Betrayal

The increase in combat strength brought by physical attributes was far from as simple as one plus one equaling two.

For example, when an adult faced two children whose combined strength matched his own, it would absolutely be a one-sided crushing defeat.

The gap between that Mutated Goblin and Larry's group was much the same—perhaps even greater.

Lin Mo turned at exactly the right moment—he saw a spiked club smash through the broken sword in Raine's hand with unstoppable force, followed immediately by the shattering of his breastbone.

Even from far away, he could clearly see Raine's chest cave in, crushed to pieces without the slightest resistance.

The fury on Raine's face froze in that instant, replaced by a brief daze.

Blood poured from the corner of his mouth like an unstoppable fountain. His body was sent flying by the tremendous force, slamming heavily into a tree behind him.

The young man's body slowly slid to the ground. With his final gaze, he looked toward the girl who had also fallen, struggling to crawl toward him. He saw her open mouth crying out, her grief-twisted face; he saw crystalline tears streak down her cheeks, glimmering beneath the sunlight filtering through the trees.

But he could no longer hear her voice. His world seemed to fall silent, everything returning to peace.

"Fei..."

At the very end, he struggled to open his mouth. The name he failed to call out became a regret he could never make up for.

The girl's grief became a cruel melody on the battlefield.

So what about the other two?

They had already run one or two hundred meters away!

When Lin Mo turned to deal with those Goblins, the two of them had stopped charging forward and fled backward without even looking back.

"Damn it..."

Although Lin Mo had anticipated something like this, he had not expected those two bastards to abandon the others so decisively.

He quickly slipped into the undergrowth, moving away from the battlefield to avoid becoming the next target.

The Mutated Goblin did not seem to have set its sights on him. Instead, it looked at the two fleeing figures ahead and bared its teeth in a cruel smile.

The agile Mutated Goblin broke into a run. The distance visibly closed, and when only a few dozen meters remained, it hurled the spiked club in its hand with all its strength. Empowered by wild force, the club shot forth like a swift black shadow and struck Larry's left leg with precision.

"Ah—!"

With a scream, Larry's left leg twisted at a grotesque angle. He collapsed to the ground, howling continuously, but nothing could ease the searing pain.

"Larry!"

Leo was startled, his steps pausing for a moment.

Covered in sweat, Larry screamed in despair as he looked at Leo with tears in his eyes.

"Leo, save me!"

Leo hesitated for less than half a second before the surprise on his face suddenly turned into a sneer. He quickened his pace instead and said as he ran, "I can't save you, Larry."

As if he had thought of something wonderful, excitement appeared on his face. "But don't worry, I'll help you take care of Julina. And your eldest daughter too. Haha, in a few more years, she'll be an adult as well..."

Ever since he had failed to win Julina from Larry, he had resented him every moment of every day—resented him over that matter.

It was only for Julina's sake that he had been forced to maintain a façade of friendship.

But now, everything was different. Larry was going to die!

Once he returned to town, Julina would have no one to rely on and could only choose to depend on him. When that time came...

"W-Wait, Leo!"

Larry painfully pulled the Goblin's left ear from his pocket and threw it with all his strength.

"Take this with you."

He looked at Leo, his face full of sorrow. "I know that all these years, you've never been able to let it go... But do you remember? When we were children, the three of us played in town together. We saved money for so, so long just to buy a freshly baked meat pie. Leo, my brother, from beginning to end, I always regarded you as my best friend."

Tears streaming down his face, he continued, "I won't blame you. So take this with you, and as you said, take good care of Julina!"

For an instant, Leo's face showed emotion. He looked at the Goblin ear less than ten meters away, then at the Mutated Goblin, which seemed satisfied with its spoils and was in no hurry to pursue him.

Raising two... no, three women required a lot of money.

Driven by greed, he finally turned around, hurried forward, and picked up the ear.

"Thank you, Larry. I won't forget your kindness..."

As he spoke, he raised his head. A streak of silver light suddenly appeared in his vision, flying from afar and piercing his thigh.

The pain made him collapse to his knees at once. He then glared furiously ahead.

"Larry!"

"Hahahaha—!"

Seeing that the short sword he had thrown had struck true, Larry burst into wild laughter. His twisted face was filled with madness. "Serves you right! Leo, if I can't live, don't think you can leave either!"

The Mutated Goblin behind them finally strolled over and picked up the spiked club from the ground.

Thud—!

The heavy club struck the ground less than ten centimeters from Larry's head.

Its burly body came to a stop. It was in no hurry to attack, instead looking at the two men before it with mocking eyes.

"Pathetic... little... insects..."

As a Goblin-human hybrid, its intelligence was not particularly high. It only stood out among its own kind, but that did not prevent it from mocking the ugliness of human nature.

Even Goblins would at least not stab their own companions in the back.

Yet among humans, who called themselves intelligent beings, such things were all too common.

Of course, this was undoubtedly a good thing for it. It saved it the trouble of chasing them down.

That was right. In its eyes, these tiny insects had never had the option of escaping. Their laughable speed was merely there to add a little enjoyment to the hunt.

This was Lorraine Forest, a paradise for Goblins. If humans wished to encroach upon their territory, they had to pay the proper price.

That included the little insect hiding in the shadows...

Once it dealt with these two old men, it would be his turn to suffer!

The burly Mutated Goblin toyed with the spiked club in its hand, looking playfully at Larry lying on the ground.

"Little insect... Zaton will slowly... fix you..."

As it spoke, it raised the spiked club in its hand and brought it down heavily.

"Ah—!!!"

Larry let out a shrill scream as the heavy club landed squarely on his uninjured right leg, effortlessly shattering the bone.

"No... don't... I don't want to die, spare me..."

The agonizing pain instantly jolted him out of his satisfaction at successfully taking revenge on Leo. He struggled, his fingers digging into the dirt as he tried to crawl forward, as though advancing even a few centimeters could free him from the monster behind him, from this nightmare-like reality.

"Hahahaha—"

The monster laughed wildly, swinging its weapon and crushing his bones bit by bit.