Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 313 Death, Death

boom--

Dark red infernal flames suddenly erupted, carrying an extremely strong sulfurous stench, and an invisible shockwave, like an explosion, stirred up layers of air waves.

As the longsword fell into the air, the invisible resistance made the blade seem to glide through water, slow and sluggish.

Xia Nan felt an extreme sense of danger coming from ahead, so he decisively withdrew his strength and subconsciously raised his arm shield to block in front of him.

The next second, he and his sword were blasted away by the shockwave.

【Tidal Shaping】 took effect silently, greatly reducing the pushing effect. The person only rolled back slightly twice before regaining their balance and gently landing on the ground.

In contrast, the dwarf and the female swordsman, who were also hit by the shockwave, appeared to be in a much more precarious situation.

Soldin was alright; his extremely dense and sturdy physique made him look like a solid piece of metal. After being knocked down, he rolled twice on the ground before getting back up.

The shirts and trousers, already tattered from the corrosive effects of the toxic fumes, wouldn't look any more wretched if they were covered in more mud and dirt.

On the contrary, Margaret, who had previously performed quite well against the devil's series of spells, probably did not expect that the other party would still have the ability to cast spells at such close range at this point in time, after casting spells multiple times in succession.

Under the effect of the slowing spell, the person seemed to be frozen in place, and then the surging air wave blew his entire body off the ground, sending him flying far away.

Seeing the way he gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he got up, it was clear that he was also suffering from this sudden blow.

Having no time to pay much attention to these two temporary allies, Xia Nan's gaze immediately turned to the center of the field as soon as he landed.

"Omlong..."

An ominous light, filled with blasphemous intent, cast a deep, dark crimson hue over the entire underground lair, resembling a scene from purgatory.

The pungent odor overwhelmed everything in the air—a mixture of sulfur, burning corpses, and molten metal, a stench emanating from the depths of the Ninth Hell.

Abi remained motionless in the contract-signing pose, her single-handed sword at her waist, the small round shield on her back, and the ordinary leather armor on her upper body revealing her status as a low-level adventurer.

But at this moment, under the glow of those fel flames that slightly distorted the air, all the humility of his previous life had vanished like his dissipating consciousness.

Like the shimmering flames beneath the scales of a dragon's neck before it breathes its breath; like a twisted insect struggling and writhing in a silken cocoon, about to break free.

His body is being torn apart from the inside.

Dark red, magma-like cracks erupted from his heart, rapidly spreading across his skin like a spiderweb. Within them shimmered and flowed the purest infernal energy, pulsating with an evil and ominous light.

The fragile leather armor and shirt turned to ashes and vanished into the air under the blazing flames. The dark red flames covering his entire body lingered and rose like living things, greedily devouring the oxygen in the material world and scorching the ground beneath his feet into a sticky, black, tar-like substance.

The muscles spasmed and swelled unnaturally, and the bones creaked and stretched, making a teeth-grinding "squeak" sound.

Abby's body was being continuously filled, stretched, and forcibly reshaped in a brutal manner, in a way that showed no regard for the passage of time, to adapt to the terrifying power that far surpassed that of ordinary beings.

There was no pain on his face.

Instead, a pair of eyes, completely different from before, radiated endless evil and were pure light, rising from the dark flames of hell.

With the contract signed, the young adventurer's body and soul now belong entirely to the powerful demon beyond the material world.

Consciousness was mercilessly swept into the darkest corners.

The one currently in control of this body is Hellboy named "Saloyan".

Through this natural conduit connecting the two worlds, immense fel energy is relentlessly pouring from its infernal body into Abby's already battered and bruised body.

Just like his ever-elongating body, his momentum was rising steadily.

Xia Nan remained calm, but his keen senses of the enemy's rapidly expanding powerful aura only made him feel more troubled.

They tried their best to stop it, but they still couldn't stop the other party before Abby signed the contract.

Although he didn't know the contents of the contract, judging from the situation, it was nothing more than lending his body or soul to the devil.

Judging from her current state, Abby has probably lost even the most basic ability to control her body, and her consciousness has dissipated.

Their opponents have changed from novice adventurers who could only borrow the demonic abilities attached to them to the demons themselves.

Thoughts flashed through my mind.

Waves of intense heat, thick with the smell of sulfur, washed over my face.

This wasn't a game cutscene, so how could Xia Nan just stand by and watch the enemy in front of him, who was clearly in the process of transforming, complete the second stage of transformation?

With a burst of power from his feet, the black wolf phantoms around him had just solidified into a blurry outline, before they could even charge forward.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

In the shadows beyond the reach of the flames beside Abby, a thin figure with an extremely faint presence was quietly approaching.

Is it that wanderer from the adventurer's party?
Suddenly, it dawned on me.

Due to factors such as positioning, the wanderer's movements were slightly slower than Xia Nan and the female swordsman, but this also meant that he was not affected by the slowing spell, and he even quietly avoided the shockwave that followed.

As a result, after Xia Nan and the other two were swept away by the shockwave, he became the person closest to the devil.

The other party clearly made full use of this precious opportunity that they had obtained by chance.

Using their professional skills, they lurk in the shadows, slowly approaching.

And the moment the transformed demon entered his attack range, he suddenly attacked!
"Buzz!"

With no room for holding back, Sha Jin unleashed his full power at this moment.

The body, which had been hiding in the shadows, suddenly increased in speed the moment it broke free.

The dagger in his hand was entwined with incredibly dense shadow energy, and at first glance, it seemed to be made entirely of shadow.

——【Shadow Strike】, the accompanying combat skill he acquired at level 3 as a rogue, is currently his most frequently used and most powerful combat skill, taking into account his own habits.

His proficiency has been honed to the point of "mastery," which is why he was able to advance to his current level 4.

Goblins, ghouls, Peridone... the number of powerful enemies who have died under the combat technique of Sand Gold is countless.

The extent of the damage it can cause is all too clear.

He has plenty of confidence.

Even though the body of this lowly adventurer has been taken over by the demon, the transformation process is clearly not yet complete.

As long as my attack hits a vital point, even if it doesn't completely end the battle, it would be easy to inflict serious injuries on the enemy and significantly weaken their overall strength after transformation.

Shajin's assessment of the power of his combat technique was very accurate; he even overestimated Abby's current defensive capabilities.

If he were to use such a move on Abby's neck or near his heart, Saloyan's transformation process could be interrupted.

Unfortunately, at the same time, perhaps the spells he had cast earlier made him mistakenly believe that the enemy in front of him was just a simple spellcaster, thus underestimating the opponent's reaction ability.

Even if he didn't come from a "bloody battle" background, the combat experience he accumulated over his long life was far more than all the people on the field combined.

Saroyan's rapidly improving physical abilities, enhanced by fel energy, allowed him to pinpoint the location of the sand gold the instant it approached.

And in the instant the wanderer leaped from the shadows, dagger raised high, his entire body airborne with no room to dodge.

He turned around and raised his hand.

A hand, wreathed in dark red flames and several sizes wider than a normal person's, directly grasped Sand Gold's cheek.

Before he could even resist, the fel fire from purgatory poured into the wanderer's body through the demon's arm. "Aaaaaah!!!"

This is a seasoned adventurer who has received professional training from an assassin organization and has never shown any signs of distress even when faced with the [Fear Spell].

At this moment, facing the impact of the infernal fel energy, the intense pain felt like it was burning the soul, a pain that even the most resilient knight could hardly endure.

The terrifying screams and cries she emitted were like those of a noblewoman who had grown up in a sheltered environment and had never experienced hardship.

"Ding-bang."

The dagger, wreathed in shadow energy, fell to the ground.

The pain lasted only a very short time.

Evil flames poured into his body from his cheeks and head, surging throughout his entire being.

With a gentle shake of his head by Saloyan, the sharp, piercing scream abruptly ceased.

A wanderer is like a garment hanging on a clothesline, or a piece of rotten jerky hanging on a spit.

His hands hung limply, and his body was stiff and lifeless.

let go.

The gaunt body, wreathed in fel flames, collapsed helplessly to the ground.

The face covered by the palm was reduced to a horrifying blackened mass, obscuring all features.

The wanderer, Shajin, is dead.

"damn it!"

"Gold dust!!!"

Not far to the side, the dwarf Soldin, who was less affected by the blast wave due to his body weight, witnessed the entire process of his teammate's death at close range.

With bloodshot eyes wide open, he roared furiously and charged forward, brandishing his prism hammer.

Behind him, Margaret was even faster.

Almost the instant he noticed the gold dust's movement, he drew his sword and stepped forward, intending to provide support.

The moment the sand gold corpse hit the ground, she was already ahead of the slow-reacting dwarf.

It was only slightly slower than the wolf howl that had sounded even earlier.

Unfortunately, just like before, the one with the fastest reaction speed on the field was still that twisted figure engulfed in dark red flames.

hum-

A magical glow flickered.

After the contract was completed, the humanoid flesh block that was part of the contract disappeared from the field and was teleported back to Purgatory.

The magic array beneath it, however, remained intact.

Blood-red flames flowed across it, subtly altering the intricate patterns, and finally, at the moment the wanderer's body fell, the corpse of this seasoned professional was offered as a sacrifice.

It briefly, temporarily, and unilaterally opened the gates to purgatory.

He summoned some of the baron's subordinates to the material world.

Since it's just a projection and doesn't have the same power as the original body in Hell, Saroyan couldn't possibly send all the troops under his control over here.

The number was not large; only seven demons were summoned in total.

Four "little devils" with a challenge level of 1, two "thorn demons" with a challenge level of 2, and the last one...

"Xu Mo" - Challenge Level 3.

The goblin shrieks had barely faded from the lair when they were now filled with the excited howls of the demons.

The material world is like a paradise in a dream for these monsters who have grown up in extremely harsh environments and survived endless battles.

They couldn't wait to unleash their frenzied sadistic desires on these worm-like creatures.

Although the contact time was short, Saloyan had already roughly figured out the strength distribution of the players on the field.

Therefore, he made reasonable and effective allocations of the demons he had summoned.

The four little devils and two thorn demons were immediately driven by him to the Blackwood Squad, which now consisted of only three people, upon arriving in the material world.

Meanwhile, the demon with the highest challenge level was thrown to the other side, Xia Nan, who was also the most dangerous opponent on the field.

"Gah!!!"

The extremely excited, piercing shriek made my eardrums ache slightly.

The dark red membranous bat wings flapped, emitting a sulfurous stench. Its muscular, jagged body was covered in scars and scabs. This little devil, only slightly larger than a goblin, possessed the same challenge level as a bear goblin.

They are immune to ordinary fire and poison damage, and also have corresponding physical resistance to freezing and non-magical damage such as slashing, piercing, and blunt force.

Its bat wings, which were far larger than its body, provided it with a formidable ability to fly.

They even possess a certain level of intelligence and are capable of using weapons.

If the battlefield were set in an open area, this one little devil alone would be enough to become the nightmare of 80 percent of the adventurer teams in Valley Town.

These creatures are nothing more than the lowest and most insignificant members of the Nine Hells of Bato, usually used as cannon fodder, lowly soldiers like ants.

The Oath-Keeping Blackwood Squad consists of three level 4 veteran adventurers and one level 1 mage. In most cases, even without prior preparation, they will not suffer casualties if they suddenly encounter these enemies during their adventure.

However, the wanderers in the group have already fallen, and the spellcaster is affected by both [Fear] and [Stinky Cloud], making it difficult for him to recover his combat strength in a short period of time.

This left only Margaret and Salding as the two capable of directly confronting the enemy.

They might be able to withstand enemy attacks by relying on the combat skills and physical qualities accumulated at their own professional level, but it would be extremely difficult to end the battle quickly.

The high-pressure combat that requires one person to fight against many and to concentrate fully also causes mistakes and oversights that would never have happened before to occur unexpectedly.

"one two Three……"

"Wait! Why are there only three little devils?"

"There's another one!?"

As the longsword danced incessantly amidst the demons' encirclement, Margaret's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from her tailbone straight to the top of her head.

He gritted his teeth and exerted all his strength, forcing the demon in front of him back.

Turning around abruptly, I heard a shrill scream, accompanied by the slurring sound of metal tearing through flesh.

Ahead, there was a young mage who had just recovered from his injuries thanks to the healing potion.

At this moment, he was struggling to lie down on the ground.

A rusty, reddish steel fork pierced straight through his chest and heart amidst the little devil's shrill laughter.

Joshua the sorcerer died.

(End of this chapter)