Goblins

There were six goblins in the group, and they had not noticed Huo Ling, who had revealed only his eyes.

The goblins were completely naked. Only the leader wore a necklace braided from grass stems around its neck, with several messy bird feathers attached.

It seemed this goblin was the leader of the group.

The goblins carried weapons, all of them nearly two-meter-long spears with spearheads seemingly made from sharp stones.

The sharp stones were tied to uneven shafts with grass rope, making them the goblins' weapons.

Their level of civilization did not seem high. This goblin tribe was probably not very large either.

As they walked, the goblins shouted and hollered loudly, leaving Huo Ling somewhat puzzled.

These goblins were not particularly strong fighters. Weren't they afraid of attracting dangerous predators?

Every so often, they swung their stone spears, struck the walls, or yelled loudly.

They spoke goblin gibberish Huo Ling could not understand, sometimes bursting into laughter.

As they walked, the goblins suddenly split into pairs and entered several buildings, giving Huo Ling an ominous feeling.

Why were they going into the buildings?

Huo Ling hurriedly picked up the fire axe and hung the short knife at his waist, keeping watch on the goblins' movements.

More than ten minutes later, one pair of goblins emerged from a building, carrying several items. Huo Ling looked closely.

It was actually an iron pot, along with a few miscellaneous objects.

Were these goblins gathering supplies? Huo Ling was confused.

Next, the other two pairs of goblins also came out of the buildings, each carrying one thing or another.

After setting the items down, the goblins scattered again and randomly entered other buildings.

Huo Ling's heart grew heavy. He prayed constantly, hoping the goblins would not enter his building, and especially not his room.

But his prayers did not work. One pair of goblins came out of the building opposite with nothing in their hands, cursing as they walked straight into Huo Ling's building.

The sight chilled the heart of Huo Ling, who had been watching them closely.

He did not want to stir up trouble at all. He had already successfully awakened his spirit and received Spirit Realm's Blessing. He even possessed an attribute panel he did not yet fully understand.

As long as he could return to Blue Star, he would soon become a mage—a mage with limitless prospects.

But now an accident had occurred. Those two goblins were drawing near.

A single goblin was not difficult to deal with. At only around 1.2 or 1.3 meters tall, a goblin's fighting ability was at most comparable to an eleven- or twelve-year-old child. But their ferocity was completely different.

Those who often killed knew that the meek feared the fierce, the fierce feared the reckless, and the reckless feared those who did not fear death.

Relying on their numerical advantage, these goblins were far bolder, directly at the reckless stage.

If possible, Huo Ling did not want to fight them at all.

But fate was often like this—things never went as one wished. No matter how Huo Ling prayed, the two goblins still came.

Listening to the goblins' chattering voices draw closer, Huo Ling's tense heart gradually calmed.

With things having come to this, he could only risk his life. He was afraid, but he would not back down.

No matter what, he was a tall, well-built man. Beating a goblin should be easy.

As long as he dealt with these two goblins first, the remaining four would be much easier to handle.

Huo Ling hid behind the door, gripping the fire axe in his right hand. This type of fire axe was most handy when used one-handed, and his strength had also been enhanced after awakening his spirit.

He held the short knife in a reverse grip in his left hand, waiting for the goblins to come.

The doorway had been blocked by an old sofa, but it could not stop the two goblins. They shoved the wooden sofa aside in one go.

The fabric on the sofa tore apart as well, and the flying scraps and dust made the two goblins cough repeatedly.

As the babbling sounds came closer and closer, the two goblins first opened the other two rooms.

They seemed to have discovered the skeleton and lingered there briefly.

"Creak~"

The door before Huo Ling was pushed open by the two goblins. He could even smell the sour stench of their unwashed bodies.

Huo Ling held his breath.

"Gibber jabber!"

The two goblins discovered the backpack Huo Ling had left behind, as well as the food and tools piled in one corner of the room, and cried out excitedly.

At that moment, Huo Ling slowly edged out from behind the door.

The two goblins stood with their backs to him. One held miscellaneous items scavenged from the other rooms, and even had the top of the skeleton's skull from the neighboring room balanced on its head.

The other goblin still held a stone spear, and they were discussing something intensely.

A fierce expression appeared on Huo Ling's face. He raised the fire axe high, then savagely slashed it diagonally at the goblin holding the stone spear.

The fire axe did not disappoint after Huo Ling's previous sharpening. Driven by the tremendous force of his swing, its blade easily chopped through the goblin's flesh.

"Crunch!"

Green blood sprayed out as the axe split the goblin apart. It only had time to let out one scream before dying.

The other goblin had yet to react and stood frozen in place.

Taking advantage of the moment, Huo Ling yanked the fire axe free from the bone. Only then did the goblin scream.

But Huo Ling showed no mercy. He raised the axe high again and hacked down with all his strength.

The goblin screamed. It had no weapon and could only raise the miscellaneous objects in its hands high, hoping to block the blow.

How could such a skinny goblin possibly stop a strike delivered with all of Huo Ling's strength?

"Smack!"

The axe, along with the junk in the goblin's hands, smashed into its body. Fortunately, the junk blocked some of the blow and saved the goblin's life.

Huo Ling lifted the axe, then kicked out, sending the goblin straight onto the wooden bed.

Before the goblin could get up, Huo Ling lunged forward and buried the axe in its forehead.

The goblin's brains burst apart, white brain matter mixed with green blood splattering everywhere. It was clearly beyond saving.

"Whew... whew..."

Huo Ling panted heavily. Though he had won the battle decisively, he had never fought before. Now that he suddenly relaxed, his entire body felt weak and sore.

This was the consequence of inexperience. No amount of training could compare to real combat. Although he often practiced fighting with his classmates at school, he had never truly seen blood.

The only blood he had seen was when killing fish and chickens at the restaurant where he was tied up.

That fight had truly been tense and thrilling.