Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 472 Bitter Battle
"Be careful!!!"

Time and space seemed to freeze at this moment.

A sudden surge of intense sense of crisis caused him to focus his attention intensely, and his keen senses were brought to their fullest potential.

As Lorraine's loud shouts reached his ears at the front of the group, he could even hear the pounding of the barbarian Arken's heart and the soft, hoarse hissing sound of Sasha beside him, like a feline instinctively when it encounters danger.

His right hand gripped the straight sword [Emberfall] tightly, his forearm muscles bulging as he strained, making his dark shirt bulge high; his right foot lifted, attempting to step forward, completing the preparatory charging motion for releasing [Fang Hunt] on the ground.

The reaction speed granted by 11 points of agility makes even the flow of time seem to slow down.

That's why, after noticing the movement in the pool, the gaze that was fixed on the shark beast instantly captured all of its movements in less than a second.

In fact, the shark beast did not move its body.

The enormous body, filled with exaggerated, steel-like muscles, stood there quietly, with glistening water droplets even dripping from its rough skin. A pair of cold, abyss-like, dark fish eyes stared straight at the crowd.

The one who actually moved was the human male body that had melted into his body.

His head, which had been hanging down, suddenly lifted, revealing a pale face devoid of any color.

Two unfocused, hollow eyes, like those of a corpse, took in the group of six people in front of them.

With Xia Nan's mind highly focused, his perspective seemed to be slowed down to 0.5 times the normal speed. He could even see the outline of the muscles moving under the skin on both sides of the man's cheeks, and the jawbone that was pulled downwards.

The deathly white lips were slightly stuck together due to being closed for a long time, but they were forced open, revealing the necrotic flesh and blood in the mouth.

hum-

The air around the man's mouth distorted for a moment.

There was simply no time to react.

The next second, as Xia Nan took that step to unleash [Fang Hunt] and his foot truly touched the ground, a dark aura emanated from his body.

A sharp noise from the opposite side, emanating from a man, also pierced the air and swept past everyone's bodies.

"Omlong..."

Although it is formless and intangible, when this sound wave passes over the surface of the skin, one can feel a certain tangible power.

Just like when he was carsick in his previous life, Xia Nan felt a strange dizziness and nausea erupt from his heart. Countless chaotic evil thoughts about his teammates surged in his mind. The emotions that had been suppressed by reason during the battle were quietly stirred up, and the bloodthirsty and malicious parts were extracted and tried to control and influence his body.

From the mysterious realm of evil, the passive feat called "Looking into the Abyss" takes effect momentarily—your saving throws are increased against mind control spells such as charm, fear, and hypnosis (affected by the Perception attribute).

While Xia Nan's outstanding perception attribute of 12 points makes him more sensitive to mental attacks, it also greatly enhances [Staring into the Abyss].

As my thoughts raced, any distracting ideas that briefly surfaced were immediately suppressed, and my mind became clear.

Then, the second effect of [Looking into the Abyss] is triggered—after you successfully resist the mind control effect, the caster must make a saving throw; if the throw fails, the caster will be in a state of [Brief Disorientation] and suffer some mental damage.

Unfortunately, the "spellcaster" that was harmed by the specialization was not the main body of the shark beast, but the corpse-like human body on its body.

Not to mention whether it passed any exemption test, there was not even a hint of feedback, as if it had sunk into the sea.

The next second, Xia Nan landed on his right foot.

A wolf howl erupted, and a dark phantom materialized around him.

His perception was already the best in the squad, and he also had a feat of resistance to mind control spells. He was now the first to pass the enemy's saving throw and regain his freedom of movement.

So far, less than two seconds have passed since the sound waves began to travel.

The pace of professional-level combat is unimaginably fast, leaving no room for careful thought. Often, combat is carried out solely by muscle memory, past experience, and the occasional flash of inspiration.

Although Xia Nan passed the mind control test thanks to his past experience, he still needed to know the situation of his teammates before he could make any further plans.

So, as his right foot touched the ground, he suddenly twisted his ankle, a technique honed through countless days and nights of training for his own body.

The body's exceptional control allows for the adjustment of the body's center of gravity.

As it surged forward, enveloped in a dark gale, it instantly spun 360 degrees, its gaze sweeping rapidly over the people behind it.

My heart sank.

The situation was worse than I had imagined.

After all, not everyone can be like me, possessing double-digit levels of perception attributes and resistance feats at level 3. For most adventurers, mental attacks are undoubtedly the most difficult to deal with.

Right now, facing the howling attack from the enemy, only he himself was able to resist and pass the check in an instant.

Even Captain Lorraine, whose professional level had exceeded lv5, was frowning and struggling.

Arken and Sasha reacted even more violently, their bodies trembling violently.

Meanwhile, the enormous shark that had just emerged from the pool onto the shore bent its knees and leaned forward, poised to charge forward.

No!

Xia Nan felt a chill run down his spine.

Judging from the unrestrained attitude the other party just displayed, it's clear that similar procedures have been repeated many times.

First, use mind control to momentarily distract the enemy, then seize the opportunity to launch an attack.

If he let it go unchecked, his teammates behind him would likely be smashed to pieces like pins under a bowling ball when faced with the charge of this behemoth that was nearly twelve feet tall.

We must buy them time!
With this thought in mind, Xia Nan continued walking, already driving the illusory image of the winter wolf with its mane swaying, transforming into a dark streak and speeding towards the direction of the shark beast.

Clearly, no one had expected that someone could break free from mind control so quickly. A hint of human surprise flashed in the shark beast's dead black fish eyes.

But facing the winter wolf that was charging straight at it, it showed no sign of trying to dodge and maintained its original charging posture.

then……

"boom!"

His short, thick calves, as if cast in steel, suddenly exerted force!
The muscles swelled in an instant, and an exaggerated amount of physical power burst forth and converged at a single point.

As mud splattered, two webbed footprints, one deep and one shallow, were left on the ground.

The enormous figure that had been standing there had vanished.

Instead, there was the mournful howl of the air being torn apart, and the shimmering water droplets being smashed to pieces by the strong wind.

The towering figure, taller than a single-story building, was like a train made of flesh and blood, crashing directly into Xia Nan.

"grass!"

Clenching his teeth, Xia Nan cursed inwardly.

Only he, facing the impact head-on, could feel the terrifying, almost suffocating sense of oppression.

Even before making direct contact with the other party, the fierce winds that felt like blades scraping his face and the constant warnings of danger echoing in his mind were telling him that he absolutely could not take the blow head-on!

At this moment, his control over his body and his proficiency in "mastery" level combat skills were fully demonstrated.

The black winter wolf, which was charging towards its prey, suddenly let out a low howl and, with a sudden leap, took a small bound to the side.

Instead of facing the shark beast head-on, Xia Nan ended up just brushing past it.

hum-

The ochre-red energy field was condensed on the surface of the dark snake scale arm shield, and the moment it came into close contact with the shark beast, it suddenly thrust forward to the side of the opponent!
"Boom!"

The force field energy exploded like a small firework on the side of the shark beast.

At this moment, Xia Nan could even clearly see the other party's rough, tough, dark skin, like a shark, bursting open inch by inch under the pressure of the force field energy, with blood splattering and pink and white flesh turning outwards.

But just a second later, the exaggerated force from the shield sent him flying.

With both legs off the ground, the center of gravity lost, and the body flew high backward.

But before even reaching its highest point, the weakening effect of [Tidal Shaping] on the pushing effect came into play again, making Xia Nan, who was flying backwards in the air, seem to be suddenly immersed in water, and his speed slowed down drastically.

She did a backflip and landed gracefully.

Meanwhile, the threat of damage from the lv5 [Gravity Etching] force field forced the Shark Beast to slow down its initial speed to adjust its position in order to avoid the dark shield that had just brushed past it and was now aimed at its neck.

The force field energy that should have exploded on the side of his neck only grazed his lower shoulder.

Although this shark-like beast has no armor or hardened shell, it has thick, tough skin.

The rough sharkskin and the solid, steel-like muscles beneath it could only leave a few white marks if ordinary adventurers slashed at it with their blades.

However, force field damage is still force field damage. Its powerful damage attribute, similar to "true damage," completely ignored the shark beast's skin and flesh defense, and directly blasted a bloody hole in its shoulder.

The intense pain caused the shark beast to let out uncontrollable howls filled with rage.

At the same time, Xia Nan was also feeling unwell.

Even though they were being extra careful, they deliberately chose to attack with their arm shield instead of the [Ember] straight sword in their other hand when they passed each other.

The powerful force, weakened by the arm shield, had already made his entire left arm, along with a large part of his body, feel numb and sore.

Even so, he did not leave himself any room to breathe.

However, as soon as he landed, he controlled [Fang Hunt] and charged towards the Shark Beast.

not enough!
He needs to buy more time for his teammates!

And just then, a familiar blue-green magical light flashed in the corner of his eye.

As a primary attribute of the Druid class, Hein's perception ability is second only to Xia Nan in the team.

After a brief delay, he finally broke free from the mental control and began casting spells to provide support from a distance.

"Sizzle..."

The bluish-green light streaked across the air at a speed far exceeding the reaction speed of normal creatures, landing with a hint of anticipation on the shark beast's inevitable path.

The once barren and desolate muddy land suddenly became green, with aquatic plants and vines growing wildly in it.

——1st Ring, Spellcasting, Entanglement!
Like a pre-set trap, the moment the shark beast's two thick, short legs stepped into the area, the seaweed and vines seemed to possess some kind of spiritual perception, climbing up the ankles and calves like tentacles, tightly entwining them.

This caused the shark beast, whose speed had already been slowed down by Xia Nan's attack, to suddenly stop moving.

The next second, the pitch-black winter wolf, which had silently circled into the prey's blind spot, seized the opportunity to pounce once again.

"Hoaah!"

A warning shriek emanated from the right side of the shark-like beast's torso, emerging from its body.

"Roar!!!"

A deep, furious roar came from the shark's head, which was capable of swallowing an adult human whole.

Its already robust body swelled even larger as the muscles beneath its skin suddenly expanded, causing the vines and seaweed that had been wrapped around it to break into pieces.

With a twist of his waist and abdomen, a huge fist that could almost cover Xia Nan's chest was already swinging towards the black wolf that leaped over from the side.

The enemy reacted very quickly, and its huge and muscular body displayed an exaggerated explosive power far beyond what its size should have.

With such a punch, it seemed as if even the air itself was shattered, tearing and howling between the knuckles.

They had planned to launch a sneak attack, but they never expected that the human body fused with the shark beast would also be able to provide assistance to the opponent.

Xia Nan, who had been discovered, originally intended to turn the tables and use the "deflection field" of the [Death Line] ring to block the opponent's punch, and then use [Gravity Etching] again to deepen the opponent's injury.

But just as that fist was clenched and about to swing at him, a surge of fighting inspiration and his keen perception of the enemy's condition, enhanced by his talent and experience, made him subconsciously adjust his footing.

Instead of charging forward, they retreated.

"Boom boom!"

Just as he was controlling his body to suddenly brake from his forward sprint and move backward,

As planned, the force field shield released by the [Death Line] ring, which enveloped and protected the entire body, made intimate contact with the shark beast's punch.

Immediately afterwards, a sound like an egg cracking rang out in the air.

Unprecedentedly, the "deflection field," which had provided Xia Nan with countless assistance since his transmigration, finally encountered a powerful attack that exceeded its tolerance limit.

It failed to provide any defensive effect whatsoever; like a fragile bubble, it burst into countless turbulent streams of ochre-red energy that dissipated and vanished in all directions amidst the flashing light.

The fist, carrying a gust of wind, continued forward, swinging straight out to its farthest point.

Xia Nan, who was rapidly retreating thanks to his own mobility, was at one point only an arm's length away from him.

It is foreseeable that if he hadn't noticed anything in that instant and had continued with his original plan...

This punch will land squarely on his chest.

There was no time for fear; Xia Nan's constant entanglement around had already completely aroused the shark beast's hatred.

The moment he threw a punch, the massive body lunged toward him.

This bought Xia Nan's teammates, who were under mental control, a few precious seconds.

"Crackling sound".

Mars explodes.

A burst of intense heat suddenly erupted from the other side of the battlefield!
(End of this chapter)