"Silver Wind Cleave!"
Jumping onto the side of the rocky terrain that was Malvorrak's mountain, the silhouette of Vincent appeared, slashing forward and releasing a flurry of simultaneous attacks.
"Dodge!"
As the ethereal sword cleaved through the air, Cious barked, prompting the goblins to hurriedly sway left in midair, narrowly evading the sword slashes from their assailant.
"Charge up!" After successfully dodging, Cious raised his staff into the air, waving it quickly. The little goblins responded by projecting a strange energy to the tip of his staff.
Most creatures were limited in the abilities they could conjure. Unlike humans, they usually relied on either their innate skills or techniques learned from fighting, such as Zysera's weight style.
This was true for about 90% of creatures—the number who could use magic was minuscule, mostly rare beasts not seen for thousands of years. It was understandable, then, that Cious was shocked to discover the four goblins had talent for magic.
It was a discovery he wasted no time in exploiting.
"Fire Form, Fire Storm, Fire Rise, Fire Burn!" Charging up mana from the goblins and himself, Cious slowly concentrated the energy at the tip of his staff. A swirl of fire formed, shaping into a blazing lotus before launching directly at Vincent.
—*Woom!*
The power was devastating, scorching the very earth and leaving a massive crater. Unfortunately, the nimble Vincent managed to dodge—just barely. Though he escaped the direct impact, the spiraling flame still caught his white top, scorching it.
"Reload! This time, we have to hit him faster." Seeing that Vincent had escaped, Cious immediately commanded the goblins to prepare for the next attack.
Meanwhile…
Down below, Qarc, the head guard, and several other lizardman guards surrounded two level-three savages from the human tribes—one of them being the red-haired envoy.
The envoy held a particular grudge against Qarc and the lizardmen, as they were the ones who had ostracized him, fueling the farce that now had them surrounded and accused of theft. He wanted to take their heads personally.
But, of course, he'd have to fight all twenty of them first.
"We are to take them alive! No matter what, don't kill them!" Qarc shouted to his men as they surrounded the humans.
Killing a humans was a massive taboo in the underground. They had to do their best to defeat them or injure them just enough to incapacitate them—all while trying to keep their heads attached.
This, of course, was easier said than done.
—Shu!
—Shu!
— shu!
Fortunately, they had some backup: atop and along the sides of the mountain, various goblins stood with bows and arrows aimed directly at the humans.
The goblins weren't exceptionally powerful, but they were battle-hardened. They knew what it meant to take up arms against oppressors, whether they were lizardmen or savage humans.
"Aim for the kidneys! It's their weak spot!" one of the goblins shouted—a wildly untrue "fact" that, unsurprisingly, gained the approval of the other goblins.
The kidneys were regarded as the weakest of all weak points among the goblins, almost like an obsession.
But who could complain? At least they were being helpful.
On the other side of the battlefield…
"Grrrrr," Malvorrak growled as his tail swept up a trail of sand while he circled Duan, stalking him.
Now, his scales had undergone a remarkable transformation, shifting to a shade of jade green. He looked more like an armored beast than a lizard at this point.
"Terragors don't…" Duan squinted, wiping a trace of blood from his lips.
One moment, he'd been pummeling Malvorrak into the dirt; the next, his hits had lost their impact, and he'd been thrown back with a vicious strike to the chest.
"Such mutations… I wonder what your parents were." Instead of feeling caution or fear, Duan pulled the butcher knife from the hilt on his back and matched Malvorrak's predatory steps.
Malvorrak's sheer size already hinted at mixed blood. Now, with his jade scales, it was blatantly clear he was a mutant. Unlike the beasts under the mountain, humans didn't look down on mixed bloods—they believed anything that made one stronger was a good thing, not to be judged.
This belief was especially true for Duan. To him, it only meant that he'd soon have a far more powerful mount.
—*Woosh!*
Planting his back leg firmly on the ground, Duan surged forward at incredible speed, slashing downward at Malvorrak.
*Clang!*
With his tail raised above his head, Malvorrak blocked the attack skillfully, then swiped at Duan with his left claw, attempting to cleave him in two.
But Duan was no weakling. As soon as Malvorrak moved, Duan leapt into the air, performed a stationary backflip, and came crashing down again with the back of his leg.
"Ghh!" Malvorrak tried to react in time but failed, his head smashing into the ground.
—*Boom!*
His scales could protect him from penetrating attacks, but blunt force could still inflict trauma.
"Heh, fun." Duan, using the momentum of Malvorrak's head slamming into the ground, landed a few meters away and grinned.
He was skilled in battle, and there was no tactic he didn't know. Despite Malvorrak's surprising evolution, Duan had still managed to deal damage.
(I can't fight him head-on…)
For the first time in a long time, Malvorrak felt overwhelmed in a physical confrontation. Who could have known humans could be this strong? It was frightening, to say the least.
"No choice…" Tasting blood in his mouth, Malvorrak slowly raised his head, growling.
Activate Skill:* *Water Piercer