Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 335 Collapsed with a bang
Grease and dust exploded in an instant amidst the flying sparks, and orange-red flames engulfed the upper body of the enormous creature in a flash.

Buzz--

A high-frequency howling sound, as if pulsating with energy, rippled through the mist, and one could clearly feel the pain and struggle contained within it.

The intense flames turned his eyes a fiery red. Fuyuki stared blankly at the hideous monster twisting in the mist ahead. His body, which was protecting the girl behind him, was stiff and tense, as if frozen in time.

Only the scalding heat from the front blew his hair and clothes.

The next second, when Fuyuki realized what had happened, he instinctively looked away from the monster and tried to turn around to look behind him.

The tall, imposing figure clad in chainmail, exuding a chilling and profound aura, had silently arrived beside him.

"Mr. Xia... Mr. Xia Nan!?"

His mouth opened involuntarily, his pupils dilated, and Dongshu's astonishment almost overflowed from his face.

Behind him, Lillie, dressed in a plain white dress, stared in astonishment at the adventurer who shouldn't have been there.

Dark eyes swept over the boy's dusty face and the blood-soaked bandages on the girl's arm.

Seeing that the two seemed to be alright, Xia Nan nodded slightly, turned his head slightly, and raised his chin gently behind him, gesturing for them to step back.
"Stay away."

In times of crisis, both the boys and girls showed remarkable resourcefulness.

Fuyuki may seem stubborn, but this only shows when it involves his beloved. Having undergone many years of hunter training, he is not lacking in decisiveness.

Lillie is exceptionally kind-hearted, as evidenced by her ability to face death with such composure. Even now, amidst so many unexpected events, she still maintains the capacity for calm reflection.

As soon as Xia Nan finished speaking, the two of them helped each other up and retreated quickly in the direction they had come from without uttering a word, leaving enough space for the fight.

To be honest, given Xia Nan's style of doing things and his fighting habits, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even stop to say such a thing to the two of them.

The moment the incendiary bomb was thrown, they probably rushed out and unleashed their wolf-tooth attacks on the enemy the instant the flames rose.

We absolutely cannot waste this precious opportunity to make a move.

But as the intense flames dispelled the darkness in the canyon, the monster that had been hidden in the thick fog was revealed.

He suddenly changed his mind.

The reason can be summarized in three words:

—I don't know you.

Xia Nan has been in this world for over a year. Apart from daily training, he spends most of his time in town learning about adventurers every day.

Over time, although he wasn't particularly skilled at it, he had gained a general understanding of most of the monsters that might appear in Panyun Province, so that he wouldn't be completely clueless when encountering them and wouldn't even be able to distinguish their specific strength levels.

But right now, he had to admit that the enormous monster standing not far ahead was a type he had never seen before, or even read any descriptions of.

It's like a combination of some kind of forest spirit and tree person.

Its main body is made up of countless twisted and intertwined purple-green vines that resemble necrotic nerves. These are the roots and stems of the fog lamp grass, with tumor-like protrusions emerging from the rough entanglement.

A nearly viscous, pale mist swirled and drifted around the vines, as if imprisoned in the air by some invisible force, becoming part of their body.

The most eye-catching are the fog lamp grass inflorescences, which are irregularly scattered and embedded in the vines and thick fog.

They resemble both a beating heart that continuously provides energy to the body and some strange, wide-open, spinning eyes that flicker with an unsettling blue-white light in the air.

Without a head, the vital organs could not be found.

The terrifying monster standing in front of Xia Nan at this moment resembled some kind of indescribable plant monster formed from the mutated convergence of a large number of fog lamp grasses in the canyon.

My gaze unconsciously swept over his body, past the lanterns shrouded in mist, and over the undulating thorns hidden in the soil below.

The instincts that had gradually formed in countless battles were reminding Xia Nan that perhaps he should test the waters a few more times to figure out the opponent's strengths and weaknesses before making any plans.

Fortunately, this monster's strength shouldn't be too great. The pressure it exerted on his spiritual sense was not even as great as that of the owl bear back then, and it was completely within his control.

Once it is determined whether it possesses a special mechanism similar to "petrifying gaze," an offensive can be launched.

Thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant, and the flames on the surface of the fog lamp monster's body in front of me extinguished at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Fire oil bombs, a type of throwing item commonly found among ordinary adventurers, are quite effective and suitable for various special scenarios.

However, it is clearly no match for such a powerful monster whose challenge level is definitely higher than "1".

It may have a damage bonus against plant-type enemies, but it was only slightly suppressed by the mist surging around the Fog Lantern's body, and it lost the possibility of continuing to burn in the blink of an eye. Even the purple and green vines under the flames only showed some faint scorch marks on the surface.

Seeing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel that he had been wise.

If I had mistakenly thought that the fire oil bomb could stun this monster and hastily closed in, I would probably be caught off guard now.

"hold head high!!!"

Without a doubt, compared to his meticulous and detailed considerations, the Fog Lantern Monster doesn't have that high an IQ.

All it knew was that an outsider had suddenly appeared in the canyon, interrupted its feeding, let its prey escape, and caused it pain with flames.

So it launched an attack on Xia Nan.

Hum--

The perception ability, which was as high as 11 points, took effect silently. He vaguely sensed the ground shaking beneath his feet and felt a sense of danger rising in his heart.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Nan suddenly exerted force with both legs.

The body's gravity, greatly reduced under the effect of [Gravity Control], is combined with the powerful force that bursts forth from solid muscles in an instant.

From an outsider's perspective, all they could see was Xia Nan suddenly sinking as if gathering strength, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a phantom and drifted to the side.

The instant his feet left the ground, thick thorns covered with countless plant spikes burst forth from the soil, leaving behind a terrifying, empty clatter amidst the countless mud droplets that followed.

It wasn't just a simple dodge; Xia Nan, who nimbly avoided the opponent's attack, swiftly swung his [Emberfall] straight sword as he moved.

"Shoot."

The thick, purplish-green thorns were utterly powerless against the black, gray blades that resembled the night sky.

The gradually narrowing, sharp blade sliced ​​and cleaved the vines it touched with an incredibly smooth, effortless motion, cutting them off from the other end amidst a spray of sap and fiber fragments.

Half a round passed in the blink of an eye, and in that instant, Xia Nan had already made a rough estimate of the monster's physical strength and attack power.

hold head high--

A long, drawn-out wolf howl suddenly erupted in the cold air of the canyon.

Leng Li's body blurred for a moment.

With its mane swaying, the giant black wolf tore through the thick fog and strode out.

With a mere touch of its long, slender legs on the mud, it transformed into a dark, shadowy phantom, swooping towards the direction of the demon.

The fog lamp monster swung its vines with tremendous force, even stronger than the "petrified lizard" Xia Nan had encountered before, fully reaching the level of a level 3 challenge monster.

Its physical defenses are also quite outstanding; those thick plant fibers have the toughness and strength of a tree trunk, and ordinary adventurers probably wouldn't be able to break through them at all.

Xia Nan was able to cut through the opponent's thorny vines so easily, partly due to his physical strength, and partly due to the sharpness of the [Emberfall] straight sword.

However, as a plant-type monster resembling a tree spirit, its unique body structure grants it extraordinary vitality and defensive strength, far exceeding that of ordinary creatures. However, the deep roots and vines embedded in the ground also deprive the fog lantern monster of its ability to move nimbly.

High attack and high defense, but low agility.

Such an opponent is only vulnerable if their attack power is not so high that it is impossible to dodge, and their defense is not so strong that it is difficult to break through.

For Xia Nan, who emphasizes mobility and explosive agility... he's just a sitting duck who can only stand still and get hacked down.

As for the former, the half-round probing had already proven the specific strength of the Fog Lantern Monster's so-called "high attack and high defense".

hold head high--

The wolf's howl is faster than the wind.

The long, dark straight sword stirred the mist, leaving a deep sword mark on the monster's body without mercy.

The combined 5% slash damage bonus from the [Slashing Master] skill and the straight sword amplifies the power of this strike at the moment of impact.

As the blade made actual contact with the fog lantern monster's body, the "10%" mental damage inherent in the [Emberfall] longsword silently ignored the monster's tough body and acted on its mental level.

Xia Nan had never experienced similar harm and did not know in what form this so-called "psychological damage" was applied to the enemy.

But he could clearly feel, in the instant after the straight sword fell, the fog lamp monster in front of him suddenly stiffened and stopped, and a sudden, piercing high-frequency shriek.

They parted as soon as they touched, like being stung by a bee.

As the fog lamp monster's vines lashed out in the direction of the pain, the nimble and agile body had already moved far out of its attack range amidst the wolf's howl.

In such a fierce battle, within just a few breaths, the Fog Lantern Monster's body surface was covered with many deep scratches.

Xia Nan, however, only had some plant extract on her hair and clothes.

They have completely gained the upper hand!

But at the same time, he didn't feel relieved at all; on the contrary, he found it troublesome.

This was Xia Nan's first time fighting against this type of enemy.

Although we have practiced against similar hypothetical enemies in our daily training in the past.

Right now, I still feel out of place.

The most crucial point, and the one that upset him the most, was—

The key issue cannot be found.

The fighting style that Xia Nan gradually developed through countless battles since his transmigration has made him accustomed to ending battles swiftly by attacking the enemy's vital points.

At most, they'll deliver another blow later.

The decapitation damage bonus from the longsword that once wielded the sword, combined with the current "decapitation damage" bonus from the [Emberfall] straight sword, has only fueled his arrogance.

But right now, facing this hideous monster made entirely of vines, thorns, and stalks of fog lamp grass, Xia Nan didn't even know where to begin.

Where's the neck?
How can I behead someone if they don't have a neck?

Forget about a "neck" or "head," the foglight monster doesn't even have facial features; it's purely an aggregate of plant roots and stems.

The battle was so fast that thoughts could only flash through one's mind briefly between movements.

However, compared to Xia Nan, this foglight monster was clearly more anxious.

After all, since the start of the battle, it hadn't even managed to touch the hem of this damned outsider's clothes, yet its own body was already covered in wounds and sword marks.

Therefore, driven by the instinct for survival, it activated its special ability.

"Om..."

The inflorescences of the fog lamp grass embedded on its body suddenly trembled, and the blue and white eerie light bloomed, making its entire huge body seem to be shrouded in a layer of brilliant light.

Noticing the other party's movements, Xia Nan did not hesitate at all. He took out two oil bombs from his waist pouch with his left hand and threw them forcefully at the fog lamp monster, trying to interrupt its movements while quickly retreating.

But the next second, the instant the fire oil bomb left his hand, an invisible wave, carrying blue and white fluorescence, emanating from the light source on the surface of the fog lamp monster's body, landed on him.

Xia Nan felt some kind of invisible energy passing through his skin, flesh, and bones, as if trying to penetrate into his mental space.

—A type of mind control attack.

As a result, the feat "Looking into the Abyss" was activated.

Silent exemption, countermeasures take effect.

It was as if they had touched an invisible mirror, symbolizing that the fluctuations of the mental attack were instantly reflected back and landed back on the Fog Lantern Monster.

It failed the exemption test.

Therefore, the special counter-effect from [Looking Directly into the Abyss] took effect, causing the Fog Lantern Monster to fall into a state of "brief disorientation".

How could we possibly miss such a valuable opportunity?

Even though he hadn't yet figured out its key points, Xia Nan still keenly seized the crucial opportunity.

With a sudden burst of power from his legs, a wolf's howl arose.

He transformed into a giant black wolf, leaping high into the air.

【Emberfall】The end of the straight sword points diagonally behind him, the black-gray blade facing to the side, power quietly accumulating in the bulging muscles of his arm; ochre-red energy condenses on the surface of the straight blade, flowing like runes.

Mentally gauge the distance between you and others, and the moment your body begins to fall, tense your waist and abdomen to exert force suddenly.

Carrying the momentum of his body, all his strength gathered in one place in an instant and poured out with the swing of the sword.

"Bang!"

It was the crisp sound of an oil bomb hitting the surface of a monster's body.

The orange-red flames swirled and surged, but before they could reach their highest point, they were propelled upwards by an even stronger force.

Amidst the swirling flames and gray mist, the ochre-red energy bursting forth like miniature fireworks traced a perfect arc of light in the air, propelled by the deep, straight sword.

[Spinning Slash], [Fang Hunt], [Gravity Etching], "Fire Oil Bomb", [Ember Meteor] Straight Sword.

Physics, fire, mind, force field.

Four types of damage were combined in one strike.

Boom!

The leather boots landed on the ground.

The straight sword, grayish-black in color, resembling the twilight, maintained its post-slash posture, tilted upwards with a slight curve.

His jet-black, tousled hair swung violently, and fragments of light from the residual force field energy mixed with flames and mist, swirling around him.

Behind them, the ferocious monster was split in two from the middle.

It crashed down with a loud bang.

(End of this chapter)