[Advanced Moster Organ from Goblin: Cross-Species Compatible Reproductive System]
Orum stared at the prompt on the interface, hesitation filling his heart.
He found it hard to judge whether this monster organ offered by the system counted as a reward or a punishment.
In the many less-than-serious fantasy works Orum had read in his past life, goblins were the most common villain monsters.
They were ugly, filthy, short, depraved, and possessed special effectiveness against female knights, female elves, female clerics, female mages, and fledgling adventurers.
Orum had once imagined himself being taken in by a beautiful noblewoman named Victoria or Verona or Adele, living a wonderful life of daily intimate instruction.
However, Orum had absolutely no way to predict whether accepting this monster organ would produce serious side effects, causing his original organs to mutate.
"For now... don't claim it." Orum decided silently in his heart.
[Species: Goblin]
[Current Kill Count: 10]
[Next Stage Reward:]
[Kill 50 goblins to obtain advanced goblin monster organ reward]
Orum's gaze swept across the interface prompt, thoughts racing through his mind. Yet in reality, barely ten seconds had passed.
"You still got energy?"
A massive black shadow approached Orum. From beneath the menacing black iron faceplate came Raygore's voice, deep as rolling thunder.
"Got energy. I can fight all day." Orum nodded, his tone firm in reply.
"Good." With Raygore's words, both fell into silence, speaking no more.
Because at this very moment, the green "tide" surging out from Locke Village, carrying its nauseating rancid stench, had charged right up close like a burst dam!
This feeling of a monster tide crashing down made the two hearts in Orum's chest beat to their limit once again!
The scene of over forty green-skinned goblins swarming forward was horrifying, like layer upon layer of green waves about to swallow him whole as he faced the crest!
Fortunately, Raygore stood beside Orum like a black steel wall. His heavy black plate armor seemed to absorb all light, as if nothing could shake him.
The two shared the pressure of the vanguard, feet rooted, like two reefs ready to shatter the green tide!
Raygore and Orum stood left and right in the middle of the road, about four meters apart.
This distance was calculated precisely to allow both to swing their swords without interfering with each other, while not letting any goblins slip through.
"Gwa! Die!"
The goblin tide crashed forward. Orum and Raygore struck simultaneously, instantly cutting the foremost charging goblin vanguard into pieces!
Foul-smelling blood and shattered bone mixed together, splattering everywhere!
Hot, fetid blood sprayed up, creating a drenching rain of blood in midair!
The snow-pattern steel sword was light, the crude greatsword heavy, but whichever it was, when they cleaved through the goblins' fragile bones, it was like cutting tofu with no resistance whatsoever!
In the first second of striking, Orum had no time to pay attention to Raygore beside him.
Because the number of goblins surging forward was simply too many, too dense!
That previous sword strike had easily severed the necks of two goblins.
Two ugly, terror-stricken heads flew skyward, foul blood fountaining out, staining the mud underfoot blood red!
Yet in less than half a second, the goblins behind had already trampled over their headless comrades' corpses, charging forward again like maniacs!
This was the terror of horde creatures. Even if the individuals were weak monsters, once they gathered into a frenzy, they could completely ignore the threat of death, their eyes showing only bloodthirsty madness!
"Absolutely cannot let the goblins knock me down! Otherwise I'll be pinned to the ground by dozens of goblins together!"
Alarms rang in Orum's mind.
In his brain, bloody scenes from documentaries in his past life instantly surfaced: wolf packs hunting wild horses.
Even though a wild horse could crush a wolf's skull with its powerful hind legs, once brought down, it would be completely torn apart by the swarming pack!
Facing enormous pressure, Orum's inner state seemed to enter an unprecedented new condition in an instant.
In that split second, in Orum's field of vision, the entire world seemed to have a slow-motion button pressed. The speed of all the goblins before him suddenly slowed.
In this moment, he could see every goblin's flailing movements crystal clear: their grotesque yellow fangs, even the foul-smelling drool dripping from their long tongues.
In this state of mental clarity, Orum struck.
No, it couldn't even be called striking.
He simply swung the snow-pattern steel sword with force in the calculated direction, as if chopping stationary rolls of bamboo mat, easily severing the goblins' necks.
"Gugwa..."
The goblins' terrified screams cut off abruptly. The cold blade swept through, ruthlessly harvesting their lives.
The light snow-pattern steel sword in Orum's hands unleashed terrifying lethality comparable to a battle-axe with each swing. The goblins' necks were like fragile grass, easily severed in the sword light.
Their bodies were split in two like a hot knife through butter, with no resistance, their foul organs spilling out.
If they were lucky enough to only get their arm slashed, they would roll to the side clutching their shattered limb, bleeding profusely while wailing in agony until life left them.
At this moment, Orum was completely immersed in this wondrous state of "world stasis," striking with incomparable precision, one sword after another!
His sword speed grew faster and faster, his movements more and more practiced, like whipping up a storm of bright silver sword light!
In this moment, Orum was like a humanoid slaughtering machine, butchering goblins on the death assembly line batch after batch!
[Goblin Kill Count +1]!
[Goblin Kill Count +1]!
[Goblin Kill Count +1]!
The surging "green tide" formed by goblins was severed clean in front of Orum's blade, split in two, transforming into constantly rising mountains of green corpses on both sides!
In this moment, the bloody stench around Orum was so thick it nearly solidified into substance!
He was like bathing in goblin blood, with scalding fresh blood pouring over him with every sword strike!
Witnessing this scene, the goblins in the rear finally realized something was wrong. In their crimson gazes, deep terror began to surface.
The road ahead seemed to lead not to delicious food and females, but to a bloody execution platform specifically for slaughtering goblins!
Just as the goblins in front were nearly all dead and the green wave was about to completely collapse...
Suddenly, a danger sensation sharp as a needle piercing bone came from in front of Orum!
Orum jerked his head up to see, over ten meters away, a burly bugbear gripping a heavy iron spear, positioned for throwing, the spear tip aimed straight at Orum's chest!
Every bugbear was a powerful monster with a massive frame standing over seven feet tall, weighing between 220 and 330 pounds, muscles coiled, strength terrifying.
Any casual punch from them could rupture the internal organs of a fully armed elite soldier and cave in their chest!
Against an iron spear hurled with such tremendous force, ordinary chainmail and helmets offered no defense.
If hit head-on, even if not fatal, it would result in severe injury.
Although he could use the Ancient Tree Heart's power to recover from injuries, Orum had no intention of getting wounded here.
Just as Orum focused all his attention on preparing to dodge the spear throw...
A powerful magical fluctuation suddenly appeared from behind!
This bugbear had all its attention locked on the human swordsman before it, completely failing to notice that not far behind, the golden-haired sorcerer was silently raising his palm.
His entire palm had transformed into a dazzling ice-blue glow, radiating heart-palpitating cold!
The next moment, that hand blazing with ice-blue light swung forward sharply.
An incredibly solid ice blade shot forth, like a blue meteor, screaming through the air as it rocketed toward the bugbear raising its iron spear!
"BOOM..."
Amid a violent explosion, massive ice fog instantly spread. The violent impact force tore open the bugbear's burly frame, its flesh splitting.
Fresh blood had barely begun oozing from the wounds before freezing over with a layer of white frost!
First Circle Spell: Ice Blade!
The bugbear's spear flew from its hand, landing not far away.
It instinctively tried to move forward to retrieve it, but its foot slipped and it crashed face-first onto the hard ice!
It turned out that the instant the ice blade exploded, a circular patch of smooth ice had formed beneath the bugbear's feet!
Moving on the slippery ice surface, its feet sliding, it lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground.
The bugbear was knocked senseless, and with the explosion injuries from earlier, it immediately fell into critical condition, losing combat capability.
Orum had by now completely annihilated the remaining goblin tide before him.
Taking advantage of the bugbear's fall, he charged straight behind it and viciously thrust his sword down at its protruding ugly skull!
"Squelch..."
[You have killed 1 bugbear]
[Stage reward available: Bugbear Tendon]
[Upon claiming, will automatically replace Goblin Tendon. Original Goblin Tendon will convert to 1 enhancement point]
[Next Stage Reward:]
[Kill 10 bugbears to obtain advanced bugbear monster organ]
The instant that cold, cruel interface prompt appeared, another burly bugbear roared before Orum's eyes, gripping an iron spear with both hands as it charged at him ferociously!
"Whoosh..."
A blinding ice-blue light suddenly shot in from outside his field of vision!
Another Ice Blade from Felix! It struck the bugbear's chest with perfect accuracy, the blast making its entire body shudder violently as it staggered backward and crashed down heavily!
"Damn... you... humans!"
The bugbear roared in fury, its massive body writhing on the ground.
It struggled to rise, but because of the slippery ice surface created by the Ice Blade spell, it fell back to the ground with a clumsy, comical posture!
Seeing the bugbear struggling pathetically on the ice, Orum couldn't help but gain a measure of respect for spellcasters.
The variety of spells in this world was vast.
They could not only cause devastating direct damage, but also create all kinds of harsh environmental conditions, tormenting even the toughest warrior until they couldn't advance an inch and suffered endlessly.
No wonder a universally acknowledged truth circulated in the Adventurer's Hall: spellcasters versus pure warrior classes were two completely different difficulty levels of combat.
To fight against spellcasters, you either raised your magic resistance, or... chose to join them directly!
As long as I also learn spells, I can torment others the same way!
However, Felix was a sorcerer. His magical power came from bloodline awakening, an innate talent.
He couldn't teach magic to Orum through study and training.
As for that Death Mage ally he'd encountered by chance, Orum believed there would be new developments soon.
"Squelch..."
While mulling this over, Orum mercilessly swung his steel sword at the fallen bugbear.
This bugbear's injuries were lighter, still struggling violently on the ground, trying to flip over and rise.
So Orum aimed at its neck and chopped down, severing its massive yellow-green head.
[Bugbear Kill Count +1]!
At this moment, on the blood-soaked battlefield, this encounter was nearing its end.
The second wave of goblins charging from Locke Village had been routed again under the combined slaughter of Orum and Raygore.
Two elite bugbears had also died miserably, becoming two more souls on Orum's sword.
But Orum remained highly vigilant, because that bugbear shaman from earlier still wasn't dead, and the spells it could cast required cautious treatment.
Just as Orum's sharp gaze swept across Locke Village, Ronald's furious roar exploded from behind:
"Animal!"
Orum whipped his head around, pupils contracting instantly.
At some point, that bugbear shaman had circled around to the rear of the formation.
The crude wooden staff in its hand pointed toward Ronald and Felix, its tip clearly gathering a massive vortex of magical power!
What made Ronald roar in fury was that in the bugbear shaman's other hand, it was actually clutching a swaddled infant!
"Waaaa... waaaa..."
Hearing the infant's piercing wails, Orum instantly understood the bugbear shaman's cunning scheme.
This crafty bugbear was using the baby as its hostage!
The bugbear shaman's spell casting speed was very slow, far less swift than Felix's Ice Blade.
In a direct confrontation, Felix would easily interrupt it!
However, clutching an innocent baby could make the adventurers hesitate, making it difficult to interrupt its spellcasting attack!
"Delicious..."
The bugbear shaman's murky eyes swept over the infant in its hand, revealing intense appetite.
Drool from the corners of its mouth dripped uncontrollably, flowing down its rough chin.
It had seized this infant from a couple hiding in a wardrobe. In their last second before death, they were still protecting their child.
The couple's despairing expressions before death were instead like the most vivid seasoning sprinkled on this chunk of meat, making this mixture of milk fragrance and fear all the more rich.
The fragrant scent drilled into its nostrils. The bugbear shaman's fangs began grinding.
It could barely resist stuffing the warm meat in its hand down its throat.
But it restrained itself. It couldn't eat now. This wasn't the time.
It turned instead to look at the fully armed priest before it, and behind the priest, the sorcerer with brilliant golden hair and eyes cold as frost.
"Humans, foolish."
"Die!"
The venom in the bugbear shaman's heart rose to its peak. So many goblins had died horribly.
It had to kill these humans, then chew and swallow them, to quell the hatred in its heart!
Just as it nearly believed its spell was about to be released, that terrifying lightning would turn the two before it into charcoal...
A sacred chant suddenly rang through the air from Ronald:
"In the name of my Lord Lathander, all bodies bewitched by darkness, obey the holy light's decree and lay down the child in your arms!"
A purple square formation suddenly blazed beneath the bugbear shaman's feet.
In an instant, its entire body went rigid, as if some tremendous force controlled its limbs, turning it into a manipulated puppet!
The next moment, completely beyond its control, the bugbear shaman violently hurled the swaddled bundle forward!
First Circle Spell: Command!
This was one of the most classic spells in the divine magic system, capable of forcibly controlling a creature's actions, making it fall prone, stand, or even drop its weapon!
Ronald's eyes were quick and his hands swift.
Like a leopard, he lunged forward, catching the baby in his arms, rolling several times across the grass before successfully dispersing the force.
Seeing that it had actually discarded its hostage with its own hands, the bugbear shaman fell into tremendous panic!
Its pair of murky old eyes filled with disbelieving stares!
How is this possible?! How could I throw the human baby away?!
"My, limbs, not, obey!" The bugbear shaman let out an angry and confused roar, its voice reaching the edge of collapse.
"Foolish creature."
Felix sneered, his voice as cold as quenched ice, without a trace of warmth.
Felix raised his palm level. His entire palm was covered in surging ice-blue magical light, illuminating his cheeks as well.
"BOOM..."
Another Ice Blade!
The violent explosion of ice crystals detonated fiercely on the bugbear shaman's body, blasting the hunched monster away!
Its crude staff adorned with teeth and feathers was blasted into several pieces in midair, the shattered remnants scattering in all directions!
The bugbear shaman let out a pained groan, crashing heavily to the ground, its body kicking up a cloud of dust.
The bugbear shaman struggled on the ground, trying to stand again and flee toward Locke Village.
However, the next moment, a bright silver cold light flashed. A snow-pattern steel sword had already pierced precisely from behind, running clean through its chest in one thrust!
"Ahhh..."
In the intense pain of having its chest pierced, the bugbear shaman let out a pig-like squeal.
It vomited blood copiously, foul bloody foam gushing madly from its mouth. Struggling to lift its ugly head, it met Orum's utterly cold gaze, devoid of any mercy.
Orum withdrew the blade, then turned the sword's edge and swept horizontally!
The bugbear shaman's ugly head flew skyward, a geyser of hot blood spurting from the cavity!
[You have killed 1 bugbear shaman]
[Stage reward available: Bugbear Shaman Magic Liver, First Circle Spell: Lightning Arrow]
[Next Stage Reward:]
[Kill 10 monster shamans to obtain advanced monster shaman organ!]
An interface prompt appeared. Orum glanced over it roughly, his pupils suddenly contracting, wild joy rising in his heart!
Killing spellcaster monsters could actually yield spells?!