Green Monster Epic

Chapter 17: The Priest

The battle went far more smoothly than Allen had imagined. The earlier, almost divine, explosions had truly opened the eyes of the native inhabitants of Green Lake. As the beneficiaries, the bear goblins were naturally in high spirits and morale was soaring. With Allen's decisive command, they surged into the gnoll camp through the gaps in the fence.

The gnolls, already without a strong leader, had their will to resist weakened to nothing by the two explosions. Some of the more religiously inclined even knelt on the ground, offering prayers to the gods for forgiveness.

The only trouble for Allen and his forces came in the central plaza of the gnoll camp. In the middle of the plaza, no more than six or seven meters in length and width, beneath a gnoll statue carved from a single piece of raw stone, a dozen or so gnolls, under the command of an elderly gnoll wielding a wooden staff, stubbornly blocked the continuous influx of bear goblins and human warriors, forming a temporary line of defense.

The elderly gnoll seized the time to lay several goblin slaves flat on a stone altar about two meters long. Then, he cruelly used his sharp claws to tear open the chests of the struggling slaves, extracting their still-beating hearts and placing them on the altar. At the same time, he did not forget to offer sincere prayers: "Eternal and almighty Lord Yeenoghu, your humble servant offers fresh sacrifices here, begging for your descent to help my tribe through this disaster."

Following his prayer, the blood from the bodies of the sacrificed slaves gathered together and flowed into the statue as if alive. Then, the statue's gray-white eyes suddenly emitted a red light, and a powerful divine will enveloped the entire gnoll camp: "Who dares to harm my people? I will wash away this offense to me with your blood! You lowly insects!"

As the will descended, a tremendous change occurred in the elderly gnoll. His originally hunched body straightened up, and his height, originally around 1.6 meters, gradually swelled until it stabilized at a height of about 2.2 or 2.3 meters. At the same time, dark black bone spurs emerged from his elbow joints and back, transforming the gnoll into a monster that had completely lost its original appearance.

"Crack! Crack!"

"Power, this is divine power bestowed by my Lord! It is time for my tribe to show your strength!"

The monster, who could no longer be called an old man, personally experienced the sudden surge of power, feeling as if the entire world was in his hands. With a wave of his hand, a minor healing spell scattered over the dozen or so gnolls who were still holding out, controlling their injuries and restoring them at a speed visible to the naked eye. With another wave, a mass magic weapon enhancement spell was cast on the surviving gnolls in the camp.

"Why is there a priest in the gnoll camp, and why did he complete the sacrifice, summoning the will of the Gnoll Lord to descend?!"

Philly's entire face was distorted. Disregarding the fact that his strength was inferior to Allen's, he grabbed Allen and questioned him fiercely.

Allen himself was also amazed by the sudden and miraculous events. The various things he had experienced today had broadened the horizons of the ignorant Allen. But it was clear that now was not the time to get to the bottom of things. The sudden change in the gnolls made him feel a strong sense of crisis. The fine hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end, silently warning him of the arrival of murderous intent. At the same time, the attention from a higher level coming from the distant statue made Allen feel like prey being targeted by a hunter.

"I don't know what's going on either. Bonefire's guys never pulled off a stunt like this before!"

Allen himself was also very annoyed. If he had known that there was such a powerful figure in Bonefire's camp, he would not have brought the tribe's main force to attack them. Now, they had rushed into the gnoll camp and were caught in a melee with the enemy, and this powerful enemy had emerged. Even if he wanted to retreat and lead his people to escape, it was already somewhat late.

"Now is not the time for internal strife, Supervisor Philly."

Allen was limited by his knowledge and could not have a clear understanding of the current situation. Regis, the mercenary captain who had dealt with various professions, gripped his two-handed sword tightly and made a serious but not panicked judgment: "The gnoll priest's base level is too low. Even if he is forcibly promoted by the Gnoll Lord now, he should not exceed level 10. If the two of us cooperate to stop him, it is not without hope of victory."

"Really?"

"Are you sure?"

Allen and Philly asked in unison, their moods seemingly climbing from the abyss to the valley.

"The scale of the opponent's spellcasting seems powerful, but in reality, it does not exceed Tier 3. Perhaps the opponent can still cast a Tier 4 divine spell, but that only proves that the opponent's spellcasting level is around level 10. Exceeding level 10 would already allow them to cast Tier 5 divine spells. Moreover, the spellcasting aura revealed by the opponent, and the pressure it gives me, still have a certain gap compared to the strongest enemy I have ever fought."

"Okay, let's go up and stop this enemy now. After our people have cleaned up the other gnolls in the camp, they will come to support us."

Allen, who had already planned to escape, now had some courage to continue fighting. After all, having lived in the Green Field Tribe for so many years, Allen had some feelings for it.

"That's good too. I will pray to the Goddess of Fate to cheer you on."

As a non-professional, Philly couldn't help much in the battle, but compared to Allen, who could cut off his wrist and escape, he was shouldering the important task of the Silver Flash Merchant Guild. Nine carriages were parked outside the camp, and he didn't want to see the defeat of the battle no matter what.

"These are two scrolls treasured by our Chamber of Commerce, one is a Tier 2 Web spell, and the other is a Tier 3 Fireball spell. I hope they can be of some help to you."

The magic scrolls were worth several times more than the black powder that Philly had provided to Allen before. If things hadn't threatened the caravan, Philly wouldn't have been willing to take them out. They had already used a Tier 4 magic scroll when they encountered the kobold warlock earlier, and these two were the last two attack scrolls that Philly had.

With a pained expression, Philly handed the scroll to Regis. Philly began to think that he must recover the cost from the spoils of the gnoll camp after the war, otherwise, they would really lose a lot. Originally, it was a matter that had nothing to do with their caravan, but in the end, they had to bleed a lot. As a businessman, Philly couldn't swallow this breath no matter what.

Seeing Philly's distressed face, Allen, although he didn't understand the function and value of the scroll, rarely had a few changes in his attitude towards this businessman who had been constantly thinking along the way, even if he knew that the other party was actually just saving himself.

"Brother Regis, if you help my tribe through this crisis and kill this powerful enemy, after the war, I will introduce you to a few beauties from the tribe to make you happy!"

Without delay, seeing the tall monster enter a combat state and knock a bear goblin blocking the road into the air, Allen picked up his steel axe and rushed out. Before leaving, he did not forget to learn and use the means of attracting people that he had learned from humans in the past half day.

"Uh… … … …"

Regis, who was already prepared for battle, almost slipped under his feet, and his face was as ugly as if he had eaten shit.