As the leader hit the ground from high above and burst into a mess of blood and flesh, the goblins fell silent almost all at once. For a brief moment, an eerie hush settled over the entire battlefield.

Of course, the strange silence didn’t last long. The goblins soon flew into a rage again.

There were thousands of goblins here, and someone had actually dared to ambush their leader?! It was an insult to every last one of them!

“Who was it?!”

“Find them! Kill them!”

The enraged goblins quickly shifted their attention away from the village. They had to find the one who’d assassinated their boss as fast as possible.

But as furious as they were, Alina had attacked from a distance, and for the moment, they really couldn’t find her.

“Quiet! You’ll never find the culprit acting like this!”

Just then, a voice with a hint of authority rang out from among the goblins. It looked like the second-in-command had stepped up.

Sure enough, after the voice rang out, the goblin army grew much quieter. A few voices still sounded dissatisfied, but they were quickly silenced.

“They’re actually pretty well organized.”

Alina was a little surprised. She’d expected them to scatter and run as soon as their leader was killed. She hadn’t expected a second-in-command to take control of the army in such a short time.

“But that second-in-command is pretty crafty. They’re hiding among the goblins, so there’s no way to find them.”

Alina shook her head. Ever since the boss had died, all the other big shots seemed to have gotten clever and gone into hiding. She had no choice but to give up on trying to take out another leader.

Then she cleared her throat twice and called out to the entire goblin army: “Goblins up ahead! You’re surrounded. Your only way out is to drop your weapons and surrender!”

Her cool, clear voice quickly carried across the entire goblin army. Afraid the goblins on the other side wouldn’t hear her, Alina used magic to amplify it. The sound made Lamia’s head ache. Lamia called out to her several times in protest, but at her current size, her voice was no louder than a cat’s meow, and Alina completely ignored her.

The goblins, who’d been trying to figure out where Alina was, were instantly enraged by her words. Goblins were an emotionally volatile race to begin with, and Alina’s taunt sent them over the edge.

“You bastard! You’re still mocking us?!”

“There she is! Don’t let that woman get away! Drag her back and make her a breeding tool!”

“Get her! Get her!”

Her voice gave away Alina’s position. Soon, a group of nearby goblins charged toward her.

“Sigh. I really didn’t want to get rough.”

The goblins charged toward her, holding wooden shields and howling as they closed in. Alina sighed with an innocent look, as if they’d left her no choice but to use force.

“Flame Emperor: Crimson Lotus.”

Alina’s red lips parted, and beautiful, brilliant red lotuses bloomed around her.

The crimson lotuses were dazzling and captivating, yet dreamlike and fragile, like bubbles that would burst at the slightest touch.

The charging goblins were momentarily entranced. Some couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and reached out to touch the swaying, delicate-looking lotuses.

But the moment they touched the lotuses, they regretted it. By then, it was already too late. The beautiful flowers transformed almost simultaneously into blazing flames that consumed everything. A mere brush against them was enough to turn the goblins to ash, scattering them into the wind.

【Flame Emperor: Crimson Lotus】 was the highest-tier fire attack spell Alina had created herself after studying a wealth of magical knowledge.

It combined beauty with power, and the Archmage had called it outrageous back when Alina was in Di Village. Using a spell like this against goblins was complete overkill, but Alina preferred to play it safe, so she still unleashed this highest-tier magic.

“Aah!”

“What is that?!”

“Somebody help me!”

The goblins’ bloodcurdling screams came from the front, but soon even those faded into nothing. The goblins behind them stared at the hellish scene in terror, too scared to move. A chill ran through them as they stood there, frozen in place.

“Not only did you refuse to surrender, you even dared to fight back?”

Only Alina’s magically amplified voice continued to echo across the battlefield.

Even the villagers were stunned. Who was this person? How could she be so strong? She’d wiped out more than a hundred members of the goblin army in the blink of an eye.

“A mage! She’s a mage! Run!”

At last, one of the terrified goblins came to its senses. It let out a shrill cry and ran for the rear. At the same time, the entire goblin army completely collapsed. The goblins scattered in every direction, and some even dragged down their comrades running ahead of them just to save their own skins.

They didn’t know how powerful the human who’d appeared was, but they knew she wasn’t an ordinary human. She was a human adventurer with the Mage class.

Goblins might have the upper hand against ordinary humans, but when they faced someone with a proper class, they were as good as finished.

So the first thing they thought of was to run—and the faster, the better!

“Tch.”

Alina clicked her tongue in disdain as she watched the goblins scatter. They’d been all bluster, but they couldn’t back it up. Pathetic.

Of course, Alina had no intention of chasing the fleeing goblins. Enemies this weak only needed to be scared off; there was no need to run them down.

“Let’s go. We should get back on the road.”

Alina waited a long while, until the goblins had completely disappeared from sight and she was sure the village wouldn’t be attacked again. Only then did she prepare to leave and continue her journey.

But just as she turned to go, some people from the village came out and stopped her.

“My lady, please wait.”

Alina stopped at the sound of their voices and turned to look at the large group approaching her.

An old man, surrounded by a crowd, came up to Alina. Without another word, he dropped to his knees and cried, “Thank you for saving our lives, my lady! If it weren’t for you, our whole village could’ve been wiped out!”

As soon as the old man knelt, the villagers behind him did the same. One after another, they dropped to their knees, all thanking Alina for saving their lives.

Only Kyle dared to sneak a glance up at Alina. Something about her figure seemed familiar, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Alina had changed everything about her from head to toe—even her presence and voice—so Kyle naturally couldn’t recognize her.

The red-haired girl was also sneaking glances at Alina. She looked at her for a moment, then quickly lowered her head again.

If only I could have power like that, the girl thought as she lowered her head.

Alina had no idea what Kyle or the girl was thinking. She was too flustered by the sight before her, something she’d never encountered before. She hurried to help the old man up and gestured for the villagers to rise as well.

“Hey, hey, there’s no need for that, sir. Everyone, please get up.”

Honestly, most powerful people in this world would’ve just nodded and moved on. But Alina had come from another world, after all, and she still believed in equality.

The old man let Alina help him to his feet, then gave her a puzzled look. Their village had been rescued by powerful people before, but those people had always left without looking back. They’d never met anyone like Alina.

“My lady, it’s getting late. Why not stay the night in our village and set out again tomorrow?”

Perhaps Alina’s attitude gave the old man courage. For the first time in his life, he invited someone with an adventurer’s class to stay.

“Grrr.”

Just then, Alina’s stomach rumbled. She really wanted to refuse, but her stomach wouldn’t let her.

At the same time, Lamia flew out of the backpack and flopped listlessly onto Alina’s head. “I’m hungry too. Why don’t we stay here for the night?”

“All right, then. We’ll be imposing on you.”

After hearing Lamia, Alina could only nod and agree.

“Not at all, not at all! It’s our honor!”

When Alina agreed, all the villagers cheered. Even those who’d been injured smiled.

They were a little surprised to see Lamia, but soon forgot about it. Their village had survived the day, and they’d even welcomed such an honored guest!