Arista suddenly stopped walking.
Her eyes focused ahead as if sensing something. "Okay… we are close. There are goblins ahead," she said while looking at him.
Azael nodded calmly. "They won't be a problem."
Arista smirked slightly. "There are eight goblins." She folded her arms under her full breasts and tilted her head slightly. "Can you handle them?"
Azael nodded with confidence. "Of course I can."
'They won't be a big problem,' Azael thought.
Arista chuckled lightly. "Oh. You are confident. In that case, you don't need me around."
She pointed toward the direction ahead. "Then I'll stay here. Go and kill them."
Without waiting further, she lightly jumped and grabbed a tree branch above her. With smooth and practiced movement, she climbed up the tree easily.
Soon she settled on a thick branch, leaning her back comfortably against the trunk while crossing one leg over the other.
From there, she had a clear view of the surroundings.
Arista rested her chin on her palm lazily. "Go on," she said casually. "I'll watch."
Azael didn't reply. 'Really?'
He simply tightened his grip on the sword in his hand and began walking forward.
His steps were slow and controlled.
'Well, not that I need her.'
After walking for a short while, he finally saw them. There were eight goblins.
They were gathered in a small clearing, some sitting, some standing, while two of them seemed to be arguing loudly with each other in their rough, ugly voices.
Their language was unknown, so Azael couldn't tell what they were arguing about.
The good thing was that none of them had noticed him yet.
Azael narrowed his eyes. Then suddenly he dashed forward without waiting. His eyes fixed on the goblins with the intent to kill them.
Mana wrapped around his legs, enhancing his speed. His body moved like a blur.
Before the goblins could even react, a blue straight line formed in the air.
Slash!
His sword flashed.
The first goblin's head flew off its shoulders before it even understood what had happened.
Blood splattered like a fountain from its cut neck.
The body collapsed instantly. The other goblins froze for a brief second.
They saw that someone had just killed their comrade. No way in hell they would let that human bastard go.
Then they screamed loudly.
"GRAAAAH!"
Several of them raised their crude weapons, clubs and broken spears made up of wooden shafts with sharp rock tips.
Two goblins rushed toward him at the same time. Azael stepped forward instead of retreating.
His amethyst eyes narrowed dangerously. His sword moved again. A horizontal arc formed.
Slash!
The blade cut cleanly through the chest of one goblin.
Before the second one could strike him, Azael twisted his body and kicked it hard in the stomach.
The goblin flew backward and crashed into another. Three goblins charged together now, screaming wildly.
Azael calmly channeled mana into his sword. The blade glowed faintly. Then he moved instantly.
His sword danced through the air.
Slash! Slash!
Two goblins fell almost instantly, deep wounds tearing through their bodies.
The remaining ones tried to surround him, but they were far too slow. One goblin jumped toward him with a raised club.
Azael stepped aside, his left hand raised as red-golden Phoenix Fire formed on his palm. Then it moved outward.
The goblin's body was covered with flames.
"Gahhh!" it screamed in pain.
The last goblin, seeing the massacre, tried to run away. It gave up on the idea of taking revenge for its goblin comrades. Life came first.
But Azael dashed forward and stabbed his sword straight through its back.
The creature collapsed lifelessly. Silence returned to the clearing.
Those eight goblins. They were all dead. Azael stood there for a moment. Then he let out a deep breath. His chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily.
The battle wasn't difficult, but fighting multiple enemies at once still required effort. He pulled his sword out from the last goblin's body.
"Good... it was a nice warm-up. I feel much better after killing those monsters."
Just as he was about to turn back toward the direction where Arista was waiting, he suddenly heard something.
Rustling.
He could hear fast footsteps. Azael narrowed his eyes. 'What was that?'
Someone was coming. He could hear it faintly. And those footsteps were very fast. Curious, he slowly walked further ahead to see who it was.
Then suddenly a figure burst out from between the trees.
"What?!" Before Azael could react.
Thud!
The person slammed straight into him. The impact knocked Azael off balance and he fell backward onto the ground. Just beside him something fell from the man's pocket.
Meanwhile, the other person remained standing. A man wearing a dark hooded outfit.
His face was completely hidden beneath the hood. The man looked irritated and angry.
"Who are you?" he demanded sharply.
His voice was tense and impatient. "Why are you standing in the way?"
The man observed the young man, while Azael, who was on the ground, looked up at the unknown figure standing in front of him.
He could not see his face clearly, but his blue eyes were visible.
Azael pushed himself up and held his sword tightly.
Meanwhile, the hooded man turned his face around. His eyes fell on the corpses of the goblins.
He had already guessed why this young man was here. But there was no need to bother with him.
Azael was also observing this man.
'Something about him doesn't look good. He really looks suspicious.'
Just then Azael saw something on the ground. It was a letter. Its seal was open. Azael bent down and lifted it.
The unknown man's focus now shifted back to him.
"Is it yours?" Azael asked.
The man saw his important letter in the boy's hand.
"How is that in your hand? Give it to me. That's mine!" The man pulled the letter from Azael.
Azael frowned. The more he observed this man, the more suspicious he felt.
'What's wrong with him... also why is Arista not coming... with her strength she might have already sensed him... yet she didn't come. Does she think he is not harmful or... does she want to see how I handle this?' Azael thought deeply.
Meanwhile, the unknown man nervously kept the letter inside his outfit.