The great goblin, which had been lurking all this time, let out a murderous glint in its eyes and suddenly launched itself from its hiding place!
Its thick hind legs exploded with staggering power, and the iron spear in its hand tore through the air, lunging straight for the unprotected center of Nora’s back!
It was incredibly fast, far exceeding a normal goblin. Clearly, it had been charging this strike for a long time.
Almost at the same instant...
From behind the bushes, a dark figure darted out, staying low to the ground!
Bai Xuan used every ounce of his strength, exploding with his maximum speed.
He moved in a slight arc, skillfully evading the line of sight of the peripheral goblins, his target fixed on that leaping green figure!
The mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole follows behind!
The great goblin’s entire attention was focused on Nora, completely unaware of the lethal threat approaching from behind.
Just as its bone blade was about to touch Nora’s leather armor—
“Whoosh—!”
A low, terrifying whistle of air erupted from behind its head!
Bai Xuan swung the Goldsand Iron rod with both hands, concentrating his entire body’s strength into his arms as he brought it down from above.
The light of Redemption Strike condensed at the tip of the rod. It wasn't flashy, but it carried a devastating weight as it slammed violently into the side of the great goblin’s unprotected neck!
CRACK!!!
The sound of shattering bone was so crisp it made one’s teeth ache, drowning out all other noise on the battlefield!
The great goblin’s hideous expression froze instantly. Its momentum came to a dead halt, and its entire head twisted at a grotesque angle.
Its massive body was sent flying by the immense force, crashing hard against the rock wall with a thud before sliding down limply, devoid of life.
The solid feedback from the rod and the prompt that immediately popped up on his panel told Bai Xuan that this strike was a kill.
【Critical hit successful. Killed “great goblin”】
【Exp +6, Pleasure +5】
Time seemed to freeze for a second.
All the goblins that were still screeching and clawing froze. They looked blankly at their leader’s twisted corpse.
Then they looked at the person who had suddenly appeared and crushed their great goblin with a single strike.
Their simple brains couldn't comprehend what had happened, but their instincts felt terror.
Bai Xuan didn't give them time to react.
He landed, turned, and swung the Goldsand Iron rod in a dark arc, crushing the head of the nearest dazed goblin.
Splat! Green fluid and bone fragments sprayed everywhere.
This was the signal. The goblin pack fell into chaos.
Without a commander, fear overrode their greed.
However, they didn't scatter immediately. In the chaos, a few fierce ones bared their teeth and lunged at Bai Xuan, while more began to hesitate and retreat.
Bai Xuan backed against the rock wall to avoid being surrounded, his iron rod swinging wide.
There were no fancy moves, only the simplest and most direct strikes, swings, and sweeps.
Every hit landed on vital spots like the head, cervical spine, or heart.
With the passive strength boost combined with the heavy and resilient Goldsand Iron rod, dealing with these Lv. 1 goblins with only about 20 HP was easy; a single strike was enough to take them out of the fight.
Thud! A goblin lunging from the side was hit in the chest by the rod. Its ribs shattered, and it was sent flying.
Pfft! The tip of the rod acted like a spear, piercing through another’s throat.
The battle quickly turned into a one-sided slaughter.
The goblins' courage evaporated rapidly as their companions died one after another in gruesome ways.
When Bai Xuan crushed the head of another goblin trying to sneak up on him, the remaining five or six finally broke completely.
Letting out terrified shrieks, they turned and fled, scrambling back into the forest.
Those are all Exp and Pleasure points!
Bai Xuan wanted to give chase, but after taking a single step, he forced himself to stop.
He looked back.
Nora had lost consciousness at some point, collapsing beside her father while still clutching her sword tightly.
“Lucky you ran fast,” he muttered.
He took a few breaths to steady his racing heart and soothe his slightly aching arms before walking toward the rock crevice.
Bai Xuan crouched down to check Nora’s condition first. Her HP was slowly draining.
He reached out, his palm glowing with the soft golden light of Holy Light Catalyst, and pressed it gently against a deep wound on her shoulder.
“Ugh—!”
Nora’s unconscious body jolted violently. An oppressed groan of pain escaped her throat, her brows furrowed tightly, and fine beads of cold sweat immediately broke out on her forehead.
She twitched several times before gradually settling down.
【Redemption successful. Pleasure +3】
“Wait, were you also eroded by dark elements?”
Bai Xuan was startled and immediately pulled his hand back, thinking something had gone wrong with his healing, just like with the Rock Core Guardian.
He quickly looked at the panel:
【HP: 140/290 (Slowly recovering)】↑
Nora’s HP had been replenished and was still slowly rising.
“What’s going on?”
He was full of confusion. “The healing worked, so why that reaction?”
“And healing also grants Pleasure, though not much.”
He hesitated for a moment before looking at the unconscious Colin.
The mage’s situation was even worse.
He raised his hand to use Holy Light Catalyst again and pressed it near the wound on Colin’s abdomen.
“Argh...” Even in his coma, Colin let out a painful moan, his body trembling violently for a brief moment.
【Pleasure +5】
【HP: 193/580 (Slowly recovering)】↑
“What is the deal with this?!”
Bai Xuan stumbled back two steps, completely baffled.
He looked at his faintly glowing palm, then at the panel confirming their HP was indeed recovering, his brow furrowed.
“Strange... my healing magic doesn't cause problems when I use it on myself.” He recalled the feeling of using the skill when he was injured; it was only warm and comfortable.
“Whatever, who cares? As long as it works!”
As long as they weren't dead, their wounds were closing, and their HP was returning, a slightly strange reaction was no big deal.
After confirming that their HP had been replenished and was on an upward trend, Bai Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Next was time to collect the loot—extracting the Magic Cores from these goblins.
There were 28 in total, plus the Magic Core from the Level 3 great goblin. After putting the cores into his ring, he checked his panel for the gains:
【Bai Xuan】
【Race: Human】
【Level: Lv. 2 (98%)】
【Class: None】
【HP: 205/205】
【MP: 48/95】
【Potential: ￥%…*&】
【Trait: Digitalization】
【Active Skills: Holy Light Catalyst Lv. 1 (11%), Redemption Strike Lv. 1 (9%)】
【Passive Skills: Strength Enhancement Lv. 0 (1%)】
【Current Pleasure: 53, Draw Chances * 2】
【Items: (Omitted)】
Almost leveled up! Only 2% left. One more battle should do it.
He could also draw twice now! But there was no rush; he’d save up a bit more first.
This was quite a harvest.
After checking everything, he closed the panel and stood up to scan the surroundings.
This rock crevice was relatively hidden, but after the intense battle just now, the scent of blood was very thick. This place was no longer safe.
He carefully hoisted the unconscious Colin and Nora onto his shoulders, dragging their bags behind him with his left hand as he moved away from this dangerous spot.
Not long after Bai Xuan left with them, various sounds began to emerge from the surrounding bushes...
Rate on N.U.
