Chapter: 37 The King's Battlefield - 2
Ethan's eyes scanned the mayhem.
The Goblin King stood before him — a grotesque, nightmare giant at least twelve feet in height. His pale green flesh stretched over coils of thick muscle, interrupted by rough plates of armor melded into his body. Despite the monstrous appearance, there was something discomfitingly human in the contours of his face — distorted now with sheer fury. In his gigantic paws, he held a serrated greatsword the length of a wagon, every jagged tooth on the edge smeared with fresh blood.
He was already battered and bruised from the constant barrage of the B-ranked adventurers. A arrow protruded from one destroyed eye, blood matted against the side of his face, but the remaining eye seethed with a savage, murderous sheen. Each ragged breath he drew was a snarl, chest heaving, but his swings still had enough power to cleave a man in half.
Brad, as wide as the wall of a fortress, pounded forward with piledriver fists, his blows shuddering the monster's ribs. Wolf, wiry and fast as a lash, danced in and out of those gaps with bone-shattering kicks that compelled the Goblin King to move his guard. The spearman pinned the center line, jabbing and retreating in well-timed cadence, each thrust for a tendon or a seam between the armor plates. The elf archer stood wide, his bowstring a steady thrum, every arrow straining for the monster's bare skin.
And yet, the Goblin King pushed them back. A sweep of that jagged blade cut a gash in the earth, sending Brad and Wolf scrambling aside or risking their legs. The ground shook at every step the monster took forward.
Not yet… I must have more control.
Ethan's eyes went to the side — to the mutated ogre destroying the flank. The hulking monster's distorted form was thick with jagged bone, his arms hideously bloated, a rusty cleaver dripping blood in his hands.
He shot forward like a bow-drawn arrow let go, longblade shining. Steel sank into the ogre's flank in a spurt of steaming blood.
The creature spun, cleaver flashing — only for a silver-tipped arrow to catch its wrist.
Lirael.
Her bow thrummed again and again. A shot through the knee to shake its stance. One crossing the jaw to jerk its head back. Another in the armpit just as it attempted to raise its club. Each was a careful opening, and Ethan sliced with bloody efficiency, cutting deeper every time.
The ogre's roars faltered into ragged breaths, its armor-scaled skin torn open in a dozen places. It reeled once, twice — and fell in a heap.
Mutated Ogres Killed – 9500xp
Damn..thats nice.
Ethan was unscathed, his sword shining in the torchlight.
Now.
His eyes focused on the Goblin King's single, burning eye. Holding up two fingers to Lirael, his voice sliced clean through the chaos: "Cover me."
She felt confused then wide eyed she nodded
Then he leaped forward, slashing a straight line to the giant's bloody fight with Brad, Wolf, and the others.
By the time Ethan moved in, the battle with the Goblin King had already begun to take its toll.
Wolf's posture had weakened, his breathing labored, a new gash down his temple. The spearman's armor was battered plates, his one arm shaking as he maintained his weapon. Even the elf archer's draw was slowed, each breath a heavy, careful tug. Only Brad remained ready to fight — his wide body unshaken, his eyes fixed upon the beast.
They watched Ethan emerge from the bloodshed like a specter knife-cutting through the light of burning. Reflexively, the elf opened his mouth to give warning, Wolf raising a hand — but both snapped stock-still. Something about him had changed. His presence weighed more and cutting more. The aura of killing that poured off him was heavy enough to taste, tempered in the slaughter he'd cut through the horde. Even his steps sounded heavy enough to shatter stone.
Wolf seized the opportunity to stumble backward, allowing himself a gasp of breath, as Ethan stepped into the space without pause.
The Goblin King shifted his gaze, that one bloodshot eye fixing on him. For an instant, the din of battle faded — and then the monster's cracked lips curled into something between a smile and a snarl.
"…H…uuman…" it growled, voice thick and strained, "I… kill… you…"
Ethan blinked. It can speak?
Brad didn't even blink. "Don't waste your breath," he growled between blows, as if the fact was already apparent to him.
The Goblin King's hold on its great serrated blade tightened, the teeth rasping across the ground with a cold metallic shriek.
Just as Ethan had moved in within range, his senses cleared. Mana flooded into his vision.
[Inspect]
Inspect – Goblin King
Level 33
Strength: 36.2
Vitality: 29.1
Constitution: 25.6
Agility: 19.1
Stamina: 25.6
Intelligence: 21.3
Mana: 15.4
Ethan's lips clenched. Damn… I can only keep up with him in agility. Then speed it is.
The Goblin King bellowed, swinging its serrated greatsword in both hands. The blade descended like a falling guillotine, the air splitting beneath its weight — but Ethan had already disappeared. A blur, a flash — there one heartbeat, gone the next.
He slipped beneath the sweeping blade, boots kicking up dust, then dodged past the monster's flank, longblade slicing a shallow gash along its thigh. The Goblin King bellowed, spinning in fury — only to get hammered straight in the ribs by Brad.
The spearman stepped in, striking for the crevices of its armor plates, compelling the monster to shift its defense. Each time the Goblin King whirled to strike back, Ethan was nowhere again — reappearing like a whirlwind in its back, disappearing before the counterattack struck.
The elf archer, winded but never releasing the string wasted, every arrow punched into the creature as a brutal kick — one to the shoulder, another into the knee — slowed the monster's movement.
And then Lirael appeared by his side. She couldn't replicate the elf's brute draw strength, but her accuracy was surgical. One of her arrows caught the rim of the Goblin King's good eye, causing him to snarl and blink. It was all the time Brad required to deliver another devastating blow to its chest, and for Ethan to slash deep up its calf.
The Goblin King whirled wildly, teeth of sword shrieking on stone as it missed. Its huge body contorted to pursue Ethan, but each time it committed, Brad or the spearman, or an arrow, would chastise the gap.
Blood and dust clogged the air. The battlefield narrowed to the ring of warriors surrounding the behemoth. Ethan's actions were so rapid they created specter-images in the light of the torches — a flash at the front, then a sigh at the back, his sword identifying gaps in the plates of armor, every slash augmenting the red lines already webbing the creature's skin.
The Goblin King growled in rage, its roars becoming more mad as the hunters closed in. No longer a duel — now death by a thousand well-timed blows.
At that moment, the Goblin King tossed back its head and let out a roar that shook the ground.
ROAAARRRRRR
The noise wasn't anger — it was raw, primal violence.
In front of Ethan's eyes, the monster's already-shattered body transformed. Wounds that had been healing slowly now closed at alarming rate, mending ripped flesh and closing gashes in seconds. Thick veins swelled across its neck, arms, and chest, thumping beneath the skin like coiled wires about to break.
Ethan squinted. "What the hell—? Is this. some sort of second boss stage?! …Fuck."
Inspect – Goblin King (Frenzied State)
Healing Factor: +100%
Strength: +30%
Vitality: -1% every second
Ethan's gut fell. So it's a trade-off… he wants to fall, but he's taking us with him.
Even Brad's iron demeanor broke for an instant. His brow furrowed, shoulders tensing. "That's… rare," he grumbled under his breath.
But the truth was obvious — all were in poor condition. Wolf remained recovering, the spearman's left arm dangled useless, the elf's shots crawled along, and Lirael's breathing came rapid and shallow.
That's when a desperate thought occurred.
System, Ethan thought strongly, is there anything — anything — that can pump up my stats at the moment?
> [Scanning…]
…
List of Available Boost Items (20,000 – 70,000 SP):
(Warning: All of the following are low-quality, apprentice-made stimulants. Though cheap, they have a MINIMUM effect and more intense side effects than high-grade versions.)
Bloodfang Elixir (20,000 SP) – Ups Strength 20% and Agility 20% for 3 minutes. Backlash: Extremely debilitating muscle fatigue, -15% Strength & Agility for 3 hours after.
Tempest Draught (65,000 SP) – Adds 75% Agility and 20% Strenght for 4 minutes. Backlash: Fine motor skills lost for 2 hours, severe joint pain.
Titan's Heart Infusion (50,000 SP) – Adds 40% Strength and Vitality for 5 minutes. Backlash: -50% rate of Stamina recovery for 24 hours, superficial internal bleeding.
Overdrive Serum X (70,000 SP) – 50% boost to all stats for 90 seconds. Backlash: Complete loss of ability to apply physical strength for 20 minutes, followed by intense organ strain for 24 hours.
[System Advisory]: Avoid unless imminent threat to life exists.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"...Shit"