Goblin Army

"Robbery?" The newcomer was heard but nowhere to be seen. Jiang Mian looked around in every direction but failed to spot anyone.

"Get lost!"

Bear Lord's furious roar made the ground tremble.

Jiang Mian had no idea what was going on. "What happened?"

"Just a bunch of goblins." Bear Lord spoke dismissively. "They didn't even bother weighing their own strength before daring to rob us. Ridiculous."

"Nana and Zhu Zhuqing probably attracted them here. Those vile things." Jiang Mian's words brimmed with disgust.

Goblins had another name: gremlins.

These creatures had incredibly strong reproductive urges and vast numbers. Many female Soul Masters who let down their guard were captured by them and turned into breeding tools, suffering worse than death.

"Those filthy things deserve to go extinct," Xie Yue said. "Master, why didn't you kill them just now?"

"If you can't stand the sight of them, go kill them yourself. If you lack the ability, don't expect others to do this sort of thing for you," Bear Lord said calmly.

Xie Yue froze, then clasped his fists solemnly. "This disciple has learned his lesson."

"Now that you have a disciple, you've become all proper and serious." Jiang Mian teased, "Bear Lord, is that really necessary?"

Bear Lord sat upright with a straight face, secretly kicking Jiang Mian. You're the one with too much to say, aren't you?

Jiang Mian grinned. Looking up at the sky, he suggested, "It's already dark. Why don't we continue searching for Soul Beasts tomorrow?"

"That works too," Xie Yue said. "But we don't have tents or anything like that."

"Let Zhu Zhuqing and Nana sleep in the carriage. The rest of us grown men can make do." Jiang Mian said, "Remember to take turns keeping watch."

"Alright."

Dark clouds filled the sky that night, completely blocking the moonlight. Divine Eagle Canyon was pitch-black, with only a handful of fireflies giving off faint glimmers that made people uneasy.

After all, humans were born with an inexplicable fear of the unknown. That was why people drilled wood to make fire and drove away the darkness.

Jiang Mian lit a campfire, and the dry branches crackled beneath the blazing flames.

Leaning against a carriage wheel, Jiang Mian stared at the flickering campfire, unsure what he was feeling.

Xie Yue walked over from the side and quietly sat beside Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian glanced at him. "You're not going to sleep?"

"I can't sleep." Xie Yue sighed, bracing himself against the ground with both hands. "Jiang Mian, I really should thank you."

"We're brothers. Saying that makes us sound distant." Jiang Mian smiled faintly. "Besides, we're family."

"Will you treat Nana well?" Xie Yue suddenly asked.

"Of course." Jiang Mian said, "I won't let Nana down. You can rest assured about that."

"Heh, I trust your character." Xie Yue nodded and gave an honest, silly smile.

"How are things between you and Miss Ye Lingling?" Jiang Mian suddenly flashed a wicked grin and pressed, "Don't tell me you've got feelings for her?"

"Don't talk nonsense. We're just friends who happened to meet." Xie Yue's cheeks suddenly heated up. He hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "Don't make things up."

"What are you pretending for?" Seeing his expression, Jiang Mian laughed irritably. "You're still hiding it from me? Are we even brothers?"

"Well..." Xie Yue bit his lip. Looking at the flames dancing in the campfire, his eyes were filled with endless tenderness. "I do have feelings for Miss Lingling."

"That's more like it." Jiang Mian laughed heartily and slapped Xie Yue's shoulder hard. "If you like her, seize the chance. Don't miss it and regret it for the rest of your life."

Xie Yue looked at Jiang Mian sincerely. "You're the senior when it comes to this. I need to learn from you."

"My charm is something you can't learn." Jiang Mian chuckled. "Those who learn from me live; those who resemble me die."

Xie Yue scratched his head awkwardly. He had just tossed another piece of firewood into the flames when his body jerked upright as though struck by lightning. He stared ahead without a word.

"Enemy attack." Jiang Mian's expression abruptly turned serious. His eyesight far surpassed Xie Yue's, and through the darkness, he had already made out what that dark mass was.

Thousands upon thousands of goblins!

"They won't even let us sleep in peace at night." Bear Lord and Scarlet King slowly walked over to Jiang Mian, their faces livid. "Are these bugs really not afraid of death?!"

"Pull them out by the roots." Jiang Mian stomped his foot, and five dazzling Soul Rings appeared beneath him—one red and four orange!

When Xie Yue and Yan saw Jiang Mian's Soul Rings, their hearts still skipped a beat despite having heard of them before. Seeing them in person, they understood that the value of those five Soul Rings surpassed even that of a Titled Douluo.

At least, that was how they understood it.

"You three little ones can let loose and show your strength today." Bear Lord folded his arms and retreated behind the three of them with Scarlet King. "The two of us old fellows will watch your backs."

"Jiang Mian." Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena poked their heads out at the same time. "We'll help too."

"Go back." Bear Lord suddenly barked. "Women are especially attractive to goblins. If you two make a move, you'll only draw even more of them here."

Hu Liena frowned slightly, grabbed Zhu Zhuqing, and ducked back into the carriage. Those who ignored their elders' advice would suffer for it.

"Hellfire." Jiang Mian's figure flickered, and two streams of hellfire gathered in his palms. The hellfire moved according to his will and could take countless forms.

Jiang Mian wove the flames into a net and arranged it around them. Any goblins trying to break through the fiery barrier would be lucky to escape with their lives, let alone their skin intact.

"First Soul Skill, Hellish Magma Charge!"

"Fourth Soul Skill, Flying Blades!"

"Capture the king first to catch the bandits." Jiang Mian charged directly into the two Soul Skills. Dark golden light shone from his hands, and blood flowed like rivers wherever he passed.

He had completely mastered Bear Lord's Sky Rend Claw.

Xie Yue and Yan exchanged smiles, then followed closely behind him into the goblin army.

Jiang Mian advanced alone. Goblins below the ten-thousand-year level could not even get close to him. The instant they touched him, his Sky Rend Claw had already shredded them into chunks of flesh.

Xie Yue and Yan struggled somewhat more. Their division of labor was clear: they cleaned up the goblins Jiang Mian had left behind.

But they did not possess Jiang Mian's killing power. It took both of them effort and time just to deal with a thousand-year goblin.

"Jiang Mian is still absurdly overpowered." Bear Lord watched the three from afar and sighed. "That kid's strength far surpasses our two disciples."

"Di Tian has high hopes for him." Scarlet King rested his chin on his hand. "If the strength he displayed were only comparable to Xie Yue's, that would be truly disappointing."

"He possesses all the abilities of you and me, the auspicious beast, Snow Empress, and Bi Ji. If he weren't strong, then who would be?" Bear Lord laughed. "By my estimate, even against a Titled Douluo, this kid might not lose."

"True." Scarlet King nodded.

By then, Jiang Mian's eyes had long since turned red with slaughter. His entire body was splattered with the goblins' filthy blood, and with a casual grab, another head fell to the ground.

"Ah!"

In the distance, a giant goblin nearly ten meters tall charged toward him with an iron hammer. Goblins in its path were mercilessly sent flying, while the massive hammer whistled through the air straight at Jiang Mian's face.

Jiang Mian pushed off the ground and leaped high into the air with the recoil. Light as a willow catkin, he borrowed the edge of the hammer's swing to evade the blow.

When the giant goblin's attack missed, it immediately roared and charged at Jiang Mian.

"That giant goblin looks like it's at least thirty thousand years old. Can Jiang Mian handle it?" Scarlet King asked worriedly.

"Just watch," Bear Lord said as calmly as ever. "Stop worrying over nothing."

Jiang Mian tapped the ground repeatedly, his body swaying unpredictably. For a moment, the goblin could not even touch his collar.

"Had enough fun?" Jiang Mian snorted coldly. He leaped up, his fingers like blades, and directly gouged out both of the giant goblin's eyes.

When it came to being ruthless and sinister, no one present could compare to Jiang Mian.

"Ah!"

The giant goblin threw its massive hammer to the ground, covered its eyes, and dropped to its knees, howling endlessly.

Jiang Mian seized the opportunity and struck its chest with his palm.

In an instant, extreme cold overflowed from Jiang Mian's palm. The giant goblin became an ice sculpture at once. Its exterior looked unchanged, but its blood and organs had long since frozen solid.

"Emperor Palm, Great Cold Without Snow!"

"Snow Empress's signature technique." Bear Lord patted Scarlet King's shoulder and sighed. "Back then, Di Tian was struck by Snow Empress's palm and had to recuperate for several hundred years after returning."

"Only a handful of Soul Beasts have survived Snow Empress's Emperor Palm." Scarlet King said, "If I took a hit like that, I'd have reincarnated long ago."

"I'm a little stronger than you. I could take two hits."

Xie Yue cut a thousand-year goblin in half at the waist. He panted heavily, clearly nearing exhaustion. He had already killed one ten-thousand-year goblin, three thousand-year goblins, and dozens of hundred-year goblins.

If not for the hundred-thousand-year torso bone Bear Lord had given him, Xie Yue might not have been able to take down that ten-thousand-year goblin.

"Help!"

On the other side, Yan dodged and fled in every direction as though some terrifying creature were chasing him.

After getting a brief chance to catch his breath, Xie Yue looked toward Yan and discovered an extraordinarily voluptuous green female goblin, shaped like a small mountain, chasing after him.

"Damn." Even Xie Yue, who had seen much in life, was stunned numb by the sight. He truly did not dare imagine what Yan would go through if that female goblin caught him.

The thought alone was horrifying.

But Xie Yue could only pray that Yan took care of himself. He had no time to help Yan when he could barely protect himself.

Jiang Mian, who had charged deep into the heart of the goblin army, was like a perpetual motion machine. His Soul Power flowed endlessly, and any injuries he sustained healed in the blink of an eye.

The ability to automatically generate Soul Power came from the auspicious beast, while the recovery ability came from Bi Ji. With the abilities of those two Soul Beasts, Jiang Mian could truly be called a perpetual motion machine.

His Sky Rend Claw never stopped. It was like hacking all the way from the Three Flavors Study to the Hundred Herb Garden without even blinking.

"Emperor's Cold Heaven, Snow Dance Shining Sun!"

Jiang Mian pressed both hands against the ground, and hundreds of goblins instantly became ice sculptures. This wide-range group attack was best suited for clearing out such rabble.

In the end, only a few goblins of somewhat higher cultivation fled in panic. After this battle, the army of nearly a thousand goblins had been utterly defeated by Jiang Mian and the other two, nearly wiped out.

Fortunately, the goblins did not have any particularly high-level members. At most, there had been the thirty-thousand-year goblin general Jiang Mian had killed.

Most of the others were merely hundred-year-level creatures. Even thousand-year goblins were one in a hundred.

"Xie Yue, there's a thirty-thousand-year goblin Soul Ring here. Do you want to absorb it?" Jiang Mian dragged over the stiff body of the goblin general, grinning through a face smeared with blood.

That scene made him look like a shy young man smiling tenderly as he stood there.

"I don't want a Soul Beast like that." Xie Yue said with disgust. "I need a dark-element or spiritual-type Soul Beast. At worst, it has to be a metal-element Soul Beast. What kind of thing is a goblin?"

"So now you're getting picky." Jiang Mian kicked the ice sculpture into pieces and joked, "At least you have options. Some Soul Masters even absorb rats."

Here, it was worth emphasizing one of Jiang Mian's evil deeds: making a lovely young girl absorb a Grey Mouse Soul Ring. Of course, that girl was probably already gone by now.

"Is it over?" Hu Liena slowly stepped out of the carriage. The air was thick with the stench of blood, mixed with a faint fishy odor that made her physically uncomfortable.

Hu Liena dry-heaved a few times. Her face darkened as she wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth, then returned to the carriage.

Zhu Zhuqing sat cross-legged, cultivating her Soul Power. It was simply too foul outside, so she could only use this method to distract herself.

These grown men could still endure the disgusting stench, but poor Nana and Zhu Zhuqing were both delicate young girls. Girls naturally liked cleanliness, and forcing them to accept such a scene was asking too much.

"With these goblin corpses here, we should be able to sleep well tonight." Bear Lord stretched lazily and looked at the victorious three with a smile. "Looks like you didn't kill to your heart's content. How about we take a trip to the goblins' headquarters?"

"That wouldn't be good. I think we shouldn't wipe them out completely." Yan wiped away cold sweat. That female goblin had chased him so badly just now that his whole body had tensed up and his ass clenched shut.

He would probably never forget tonight's scene for the rest of his life.

Sure enough, that Haji Yan guy really had too much life in him.

"Get some rest early. Once it's light tomorrow, we'll go find Xie Yue's fifth Soul Ring." Bear Lord said.

"Got it." Jiang Mian yawned. He was not polite at all, climbing onto another carriage and quickly falling asleep.

He was covered in blood, looking like a little red man. He did not dare get close to Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena, or he might get kicked flying.

Though Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena did not yet dare do that.

Looking at the sticky blood all over himself, Xie Yue could not help feeling irritated. He was somewhat of a clean freak, and he truly could not sleep without washing the blood off.

But where in this canyon could he find a lake or water source to bathe in?

"I'll take the second half of the night watch. You all go sleep." Xie Yue scratched his head gloomily and sat down beside the campfire.

"Alright, we'll rest." Scarlet King nodded. "Yan, come with me. I'll give you some extra training."

After he spoke, no response came for a long while. Scarlet King frowned deeply. That brat did not even dare answer him now?

Scarlet King looked around, but strangely, he could not find Yan anywhere.

"Yan has disappeared!"