The ruins of Alric's army still smoldered.
Reed stood atop a blackened hill, watching as goblins dragged corpses into piles. The battlefield was theirs now—ash, blood, and broken steel.
Shia knelt beside him, her daggers still stained from the fight. "Word will spread fast," she murmured. "Moira and Bastien won't wait long."
Reed smirked. Good.
"They're coming to kill me," he said. "Let's give them a proper welcome."
By nightfall, scouts returned with urgent news.
Velka unrolled a map, marking enemy movements.
"They're smarter than Alric," she admitted. "They're coordinating. Moira's archers are setting up near the cliffs—high ground, clear line of fire. Bastien's knights are taking the eastern pass, using the terrain to block ambushes."
Reed studied the battlefield. It was a solid strategy.
If he attacked the archers, the knights would reinforce.
If he fought the knights, the mages would rain death from above.
They thought they were cornering him.
But Reed didn't fight like a lord.
He fought like a monster.
Reed tapped the map. "Moira's archers rely on vision. Bastien's knights rely on their armor." He glanced at Shia. "What happens if they can't see?"
Shia grinned. "Smoke."
Reed nodded. "We'll burn the fields, flood the cliffs with smoke. The archers will lose their advantage."
Velka hesitated. "And the knights?"
Reed smirked. "They want to fight in a narrow pass?" He turned to his berserkers.
"We'll bury them alive."
The attack started with the wind.
Goblin shamans lit torches, their eyes gleaming. The fire spread fast, creeping toward Moira's archers.
Within minutes, the cliffs vanished in thick, choking smoke.
Panic. Screams.
Then?
The goblins climbed.
The archers had no time to react.
From the smoke, goblins crawled up the rocks—silent, fast, merciless.
Moira's men screamed as knives slashed their throats. Some fell from the cliffs, crashing onto jagged rocks below. Others were dragged into the darkness, never to be seen again.
Moira tried to rally.
"Hold your ground! Fire blindly if you must!"
She turned—only to find Shia standing behind her.
"…Oh."
Shia smiled.
Then she stabbed her through the heart.
While Moira's forces burned, Bastien's knights marched through the eastern pass.
Unstoppable. Heavily armored. Untouched by fire.
Or so they thought.
Reed stood at the top of the pass, watching.
His champions waited underground.
And the moment the knights were deep enough—
Reed gave the signal.
Goblin diggers collapsed the tunnels beneath them.
The knights screamed as the earth swallowed them whole. Armor cracked, swords snapped—entire squads disappeared under the weight of rock and dirt.
Only a few managed to climb free.
Reed was already there.
He drove a dagger into Bastien's exposed neck. The noble's eyes widened in shock.
Reed twisted the blade.
Another lord had fallen.
By dawn, the noble armies were gone.
Moira? Dead.
Bastien? Buried with his men.
Their soldiers? Slaughtered.
A system message flickered before Reed's eyes.
[You Have Defeated Three Noble Lords!]
[Goblin Evolution Surging]
[New Title Earned: The Butcher of the South]
Reed exhaled, watching his army celebrate their victory.
He wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was winning.
And soon?
He wouldn't just be a Goblin Lord.
He'd be a King.