Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 280 Snake Eyes, Body, "Me"

"Proficiency +1"

As the semi-transparent characters flashed before his eyes, the ochre-red light that had been accumulating on the iron-gray blade when he grasped the hilt suddenly brightened.

The decapitating sword that pierced straight into the serpent's throat was instantly engulfed by a force field energy that exploded like fireworks.

Ignore physical defenses.

From the inside out, bones, muscles, skin... a body capable of easily withstanding the full force of a professional-level expert, offered no resistance whatsoever to the impact of this ochre-red force field energy erupting from within.

Like a time bomb planted deep in its throat, the powerful impact shattered its vertebrae into dust, and pus and blood mixed with bits of flesh exploded outwards.

boom--

The mummified corpse, frozen in place by the longsword piercing its throat, instantly transformed back into the headless, mangled form it had been a few dozen seconds earlier.

At the same time, he continued to exert force with the wooden sword in his right hand, and with a twist of his wrist, the heads of the two snakes that were tightly biting Xia Nan's arm were also scorched off, twitching and writhing as they fell to the ground.

Despite the excruciating pain in his shoulder, he learned from his previous experience and did not sheathe his sword even after the four long snakes that had emerged from the mummified corpse's body had been slashed to pieces.

"Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!"

The black wooden sword, wreathed in crimson flames, swung incessantly through the air, accompanied by the screech of sharp objects tearing through flesh and the burning of flames. The already emaciated body of the mummified corpse, which had become even more mutilated after its transformation, was reduced in an instant to a pile of charred, blackened pieces of flesh that were indistinguishable from body parts.

It seemed that Xia Nan was still shaken by the monster's "second phase" transformation, and this process lasted for several minutes.

As the flames on the surface of the Green Pine sword gradually dissipated, leaving only a faint warmth in the surrounding mist, the ground was pierced and burned.

He stopped what he was doing, catching his breath.

"If this can still have three stages... no, it probably won't."

Xia Nan glanced at the wooden sword in his hand, which had returned to normal, and took two steps back, thinking to himself.

On my right shoulder, the emerald green natural energy of "Spring Pulse Healing" flows continuously, rapidly healing the wound amidst waves of soreness.

His decision was very successful. This fourth-circle healing spell from the [Tears of Spring] necklace, which can only be used once every seven days, does not instantly restore stamina; its healing is a continuous process.

The two snake bites on his shoulder may have caused serious injuries that could have affected the normal movement of his arm at first, but even after the snake heads were severed by the Flame Sword and turned into charcoal, "Spring Meridian Healing" continued to function.

The deadly toxins that should have spread throughout the body with the blood were transformed into purulent green smoke by natural energy and forced out of the body. The granulation tissue on both sides of the torn and pierced flesh wriggled and merged with each other.

In just a few seconds, the gruesome, bloody wound on Xia Nan's right shoulder disappeared, replaced by a smooth, undamaged patch of skin that showed no abnormalities except for the torn clothing on the surface.

It wasn't even a minor injury; aside from some mental fatigue, my body had almost fully recovered to its best condition.

For Xia Nan, the battle with the snake-scaled corpse was the most intense fight he had fought recently.

He only had one card left to play: the "Coin of Fate." He had used all the others.

Faced with the enemy's exaggerated physical attributes and bizarre special abilities, he used almost everything he had at his disposal, combining his expertise, combat skills, equipment, experience, and inspiration to the fullest extent, which ultimately led to victory in the battle.

And the price paid...

Excluding the number of times some combat skills and equipment can be charged, and the oil bomb used for testing.

It is a finely crafted piece of armor, "plate chainmail," made of Marant steel, from the Rockhammer blacksmith shop, and...

The wooden sword [Green Pine] quietly went into its sheath, and Xia Nan looked at the decapitation sword he held in his left hand.

His face showed an extremely complex expression, a mixture of regret, emotion, and sighs.

Despite its outstanding "50% durability bonus", it is ultimately just a common weapon of white quality.

This old friend, who had been with Xia Nan for hundreds of days and nights since Xia Nan's transmigration, was the source of his adventurer title and a more reliable partner than any other teammate.

It made its final contribution in a closely fought and extremely dangerous battle.

With its ordinary white body, it forcibly endured the venomous green liquid that could melt steel, piercing the throat of the long snake to earn a sliver of hope for its own survival.

The enemy is now completely dead.

The originally smooth and tough iron-gray blade of the decapitation sword was now covered with numerous large and small corrosion pits.

In high-level, high-frequency, and high-paced combat, any shortcoming will be magnified infinitely, especially for main weapons that need to be relied upon for a long period of time.

It seems the time has come for the decapitation sword to leave the party.

At this moment, Xia Nan's mood was even worse than on the night she broke up with her first love in her previous life.

Inhale, exhale... Inhale, exhale...

I just stood there, unable to recover for a long time.

My fingertips gently traced the surface of the sword, carefully feeling the warm, cool sensation emanating from my fingertips.

His expression was somber.

He carefully and solemnly sheathed the decapitation sword back into its sheath behind him.

As his most reliable comrade-in-arms, Xia Nan would never leave the other party alone in the same place just because it had temporarily lost the ability to continue fighting.

He wanted to take the longsword back with him.

Whether it's a hundred gold coins or a thousand gold coins, it doesn't matter. As long as the other party can be repaired, he's willing to pay even if it means emptying his bank account.

Xia Nan may be particularly sensitive to monetary numbers at times, but compared to the contributions the decapitation sword has made to him, these gold coins are indeed just numbers.

If there were truly no possibility of repair, he wouldn't have left the decapitation sword alone in the scrap heap in the corner of the blacksmith's shop, or on the shelf of the general store.

He hoped to give his old friend a dignified end.

It's a pity that the [Serpent Scale Arm Shield] isn't with me, otherwise, with its 300% corrosion damage resistance bonus, perhaps things wouldn't have come to this point.

Xia Nan gently shook her head, deciding not to think about it anymore.

Composing himself, and ignoring the other corpses on the ground around him, he turned and walked toward the altar.

His dark eyes reflected the gray-black staff, its tip inlaid with an orange-red gem and gleaming like embers.

I just hope that this gain will be worth the price he paid.

With each step, Xia Nan focused his attention, wary of any potential traps around him, and cautiously approached the altar.

But just like the previous two experiences in the secret realm, there was no warning whatsoever.

Just as he stepped his right foot to the ground and slightly lifted his left foot, intending to get closer and trigger the attribute panel to check the staff's information.

Extremely abrupt, as if stepping into empty space, the body's center of gravity became strangely unbalanced.

As the surrounding scenery seemed to change rapidly, as if time itself was passing, I leaned back, and my gaze shifted from the staff below the altar to the goddess statue with a blurred face behind it.

It still maintains its previous posture of one hand raised in supplication, but the details that had lost their original form over the course of time have reappeared on its surface in a way that is as if time has reversed. The fine cracks and mottled marks on the surface of its body disappear at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the originally dark stone seems to be polished by some unseen force, gradually revealing its bright white marble color in its smoothness;
Carved from stone, the solidified gauze skirt resembles clouds and mist, with clear folds and distinct weave, and the edges are so thin that they seem to let light through.

Most importantly, His face, which had been smoothed out by stone dust and sand, has finally regained its original appearance:

She is elegant and serene, with features that, though not particularly refined, combine to create a sense of natural harmony and beauty; her gaze is lowered and compassionate, as if she sympathizes with the suffering of all things in the world.

Xia Nan didn't have time to observe carefully, nor did he have time to think more deeply.

As his gaze traveled upwards, changing with the passage of time, from the goddess's toes touching the pedestal, to the rounded contours beneath her flowing gauze skirt, to her slender, bare waist and abdomen, to her clearly defined and delicate sunken collarbone, and finally to the goddess's face.

When he met those pitiful, downcast, bright yellow, vertically shaped snake eyes.

His thoughts then completely stalled.

"Sir, are you... sure?"

A strange male voice echoing in Xia Nan's skull roused him from his drowsy state.

"I"... am I speaking?

He was surprised, but then he discovered that he had inexplicably lost the ability to control his body.

With just a slight reaction, I realized that I seemed to have entered a secret realm similar to the one I had experienced in the [Dream Corridor] before.

I became one of the NPCs in the story from a first-person perspective.

However, unlike the character, this time he possesses an independent consciousness distinct from the character himself. Although he cannot control his body's movement, he has gained the ability to think in a timely manner.

After struggling slightly, she realized that she probably wouldn't be able to get rid of it in a short time.

He then began to observe the surrounding environment from the perspective of the character he was "possessed" in.

It was an indescribable familiarity.

The towering dome, resembling a stone sky, curves upwards with unimaginable arc, casting a beam of holy light—as if gathering the purest and cleanest energy in the world—down onto the pristine face of the goddess statue.

The snake's eyes remained unchanged, gazing down upon all things in the world with a sacred and compassionate look;

Behind it was a magnificent, enormous stained-glass window that occupied the entire high wall and seemed to be burning under the bright light.

Blue, purple, gold, red... countless colors surged forth after refraction, converging into a sacred white that poured onto the statue, merging with the beam of light above its head, giving its surface a gentle yet breathtakingly beautiful radiance.

It was as if there truly was such a deity, descending from the clouds amidst endless light to the mortal world.

The imposing rows of stone pillars, the deep and winding corridors, the reliefs, the arched walls and the lamp niches...

The familiar scene before them proved that this magnificent and wondrous place was the very same huge church where Xia Nanfang had just killed the mummified corpse, now empty and desolate.

Thinking back to what I had caught out of the corner of my eye earlier, a scene that seemed to turn back time.

Perhaps what I am in right now is the site of a church from countless years ago, or even another world, from a foreign land, still intact and not yet abandoned.

As his thoughts flowed, Xia Nan's gaze, along with that of his body, turned to the slender figure kneeling on the ground beneath the goddess statue, praying humbly and devoutly.

Hmm... that priest's robe looks very familiar.

"You've finally arrived." The aged, frail voice echoed softly in the spacious church.

"When the fire goes out, the world will be plunged into boundless cold and darkness."

"Take it!" His thin body trembled violently, and his tone suddenly became fierce.

The pastor practically crawled as he struggled to his feet from the spotless floor tiles.

In his hand was a gray-black staff that looked just as familiar, with an orange-red crystal at the top.

"Inside... is the last 'seed,' take it with you!"

A shimmering light, like ashes and embers, shimmered on the crystal.

The pastor's voice suddenly rose, as if something was about to tear out from within.

"Leave here, go to the royal city, where the last of the firewood can be found."

"And... kill me, before this body can still be called 'human'."

"I" remained silent, and Xia Nan could feel the body's increasingly slow breathing and its gaze fixed on the old man's face in front of it.

The surface was printed with unknown and intricate patterns, and the heavy and sturdy metal arm armor rose from in front of him and stretched to his back.

Amidst the ear-piercing scraping sound of metal rubbing against metal, a sharp, cold glint flickered in the air.

I drew the giant sword from behind me.

The pastor before him was murky and seemed to be moving closer to the snakes. In the depths of his eyes, where the pupils were narrowed at both ends, a glimmer of relief flashed.

He closed his eyes, praying to the goddess behind him, awaiting the coming of the end.

My movements were swift and decisive, causing the pastor not the slightest bit of unnecessary pain.

His left leg suddenly stomped forward, and the heavy sword whistled past, drawing a huge, curved arc in the air.

The old man's head flew high into the air, propelled by the gushing blood.

At the same time, the greatsword that was meant to end the priest's suffering suddenly changed its direction, from a horizontal slash to a diagonal cut, severing the priest's arm that was holding the staff.

My swordsmanship seemed to be extremely high. Throughout the entire process, not an inch of the priest's skin was touched by the blade, and not a single drop of the blood gushing from the wound came into contact with it.

"Snapped."

He gently clenched the iron glove, which gleamed with a cold metallic light, and held the staff that had been sent flying with the severed arm and was now spinning and falling in his palm.

Silence fell, and the only sound in the air was the noise of blood pumping.

I coldly stared at the ground in front of me, at the priest whose head was severed and who now only had one arm left.

Sheathed his sword, turned around, and walked towards the church entrance.

Behind him, the priest’s thin, emaciated body lay silently in a pool of blood, with his head and left arm resting on either side.

Pure and holy light shone down from the dome, falling on his bloodied and mangled wounds.

It reflects the huge, magnificent stained-glass windows.

The statue stands.

Its bright yellow snake eyes gazed with pity at the priest's body below.

(End of this chapter)