Chapter 115: Yue E, You're Too Fast!
"Boom!"
A loud explosion resounded.
A massive fireball descended into the forest.
It was the immensely powerful war magic spell, "Explosive Fireball."
In the riverside forest, a brilliant explosion of magical flames erupted.
A towering mushroom cloud of fire slowly ascended.
The shockwave of the explosion uprooted the vegetation within a hundred-meter radius.
Burning remnants of plants were flung into the air.
They turned into a fiery rain that fell back to the ground.
The flames in the forest spread outward from the center of the explosion.
Wherever they passed, the damp forest ignited.
The goblins hiding in that part of the forest were instantly consumed by the flames.
They were incinerated to ashes before they could even scream.
"Lord Carlos, the magic barrier won't hold much longer!"
On the aft deck, Carlos closely monitored the battle situation of the fleet.
The sudden attack earlier had caused three ships to disintegrate.
The other ships also suffered severe damage.
The hulls were badly damaged, with massive holes gaping in them.
Although they hadn't sunk yet, they were on the verge of doing so.
This was why he had ordered the river to be frozen.
The frozen river would provide a foundation for the ships to rest on.
Even if the damage worsened, they wouldn't immediately sink.
"Order all ships to disembark and have the troops form up for an advance toward the northern bank!"
The rhythm of the war drums suddenly changed.
The drumbeats became faster and more urgent.
Under the protection of the magical barrier, soldiers from all the ships disembarked and gathered on the icy surface.
Alongside the soldiers, adventurers also disembarked.
In no time, around three thousand soldiers had assembled on the ice.
Nearly a hundred adventurers joined them.
As soon as the soldiers disembarked, the magic barriers on the ships dissipated one after another.
Without the protection of the magic barriers, the ballistae bolts regained their devastating power.
"Boom!"
A loud scream followed.
Soldiers lined up on the ice were blown away.
The bolts pierced through the hull of the ships with unstoppable momentum.
"Watch out!"
Another bolt came hurtling through the air.
On the left side of the ice near the third ship, a heavily armored adventurer knight wielding a sword and shield roared as he stepped forward.
His massive shield was raised in front of him.
"Clang!"
A piercing metallic sound rang out.
Sparks flew off the shield.
The tremendous impact sent the adventurer knight flying backward.
The bolt soared vertically into the sky.
It flew dozens of meters before crashing into the hull of the ship with a "thud."
"Captain, are you alright?!"
The knight's teammates were startled.
"I... I'm fine!"
The adventurer knight, looking disheveled, pried himself out of the dented ship hull.
The shield that had fallen onto the ice was already cracked.
The crystal embedded in the shield was covered with cobweb-like fractures.
"Brave warriors of the Irisis Principality, charge with me!"
At this moment, Carlos, standing on the ice near the lead ship, issued the order to charge.
He knew staying on the ice would only make them easy targets.
With a loud roar, Carlos personally led the charge toward the northern forest.
"Charge!"
The soldiers, encouraged, shouted as they launched their assault.
The adventurers provided covering fire, attacking the northern forest.
Under the barrage of magical attacks, the northern forest was already ablaze.
Yet, even so, bolts continued to shoot out from within the flames.
On the two-kilometer stretch of the frozen river, the human army charged forward.
Priests aboard the ships raised their staffs.
They continuously unleashed Explosive Fireballs to attack the northern forest.
They needed to eliminate as many enemies in the northern forest as possible before the troops landed.
"Humans truly are strong!"
The forest ahead had turned into a sea of fire.
Tall trees burned fiercely.
Waves of searing heat surged forward relentlessly.
Through the fiery sea, Li Meng could see the human troops charging across the river.
Fortunately, the ambush site was a hundred meters away from the riverbank.
Otherwise, the humans' magic would have inflicted massive casualties on the goblins hidden in the forest.
Although some goblins were hit by the humans' magic, the losses were within an acceptable range.
At that moment, Li Meng's expression suddenly changed.
"Damn it, Yue E, who told you to charge out so quickly?!"
Li Meng's figure flickered as he darted out of the forest.
As he burst forward, a shockwave erupted.
The ground beneath him cracked and collapsed.
In a flash, he sped through the fiery sea.
His voice, filled with curses, trailed behind him.
Wherever he passed, the raging flames were extinguished by the strong gusts of wind.
At the same time, on the river in front of the human fleet,
a loud "splash" echoed.
A massive creature leapt onto the icy surface.
It was the Swamp Crocodile King—Yue E.
Yue E opened its menacing maw, unleashing a barrage of water projectiles.
The projectiles spanned hundreds of meters in an instant, smashing into the ships.
"Boom!"
The ship hulls were torn apart layer by layer, wood splinters flying everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, the lead ship was left in shambles.
"Ah!"
Priests on the deck screamed in agony.
Splinters, as sharp as bullets, embedded themselves into their bodies.
One priest was hit directly by a water projectile.
His body exploded with a "pop," scattering flesh everywhere.
The commotion caught Carlos's attention.
"Swamp Crocodile King?"
The sudden appearance of the Swamp Crocodile King made Carlos frown slightly.
"Hmph, courting death!"
Running across the ice, Carlos's figure blurred.
He vanished in an instant.
The ice beneath him cracked open.
A shockwave exploded outward.
Carlos's speed suddenly increased more than tenfold.
He streaked across the ice like an arrow skimming its surface.
His speed was so great that only a blur remained.
In the blink of an eye, Carlos appeared in front of Yue E.
He raised his greatsword, which gleamed with light, and struck at Yue E.
At the same time, he positioned himself for a thrust.
"Human, don't get cocky!"
A sudden roar erupted from a distance.
Li Meng, leaping like a flea from the forest, soared over a hundred meters and landed heavily on the ice.
"Boom!"
A thunderous crash echoed.
The thick ice cracked apart.
The cracks spread across the ice like a spider web, reaching Yue E's position.
The cracking wasn't caused by the impact of the landing.
It was Li Meng's "War Stomp" skill.
The cracking ice made Carlos lose his balance.
His attack missed Yue E entirely.
"Yue E, attack the humans from underwater. Leave this to me!"
Li Meng roared, his voice thunderous.
The boss's roar sent a shiver through Yue E's massive body.
It quickly leapt into the water with a splash.
"Human, your opponent is me!"
White frost suddenly spread from under Li Meng's feet.
The shattered ice around him instantly refroze.
"This… is ice magic?"
Seeing the river refreeze, Carlos's eyes flashed with surprise.
He stared at the goblin warrior in the distance with doubt.
A goblin warrior capable of using magic?