the designated tent, Greta called Paul and asked, "Are you sure about this, Prince?"—her tone filled with doubt.
Paul, slightly confused, replied, "What do you mean?"
Sensing his confusion, Greta clarified, "I mean the hostages... Can they really be trusted?" Her voice was hesitant.
While speaking, Greta dropped off a crossbow, several crates of weapons, one-handed swords, shields, and armor at the tent. Without wasting a second, she sprinted toward the next one, taking out every goblin in her line of sight with quick, clean shots.
As she arrived at the next tent, distributing more gear—shields, weapons, and armor—Paul finally answered, "Yes, they're safe. The assassin already placed slave collars on everyone found in the tents and assigned commanders to each group."
Hearing that, Greta simply replied, "Understood," and ended the call. She then darted off toward the next tent at full speed.
Several tents, now equipped with weapons and armor laid out in front, began to stir. Moments later, the hostages emerged—donning the gear under the watchful eyes of the assassins who led them. Without hesitation, they moved in coordinated teams, striking down any goblins that crossed their path.
Watching as the hostages and assassins slowly gained control of the settlement, Paul opened a communication line to Greta.
"Close the gate using the stone I stored in the spatial bag," he ordered calmly, even as he lined up his shot and fired at another goblin from a distance.
When they heard "the stone in the spatial bag," both Greta and Renya froze for a second and exclaimed simultaneously, "Huh!?" "Huh!?"
Still heading toward the gate, Greta quickly followed up, "Why on earth did you collect so many stones, Prince?!"
Paul looked a bit lost at the question, and when he glanced at Renya—who was staring at him with a "seriously, why?" look—he finally replied, "Well… I figured we might need them someday. So I gathered a bunch. And, well, looks like we do now, right?"
As Paul turned his gaze away, avoiding their reactions, Greta sighed and smacked her forehead. "Okay, Prince…" she muttered in resignation, continuing toward the gate.
After reaching the gate and defeating the goblins guarding it, Greta began pulling out large stones from her spatial bag, one by one. While doing so, she called Paul and said, "I need help arranging these."
Hearing that, Paul replied, "Okay…" then turned to Renya and said firmly, "Call some squads to the gate. Have them help Greta set up the stones as a barricade."
Renya responded immediately, "Roger," and switched to core channel five to relay the order.
Not long after, several hostages and assassins arrived at the gate and began arranging the stones behind it, forming a solid blockade.
After inspecting the stone arrangement and deciding it looked sturdy enough to hold the gate, Greta contacted Paul and said in a serious tone, "It's done."
Upon hearing that, Paul immediately responded, "Head to the other gate. Have the hostages and assassins secure it as well."
"Roger," Greta replied, then took off running toward the next gate.
When she arrived, a group of hostages and assassins were already waiting for her. Without wasting any time, Greta began pulling more stones from her spatial bag, handing them over so the group could start building another barricade.
After everything was secured and Greta reported, "Done," Paul immediately responded, "Now the settlement is under our control. Greta, go assist Brunhild in dealing with the special goblins—especially the Goblin King."
"Roger," Greta replied before leaping over the wall and dashing out of the settlement area, heading straight for the ongoing battle.
While continuing to aim and fire from his position, Paul turned to Renya and said, "I'm leaving the cleanup and defense of the settlement to your team—the assassins and the hostages. Stay sharp."
"Roger," Renya responded firmly, then switched to core channel 5 to relay the orders to her team.