Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 385 is indeed a craft.
"Hiss!!!"

A piercing, mournful wail echoed between the stone walls, and the dimly lit cave was filled with the smell of death.

When true fear and violence descend, these green-skinned beasts, whose bodies have always been controlled by killing and desire, will not behave much better than domesticated livestock.

Like cockroaches under a trash can, or rats caught in the light in a sewer.

There was no order whatsoever; they collided and rubbed against each other, running and scrambling chaotically through the nest.

Even so, not one of them dared to approach the only exit leading to the ground on the side.

A massive, headless mutilated body, with blood gushing from its severed neck, stood like an invisible barrier of flesh and blood, keeping the green-skinned goblins at bay.

This is the result of attempting to resist.

Just as hunter John had guessed, this goblin tribe, which nests near the village and has a population of over fifty, has an elite subspecies whose strength far surpasses that of the others.

—A bear goblin with a challenge level of "1"!
This is beyond the capabilities of an ordinary adventurer team.

Therefore, after carefully searching the cave entrance and discovering further traces of the goblin, John worriedly suggested to Shanan that they should temporarily retreat and call more people from the village to help, or consider other options to avoid a direct confrontation with the goblin.

Xia Nan suggested that the two wait outside the cave.

If he hasn't come up by half an hour, he should go back to the village without waiting for him.

The reason for specifically giving this "thirty-minute" time limit is...

Of course, it's not because Xia Nan really needs to spend so much time fighting goblins.

He was just worried that he might get so engrossed in enjoying himself that he would forget the time and leave the two people outside the cave waiting in vain, so he explained it in advance.

Their reaction to the intrusion of this strange human was almost identical to that of the goblin lairs that Xia Nan had wiped out, numbering in the hundreds.

These goblins were excited and frenzied, shoving and pushing forward with strange cries, their fanatical and eager manner as if they would lose a piece of meat if they were even a step slower.

Then, in front of many goblins, Xia Nan skillfully and expertly twisted off the head of their leader, a burly bear goblin charging at the front, as if pulling up a radish.

On the field, this is the situation we see today.

The goblins who had been charging at the front of the group stopped in panic and turned to flee. The excited and frenzied screams that had filled the air were now replaced by cries of fear and helplessness.

The situation is too chaotic.

Xia Nan even saw a few slightly thin green goblins who, in a moment of carelessness, were pushed and knocked to the ground by their companions.

Before he could even get up again, he was trampled into a bloody pulp by the filthy toes that came down one after another.

Fear, coupled with the gradually pervasive stench of blood in the air, seemed to solidify into a tangible form.

Like the pleasant background music in a high-end restaurant, and feeling the terrified screams of the goblins echoing in his ears, Xia Nan's interest quietly rose.

hum-

The twilight-like gray-black straight sword drew a sharp arc in the cold air, while the bone-white leg armor crisscrossed as it took a step forward.

"Time to kill..."

……

In most cases, the size of the fighting force on both sides can determine the outcome of a battle.

The principle that quantitative change leads to qualitative change is true.

However, it is clear that the fifty-odd goblins in the underground nest in front of Xia Nan are not enough to reach the so-called "quantitative change" threshold when facing Xia Nan now.

To some extent, even if you add another zero after the number, the result will be the same.

8 points in Constitution, 9 points in Strength, 11 points in Agility, plus 12 points in Perception.

Xia Nan was unsure of where his physical abilities fell within the ranks of professionals.

But without a doubt, it has far exceeded the average level that his level 3 profession should possess.

He had actually made his own speculations.

Even if every combat skill of a superhuman who has reached level 11 is of the lowest quality and only provides attribute bonuses when they reach the maximum level of "Mastery", it is still a powerful individual.

Going from an ordinary person to level 11 is equivalent to undergoing 11 physical enhancements.

Refer to the panel attributes when you first came into this world, where every item was "5".

Does this mean that when a single attribute reaches "15", it reaches the boundary between "ordinary" and "extraordinary"?

If Xia Nan's speculation is true, does the so-called "Legendary" also represent a certain attribute breaking through to 25 points?
Perhaps due to insufficient permissions, he did not find relevant information in the Adventurers' Guild. The time he spent with the barbarian Ferguson was too short, and he hadn't even obtained his job level yet, so naturally he couldn't have thought that far ahead and mentioned related issues.

"Perhaps when we get to Sucker Bay, we can gather some information about advanced skills for professionals there, and we might be able to find something useful."

But no matter what, regardless of Xia Nan's current physical condition.

The green-skinned goblins before them, whose arms and bones were more delicate and fragile than withered branches, were already overwhelmingly defeated without any surprise.

【Emberfall】With a gentle swing of the straight sword, wherever the blade touched, it was like a lawnmower, stirring up bursts of blood and severed limbs.

Later, because the sword was covered in too much blood, and to avoid looking too sloppy, Xia Nan didn't even bother to swing the sword anymore. He simply picked up the rusty nails and wooden clubs left by the goblins on the ground, or simply used his own hands to kill them.

"Hiss!"

Its ugly, foul-smelling mouth spewed thick saliva, and its hunched, thin body resembled a panicked green rat trying to escape the danger behind it.

But for some reason, at this moment it seemed as if a magnet had been embedded in its back, and under the influence of an invisible attraction from behind, its speed was getting slower and slower.

In the end, even taking just one step forward requires gathering all its strength.

Covered in pustules, its muscles were taut and trembling, swelling as if they were about to tear the paper-thin skin above it. The bones throughout its body cracked under the strain, as if it were about to fall apart completely at any moment.

Compared to its kind, whose bodies were crippled and could only lie on the ground, letting their life force gradually drain away, wailing in agony.

This goblin died relatively quickly.

A blood-stained fist landed on the goblin's back with barely any force.

The force was controlled in an extra way.

Under normal circumstances, this punch would at most shatter the opponent's internal organs and bones, and create a deep dent in the body surface.

Having personally experienced countless goblins, Xia Nan knew the physical structure of these small monsters like the back of his hand, so there was no possibility of him making a mistake.

But compared to usual, his fist now seemed to be imbued with an invisible energy, causing the surrounding air to subtly distort.

This meant that the force of the punch was not particularly great. When it touched the goblin's skin, the flesh and bones shattered and flew off like tofu, and the fist bone pierced through the other end of the goblin's chest.

The organs along the way were churned into a paste.

——【Heavy Tide】: Guide gravity to imbue your next strike with a “heavy” force, increasing melee attack damage by 25%–100%; Pull the blood-stained arm from the goblin’s body, letting the goblin’s convulsing corpse fall to the ground.

"Did I really use too much force?"

Xia Nan seemed to be deep in thought.

Ignore the even more terrified screams coming from the surrounding goblins.

However, with a slight manipulation of gravity, another goblin was pulled in.

Unlike its kind, this goblin seems to be exceptionally courageous.

When it was pulled by gravity to Xia Nan's side, it was still holding its ugly and ridiculous rusty wooden stick in its hand.

Seeing that escape was impossible, it actually raised the wooden stick and charged at him.

Xia Nan was secretly delighted.

He immediately dispersed the gravity he was applying to the goblin, and only made his move when the goblin brought him into its attack range and swung his wooden club down at him.

He extended his right index finger with incredible speed, then suddenly withdrew it just as it was about to strike the goblin.

He simply let that invisible finger, whose skin was also wrapped with the distorted power of air, lightly touch the goblin's chest.

"Om..."

——【Tide】: During the release, the gravity you apply will interrupt the enemy's current action; upon hit, there is a chance to put the enemy into an "unbalanced" state.

Almost the instant Xia Nan's fingertips touched the goblin's body, its originally stable center of gravity suddenly shifted, and its entire body seemed to be caught in some kind of invisible vortex, swaying and staggering. Even its almost-formed swinging motion was suddenly disrupted.

Then his whole body swayed violently, and he fell to the ground tilted as if in an earthquake, unable to get up for a long time.

He tested the new combat skill he had just mastered and was satisfied with its effects.

He casually plucked the heads off two goblins that had accidentally wandered to his side in their terror.

Seeing the goblin in front of him struggle out of his "unbalanced" state and get up from the ground with difficulty.

Xia Nan tapped her fingertip lightly again.

The goblin once again collapsed to the ground in a sorry state.

His dark eyes reflected the goblin's swaying and struggling body as he pondered.

The specific effects of the combat skill 【Chongchao】 seem to be even stronger than he had imagined.

The inherent damage boost becomes even more exaggerated with the addition of one's physical attributes. If gravity is applied at full power, the boost can reach 100%, enough to cut through even steel.

The subsequent "Interruption Action" and "Imbalance" checks are extremely useful.

In high-level, intense battles, Xia Nan doesn't even need enemies like the goblin in front of him to completely lose control of their bodies and fall to the ground.

However, a slight loss of balance is enough for one to seize this fleeting opportunity and deliver a heavy and fatal blow to the opponent.

The only downside is that the additional damage effect of [Heavy Tide] only applies to "melee attacks" and cannot be used in conjunction with throwing items.

Otherwise, when facing ranged classes like archers and mages in the future, he wouldn't have to expend a lot of mental energy to use [Mind-Guiding Vision] in advance to find the enemy's core movements and then use [Gravity Control] to interrupt them from a distance, as he did before.

He would carry a bag of pebbles with him and throw them at anyone he saw, adding a layer of "heavy moisture" to the surface of each pebble.

If any one of them takes effect, the opponent's spellcasting action will be interrupted.

Create opportunities for yourself to make a breakthrough.

Xia Nan nodded slightly, feeling satisfied.

With a stomp, it crushed the goblin's head, which had finally managed to struggle out of its "unbalanced" state once again.

His gaze swept over the goblins, who were growing increasingly terrified, and a strange expression, difficult to describe, appeared on his face.

……

Xia Nan timed it perfectly.

As he emerged from the cave covered in blood, Colin and the hunter John hesitated whether to leave.

Strangely, when the two saw Xia Nan, their faces did not show the relief and ease they had expected upon seeing him safely escape.

Instead, he wore a strange, hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

The roar of a bear goblin is quite different from that of a regular goblin; it is much rougher and more powerful.

The two people waiting outside the cave at the time heard the roar of the bear goblin coming from deep inside the tunnel.

He couldn't help but feel worried for Xia Nan, who was fighting alone.

But then they clearly heard the roar abruptly stop, and the goblins' initial excitement turning into a shriek of fear and panic.

Even the somewhat inexperienced Colin could vaguely guess what was happening inside by the changes in the cries.

But that's what's strange.

The goblin's roar stopped so quickly, clearly indicating a huge difference in strength between the two sides. Then, the screams of the even weaker goblins suddenly slowed down, gradually decreasing in a regular and even manner.

Moreover, those wails... seemed a little too tragic.

After the goblin screams completely disappeared, the adventurer seemed to linger inside for a few more minutes before finally emerging just in time.

Colin proactively handed Xia Nan some clean water and gauze for washing. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to ask something.

But under John's warning gaze, he shut his mouth, swallowed the words that were already on the tip of his tongue, and buried his doubts in his heart.

To be honest, even if the two of them asked about it, Xia Nan wouldn't answer. At most, he would just give a few repetitive replies and change the subject.

Although it doesn't involve any secrets.

But if he were to tell the truth, he couldn't very well answer the two of them that the reason the goblins died so slowly was because he was enjoying the killing and savoring it.

After the battle, I spent a few more minutes alone in the cave, preparing for the intimidation ritual required for my part-time job, trying to "build blocks" with goblin heads...

It must be admitted that this ancient ritual, with its long history, is indeed a craft.

I only managed to build three layers before those round heads couldn't fit on top.

"Perhaps next time we could try using bones as the framework for fixation and congealed blood as the adhesive?"

"However, there are still too few heads. More than fifty is not even enough for one layer under normal circumstances."

"Looks like we'll have to kill more next time."

(End of this chapter)