Chapter 73: Mutated Magic Horn Goblins
Without further ado, Owen, taking Charle, the Teutonic Knights, several Shinobi, healers, and a hundred soldiers, rushed towards the Magic Horn Forest.
Considering the unclear situation, Owen didn’t head straight for the Goblin tribe. Instead, he chose the wooden fortress as a base.
The wooden fortress was initially a hidden military base for Owen. Later, after its exposure and the increasing importance of the Goblin tribe, it was transformed into a transit station. After continuous expansion, the wooden fortress could now accommodate two hundred people for long-term garrisoning and had a warehouse with a considerable capacity, storing Magic Horn Tree blocks and food transported from the Goblin tribe.
Fortunately, thanks to the continuous logging in the past two years, not only had the wooden fortress been built more solidly and perfectly, but a large open space had also been created around it as a buffer. Any attackers who came would be unable to conceal their tracks. Therefore, the soldiers and civilians in the wooden fortress didn’t suffer much damage in the first wave of mutated creatures’ attacks. They retreated to the fortress in time and even killed a lot of mutated creatures.
Currently, crossbowmen were patrolling the wooden walls, and longswordsmen were on high alert. Having suffered heavy casualties, the cowardly mutated creatures chose to retreat. Therefore, Owen didn’t encounter any trouble and smoothly entered the wooden fortress.
After entering the wooden fortress, Owen asked the healers to treat the wounded with White Fresh and then began to inquire about the situation. The result made his face darken.
It wasn’t that the situation was terrible, but that the situation was unknown.
Although the system soldiers were loyal, they lacked initiative and had an attitude of indifference. The lower the level of the soldiers, the more obvious this was. They only knew how to rigidly obey orders.
In short, they were willing to die but incapable of managing affairs. What could Owen do?
Because the wooden fortress had always been without a leader, after being attacked, it would only retreat to the fortress as Owen had previously instructed. As for more information, they didn’t know.
Helplessly, Owen could only send out all the scouts from the wooden fortress to inquire about the situation. He couldn’t just rush in without knowing anything.
Fortunately, according to the information brought back by the scouts, the situation in the forest was currently not bad. After some mutated creatures died, most of the rest regained their sanity and were returning to their original lives, grazing if they were herbivores and hunting if they were predators. As for other impacts, it was still unclear in the short term. Therefore, Owen decided to set off immediately for the Goblin tribe.
The road between the Goblin tribe and the wooden fortress hadn’t been completed yet, but a large number of trees had already been felled, so carriages couldn’t pass through. However, walking was fine, which saved Owen a lot of trouble.
The group didn’t carry any extra supplies except for two days’ worth of food and water. This was because as long as they successfully entered the Goblin tribe, they wouldn’t lack food and water. If they couldn’t, the lighter the burden when they turned to escape, the better.
The scouts from the wooden fortress were very familiar with the forest. They acted as the eyes of the troops, scouting the way ahead. The longswordsmen and crossbowmen were responsible for attacking any mutated creatures encountered along the way. The Teutonic Knights were stationed in the center, the Shinobi were hidden in the shadows, and Charle guarded Owen’s side. Everything was in order.
However, they didn’t know if it was because the time was too short or because the wave that caused the mutation wasn’t as strong as they imagined. Although they encountered some mutated animals and plants on the way, they weren’t as powerful as they had imagined.
For example, their size had become larger, their claws and teeth had become sharper, and they were stronger and faster. This allowed the mutated creatures to have better survival abilities. However, under the longswords and crossbow bolts, they didn’t last much longer than ordinary animals. This allowed Owen to relax a little.
But when they arrived near the Goblin tribe, the mutation became a bit outrageous.
The originally tamed Magic Horn Goblins were affected by the mutation. Their size had increased significantly, with red eyes, black skin, sharp horns, and ferocious muscles. They were like monsters, having lost most of their sanity. Instead, their strength was enhanced, and they could even exchange a few blows with the longswordsmen.
If they were equipped with weapons and trained, the mutated Magic Horn Goblins might not be inferior to longswordsmen. However, it was still a question whether their remaining sanity would allow them to master the use of weapons and training.
Even so, Owen was still very vigilant because no one knew how many Magic Horn Goblins there were in the Magic Horn Forest or how many had mutated.
“Clear them out and have the scouts pay attention to our rear and flanks.” Owen knew how cunning Goblins were. Being less civilized didn’t mean they were stupid. Traps, lures, and ambushes had become their instincts. If you dared to be careless when facing Goblins, you would soon find yourself in their pot.
Owen’s orders were perfectly executed, especially by the Shinobi. They were proficient in stealth and assassination, and with the high burst of the Breathing Techniques, they were like tigers with wings. Most Magic Horn Goblins didn’t know how they died until they were dead.
When Owen and the others arrived at the Goblin tribe, the battle was still ongoing. A large number of Magic Horn Goblins were trying to break into the Goblin tribe. However, the Goblin General had obviously executed his orders well. It used the large amount of lumber obtained from road construction to build wooden walls, causing the entire tribe to be surrounded by several meters high logs. It also built a large number of arrow towers. Therefore, even though it was at a disadvantage in terms of individual strength and numbers, it was still able to hold on.
The reason why hundreds of Magic Horn Goblins gathered here was because they knew that the Goblin tribe had weapons, food, and everything they needed. Therefore, even though they suffered heavy casualties, they were still unwilling to leave. Moreover, they were still mutating in the continuous battle, and even faintly producing more powerful Magic Horn Goblins.
Now Owen discovered that some larger mutants with longer horns had appeared among the Magic Horn Goblins, which made him feel absurd.
What he found absurd wasn’t the appearance of mutants, but the appearance and features of the Magic Horn Goblins.
Magic Horn Goblins didn’t actually have horns, and their skin wasn’t black. However, in order to adapt to the environment of the Magic Horn Tree Forest, they would apply the sap of the Magic Horn Tree roots to their bodies from a young age. This sap could neutralize the toxicity of the Magic Horn Tree thorns.
This viscous, black sap was slightly toxic. Humans couldn’t handle it and would have severe allergic reactions, even death. However, Goblins, through their strong adaptability and rapid reproduction, adapted to this toxicity and gained the ability to live in the Magic Horn Tree Forest.
As for the horns on their heads, those were thorns from the Magic Horn Tree. Magic Horn Goblins would stick a Magic Horn Tree thorn on their heads after adulthood, representing that they had reached adulthood. Therefore, Magic Horn Goblins were actually not much different from ordinary Goblins.
Of course, this was all in the past. Now they had indeed become the black-skinned, horned, and fanged creatures before them.
However, although the Magic Horn Goblins had become stronger, they had also lost part of their sanity. In addition, a leader who could command all the Magic Horn Goblins had yet to appear. With the scattered troops fighting on their own, the battle had been in a stalemate.
The Goblin soldiers, relying on the wooden fortress and arrow towers, hadn’t fallen behind. Moreover, once the battle situation became unfavorable, the Goblin General would lead the Goblin Demon Sheep Cavalry to charge out and turn the tide. They could still hold on for a while.
