Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 117 A Poisonous Scheme: The Stinking Clouds Shatter the Enemy's Courage; The Linked Horse Cavalry Displays its Ferocity

As Zhang Yuan was leading a group of people on their way, he heard a series of shouts of "Ouk Ouk!" Looking in the direction of the shouts, he saw a group of goblins surrounding him.

These bandits in the wilderness seemed to have some organization and military skills; the front ranks remained still while the archers in the rear were already drawing their arrows and ready to fire.

Unexpectedly, even after recruiting riders for three months, they still couldn't escape. They had no choice but to dismount with Kegan and have the four riders lead the charge.

At the same time, a hail of arrows flew over. The momentum was quite frightening, but the accuracy was only so-so. Zhang Yuan didn't even need to dodge these arrows; they were all blocked by Kegan's shield.

As for the knights? They instantly raised their shields when attacked, and not a single hair on their heads was lost. These ordinary arrows didn't even penetrate the shields before being cut off midway.

Zhang Yuan, who was seething with anger, did not intend to simply drive them away as before. His slightly narrowed eyes revealed a deep-seated malice.

"Facio, Voco, Ferre"

In just a few breaths, Zhang Yuan summoned the second-circle arcane spell, Stink Cloud.

When the goblins realized that the first volley of arrows had not achieved the expected results—no, it hadn't achieved any results at all—and were about to nock their arrows and aim at the enemy for a second volley, a yellowish-green cloud suddenly appeared among them and then quickly spread throughout the entire group.

The earth goblins, who were usually oblivious to hygiene and whose stench was enough to kill people, thought there couldn't possibly be a smell in the world that even they couldn't stand. Now, all they wanted to do was cover their noses and escape from this cloud of mist that resembled the vomit of a demon.

Unfortunately, it was too late. As the mist entered their noses, throats, and even eyes, a sweet smell followed by extreme nausea erupted instantly. No longer caring about covering their mouths and noses, the goblins bent over and vomited uncontrollably.

Only the leader, Sagar, managed to suppress the nausea, but it was too late. The last thing he saw was a fiery red figure wielding a blood-stained scythe, cleaving the longsword he was desperately trying to raise in defense in two.

Then his perspective took flight, spinning as he saw a familiar body, only headless, followed by complete darkness.

The knights, who were merely pawns, completely ignored the Stink Cloud Spell.

Chaos Knight charged ahead, his scythe mercilessly reaping the heads of the goblins who were vomiting and unable to stand up straight.

The Luna Riders' fighting stances have become much more graceful, but their sharp, high-speed spinning moon blades remain deadly weapons.

Iron cavalry rampages, hellfire spreads chaos, crescent moons gleam, and whirling blades claim lives.

Moreover, although these goblins were not short, they couldn't even straighten their backs at the moment, and some of them were even vomiting and lying on the ground unable to get up. It was really too difficult to ask such a group of people who were almost delirious and out of their minds to resist four charging knights.

When the foul cloud dissipated and Zhang Yuan leisurely rode his horse over, all that remained were corpses strewn everywhere. Occasionally, one or two lucky survivors were still struggling to survive, but the unscrupulous mage instructed the knights to mercifully send them on their way, demonstrating the precious spirit of chivalry.

The battle itself was easy and enjoyable, but cleaning up the battlefield afterwards was a real headache.

Since the chess pieces weren't intelligent enough to complete the complex task of looting and counting the spoils, someone had to wait until the dwarf brother also arrived before they could start working together.

What goes around comes around; what is done is done.

Zhang Yuan, who had just disgusted the goblins with his stinky cloud, was now feeling dizzy and lightheaded from the stench of their corpses.

It stank so badly, it was truly awful. These guys, who seemed to have no concept of bathing or hygiene, were probably worse than animals. Realizing what was happening, Zhang Yuan quickly pulled out his mask and put it on, but it proved to be barely effective. A stench of dried feces mixed with the odor of a month-old, unwashed sock penetrated the mask and assaulted his nostrils.

Compared to the unbearable agony of a certain civilized person, Kegan was completely at ease, as if he were not in a stinking hell like a cesspool, but in a green countryside filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

An excited Kegan kept pulling out various trinkets from the corpse's arms, completely ignoring the "strong fragrance" emanating from them. Zhang Yuan even noticed that the guy wiped a gold coin with his clothes and then bit it with his teeth. His beaming appearance gave Zhang Yuan ample reason to suspect that the guy's nose was just for show.

Afterwards, the haul was surprisingly plentiful. It seems that these goblins were making a fortune along this coastal road, causing a lot of trouble for passing caravans. Plus, they had no way to sell the looted goods, so they kept them as spoils or souvenirs.

"What a pity," someone thought greedily, "it would be even better if we could find out where these guys are hiding."

Neither the chess piece nor their own team members possessed the tracking ability of a ranger or a hound, and they hadn't left any survivors. This was a difficult situation.

Unexpectedly, when I mentioned it to Kegan, the dwarf brother laughed:

“Boss, this is too complicated. The tracks of these goblins don’t disappear so easily. Besides, we’re not a caravan, so these guys wouldn’t come all this way just to rob us. We must have passed by their hideout.”

"Huh? That makes sense too," Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, then looked the dwarf up and down with an expression that said, "I never thought you had this kind of brain." This made the dwarf puff out his chest proudly.

As it turned out, Kegan's experience and judgment were indeed valuable. In less than fifteen minutes, the two discovered a cave entrance in the rock wall. It was dark and deep, and a foul stench wafted out from it.

Having no other choice, Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth and put on a double mask, secretly cursing himself for not preparing the second-circle arcane spell, the air filter bubble.

Zhang Yuan had ordered four knights to guard the cave entrance, and was about to instruct Kegen to lead the way when...

"Boss, you're the one with the best ideas. Cutting open a woman's tube top and wearing it on your mouth is a great idea and shows great taste." The dwarf brother gave a thumbs up and praised him highly. "Can I have one too? The smell is too strong."

Zhang Yuan's face darkened after being suddenly showered with praise by the dwarf, or perhaps he was also affected by the stench. He said in a muffled voice:

"Screw your tube top! This is a face mask, you know what a face mask is? Besides, you didn't need this thing when you were cleaning up the mess, so why would you need it now?"

The dwarf was getting impatient: "That was in an open area outside, where the smell was bearable. But who knows how long those goblins have been occupying this cave? Heaven knows how disgusting it is inside. Hurry up, forget about masks and hoods, just give me one."

Unable to get any more help from the pester, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to give the other person one, thinking to himself that he should practice tailoring and make a few more in case of this situation.

Kegan, carrying a shield, walked in front, while Zhang Yuan behind him snapped his fingers, and a light spell shone above his head, illuminating the originally dark cave.

Zhang Yuan had felt some regret ever since he entered the cave, and this feeling grew stronger as he went deeper.

Not only was the increasingly strong stench penetrating and all-pervasive, but even masks were becoming ineffective, making it truly unbearable.
Furthermore, the various remains and bones scattered throughout the cave passages, which had initially appeared sparsely, became increasingly dense, just as Zhang Yuan's ominous premonition grew stronger.

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(End of this chapter)