The goblin chieftain, empowered by the goblin priest's magic, entered a berserk state and began to overwhelm Bone Guard One.
Massive wooden club strikes rained down on Bone Guard One's shield one after another, creating shockwaves that blew away the surrounding skeleton soldiers.
After finishing his empowerment spell, the goblin priest turned his attention to the rest of the skeletal army.
He raised the goblin head in his left hand and began chanting, causing fireballs to condense within its mouth before launching them into the ranks of the skeletons where they erupted in violent explosions.
Each fireball claimed dozens of skeleton soldiers.
The ground where the fireballs exploded remained scorched with lingering flames, continuously burning any skeleton that stepped into the area.
The intervention of these two high-tier goblins immediately disrupted the skeleton army's offensive momentum.
"So you like using buffs, huh?"
Seeing Bone Guard One forced into a defensive posture, Chen Xu communicated with him directly, telling him to prepare for a counterattack.
Chen Xu entered the Necrotic Space, waited for a gap in the goblin chieftain's attack rhythm, and then blinked directly above Bone Guard One to cast 【Weaken Curse】 on the chieftain.
He then quickly retreated into the Necrotic Space before blinking back out next to Bone Guard Two.
The entire seamless combo took barely a second to execute.
However, Chen Xu's 【Weaken Curse】 was only level 1, so the duration wouldn't be very long against a high-tier monster like the goblin chieftain, but it was enough for Bone Guard One to retaliate.
Under the weight of the curse, the arm the goblin chieftain used to swing his club suddenly slumped.
Bone Guard One seized the opening and slammed his shield into the chieftain's head with a Shield Bash.
Stunned by the impact, the goblin chieftain dropped his weapon.
Bone Guard One followed up by slashing his longblade across the chieftain's right arm before pivoting to deliver a deep gash across the monster's abdomen.
Just as the goblin chieftain shook off the stun, Bone Guard One stepped forward with his shield raised.
The ten heads mounted on the shield's surface opened their eyes simultaneously, activating 【Gaze of Fear】!
Caught at point-blank range by the full force of the fear effect, the goblin chieftain actually collapsed to the ground.
The sight sent the goblin priest stumbling back in terror, his mouth spewing unintelligible babble.
In a war between races, there was no room for mercy or etiquette.
Bone Guard One unleashed a flurry of strikes upon the fallen chieftain.
One blade pierced the heart, another sliced across the belly, and the final strike severed the head.
Seeing that the goblin chieftain had stopped breathing, the goblin priest smashed the goblin head he was holding onto the ground.
A surge of crimson mist rapidly expanded from the impact.
Any goblin touched by the mist ballooned in size as their teeth lengthened, scales grew over their limbs, and their eyes turned a bloodthirsty red.
They seemed to lose all reason, lunging frantically at the skeleton soldiers and Bone Guard One.
Even specialized units like the goblin mages and goblin archers abandoned their ranged expertise to pounce on the skeletons, engaging in primitive, savage combat with their teeth and claws.
In this state, the goblins' attributes were significantly boosted.
A few berserk goblins could quickly dismantle a skeleton soldier, and their resistance to the Ice Ring released upon a skeleton's death had increased so much that they weren't even slowed down before lunging at their next target.
Even though Bone Guard One was doing his best to slam his shield into the ground, clearing groups of berserk goblins with every impact, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, the crimson mist continued to spread without any sign of stopping.
From a distance, countless more goblins were seen running into the mist at the goblin priest's command.
If all these goblins were allowed to go berserk, Chen Xu's army of over a hundred thousand skeletons might actually be torn apart.
"Bone Guard One, see if you can take that goblin head into the Necrotic Space."
Chen Xu sent the command through their soul connection.
Receiving the order, Bone Guard One dashed toward the discarded goblin head in a few strides.
Sensing his intent, the goblin priest frantically conjured fireballs to blast Bone Guard One.
However, without the amplification of the goblin head, the fireballs lacked their previous potency.
Bone Guard One dispersed the flames with a casual swing of his blade, snatched the goblin head, and instantly teleported back into the Necrotic Space.
With the head gone, the crimson mist on the battlefield immediately stopped spreading.
Inside the Necrotic Space, the head continued to spew mist as if its supply were infinite.
"Throw that head into the Blood-Soaked Swamp."
Following Chen Xu's order, Bone Guard One tossed the head into the swamp, where it slowly sank beneath the surface.
With the threat neutralized, Chen Xu immediately sent Bone Guard One back to the battlefield.
"Tear that goblin priest apart. How dare he kill so many of my skeletons? Bone Guard Two, use your spears from a distance to keep him from escaping!"
Before Bone Guard Two could even respond, Chen Xu pulled him into the Necrotic Space and dropped him back at the foot of the cliff.
Bone Guard Two sprinted toward the goblin priest, quickly reaching the range needed for Soul Hunt.
He locked onto the goblin priest's soul signature, raised his spear, and infused it with mental power before hurling it.
The thrown spear vanished from the dungeon world, reappearing an instant later as it impaled the goblin priest from behind, pinning the monster to the ground.
Bone Guard One activated Vanguard's Courage and charged forward, delivering a massive slash that left a deep trench in the earth and cut the goblin priest clean in half.
【Killed a goblin chieftain, gained 5,000 experience points. Obtained Goblin Head.】
【Killed a goblin priest, gained 5,000 experience points. Obtained Goblin Wooden Statue.】
【Dungeon Clearance Progress: 35%】
【Dungeon Clearance reached the second stage. Unlocking primary dungeon creature information: Goblins.】
【Dungeon Clearance reached the third stage. Unlocking primary transcendent path information: Bloodline Evolution. In this world, bloodline is supreme. A strict hierarchy exists where higher-bloodline creatures exert absolute dominion over lower ones.】
"Can you give me some useful information for once? I'm a Destiny Seeker, basically a stakeholder here! As the boss, you shouldn't be this stingy."
Chen Xu was speechless.
The information provided at 10% and 35% progress was practically useless.
He had known about the goblins since he entered, and the bit about bloodline evolution was worthless to him—who had ever heard of a goblin that actually practiced cultivation?
Despite his complaints, Chen Xu headed to the base of the cliff to resume his work of recruiting more skeleton soldiers.
He had lost quite a few skeletons to the goblin priest's strange crimson mist.
Judging by the clearance progress, there were likely more goblin chieftains or priests ahead, so he needed to replenish his forces as quickly as possible.
Without the high-tier goblins to lead them, the battlefield returned to a one-sided slaughter.
The remaining goblins lost their will to fight and began fleeing in the opposite direction of the skeleton army.
But with Vanguard's Courage active, Bone Guard One's speed far exceeded that of the retreating stragglers.
They fled, he pursued, and they had nowhere to run.
Group after group of goblins were overtaken, either crushed into pulp or hacked into pieces by the relentless blades.
【Dungeon Clearance Progress: 50%】
【Dungeon Clearance reached the fourth stage. Unlocking the strongest transcendent creature information: Green Dragon. A wounded Green Dragon, cornered and desperate, has accepted the submission of the goblin tribe. Class holder, this is a golden opportunity. Use your courage to hunt this Green Dragon!】
"A Green Dragon? Another legendary creature... and you want me to hunt it?"
Rate on N.U.
