Chapter 114: Battle on the River
The Crystal Temple within the principality had a long and storied history.
Its zenith coincided with the peak of the Holy Kingdom Empire's power.
Although the Crystal Temple now had the Holy See Nation, it was not content to settle for a single territory.
The temple's ambition was never merely "domination."
The High Priest of the temple glanced at Carlos thoughtfully.
He smiled but did not continue the discussion.
The timing was not right, nor was the location.
Sometimes, personal will was insignificant.
One day, Lord Carlos would understand.
As the pioneering fleet of the Irisis Principality advanced upstream along Goblin River, they were unaware they had fallen into a trap.
"Boss, it's the humans. They're here!"
In the dim forest, a goblin ran up to Li Meng, panting.
"Don't rush. Wait until the leading ship of the fleet reaches this point before attacking!"
"Pass down the order again: no one is to attack without my command!"
Li Meng stood in the forest on the northern bank of Goblin River.
Beyond the forest lay the wide Goblin River.
The ambush line in the northern forest stretched only two kilometers, while the fleet spanned several kilometers.
Li Meng did not expect to annihilate the entire human fleet.
However, he also did not wish for them to leave unscathed.
He had to inflict as much damage as possible on the Irisis Principality's Pioneer Corps.
Only by doing so could he ensure that the principality would not attempt another invasion anytime soon.
In the dim forest, the goblins stood ready.
Countless green-skinned figures hid in the underbrush, clad in crude armor and armed with spears and crossbows.
Their eyes gleamed with excitement as they watched the river beyond the forest.
The goblin boar riders calmed their mounts to keep them silent.
Under Li Meng's leadership, the goblins had learned many things.
While they still cast greedy eyes on the boars when hungry, they refrained from slaughtering the boars they had raised from young.
Among the goblins, towering ogres loomed.
In the forest, these ogres donned heavy armor.
Standing still, they resembled metal mountains.
Their spiked clubs in hand only added to their intimidating presence.
The goblins kept a respectful distance from them.
As time passed, the fleet advanced deeper into the trap.
Within half an hour, Li Meng saw the leading sailboat on the river.
The towering sails made the fleet highly visible, even from a distance.
"They're here. They're here!"
Li Meng grinned sinisterly in the forest, resting a large iron rod on his shoulder.
"Benben, remember what I told you. If you're tired, run. If you can't win, run. If you're out of magic, run!"
In the chaos of battle, no one could stop Benben from retreating.
After all, Benben wasn't alone.
The humans had no chance to encircle Benben.
In the previous timeline, Benben and Yue E had likely died because they fought to the end instead of retreating.
In the chaos of battle, Li Meng couldn't protect both Benben and Yue E while fighting powerful enemies.
He had watched them die helplessly.
Benben looked down at the boss beside him.
"Boss, I understand!"
"Then let's get this show started!"
Li Meng turned and nodded to an ogre beside him.
The ogre hefted its spiked club and struck a massive iron gong suspended from a tree.
"Clang!"
A thunderous metallic sound echoed through the forest.
The sound reverberated across the land.
The gong's resonance brought a flurry of activity to the forest.
"Wah-wah!"
The goblins operating the triple-bow ballistae shouted as they pulled the triggers.
"Whoosh!"
Amidst a cacophony of bowstrings snapping, the dim forest was filled with the sound of projectiles cutting through the air.
Massive bolts shot out from the forest, aiming directly at the fleet on the river.
Covering hundreds of meters in an instant, the bolts struck with ferocious force.
"Boom!"
With a deafening crash, the bolts pierced the ships' hulls.
"Ah!"
Unfortunate soldiers hit by the bolts were impaled, their bodies carrying through the hulls and into the water on the other side.
The ballista bolts had devastating power.
Splinters flew as the hulls of the ships were riddled with holes.
Inside the cabins, soldiers were thrown off balance, their cries filling the air.
"What's happening?"
The sudden attack threw the soldiers into chaos.
In the cabin of the lead ship, the soldiers scrambled to the deck.
But with a loud "boom," the hull was pierced by another bolt.
Several unlucky individuals were flung out, their screams drowned by the impact.
Within seconds, one of the sailboats was split in half by the massive bolts.
Its hull shattered, and the ship disintegrated.
Screaming soldiers plunged into the river.
"High Priest, freeze the river immediately!"
On the deck of the lead ship, Carlos rushed out of the cabin.
With a cold glare, he swung his greatsword.
The blade flashed, slicing a bolt in two.
The arrowhead and shaft separated, with the latter falling to the deck and the former plunging into the river.
The force from the impact caused Carlos's wrist to tremble.
His expression darkened as he turned toward the forest on the northern bank.
In the dim forest, green-skinned figures were faintly visible.
"Goblins?"
Surprise flickered in Carlos's eyes.
He hadn't expected goblins to ambush the fleet from the riverside forest.
Nor had he anticipated them wielding such powerful ballistae.
"Sound the war drums!!"
Carlos's roar prompted the drummer on the rear deck to strike the war drums urgently.
"Boom, boom," the drumbeats echoed over the river.
As the lead ship's drum sounded, the other sailboats followed suit.
The priests of the temple rushed to the decks, raising their staffs high.
On the deck of the lead ship, five temple priests chanted in unison.
The crystals atop their staffs glowed with a blue brilliance.
Billowing white mist expanded outward from the ships, freezing the river wherever it touched.
When the lead ship employed ice magic, the temple priests on the other ships followed suit.
The spreading mist froze the river surface instantly.
Even the soldiers who had fallen into the river were frozen.
The thrashing soldiers turned into ice sculptures.
"Adventurer mages, prepare to defend!"
"It's goblins! They're in the northern forest!"
"Kill them! Counterattack!"
After the initial chaos, the human fleet quickly regained composure.
The decks shimmered with magical lights of various hues.
Multicolored magic barriers materialized around the ships.
Bolts from the forest were deflected by these barriers, falling harmlessly away.
Fiery orbs rose from the decks, hurtling toward the northern forest.
"Boom!"
Explosions erupted in the forest.
Blazing flames consumed everything in their path.
The magic attacks weren't limited to fireballs; ice lances and water projectiles also joined the fray.
The human fleet's bombardment devastated the forest along the riverbank.
In no time, swaths of trees near the waterline collapsed.
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