Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 278 Sword Enveloped in Flames
Xia Nan had, of course, noticed the mummified body of the priest kneeling beneath the statue, praying devoutly.

To be honest, at the time I was just like those adventurers, my attention was basically drawn to the staff on the altar, and I didn't observe carefully. Besides, there was really nothing about the other person's back that was worth paying attention to.

He completely stopped paying attention to the corpse after it was shot dead by a human ranger and the adventurer's party fell into infighting.

But I didn't expect...

"Om."

A flash of iron-gray sword light streaked through the air, and the decapitation sword was instantly sheathed.

The scorching heatwave pushed the surrounding mist to both sides, and the sudden temperature difference caused fine water vapor to condense all over the body.

A crimson flame streaked across his face like the setting sun, and the wooden sword [Green Pine] was already in his hand.

A sense of danger welled up inside Xia Nan made him instinctively step back, keeping his distance from the corpses in front of him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something unprecedented: a stream of flames almost formed on the surface of the wooden sword, a dazzling, blazing, and exploding flame.

A sense of doubt crept into my mind.

Judging from its appearance alone, this state cannot be explained by the simple "15% Yangyan damage".

"What on earth is it?"

His dark eyes, reflecting the firelight, stared at the corpse lying quietly beneath the altar.

My whole body tensed up, and my breathing became slow and deep.

They are ready for battle.

"Ho..."

It was still that dry, guttural sound squeezed out from deep in his throat.

The dark purple fingertips, resembling withered branches, twitched slightly on the ground, the dirty priest's robe, riddled with holes, undulating and wrinkled.

Unsteady and thin, his figure resembled that of a patient who had been bedridden for many years, slowly rising to his feet in a weak, labored, and somewhat distorted posture.

She didn't even look back at Xia Nan, who was standing in the distance, and remained in the same posture as before she was pierced by the arrow.

Xia Nan, however, dared not let his guard down.

No matter how harmless the other party may appear at this moment, the wooden sword in his hand, which was so hot that he could barely hold it, already indicated that he was far more dangerous than an ordinary mummified corpse, and even more dangerous than the fat knight from before.

Perhaps it was because the reaction of [Green Pine] was too intense that the crimson flame that illuminated almost half of the church was finally noticed by the slow-moving, dull corpse.

He shifted his feet and slowly turned around.

Xia Nan thus glimpsed the reason why the wooden sword was burning almost as if it were igniting the air.

It wasn't just its undead, necromancer identity; it was the layered, slippery sheen that flickered under the flames, a dark, deep green—

Snake scales!

Instead of being evenly distributed, these snake scales resembled some kind of active fungus, clustered and growing on the wrinkled skin of the mummy.

They vary in size, are arranged haphazardly, and have sharp edges, especially at the joints.

It resembles armor, but the gaps between the scales reveal deep purple, cracked skin, giving it an extremely unsettling, mottled appearance.

The mummified corpse itself was not significantly different in appearance from the ones Xia Nan had seen before.

Only a huge, gruesome laceration remained below his neck and on his left shoulder, which had not healed. The wounds were frozen at a certain moment, and the purplish-red rotting flesh inside could be seen curling and hardening.

The dark green snake scales seemed to originate from these two wounds. The scales gradually became sparse and twisted from the tight and dense ones near the wounds, as if they were infected with some strange disease, causing the colony-like snake scales to grow out of them.

"No wonder..." Xia Nan thought to himself.

No wonder [Qingsong] reacted so strongly. The mummified corpse in front of him was no longer just an ordinary undead creature. The dark scales on its body surface and the turbid, lifeless vertical pupils in its empty eye sockets indicated that it had the bloodline of a snake creature.

And this means...

"+15% damage to undead (Sunfire)" and "+20% damage to snake-like creatures (Sunfire)".

Both damage bonuses stack up simultaneously at this moment!

If it weren't for his special identity as someone from a mysterious otherworld, and the blue quality that forms the basis of his equipment...

Xia Nan even suspected that the scorching heat swirling around the surface of the sword could almost set the entire wooden sword ablaze.

In fact, at this moment, the pine tree was no different from one that had been set ablaze.

The scorching flames descended from the hilt and completely covered the entire blade, turning the originally black and supple wooden sword a scorched reddish-brown.

"Looking at it this way, there are still some oversights."

Feeling the burning sensation in his palm, Xia Nan stared intently at the dried snake-scaled corpse in front of him, muttering to himself.

If they had noticed something amiss with the corpse earlier, they should have kept Marcus a little longer, instead of revealing themselves so soon, and let him use his body to help them probe the enemy's strength.

He reviewed the events in his mind, but there was no sign of regret on his face. Since things had come to this point, there was no point in regretting it now.

Right now, Xia Nan only has two paths to choose from.

Fight, or flee.

The latter might allow him to safely evacuate Ashenvale with all the spoils he acquired on this trip.

But it also means that he will miss out on the most precious treasure among them, and lose his chance to obtain the staff.

Xia Nan doesn't consider himself an extremely greedy person, but when such a treasure is right in front of him, it's unrealistic to expect him to just back down without doing anything.

At least... let's test the opponent's strength first. If, even with the double damage amplification and the full power of [Green Pine], I am still no match for the enemy before me.

He wouldn't stubbornly waste his life here, but would wisely retreat.

Thoughts in the mind are fleeting.

Turning around to face Xia Nan's mummified priest corpse, his unfocused, frozen snake eyes did not look at the uninvited guest who had barged into the church, but stared blankly at the ground in front of him.

This is extremely deceptive, as if it were unaware of the intruder's presence.

But if you are truly fooled, the next second, that seemingly thin and fragile hand, like a withered branch, but actually harder than steel, will pierce your chest and crush your heart.

"boom!"

Cracks suddenly appeared on the church floor, which was covered with a thick layer of gray marble.

A howling wind swirled the mist, and the withered figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

Maintaining constant vigilance, Xia Nan's incredibly sharp senses allowed him to detect the danger the moment his opponent retreated and exerted force.

hold head high--

With a mournful howl, its jet-black mane swaying, the enormous, twisted phantom of a black wolf leaped to the side with a light and swift motion.

"Bang!"

It was the noise of the ground cracking and debris flying everywhere.

The priest's robe, riddled with holes, billowed violently in the air currents around him, and his gaunt, emaciated figure stood where Xia Nan had just stood.

His body swayed as if he were still in a daze, but beneath his feet lay the church floor, which had turned to dust and sunken downwards.

With the full-level [Fang Hunt] buff, Xia Nan leaped into the air to dodge, his gaze sweeping over the exaggerated marks left by his opponent, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

His strength far surpassed any enemy he encountered in Ashenvale; it was an exaggerated combat ability far exceeding that of ordinary professionals.

He might have been nervous and more cautious, but at that moment, he felt no fear whatsoever.

It was simply following the fighting instincts formed by the combination of this body with his soul and memories.

The wooden sword, wreathed in flames, swooped down from the air, while the black wolf beast's fiery fangs fell with a swift and explosive force!

Buzz— [Fang Hunt] triggers [Spinning Slash], the two level 5 combat skills stack and merge together, and the [Slashing Master] feat continues to silently take effect, providing the most basic and versatile damage bonus.

Strength, agility, physique... multiple attributes are brought to their extremes, and precise muscle control allows all the power in the body to converge at a single point in an instant and pour out with the blade.

"laugh!"

Accompanied by the sizzling sound of flames burning flesh, the dull sound of blood and flesh being torn apart echoed faintly within the church.

Unfortunately, what was scorched by the blazing flames and swirling in mid-air was not the skull with dark green snake scales that Xia Nan had imagined for the mummified corpse, but just an ordinary piece of flesh from its former chest that did not affect its movement.

Faced with Xia Nan's slash, the priest's corpse once again demonstrated its superhuman physical attributes.

Xia Nan's timing was perfectly opportune, taking advantage of the moment when ordinary people are at a standstill, having exhausted their old strength and not yet generated new strength.

Its withered body seemed to defy the rules of human movement, and with a second burst of force, it twisted to the side instead of the head that should have been severed by the Flame Sword, turning the fatal blow into a minor injury that did not affect its combat ability.

My brain is working at lightning speed.

The wolf howl echoed between the walls and had not completely disappeared before it rang out again.

Black Wolf leaped up, jumped backward, and pulled Xia Nan's body backward with it.

[Tidal Shaping] Works silently, ensuring the sturdy leather boots firmly plant on the ground.
"Snapped."

Scorched flesh and blood fell to the ground.

The wooden sword in his hand still burned brightly, but Xia Nan's gaze toward the mummified corpse ahead grew increasingly solemn.

Even after just one exchange, he still sensed that his opponent's combat abilities far exceeded his expectations.

It didn't use any sophisticated combat techniques; its physical attributes alone were enough to make it difficult to deal with.

More importantly, the [Night Mother's Gaze], which has been invincible since it was acquired and has instilled fear and trembling in those affected by the howling of wolves, has no effect on this mummified corpse, as if it is immune to all mental damage.

In other words, the [Green Pine] wooden sword has a special bonus to Yangyan damage. Considering what he had witnessed before, in the battles between the adventurer team and other mummies, Xia Nan even suspected that the other party possessed extraordinary physical defense capabilities.

How should we play? What are our strengths?
Taking advantage of the lull in the battle, Xia Nan's brain raced, instinctively analyzing the situation on the field.

First, the opponent's body was incredibly strong, rendering his previous physical advantage over those of his peers useless.

Furthermore, the immune control effect significantly reduces the benefits of using [Fang Hunt], making it only usable as a movement-type combat skill.

It may seem like a stalemate, but the actual situation is much more hopeful.

The existence of the 【Green Pine】wooden sword means that as long as he can attack a vital point, he can also cut off the opponent's head.

Moreover, several of his hidden cards remain unrevealed.

Excluding the [Coin of Destiny] which only has one use left, the healing skill "Spring Pulse Healing" from [Tears of Spring] is still on cooldown, and the deflection field from the [Death Line] ring can still be used.

"Can fight!"

A resolute glint flashed in Xia Nan's eyes.

A high-attack, low-defense fighting style that emphasizes mobility and roaming means that as long as you give him one chance...

An opportunity to send the blade to the opponent's neck.

He can completely tip the scales of victory in his favor.

Even if he is truly outmatched, he has ways to recover and retreat.

boom--

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out once again.

The dried corpse, which had just suffered a fierce slash and sustained some injuries, launched another attack on Xia Nan without needing any time to catch its breath and recover.

Thick fog billowed and dust swirled.

Xia Nan felt his vision blur for a moment, and the next second, the thin, withered finger landed right in front of him.

He could even clearly see the wrinkles and textures on the surface of the fingers, as well as the smooth luster reflected by a few scattered snake scales.

"call……"

Chest rises and falls, breathing.

His eyes narrowed slightly, then snapped open.

Immediately, a semi-transparent ochre-red light curtain appeared from the void, enveloping his body.

"boom!"

The immense force, powerful enough to crush steel and stone, landed on the light shield, yet it was like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water, leaving only ripples.

The force was absorbed by the chaotic yet condensed energy field, spreading evenly to every part of the elliptical light curtain.

squeak-

The light shield shattered.

It barely managed to block one attack from the enemy.

However, it also provided Xia Nan with a precious opportunity to wield his sword simply and without any regard for others.

The ochre-red light shield turned into starlight and scattered. Before it could fall to the ground, it was swept up by the blazing flames and melted into the scorching heat wave stirred up by the wooden sword.

Xia Nan revealed his first trump card, using the "deflection field" of the [Death Line] ring to gain an opportunity to make a move.

The longsword was aimed directly at the enemy's neck.

The mummified corpse could not simply sit idly by and wait to die. Even though it did not seem to have any obvious consciousness and acted purely on instinct, it still knew to avoid those attacks that exuded a dangerous aura.

Just like before, it attempted to leap backward to dodge the attack using a strange, second burst of force.
But at that moment, for some reason, his withered and thin body suddenly froze for a moment.

It was an invisible pulling force coming from the void ahead.

It was as if an invisible hand was holding it firmly in its palm, making it impossible for it to move.

A strange sense of stagnation made even its already lifeless vertical snake eyes reveal a peculiar hint of doubt.

The dodge failed.

The wooden sword, wreathed in intense flames, thus became embedded in the wound in its neck.

It was sliced ​​silkily.

There was no blood, nor any extra bits of flesh.

Bearing only deep marks of scorching, its shriveled head flew high into the air, then rolled helplessly down.

Xia Nan took a slight breath, glanced at the corpse to confirm that it was completely dead, and then walked towards the altar.

"hiss……"

Just then, a very faint sound came from behind him.

He immediately became alert, drew his sword, and turned around.

The desiccated corpse, whose head he had chopped off, was twitching in a strange, contorted position.

The hissing sound came from deep within the bloody, severed neck.

"puff."

It was a slurring sound, like the flesh and blood bursting from a cicada pupa.

Reflecting the flames that reignited on the sword, a long, deformed shadow slowly rose and enveloped Xia Nan's body.

"No, it didn't say there would be a second phase!?"

(End of this chapter)