Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 219 Fine-tuning of the Center of Gravity and Force Field Energy

From Xia Nan's perspective, he naturally had no idea about the rights and wrongs involved.

All that he knew about Mint was that she was a somewhat suspicious spellcaster teammate.

Prior to this, they were not even aware of the other party's beastman identity.

In this context, further exploration of the girl's past, her emotional journey after contracting the beastification disease, her encounter with the priest Renee, and her grudges against Cash and Veris...

I know nothing about it.

Based on the scene unfolding before him, Xia Nan could draw the following conclusion—

Mint is the culprit behind the unrest among the wild beasts in the forest, and also the target of the association's investigation into the beastmen.

Perhaps harboring some unknown purpose, he infiltrated the Seathorn Squad as a spellcaster using his excellent disguise skills, and continued to cause trouble for himself and the others along the way.

Looking back now, it's highly likely that the Tempel night wolf pack we encountered earlier, and the owl bear we just saw, were lured there by the other side.

After faking her death to escape, she used some kind of substitute ability to lure the other three members of the team to go deeper, and finally used the earring on her body, which seemed to be a magical item, to make Cash and Veris betray her.

Oh, so it seems that the target Cash and the other man were talking about was this magical ornament.

Now, after Cash and Veris have both died, he has revealed his true form.

Xia Nan couldn't understand the detailed meaning behind the other party's vague words, and the information he currently had was insufficient to determine Bo He's specific purpose.

But it doesn't really matter.

All he needed to know was that Mint had attacked him.

"You want to kill me? Then I'll kill you first."

hum-

The iron-gray sword light shone brightly against the silver moon overhead, drawing a sharp, round arc through the air.

[Whirling Slash]!
Juice splattered!

With superhuman strength and exquisite skill, the sturdy metal weapon unleashed astonishing destructive power in an instant.

The vines and thorns that came from the soil, carrying mud, and surged toward Xia Nan like a tide were instantly cut down.

The distinctive fishy smell of plant sap, mixed with the smell of blood in the air, rushed into the nasal cavity with each breath.

With a sudden burst of strength from his legs, using the brief space he had created... [Fang Hunt]!
hold head high--

The high-pitched, long howl of the wolf seemed to drown out the roars of the other beasts on the field, and a phantom wolf head made of grass clippings, mist, and broken thorns suddenly appeared.

Propelling Xia Nan's body, he easily passed through the surrounding thorns and beasts, charging straight towards the center of the arena where the figure was gradually expanding and twisting.

Xia Nan may not be good at reasoning.

However, his exceptional combat talent and keen perception still enabled him to analyze the situation on the field and make the most correct judgments with terrifying efficiency.

First of all, retreating... is not a good option given the current situation.

Just as Mint said, the foggy forest at night has extremely low visibility, making the already dense forest even more troublesome.

It is extremely difficult to move quickly within it for an extended period of time using [Fang Hunt].

Not to mention they also had to deal with the pursuit of herds of beasts and thorns.

Exposing your back to the opponent may actually be much more dangerous than staying on the field.

Therefore, we must cast aside any thoughts of retreat and face the battle head-on.

Once he realized that a battle was inevitable, he naturally and instinctively began to think about the key to breaking the deadlock.

Good news, the area ahead is fairly open, allowing [Fang Hunter] to use it freely, and his highly mobile fighting style is unrestricted.

The bad news is that Mint isn't the only enemy he has to face; he also has to deal with annoying thorns sprouting from the ground and ferocious, raging beasts surrounding him.

Fortunately, the owl bear wasn't there; otherwise, no matter how dangerous it was, he would have had no choice but to turn around and try to escape.

Xia Nan has extensive experience in group battles, or rather, fighting against multiple opponents.

The countless empty goblin lairs on the outskirts of the forest, filled with the corpses of bear goblins, large goblins, and many other goblins, gave him a thorough understanding of this combat mode.

Unless there are special circumstances, you should clear out the minions first before engaging in a one-on-one battle with the strongest elite monster.

It is extremely dangerous and impractical.

After all, the other party is a free creature with its own will and strong malice towards you. It's impossible for it to just stand by and do nothing while you're clearing out the mobs.

They will only join in, attacking you alongside all the other enemies on the field.

Therefore, to catch a thief, you must first catch the leader.

Once the mint is dealt with, the thorns and beasts on the field will lose their source of power and influence, and will naturally become less of a threat.

Move at high speed.

The air became viscous and stagnant due to the resistance, causing the stinging airflow to squeeze past both sides of the body, and the black, tousled hair to swing violently.

Gripping the decapitation sword tightly in his hand, Xia Nan stared at the dark shadows ahead and quickly approached amidst the howling of wolves.

woo-

It was a deep, terrifying growl, as if it were enduring something.

Mint stood still.

Her original petite and frail body, that of a spellcaster, was no longer visible.

The bear-like beast's strong, bulging muscles ripped the plain-colored robe, making it look like a tattered napkin around its neck. With a gentle tug from its sharp claws, it turned into scraps that fell to the ground.

Thick saliva dripped from the open, narrow snout of the beast, and a pair of semi-circular beast ears peeked out from behind its head. No whites were visible in its eye sockets, only a deep, dark, and terrifyingly dark blackness.

Unlike Buck, who was once infected with the beast disease and became a complete wild beast after the onset of the disease.

Mint remained standing on both feet.

The end of revenge, the anger and thorns, seemed to have completed some kind of ritual originating from the bloodline.

An invisible force surged through her increasingly robust body.

It's like a monstrous creature, a hybrid of a human and a bear.

Those muscles, as hard and solid as a rock, and the thick, dark mane, did not make him look clumsy or bulky.

On the contrary, the two elongated limbs, contrasted with the upright body, give a sense of agility brimming with explosive power.

If it weren't for the teardrop-shaped pendant on the short left earlobe, who would associate this ferocious and terrifying humanoid bear beast, even more robust than the strongest barbarian in the tavern, with that frail and thin girl?

"Roar!!!"

The ear-piercing roar seemed to proclaim her loss of humanity and the complete takeover of her body by bestiality.

Wild animals possess an instinctive sense of smell for danger, as well as extremely fast reaction speed and physical attributes that allow them to react in an instant.

Just as the illusory wolf head lunged forward, before its iron-gray fangs could even fall, its two long limbs instantly unleashed a powerful force that stomped deep into the ground, pulling Mint backward.

He dodged the arc-shaped sword light that was slashing horizontally towards his neck.

"Such a quick reaction?"

Xia Nan was slightly surprised, but his feet didn't stop moving at all. The instant he realized that the [Whirlwind Slash] had missed, the wolf head phantoms around his body, which had slightly dispersed due to the sword swing, immediately solidified again.

[Fang Hunt] was activated again, and his body disappeared from the spot as the wolf howled.

next second.

hissing sound—

The sharp claws that had reached out from the side suddenly sliced ​​through the air where he had been standing.

The exaggerated power contained within it is such that only a blur can be seen when it is swung, and the strong wind it generates directly swirls the fallen leaves and grass seeds on the ground into the air.

With his legs almost off the ground, he retreated rapidly on the Xia Nan Expressway.

At the same time, he now had two more oil bombs in his hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, he hurled himself towards the dark figure ahead.

Oils and dust exploded violently in the flames, turning into a surging torrent that engulfed the mint.

Unlike the immediate results of the past.

These flames were completely ineffective in causing any damage to the other party, and they didn't even utter a cry of pain before being quickly extinguished by the dense fog that filled the air.

The only proof that it ever existed is the scorched bristles on the surface of Mint's body.

"Tsk."

Xia Nan stood still, keeping her distance from the other person, and couldn't help but smack her lips.

In the blink of an eye, a round has passed.

Neither side made much progress in the battle.

Those lifeless, dark eyes made it impossible for Xia Nan to guess what Bo He was thinking at that moment, and he wondered if she had any plans.

However, after the hasty exchange just now, he had a rough idea of ​​the bear-man's combat strength.

While not quite on par with the exaggerated power of Owl Bear, it far surpasses Buck after his complete beast transformation. Furthermore, its speed and agility are far superior to those of ordinary beastmen, thanks to the Owl Bear's seemingly lithe and slender physique.

It's somewhat similar to a fully enhanced version of the bear goblin.

It even possesses some magical abilities.

Using [Fang Hunt] again to reposition, I dodged the pounce of the two beasts and tore apart several thorns that emerged from the mud.

The only saving grace was that the enemy had no weapons or equipment, and could only fight with their bare hands and claws, relying purely on their physical strength.

How to win?

Xia Nan's mind raced as he pondered.

Its advantage lies in its extremely high mobility enhanced by the [Fang Hunt] buff.

Their reaction abilities are roughly equal. With the help of perception, they can accurately and carefully perceive the other's every move, and the bear-man's physical qualities are enough to make up for the difference.

He has a slight advantage in speed, but in terms of defense... it's hard to say whether his armor or the opponent's thick, tough fur is better.

During his month and a half with the Seathorn Squad, he didn't reveal too much.

Even though the opponent had already seen [Fang Hunt] and [Whirlwind Slash], [Gravity Control] and [Gravity Etching] were skills he had never shown to anyone before.

It should be able to become a key factor influencing the balance of power.

However, it must be noted that although [Gravity Control] has exaggerated potential and could reach unimaginable and terrifying limits in the future, it is not a super-advanced combat skill that he can master at his current level of strength.

However, his proficiency is limited; he's only at level 1.

It is very effective against small creatures or creatures of similar size, but it becomes somewhat difficult against enemies that are larger and heavier.

When using it, you need to consider the actual situation and use some clever tactics, as you did in the previous battle against Kashna, in order to achieve good results.

Instead of being able to manipulate gravity to influence enemies in the same way as with goblins, we can no longer do so.

【Gravity Etching】Its excellent destructive power and the fact that its force field damage ignores defense allow it to easily inflict massive damage on enemies.

However, it should be noted that it is limited to 3 uses, and the six-hour charging time will not be available until the early morning.

Therefore, the timing of using this combat skill needs to be carefully considered, and it is best to end the battle before the number of uses is exhausted.

Finally, it became Xia Nan's trump card.

That [Coin of Fate] with two uses remaining...

To be honest, unless he was truly in dire straits, he wouldn't have planned to waste his precious usage attempts on something like this.

But if it really comes down to life and death, he would never take the coin to his grave.

With a casual flick of his sword, he decapitated a wolf that was lying in ambush in the bushes at his feet.

Xia Nan suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the bear-man in front of him.

His expression seemed calm, but the fierce fighting spirit burning within him had almost solidified into a tangible form.

No delays allowed!

The forest at night is now the opponent's home ground. If this drags on for another few tens of minutes, not to mention the thorns and wild beasts that are everywhere, it will also drain our stamina.

If another monster like an owl bear is attracted, the situation will only become more dangerous.

It must be resolved quickly!

With a firm decision in his heart, Xia Nan exerted force with his arm, turned his body halfway, and the iron-gray sword light that burst forth almost circled around his body, slashing across most of it.

The approaching thorns and beasts were cleared away in an instant.

[Gravity Control] Takes effect silently, and your legs feel light as you step onto the ground.

[Fang Hunt] was activated suddenly. The speed that increased dramatically after the gravity was reduced made Xia Nan almost fly into a blur in the air, as if there really was a cold and fierce winter wolf pouncing on its prey from the dense forest.

Mint reacted swiftly, almost instantly sensing the killing intent that Xia Nan had gathered the moment his feet left the ground.

With knees bent and power gathered, the body leans slightly backward, ready to use powerful leg muscles to propel the body and dodge the attack from the front in the next second.

But at that very moment, very strangely, as if by illusion, she suddenly felt her body's center of gravity shift a few inches.

It was as if some invisible force was pulling her back down.

As if about to fall, even the legs that were firmly planted on the ground and ready to exert force relaxed slightly in an instant.

Even though this bizarre, almost hallucinatory experience was fleeting, she immediately regained her balance by relying on her stable core strength.

But it was precisely because of that brief moment of delay that he was no longer able to dodge the fierce slash coming from in front of him.

He only had time to raise his left hand to shield his chest.

The next moment, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, a sword blade with red light condensing on its surface, resembling flowing runes, landed on Mint.

Blood gushed out, and the severed arm flew high into the air.

"Buzz!"

A blinding red light burst forth like a small firework, ignoring defenses, and the ochre-red force field energy engulfed the bear-man's severed arm and chest.

(End of this chapter)