Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 315 Embers
Boom——

The violent flames from purgatory burned fiercely, almost casting the entire lair in a deep, dark red hue reminiscent of congealed blood.

In the center of the arena, bathed in the flames, a tall, distorted figure stood motionless.

It looks like it's been forcibly stretched by some special force. There are obvious cracks in the joints such as elbows and knees, like a piece of broken porcelain. Under the torn skin, you can even glimpse the flesh, tendons, and even bones underneath.

Under normal circumstances, such exaggerated injuries, as if the body were shattered, would undoubtedly indicate that the person is already dead.

But right now, the flames covering his entire body and emanating an ominous aura seemed to be some kind of adhesive, forcibly piecing together his shattered limbs and barely maintaining his human form.

Only through the molten leather armor, damaged by the swirling flames and hanging limply at his waist, and his still relatively intact youthful face, one could discern the identity of this former low-level adventurer, "Abi."

They turned their attention away from the fallen figure not far away, whose chest had been pierced by a long sword and whose life force was rapidly draining away.

Saloyan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although it was clear that the two adventurers who were still alive on the other side were of a much higher class than the black-haired man named "Xia Nan".

However, his rich experience accumulated over countless years still made him instinctively sense that the latter exuded a danger far greater than that of the previous two.

This prompted Saloyan to immediately send his strongest demon to fight after completing the summoning ritual, and he even kept a close eye on the battle between the two sides.

And indeed... it turned out exactly as he had predicted.

The howling wolves, the bursting force field energy, and even the skill and ingenuity displayed by the opponent in battle all far exceeded the average level of professionals of the same rank.

Even when facing a demon with a higher challenge level than its own class level, it is not at a disadvantage and can even defeat it head-on.

Clearly, this dark-haired youth was not the kind of ordinary professional he often saw in River Valley Town.

What surprised Saloyan the most was the combat instinct the young man displayed in such a short and rushed time.

Taking out the mages or archers in the back row first is an unspoken rule that every adventurer with even a little combat experience and professional skills will absolutely understand.

Based on the situation just now, Saroyan could guarantee that if he pulled anyone from the Adventurers' Guild in Riverdale and placed them in the same position as Xia Nan, there was a 95% chance they would choose to bypass the Sumeru and attack him first, executing the so-called "decapitation tactic".

If the other party actually does that, then they will have fallen right into his carefully laid trap.

Already prepared, the close-range, unavoidable [Human Immobilization Spell] and the corresponding measures after the immunity will become the hunter's cage, allowing the arriving Fiend to easily cut off the head of the immobilized opponent.

However, Xia Nan, relying on her intuition, defied common sense and attacked the nearest demon first, causing the trap it had set to fail.

The high-speed movement of his body, enveloped by the black wolf's phantom, made it difficult for support spells to lock onto him for a short time. It wasn't until the two collided and became stunned that he found an opportunity to manipulate the infernal flames to finish off the damage.

After all, he is only a low-level professional, and he has already reached his limit at this level. If things continue to develop in this way, and he levels up a few more times... Saloyan might really have a hard time dealing with him.

hum-

The chaotic magical particles vibrated incessantly in the air.

The Devil Baron carefully examined the body he was in.

The massive influx of infernal fel energy in a short period of time immediately burst the body of this low-level adventurer. He was barely managing to hold on for about... thirty minutes.
It couldn't be more plentiful.

Eyes burning with flames gaze ahead at two adventurers struggling to resist the encirclement of demons.

Saloyan's lips moved slightly, and with a flick of his fingers, magical particles in the air rapidly converged.

……

"what!!!"

The angry roars, mixed with the shrieks of the demons, seemed so futile and powerless.

The successive deaths of his teammates nearly drove Saldin, a dwarf whose heart was as solid as his physique and who regarded his companions as true friends, to madness.

His wide eyes were bloodshot, and he didn't even care that the braid hanging down his chest was scorched by the flames. He just used his combat skills to make his whole body gleam with a metallic sheen, and roared as he swung his prism hammer at the two Thorn Demons beside him.

The team's role is that of a front-line tank, mainly responsible for defense and drawing enemy aggro, with limited offensive capabilities.

Therefore, when faced with these two Thorn Demons with a challenge level of 2, they were unable to break the situation for a while and were only pulled back and forth by the opponent flapping its wings.

Before long, several deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on his arms, shoulders, and back, where the armor did not cover them, and blood flowed all over his body.

Excessive blood loss rapidly depleted his strength, causing his roars and the frequency and amplitude of his weapon swings to gradually decrease and slow down.

Predictably, if this situation continues... Salding's death is a foregone conclusion.

"damn it!"

"Soldin, calm down!!!"

Not far away, Margaret, the captain of the Blackwood Squad, was performing much better than her opponents.

At least there were no obvious wounds on his body, and his expression was much calmer.

It wasn't because she had no feelings for her fallen teammates. Wanderer Shajin had worked with her for many years and they were already comrades who could rely on each other and support each other in battle. Joshua was even brought out from the big city by Margaret herself through negotiations with his family. He was expected to play a huge role as a spellcaster in the future and was the key to the Oathkeeper Blackwood Squad taking another step forward.

The loss of these two teammates in what appears to be an ordinary investigation mission is an extremely heavy blow, both personally and as a team.

As the team captain, Margaret was arguably the most dejected person on the entire field.

But with a formidable enemy at hand and the battle far from over, Margaret's personality and professional competence made it impossible for her to show any weakness at this crucial moment.

Instead, she focused all her energy on the battle, trying to use the strength she had relied on over the years to lead this shattered squad out of their predicament.

She is indeed a level 4 Swordsman. In terms of actual combat ability, she is even better than most adventurers of the same level due to the special nature of her class.

But the enemies Margaret faces right now are four level 1 demons (the one that killed Joshua has also surrounded her).

If it were a one-on-one fight, using a tag-team approach, she was confident that she could easily defeat them one by one without even getting hurt.

But right now she has to face the simultaneous attack of four little devils.

This means that Margaret needs to be wary of attacks from four directions at the same time, and if she makes any slightly larger movements in an attempt to inflict enough damage on any individual enemy, a steel fork that appears out of nowhere will pierce her body from her blind spot.

Given the intensity of the current battle, if she were to suffer an injury that would significantly impair her physical mobility, it would become the point of failure that breaks the balance and leads to her complete defeat.

"This can't go on like this!"

The dwarf's roar grew weaker and weaker, and the temporary ally in the distance had already perished together with the powerful bearded demon. The situation on the field was rapidly deteriorating.

Margaret gritted her teeth, a resolute glint in her eyes.

The longsword, which had been swung around him to block attacks from all directions, suddenly stopped, turned around, and gathered its strength slightly.

However, during the brief respite, a steel fork grazed her side, leaving a deep bloody gash.

The next second, a sharp sword light suddenly burst forth, transforming into an arc of sword light covering a 270-degree angle in front of him, forcing back the little devils who were seizing the opportunity to approach.

Fleeting.

When the sword light dissipated, Margaret, who had been standing in the same spot, had successfully escaped the demons' encirclement and retreated nearly several dozen meters.

—【Circular Slash Spin】. One of her combat techniques, its effect is that while unleashing a powerful strike, her body gains a speed boost for a split second, allowing her to retreat and move away.

It is typically used in situations where a temporary retreat is needed, or when breaking out of an encirclement.

Now that she's being used this way, Margaret has no intention of running away.

This was merely to temporarily create distance between herself and the little devils, allowing her to gain the charging time for her most powerful combat skill, [Charged Slash].

hum-

A sharp, condensed light rapidly gathered on the surface of the sword. Margaret's eyes were calm as she stared intently at the four little devils that were shrieking and charging towards her.

He mentally estimated the level of power he was charging up in his combat skills and the speed at which the demon was flying.

"It works!"

A few breaths were enough for her to complete the initial preparations for the [Charged Slash], and as long as she could unleash this strike, at least one of the four little devils would be killed...

Just as he was pondering this, suddenly, a sharp whistling sound, characteristic of electric current, mixed with blinding lightning, came from a distance even further back than the little devil.

"That is……"

——0-Ring Trick · Energy System · Lightning Traction
With his eyes constantly on the field, how could Saloyan allow the female swordsman to break the deadlock?

The brilliance of the magical particles burst forth in the air at the most opportune moment.

Unlike the [Lightning Beam] that severely injured Xia Nan before, [Lightning Pull] is just a common and ordinary trick, and its power is obviously much weaker.

However, in the hands of a devilish noble like Saloyan, it still achieved far greater effects than its original ring rank.

"Fuck!"

Lightning roared!

The lightning, which had materialized like a long whip, snaked through the gaps between the lesser demons at a speed far exceeding the reaction ability of ordinary people, and landed on Margaret.

A tingling, numb, and stinging sensation instantly spread throughout his body, and the cold light accumulated on the surface of the sword dissipated, interrupting the [Charged Slash].

It’s not over yet.

The electric beam that interrupted the female swordsman's charge did not dissipate; instead, it was gently bent by Saloyan, who was connected to the end of the lightning bolt in the distance.

Margaret was as if bound and pulled by a chain made of lightning, rapidly being dragged toward the little devil.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his legs, pressed against the ground, left two deep scratches in the mud.

But it was all in vain.

"laugh."

The slurring sound of flesh being torn apart echoed once again in the nest.

The four steel forks from the little devil pierced Margaret's right thigh, lower abdomen, left forearm, and right shoulder respectively.

Good news! Faced with the rapid pull of [Lightning Pull], the little devils flying straight at her only had time to raise their steel forks, and their attacks missed vital points, preventing Margaret from dying instantly.

The bad news is that, in the current situation, such injuries... are practically no different from dying from a fatal blow.

Beside him, witnessing his captain's predicament, the dwarf Soldin, increasingly exhausted under the siege of the Thorn Demons, roared like a madman, frantically swinging his prism hammer, as if trying to come to his aid.

But it was precisely this that gave the Thorn Demon, who was pulling at it from behind, an opportunity.

With a sweep of its tail, a bone spike reflecting the firelight shot out, instantly piercing the dwarf's skin, which shimmered with a dull metallic luster, and piercing through his chest from behind.

With a low, whimpering growl, Soldin staggered two steps and fell to the ground, propelled by the bone spurs.

Blood gushed from the wound, his breath grew weaker and weaker, and he had lost the ability to fight.

In just over ten seconds, Margaret's last teammate also fell to the devils' shrill laughter.

She felt pain.

It wasn't just physical pain; my flesh was pierced through. In my more than ten years of adventure, I'd experienced injuries far more severe than that.

What truly made this valiant female swordsman unable to maintain her composure, causing even the longsword she had been gripping tightly to fall to the ground, were the wanderer Shajin, who had been sacrificed as a summoning offering within the magic circle, leaving only a few charred fragments of his clothing; the mage Joshua, who had been dead for some time, his pupils already frozen in ashes; and the dwarf Soldin, who struggled to the ground but could no longer stand due to the severity of his injuries.

It is the "Oath-Keeping Blackwood" squad itself, which is about to disappear completely into the depths of the earth and cease to exist.

To this day, Margaret still remembers the words her father, critically wounded and dying, uttered many years ago in that equally dimly lit underground nest, as he coughed up blood.

I hope I can survive, as a merchant, a guard, or even just stay at home doing nothing, whatever it takes... to survive as a non-adventurer.

I nodded in agreement at the time.

He broke his vow after the other person died.

She couldn't bear to see her father's life's work disappear, nor could she bear to have all the spiritual and emotional support that had accompanied her through the first half of her life erased.

Thus, Margaret inherited the squad's name, "Oathkeeper Blackwood."

Until today, until now.

Everything—the team, the companions, and even oneself—ultimately becomes like most adventurers on this continent…

It all comes down to fate.

For the first time, after all his teammates had fallen, and after suffering a severe injury himself, with no chance of turning the tide.

A look of despair appeared on Margaret's face.

She slowly closed her eyes, awaiting death.

Her closed eyelids allowed darkness to engulf the world before her, and her scattered spirit made even the surrounding howls indistinct, gradually leaving only deathly silence.

But the fleeting pain I had imagined never came.

hum-

Instead, there was the burning sensation of blood splattering on her cheeks, the abrupt end of the devil's shrill laughter, and the scorching wind that swept past her.

Margaret opened her eyes in a daze.

What came into view was a piece of ember, sparks flying, that had quietly drifted down from the corner of a garment.

With the corpses of four headless demons.

　There's no time to wait, so I'll just post one chapter first.

　　Since I said I would finish writing about this battle today, I won't go back on my word.

　　The next chapter will be in the early morning (ps: it will be very late), everyone get some rest and read it tomorrow~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)