The sound of the wind being sliced through echoed alongside the clash of blades, with more goblin bodies lying on the ground around the dragonborn, who spun and slashed the abdomen of the last remaining hobgoblin.
Blood spurted from the cut, and the monster growled, trying to retreat, but again the dragonborn charged with a spear, raised it high, and brought it down violently, crushing the head of the hobgoblin, who was already yielding. But once more, a spear thrust came directly at its neck, making its head fly off.
Again, blood sprayed, lightly bathing the dragonborn, who sighed heavily. His reddish aura continued to emanate as the blood on his scales evaporated, and his wounds began to heal at an unnatural rate.
He turned to survey his surroundings, seeing only numerous brownish goblin corpses on the ground while the blood on his spear evaporated.
After the battle, the dragonborn panted, exhaling hot air from his mouth as he allowed himself to rest. However, before he realized it, a shadow covered him, and Sief's dagger stabbed into his head, emitting the glow of poison.
The monster's eyes widened, and Sief licked his lips as he saw the monster scream. The dragonborn spun around, and Sief jumped away, landing on one of the goblins on the ground while frowning at his blade, which had only the tip bloodied.
'The poison didn't penetrate enough…' He raised his head and saw more vapor coming from the monster. 'And that's a problem…'
The dragonborn's aura became even more chaotic, and all the blood in his body evaporated, leaving his skin a vivid green hue as he stepped forward, his body free of any more wounds.
Sief reached for one of his lycanthrope claws, and the dragonborn advanced, raising his spear. The assassin frowned and jumped to the side, dodging the blow that struck the stone ground and sent shards flying.
Sief slashed with his claw, leaving a poisoned streak that blinded one of the dragonborn's eyes.
Once again, the monster roared and spun to strike, but Sief leaped backward. Even so, the spear reached him, striking the dagger he used to block.
The force was so great that his head was whipped to the side, and he was thrown, landing on his back on the ground and rolling to his feet.
Even with his eye cut, the dragonborn panted, his aura becoming even more aggressive, and his body began to tremble. Sief gritted his teeth and frowned.
'He's fighting as if he hadn't faced dozens of monsters before.' The dragonborn advanced, and Sief retreated. 'And besides regenerating damage, he's not even tired.'
As the dragonborn advanced, he thrust his spear aiming at Sief's chest, but Sief dodged to the side and charged, surprising the monster who tried to pull back his blade, but Sief struck and stabbed the monster's neck again, leaving greenish streaks behind.
Sief drew his lycanthrope claw, but a quick spin on his flank made him widen his eyes as he noticed the spear coming toward his face.
Again, the impact occurred, and Sief was thrown, but this time he landed on the ground with a frown as he saw the claw he used to block had shattered from the blow.
Turning back to the dragonborn, the monster was breathing heavily, while the dagger stuck in his throat caused some blood to spurt. Even with his aura weakened, he took a step forward, making Sief draw two more claws.
However, the young man's eyes widened as he saw the dragonborn stagger, and before he could take a second step, his body collapsed to the ground, and the aura disappeared.
Sief cautiously approached, frowning, but the monster's body didn't move, and as he got closer, he narrowed his eyes, pondering.
'Was it the poison?... no... it was the wounds...' He crouched down and pulled his dagger from the monster's body, noticing something. 'He's not bleeding.'
The monster's flesh was pale where he had been cut, and even on his skin or weapons, there was no blood from what he had shed or lost, realizing that the wounds had stopped healing at that moment.
'He was healing through his own blood and that of his enemies… that's why he was so resistant against a group of monsters…' Sief stood up, still holding the dagger. 'He had an ability, but he didn't seem as unique as an alpha… and he was still attacked by other monsters… what was this?'
No matter how much he thought about it, the difference in presence was striking. Even alphas didn't have such complex weapons, and as he approached the spear, Sief noticed it also seemed well cared for, just like the shaman's necklace.
'This was supposed to be a monster-free zone, and yet there were all these anomalies, yesterday it was that turtle, and today…' He sighed, placing the spear on his back and securing it with his backpack. 'Something is happening in the territories, but I must have already lost Kujura in the battle… maybe tomorrow or in the city, I'll find something…'
Sief looked at his dagger, once again noticing that much of it was bloodless and the edge was practically gone, making the young man click his tongue and walk towards the goblins, picking up one of the daggers and tossing it into his backpack.
Gathering all the items took some time, and after collecting them, Sief turned and pulled out the map, confirming he was on the right path, before starting to run again and finally resuming his journey.
The path was quick thanks to the run, but throughout the route, Sief watched the surroundings, searching for more monsters like those, reaching the middle of the day without finding any more traces of monsters there.
When the sun reached its peak, Sief ran in a rocky area, keeping his breath heavy as he watched the larger rocks, checking if something was hiding on top of them.
But something blocked the sun in front of him, and when he raised his head, he saw silhouettes obscuring the sun, surprising the young man, who abruptly halted and jumped back, dodging the advance of three humanoid creatures that Sief quickly identified as dragonborns.
However, their limbs were thinner and elongated, with sharp claws and a more bestial behavior, glaring at Sief, who wielded the spear, still frowning as he saw the three monsters charging toward him.
Sief leaped back, retreating as one jumped over him, mouth open towards him, but with a quick movement, Sief spun his body and drove the spear into the dragonborn's head, piercing the rock wall and leaving the monster pinned as it still struggled.
Quickly, the assassin jumped again, but the two dragonborns passed under the spear's shaft, returning to charge.
One advanced, thrusting its claws, and Sief jumped back, dodging, but the one that followed also thrust, forcing Sief to block with his dagger, generating sparks on impact and making the dragonborn let out an intimidating hiss.
The other dragonborn charged again, this time aiming for Sief's head, but he ducked, dodging, and slashed, opening a gash in the lizard's chest, which screamed, seeing the assassin's dagger enveloped in a greenish aura. However, once again, the other dragonborn charged, quickly launching its tail at Sief, who tried to dodge but was struck in the face, opening a new cut and once more forcing him to retreat.
Sief frowned, seeing one of the dragonborns lagging behind due to bleeding, while the other charged, but Sief also advanced to meet it.
The monster attacked, but once again Sief passed under its arm, and with the dagger, he slashed the monster's neck, then relentlessly advanced on the other dragonborn, who widened its eyes.
This time, it spun its body, and Sief saw the tail approaching. With a quick slash, he severed the dragonborn's tail, which screamed, but once again, the assassin charged, driving his weapon into the monster's head, silencing its scream, and it fell to the ground one after the other.
As quickly as the battle had started, it ended, and Sief gazed at the monsters on the ground, his breath heavy as he finally observed the monsters, noticing a faint aura leaving their bodies, causing him to frown and click his tongue, thinking.
'They are as fast as I am… any mistake could have allowed them to hit me… what is happening?...'
He lifted the map to check the territory he was in, squinting as he saw that the area had changed again, now showing a green hue, making the assassin sigh as he pulled the spear from the dragonborn's mouth, still frowning and finally concluding.
'Another anomaly… this is worrying me…'