Huh? Where the Hell?

Even though only about a third of the troops had vanished, Vulcan ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scanned the eerily empty ranks with full vigilance.

The appearance of the garrison defense quest meant the enemy assault was imminent.

'A decoy, maybe?'

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was easy to assume the enemies had swarmed toward Regon Village, where flames had just erupted. But since Regon Village wasn't far from here, he couldn't discount the chance of remnants lingering. The odd part was that Dragon Eye showed no marked hostiles—until that mystery cleared up in an instant.

"Argh!!"

A scream kicked off the battle. Dozens of goblins materialized from nowhere, swinging weapons and firing paralyzing venom darts at the soldiers.

"Undead! It's undead!!"

"Priests! Help us… gah!"

The goblin corpses Vulcan had already shredded were rising again. He'd wondered why the quest monsters hadn't despawned immediately; turns out it was for this resurrection trick.

'That's it?'

But something still felt off. Even resurrected as undead, these were goblins he'd wiped solo. Shamans and champions reviving changed little—the knights were gone, and average level-60 soldiers plus Roona temple priests should handle them fine.

- Dark sorcery. Some bastard using it was still hanging around?

"Dark sorcery?"

- Yeah. Ancient demon goblin rituals, long obsolete. Most rituals use life force and morale like this. Dirty trick, but it screws weaklings hard. Demon Wars era stuff, powered by demonic energy. Didn't expect it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now. Another wave coming?

Tud dropped the bombshell casually, like it was trivia. But the implications were huge—if it was Demon Wars vintage, a Demon King descent ritual might be restarting. Black energy, a form of demonic qi, layered onto them relentlessly.

"Fall back! Protect the priests first!"

"We can win if we hold steady!!"

Rezina territory's soldiers were well-drilled. Brief panic aside, they pulled wounded into formation, blunting the goblins' ambush. The life-drain weirdness spurred Roona priests to unleash holy power, erecting Saint Barriers to shield everyone.

"Ugh?"

"My strength… it's draining!"

"Priests?!"

No use. Holy barriers couldn't fully block the black qi. Goblins hammered the barriers, but worse, soldiers' faces paled as black energy seeped in from the ground, stacking drain damage. They could hold for now, but escalating HP loss demanded action—fight or flight.

"Might as well charge and take them… gurk?!"

"What the hell?!"

Then chaos erupted inside the barrier. One ally stabbed another in the back.

Spy? Mind control? No— the attacker's uniform was off, similar but not quite.

"Not our guys!"

"Enemy! Disguised bastards!!"

Wrong. No disguise. They'd overlooked it amid goblin distraction—these were Regon Village guards, level 50, risen as undead. Slightly stronger now or ambush advantage made them deadly. Uniforms too similar for quick ID.

"Priests!!"

"H-heal!!"

Worse, undead guards targeted priests relentlessly—smart or pre-programmed? Roona priests weren't melee noobs, but elites were at the village; dodging and tanking was rough. Critical hits and heal spam drained mana.

"What do we do?"

Crack—crackle—

Meanwhile, goblins battered outside. Saint Barrier cracking; collapse imminent, unleashing more goblins and black qi.

- You really asking?

"Tch!"

Tud deadpanned at Vulcan, who cleaved a nearby undead guard. Only one play left.

"Save the priests first!"

Barrier shattered—Vulcan charged frontally. Goblins joining would amplify chaos; he'd draw aggro. Soldiers outleveled goblins, but priest casualties sowed disorder—time needed to regroup.

"Kreek!"

Goblins bit, naturally—he wasn't just charging; he cleaved vanguard, punching through.

'Got 'em.'

Undead goblins pivoted from soldiers to Vulcan crashing their midst. None landed real hits—undead buffs insufficient against his item power.

"You little shits?!"

Different this time—undead or sorcery infused attacks corroded gear. No HP loss, but durability ticked down. Asset erosion flipped Vulcan's switch.

"Die!!"

His awakened blade cleaved multiples per swing, ignoring defense—goblins couldn't dodge.

"?!"

But wounds—even massive gashes—regenerated troll-fast, black qi sucking in to heal.

"Heals too, huh?!"

Clang!

He clocked the mechanic: stolen life force fueling them. Decapitation test—blade powered up, goblin head flew.

"Crazy?!"

Black tendrils from the neck grabbed and reattached the head.

"Kekekeke!!"

Immortal? No—infinite regen impossible. Tud lounged unfazed atop his head, confident Vulcan could crack it.

Gritting teeth, Vulcan slashed while scanning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for sorcery source.

'Those?'

Lanterns on trees—unseen last visit—pulsing black light, qi leaking like smoke.

"Ngh!"

Whoosh!!

Goblins interrupted: scorching fireball slammed him.

Boom!!

Reflex slash backfired—explosion engulfed area.

Goblins couldn't scratch him before, but shaman spells applied magic attack—minor but real damage.

"Damn!"

Problem: he'd slashed with goblin champion's greatsword, which nullified low spells. Uncommon grade failed; Rare or Unique would've erased it. Vulcan scowled, inventory-swapped to Berserker Sword—better raw damage.

"Don't need your kin either!"

Free hand chugged potion, refilling HP. Alchemy steadied nerves despite shakes. Draining status demanded chugs; goblins pressed amid barrages.

Roar! Kaboom!!

Five shamans spamming; undead instant-heal let them AoE wildly. Vulcan dodged, lips tight.

This dragged. Soldiers covering goblins? Lantern-smash ends sorcery—but undead guards kept them pinned. Regroup needed time.

'No time.'

Stacking sorcery accelerated drain; potions sustained him, but soldiers lacked that. Roona priests specialized combat over heals—mana limits doomed them to wither. Seconds left by math.

"Kreeak!!"

Resurrected champion charged ragingly—memory of death?

Shake champion, evade shamans, smash six lanterns in time? Vulcan's gamer brain crunched instantly—peak Ranker precision.

"Let's try it!"

He could survive solo; losing others tanked rep/quest rewards. No knighthood, maybe lord's ire—wasted Unique gear.

'Losing cash? Hell no!'

Vulcan lunged. Feigned dodge scattered goblins; they regen-chased. Target: shaman clump.

"Kreek!"

Roar!

Slide fireballs, springboard off shaman shoulder—airborne.

"Blessing of Strength!"

HP burned for blessing—Roona's Grace swapped mana for HP via Blessed One effect.

One more embedded skill.

"Judgment Strike!"

One-shot scaling with Strength/mana spent; stronger vs evil. Vulcan poured everything—but not quite fatal.

All remaining HP as mana equivalent into the plunge.

"K-keeak?!"

KABOOM!!!!

Not shamans or champion—smashed the ground. Explosive force cratered earth, shamans plummeting with it.

"Urk!"

Recoil flung Vulcan skyward; he twisted midair to avoid fall.

Control slipped—teetering on crater edge.

Airborne, desperate yell:

"Lord Tud!!"

- Such a pain.

Wham!!

Dropkick launched him clear—barely.

- Don't forget: 50 chocolates!

Tud's hit dealt no damage; HP razor-thin from stunt, but alive.

"Whew, close call."

Rolled to absorb impact, chugged potion. Ached everywhere, but staggered to crater rim.

"Inventory."

Not deep, but tiny goblins—dazed, no climb. Vulcan prepped finish before regen.

"Eat this!"

Whoosh—whoosh—

Dumped dirt piles. Prepped for this; real-time payoff.

"Pack Down!"

Dirt hardened rock-solid in range. Pit trap classic: drop mobs, bind/bury for kills. Tedious, but his toolkit.

Judgment crater genius improv—though tall foes immune.

"K-keeak!!"

Buried goblins thrashed futilely—strength too low, smashing took ages.

Whoosh—

More dirt poured. Heavy bags worth the haul—deadlier than spells now.

"Pack Down! Pack Down! Pack Down!"

Layers entombed them fully.

"…No digging out."

Undead no-breath irrelevant; tunneling out? Ages. Vulcan bolted for lanterns—smashed all in time.

Undead guards froze, collapsing as corpses. Buried goblins same fate.

"D-did we win?"

"Everyone okay? Report casualties!"

Soldiers battling guards blinked confused, then credited Vulcan—no contributions from them, they'd seen the burial.

Bows of thanks mixed with damage checks and cleanup; most slumped, catching breath.

Vulcan couldn't rest—new Main Scenario pinged. Boom!!! Explosion from Regon Village; battle joined.

"Damn. No breather."

Tiran and elite knights rushed there—his help minimal? But Main Scenario meant purpose. Vulcan dragged his aching body toward Regon Village.