Hunters and Prey

Whoosh!

Following Gauss's command, Hailiel chose not to keep using her skill.

But even without using skills, the archery she had honed over countless years still allowed her to maintain fairly good accuracy.

While the goblins continued besieging Gauss, after missing several shots, Hailiel once again struck one goblin through the upper arm and another through the side of its waist in quick succession.

Blocking the attacks with his Wooden Shield and Wooden Spear, Gauss sidestepped and moved beside the wounded goblin again.

As if realizing what he intended to do, the goblin shakily raised its crude club with one hand, trying to intimidate Gauss.

But Gauss acted as though he had not seen it. With Mind Acceleration active, he seemed to have entered some kind of calm state, sliding behind the goblin in a single step.

He thrust his Wooden Spear forward. Amid the goblin's terrified howl, it pierced the wounded goblin's heart.

"Goblin killed ×1"

"Monster Kill Count: 4"

He did not linger. Dodging another incoming strike, he immediately sprinted toward the other goblin whose waist had been pierced and drove the Wooden Spear into its wound.

Twisting his wrist, the white-glowing spearhead churned wildly inside its sticky body, delivering a fatal blow!

"Goblin killed ×1"

"Monster Kill Count: 5"

He felt himself becoming more and more proficient.

The Wooden Spear in his hand was strong and powerful, coated in a faint white glow. The instant it struck a goblin, an inexplicable force burst forth, granting it even greater power.

It was precisely because of that mysterious force erupting at the moment his attacks connected that he could kill goblins more easily.

"Obtained title 'Goblin Hunter.' This title will level up along with the number of kills."

"Current effect: Bane. Damage dealt against goblins and related advanced races is increased by an additional 10%."

Gauss remembered that he seemed to possess a title.

The effect called Bane allowed him to unleash greater strength when facing creatures like goblins.

At that moment, the fear and panic he felt toward battle had been completely swept away.

He was drenched in blood. Though his breathing had grown heavy from the intense battle and much of his strength had been spent, his gaze had become even firmer.

He looked again at the goblins around him, of which only four remained.

The firelight burning on the ground reflected in those emerald eyes, inexplicably filling several goblins with panic.

Goblins had always been creatures both cruel and cowardly.

Their cunning nature made them instinctively assess the situation.

When they held an absolute numerical advantage, the brutal side of their nature took control.

At times like that, goblins were warriors unafraid of death, launching relentless attacks with the Aura of wanting to devour their enemies alive.

That was also why they had proactively emerged from the cave to fight.

But now, as one companion after another was pierced by Gauss, bled dry, and collapsed onto the ground as cold corpses—

The cowardly side of their nature inevitably surfaced.

On top of that, an inexplicable Aura that made them uneasy radiated from Gauss. The goblins facing him had already begun trembling uncontrollably, and panic spread among them.

Now then, who was the hunter?

Who was the prey?

Gauss glanced at the Wooden Spear stuck in a goblin. Its tip had already broken.

He did not know whether it could not withstand the white glow enhancing it, or whether the material had simply been poor to begin with.

His arms were getting sore anyway, so he decided to switch weapons.

He drew the dagger at his waist.

Whoosh!

After several arrows flew wide, one arrow pierced through a goblin's calf.

Hailiel provided support once more.

Seeing this, Gauss stepped over soil dark red with blood and rushed forward with his dagger.

With the dagger, he became even more agile.

He also discovered that with his thoughts accelerated, as though he had entered a low-grade Bullet Time state, a nimble weapon seemed more suited to his strengths.

Holding a shield in one hand and a nearly two-meter-long spear in the other severely restricted his movement and turning.

The other three goblins seemed to have been frightened stiff, standing there without moving at all.

Slash!!

The raised dagger slashed down diagonally. The white glow empowered the blade, and the instant it touched the goblin's skin, its speed surged again. The goblin, unable to resist, was like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Its neck, one shoulder, and one arm were cut open by a massive gash.

Blood splattered, staining half of Gauss's face red once more.

Another one!

"Monster Kill Count: 6"

Gauss let out a muffled grunt. Riding the momentum of his consecutive victories, he turned toward another goblin not far away.

Bang!

Raising the Small Round Shield, he met the goblin's club head-on. The instant the weapons collided, he poured out all the strength in his body.

The goblin's club flew from its hand.

Gauss took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and swung his dagger across the unarmed goblin's abdomen.

"Monster Kill Count: 7"

Up in the tree, Hailiel stared blankly at the scene.

What was going on with Gauss?

He was so strong!

Gauss was beginning to show signs of being overcome by bloodlust.

Although his head throbbed and his arms and thighs had begun trembling uncontrollably from repeated bursts of exertion, both his body and mind were extremely excited.

Swallowing saliva that carried the rusty taste of blood, he looked toward the remaining two goblins, which were already showing signs of fleeing.

By now, Gauss's ferocity had completely shattered their will to fight.

Even the arms holding their weapons were shaking violently.

Mage Hand!

Magical power materialized in the air once again.

Mage Hand seized the opening created by the goblin's fear-weakened grip and swung down from above.

With more than ten pounds of force, it actually slapped the weapon straight out of the goblin's hand.

Then Mage Hand knocked the other goblin's weapon away as well.

The final two goblins were directly disarmed by Mage Hand.

Now stripped of their last means of resistance, they were exposed before Gauss.

Naturally, Gauss would not waste this precious opportunity. Suppressing the violent heaving of his chest and enduring the searing pain in his lungs, he rapidly closed in.

Both hands clamped tightly around the dagger. His lower back drove his shoulders, and his upper and lower arms exerted force together. The dagger swept sideways, mercilessly disemboweling the panicked goblin as it tried to turn and run.

Its split-open belly spilled intestines all over the ground.

"Monster Kill Count: 8"

Ignoring the goblin split in two on the ground, he saw that the final goblin was already running away.

Gritting his teeth, he stomped down, crushing the foul, filthy intestines and organs spilled across the ground, then shot forward.

Taking three steps in two, he caught up with the last goblin just as it was about to dart into the forest.

Shhk!

The thrusting dagger stabbed into its back, finally plunging into the goblin's soft, tofu-like abdomen.

Gauss violently twisted his wrist, and the dagger embedded in the goblin's body directly shredded its internal organs.

"Roar!!!!" The goblin let out one final unwilling howl.

Gauss pulled out his dagger, but his legs suddenly gave way.

His body abruptly lost all strength. Before he could collapse, he braced himself against the ground and dropped to one knee.

The consecutive high-intensity bursts had drained his stamina far faster than expected. He had already pushed himself beyond his limits.

"Monster Kill Count: 9"

Looking at his wildly trembling calves and arms, Gauss continued panting.

His Cloth Armor was already tattered beyond recognition, and several wounds had inevitably been left on his body from cuts he had failed to avoid.

"Hiss... that hurts a little."

With the battle on his side temporarily over, Gauss's excitement faded, and exhaustion and pain flooded through both body and mind all at once.

He had truly performed beyond his limits.

Aside from the goblin scout he had finished off one-on-one at the beginning, he had cut down seven goblins in a row.

Of course, Hailiel deserved credit for continuously suppressing them from afar with her arrows. Without her repeated accurate shots driving back goblins, forcing them to reposition, and wounding them, his opportunities to dodge and land fatal strikes would not have appeared so often.

The scales of victory might have tilted toward the seven goblins not long after the battle began.

But in the end, Hailiel had only provided support. The greatest credit for the current result undoubtedly belonged to Gauss and his unwavering will to fight.

Though he looked as if he had subjected the goblins to an inhuman slaughter, his strength was not overwhelmingly greater than theirs.

If they were truly compared, he might have been the weaker side.

Rapid thinking, the Bane effect, and the panic that seized the goblins after they were frightened by him—without all these factors piling together, the battle would likely have looked completely different.

As they said, when the body reached its limit, the will would lead you out of encirclement.

The goblins lost their will to fight in the end, while Gauss only fought more fiercely despite exhausting his stamina. That alone decided who lived and who died!

On the treetop, Hailiel lowered her bow. Having repeatedly drawn and fired just now, her arms had begun aching and swelling as well. She had clearly strained them.

Just as the two of them panted heavily to catch their breath, a pained cry from a young man suddenly came from the other side.

It was Bell's voice!

Right, apart from the nine goblins Hailiel and Gauss had killed together, with Hailiel supporting and Gauss leading the attack—

There were still nine goblins surrounding Bell, Mia, and the other three villagers.

Thanks to the new supporter Feifei Afeng for the 500 Qidian coins and monthly ticket! After two years, seeing some familiar names again has left me deeply moved. I often feel indebted; all I can offer is gratitude. Thank you.