On the cold, damp, and gloomy street, the few surviving guards stared blankly at the massive corpse of the Bear Goblin that had crashed to the ground. They couldn’t stop gasping heavily for air, their faces filled with the dazed look of those who had just narrowly escaped death.
"Stop spacing out! Hurry up and find someone to help your companions!" The Female Wanderer neatly sheathed a pair of daggers into the leather scabbards at her lower back, barking softly at the nearly petrified guards.
The guards finally snapped out of their daze. Deathly pale, they scrambled forward, supported their incessantly groaning companions, and stumbled out of the street.
The surroundings quickly fell silent. Only the crackling of the burning barn and the heavy stench of blood emanating from the corpses lingered in the gloomy space.
The blond man raised his hand to flick the tainted blood off his Giant Sword. His gaze landed on the massive headless corpse on the ground, his tone as heavy as iron. "It really is a Predator. And a brutal Bear Goblin at that. For an ordinary Adventurer squad, encountering them is simply a one-sided massacre."
"Their individual Power has always been this formidable, but their habits have never been this bizarre." The middle-aged Mage walked over slowly, carefully inspecting the Bear Goblin’s corpse before helplessly shaking his head.
He was never one for words, but his deep eyes were now filled with obvious worry. "This is already the fourth night, yet we only reacted passively after the enemy took the initiative to reveal themselves. This is too abnormal.
"Don’t forget that Mr. Maurice also emphasized multiple times that he firmly believes none of the documented Demons in the Demon Shadow Forest could possibly plan and execute such a meticulous scheme."
The blond man used the tip of his sword to pry apart more of the Bear Goblin’s Chain Armor Shirt, trying to find clues of manipulation on the hard, coarse-hair-covered skin beneath, but he found nothing. He paused, his voice turning even deeper. "There must be some hidden clues behind this that we don’t know about yet. Could there be something even more cunning driving them from the shadows?"
By now, the Female Wanderer had returned after scouting the surroundings like a nimble cat. Her brows were tightly knit. "I’ve carefully checked the nearby area and didn’t find any suspicious tracks. This monster was acting alone."
"Acting alone?" The blond man’s pupils shrank slightly as his mind instantly combined this information with the current situation of multiple fires breaking out. "Our sly opponent is diverting our attention! Let’s hurry and check the other locations!"
The figures of the three Professionals quickly appeared on the west side of the town, in a wooden workshop district. At this moment, several sheds were engulfed in raging flames. A pungent, scorched smell filled the sky as the crowd descended into chaos.
They swiftly searched the vicinity and, sure enough, only found the traces left behind by a single rampaging Bear Goblin. In a dead-end alley, they discovered its corpse alongside the bodies of multiple Adventurers. The scene was extremely tragic. It seemed the Adventurer Guards who had rushed over upon hearing the news had joined forces to kill it.
Without time for a closer look, they rushed to the last site of chaos. A grocery warehouse not far from the Adventurer’s Guild was also burning.
At the scene of the blazing fire, they only saw an enraged Bear Goblin madly attacking several Sheriffs. After stepping in to kill it, the three Professionals quickly inspected the area, once again finding no other suspicious tracks.
"Damn it! All three sources of chaos were actually just decoys!" The Female Wanderer’s full chest heaved slightly. "Where exactly is their real target?"
"No matter where their target is, I’m afraid that place has already been turned into an absolute Purgatory." The blond man didn’t delay, immediately ordering loudly, "Mobilize all the Sheriffs and guards we can to conduct a full-scale search! We must find the location of the attack as quickly as possible!"
In a corner of the inn’s lobby, which was thick with the stench of blood, Lady Basha tightly hugged the shivering Lian.
The mother and daughter huddled behind a tiny barrier formed by overturned tables and chairs. Their faces were as pale as paper, their eyes locked onto the black-haired young man facing the terrifying giant beast all alone. When they saw that Bear Goblin wielding a Nail Head Hammer charge toward Raine with a deafening roar, their hearts nearly leaped out of their throats.
However, deep within their suffocating fear, a faint flicker of hope still swayed. Raine’s upright silhouette was the only glimmer of light they could still see.
"Smash you flat! Eat meat pie!" The Bear Goblin swung its Nail Head Hammer down from the sky, bringing with it a howling gale as it smashed fiercely toward Raine!
Facing the fatal attack, Raine nimbly stepped back sideways. Just as he dodged the first strike, a second one was already sweeping in.
"Human Race, little ant! Let’s see how much longer you can struggle!" The Bear Goblin laughed maniacally without restraint. It swung the spike-covered Nail Head Hammer so hard it generated howling winds, viciously smashing down at Raine time and time again.
Every time a heavy blow missed and struck the floor or furniture, it smashed a massive hole, kicking up a spray of flying wood splinters.
Raine clenched his teeth, twisting and dodging within the limited space. Each time, he barely evaded the deadly swings that were powerful enough to shatter bones. He was well aware of the absolute gap in Power between him and his opponent. Naturally, he wouldn’t choose to meet force with force. Instead, he relied on his Agility to weave around it, constantly searching for fleeting openings in the enemy’s onslaught. After all, his 7 Points in the Agility Attribute granted him greater speed than the average Bottom-level Adventurer.
The battle grew increasingly perilous.
The foul wind kicked up by the Nail Head Hammer brushed past the hem of his clothes multiple times. Once, the spikes on the edge of the hammerhead even tore through the shoulder of his Cotton Armor, ripping away a strip of cloth. He was like a man dancing on the tip of a blade; every step skirted the edge of death.
Fortunately, while the Nail Head Hammer carried immense weight and momentum, it also came with the drawback of being cumbersome to redirect and slightly slow to retract. This minor disadvantage became Raine’s only chance of survival at this moment.
He thought, "An opening!"
In the brief moment after one of the Bear Goblin’s full-force smashes missed, Raine’s body lunged forward like a coiled spring. He ducked to dodge a sweeping, thick arm. The Short Sword gripped tightly in his hand carved out a dull Flowing Light as he launched a vicious Slash at his opponent’s midsection.
SCREECH!
The blade scraped violently against the Scale Armor worn by his opponent, letting out a teeth-grinding screech. However, even though the tip of his sword successfully broke through the defense and left a bloody gash, most of the force was dispersed and blocked by the rough scales. The damage caused was far lower than expected.
"Ugh!" The Bear Goblin felt the pain and let out an angry, low growl.
It suddenly raised its massive, tree-trunk-like leg and viciously kicked toward Raine’s chest like a battering ram! Having just finished his Slash, Raine had no time to dodge. He subconsciously held his Short Sword horizontally in front of him, forced to block the blow head-on.
BAM!
An irresistible, massive force transmitted through the blade. Raine felt an agonizing pain in his arms as if they were going to snap. His entire body was sent flying backward uncontrollably, crashing heavily into a corner several meters away. Before he could even catch his breath, he tasted a faint sweetness in his throat as blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth. His vision blurred, and the whole world seemed to ring in his ears.
"Bug, turn into meat paste!"
Naturally, the Bear Goblin wasn’t going to give Raine a chance to catch his breath. It lunged forward with a sudden, sprinting stride. Its massive body closed the distance in an instant. The heavy Nail Head Hammer was raised high above its head, completely enveloping all of Raine’s possible angles of evasion.
This time, it was going to smash this overconfident Human Race bug into pieces.