Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 367 Crystallized Particles, The Final Location
As the front-line member of the team, the dwarf Soldin's performance can be described as entirely responsible.

When facing that armored monster, he dared to step forward and draw aggro for his teammates.

Needless to say, right now.

As he slammed his hammer against the shield, a battle roar echoed through the air, creating faint, ripple-like sonic waves that were confined to a relatively narrow area and spread toward the blacksmith.

It was clear that when the sound waves hit the blacksmith, his eyes, which had a strange pinkish tinge, momentarily went dazed.

Then it suddenly solidified!

As his pupils focused, his gaze was firmly fixed on Soldin.

The sarcasm worked!

boom--

Suddenly, he exerted force with his feet!

The bulging muscles in his calves stretched his trousers so wide they ripped open, and the sudden burst of power from his feet even tore the soles of his boots apart, leaving them dragging on his heels and creating fine cracks in the ground.

Originally just an ordinary blacksmith with a slightly stronger physique, he now seemed to possess the explosive power and strength of a professional-level expert.

As the pink gemstone on her chest shimmered, she transformed into a pink phantom and charged toward the dwarf.

With his rich combat experience, Soldin had already prepared his defenses long before unleashing his taunt-type combat skills.

The round shield is raised forward. The shield surface is not large, but it gives people an illusion of being exceptionally solid, as if it can envelop and contain the entire body behind it.

A pair of thick, short legs were firmly planted on the ground, making it seem as if it had become an extension of the ground, merging with the earth beneath its feet;
At the same time, the silvery-white metallic sheen on its skin made its already sturdy body even more solid, and one glance was enough to feel the dwarf's strong defensive capabilities.

The blacksmith was extremely fast.

From an ordinary person's perspective, they would probably only feel a sharp gust of wind whistling past their ears, and the next second, the burly figure that was just standing in the blacksmith's shop would be in front of the dwarf.

Ding-dong—

The heavy forging hammer suddenly struck the surface of the round shield. The collision of the immense forces caused sparks to fly, and the surrounding air distorted for a moment at the point where the hammer fell. A sharp, ear-piercing collision noise, accompanied by an invisible shockwave, exploded across the open street.

With a metallic sheen and a body as solid as an iron stake, Soldin, holding a round shield, did not retreat a single step despite the explosive attack in front of him.

On the contrary, it was the blacksmith who was attacking with the hammer, shirtless with pink gemstones embedded in his chest, who was jolted back by the impact, staggered, leaned backward, and almost fell over.

In just one brief exchange, the difference in their abilities was already evident.

One is a down-to-earth professional who climbed step by step to level 4; the other is an ordinary person whose perception was rewritten by the pink gem and who suddenly gained power.

Faced with the taunts and defenses of the Shield Warrior Soldin, the blacksmith was almost completely powerless to resist. He launched an attack like a moth to a flame, but was easily blocked by the dwarf.

They were all old teammates, and Margaret, who had quickly circled around to the flank the moment the enemy launched their attack, was not about to waste the opportunity.

[Straight Thrust]!
hissing sound—

A sharp longsword, gleaming with a cold light, pierced out from the blacksmith's blind spot.

Her skill, having reached the "proficient" level, made the female swordsman's strike incredibly swift and precise.

As a fellow level 4 professional, her physical abilities and explosive power at that moment made her believe that even if what was in front of her wasn't flesh and blood, but a wall cast in steel, she could still pierce a small dent.

But then, the scene before her eyes surprised her.

The sword tip, which should have pierced through the back of the neck from the side, not only failed to pierce through the blacksmith's neck as she had expected, but it didn't even touch the bone. It only penetrated a few inches into the flesh before getting stuck inside.

"That is……"

Margaret was taken aback.

She could clearly see that as her sword fell, the pink gemstone particles that spread intermittently like moss on the blacksmith's neck skin exhibited an extremely strong defensive ability.

The innkeeper could have easily smashed it with a simple dagger, but now, with her own 4th-level swordsman attack, the tiny gemstones seemed to have suddenly become tougher than steel, completely blocking her fatal blow.

Fortunately, although most of the piercing damage was blocked, the impact of Margaret's [Straight Thrust] still landed completely on the enemy due to her body's inertia.

The blacksmith, who was already in a stiff state due to the collision with Soldin, was sent flying by the sword with his neck slightly twisted, his toes off the ground.

hold head high--

A high-pitched wolf howl echoed from the depths of the night.

With its mane swaying, a huge black wolf with a deep, cold gaze emerged from the shadows.

Xia Nan observed very carefully.

His keen perception allowed him to clearly capture the details hidden beneath the surface of the battle, even in the midst of intense combat.

From the moment the blacksmith charged forward with his hammer to the moment he was knocked away by Margaret, only a few seconds passed, and two rounds were quickly completed.

However, he had already obtained all the information he wanted.

hum-

The invisible force of gravity, like ripples in water, did not cause the enemy to fall or briefly hang in mid-air. It merely subtly pulled them, slightly altering their trajectory and posture, causing their head to tilt upwards and exposing their vital neck.

"Tap, tap."

The black wolf phantom moved with an elegant and slow speed, but in reality, it was even faster than Margaret had been. In the blink of an eye, it had already flashed to the spot where the blacksmith was about to land.

Long, drawn-out breaths.

Xia Nan stood still, the gray-black blade of the straight sword [Emberfall] in his hand seemingly completely blending into the surrounding night, with only its blurry outline faintly visible under the moonlight.

"Whoosh!"

In the frigid air, the brief whistling sound was fleeting.

The straight blade of the sword, as it was swung, seemed to pull and drag the surrounding moonlight, leaving a full, silvery-gray arc in front of Xia Nan.

[Whirling Slash]!
It's already at max level, so its power goes without saying.

His timing was impeccable, and his attack position was incredibly precise. Based on the experience he had just gained, he perfectly avoided the area on the back of the blacksmith's neck covered with moss-like gemstone particles.

Using the opponent's momentum as they fall through the air, control the straight sword in your hand to tilt and slash upwards.

"Sizzle."

Accompanied by the familiar sensation of a slight stiffness followed by a quick smoothness in my hand, I heard the pleasant sound of a sharp object tearing through flesh and a sword severing tendons and bones, a sound I had heard countless times before.

boom--

The blacksmith's burly body crashed to the ground, but his head remained suspended in mid-air.

As blood gushed forth, the black wolf phantom behind Xia Nan slowly dissipated, and his spinning head finally rolled to the ground like a ball, carried by the inertia of the sword blade.

The battle ended in an instant.

With a flick of his wrist, Xia Nan flicked away the remaining blood droplets from the sword and took out a gauze pad from his pouch to wipe the stains and bloodstains from the surface of the straight sword. Meanwhile, the dwarf and the female swordsman had already approached together.

"This thing is quite strong; I'd guess it's at the level of a level 1 or 2 warrior."

Soldin picked up the blacksmith's hammer, examined it for a moment, and found that it was just an ordinary tool, not an enchanted weapon. He curled his lip and threw it back to the ground.

Margaret frowned.

He first glanced at the tip of the longsword in his hand, ran his fingers over the slight scratches on its surface, and then looked at the blacksmith's corpse on the ground.

My gaze lingered on the severed neck where blood was gushing out.

"This thing... its strength is a bit off."

Margaret didn't believe that an ordinary person like her could withstand her "mastered" combat skills with just their physical body.

It was those tiny crystalline particles, like moss, that spread from the pink gem on the blacksmith's chest to all parts of his body, that gave him such strong physical defense.

Even Xia Nan himself, recalling the power of the female swordsman's sword strike and the subsequent attack on the blacksmith... dared not say that he could easily break through her defenses.

If the blacksmith's entire body were covered with those gemstone particles with extremely strong physical defense, he might not have been able to end the battle as easily as before.

As a trump card, [Gravity Etching], which still has two uses left, might be worth keeping, but a prolonged battle is inevitable.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Xia Nan took two steps forward and walked close to the corpse.

First, they checked the crystalline particles on other parts of the other person's body.

Given its exceptional physical defense capabilities, he wondered if he could scrape off some of it to perhaps forge armor.

Unfortunately, with the blacksmith's death, the crystalline particles on his body surface had softened, and could be easily scraped off like dander with a dagger, losing their original defensive properties.

Slightly disappointed, Xia Nan turned her attention to the pink gemstone embedded in the other person's chest and lightly touched it with her fingertips.

"Ding!"

The familiar mechanical voice echoed in my mind.

[Dream Corridor] The silver ring vibrated slightly, and another 0.0005% of energy was credited to the account.

Glancing at the charging progress of [Dream Corridor], Xia Nan suddenly thought that if he had directly approached the blacksmith during the battle and absorbed the energy of the pink gemstone in his body, would the blacksmith have broken free from the mental control state and lost his aggressiveness, just like the previous townspeople?
To some extent, it seems possible to save the other person's life.

Of course, this is just hindsight.

In that situation, the enemy from the shadows suddenly attacked them, each move aimed at vital points.

His two teammates had worked so hard to create an opportunity for him to launch a full-scale attack, so how could he possibly let them down by holding back for a stranger he had only met twice and who had even clearly shown him hostility?

Moreover, setting aside the danger of reaching out to touch the gem on the opponent's chest while the opponent is still conscious and capable of fighting, if he is wrong and cannot absorb the gem's energy while the opponent is still alive, then this opportunity to attack will be wasted, and the subsequent changes will be even more unpredictable.

Xia Nan may have a conscience, but she is by no means a saint.

At most, I'll think that if I encounter a similar enemy again, I can test my thoughts depending on the situation, but I won't feel guilty or blame myself for it.

"I have some suspicions that the state of being mentally controlled, yet still retaining physical mobility and a certain degree of consciousness, like that of blacksmiths and innkeepers, is likely a manifestation of being deeply influenced by the gemstone."

Margaret pulled the blacksmith's head back from the side, not caring at all about the blood on her hands, and carefully examined it while offering her reasonable speculation.

"That would be troublesome."

Xia Nan frowned slightly.

Even if only one-tenth of the two or three thousand residents of Giethoorn retained consciousness, that would still be a three-digit number of enemies.

In practical terms, it's enough to temporarily fill up the street in front of us.

Judging from the blacksmith's performance in the battle, their individual strength might be relatively average.

With the enhancement of the gem, his physical attributes reached a professional level in terms of strength and explosiveness, but in other aspects he was still at the level of an ordinary person.

They performed particularly poorly in terms of combat experience and skills.

A level 1 professional who has worked their way up from the bottom can easily defeat their opponent in a one-on-one situation.

For Xia Nan and the others, it was even easier. They had been so cautious when they first met, but it only took them three rounds and less than a few seconds to finish the battle.

But if the number reaches two or three hundred... they will probably have to temporarily avoid the enemy's sharp edge, maneuvering and fighting back to avoid being surrounded as much as possible.

Not to mention, with such a large number accumulating, there's no guarantee that some individuals might emerge with even greater impact.

If its strength and explosive power were increased further, and those gem particles with excellent physical defense were to cover its entire body... it would be quite difficult to deal with.

"Be more careful."

Xia Nan looked up at the dazzling beam of light rising from the direction of the church in the distance, seemingly connecting heaven and earth, and reminded the two of it.

"Be ready for battle."

……

……

On the way thereafter, the three of them remained extremely cautious in the face of potential enemies who might attack them.

They proceeded cautiously, and even Soldin, who used to make jokes to relieve pressure within the team, consciously kept his mouth shut.

For the same distance, it took them almost twice as long as usual.

Strangely, until they reached the town square, they did not encounter any more enemies like the blacksmith who had actively attacked them.

However, the overly easy journey did not reassure Xia Nan; instead, it made him more vigilant, suspecting that something big was brewing.

"It really was that old bastard who did it!"

Soldin didn't think that much about it.

As the group arrived at the plaza, the pillar of light, which had been hidden at its base among the dense buildings, was now exposed to everyone without any concealment.

Just as they guessed.

A massive, dazzling pink beam of light rose from the church dome and pierced the sky.

This is its origin.

The door remained tightly shut, and the dazzling light seemed to tint even the rose emblem engraved on the wooden door with an eerie pink hue.

Xia Nan's dark eyes reflected the towering church bathed in beams of light, and his head sank slightly.

"Are you all ready?"

"This... should be the last one."

(End of this chapter)