A Man's Length Anxiety

The alley they came through was completely blocked by the surging tide of Goblins!

Baron Ul and the guards formed the outermost defense, their arms growing numb with each swing of their swords. Sweat mixed with blood had long since soaked through their undershirts.

Although their individual strength held an absolute advantage, with each strike capable of easily killing a Goblin, there was... the numbers!

The sheer difference in numbers made them realize that exhaustion was inevitable.

The guards' arms began to grow numb, sweat mixing with blood to soak through their clothes.

He Xi knew he couldn't hold back his Magic Power any longer.

He cast Earth Spike Technique repeatedly.

Three stone spikes, half a meter high, suddenly erupted from the ground in the direction of the bell tower!

The moment the spikes broke through the earth, they impaled several nearby Goblins that couldn't dodge in time, their green blood flowing down the stone spikes.

The unluckiest Goblin was violently lifted by the rightmost spike, lost its balance, and was flung to the left like a sack of rags.

Its body and head precisely collided with the other two sharp spikes, instantly piercing through. It twitched a few times while impaled before falling silent.

[Earth Spike Technique Proficiency +1, (2/10)]

He Xi's heart stirred: Proficiency increased? Was it because I got the kill?

Or was it because I wasn't just blindly casting in combat? I'll have to try again later...

The thought flashed by, and he immediately suppressed his musings.

The bloody and shocking scene before them caused the frenzied Goblin assault to momentarily falter.

A flicker of instinctive fear of the unknown power flashed in their crimson eyes.

But the Shaman's frenzied magic continued to take effect.

After a brief pause, the Goblins charged forward even more ferociously!

However, deterring them wasn't He Xi's objective.

These three half-meter-high stone spikes acted like a "fish-mouth diversion dam" in the middle of a river, forcefully splitting the Goblin tide in the narrow alley!

Their charge was blocked, their path compressed.

He Xi looked at Baron Ul and pointed to the gap formed by the stone spikes on the right.

Baron Ul understood instantly!

He pointed his longsword!

The guards plunged into the gap on the right like a sharp knife.

Spears thrust, blades flashed.

The Goblins crammed together were instantly cleared.

Seizing this precious interval, they forcefully tore open a gap and advanced more than ten meters!

He Xi cast Earth Spike Technique repeatedly again.

This time, three vertical stone spikes blocked the Goblins on the other side, splitting the alley in two.

Continuing their advance, they finally broke out of the narrow alley and stepped into the relatively open bell tower plaza!

The purple-red Goblin Shaman, which had been cunningly maintaining a safe distance, was now standing in the shadow of the bell tower.

Seeing He Xi and the others break free, the face beneath its bone mask contorted, and it violently raised the bone staff in its hand.

Its hunched body trembled slightly, and a viscous wave of Magic Power transformed into an invisible spiderweb, descending upon them.

[Slow Technique]

He Xi felt his body suddenly sink!

It was as if he had been instantly immersed in a thick swamp, every movement becoming incredibly difficult.

Lifting an arm, taking a step, felt like dragging heavy objects.

Baron Ul and the guards, clad in leather armor and wielding heavy weapons, now moved as if in slow motion.

A guard attempted to raise his spear, but the weapon, usually so easy to handle, now felt as heavy as a mountain. His arm trembled uncontrollably.

The bell tower was within reach!

The bizarre black-haired Mud Doll was clearly visible under the moonlight.

But this short distance of a few dozen meters now felt like an insurmountable chasm.

Just then, the Goblin Shaman bared its mouth, revealing a full set of uneven yellow teeth.

He Xi's internal alarm bells rang wildly!

This purple-skinned runt is not right! It has another trick up its sleeve!

He endured the heaviness and sluggishness of his body, concentrating all his mental energy to sense his surroundings.

Just then! He noticed a figure nearly two meters tall at the edge of the plaza, towering over the smaller Goblins.

It was a monster nearly two meters tall.

Its face was ferocious, its lower jaw protruding with four sharp fangs, and its dark red pupils flickered with a bloodthirsty gleam.

Its upper body was covered in bulging muscles, but its abdomen was distended like a giant stomach. It dragged a tree trunk, found from who knows where, in its hand.

A Giant Goblin!?

The monster instantly locked onto He Xi, who was affected by the Slow Technique!

A sinister grin spread across its ugly face!

Then, like an out-of-control battering ram, it smashed through all the regular Goblins blocking its path and charged fiercely towards He Xi.

"Damn it! It's coming for me!"

He Xi's pupils contracted sharply!

The shadow of death enveloped him.

In a flash, He Xi held nothing back!

The surrounding earth elements gathered wildly!

He squeezed out all the Magic Power in his body!

A thick stone spike erupted from the ground.

It wasn't pointing straight up.

Instead, it had a slanted angle.

It precisely pierced into the Giant Goblin's gaping maw, full of fangs.

It went straight through its plump skull without obstruction!

Emerging from the back of its head along with red and white matter.

The Giant Goblin's charging, massive body suddenly froze!

Its dark red pupils instantly lost their luster.

The tree trunk then crashed to the ground.

However, the stone spike didn't stop.

It continued to grow upwards towards the top of the bell tower, carrying the corpse of the pierced Giant Goblin, breaking through everything in its path! Climbing!

He Xi's face was as pale as paper, his body trembling violently from Magic Power exhaustion, almost unable to stand!

He stared intently at the tip of the stone spike!

Faster! Faster!

Higher!

However...

The climbing speed of the stone spike slowed down at a visible rate...

Finally!

Still a full several meters away from the bell tower's spire, and from that eerie Mud Doll swaying in the wind...

It stopped abruptly!

His Magic Power... was depleted!

[Earth Spike Technique Proficiency +3, (5/10)]

At the tip of the stone spike, the Giant Goblin's massive corpse hung, its eyes wide in death, swaying slightly in the night wind.

So close to the goal...

Yet so impossibly far!

He Xi looked at the few meters of distance, and a sense of powerlessness instantly swept over him!

Men's anxiety about length is everywhere.

"Just... this much short!"

"At a time like this?"

Affected by the Slow Technique, their movements were like snails. Trying to fight their way out of the goblin horde was like dreaming.

Their only hope was that Mud Doll hanging on the bell tower!

But now...

A guard, quick-witted, steadied the swaying He Xi.

Baron Ul also saw the stone spike pointing diagonally towards the bell tower.

A flicker of despair flashed in his eyes.

"If we hadn't been hit by the Slow Technique, a single sprint might have been enough to reach that Mud Doll!"

But then he pointed at the giant stone spike.

Because it was their only way to survive.

With their backs to the earth spikes, they could at least reduce the number of goblins they had to face from one direction.

Waiting... for reinforcements that had perhaps already died.

The guards immediately understood. Shielding He Xi, they moved towards the giant stone spike under Baron Ul's lead.

Under the effect of the Slow Technique, every step was incredibly difficult.

Although he couldn't make a sound, Bruce occasionally turned back, baring his teeth and grimacing, trying to scare off the goblins that got too close.