That night was quieter than usual.
The campfire at the center of Goblin's Grove crackled softly, as most of the goblins had fallen asleep after a full day of repairing the fields damaged from the previous attack.
But Godon wasn't sleeping.
He stood near the western fence, eyes fixed on the thinning fog. Where he once could barely see a few meters ahead, now he could make out dozens. And because of that… he knew something was wrong.
"Jun," Godon muttered without turning his head. "The fog… it's too calm."
Jun didn't even get a chance to answer.
A short whistle—an emergency signal from one of the goblin guards—sliced through the silence.
Tiiit! Tiiit! Tiiit!
Jun stood up immediately. "They're here."
From the fading mist, large silhouettes began to emerge. One was far bigger than the others—its skin a dark greenish-black, glowing yellow eyes like a predator.
He marched forward, followed by ten goblins clad in crude armor, wielding bone and rusted iron weapons.
These were no ordinary strays—this was an elite squad.
"Hold positions!" Jun shouted as he sprinted toward the watchtower. "Archers, to your posts!"
Three goblin archers rushed up the tower, bows in hand. But before they could draw—
Whuk!A throwing knife embedded itself in one archer's throat. The remaining two were struck by poisoned arrows from the enemy's elite shooters.
Three archers—dead in seconds.
"No way…" Jun muttered. "Their movements… too precise."
Out in the field, two of Jun's melee goblins charged forward, trying to intercept the enemy commander.
They thrust their spears—
Clang! Clang! Slash!
It took only three swings of the giant axe to kill them both. Clean, merciless. Blood soaked the young cornfields.
"He's… a monster…" Minho whispered, arriving just a second too late.
Godon dropped down from the watchtower, immediately clashing with one of the elite goblins. The fight was fierce—daggers versus a spiked mace. Sparks flew as their weapons collided.
Jun couldn't just watch.
He grabbed his wooden spear and activated his control magic, trying to hold the enemy commander's movements.
But the mana wasn't enough. His control faltered.
"Jun, we need to fall back!" Minho yelled.
"No! We hold the second line! Everyone retreat to fallback position!"
The remaining goblins withdrew slowly, dragging wounded allies with them.
Two farming goblins were killed while shielding others during the retreat. They weren't trained to fight—but their bravery saved lives.
The second wooden gate was slammed shut.
Jun, Minho, and Godon stood in front of it—breathing heavily, bruised, and furious.
From beyond the now visible fog, the enemy leader raised his axe high and roared:
"THIS LAND IS OURS! YOU ARE THE INTRUDERS!"
The chapter ends with Jun narrowing his blood-streaked eyes at the enemy and whispering through clenched teeth:
"…If this is your land… then I'll take it back."