The team successfully passed through the first Transfer Anchor.
After the brief dizziness caused by spatial transfer faded, everyone arrived at the designated relay station—on the outskirts of Kasipe Village.
However, the expected vitality of a village was nowhere to be seen.
Before their eyes, Kasipe Village looked as if all sound had been sucked away, plunging it into an unsettling silence.
There wasn’t even a trace of people, let alone the usual rooster crows and dog barks typical of a village.
Before they even approached the simple wooden gate, a group of villagers suddenly emerged from the shadows and behind obstacles, blocking their path.
They tightly gripped hoes, pitchforks, and even sharpened sticks in their hands. Their eyes brimmed with a tangible wariness, fear ingrained deep in their bones, and even a barely perceptible hint of hostility toward all outsiders.
They looked like startled wild beasts, staring fixedly at these well-equipped and extraordinary uninvited guests.
“Stop! Don’t come any closer!” From the village watchtower, a young man with a childish face but a fierce look drew his hunting bow. The arrowhead glinted coldly in the sunlight, aimed straight at the front of the group.
“Please don’t misunderstand,” Sarah calmly took a step forward. Her face bloomed with an infectious, sun-melting-snow kind of warm smile, her voice clear and gentle. “We are an investigation team from the Empire’s Four Great Magic Academies, merely passing through. We mean you no harm.”
It could only be said—Sarah truly lived up to her Grandmaster Halo.
The young man was momentarily dazed the instant he saw Sarah’s face and sensed her genuine, harmless aura. His tense arms relaxed slightly, and the wariness on his face visibly faded.
“Oh, you’re… you’re from the Magic Academy… Please, please wait a moment, I’ll fetch the Village Chief.” He stammered, quickly put away his bow and arrows, and hurriedly climbed down from the watchtower.
Not long after, an elderly man with white hair and beard, leaning on an old cane, came out surrounded by several villagers.
His clouded yet still sharp eyes swept over the unique uniforms representing the Four Great Magic Academies on everyone’s bodies, and a hint of relief flashed across his face.
“Open the gate, these are the esteemed adults from the Empire’s Magic Academies. Do not be disrespectful.” The old Village Chief’s voice was hoarse yet carried an unquestionable authority.
The fence gate creaked open.
The Kasipe Village Chief, leaning on his cane and walking unsteadily, approached them with a respectful but visibly exhausted smile:
“My deepest apologies for frightening you all. The younger generation here hasn’t seen much of the world and doesn’t recognize the prestigious uniforms of your academies. Please forgive any offense.”
“It’s nothing,” Sarah replied on behalf of everyone, her tone gentle. “We’re just passing through your village and need to go through Kasipe Forest to reach the next Transfer Anchor leading to Raymon Territory.”
She paused, her eyes sweeping over the desolate and deathly quiet village, and asked with a hint of puzzlement, “But, Village Chief, why does Kasipe Village… seem so deserted?”
As a village relying on the Transfer Anchor, it should have been bustling with traveling merchants, so the bleak scene before them was extremely abnormal.
Upon hearing this, the Chief’s wrinkles seemed to deepen. He let out a heavy sigh, his voice full of helplessness and sorrow:
“My honored Miss, you may not know. Our Kasipe Village used to be quite prosperous. But starting half a year ago, the village has been frequently raided and plundered by large numbers of Goblins… Many folks… didn’t survive the calamity. When people from nearby villages and towns heard about our situation, they stopped coming to trade. That’s how things became like this.”
Rogge from Raymon Academy pushed up his glasses and calmly asked, “Didn’t the village hire adventurers to solve the problem?”
“We did at first,” the Chief’s face was clouded with worry, “but… those Goblins were unusually fierce. Several groups of adventurers came, but the weaker ones… all perished in the forest, and those who survived refused to take the job again.”
Hearing this, everyone present showed a hint of surprise on their faces.
Goblins were just F-E Rank ordinary monsters. Usually, a first-tier mage or warrior with some experience could deal with them easily. The fact that there had been so many casualties was indeed odd.
Rogge continued his clear line of questioning, “What about the local Noble Lord? Didn’t they send the Imperial Army to wipe them out?”
“They did. The army came several times,” the Chief explained, a deep sense of powerlessness in his tone. “But these Goblins are cunning! Every time the army arrived, they hid deep in the forest. The army would clear out a few stragglers, but after failing to find the main group and running out of supplies, they could only withdraw. And the moment the army left, the Goblins reappeared, attacking us even more viciously… It’s as if they’re deliberately toying with us!”
All this time, Izar had been quietly minimizing his presence, but at these words, his heart stirred.
From the sound of it, these Goblins’ behavior seemed to go beyond what an ordinary monster would do by instinct.
They knew how to avoid strong enemies and seize opportunities to act. This clearly showed a certain degree of intelligence—something very unusual.
Sarah’s face grew frosty as she finished listening to the Chief’s account, and she spoke with a clear and resolute voice: “In that case, Village Chief, please arrange accommodations for us for tonight.”
The Chief was stunned for a moment before understanding the meaning behind Sarah’s words—they were willing to intervene! A spark of hope instantly lit up the old man’s face, and he nodded excitedly, “Yes! Yes! Thank you, esteemed ones! I’ll have the best rooms prepared right away!”
He immediately turned and urged the nearby villagers to get things ready.
Only then did Sarah turn back to the rest of the joint investigation team, raising her voice, “We can’t just ignore what has happened to Kasipe Village. Xingyao Academy has decided to stay and help the villagers resolve the Goblin crisis. If any of you from the other academies are in a hurry to carry out tasks in Raymon Territory, you may go ahead. We’ll catch up as soon as possible.”
Truly, Sarah’s charisma and sense of justice were contagious.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Lien from Liyue Academy looked to Rhea, his tone earnest, “Senior Rhea, let’s stay and help as well?”
Rogge also adjusted his glasses, a glint of interest behind his lenses. “I’m also very curious about these supposedly cunning Goblins. Raymon Academy certainly won’t be absent.”
Rhea didn’t immediately reply to Lien, but her cold gaze seemed to once again pass, almost imperceptibly, over Izar at the back of the group.
At that moment, Sarah looked back at Izar, who was trying his best to shrink behind Emma and Luke, and spoke in a warm, familiar tone, “Izar, you’ll stay and help the villagers with your senior sister, right?”
Almost at the same time, that cold and familiar system prompt sounded in Izar’s mind:
[God-tier Choice System at your service. Please choose quickly.]
[Option 1: As a student of the Imperial Magic Academy, of course you can’t stand by and do nothing. Don’t trouble your senior sister or the others, leave it all to me. Difficulty: A, Reward: Protagonist Points +10]
[Option 2: Why are you so nosy? Holy Mother? If you want to stay, stay. I’m heading to Raymon Territory to complete Teacher Claire’s task. Difficulty: A, Reward: Villain Points +10]
[Option 3: Quietly nod and agree to stay with Sarah. Difficulty: C, Reward: NPC Points +10]
Another C-level background choice?
A sense of danger welled up in Izar’s heart. This Goblin raid, which seemed ordinary on the surface, likely hid risks he hadn’t noticed.
But compared to the high-risk A-level options, the C-level one was the lesser evil.
After weighing the pros and cons, Izar nodded as if accepting his fate, his voice soft but clear enough, “I’ll do as you say, senior.”
Steady first, then act according to circumstances—this was always his approach.
No sooner had Izar stated his position than the previously silent Rhea turned to Lien and said in her uniquely cold tone, “We’ll leave after dealing with the Goblins here.”
Izar: “……”
To be honest, he’d rather Rhea went on ahead.
That way, not only could he avoid the potential side effects of that damn “obedient water,” but there’d also be one less person watching him and making him feel on edge all the time.
Hearing this, Lien’s gaze once again fell on Izar, the scrutiny even more obvious, with a hint of inexplicable depth.
With the plan set, the group settled their luggage and immediately headed to the edge of Kasipe Forest for a preliminary investigation.
However, after a busy afternoon, they found only some old traces of activity at the forest’s edge. No Goblins appeared—they seemed to have vanished into thin air.
This unusual silence only deepened everyone’s doubts.
While no one was looking, Izar relied on his mastery of Stealth Technique and his understanding of magic arrays to quietly set up a simple yet effective network of warning and defense magic arrays at key points around the village.
This was his basic survival practice as a “master of caution”—no matter what, always leave yourself an escape route and buffer zone.
As evening approached, the group returned to the village.
The Chief, worried, informed them, “Honored ones, those damned Goblins usually choose to attack after nightfall, once it’s completely dark.”
Rogge was shocked, “They even choose the timing of their attacks? It seems these Goblins really have developed considerable intelligence.”
This was by no means good news.
Sure enough, at midnight, when all was silent, an ear-piercing alarm suddenly sounded on the outskirts of the village.
Immediately after, panicked cries rang out from the watchtower, “Goblins! Lots of Goblins! They’re everywhere!”
The Goblins, who were nowhere to be seen during the day, now surged out as if from underground, launching a night attack on Kasipe Village under cover of darkness.
Moreover, they didn’t just rush in chaotically, but divided into four groups, attacking from the east, south, west, and north, forming a standard pincer movement!
In each direction, there was a dense horde—roughly estimated, at least a hundred Goblins per group!
Upon hearing the news, the old Village Chief’s face instantly turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground, muttering, “It’s over… it’s all over… these beasts… they’re launching a full assault, trying to wipe out Kasipe Village completely… Esteemed ones, you… you should leave us. Don’t get dragged down with us lowly folk…”
Sarah quickly stepped forward and helped the old Chief up, her voice ringing clear and firm in the night, carrying a comforting power, “Chief, please rest assured. Since we chose to stay, we will never abandon you. Students of the Imperial Magic Academy never shrink from their duty when the people are in need.”
She glanced at her determined classmates and said with confidence, “And please trust us. We’re strong. It’s only some Goblins, after all.”
Her words were not mere bravado.
The twenty people present were elite students carefully selected from the Four Great Magic Academies—among the very best of the younger generation.
A few hundred Goblins might spell doom for an ordinary adventurer party, but for them, it wasn’t impossible to handle.
Without the need for elaborate tactics, the four academies naturally divided up, each defending one direction.
Sarah led Xingyao Academy’s Izar, Luke, and Emma to the east gate, where the Goblin numbers and attack were fiercest.
When they arrived at the east gate and, by the light of the moon and scattered torches, saw the scene before them—even Sarah, who had seen much of the world, showed a hint of surprise in her eyes.
As for Izar, he nearly doubted his own eyes.
The Goblin horde, which should have been charging wildly and instinctively like wild beasts, was now arrayed in a crude yet effective formation!
In the front row stood the taller Goblins, holding up rough wooden shields and even stolen doors, blocking the scattered arrows shot from the watchtower.
In the middle, some Goblins wielded bows and arrows, hiding behind the shields and waiting for opportunities to shoot into the village.
And at the rear of the group, there were even a few Goblin Shamans, their bodies emitting faint magical energy. They waved bone staffs, casting basic enhancement magic on their kin ahead!
“These Goblins… they’re straight out of 《Goblin Slayer》, aren’t they,” Izar couldn’t help but mutter quietly. The sight before him was completely different from the chaotic, mindless monsters he knew—if anything, it looked much more like the Goblins he’d seen in that anime.
……