Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Hope or Despair?

TL: Sungmin

Lin Tian commanded once more, “Gobu Kuang, you guys grab your weapons.”

Soon, they brought over the battering ram.

Despite striking the sturdy gate several times, it did not break.

Lin Tian flew up and discovered that behind the gate was a round giant stone, larger than the gate itself!

No wonder.

“Shoot! Kill them!”

At this moment, an icy, hateful voice from atop the city wall echoed; a large number of archers appeared.

Dense arrows rained down on the goblin army like a downpour.

Fortunately, every goblin wore armor, and only a few were killed.

The rest all retreated outside the range of the arrows.

Inside Clin Castle, thousands of residents gathered in the square, watching the soldiers return in disarray. They all fell into deep fear.

They had already retreated here.

This meant that Clin Castle was about to fall.

The soldiers’ commander was on the verge of collapse. “Are these really Goblins? They are clearly an elite force! All wearing armor and wielding iron weapons! Especially the high-tier ones, their strength is unmatched!!!

We lost three thousand men, and they only lost a few hundred! And they outnumber us two to three times!”

Hearing this, the residents became even more terrified.

They didn’t know what to do.

Someone suddenly murmured, “If only the Sword Saintess were here…”

But then, they closed their mouth again.

Suddenly, a young but confident female voice rang out, “Everyone, have you forgotten my earlier declaration? Our Clin family will be at the forefront! We won’t let anything happen to you!”

Avril appeared on the city wall.

Accompanying her were numerous Clin family mages.

“With us here, this place will be the strongest fortress! No one will be able to step inside! Right, Grandpa?” Avril smiled lightly as she spoke.

Her words provided deep comfort to everyone, and her smile seemed to melt their fears away.

Moved to tears, they couldn’t help but express their gratitude.

“Lord Avril… we owe you so much!”

“She’s so young, yet so responsible and mission-driven, it’s deeply touching!”

“I can’t believe the one standing there is just a young girl who has just come of age. May the Lord bless her!!”

Clin also came to the wall, loudly proclaiming, “With us here, those Goblins dare not come close!”

By this time, Lin Tian had reorganized his troops and approached with shields.

With a few more strikes, the gate could still be broken.

Impenetrable fortress?

In Lin Tian’s eyes, an impenetrable fortress was not worth attacking; he thrived on exploiting the weak!

Why bully the weak if you could bully the strong? What kind of logic is that?

Suddenly, fireballs descended from the sky!

Even the armored Goblins couldn’t withstand the heat.

Following this, lightning and explosions erupted!

A massive magical assault rained down!

Lin Tian frowned and ordered, “Gobu Kuang, retreat!”

Only a few Goblins managed to escape.

Of the twenty hero variants carrying the battering ram, twelve died.

Avril smiled in satisfaction, “See, we easily killed over ten high-tier ones. They won’t dare come over again!”

With mages leading, the focus was on covering firepower.

Everyone’s anxious hearts calmed down.

Clin mocked, “What, the goblins who defeated the Sword Saintess are only this capable? If not for a surprise attack, you’d all be dead!”

Lin Tian, riding a flying dragon at a safe distance, said, “You, I didn’t want to do this, but you forced me.”

“Hmph, so what if I force you? What can you do?”

Avril, having learned to interject, responded with a proud and disdainful look on her face.

Curious, she asked, “Grandpa, who is speaking?”

Apart from seeing a dragon, she couldn’t see Lin Tian on its back.

Clin didn’t explain but said, “Anyway, it was he who defeated the Sword Saintess.”

Avril’s lips curled into a smile, “So, if I defeat him, does that mean I’m stronger than the Sword Saintess?”

“Hahaha, my dear granddaughter, you’re right. He’s just a stepping stone on your path to glory.”

The Clin family started chatting leisurely.

Lin Tian’s eyes narrowed, emitting a chilling aura.

Turning back, he said, “Follow me, the rest stay here.”

He then led Gobu Kuang, Gobu Tian, Gobu Shan, and dozens of hero variants toward the sanctuary.

In the castle square, a resident nervously remarked, “Lord Avril, they’re not heading to…”

“Don’t worry, the sanctuary has our magical barrier. They can’t break it.”

Avril confidently replied.

But soon, Clin’s old face showed a heavy expression, “Damn! The barrier is breaking!”

In the distant part of the city, a pale yellow glow shot into the sky!

It was a sign that the barrier was breaking.

Outside the Sanctuary

A pale yellow magic barrier composed of countless diamond-shaped light blocks blocked Lin Tian and his group.

Even when Lin Tian used all his strength to stab with his dagger, he couldn’t leave a mark and was instead flung away.

The other hero variants attacked madly, clanging away for a long time with no effect.

It looked as thin as a cicada’s wing.

But it was as thick as a steel wall.

At this moment, Gobu Kuang said, “Boss, you all step back and let me try. High-Pressure Domain!”

Centered around him, the air seemed to vibrate.

One second, ten seconds, the surrounding ground began to collapse, with many cracks appearing.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

A tiny crack started to appear in a corner of the barrier!

Finally, with a “snap!”

It completely shattered!

There is a saying: fight magic with magic. Under Gobu Kuang’s High-Pressure Domain, the surrounding gravity slowly intensified.

The activation took a long time, but once accumulated, even steel would be compressed into iron sheets.

The magic barrier, like tempered glass, was very hard.

But if you concentrated the attack on one point, the whole glass would shatter instantly!

The last wooden door could now be easily opened.

What came into view were pairs of terrified eyes, bloodshot, staring at the leader.

People’s hearts raced, and their breathing was rapid and irregular.

There were despairing old men and women holding children, hurriedly burying their children’s faces in their chests, not daring to let them see the scene before them.

A few men, their bodies trembling, summoned all their courage to step forward.

But before they got close, they were pierced by bone spikes rising from the ground.

They wanted to be heroes, but heroes always had to die.

The evolved Gobu Shan could now control the range of the evil bones even further.

The men’s tragic deaths ignited a bomb within the crowd!

The children and women cried out in fear, wanting to escape, but there was no place to run in the crowded sanctuary of over ten thousand people.

“Where is Lord Avril?! Why isn’t she here!”

“Can someone save us? Anyone!”

“The Sword Saintess… I wish the Sword Saintess were here to save us!”

Looking at these people, Lin Tian’s eyes were filled with coldness and indifference.

“Do it.”

Then, Gobu Tian slowly closed the wooden door.

Since the people in the castle wouldn’t come out, they had to find a way to make them come out.

In distant Clin Castle, Avril and the others could hear the cries from the sanctuary.

The residents and soldiers behind were restless and fearful!

Because their families and children were in the sanctuary.

The commander couldn’t help but shout, “Lord! Old Lord! Open the gate, we need to save them!”

“If we go out now, we will surely die. This is our last stronghold!”

Clin gritted his teeth, not expecting the magic barrier he spent years creating to break so quickly.

The screams sounded like a funeral dirge, echoing in the ears of the residents and soldiers.

Pain and anger were clouding their minds.

Finally, a soldier couldn’t bear it any longer, “I’m going to save them! Who’s with me? Let’s go!”

A resident steeled his heart, “Count me in! Let’s go!”

“What are you doing! Stop it, I can protect you here!”

Avril pleaded, but it was no use.

Soldiers and residents together pushed aside the giant stone, opened the gate, and rushed out!

Their families were being slaughtered; they had no mind to linger and survive here.

Avril and the others couldn’t understand because their families weren’t in the sanctuary.

Seeing this, the previously ordered army launched a full-scale assault!

The two sides clashed like torrents!

Clin exclaimed with delight, “A great opportunity! With the high-tier ones mostly gone, quickly eliminate these Goblins!”

But before he could finish his sentence.

Gunshots rang out!

The archers on the wall, including three mages, fell simultaneously.

Each had a bloody hole in their head.

Avril, looking at her dead father, was full of grief. “Father! Who did this!”

In the distance, Lia and a large group of elves were holding simple muskets, reloading.

Muskets had a longer range and greater power than handguns. Previously, the magic barrier blocked the bullets.

Now was the perfect time to strike.

The soldiers and residents pouring out were slaughtered due to the narrow gate exit.

They killed as many as came out.

Clin had to use a high-tier magical shield to protect himself, or he would be shot.

He couldn’t spare any effort to attack.

Avril, in deep sorrow, asked, “Why are elves mixed with Goblins, and why is their attack so accurate and powerful!”

“I don’t know, but elves also hate humans.” Clin explained.

Humans often captured elves as female slaves, and the most expensive sex trade involved elves.

At this moment, several mages who thought they could dodge bullets with their movements fell dead on the spot.

Lia laughed, putting the musket to her lips and blowing on it, “Are they mocking my aim? Ridiculous.”

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Clin gritted his teeth and said, “Ultimate Magic · Gate of Heaven!”

His magic orb shot up a white beam!

A massive magical wall separated the two spaces!

The wall was huge, connecting heaven and earth, spanning half the city horizontally!

It looked like a gate to heaven.

No matter how the Goblins attacked, it remained unmoved. Lia fired at it, and the iron bullets shattered to pieces.

Avril, still holding her father and siblings’ bodies, was full of sorrow.

The soldiers and residents suffered heavy casualties, the survivors retreating back.

Despair and fear spread throughout the castle.

Clin, sweating profusely, said in pain, “Avril, you must escape; the Gate of Heaven won’t last long!”

At this moment, a soldier ran over anxiously, “Lord Avril, the back door of the castle is blocked by Goblins!”

After dealing with the people in the sanctuary, Lin Tian anticipated the next move and guarded the back door in advance.

At this moment, Clin could barely stand, almost collapsing.

The Gate of Heaven flickered, on the verge of closing.

“Why is this happening… How can these Goblins be so strong…”

Clin, head bowed, was full of unwillingness.

This battle was almost one-sided, as if they were being toyed with!

The residents were utterly panicked, “Lord Avril, can’t you think of something! Can someone save us!”

“Are we just going to wait for death?”

“Lord, didn’t you promise to protect us in your declaration!”

Avril, too, was full of tears.

Surrounded by the bodies of her relatives.

Her father had just used his life to shield her from a bullet.

She had no heart left to continue fighting, being only sixteen.

Only Clin remained steadfast, maintaining the Gate of Heaven and quickly thinking of a plan.

But with danger ahead and behind, their forces destroyed!

There was no strength left to resist.

More terrifying than death was the process of waiting for death.

“Look! That person on the rooftop!”

At this moment, a resident shouted excitedly, pointing to a rooftop outside the city.

A figure in black rusty armor stood there silently, seemingly out of place with everything else.

The breeze blew, revealing her golden hair covering her face.

Many people recognized her on the spot, “Sword Saintess! Alicenia!!!”

“We’re saved!!”

“Hahaha, we’re saved!”

Inside the city, the people rejoiced wildly, almost dancing with joy!

They laughed with twisted and mad glee.

The feeling of surviving a disaster, the sense of security from escaping death!

If asked who could bring this to the Lionheart Empire.

There was only one person.

The Guardian Holy Sword of the empire, tirelessly protecting the people day and night, Alicenia!

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