"Whoosh!"
Hailier followed Gauss's lead and stopped using her skills for now.
Even without activating special techniques, her years of archery training still gave her solid aim. While the goblins relentlessly swarmed Gauss, she fired off a few stray shots before landing two precise ones—one piercing a goblin's upper arm, the other striking another in the side of its waist.
Blocking with his wooden shield and spear, Gauss twisted his body, dodging to the injured goblin's side.
The goblin, sensing danger, raised a crude wooden club with trembling hands, trying to scare him off.
But Gauss ignored the threat.
In his accelerated mental state, he entered a kind of battle trance. Calm. Focused.
He slid behind the goblin—
Thrust.
The spear pierced the goblin's heart mid-scream.
[Goblin Slain ×1]
[Total Kills: 4]
He didn't slow down.
Dodging another attack, he dashed to the second injured goblin and rammed his spear into the side wound.
With a twist of his wrist, the tip flared with a pale white light and churned violently inside the goblin's guts.
One clean, lethal strike.
[Goblin Slain ×1]
[Total Kills: 5]
He could feel it—he was getting faster, more fluid.
His spear pulsed with faint white energy, and each strike carried an added surge of mysterious power, making his attacks more deadly.
[Title Unlocked: Goblin Slayer]
[This title upgrades as your kill count increases.
Current Effect – Bane: +10% damage against goblins and related species.]
Right—he'd unlocked a title earlier. That "Bane" effect was doing its work.
The fear and panic he'd felt earlier were now completely gone.
His body was bloodied, his breathing heavy, his energy fading—but his eyes were burning with determination.
There were only four goblins left.
The flickering firelight reflected in his emerald eyes—eyes so sharp they made the goblins hesitate.
Goblins, after all, were cowardly by nature. Their brutality only showed when they had overwhelming numbers.
At first, they'd charged out of the cave like berserkers, confident in their advantage.
But now—after watching their comrades fall one by one at Gauss's hands—
They hesitated.
Fear took root.
His presence alone made their legs tremble.
Who was the hunter now?
And who was the hunted?
Gauss glanced at his spear—it was cracked, the tip broken off.
Maybe it couldn't handle the added magic. Or maybe it was just poor quality.
Either way, his arms were sore. It was time to switch weapons.
He pulled out the dagger at his waist.
"Whoosh!"
Another arrow flew. After a few misses, Hailier nailed a goblin in the leg.
Perfect timing.
Gauss sprinted forward, boots splashing through the blood-soaked dirt.
With the dagger, he felt more agile. And in this low-grade bullet-time state, a smaller weapon worked better with his reflexes.
The long spear had been too clunky—great for reach, bad for mobility.
The remaining three goblins froze in place, too afraid to move.
"SHHK!!"
His dagger came down in a diagonal arc. White light flashed along the blade as it sliced through skin and muscle.
The goblin didn't even resist.
Its neck, shoulder, and one arm were cleaved cleanly—blood sprayed everywhere.
Gauss's face was splattered again.
[Total Kills: 6]
Without pause, he charged the next goblin.
CLANG!
He bashed it with his round shield, disarming it instantly.
Then, with a deep breath, he slashed across its stomach.
[Total Kills: 7]
Up in a tree, Hailier could only stare.
What the hell is up with Gauss?
He was… relentless.
He had that look in his eyes now—the kind that said he'd lost himself to the fight.
Despite the pain in his head, the trembling in his limbs, and the burning in his legs, Gauss felt… exhilarated.
The smell of iron and blood filled his lungs.
Two goblins remained.
They were already trying to flee.
Their weapons shook in their hands.
"Mage Hand!"
The invisible force materialized once more.
It smacked the weapon out of the first goblin's hands.
Then the second.
Now unarmed, the final two goblins stood trembling, fully exposed.
Gauss didn't waste the opportunity.
Suppressing his ragged breathing, ignoring the fire in his lungs, he charged.
Gripping his dagger with both hands, his entire body moved as one.
He sliced open the first goblin's gut mid-turn—
Intestines poured onto the ground.
[Total Kills: 8]
He didn't look back.
The final goblin was already sprinting toward the forest.
Gauss clenched his jaw, stomped through a pile of spilled guts, and exploded forward.
Three steps.
THRUST!
The dagger pierced its back, slipping into its belly like cutting tofu.
He twisted hard.
The goblin shrieked one final time.
Gauss ripped the blade free—and his knees buckled.
He caught himself on one hand, breathing heavily.
He'd gone all out.
[Total kills: 9]
His arms and legs were trembling, his armor torn in several places, and multiple shallow cuts stung on his skin.
"Damn… that hurts."
The adrenaline faded, and reality crashed back.
He'd overperformed—way beyond his usual limits.
Aside from the initial scout kill, he'd just taken down seven goblins in a row.
Sure, Hailier had helped—a lot.
Her arrows had wounded, distracted, and forced the goblins to reposition.
Without her support, he'd never have gotten so many clean shots.
But still—she'd been backup.
The real MVP of this fight?
Gauss's sheer willpower.
He wasn't some overpowered beast. He didn't dominate the goblins outright.
In fact, if you looked purely at stats, he was probably the weaker one.
But he had quick thinking, magic support, a damage-boosting title, and… fear. He'd terrified them.
He fought past exhaustion.
They lost their nerve.
That was what decided the fight.
From the treetops, Hailier finally lowered her bow.
Her arms were sore—definitely strained from overuse.
But just as she and Gauss paused to catch their breath—
"AAAGH!"
A scream—Bell's voice.
That's right.
Aside from the nine goblins they'd just taken down, nine more were still attacking Bell, Mia, and the remaining villagers.
The fight was far from over.