Another... test subject.
The Goblin Shaman's greedy gaze, like a poisoned dagger, pierced Jasper's soul. In his chest, rage burned like an erupting volcano, threatening to incinerate his sanity. He wanted to charge forward, to tear these foul creatures to pieces with the most primal violence.
But he couldn't.
His reason, honed to a razor's edge by the weight of sacrifice, forcibly suppressed the impulse. He quickly scanned the entire cavern, his mind working at an unprecedented speed.
The Goblin King, that behemoth, possessed the raw power of a Sequence 8 Extraordinary One. The Goblin Shaman, the priest with the staff, was the brain of this nest, its threat level even greater than the king's. And with more than a dozen goblin warriors surrounding them...
A direct assault was suicide.
He slowly retreated, melting back into the shadows. His heart was bleeding. Every second he remained in the darkness, the humiliation suffered by Hunter and the other students deepened. But he had to endure.
A desperate idea formed in his mind—create chaos. He couldn't defeat this army, but perhaps he could tear open a breach, an opening for the prisoners to escape.
Through their mental link, he gave Nidhogg a concise and deadly command: "Prepare... to ambush the shaman."
Nidhogg's body tensed like a coiled viper, ready to strike.
Jasper took a deep breath and burst from the shadows! His target wasn't the powerful Goblin King, nor the shaman who was the brain, but the nearest wooden cage holding the students!
Clang!
His fruit knife slammed down on the cage's lock, sending sparks flying!
The sudden action stunned all the goblins.
"Kee-waa!" The Goblin Shaman shrieked in anger. It instantly understood Jasper's intention—he wanted to free the 'livestock'! It raised its staff, and a dark green halo instantly spread out from its feet!
[Slowing Curse]!
Jasper felt his body sink as if into a swamp, his movements becoming incredibly heavy in an instant.
Roar—!
The Goblin King let out a furious roar. Its massive body climbed off Hunter, abandoning the prey that was already half-dead from being toyed with, and charged madly toward Jasper with an overwhelming sense of pressure!
The plan had failed at the first step.
He had underestimated the shaman's reaction speed. Now, he had to face the rampaging beast alone, with a spellcaster watching menacingly from a distance.
The Goblin King's charge was like a runaway siege ram. Affected by the [Slowing Curse], Jasper couldn't dodge completely. He could only clumsily turn aside, allowing the clay-pot-sized fist to slam viciously into his shoulder!
Crack!
The sharp pain of shattering bone shot through him. Jasper was sent flying like a broken kite, crashing heavily against the rock wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Pfft!
At almost the same instant, an identical, bone-shattering wound appeared out of thin air on the charging Goblin King's shoulder!
Damage Transfer!
However, for the thick-skinned Goblin King, an injury of this level was trivial. It paused for only a moment before roaring again and striding forward in pursuit!
"Kill!" Jasper issued the final command to Nidhogg through their mental link.
Nidhogg transformed into a black bolt of lightning and bit down on the Goblin King's calf. But its teeth only left a row of shallow white marks on the tough skin.
The Goblin King didn't even glance at it, simply shaking its leg in annoyance and flinging Nidhogg away like trash, sending it crashing hard against the stone wall!
The difference in strength was too great!
Jasper struggled to get up, but the Goblin King was already upon him. Its massive shadow completely enveloped him.
It's over.
Just as the Goblin King raised its giant fist, ready to smash him into a pulp, Jasper suddenly felt a resolute, burning cry of despair from his mental link with Nidhogg!
[Warning: Companion 'Nidhogg' is forcibly activating the root power of its mythological bloodline—『Breath of Ashes』!]
[This skill will consume 90% of its core life essence and cause it to enter a near-death state of hibernation! Abort?]
"No! Stop!" Jasper roared in his mind.
But he was powerless to stop it.
The small, dying lizard, which had been thrown into a corner, suddenly began to emit a deathly, grayish-white light. Its pitch-black scales seemed to burn away all their life force in an instant, turning as pale as ash.
It slowly raised its head and opened its small mouth.
There was no sound, no flame, only an invisible, gray ripple that spread through the entire cavern in an instant, at a speed that surpassed sight.
The Goblin Shaman, who was in the middle of chanting a spell, froze. The next second, its withered body, along with the staff in its hand, crumbled silently into a pile of ash, like a sand sculpture weathered by the wind, and scattered into the air.
All the charging goblin warriors simultaneously followed the shaman's fate.
Only the thick-skinned Goblin King let out a piercing scream as the gray ripple swept over it. Its powerful body began to decay and rot at a visible rate, as if a hundred years of life had been drained from it in a single moment!
"Grargh..."
It let out an unwilling cry as its massive body crashed to the ground, its life force extinguished.
The entire cavern was instantly plunged into a dead silence.