Not Killing Him?

The hammer slammed into the broken wall, and rubble flew into Lu Heng's face.

Before the second blow could land, he rolled to the side. The Blood Taisui was still wrapped around his arm, its dark red lines burning beneath his skin, the aftershocks of the previous attack still lingering in his bones. He gritted his teeth, got up, and turned to run.

The Goblin King didn't give chase.

It stood on the edge of the cliff, iron hammer on its shoulder, watching Lu Heng run more than ten meters before slowly taking its own steps.

It's not chasing, it's blocking.

Lu Heng turned left, and it emerged from behind the broken wall on the left, slamming its hammer into the ground and blocking the way. Lu Heng turned right, and it was already standing on the metal frame on the right, looking down at him. It didn't rush forward, taking each step steadily, as if chasing a cornered prey.

Lu Heng's heart was beating faster and faster.

No. It shouldn't be this fast. The wasteland is so vast, and the wreckage is so complex, how could it possibly be blocking the way every time? Unless—it already knows which way it's going.

He turned sharply and glanced into the Goblin King's eyes.

Those eyes weren't looking at his face, nor at his movements, but were fixed on his feet. No, on the ground beneath his feet. The Goblin King's nose twitched slightly, as if he were sniffing something.

Lu Heng looked down at his shoes.

His shoes were covered in black mud—brought up from the bottom of the ravine. The black seepage from the ravine, the weathered shell fragments, and the ashes from the cave... he carried the scent of that path. The Goblin King hadn't predicted his route; he'd sniffed him out and blocked his path like a hunting dog.

He can't escape.

Lu Heng turned and rushed towards a collapsed metal frame, trying to use the complex terrain to shake off his pursuers. He squeezed into the gaps between the frames, sideways and squeezed through the rusted steel beams, his feet treading on rubble and broken bricks, not daring to slow down. Behind him came the sound of a hammer scraping against metal, the ear-piercing friction sound growing closer and closer— the Goblin King hadn't squeezed through the gaps; it had smashed through the steel beams blocking its path and was pushing its way through.

Lu Heng emerged from the other end, revealing an open space ahead. Just as he rushed out, the Goblin King circled around from the side, sweeping his iron hammer horizontally.

He ducked to avoid it, the hammer whizzing past his head, the wind it created stinging his ears. He tried to rush forward, but the Goblin King was already blocking his way, the hammer coming crashing down vertically.

Blood Taisui instantly covered both arms.

Lu Heng parried with a cross-shaped motion. The hammer slammed into his arm, the impact traveling down his bones, forcing him to his knees. His knees hit the gravel, causing excruciating pain. The Blood Taisui automatically absorbed the force, but this time it wasn't as smooth as before—its reaction had slowed down with continuous use.

The Goblin King kicked him in the chest.

Lu Heng flew out, fell to the ground, and rolled several times before stopping. He coughed up blood, struggled to get up, and the Blood Taisui had already receded, the dark red lines on his arm were almost invisible. He was too exhausted, his breathing was like a bellows, and every breath was filled with the smell of blood.

The Goblin King walked over, unhurriedly.

It didn't smash down immediately, but circled around him, the hammer dragging on the ground, sending sparks flying. It stopped beside Lu Heng, raised the hammer, and smashed it down next to his left leg. Gravel flew everywhere, Lu Heng's trouser leg was torn open, and several bloody marks appeared on his calf, but it missed.

It then moved to the other side and smashed the hammer next to its right leg.

Same distance, same force, same miss.

Lu Heng stared at it, his mind a complete mess.

Why?

The Goblin King could have smashed his head with a single blow, broken his ribs with a single kick, and killed him instantly in any of those attacks. But it didn't. It simply cornered him, forced him, and drove him to his doom, like a cat playing with a mouse, always just a hair's breadth away, but never fatally.

It's playing.

Lu Heng supported himself on the ground and slowly stood up. The Blood Taisui spread again, but this time the patterns were faint and the area it covered was much smaller, only binding his right hand. He could feel the Blood Taisui resisting—the cost of continuously deflecting force was too high, and it also needed to recover.

The Goblin King watched him stand up, a grin spreading across its face, revealing yellow teeth. It raised its hammer, and this time, instead of smashing it to the side, it brought it down directly on Lu Heng.

Lu Heng dodged to the side, the hammer slamming down at his feet, cracking the ground. He seized the opportunity to rush to the side, but the Goblin King was already blocking his way, the hammer sweeping across. He ducked, the hammer grazing his back, tearing a hole in his coat.

He kept running, and the Goblin King kept blocking his way.

Left, right, front, back. Every time he thought he had found a breakthrough, the Goblin King was already standing there waiting. The hammer came down again and again, each time grazing his body and hitting the ground, sending shards of stone flying and dust billowing, but it just wouldn't hit him.

Lu Heng's strength was rapidly depleting. The patterns on the Blood Taisui were fading, covering a smaller and smaller area, until finally they could only wrap around his right palm. His breathing became more and more rapid, his legs felt like lead, and he had to exert all his strength to lift his foot each time.

The Goblin King stopped.

It stood three meters in front of Lu Heng, the iron hammer on its shoulder, looking at him with no anger, no excitement, nothing at all. It just stared at him, as if waiting for him to fall down on his own.

Lu Heng, supporting himself on his knees, gasped for breath. He looked up at the Goblin King, only one question on his mind:

Why don't you kill me?

He could sense that the Goblin King could kill him at any moment. One blow would suffice; a second wouldn't be necessary. But it didn't. It had chased him for so long, ambushed him for so long, and every attack it made had held back, as if... testing something.

Lu Heng suddenly remembered the grayish-black lizard in the ravine. Its eyes glowed blue, the same color as the crystals in the cave. The Goblin King's eyes didn't glow blue, but when it stared at its feet, its gaze was exactly the same as the lizard's—not chasing prey, but confirming something.

Check what he has on him.

Lu Heng looked down at his hand. The patterns of the Blood Taisui had completely faded, and there was no abnormality visible on the surface of his skin. But he could feel that the Blood Taisui was still there, just hidden. The Goblin King didn't smell the scent of the Blood Taisui — the Blood Taisui had become one with him and couldn't be smelled.

What did it smell?

The Goblin King moved. It raised its hammer, but this time it didn't smash it. Instead, it turned the hammer upside down, handle facing down, and slammed it into the ground. The ground trembled slightly, and black water seeped from the cracks, just like in the ravines.

Lu Heng stared at the black water, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

The black seepage at the bottom of the ravine, the glowing crystals in the cave, the blue eyes of the gray-black lizard, and the aura emanating from the Goblin King that was completely different from that of the volcano—is there some connection between these things?

The Goblin King wasn't playing a trick on him.

It's forcing him to use the Blood Taisui.

Each attack grazed his body, each time leaving room for maneuver, each time observing his reaction. It was confirming the existence of the Blood Taisui, confirming what it wanted from Lu Heng.

Lu Heng slowly straightened up, looked at the Goblin King, and suddenly smiled.

It wasn't a happy laugh, but a laugh born of utter despair followed by a calm. He knew he couldn't escape, his strength was exhausted, his Blood Taisui was almost depleted, and the Goblin King could kill him at any moment. But now, he wasn't afraid—because he had finally understood something.

The Goblin King needs him to live.

It's necessary, at least for now.

The Goblin King looked at him and smiled, a flicker of emotion appearing in its eyes for the first time. It raised its hammer, but this time it didn't bring it down. Instead, it pulled the hammer back and turned to walk deeper into the wreckage. After a few steps, it stopped and glanced back at Lu Heng.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: Follow me.

Lu Heng stood still, without moving.

He watched the Goblin King's retreating figure, then looked at his trembling hands. The Blood Taisui lay hidden beneath his skin, as still as a sleeping creature. He didn't know where the Goblin King was taking him, what it wanted, or whether following it meant death or life.

But he had no other choice.

Lu Heng took a step and followed.

The wind on the wasteland grew stronger, rattling the metal frames between the wreckage. The sky remained a gray-white, obscuring the passage of time. The Goblin King walked ahead, his hammer dragging on the ground, sending sparks flying. Lu Heng followed behind, keeping a distance, each step firm and steady.

He didn't know what lay ahead.

But he knew that from this moment on, the rules of the game had changed.