A tinkling sound echoed as the blade of Arthur's sword struck the blade of a hobgoblin's axe directly in front of him. A sound that was quickly drowned out by the noise of battle that exploded around Arthur.
[-5 HP]
"Shit..." Arthur exclaimed as he was thrown back. His legs shook and his feet dragged on the ground, but he didn't give up.
He had been lucky enough to have encountered the weakest Hobgoblin, which was a level 12. Still, he felt like he was competing in strength with a bull.
The hobgoblin took advantage of Arthur's stunned state and continued to advance, trying to crush the young man to the ground.
Surrendering control of his body to his instincts, Arthur roared vigorously, planted his feet on the ground, and threw himself to the side, causing the mighty hobgoblin's body to stumble and fall violently to the ground.
Arthur did not miss the opportunity. Tightening his grip on his sword, he reached for the body of his opponent, who was still trying to get up, and raised his sword over his head. In the short second, he had before dropping it on his enemy's neck, Arthur closed his eyes and a crimson aura took over the blade of his sword.
The deafening sound of flesh being lacerated was heard as Arthur's sword tore through the powerful muscles of the hobgoblin's neck, only slowing as it reached the bones of his neck. But even then, it did not stop.
With an explosion of blood, the sword came through the other side of the Hobgoblin's neck, decapitating him with a single blow.
[Your enemy's body condition has reached zero!
You inflicted catastrophic damage on an enemy of a higher level than you, killing him with a single blow! +2 stat points
You killed a corrupted hobgoblin.
You received 10 XP!
First kill of a D-grade monster! + 1 attribute point]
[Level up! 8 -> 9].
Arthur felt confused as he realized the large number of warnings sounding in his head and retreated to a more peaceful part of the battle. He felt that he had become stronger, but he hadn't expected it to be something so outrageous.
He didn't delude himself with movie scenes and knew very well that decapitating a human with a single blow was a difficult task. But what about a magical creature whose bone structure was much more robust than that of an ordinary human? It was simply unimaginable.
'Besides, I didn't even do enough damage to kill it!' Arthur thought, even if it was a powerful critical hit, this hobgoblin had over 500 points of HP, it would be impossible for him to deal that much damage.
Arthur was confused, but suddenly he remembered something.
'That goblin didn't die immediately, even though its HP had reached zero! Arthur remembered the first opponent he faced in this world, and his vision flowed to the message that said the body condition reached zero.
At that moment, he realized what had happened and smiled mysteriously.
Of all this, what impressed Arthur the most was seeing the blood of the hobgoblin slowly being absorbed by the crimson energy in his sword and his HP rising...
He had to admit that his bloodline ability was amazing!
***
"Aelius, the God of light and wisdom, bathe your followers in your light and give us the power to purge the darkness from these poor souls!" Gabriel, who had also retreated from the battlefront, chanted, and in the next second, a powerful light erupted from his body, bathing the bodies of all the warriors fighting beside him.
"Ah..." Arthur exhaled as he felt his strength grow and his stressed mind revive.
It had only been a little over a minute since the battle had begun, but it had already reached its climax.
Conrad held a two-handed sword and faced more than three hobgoblins alone, the blade of his mighty sword dancing across his body as he skillfully defended himself from the combined attacks. His stance was as solid as a concrete pillar, and his arms seemed capable of shattering space-time itself as they tightly gripped the handle of his axe.
Just the sight of him made Arthur shudder. If this was his weakened power, how powerful would he be at his peak?
Gritting his teeth, Arthur joined Gabriel and advanced once more into the chaotic battlefield.
"There!" Gabriel pointed to a level 24 Hobgoblin who was holding a club and was not engaged in any combat, "Take the left flank and I'll attack from the right!" He ordered Arthur as he quickened his pace.
"Understood!" Arthur nodded and quickened his pace as well.
Breaking through the dozens of battles going on around them, the two reached the hobgoblin, who roared when he noticed their presence.
The hobgoblin defended itself from Arthur's attack, and the young man's sword shook as he felt a powerful shock run through his arm. His opponent only had to push a little and his body was thrown back. Unlike when he had faced the level-12 hobgoblin, this time he felt as if he had hit a massive iron pillar.
Fortunately, Gabriel did not waste the opportunity that Arthur had created and swung his sword at the hobgoblin, who had not yet retracted his weapon and was now completely vulnerable.
A loud hiss was heard as Gabriel's sword sliced through the air, swinging violently toward the hobgoblin's chest.
"Grrralch!" The hobgoblin let out a painful roar before turning toward Gabriel and swinging his club. His face was twisted into a savage expression of murderous intent.
Gabriel didn't defend himself. He knew that he was incapable of having a strength contest with this monster and just backed away.
Arthur, who had already regained his composure, stepped forward as Gabriel retreated, slashing at the hobgoblin's back, causing it to let out another painful roar before turning its attention to Arthur. Unfortunately for him, the moment he attacked Arthur, the young man backed away as Gabriel advanced.
And so, they slowly exhausted the hobgoblin until he finally fell to his knees and the two young men stepped forward to deliver the final blow.
In perfect synchronicity, Arthur's sword pierced the Hobgoblin's back, exiting in his left chest and destroying his heart, while Gabriel's sword pierced the Hobgoblin's right chest, exiting in his back.
"Good fight!" Gabriel grinned at Arthur, who only returned the compliment, both drunk on the adrenaline of battle and barely able to see a second hobgoblin approaching rapidly from behind Arthur.
"Look out!" Gabriel shouted, running towards Arthur.
'There won't be time!!!' Arthur screamed in his mind as he struggled to turn his body and raise his sword to defend himself. A rush of desperation overcame his body.
The hobgoblin continued to run as his ugly face twisted into a sickly grin and he held his mighty two-handed axe, preparing to smash Arthur to the ground.
At that moment, a piercing hiss ripped through the battlefield.
5 sharp sounds rang through Arthur's ears as he saw 5 throwing knives hit the hobgoblin's face, blinding him and knocking him down.
"Grrralch!" The hobgoblin groaned in pain as he stumbled and fell. Blood spurted from his eyes and mouth as he screamed and struggled to get up.
His agony only ended when a curvaceous figure landed on his body and slit his throat with a dagger.
It was Safira.
"Ah... Thank you..." Arthur hesitated for a few seconds and finally, overcoming the surge of despair in his chest, he thanked her.
Safira didn't react and just nodded at Arthur. Despite the coldness of her reaction, Arthur still felt that she was smiling under her mask.
"Concentrate on the fight!" Conrad's voice sounded, waking the 3.
"Let's go!" Gabriel shouted before running towards another hobgoblin. Arthur and Safira followed close behind.
And so, amid the screams of pain and hatred, dozens of bodies of hobgoblins and human warriors littered the ground. The lucky ones died quickly. The unlucky ones were severely wounded and dismembered, screaming desperately until they were finally pulled into the abyss of death.
In this scenario, the trio of youths fought voraciously in a battle that lasted for a long time.