Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 252 Surprise Attack, Silver Needles and Fall
Lawson did not witness the entire process of the fire dragon's arrival.

The [Curse] magic scroll from Knight Commander Terry William of the Morton family reduced his physical attributes by thirty percent in all aspects.

Perhaps his combat experience and skills could make up for it, but against Terry William, whose strength was only slightly weaker than his own, such a weakening was enough to completely tip the scales of victory in his favor.

Trapped in a desperate situation, and burdened by the terrible experiences of the past few days, he, with his extremely volatile personality, attempted to take his opponent down with him in a near-self-destructive manner.

His choice was a "signal crystal" that had been enchanted by the spellcaster.

The crystal itself does not possess any power; its function is to emit a dazzling crimson beam of light into the sky, visible for tens of kilometers in radius.

Under normal circumstances, no one would know the purpose of this beam of light. Even if they saw it, they would at most be puzzled, but would not understand its meaning.

But Lawson knew perfectly well that when he crushed the crystal in a life-or-death situation, and the crimson beam illuminated the sky...

The flames will bring destruction to himself and his enemies.

A few days ago, the Fangs team was escorting Lame Gu safely into the dragon's lair when they lured the red dragon "Krogbari" out of the lair.

The light emitted by this "signal crystal" is its signature feature.

Lawson was 100% certain that when that self-important, extremely irritable, and easily angered four-legged lizard saw the signal beam again...

They would definitely be unable to resist flying over to check—even if the cost is the theft of the dragon's nest again.

Of course, whether it's ordering its followers to guard it or reusing scrolls to set up magical traps, it should take further precautions before leaving this time.

Terry William didn't seem to want to die like this.

That makes sense. Even if such a young knight commander grows slowly and methodically in the future, "extraordinary" is not out of reach.

Naturally, he was unwilling to agree to perish together with him here.

The next second after the signal beam burst forth, after realizing what it represented.

Terry William didn't even make any extra moves, decisively abandoning his attempt to continue the attack while he was weakened.

He only cursed "madman" before retreating abruptly, trying to escape before the red dragon discovered him.

The situation reversed instantly.

Of course, the "madman" wouldn't let the other party escape so easily.

Thanks to the Bloodseeker's professional abilities, Lawson was able to keep up with his opponent even though his physical abilities were greatly weakened, and even deliberately made noise.

In such an open environment, it was impossible for the red dragon not to spot it if it flew over.

Strangely enough, the red dragon "Krogbari" was indeed attracted by the signal beam.

But after spewing out its dragon breath, the enormous and ferocious body seemed to have discovered something and landed directly behind a distant hillside.

What could possibly cause the red dragon, enraged after the treasure vault was stolen, to temporarily abandon any possible traces of the thieves?

Lawson had a vague suspicion, but he wasn't sure.

He deliberately pretended to be physically exhausted and let the fleeing William Terry escape.

He then activated the stealth mode of [Bloodseeker Veteran] and crept towards the other side of the hillside.

All their assets and teammates of many years were invested in the plan.

He has nothing left to lose.

Even if there's only a one percent chance... it's all worth it.

It was precisely because of this bold and almost insane decision that, after crossing the hill, he saw the slightly familiar squad, the remaining dragon breath marks on the ground, the inexplicably vanished red dragon, and...

That treasure that haunted his dreams, the one he had poured countless efforts into over two years, the one he had finally obtained only to lose immediately, the treasure from the Red Dragon's Nest, the Morton family's heirloom, a silver-white metal block with flickering unfamiliar characters on its surface.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his breathing became even more rapid than on the night of his coming-of-age ceremony.

Even after being weakened by 30%, his still incredibly strong physique, far surpassing that of ordinary professionals, unleashed an astonishing speed.

Maintaining the stealth status of the [Bloodseeker Veteran], he arrived at the spot where the silver metal had fallen, even faster than the dragonborn who rushed out of the squad, from a greater distance.

At the same time, without any mercy, he precisely and swiftly thrust his slender sword, sharp as a bee's sting, into the neck of the reckless bastard who dared to compete with him for the treasure.

To end its life.

"Boom."

A tall figure, clad in metal armor and with skin covered in mottled yellowish-brown scales, fell heavily to the ground.

Dragonborn Sava, a "big shot" who made great contributions to the Alliance in the future, but then betrayed them, causing an entire large human city to fall and become a dead city, and countless living beings to turn into howling ghosts, stirred up a storm in the province of Panyun.

At this crucial juncture when she was about to rise to power, she died in a brief, absurd, and extremely abrupt manner at the hands of a deranged outlaw.

It wasn't a regrettable defeat after a fierce battle, nor were there any dramatic stories worth telling or commemorating.

It was just a simple prick.

She then lost all future possibilities and died completely.

"Enemy attack!!!"

Tense shouts came from ahead.

Lawson, however, didn't care at all and acted as if he hadn't heard anything.

At this moment, all his attention was focused on the silvery-white metal in the muddy water on the ground.

His weathered face, marked by the passage of time, was pale from the effects of the curse, yet below his cheekbones, a flush of excitement lingered.

His eyes were fixed, and his lips were moving as if he were muttering something.

With trembling hands, he carefully lifted the oval metal block from the mud, as if he were holding the most precious treasure in the world.

"call out!"

The sudden whooshing sound shattered the almost fanatical demeanor he displayed.

Years of adventuring had honed his physical instincts, causing him to instinctively turn his head to the side.

Immediately, a wooden arrow with a white tail feather at the end, spinning rapidly, flew past his side almost touching his nose.

Lawson gripped the treasure tightly, turned sharply, and stared intently at the silver-haired half-elf at the rear of the squad ahead, who was still in a bow-drawing stance.

His fanatical demeanor suddenly cooled, replaced by the immense pressure naturally released by a seasoned professional facing an enemy far weaker than himself.

"Shameless and despicable thief, who should be chopped into pieces and fed to dogs, and whose soul should be sent to hell to serve as food for the devil."

"You...damn it!"

boom--

The air is compressed, and the intense noise of objects moving at high speed fills the air.

The menacing figure that had been standing there just moments before vanished as if it had become invisible.

With the two front-row members of the team already dead, Xia Nan, who was standing at the very front of the squad, felt a strange sense of danger rising in his heart.

The decapitation sword in his hand, which had been in an offensive stance, was suddenly raised and instinctively held horizontally in front of him.

"Ding!"

Sparks flew. Xia Nan felt a strong force coming from the hilt of the sword, his legs leaving deep footprints in the mud, and he was pushed backward.

Barely maintaining his balance, the strange rapier that had violently collided with the gray sword in front of him came into view, along with the blurry outline of the almost transparent figure behind him.

Lawson's physical attributes were weakened by 30% across the board by the [Curse], but his foundation was still that of a level 6 professional who had mastered six proficient combat skills, multiple specializations, and had experienced at least six instances of physical enhancement brought about by combat skills.

Even though Xia Nan gained combat abilities far exceeding those of other professionals of the same level due to various encounters, he still found it extremely difficult to face enemies of this caliber.

Let alone close-quarters combat, just taking that sword strike head-on left my forearm numb and tingling, and I almost dropped my weapon.

But thankfully, he managed to hold on.

This created an opportunity for his teammates to launch a counter-attack.

"Chichi!"

An inconspicuous shadow flashed past from the corner of my eye.

Without holding back, the two short daggers whistled through the air as they crossed, the "Mastery" level combat skill from the Wanderer class, [Abdominal Strike], transformed into a sharp silver cross, which Wood, who had circled around from the side, swung towards the enemy.

Although Lawson's professional level was higher than the two people in front of him combined, he was clearly not strong enough to withstand such a move with his bare body.

With a sudden burst of strength from his arm and wrist, he knocked Xia Nan, who was holding a long sword, away. He then leaped back lightly on the muddy ground, dodging the cross-shaped sharp light.

At the same time, the transparent body, whose outline was vaguely revealed during the confrontation, seemed to merge into the air and disappear from the two people's sight.

Xia Nan's mind raced, but he wasn't thinking at all.

Instead, he followed his fighting instincts, and in the instant the enemy disappeared...

【A World That Opens Your Mind】!
His dark pupils shimmered with gray light.

The already gloomy environment, shrouded in torrential rain, was instantly transformed into a pure world of black and white, interwoven with countless gravitational ripples.

To minimize energy consumption, Xia Nan only activated [Heart-Guiding Vision] for a brief moment.

But it was only in this fleeting glance that he discovered that abrupt figure weaving through the countless intricate and dizzying lines.

They are rapidly approaching Hai'an at the back of the line!
"over there!"

Without the slightest hesitation, a high-pitched wolf howl burst forth from the depths of the heavy rain, the rainwater swirling up mud and grass clippings, transforming into a ferocious wolf head with its mane swaying.

Roaring, it leaped across spatial barriers, bursting forth with exaggerated speed and force, and pounced toward its prey.

"Ding!"

The iron-gray wolf fangs looked as if they had bitten into something hard.

Sparks flew again through the rain.

However, unlike before, it is no longer Xia Nan who is being repelled, but Lawson who is trying to bypass the two and launch a surprise attack on the back row.

With a single blow, even his state of concealment, which was almost one with the environment, was directly broken.

Xia Nan could even see the astonishment and surprise that suddenly appeared in the other party's dark green eyes, which were filled with murderous intent.

Clearly, this seasoned adventurer, whose professional level was not low, had not expected that the young-looking, black-haired youth in front of him would possess such speed and perception abilities.

Not only did they uncover his stealth, but they also directly predicted their own route and intercepted him from the side.

"Madi, where did you come from?!"

With cold, sharp eyes, Xia Nan's face remained expressionless, the iron-gray sword light casting a faint shadow on his cheek.

It was only at this moment that thoughts, which are even slower than physical actions, flashed through my mind.

"Can fight!"

The middle-aged man in front of me, named Lawson, whom I had met once at the "Dragon's Nest" hotel, should be a professional with considerable skills.

But right now it seems like he has suffered some kind of unseen injury, and during the fight just now, I could feel that the opponent was obviously weak.

The gap between the two thus narrowed.

Lawson's forte, the kind of combat skills that allow him to move and stealth like a rogue, is firmly countered by his own exceptional perception abilities, which are enhanced by [Mind-Guiding Vision] and [Fang Hunt].

By utilizing the extremely concealed [Gravity Control], one can create an opportunity to swing the sword. The [Gravity Etching] attached to the blade should be able to cause considerable damage.

He finished consolidating his strength while pondering, and was just about to seize the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on his opponent.

Under Xia Nan's perception level of "10", a deadly and extremely dangerous premonition suddenly burst forth from his heart.

He was jolted as if electrocuted, and his body instinctively shifted to the left.

next second...

"Sizzle."

A thin, silver needle, its surface resembling flowing liquid, pierced through the back of the body and into the heart.

From the "Rockhammer" blacksmith shop, originally priced at 365 gold, this plate chainmail armor, forged from high-quality Marantz steel, is so easily pierced that it's like paper.

Lining, skin, muscles, diaphragm...

It enters from the back and exits from the chest.

The slender silver needle pierced through Xia Nan.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and shifted his body slightly to the left at the last second.

This meant that the silver needles, which should have pierced his heart, did not cause fatal damage.

Blood gushed from the wound, soaking the shirt beneath the pierced plate chainmail.

Blood dripped from the corner of her clothes, and before it could hit the ground, it was swept into the air by the wolf howl that rang out again in the rain, turning into part of a phantom wolf head and retreating rapidly.

Xia Nan turned around at the same time, looking toward the direction from which the silver needles had shot out.

On the hilltop not far away stood a handsome blond man, wielding a broad, heavy sword and wearing fine heavy armor.

His left hand was straight forward, still in the extended position.

The silvery-white metal at the tip of the index finger, which had become somewhat thin after being consumed, slowly seeped into the skin as it flowed.

"Terry William!?"

The sound of the half-elf Hai'an's astonished shouts reached his ears.

Having been caught off guard, Xia Nan, who was using [Fang Hunt] to retreat, only felt the pain in his chest becoming more intense, and his whole body becoming weak.

He casually wiped his hand across his chest and looked down. He saw that the blood flowing from the wound on his palm had an eerie silvery-white tinge.

"grass!"

He cursed inwardly, and the wolf-headed phantoms surrounding him, which had helped him retreat slightly, could no longer hold on and crumbled into grass clippings and mud in the rain.

His legs were too weak to move, and he managed to take a few more steps back.

His body swayed twice.

Everything went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

(End of this chapter)