Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 462 Meteor, Consecutive Slashes

Although the Shahua fish-men are seen as ferocious, bloodthirsty monsters by the human fishermen on the coast.

But they did possess their own writing system and language, and built their own civilization in the depths of the ocean.

To some extent, they can also be considered a type of intelligent life.

Because of their own habits and customs, these creatures that go out to plunder in teams mostly operate in small, scattered groups.

The group is led by a Shahua murloc priest, supported by several elite guards, and murloc minions who serve as cannon fodder.

Simple, yet effective.

Murloc priests, as spellcasters, often possess higher intelligence and judgment than their counterparts. They may not understand complex tactics, but with accumulated experience, they can command small-scale battles quite effectively.

Faced with the human adventurers who had inexplicably intruded during the ritual, the priest gave only a slight command, and his fishmen swarmed around them with a "ga-lu" sound.

It has experience dealing with lone human adventurers.

First, send your underlings to probe the enemy. If the enemy is of average strength, then there's no need to say more; just kill them. But if they turn out to be a formidable and troublesome opponent, and even if your side has the numerical advantage, it will be difficult to break through, then you, who are at the rear, will have enough time to consider whether to continue fighting or retreat temporarily.

It could even be described as cautious.

Even though the beach was wide open and any movement could be clearly seen, and the sea was right next to him, allowing for retreat at any time, the merman priest, while beckoning his subordinates forward, also made sure to leave two elite-level guards by his side in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

As it turns out, it was probably overthinking things.

While the fishmen surrounded the red-haired female adventurer in the distance, there was no unusual movement coming from the woods and bushes beside the beach.

It seems there really was just the other person.

The only slightly unexpected thing was that this adventurer seemed to be much stronger than anyone he had encountered before.

The scorching air currents that could be felt even from such a great distance, and the fleeting crimson shadow in the distance, caused its heart to tremble and gradually give rise to thoughts of retreat.

Just as the merman priest was considering whether to continue fighting or have his mermen retreat into the sea to decide on a more specific course of action...

A dark shadow suddenly flashed in the corner of my eye.

I subconsciously looked up.

The intense, blinding sunlight served as the perfect disguise, causing the merman priest to unconsciously squint his dark fish eyes, making it difficult to immediately discern the figure moving rapidly through the air.

It took me two seconds to realize that it was a short-tailed albatross of a much larger size than usual.

It took another half second before I noticed the dark figure hanging beneath the other person.

At that moment, amidst the hollow sound of flapping wings, the albatross had already reached the top of his head.

hold head high--

A deep, high-pitched wolf howl suddenly erupted, and the murloc priest felt a sudden tightness in his heart, as an unprecedented sense of danger arose within him.

He instinctively clenched the snail shell in his hand, and magical particles quickly gathered.

But before the spell could even take shape, the already dark and lifeless fish eyes became even more dazed, accompanied by the wolf howls echoing across the beach.

The "Night Mother's Gaze" subtly takes effect, and fear spreads.

At this moment, for some reason, it suddenly recalled the hunter shark that almost bit off half of its body when it was young, and the huge shadow that swam slowly through the dark deep sea and gradually approached it.

Fortunately, the daze was only for a moment.

The next instant, the merman priest broke free from his fear and passed the perception test.

But that brief moment of distraction caused him to miss the best opportunity to counterattack.

"Boom..."

Interspersed with long, drawn-out wolf howls, it was the piercing sound of air being torn apart.

Against the backdrop of the azure sky, the short-tailed albatross suddenly felt light and rose into the air.

From the abdomen, a pure white feather silently fell, swaying gently in the air for a moment before drifting down.

Suddenly a gust of wind swept by, and the feathers froze instantly.

A surge of dark energy from below suddenly rose up, blowing the white feather, which was falling naturally, upwards a considerable distance.

hold head high--

The howling of wolves echoed.

The jet-black wind, resembling both light and mist, transformed into swaying mane, wildly scattering backward, vaguely outlining the ferocious silhouette of the wolf beast within; the illusory ink-colored afterimage was stretched extremely long, leaving a fading black-gray trail behind it.

Almost swooping down, unlike the solid appearance of the black wolf walking on water before, Xia Nan, who suddenly fell from the air, could not take a running start. His body was surrounded by empty air, making it even more difficult to gain leverage. He could only rely on the gravity actively applied by [Gravity Control] after letting go of Hein to maximize his speed and increase the power of [Fang Hunt].

This caused the black wolf that swooped down from the sky to have an almost indistinct body structure. Only a wolf's head vaguely solidified where the blade pointed, while the rest of its body turned into a phantom trailing backward.

From a distance, it looks like a dark meteor falling at high speed.

The air was filled with the deafening sounds of airbursts and wolf howls, and even from a great distance, one could already feel the sharp, piercing air currents.

It's hard to imagine what this merman priest was thinking as he gazed at the "comet" falling straight down overhead.

However, it must be admitted that its mental fortitude is quite good; even with muscle memory, it did not freeze in place.

Instead, he subconsciously bent his upper arm, trying to bring the two seashells he was holding to his mouth, and one could vaguely see the magical glow emanating from his palm.

However, its movement was only halfway through when an inexplicable heavy pressure was suddenly applied to its unsuspecting wrists.

The merman priest felt as if his wrist had been forcefully pushed downwards by some invisible force.

It didn't cause any serious damage, but it did interrupt its spellcasting for a moment.

"Om."

It is a humming sound produced by high-frequency energy vibration.

While falling, distract yourself and use [Gravity Control] again to interrupt the enemy's spellcasting, while simultaneously applying gravity to lock them in place, ensuring that the opponent has no chance to dodge.

Xia Nan would never waste such an opportunity.

Like an extremely faint flame, an ochre-red light suddenly shone on the tip of the falling wolf fang, then quickly burned, transforming into an ochre-red flame that blended into the dark tail.

— [Gravity Etching]!
"Boom!!!"

Before the red and black trails it left in the sky had faded, the comet, resembling a wolf, had already landed.

Like an explosion, the shockwave spread outwards, whipping up countless grains of sand. The wolf howl abruptly ceased, leaving only lingering echoes in the air. At the same time, along with the wolf howl, the merman priest's unconscious "garu" cry, uttered in extreme panic, also vanished.

From top to bottom, the body falling from a great height, the additional gravity applied, the instantaneous burst from [Fang Hunt], and the inherent sharpness of the [Emberfall] straight sword, all combine to bring the physical damage of this sword strike to its limit.

In addition, there's the force field damage from [Gravity Etching], as well as the mind damage, decapitation damage, and slashing damage inherent in straight swords.

With such a combination of factors, even those dangerous monsters known for their defense would find it difficult to withstand such an attack.

Not to mention the murloc priest in front of us who doesn't even have armor or a helmet.

Starting from the top of the head and going down, it finally splits out from between the waist and hips.

Those scales, muscles, and bones were more fragile than the softest tofu.

Xia Nan didn't even feel the slightest resistance.

As his feet landed steadily on the sandy ground, the fall damage was reduced by the [Tidal Shaping] feat passive.

Before him, the merman priest's corpse, which had been cleaved in two by a sword, was also swept away to the left and right by the surging air current, leaving only a pile of mangled internal organs and flesh in place.

Fluorescent blue blood mixed with bits of flesh splattered onto the surface of the plate chainmail armor.

Xia Nan did not let his guard down despite the success of the decapitation plan.

The next second, two harpoons, gleaming with a cold light, came straight at him from the left and right respectively.

Although their willpower perception was slightly weaker, they were still elite-level guards. The two saka fishmen guarding the priest were slightly stunned by the influence of [Night Mother's Gaze], but they eventually passed the fear check and launched an attack on Xia Nan as he landed.

Their attack speed is not slow, but under normal circumstances, with Xia Nan's agility attribute of over ten points, he can easily react and dodge.

The situation is different now.

Even with the effect of [Tidal Shaping] which constantly halves fall damage, Xia Nan, in order to maximize her attack damage, used [Gravity Control] to increase gravity during her fall. While finishing off her target, she was also briefly stunned by the impact of free fall, making it difficult for her to move.

Almost instinctively, as Xia Nan's thoughts flickered, the faint light on the surface of the "Death Line" ring on his right index finger vanished in an instant.

—Deflection field!
Belonging to the same force field energy, a translucent ochre-red shield materialized out of thin air, enveloping Xia Nan's body.

At the same time the light shield was formed, the two harpoons that were thrusting at his vital points from the left and right sides collided violently with the ochre-red force field energy.

The ring, named "Death Line," came from the very first bear goblin Xia Nan encountered when he transmigrated. It was enchanted with the "Deflection Field" spell, and this piece of equipment undoubtedly provided Xia Nan with considerable help in getting to where he is today.

However, as he became a professional and his professional level and overall strength gradually increased, the ring itself became less and less effective.

Often, when facing powerful enemies, the "deflection field" can't even hold them off for half a second.

On the other hand, in such a fierce battle, even a half-second of respite is enough for the scales of victory to tip completely to the other side.

The same is true now.

Faced with the simultaneous attack of two elite Sakawa fishmen whose challenge level may have reached level 2 or even level 3, the "deflection field" from the [Death Line] ring only lasted for half a second before being completely shattered into ochre-red light fragments.

But it was this brief delay that allowed Xia Nan to regain a little control of his body after landing, forcibly controlling his legs to take half a step back.

The total distance is less than one foot.

However, the sharp harpoons that should have pierced his body through the weak points on both sides of the plate armor only left two deep scratches on the surface of the thick plate armor on his chest, which had the strongest defensive capabilities.

"Om!"

The sound of wings flapping, coming from the sky above, was so clear at that moment.

Although Hein gained the ability to fly when she transformed into Wilderness Form, her short-tailed albatross body also caused her to lose most of her spellcasting abilities, making it difficult for her to participate in battles in her original way.

However, it's not entirely useless; you can only watch helplessly.

She watched with some tension as Xia Nan plummeted from the sky, carrying out a decapitation strike. She breathed a sigh of relief because the plan had succeeded, but when Xia Nan was halfway down, she realized the danger he might be facing.

It immediately turned around and swooped down.

As it glided by, the gale-force winds whipped up by its enormous wings seemed to carry with them a vibrant green energy.

It caused no harm.

But when those emerald green magical rays fell on the murloc guards, you could see seaweed growing rapidly in the gaps where the armor connected.

As the albatross skims low overhead, it flaps its wings and takes flight again.

The seaweed grew rapidly, covering the entire bodies of the two fish-men.

Already in a stunned state after the attack, they are now even more difficult to break free from the entanglement of the seaweed in a short time, and their movements are restricted.

Meanwhile, Xia Nan, who had just managed to take a half-step back in an instant by using his muscle power to dodge the enemy's heavy blow, finally recovered from the impact of falling from the sky.

He kept a close eye on the changing situation on the field, and at this moment he did not hesitate at all.

【Emberfall】The straight sword’s gray-black blade condenses a force field energy that flows like runes, causing the surrounding air to distort slightly under the influence of gravity.

He strained his arm muscles, causing his black shirt to bulge as he gathered strength.

— [Gravity Etching] + [Heavy Tide] + [Whirlwind Slash]!
"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

Without any possibility of holding back, Xia Nan unleashed almost all of his power in that instant, except for [Echoes of Ember].

In less than two seconds, he managed to unleash three consecutive sword strikes.

The exaggerated speed of the sword swings caused the ochre-red sword lights that subtly distorted the surrounding air to almost merge together, transforming into three sharp, overlapping sword lights.

The first things to break were the two harpoons that were still in a stabbing position and protruding forward;

Then there was the gruesome wound in the center of the fishmen's chests, where the outline of their internal organs was almost visible;
Finally, there were their broken necks and their skulls split open at an angle.

The fluorescent blue blood gushed out wildly like a torrential downpour.

Semi-transparent characters flashed before my eyes.

In the air, the pure white feathers that had just detached from Hein along with Xia Nan slowly drifted down.

It's like a small boat sailing in a storm, rocking and swaying, rising and falling.

Carried by the airflow from the falling corpse, it spun halfway around at an angle before landing on the beach, which was covered with bits of flesh and blood.

(End of this chapter)