In that split second between life and death.
Whoosh!
From the shadows of the trees to the side, a dark figure lunged out with near-brute speed!
It was so fast that it left a blurry afterimage in Nora’s fading vision.
A pitch-black, unadorned iron rod tore through the air with a low, heavy whistle.
Arriving just in time, it swung down from above, slamming violently into the side of the unsuspecting elite goblin’s neck!
CRACK!!!
The crisp sound of shattering bone, enough to make one’s scalp tingle and teeth ache, drowned out all other noise on the battlefield.
The goblin’s momentum came to a dead halt. Its hideous head twisted and collapsed toward its right shoulder at an angle that completely defied physiological structure.
Its entire body was sent flying by the terrifying force, crashing hard against the rock wall before sliding limply to the ground. After a couple of twitches, it went completely still.
The residual force of the iron rod struck the earth.
THUD!!!
The dull impact sounded like a war drum. Dust and gravel sprayed into the air as a shallow crater was gouged into the ground.
All the goblins that had been screeching and lunging froze as if they were being strangled. For the first time, their small, crimson eyes flickered with terror and confusion.
Even Nora, struggling to breathe, was stunned. She forced her blurry vision to focus.
The dust slowly settled.
The figure became clear.
It was a youth who looked to be about the same age as Nora.
His black hair was messy, and his handsome face was stained with dirt and grass. His coarse cloth clothes were tattered and worn, with several tears revealing the firm skin beneath.
The dark iron rod in his hand was slightly shorter than his height. He held it steadily now, the tip still stained with the dark green blood and bone fragments of the goblin.
He stood there between Nora and the goblin pack, his chest heaving slightly. It was clear that the explosive strike just now had taken quite a bit out of him.
There was no ornate armor, no shining weapon, and no grand declaration.
He even looked a bit disheveled, like someone who had just escaped a difficult trek or a desperate struggle.
But in Nora’s eyes, at the very moment before despair swallowed her whole, this back that had suddenly burst into her field of vision was everything.
Like an indestructible wall, he had cut off the death that was lunging for her.
A few rays of sunlight filtered through the canopy, landing right on his shoulders and illuminating the rough patterns on the iron rod and the slightly tensed lines of his back.
The pitch-black sky of her hopeless situation was torn open by this figure, letting a sliver of light shine through.
Bai Xuan shook his right hand, which was slightly numb from the recoil.
His gaze swept across the goblin pack, which had fallen into brief chaos due to the sudden death of their leader.
There are still over twenty of them. Should be fine.
He used the corner of his eye to quickly glance at the heavily injured girl and the unconscious middle-aged man behind him.
“Tsk, tsk. To think you’d get beaten like this by goblins,” he muttered under his breath.
Rewinding to a short while ago...
Bai Xuan had been sleeping soundly in a tree when he was startled awake by a faint sound—a mix of clashing metal and a woman’s sharp shout.
He snapped into a sitting position on the branch, the sunlight piercing through the leaves and making him squint.
The sound was far away, drifting through the forest and nearly covered by the wind and birdsong, but it was definitely... a human voice.
How long had it been since he last heard one? It wasn’t the roar of a monster, but a human voice filled with intense emotion.
A primal tug of kinship welled up in his heart, a reaction to being soaked in loneliness for too long.
The despair and pain in that voice made Bai Xuan feel a sense of urgency as well.
Before he could process this unfamiliar emotion, the sound came again, clearer this time. After determining the direction...
Bai Xuan quickly slid down the tree, gripped his Goldsand Iron rod, and silently crept toward the source of the noise.
Using the trees and terrain for cover, he moved quickly and cautiously.
Soon, he reached the edge of a forest clearing and hid behind a dense thicket of bushes.
Slowly poking his head out, the scene before him came into view.
A jarring sea of green—roughly twenty goblins—were huddled in a loose circle, screeching and hooting.
Five or six goblin corpses already lay on the ground.
In the center of the circle was a rock crevice partially hidden by vines.
In front of the crevice, a girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail, wearing leather armor and a leather skirt, stood her ground.
She held a longsword with both hands, shielding an unconscious middle-aged man.
The girl looked to be about sixteen, a bit younger than himself. Her face was covered in blood and dirt, but her eyes held a stubborn refusal to fall.
The middle-aged man’s face was ashen. He lay motionless on the ground, a bulging travel bag beside him.
Bai Xuan suppressed the urge to charge out immediately. His gaze quickly scanned the battlefield as his mental energy silently spread out.
【Nora Finch (Squire Lv. 3)】
【Status: Heavily Injured, Exhausted, Blood Loss】
【HP: 37/290】
【MP: 7/75】
【Potential: 3-Star (Monarch)】
...
【Colin Finch (Fire Mage Lv. 5)】
【Status: Heavily Injured, Blood Loss, Comatose, Healing Slowing Taking Effect】
【HP: 70/580】
【MP: 36/370】
【Potential: 2-Star (Squire)】
“Monarch?!” Bai Xuan looked at Nora in surprise.
The same potential rank as that Rock Core Guardian!
This girl... this father and daughter pair were likely not simple people.
Next, he scanned the goblin pack.
【goblin Lv. 1】
【Status: Under Command, Hunting】
【HP: 20/20】
【MP: 3/3】
【Potential: 1-Star (Dust Crown)】
They were all Lv. 1, with HP around 20.
However, the “Under Command, Hunting” status caught his attention.
There was a commander. He searched carefully through the goblin pack.
Finally, toward the rear of the pack, he locked onto a green figure crouching low, significantly larger than its kin.
It didn’t screech mindlessly like the other goblins. Instead, it moved as slowly as a rock, always using the bodies of its subordinates to shield itself.
Only those crimson, cunning eyes were fixed on every opening the girl in front of it exposed.
【great goblin Lv. 3】
【Status: Commanding, Hunting】
【HP: 230/230】
【MP: 10/10】
【Potential: 1-Star (Dust Crown)】
Cunning bastard! So that’s where you’re hiding!
Bai Xuan suppressed the urge to rush in and whack the great goblin. After all, he was only Level 2.
Though the girl was swaying on her feet, her swordsmanship foundation was solid; she could hold on for a short while longer.
If he rushed out now, he would just be surrounded by a Level 3 great goblin and over twenty ordinary goblins.
He might even end up dying right alongside that father and daughter.
He had to wait. Wait for that cunning commander to expose its own weakness.
Crouching behind the bushes, he adjusted his breathing, his gaze shifting back and forth between the girl and the great goblin.
Several times, when Nora stumbled while parrying an attack and left an opening, Bai Xuan’s fingers would tighten around his iron rod, his muscles tensing as he almost charged out.
But his reason held him back. That great goblin was waiting for its moment, and so was he.
Time slowed down in the bloody stalemate.
Nora’s breathing grew heavier, and her movements slower.
Finally, after a desperate strike to clear two goblins from her front, her old strength was spent and her new strength had yet to rise. Her body fell into an inevitable state of stiffness and lag.
Now!
Rate on N.U.
