Before the Hobgoblin could even reach Orochi. Orochi's mana was already filled to the brim. He looked at the Hobgoblin without much reaction.
Although Orochi was prideful. He knew that he wasn't matched with the Hobgoblin in terms of physique. Fight head-on melee? Orochi watched the Hobgoblin launch a right hook in his direction.
The Hobgoblin might be big but he was fast. The fist traveled in the air and would hit Orochi in two seconds. However, Orochi vanished, reappearing just two meters on the left side of his original position. At this moment, there was already a black-red energy hovering on top of his palm.
On the other hand, the sunlight in the area gradually dimmed as Orochi's mana capacity had fully recovered. Now, if his mana becomes zero again. The side effect of borrowing the power of the sun would immediately take effect.
"The precursor to the power of nothingness is nothing but the void."
Orochi floated upwards further just to match the Hobgoblin's eye level. He dislikes others looking down at him. He's the only one qualified to look down at anyone because he's special.
"What does he mean by that?" Dylan turned his head at Kenjaku in confusion. After all, Orochi was silent most of the time. Every word that he utters must surely be meaningful.
Kenjaku shook his head in response. He looked at the black-red energy at Orochi who was about to throw it. "I don't know either. I'm only sure that the black-red energy ball is composed of the power of nothingness. Every time the black-red ball touches anything, it ceases to exist. It's like erasure. A high-level force, I think.
"Unbelievable!!" Suddenly, Hank exclaimed.
Dylan immediately shifted his eyes at the battle again only to see Hobgoblin seem to have escaped unscathed after Orochi attacked him with his black-red ball.
"What happened? I didn't see it..."
Kevin almost responded immediately: "The Hobgoblin was quite clever. He immediately jumped away when he saw Orochi make a throwing motion. The Hobgoblin calculated the direction. In the end, due to his anticipation, he was already in a different position when the black energy ball reached its original position."
Hank also nodded. The scene he witnessed made him see the Hobgoblin in a different light. The Hobgoblin might look fully specialized in brawn but no... His brain wasn't full of muscles."
Hearing this, Kenjaku instinctively lifted his glass. A glint appeared on the surface of his glass. "The Hobgoblin was observant and tactical. First, it lets the goblin horde under him to fight us. He watches us fight behind the scenes to obtain first-hand information about our abilities and fighting style."
"The Hobgoblin knew how lethal Orochi's attack was and how instantaneous it could reach enemies when thrown. Due to this awareness, he jumped in advance where Orochi aimed. However, it's difficult to replicate that again."
Orochi produced another two black-red balls. They rotated counterclockwise around Orochi. In his opinion, what the Hobgoblin was doing was just a meaningless struggle.
Suddenly, The Hobgoblin grasped the body of a tree just behind him and uprooted it in a split second, then he threw it towards Orochi. All this sequence of action was done without hesitation, which caught everyone off guard.
The tree hurled by the Hobgoblin reached Orochi in just a few seconds. In the blink of an eye, a cloud of dust exploded on covering everything. The sound of the impact reverberated throughout the vicinity.
"Orochi!!" Hank, Kevin, and Kenjaku rushed towards Orochi's place regardless of danger.
'Did he die?' Dylan was doubtful whether being hit by a tree was enough to kill a level 30 creature. Though, the force of the Hobgoblin was strong and it couldn't be denied.
The Hobgoblin stomp a nearby goblin on its knee happily. He finally killed the annoying fly.
As the three reached Orochi's place. The clouds of dust that covered the field and blocked their vision began to dissipate.
"Huh? Where is the leader? He's not here?" Hank scanned the ground that has a deep depression. The tree completely exploded due to the impact but some of its parts like branches had impaled the ground.
Kenjaku scanned the area and began to analyze. 'There's no blood here. It only means that Orochi disappeared before he was about to get hit. His spatial awareness is as fearsome as always. It impressively boosted his reaction speed to a terrifying level.'
ROAARRR!!!!
An angry painful roar resounded. Along with a heavy thud in the ground.
Suddenly, everyone's attention was directed to the Hobgoblin who lost an arm and at Orochi who stood atop a twig of a tree.
The arm of the goblin had been hit by the black energy ball. It was almost deleted completely. Almost because there's still the pinky finger left in the ground but with no blood. The entire ball of nothingness devoured every cell not giving it a chance to produce blood.
"What a sudden turn of events." Dylan sat beside the Savage Deer and patted him gently on the body. "Recuperate for now."
The Savage Deer turned its head weakly at Dylan and let out a cold snort.
"It's over. The battle is now in Orochi's favor. With one less arm, it's attack won't be as effective as before."
Kevin smiled confidently and sat beside Dylan. He stared at Orochi who produces another three balls of nothingness which was giving an air of ominousness.
"It's time to end this farce." Orochi spread his arm widely and let the black red balls float as he aimed at the Hobgoblin's head, liver, and leg.
Preemptively, the Hobgoblin attempted to repeat his earlier actions. He immediately stepped aside with explosive speed. It waited for the attack but there was no sound.
"The same trick won't work for me twice." Only at this moment does Orochi let the three balls of nothingness launch themselves. It was a feint and the Hobgoblin fell.
The three balls were teleported. One hit the head. The other two hit the liver and the left leg of the Hobgoblin. It was an instant death as the ball devoured the target spots cleanly. From muscles, flesh, bones, down to the cellular level were all decomposed.
At this moment, Orochi felt a sudden surge of energy and his mana instantly recovered. Unbeknownst to him, he was now level 31. But unprecedented weakness quickly came as the side effect of borrowing the the power of the sun took effect. He fell to the ground tiredly, unable to exert mana. He smiled at this moment. "I'll always be the victor."