novelnext Chapter 15 Slaughtering the Earth Spirits
Chapter 15 Slaughtering the Earth Spirits
Following Sniff, the group quietly approached the mine entrance.
On either side of the cave entrance stood a goblin dozing off, its head bobbing up and down.
Targen gestured to Leah. The elf drew her bow, slightly raising the arrow tip—and fired with precision.
"call out--"
The one on the left, shot in the head, tilted its body to the side and fell asleep.
The one on the right suddenly awoke, and in the instant it opened its mouth to warn, Tagen had already pounced out of the rock shadows, swinging its warhammer in a half-arc—a shockwave strike.
"Bang!"
The skull was fractured.
The body was dragged into the bushes.
Tagen peered into the cave and whispered, "Go in."
Several dying torches hung on the cave wall, casting a dim, yellowish light.
The ground was littered with broken bones and pottery shards, and the air was filled with a musty smell mixed with a fishy stench.
Xia Lin squinted. The dim light didn't affect him much; he could still make out the outline of the rock wall and the potholes in the ground.
As they rounded a bend, a faint commotion arose ahead. Tagen raised his hand to stop, leaned against the rock face, and slowly peered out.
Xia Lin followed her gaze.
The cave suddenly opens up to a spacious area, about half the size of a threshing floor.
More than twenty goblins were scattered among them. Some were curled up in a corner snoring, while others were tearing at chunks of meat around a broken iron pot that smelled of burning. Several cubs were chasing and playing with a piece of broken bone, and some stolen junk was piled up beside the rock wall.
Xia Lin's heart was pounding, and she felt as nervous as if she were at a fan meeting, facing so many goblins for the first time.
Tagan looked away and silently made a gesture.
Leah pulled something from behind her waist and tossed it.
"Close your eyes!"
With a loud explosion, the flare burst open with blinding white light, instantly engulfing the cave.
Daylight broke—
The goblins covered their eyes and screamed in agony, throwing themselves into chaos.
Very energetic!
"superior!"
Targen roared and charged forward, his warhammer slamming down, smashing the skull of a goblin that was still rubbing its eyes.
Xia Lin followed closely behind, his longsword piercing the chest of another green-skinned creature that was turning around in a panic. The blade tip pierced its heart, and with a twist and pull of his wrist, a spray of green blood appeared.
Behind her, bowstrings twanged, and Leah's arrows precisely killed two fleeing goblins.
Ezio had somehow circled around to the back of the cave, his dagger flashing in the dim light, occasionally slicing across the necks of the panicked goblins.
Five were taken care of in an instant!
As the white light faded, the goblins, having regained their sight, brandished their weapons and surrounded the intruders.
When they realized there were only four intruders, their initial confusion quickly turned into rage, and their cowardly nature overwhelmed their fear.
"Crackling sound—!!"
The goblin closest to Taggan swung its spiked club and charged, howling.
Tagan thrust his left arm upwards.
boom!
The edge of the steel shield slammed into the goblin's face.
The cracking sound of the nasal bone breaking mingled with splattered blood as the green rat fell backward. Before it even hit the ground, the right foot, covered by an iron boot, had already crushed its throat.
More attacks surged in from both sides, wooden clubs, stone axes, and rusty daggers clattering against the shield.
Tagen braced himself against the wall, his steel shield swaying left and right, drawing most of the attacks toward his side.
A few clever ones seized the opportunity to slip out from the shadows of the side rock wall, trying to pounce on Leah behind them.
Xia Lin took a step to the side, blocking their path.
Three, each wielding a sharpened wooden spear, their eyes revealing malice and cruelty.
The first goblin lunged forward, its movements becoming clear in Xia Lin's eyes. He slid his feet aside, dodging the spearhead, and with a swift downward slash of his longsword, the goblin's left calf was severed at the knee, and it collapsed to its knees.
The scream of loss of balance had barely escaped his lips when Xia Lin grabbed his head from behind, lifted him upwards, and thrust his longsword forward in the same motion—
puff.
The sword tip pierced through his back and emerged from his chest.
He drew his sword, released it, and the corpse fell to the ground.
Then kick it away.
The corpse flew out and crashed into two goblins charging forward behind it, causing them to stumble and lose their footing.
Before they could even stand still, Xia Lin charged forward and slammed the standard round shield into the left side of their chest.
Boom!
The goblin slammed its back into the rock wall, sending pebbles tumbling down. With a muffled thud, it exhaled a foul stench, its eyes rolled back, and it succumbed to dizziness.
The one on the right had just steadied itself when it looked up and saw a silver arc sweeping towards it.
The blade sliced into the right side of the neck, slicing diagonally across the jaw, cleaving the left cheek, and finally splashing out with half a skull fragment and blood mixed with brain matter.
The remaining half of its head tilted to one side, a hoarse sound escaping from its throat, as it slowly knelt down.
The dizzy creature was jolted awake by its companion's miserable state and opened its eyes—
He was met with a pair of icy, cold eyes.
Before it could even open its mouth and howl.
The longsword had already pierced the patient's mouth, penetrated the soft palate, and pierced the cervical vertebrae. With the remaining force still present, the tip of the sword clattered into the rock wall behind him.
The goblin's limbs twitched once, then it remained still. Only foul blood gushed down the grooves of the old soldier's sword, leaving a trail of blood on the rock wall.
He drew his sword and turned around.
Behind them, the body fell down the rock face.
After maintenance, the veteran's longsword's sharpness surprised Xia Lin.
He stretched his wrists and looked up at his teammates.
Targen remained standing, his steel shield as steady as a rock, with the corpses of four or five goblins lying at his feet.
Leah's arrows occasionally whizzed past from behind, helping her teammates take down several goblins that tried to ambush them.
There are still five goblins on the field.
The battle is not over yet.
Suddenly, a tall, brown figure appeared deep within the cave. It had rough skin, dark red eyes, and a bone staff in its hand inlaid with red crystals.
Hobgoblin.
The bone staff slammed to the ground, and dark red ripples swept across the remaining five goblins.
The green-skinned men froze, then suddenly became incredibly energetic, their eyes bulging and bloodshot, their muscles taut, and their speed and power increasing dramatically.
"Berserk Technique!"
The pressure on Tagen increased sharply, and the large shield blocked several heavy blows.
A berserk goblin's stone axe grazed past, leaving a deep gash on the breastplate.
"Watch out behind you!" Tagan growled.
The earth spirit raised its bone staff, the crystal at the top of the staff suddenly lit up, and a ball of orange-red fire condensed, shooting straight at Leah who was drawing her bow, trailing a wave of heat.
The elves realized it too late.
The fireball rapidly enlarged in her pupils—
Clang!
A round shield, thrown out, intercepted the fireball halfway through its flight.
The fireball exploded with a deafening roar, scattering sparks as the round shield fell.
The shockwave knocked Leah over. Her back slammed against the stone wall, and she groaned as she rolled down. Her left shoulder armor was charred black, her arm was broken, and her bow slipped from her grasp. She struggled for a moment but couldn't get up.
Ezio tried to break free, but was entangled by two berserk goblins. His dagger slit open one of their throats, and he was also grazed by a wooden spear.
Tagen gritted his teeth, pushed back one of the attackers with his large shield, and smashed the chest of the attacker from the side with a backhand hammer, his breathing heavy.
Not far away, at the top of the Earth Elf Bone Staff, a second fireball was taking shape.
"Interrupt its spellcasting!" Targen roared, smashing a berserk goblin away with his hammer, splattering thick blood everywhere.
Upon hearing the sound, Xia Lin lunged forward, his target the earth spirit who was preparing a second fireball.
A berserk goblin howled and swung its club horizontally from the side. He ducked and slid, the club grazing his hair.
With a slash of his sword, the goblin's intestines were ripped out, and it collapsed to the ground.
At the same moment, Ezio's dagger pierced the heart of another goblin.
But it was too late.
The fireball at the tip of the earth spirit's bone staff had already taken shape, and the scorching air currents distorted the air.
"Get behind me!" Targen roared, slicing down with the edge of his shield and breaking the neck of the last grappling goblin.
The two retreated quickly behind Taggan.
The fireball hurtled towards them.
boom--!!
Intense flames exploded on the large shield erected by Targon.
Tagen groaned, and was pushed back two steps.
Before the flames had completely died down.
"superior!"
Targen charged forward first, swinging his warhammer in a wide arc, aiming straight for the goblin's chest and abdomen.
The Earth Spirit Bone Staff was held horizontally, forcefully blocking the shockwave hammer.
However, it was also shaken and took a half step back, with a tiny crack appearing on the staff.
Ezio circled behind him like a ghost, his dagger gleaming faintly, the tip aimed straight for the back of his neck—a backstab.
The goblin seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; with a backhand swift movement of his thick left arm, he managed to grab the dagger that was thrust at him with his bare hand.
puff.
The dagger pierced through the palm and protruded from the back of the hand.
The goblin let out a painful howl.
Ezio cursed under his breath, "Damn, this thing is really hard."
In the instant the earth spirit was distracted by the pain...
Xia Lin moved.
laugh--
He lunged forward, the tip of his sword piercing precisely into his heart.
Twist your wrist and pull horizontally.
The blade churned inside the body, severing muscles and tearing apart organs.
The earth goblin's body fell, his bone staff slipped from his grasp and broke in two.
The cave suddenly fell silent.
The only sounds were the crackling of the burning torches and the heavy, varied breathing of the group.
Inside the cave, the firelight flickered, the blood pooled and gleamed, and the air was filled with the acrid stench of burnt blood.
ended.