The World Dragon's Heir
Chapter 57: Convoy Halted

Chapter 57: Convoy Halted

The route that they were taking out of the city would take them down the road past Aramos Village, and Dominic wondered where exactly Princess Alexis was planning to go look for the enemy leader.

Once they got past the village, there should be just a bunch of forest. However, they already knew it was full of Goblins, and the problem there hadn’t seemed to get much worse, as the villagers were more afraid of the side between them and the City when he left.

But the convoy showed no signs of slowing or changing courses, even when one of the late support staff ran up alongside the last wagon and swung on board with a backpack full of whatever they had deemed necessary for the trip.

It looked like they had packed far too much, in Dominic’s mind. But they might know more than he did about what was needed for an extended military campaign.

After his parents died, and the village that they lived in was razed to the ground by invaders from across the border, including the hut in the woods that Dominic’s family lived in, he had spent a lot of time in the wilderness, camping along the way to various towns which had all proven to be short on work. He had spent years doing odd jobs until he finally reached Cygnia city a few weeks ago.

So, Dominic knew about camping, and he knew about long walks, but he didn’t know what an army needed to keep them going.

Once they reached the forest, Dominic climbed up out of the enclosed body of the carriage and took a spot on the roof, waiting for the first attack to begin. He had been down this road twice recently, and both times there were Goblin attacks in the woods.

"Got bored already? You know, you don’t need to keep the armour on or impress anyone while we travel." The driver informed him.

"I’m expecting a Goblin attack any minute now. Last time I was down this road, they attacked right up ahead at the corner. The time before that, the first attack was just after we entered the trees." he explained.

"Then what are you doing out of the wagon? You should be inside with the steel shutters closed." He laughed.

"I’m a spell caster, see? It makes everyone’s life easier when I take out Goblins from a distance."

The driver smiled and nodded. "I guess you’re not as sheltered as the other apprentices. Alright, be sure to give a shout if you see anything that might damage our ride."

They didn’t have to wait for long. As soon as they rounded the corner, where the front wagons went out of sight in the trees, the sounds of combat started, and the wagons were forced to a stop.

"You called it." The driver chuckled grimly as he took his shotgun from the holster beside his seat.

The attack seemed to be focused on the front of the convoy, but the drivers were experienced. They all knew that it was just to get the guards focused on one end of the convoy before they attacked the supply wagons at the back.

But they kept waiting, and the fighting kept getting more intense at the front, which drew more of the guards up to join them, as the Goblins intended.

Dominic sighed as he watched more of the guards move forward to join the fight. It was out of sight around the corner, but it was taking an impressive amount of manpower to deal with. Then, the sound of large creatures moving through the woods caught their attention.

Those were definitely not Goblins.

An entire unit of Hobgoblins charged through the trees toward the carriages near the back, where the terrified camp supporters were gathered, with only one truck full of guards bringing up the rear.

They spread out to block the incoming attacks from both sides of the convoy, and the guns of the drivers began to fire, letting everyone nearby know that they were under attack.

Dominic considered his options for half a second and hung a dagger and his sabre on his hip, then began to hurl Arcane Blasts toward the enemy.

While he did, he checked the box that Pops had given him this morning. Considering their trade, it might be a valuable weapon.

A Hobgoblin dropped as his spell hit it in the face and the flesh was flayed away. Dominic took the chance to take out the box and open it, then stared in confusion at the item inside.

It was a sceptre. More correctly, a war sceptre, topped with a single ring of metal covered in protruding spikes around a central gem, with an engraved handle sized for use as a mace. They usually weren’t meant to actually hit things with, they were for spell casters who thought they might be attacked.

[War Sceptre of Power] Rare Quality magical weapon. Adds a moderate amount of spell power. Increased durability.

Dominic smirked at the last line. Pops knew him very well, and had made the sceptre extra durable so he really could bash goblins with it.

His next spell tore a huge hole in the chest of a Hobgoblin, and Dominic whistled in appreciation for the added spell damage. He really needed an upgrade to the Spell Power gem that he had gotten from Bella. If he had twice this much enhancement, he would be able to drop the Hobgoblins even without a headshot or previous injuries.

It was the enhancement gems that made all the difference for the veteran troops. The magic allowed them to move more smoothly, hit harder, cut deeper, and even use spells to enhance their attacks. It was an enviable situation, but they had years of advantage over Dominic in building up their repertoire.

The guards kept the majority of the Goblin cores for themselves as they made the kills, while the rest of the loot from their battles was sent to the warehouse to be spread out as needed. Well, in theory. Most of it was trash that was melted down for raw materials and recycled.

The Hobgoblins were stopped by the remaining guards and the combined firepower of Dominic and the drivers, but with the fight at the front still ongoing, it felt like they were missing something important.

They had almost all the guards up at the front now, and the fighting didn’t seem to be slowing down at all.

But none of the remaining members of the convoy could go up to check on them, they were all needed back here in case another attack came. If the fight had gotten any worse back here, they would have had heavily damaged carriages, and Dominic could see that one of them already had a broken spoke that he was going to have to replace before they got moving.

"Yell if you see anything, I’m going to start making a replacement spoke for that wheel while we wait to see how things turn out." he informed his driver.

"Got it. I’ll keep you up to date as long as you can keep casting those spells." The driver readily agreed.