Chapter 46 Experience Gain

Without a doubt, the vast majority of goblins are level one.

Only an extremely rare few goblins might reach level two.

Even that goblin chieftain looked to be at most level two, and might even be inferior to a regular tier-two soldier.

The goblin chieftain was shouting, and his subordinates gathered closely around him.

He frantically slapped at his body to extinguish the flames clinging to him.

"Taste the might of the Children of the Ash Mountain, you damned little monsters!" the dwarf roared, wielding his iron hammer as he spun around.

The iron hammer was studded with earthen spikes, and under the dwarf's immense strength, several goblins were instantly sent flying with deafening shrieks.

Meanwhile, Alirise and Kanna advanced without hesitation, swinging their one-handed swords; every single strike claimed the life of at least one goblin.

The goblins were rapidly turning into corpses right before their eyes.

"Woorhalala!"

The goblin chieftain let out a loud cry and suddenly bolted backward.

"He's trying to run!"

Kanna roared. Alirise and the dwarf immediately attempted to charge into the pack of goblins.

However, after plowing through a few of them, the remaining goblins swarmed together and launched continuous attacks, completely blocking their path and refusing to let them through.

"Are these really goblins?" Kanna couldn't help but ask.

How could goblins act like this?

Although goblins weren't as cowardly as rat-folk, they were still considered timid creatures, especially when it came to leaders. Once a leader died or fled, a goblin tribe would instantly collapse. Therefore, the best strategy in battle was to swiftly eliminate the leader first, leaving the rest to be mopped up in a pursuit.

Yet, even as the chieftain was attempting to flee, these goblins remained tightly clustered around him, displaying a death-defying resolve.

Such behavior might be normal for other races, but coming from goblins, it was utterly incomprehensible.

Unless the goblin chieftain wasn't actually trying to run away, but rather intended to do something else—something that every single member of his tribe already knew about.

How could a casual cleanup of a goblin tribe lead to this kind of situation?

A small ball of flame flew straight ahead, once again igniting the clothing of the fleeing goblin chieftain.

The retreating chieftain shrieked instantly, flailing his limbs as he slapped at the fire.

Seizing the opportunity, Kanna thrust his sword through the head of the goblin in front of him and violently grabbed out with his left hand.

Controlling his blood, he transformed it into several ropes that shot forward, firmly seizing the chieftain's legs and dragging him crashing to the ground.

As he fell, the goblin chieftain kicked his legs frantically, struggling and screaming at the top of his lungs.

The terror in his voice instantly infected the goblins still fighting desperately in the front.

A wave of dread began to spread.

"That's more like it." This finally looked like how normal goblins ought to behave.

Kanna couldn't help but mutter.

However, things did not go as wished.

The fallen chieftain suddenly began screaming incoherently, his voice trembling with terror.

Yet even in this state, he kept shouting, his words tumbling out faster and faster.

Hearing these cries, the other goblins began to shiver violently, but instead of retreating, they held their ground.

Consumed by overwhelming terror, they stood before their enemies, trembling all over, determined to block their way.

"Something is here! Unholy power! The earth is resisting!"

The dwarf roared, feeling the repulsion of the ground beneath his feet.

Alirise and Kanna both sensed an ominous presence as a foul stench began to thicken in the air.

In the distance, Popot, standing near the perimeter, had all his fur standing on end—danger was approaching.

"Ugh!"

"Urgh... ugh!"

The goblins began to vomit, spewing a green liquid that resembled rotting fluids.

"Fall back!"

Kanna commanded, retreating instantly.

Alirise immediately executed the order and fell back to Kanna's side, while the dwarf snapped to his senses and scrambled away.

Retreating a few meters, they watched the group of goblins.

The goblins had begun vomiting upon one another, spewing juices that looked like venomous pus.

The entire cave was filled with a nauseating stench.

"Ugh, so disgusting, I can't take it!" the dwarf roared, clamping a hand over his mouth as he began to retch.

"Hold it in! Do not throw up under any circumstances."

Kanna warned, frowning as he observed the scene before him. He already knew what they had encountered.

What in the world was this? To run into such a situation while clearing out a mere goblin tribe!

He picked up his sword and made a light slice across his wrist.

A mild sting followed as power surged through him.

Kanna guided the blood welling from his wrist, transforming it into a thin layer that covered his face.

He then drew another mass of blood from within his body, controlling it to float over toward Alirise.

By the time Alirise reacted, the ball of blood was already right in front of her. With a look of resignation, she manipulated the blood and molded it over her face, imitating Kanna.

Meanwhile, the vomiting goblins were now covered in suppurating sores, with massive amounts of green fluid oozing from their bodies.

The foul stench was originating entirely from them.

Some of the goblins collapsed to the ground amidst their rotting, festering boils, bursting apart into puddles of sludge.

Only a few goblins remained standing.

Among them was the chieftain.

Much of the fallen, rotting flesh had converged upon his body, and this goblin had now swollen to the size of an ordinary human.

In his hand, he held a green club fashioned from unknown bones and decaying meat, from which pus was still dripping.

"They haven't been fully corrupted yet. Cut off their heads and we can resolve this," Kanna warned.

With that, he charged forward directly, and the other two followed closely behind.

"Embrace... life... welcome... corruption."

These decaying goblins uttered strange noises from their throats.

As these bizarre sounds penetrated their ears, they translated into coherent words.

The moment those words entered their minds, an intense urge to vomit surged from deep within their bodies.

Kanna dry-heaved momentarily, disrupting his offensive rhythm, forcing him to raise his left hand.

The long shield strapped to the back of his hand instantly expanded into a round shield as magical energy poured into it.

As the rotting fist smashed down, the rebounding vibration intercepted the attack with absolute precision.

The fiercely swung fist was sent violently rebounding high into the air. The creature lost control of its arm, leaving the entire limb completely numb.

Kanna lunged forward and slashed with his sword, but the blade became firmly wedged in the creature's rotting neck.

It even sheared open a few pustules, causing pus to splatter directly onto his face, instantly sending a sharp burning sensation through his skin.

[Vitality: 14/16]

Manageable, and no symptoms had manifested yet.

The shield on his left hand shifted shape once more, slamming heavily against the blade of his sword.

Applying force once again, he shoved the wedged blade straight through, severing the goblin's head entirely.

The moment the head tumbled off, Kanna lashed out with a swift kick, sending it flying.

Mid-air, the kicked head exploded, scattering fluids in all directions.

"I knew it, this is so disgusting."

Yet this also indicated from another angle that these goblins were being fully corrupted at an alarming speed. Before long, it wouldn't be as simple as just chopping off their heads to resolve the problem.

Experience +16

"?"

The sudden prompt for experience gain left Kanna momentarily stunned.

[Experience: 589/600]