The sound of wind assaulted his ears as Roland rushed forward with Rose following closely behind him.
But no, they were not just rushing forward.
The men on the ground were mostly oblivious to their presence, but the more alert ones watched with gaping mouths as the duo took to the skies, directly flying over the battlefield as if the fighting below was not of their concern.
[Flight]
It was a Level 4 auxiliary spell that granted the user the ability to fly through the skies.
Relative to its other Level 4 counterparts, it was definitely a lot less flashy.
However, in terms of its utility, it could be argued that it was able to even rival spells of much higher levels.
In return for its usefulness, the huge expenditure of mana required from the [Flight] spell meant that only magic users with a sufficiently large mana reserve were able to effectively use it over a prolonged period of time.
But that was not a problem for Roland and Rose, who had spent the bulk of their lives wholeheartedly building up their mana reserves.
The Goblin Kings had long noticed the duo rise above the others and make their way towards the backline of the goblins.
However, they possessed no way of striking the airborne targets.
The Goblin Kings could only roar helplessly as the duo soared through the air until Roland and Rose were almost directly above them.
Then like an eagle swooping down towards its prey, Roland suddenly descended at a speed far exceeding anyone else's expectations.
In fact, even Rose was left behind as the young king headed straight towards one of the Goblin Kings, his scabbard rattling at his waist due to the impact with the wind.
Roland tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, holding it firmly in place as he rapidly closed the distance between him and the enemy leaders.
"Looks like the king is intending to take on the Goblin Kings by himself!" Adel exclaimed in shock.
"T-that is foolish! He is not in an arena with one of the Goblin Kings right now! While he tussled with one of them, the others will strike him from the side! Not to mention that the other goblins will definitely turn around to mob him…" Baroc frowned as well upon noticing Roland's actions.
"Why does he have to charge into their midst when he could just keep firing off that ridiculous spell from before?" Adel bit her lower lips in anxiety.
"I might be wrong, but there might be a limit to the effective cast range of the previous spell. If he simply kept doing so, King Roland would never be able to strike the Goblin Kings that are standing all the way at the other end," Klint answered.
He had the most extensive knowledge about spell casting among the group, and thus was the only one able to rationalise Roland's actions.
"Even so, charging in like this is almost suicidal!" Baroc was still not convinced.
So what if the King was unable to directly strike the Goblin Kings with the lightning spell?
Was it really worth risking his life by charging right into the backline of the opponents?
Even though a Goblin King was said to be not as strong in terms of individual combat strength, that was only because its potent command ability completely overshadowed it.
With its superior physique and fighting sense, it was even able to overpower a troll in combat despite the latter's strong regenerative abilities!
How was the king supposed to stand his ground in front of three such entities, and surrounded by the remaining thousands of goblins on top of that?
Klint had no answer for that.
The defense was holding up decently, and it was impossible for them to make a huge impact even if they were to charge into the battlefield against such an overwhelming amount of goblins.
In the face of such a battle, there was nothing much that the S-ranked adventurer group could do other than to nervously watch on as the king descended from the skies.
Unaware of the worry from Phoenix Sentinels, Roland's eyes were firmly fixated on his target even as he continued falling from the skies.
Klint was not entirely wrong in his rationalisation.
Most Level 7 attack spells would definitely be able to cover the range of the current battlefield, considering that it was relatively small.
However, [Roar of the Lightning Dragon] was a spell that traded long cast range for pure destruction ability, and thus was unable to reach the enemy leaders.
Still, that was not the main reason why Roland did not continue doing so.
After all, he could have simply stayed in the skies and cast the spell from above.
What made Roland decide to personally charge in was because he had already judged that even with the boost from the Goblin Kings, the common goblins posed no threat to him at all.
Since his plan of winning in a spectacular war of wits had already gone down the drain, Roland had now decided to simply choose the most efficient way of taking out the enemy leaders.
Of course, if the Goblin Kings proved to be too much to handle, he would promptly retreat.
With no capability for airborne combat, there was no way for the Goblin Kings to catch him after all.
The Goblin King had already noticed Roland falling towards him, and was readying itself for the impact.
It was double the height of a grown man, standing in huge contrast to the relatively short stature of other goblins. Its huge arms and fat belly would have it being mistaken as an ogre if not for the defining facial features of goblins.
Armed with two huge iron knives, each the size of a grown man, the Goblin King decisively threw one of it up into the air, straight towards Roland.
Mana seeped out of Roland and rapidly entered his sword, imbuing it with magical strength and reinforcing its material composition.
Roland was not using an extremely well made sword, but after being imbued with his mana, it immediately jumped grades, becoming one that was capable of matching even the top swords in the world.
In one smooth action, Roland drew his sword and instantly split the huge knife into two, his speed not decreasing at all as the two parts flew past him.
At this moment, he was almost upon the Goblin King.
Roland raised his sword and swung down with both hands, ready to slash down towards the Goblin King.
His target reacted fast enough though, bringing up its remaining knife to block his attack.
However, how was this knife different from the one he had just thrown?
There was simply no difference at all.
Roland's sword passed straight through the knife, cleanly dividing it into two.
There was no time to dodge, and the Goblin King could only watch in horror as the sword continued downwards towards him, bringing with it an impending sense of death.
From top to bottom in one swift action, the Goblin King was neatly divided into two symmetrical sections by the time Roland's feet slammed into the ground, causing a deafening clap that resounded across the battlefield.
The earth was crushed under his feet, but that was not the main point.
The huge Goblin King that had stood proudly against him was now falling to its sides, one half of its body to the left and the other half to the right.
Blood spurt out like a fountain from the oversized demihuman, making its way onto Roland's clothes as well despite the suppression from the heavy rain.
An instant kill!
Who would have thought that one of the feared Goblin Kings would fall in such a way?
Even the remaining two Goblin Kings seemed to be stunned for a moment before roaring in rage, charging over with the huge knives in their own hands.
At this point, Rose had finally caught up.
With a swing of her sword, she forced one of the Goblin Kings to stop in its tracks, having to block her attack with its huge knives.
Even so, the Goblin King was forced to stumble backwards due to the powerful momentum that Rose had accumulated from descending from height.
With one of the Goblin Kings dead and another forced backwards, Roland immediately charged towards the other remaining one.
Roland raised his sword and swung to parry the attacks that were coming towards him from the Goblin King.
The first slash deleted the huge knife on its right hand.
The second slash deleted the huge knife on its left hand.
And one final horizontal slash separated the Goblin King's head from its neck.
Once again, a fountain of blood spurt out from the wound, drenching Roland's body as the Goblin King slumped into the ground.
Roland quickly turned towards Rose who was skirting around the last Goblin King, repeatedly slashing its body and inflicting wounds deep enough to see its bones.
There was no question that the remaining Goblin King was already on its last foot as the number of wounds increased rapidly.
Even before the Goblin King ran out of stamina, Rose's sword found its way through an opening, and pierced right into its neck, ending its suffering once and for all.
Only moments had passed from the start of the duo's descent until the three Goblin Kings fell, but it was also these few moments that bore the greatest significance on the battle that had already lasted for more than an hour.
There was simply not enough time for the surrounding goblins to rush to their leaders' aid.
By the time they were about to arrive, the fight had already ended, causing their movements to slow in shock.
"This…what is this…?" Baroc gripped the wooden parapet on the watchtower in shock as he tried to digest what he just saw.
"That is not humanly possible!" Adel shouted with her eyes opened wide. "The king…is he really human?"
"Did you think the previous spell was humanly possible then?" Klint snorted in contempt towards his group member.
Klint had already been completely bought over by the power displayed in the previous spell.
At that point, his entire consciousness had already started regarding Roland as the pinnacle of magic, completely revering him as an individual.
Seeing that his group members had only just started to realise the strength of the king, he could not help but feel a slight disdain for their lack of awareness.
"Wait, it is not over yet!" Klint suddenly shouted as he sensed a familiar spiritual pressure being emanated from the other end of the battlefield.
"This king…just what is he?" Baroc's voice was slightly trembling as he continued watching.
The ball of light from before appeared once again, this time right in the midst of the goblin horde.
With the Goblin Kings having fallen in battle, the remaining goblins acted like headless flies, trying to scatter in all directions as they tried to escape the powerful lightning bolts.
However, there was simply nowhere for them to run.
They were encased on both sides by the terrain, with one end being fortified by the expedition army and the other end being the source of the lightning attacks.
Oddly enough, even many of the remaining goblins that had yet to exit the dense vegetation of Dragontail Valley simply stood there hesitantly, choosing not to retreat the way they came until it was too late.
Now that there was no one to guide the goblins, their instinctual banding mentality resulted in the goblins sticking together in huge clusters, allowing the thick lightning bolts to vaporise them at an even greater speed compared to before.
"Charge!" Alexander's sharp eyes noticed the change in the tides of battle, and immediately roared in command.
King Roland was the commander of the expedition army, but the king had appointed the Captain of the Royal Guards as his deputy this time, holding full command over the army in the king's absence.
Following that roar from Alexander, the barricades were promptly lowered and the soldiers charged out of the fortifications towards the flustered goblins.
Without the command of the Goblin Kings, these goblins had immediately reverted back to their cowardly selves, more concerned with escaping the danger than to stand together against the incoming soldiers.
What followed was a one-sided massacre, as the goblins were completely routed in this Battle of Dragontail Valley.
The expedition army even broke into platoons as they chased after the remaining goblins that had managed to pass by Roland and Rose, escaping into the depths of the Dragontail Valley.
While the terrain was not suitable for an entire army to march into, small platoons were still able to manoeuvre decently well within it.
On top of that, the goblins were no longer a threat, and simply chasing after goblins demanded much less of the soldiers.
Baroc sighed deeply in his heart.
Even though they had agreed to help out, Baroc and the other members of Phoenix Sentinels had done nothing but act as a spectator throughout the battle.
This was not because they did not wish to help, but because there was simply no chance to do so!
He had truly misjudged this time round, having blindly believed in the rumours about the king.
King Roland had completely controlled the flow of this battle from the start till the end.
The king had established an overwhelming strategical advantage that resulted from perfectly anticipating the attack of the goblins and fully fortifying the area.
With a single spell, he had managed to maintain this strategical advantage and prevent his soldiers from being run over by the huge number of goblins that they were facing.
Finally after confirming that all three of the main targets were present, he took them out with his own individual combat prowess, ultimately deciding the outcome of the battle.
Compared to Baroc's own plan of simply charging into the Dragontail Valley and facing off against the goblins, King Roland was simply far too advanced in his strategical foresight!
How had he managed to foresee the goblins' sudden all out offense?
How had he managed to confirm the existence of the Goblin Kings that hid within the goblin horde?
How had he managed to attain such pinnacle in his individual combat strength, both in terms of physical and magical capabilities?
These were not feats that even the most capable of commanders were capable of!
King Roland…he was a true God of War!