Chapter 32

Thor, who had parted ways with Sora and the others, headed alone to the southern wall, which was still under repair. As Thor ran along the wall, trying to <restore> the noticeable damaged areas, he stopped when he noticed something moving between the trees.

Crouching and trying to make himself inconspicuous, Thor changed his course into the forest. Although there was nothing there anymore, he found a faint set of footprints on the ground. They were larger than the familiar goblins—hobgoblins.

Thor stood up, cautiously observing his surroundings, and began to follow the direction the footprints led. It seemed the monsters were moving through the forest near the wall.

Under normal circumstances, they would have attacked the residents living nearby, rushing to the stone wall. However, Thor felt a sense of unease at the monsters' actions, which seemed to have a specific purpose.

Being cautious of being surrounded, Thor slowed his pace. The sound of a horn echoing from a distance reached his ears. It seemed a battle had begun, but it was not in the vicinity. From the direction, it appeared to be on the northern wall.

Continuing on, Thor confirmed his suspicions. Through the trees, he saw a group of green-skinned sub-humans gathered around the stone wall. There were about twenty of them. For ordinary residents, who had no means to defend themselves, this number could easily result in hundreds of deaths.

The wall, which was already in poor condition, had several stones removed, creating a large hole.

The location was almost in the southern part of the town, far from the northern wall where the battle had begun. The area was densely forested due to the good sunlight, making it difficult to notice an approach from the wall.

The monsters had likely been moving through the forest, searching for a weak spot to break through or checking for any guards.

As Thor tried to observe from the trees, his years of experience in the forest warned him of something unnatural. There seemed to be more hidden enemies in the forest. Five were nearby, and probably an equal number on the opposite side.

If even one of them made a sound, over thirty would attack. However, there was no way to call for reinforcements, and it would take a considerable amount of time for anyone to arrive. If he didn't act now, the monsters would definitely enter the town. The flag hadn't been lowered, indicating that the evacuation hadn't been completed properly. Any delay would only increase the damage.

Thinking that Sora and Muu might have been able to handle the situation, Thor silently drew his sword.

He found it amusing how he had been so influenced by just a few days of working together. He had been fighting alone for twenty-five years. He wasn't about to be intimidated by this.

Thor, hiding his presence, approached the hobgoblins crouched in the underbrush as closely as possible. From the shadows of the trees, he burst out, instantly reaching his maximum speed. Thanks to the many times he had experienced Muu's <Lightning Needle>, he had mastered this movement.

With a silent, light step, he beheaded the first hobgoblin. He then struck the temple of the second one with a soft wrist movement. Turning around, he slashed the throat of the third one standing behind him, and then, continuing his rotation, he decapitated the fourth one who was trying to stand up.

Thor, crouching low, thrust his sword into the mouth of the fifth one, who was about to scream. The hobgoblin's upper jaw was pierced through his head, and he convulsed before dying.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

Thor, who had rendered five hobgoblins motionless in less than ten seconds without making a sound, exhaled deeply from the bottom of his lungs. Exhausted from the intense effort, he used <Restoration> to return to his original state and finished off the remaining ones.

After dealing with the ones on the opposite side, Thor, breathing heavily, looked towards the wall. It was clearly imprudent to face twenty at once.

Thor was trying to think of a way to lure a few of them when he sensed new presences behind him and turned around. More formidable enemies were approaching. Thor frowned, recognizing the threat.

The significant difference between goblins and their subspecies, hobgoblins, was not just in their physical build. Hobgoblins were slightly more intelligent, capable of using thrown stones and weapons dropped by adventurers, and cunning enough to create advantageous situations for themselves.

This time, they had likely attacked the north side first to draw attention, then launched a surprise attack from the opposite side.

For such a large-scale operation, a leader was necessary. A boss capable of commanding them, probably the leader of the hobgoblins from the goblin cave.

Considering he would be caught between two fronts, Thor decided to retreat but stopped at a loud noise. Looking up, he saw the upper stones of the newly widened hole collapsing. The hobgoblins, pulling out those buried, began to make strange noises.

Thor, realizing the hole was now open to the town, quickly changed his strategy. Although the situation was more dangerous, it presented an opportunity.

Sensing multiple presences approaching from behind, Thor took a deep breath. As the hobgoblins who had finished digging left a few guards and entered the hole, Thor burst out from the shadows and rushed towards them. His body, reaching maximum speed, slipped past the guards like a whirlwind. A moment later, green blood spurted from the necks of two of them. The heads of the two hobgoblins in front of the hole rolled to the ground.

Thor ran through the hole and back into the town, touching the wall to restore it to its original sturdy state.

On the other side of the now sealed hole, the newly arrived hobgoblins let out loud cries. Thor heard a particularly vicious roar among them. His bad feeling had been right.

Thor, narrowly escaping the danger, took a deep breath and focused. He had eight uses of <Restoration> left, but after restoring his chipped iron sword, he had seven. He wanted to restore his stamina, but there were still many hobgoblins waiting.

The ten or more hobgoblins who had entered first were enraged that the hole they had worked hard to create had disappeared. Thor, surrounded by the monsters with their rusty swords, slightly raised the corners of his lips in a slightly desperate situation.

"Swiftly, sleep—"

In the next moment, Thor, hearing a familiar incantation, kicked the ground and crouched.

"—<Cold Sleep>"

The hobgoblins, distracted by the voice, were stopped in their tracks. One by one, they knelt, closed their eyes, and lowered their heads.

<Cold Sleep> was a magic technique that induced a short sleep in a single target, a lower branch skill of the Ice Spirit Tree. However, all the hobgoblins in front of him had fallen into a deep sleep. There was only one person in town who could use ice-based magic techniques to this extent, according to Thor's knowledge.

Holding a broom as a staff and wearing her usual smile, the woman made Thor involuntarily confirm.

"...Landlady?"

"Oh, Thor. Welcome back."