The bowman instantly drew his longbow to its full extent and released an arrow aimed directly at the goblin’s heart.

  The arrow bounced harmlessly off.

  “Armor? How can that be?”

  One of the men exclaimed, astonished.

  The Silver Blade Captain didn’t seem too fazed.

  “Maybe they killed some humans and stole their armor. It’s nothing worth making a fuss over.”

  Seeing the bow’s ineffectiveness, the spearman began to prepare his attack.

  He hurled his two-meter spear with tremendous force.

  “Buzz!”

  The air split with a piercing whistle.

  The goblin was thrown backward, pinned to a massive tree trunk.

  “That was easy.”

  The spearman said, smug and disdainful.

  But then, the goblin stirred.

  It slowly pulled the spear from its body.

  Everyone stood frozen in shock.

  The spearman stared, incredulous.

  “How can this be? My full-powered throw can kill a Tier 3 beast. A mere goblin—even a Greater variant—shouldn’t have survived!”

  He had slain plenty of Greater goblins before.

  Never before had a full-force strike failed to finish one.

  “Something’s not right. Antu, finish him with a blast.”

  The Silver Blade Captain frowned and gave the order.

  The mage began to chant, but a terrifying roar cut him off.

  “ROOOAR!”

  The Greater goblin’s bellow echoed through the forest, sending birds scattering in panic.

  Movement stirred all around them.

  One… two… three…

  More armored Greater goblins emerged, their numbers swelling rapidly.

  Antu’s face paled with fear.

  “Damn it! There are already forty or fifty, Captain!”

  “And that’s not all. Look up—I think I saw goblin assassins earlier. What kind of tribe have we run into?”

  The Silver Blade Captain slowly dismounted and drew his silver longsword, engraved with holy runes.

  It was especially effective against monsters.

  He cracked a joke to lighten the tense mood.

  “Are you confident? If not, we can always retreat.”

  “Hmph, just a bunch of Greater goblins. We can take them.”

  The spearman replied confidently.

  The others remained silent, weapons drawn, eyes scanning every direction.

  But it wasn’t over.

  The ground trembled beneath their feet.

  Something massive was approaching. Each step sent their hearts racing.

  “Crack… crack…”

  In the distance, towering trees toppled one after another.

  The Silver Blade Captain and his team swallowed hard, anxiety mounting.

  “It’s coming.”

  From the shadows, four crimson eyes glowed ominously as they drew closer.

  The height of those eyes alone told them this creature stood at least two or three meters tall.

  Finally, the creature stepped into view.

  It was a massive, gray-skinned goblin speckled with green, its jaw lined with enormous protruding fangs. Its head seemed tiny compared to its hulking body.

  Its muscles bulged absurdly—and it had four arms.

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  It wielded a longsword, the fang of a giant beast, and even the spearman’s own spear.

  As it approached, the other goblins instinctively cleared a path.

  This was Gob Kuang.

  The once-dull brute had evolved into a Hero-tier Giant-Strength Goblin.

  “So this is their leader? Quite intimidating, huh?”

  The Silver Blade Captain tightened his grip on his sword.

  The spearman snatched two more spears from his mount.

  “I’ve never seen a Hero-tier like this—four arms? Let’s see how it handles this. Mid-tier Combat Art: Storm Spear!”

  He hurled a spear with all his strength.

  The weapon spun violently, wind swirling around it, aimed straight for Gob Kuang’s head.

  Gob Kuang caught the spear with one hand and hurled it right back.

  At that moment, the surrounding goblins charged forward.

  Their intent was clear: they wanted to tear the humans apart.

  The spearman’s pupils shrank. He dodged instinctively to the side, knowing he could not block the returning spear.

  In the next instant, his brown warhorse took the hit.

  The spear pierced through the horse, pinning it to a tree like a skewer.

  “Damn you!”

  Furious at the loss of his mount, the spearman roared and attacked once more.

  “Mid-tier Combat Art: Hurricane Spear!”

  His weapon glowed with wind magic, each swing unleashing powerful gusts.

  The gusts pushed back the Greater goblins.

  But against Gob Kuang, the magic had no effect. The four-armed monster charged at the Silver Blade Captain, slashing wildly with sword and fang.

  Each clash numbed the Captain’s arms from the sheer force.

  “Impossible! How can a Hero-tier possess this kind of strength?”

  Cold sweat trickled down the Silver Blade Captain’s forehead.

  Seeing the Captain pinned down, the distant bowman drew her bow to full draw and began charging a skill.

  “Mid-tier Archery: Charged Critical Shot!”

  If this hit landed on the head, even a Hero-tier would fall.

  But it required thirty seconds to charge, hence its name.

  Unbeknownst to them, a small figure crept closer.

  “Pfft!”

  A sharp claw pierced straight through the female bowman’s abdomen.

  The goblin dragged her backward at incredible speed.

  “Damn it! Dimi’s been ambushed! I told you there were goblin assassins. Why didn’t anyone watch the flanks?”

  The Silver Blade Captain roared in rage, but he was pinned down and unable to break free.

  The others shared the same predicament.

  Mage Antu’s face went pale with fear.

  “Captain, doesn’t something feel wrong? These goblins are far too resilient—it’s taking forever to kill even one!”

  “You think I don’t know? This is madness!”

  The spearman cursed, already wounded, yet he had only managed to kill one goblin.

  In the distance,

  The goblin dragging Dimi finally revealed itself.

  Unlike regular goblin assassins, this one was even smaller than Lesser goblins.

  It was barely the size of a pet dog.

  Its body was pitch-black, tinged with purple hues.

  Completely naked and utterly grotesque, its pitch-black eyes took up nearly half its face—like an alien.

  Its claws and feet were razor-sharp. Despite its tiny size, its strength was monstrous, dragging a human several times its weight at full speed.

  “Hehehehehehehe!”

  It let out a chilling, creepy giggle as it ran.

  This was Gob Tian, now evolved into a Hero-tier Shadow Goblin.

  A ghostly, phantom-like creature.

  He dragged Dimi straight up a tree—using only his claws—and hung her from a high branch.

  He pierced her abdomen with a claw, threading her body through the branch like meat on a skewer.

  “Aaahhh! It hurts! Someone save me—Captain! Lady Sword Saint! Cough… cough!”

  Dimi screamed in agony, blood spraying from her mouth and choking her.

  Seeing the grotesque goblin beside her, she shrieked louder.

  “Monster! Ghost!”

  But every scream sent fresh waves of pain through her torn abdomen, nearly causing her to pass out.

  “My guts… they’re spilling out… my liver, my lungs… my stomach is going to fall through the hole… I don’t want to die… I want to go home… eat Mom’s pumpkin pie… wuwuwu…”

  Despair and terror flooded her mind. Everything had happened too suddenly, as if she had fallen straight into hell.

  Her mother’s pumpkin pie was the only comforting memory remaining.

  But it was only a dying delusion.

  …

  Back at the battle in the forest,

  Everyone was wounded. No matter how they roared or struggled, it was useless.

  The Silver Blade Captain could only focus on fighting Gob Kuang, leaving him unable to help the others.

  He suffered two more slashes.

  The searing pain sapped his strength. Gob Kuang grabbed him with one massive hand.

  The rest suffered the same fate: gravely injured, captured, unable to break free.

  The spearman’s hands trembled.

  “No… I have to get back for reinforcements.”

  His teammates were captured, Dimi’s fate unknown. Continuing the fight was futile.

  He turned to flee.

  Suddenly,

  A grotesque figure dropped upside-down from a branch overhead, two bottomless black eyes staring straight at him.

  The spearman stumbled in terror.

  It was Gob Tian, newly arrived.

  The spearman gritted his teeth and ran with everything he had.

  But Gob Tian climbed onto his back, claws tearing relentlessly. His armor shattered, and chunks of flesh were ripped away.

  Adrenaline surging, the spearman ignored the pain and charged forward.

  Then, his left foot gave way.

  He crashed to the ground.

  He looked back and screamed in horror.

  “Aaaahhh! My foot! Where is my foot?”

  A trail of blood led to his severed foot lying ahead. A goblin assassin slowly picked it up and began eating it.

  “This is hell.”

  Fortunately, Gob Tian was flung off. The spearman activated a high-tier skill in desperation.

  “Wind God, carry me away! Wind’s Favor!”

  A gale erupted in the forest.

  A sudden hurricane lifted the spearman into the air, carrying him swiftly out of the corrupted forest.

  As he flew, he caught one last horrifying glimpse.

  “Dimi!”

  Her mangled, lifeless body sent him to the brink of collapse.

  “He escaped.”

  Gob Kuang looked up and said flatly.

  Gob Tian returned with Dimi’s corpse.

  “Kekeke, let’s go. Back to Boss.”

  The surrounding goblins danced and cheered.

  By now, it seemed almost like a goblin corporate culture.

  This battle had cost them only three Goblin Warriors and one Goblin Assassin.

  The losses were minimal.

  Back in the Tian Kuang Tribe, Tian had been monitoring the forest from afar. He heard the commotion but didn’t know the details.

  Rodel’s face lit up with smug triumph.

  “It must be Lady Sword Saint coming to rescue me! The royal family must have sent people as well. Your end is here. Hahaha! I’ve made it. I’ve finally made it.”

  His voice sounded half-mad.

  After enduring so long, the torment had been unbearable.

  It felt like Fan Jin passing the imperial exam.

  Tian felt a flicker of doubt. He prepared to flee with Moon if needed. The others could die for all he cared, but he’d kill Rodel before leaving.

  Eveleya was fully brainwashed; she could still be useful for entertainment.

  But when he saw the group of goblins returning, his tension eased slightly.

  He had almost thought the madwoman Sword Saint had come herself.

  Seeing Gob Tian and Gob Kuang’s new forms, he felt pleasantly surprised.

  Gob Kuang held four captives in his grip. Gob Tian perched on his shoulder like a dark imp, leading dozens of Greater goblins back home.

  “Oh? Did they capture people? Wait… isn’t this aura a bit too intense?”

  Tian was delighted at first, then felt a sudden pressure.

  He had almost forgotten: both of them had evolved into Hero-tier.

  What if they turned on him?