Chapter 226
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Chapter 226: The Willful Daughter
The chaotic goblin horde descended into greater disarray under the ant swarm’s full assault.
Echoes of "Gah-bah!" screams pierced the air as scarlet blood painted vast stretches of woodland crimson.
Through multiple viewing angles, Lin Yu monitored the battlefield.
Weak Ants of Class D rank generally proved capable of confronting multiple ordinary goblins independently.
Military Ants demonstrated superior strength—most common goblins failed to breach their carapaces. Their mandibles shredded limbs and severed necks, effortlessly claiming one green-skinned life after another.
Acid Ants unleashed corrosive sprays, felling dozens of shrieking goblins within moments.
With casual sweeps of their massive forelimbs, Iron Armored Ants reduced struck goblins’ Health Values to zero—even Big Goblins fell after enduring only a few additional blows.
Stealth Ants targeted weapon-skilled Goblin Warriors and magic-wielding Goblin Wizards, their phantom movements through the turmoil eliminating advanced goblins systematically.
Above the carnage, Flying Ants maintained aerial surveillance, tracking developments across the entire conflict zone.
The goblins’ annihilation now seemed merely a question of time.
Yet numerical superiority favored the green-skinned foes twofold, their scattered clans maintaining strategic distances between groups. Swift eradication remained challenging.
Panic spread rapidly among the goblin ranks as early deserters emerged.
Each fleeing comrade inspired another’s retreat, terror cascading through their ranks like tumbling dominoes when witnessing their kin slaughtered like wheat before the scythe.
"Mother! The goblins scatter in all directions!"
"Indeed, I observe this."
Through Purple Cloud’s vision, Lin Yu witnessed the disorganized exodus—some fleeing beyond the forest’s edge, others plunging deeper into woodland depths, a few even blindly charging into ant formations.
Without awaiting commands, Red Pupil and Magic Rainbow instinctively deployed ant squads to pursue escapees. Their forces had initially adopted a pocket-shaped deployment anticipating this rout, though limited numbers prevented full encirclement of the vast horde.
Within fifteen minutes, over half the goblin force had broken ranks.
Another quarter-hour saw the remainder joining the chaotic retreat.
Hemmed by partial containment, most fugitives bolted forest-ward.
Following Red Pupil and Magic Rainbow’s directives, ant teams fragmented into hunting parties, leaving fields littered with casualties—predominantly green corpses.
Initial estimates suggested five to six thousand goblin fatalities, nearly a quarter of their total force.
Ant casualties numbered three hundred, chiefly unranked and lower-Class D Weak Ant Tribe members. These minimally-classed warriors, already scarce, suffered heaviest losses against club-wielding and stone-axe-bearing foes. Unlike higher-tier kin, injured Weak Ants couldn’t disengage when overwhelmed by numbers.
As pre-battle protocol dictated, any ant sustaining injuries below half Health Value withdrew temporarily to consume red fruits for recovery.
During prolonged pursuit operations, Red Pupil’s voice abruptly interrupted:
"Mother! Goblins flee toward the human race settlement!"
"Village?"
"Yes, they’re currently fleeing toward Western Village One and Western Village Two in the eastern forest."
"Western Village One… That’s Jilly’s hometown."
"Can we alter their escape route?"
"If the Acid Ant sisters spray acid along their path, perhaps we can redirect them."
"Do it then."
To avoid detection by the human race, the ant army maintained distance from the villages, allowing a small cluster of goblins to slip through toward the settlements.
Lin Yu dispatched the agile Stealth Ants—less detectable to humans—to handle these stragglers.
The remaining ant squads continued pursuing the goblins.
Yet goblins proved far more adept at fleeing than fighting, making it impossible to eradicate the scattered horde completely.
The ant army halted only when nearing Aowenduo Town.
The town lay across a flat plain with unobstructed sightlines; advancing further risked exposure to travelers on nearby roads.
They’d aimed to eliminate all goblins before reaching the town, yet a swarm of roughly three thousand had escaped.
And these were fleeing directly toward Aowenduo Town…
Curious coincidence.
Come to think of it… This group contains numerous Goblin Wizards and Warriors—advanced goblins.
Shouldn’t the Stealth Ants have eliminated them earlier? Did some slip through?
"While their escape is regrettable, Mother," came Magic Rainbow’s velvety contralto, "this presents an opportunity to test the town’s defenses, does it not?"
Just as Lin Yu began sensing discrepancies, the reasoning unfolded.
"Sister Magic Rainbow speaks truth, Mother," Red Pupil added.
"If a two-thousand-strong Goblin Tribe could endanger the Adventurer’s Guild and town forces, what might three thousand with more advanced goblins achieve? Could human defenses withstand such numbers?"
"And if they can’t…"
Lin Yu visualized goblins shattering the town’s defense crystals, storming through breached gates—a catastrophe partially her responsibility.
These goblins had fled townward under deliberate guidance from her daughters.
Now fully alert, Lin Yu pieced together Red Pupil and Magic Rainbow’s scheme—they’d restrained the ant swarm, preserving enough goblins to threaten Aowenduo Town.
"But our younger sisters remain available."
"What?"
"Army Lady, Lvzi, and Stealth One—we could deploy them to reinforce the town."
"…Agreed."
Yet this meant delaying action against the Goblin Reincarnator…
"Worry not, Mother," Magic Rainbow interjected, as if reading her thoughts. "Darkling Stalker and Weak Sound have already departed to deal with that Luo Yong reincarnator."
Ah—their absence during the battle’s climax now made sense.
"Forgive our secrecy, Mother," Red Pupil murmured. "We acted without consultation."
"…"
Lin Yu maintained pointed silence.
Had they concealed their plan fearing her objection?
Perhaps rightly so.
Avoiding unnecessary conflicts aligned with her cautious nature. Town defenses were already assessed, and actual goblin infiltration would spell disaster—not to mention moral culpability.
Moreover…
"Apologies alone won’t suffice!"
"Having acted autonomously," Red Pupil replied steadily, "we stand ready for any disciplinary measures."
"Truly? Any punishment?"
The sudden shift in tone caught Lin Yu off guard.
