In the dead of night, the Goblin King slept soundly inside its tent.
Surrounding the area was an entire army of Goblins, always on guard, ready to protect him at the first sign of danger.
Suddenly, a purple light flashed from a distant hill, noticed only by a few Goblins by chance.
Before they could even raise a question, a projectile tore through the air, flying straight toward the tent where the Goblin King lay asleep.
The magical barrier around the tent tried to block the shot, but was instantly shattered upon impact.
And that was only the first layer; two more barriers surrounded the tent. Yet, after the first was destroyed, the second and third were quickly broken as well, overwhelmed by the sheer force of the surprise attack.
With all barriers gone, the projectile continued unhindered.
The thin fabric of the tent posed no resistance whatsoever. At most, it slightly obscured the view, but the attacker had already calculated the trajectory with near-perfect precision.
The shot pierced through the tent's fabric and flew directly toward the Goblin King's head as he slept, without the slightest deviation.
As a high-level Magical Beast, the Goblin King possessed a strong sense of danger. The moment it was attacked, it began to stir awake, though only seconds earlier it had been deep in slumber.
But the strike came too fast, too sudden, far beyond anything it, or the other Goblins, could anticipate.
The attack hit its mark. The projectile pierced through the Goblin King's head, obliterating everything above its neck in an instant.
Even after eliminating its target, the shot did not stop. It tore through the bed layered with blankets and rugs, then smashed into the ground beneath, triggering an explosion of earth and stone.
The blast was so powerful it even ripped apart the Goblin King's tent.
The thunderous sound shattered the quiet night, drawing the attention of every Goblin on guard and waking the rest from their sleep.
Those closest to the blast even felt the ground tremble beneath them.
The Goblins near the center, serving as the king's guards, were of course the first to notice what had happened.
Seeing the torn tent and then the headless corpse of the Goblin King, panic quickly spread among the horde.
The night was soon filled with shrill, chaotic noises from the massive Goblin swarm.
And then, while the Goblins were still in shock and fear, another situation arose, turning their plight truly catastrophic.
Dark purple spheres appeared out of nowhere, falling and shattering upon hitting the ground.
Immediately, thick purple mist, dense like smoke, spread across the areas crowded with Goblins.
One second, two seconds passed, and nothing seemed unusual. The strange mist appeared as if its sole purpose was merely to block their vision.
But then, suddenly, the sounds of retching began to erupt one after another.
The Goblins who had inhaled the purple mist started to suffer its consequences.
They felt chest tightness, shortness of breath, and pounding headaches.
The poisoned Goblins grew weaker and more helpless.
First collapsing to their knees, then sprawling flat on the ground, their mouths filled with blood and bile.
Not long after, those Goblins stopped breathing entirely.
Once the first wave of spheres had been dropped, the next quickly followed.
Because of the mist's blinding effect, it took time for the Goblins to realize the danger it carried.
Panic rose higher within them, especially in the headless state of their horde. With their supreme leader, the Goblin King, dead, no one remained capable of issuing orders or controlling the situation.
Among them, a few individuals with superior intellect tried to restore order. These were the Goblin Mages.
Without healing or cleansing magic, they could only conjure barriers to protect small areas from the toxic mist.
Naturally, this method could only safeguard a handful at best.
In fact, some Goblin Mages who knew Wind magic attempted to blow the mist away. But these Goblins always drew the special attention of the hidden hunter lurking in the shadows.
From time to time, an explosive sound rang out, just like when the Goblin King was killed earlier. And with each such blast, another Goblin Mage lost its life; some had their heads blown off, others were torn apart, leaving organs, fresh blood, and shattered bones scattered across the ground where their corpses fell.
At first, some Goblins tried to locate the enemy to strike back. But unfortunately, the one secretly attacking them was far too cautious.
No matter how hard they searched, they could not find the source of the poisonous spheres in the darkness.
As for the distant attacker they had vaguely detected earlier?
The estimated distance was far too great for them to do anything amidst the chaos.
Their magic could not reach that far, nor could they command the horde to move as they wished.
At most, they could lead a small group toward the suspected hiding place.
But even if they reached it, what could they do?
Supposing they had the strength to overpower the enemy, the hidden foe could easily escape long before they arrived.
The more intelligent Goblins deeply felt their own helplessness in this situation.
In the end, instead of fighting back, the Goblins could only scatter in all directions, desperately trying to preserve their own lives.