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Chapter 137

"Tsk...." Philip clicked his tongue as he retracted his outstretched arm.

The light on his sword was fading. This meant he had almost exhausted the divine power imbued in the relic, and soon he would have to block the incoming fireballs with his shield. It also meant the sharpness of his sword would decrease.

These large, disgustingly ugly goblins had thick and tough hides. Their claws and teeth were as hard as metal and incredibly strong. Soon, he would no longer be able to use his trump card, the relic, so he had to be even more cautious from now on.

Philip\'s gaze, raising his shield to eye level, became cold.

"Screech—"

A quick gasp came from behind him. Before he could check, Philip rolled from the ground. An arm brushed past over his head. The arm was long like a human\'s, but the legs were short.

The creature’s gaze, which had cut through the air, turned to the horses on the opposite side. The tethered horses were on the verge of rearing up. And that had drawn the creature’s attention.

Philip didn\'t miss the moment of opportunity that this created.

Swoosh.

Philip, standing up and charging at the same time, drove his sword into the creature’s back. The blade, faintly imbued with divine power, pierced through the thick hide as if it were paper, embedding deeply.

Screech!

The edge of his round shield flew into the screaming creature’s nape.

With a crash, the goblin fell forward.

Still holding the sword, Philip climbed on top of the creature and, gripping his shield tightly in his left hand, smashed down repeatedly. It only took a few seconds for the half-breed goblin’s tough skull to become mushy.

"Kieek!"

But there was no time to catch his breath. Philip raised his head with wide eyes. Releasing his grip on the sword, he extended his hand forward. However, only a faint wave of light emanated from his palm, and no barrier formed.

"Damn it—"

Philip quickly grasped his sword. He was preparing for the impending impact with his shield raised. But before the goblin could reach him, a large ax blade swept past its arm more quickly.

Crunch!

Both of the goblin\'s arms were cut off in an instant. Charlotte, stopping the ax she had swung with her strength, twisted her arm forward, slashing downwards. The long blade of the ax embedded itself in the middle of the goblin\'s face.

Swoosh.

Dragging her feet as she came to a halt, she raised the ax with the goblin still clinging to it and slammed it into the ground. The goblin\'s head was cleaved horizontally in two.

Charlotte turned to Philip with her face glistening from the fluids.

"Finally, I\'m playing my proper role."

Philip’s brow furrowed as he stood up. "No... I could have handled it alone."

"Sure you could have—"

Just as Charlotte smirked, the surroundings suddenly lit up like midday.

Boom!

A thundering explosion reverberated through the air. Even the goblins charging forward paused momentarily. Philip stared blankly at the bright yellow pillar of fire rising beyond Charlotte.

With a rumble, the pillar of fire soon settled, turning into orange flames licking the air.

"Hah...."

In Philip\'s sighing gaze, a red streak flickered at the corner of his vision. It was Mev, the Red Knight, living up to her name. Unfazed by the explosion, she steadily cut down the goblins one by one, striking them down methodically.

When did she—

The question didn’t linger long. Ian was rising in the distance. Thanks to the flames, his expression was visible. Despite having cast such a tremendous spell, his face showed no difference from usual. He was even slightly frowning as he turned around.

Philip had no way of knowing that Ian\'s expression was due to his failure to control the attack\'s intensity, a result of mixing in more chaos power than intended. Ian stepped forward, picked up his sword from the ground, and then purposefully strode toward the still-burning flames.

"...!"

Philip\'s eyes widened once more. He finally noticed the silhouette standing motionless in the middle of the flames. A charred figure clutching a greatsword—it was undoubtedly the chieftain. For a creature capable of speech, it was clearly no ordinary goblin, yet it had been reduced to this state.

Then why is he approaching it?

Just as Ian stepped into the flames, he halted. Frowning for a moment, he threw himself backward. At the same time, purplish cracks spread like spider webs across the chieftain’s charred body.

Swoosh!

A burst of magic exploded from the chieftain’s body. The flames were instantly extinguished, and Ian, caught in the blast, was thrown even further back.

"...!"

Philip raised his shield to his face and crouched down. The magical explosion was surging up the slope, reaching the outer edge where he stood.

"Ugh...!"

He was soon swept away by a shockwave akin to being hit by a giant wave. Horrifying hallucinations flashed through his mind, and terror surged within him. As his legs gave out and he fell, Philip instinctively bit the inside of his cheek. The sharp pain brought back his rationality. It was his method of breaking free from the enchantments used by monsters or the corrupted.

Neigh—

The shrill cries of the horses reached his ears. Philip quickly turned around, with his expression twisting.

The horses were collapsing with foam in their mouths. Particularly the two taken from the bandit knight’s hideout had their eyes rolled back as they sprawled out. The two large ones, appearing to be of northern bloodline, were sitting on the ground, barely able to breathe.

"Damn it...!"

Philip rushed over and kneeled beside them. The two fallen ones were gasping their last breaths with foam in their mouths.

He placed his right hand on one of the horses and focused his mind. Light flickered briefly from his palm. That was all. Not even the faintest glimmer followed. Regardless, it had some effect. One horse’s convulsions ceased. The other, however, was beyond help.

"Grr—oooh!"

A double-layered roar echoed through the air immediately afterward. Philip, turning around reflexively, held his breath.

In the center of the swirling violet magic barrier, the chieftain, now transformed into an entirely new form, was howling to announce its presence. It was identifiable as the chieftain only by the magical barrier and the greatsword in its hand.

Everything else about him had completely changed. Its previous goblin form was nowhere to be seen.

It was now a larger figure, with glistening red skin covered in mucous. Long, sharp bone blades protruded from both sides of its back. Tentacles writhing around its neck like a mane, each with a red eye embedded at the end. Moreover, a single enormous eye with vertically split eyelids had opened in the center of its forehead.

Despite its terrifying appearance, this being lacked the usual unsettling energy of other mutated creatures. It was a complete entity in its own right, exuding fear and strangeness simultaneously.

"Is this a demon...?" Philip’s laugh was hollow. Even though it had succumbed to the madness of the Black Wall, the idea of a mere goblin transcending its bounds was absurd.

"Get a grip. What are you looking at?" Charlotte’s growling voice snapped him out of his daze.

Blinking, Philip turned to look at Charlotte, who had approached unnoticed.

"Leave that to Ian. That’s not our concern."

She added, lowering her body. Her orange eyes showed none of the usual calm. The reason became clear immediately.

Creak, crunch—

As the chieftain\'s roar subsided, an eerie sound that had been drowned out until now began to penetrate their ears. The hybrid goblins, their eyes completely turned purple, emitted unsettling noises. These came from the bodies of a few goblins undergoing mutation, their muscles tearing through their skin and swelling, while bone tendrils sprouted chaotically from various parts of their bodies.

"... Oh Lu Solar, help us."

"Hold on, Philip! I’ll be there soon!" Mev’s shout cut through Philip’s lament.

Charlotte whispered as she adjusted her grip on her ax.

"Don’t worry. I’ll protect you."

There was a peculiar resolve in her tone. Although he didn’t understand the deeper reasons, it was enough to snap Philip back to reality.

Raising his sword and shield, he muttered, "We’re supposed to protect each other."

The goblins charged with a cacophony of screams immediately afterward.

***

The surroundings grew chaotic once again.

Ian, unfazed, kept his gaze fixed on the chieftain beyond the dissipating force field. The name of the new quest he had just received flashed through his mind.

[Hybrid Transcendent.]

Given the reborn form of the creature, it was a fitting title.

A goblin of all things, achieving greatness.

The chieftain, lowering its greatsword, stared intently at Ian. Its eyes reflected confidence, exhilaration, and calmness. It seemed intoxicated by the power now fully its own. The creature extended its greatsword toward Ian. Its fang-filled mouth moved.

"Become... a new... seed...."

Still not giving up on that?

"For something freshly born, you sure are confident..." Ian murmured, curling one corner of his mouth.

Gripping his sword more firmly, he added, "If you need it, come and take it, kid."

"...!"

The chieftain’s face twisted into an odd smile as if understanding Ian’s words. The smile quickly turned into rage. It lunged, scattering violet magic. The dissipating force field shattered completely, and the greatsword descended with a violet trail.

Boom—

The ground caved in, and dust soared into the air. Ian, already having dodged to the side, steadied himself and charged at the creature. The tentacles on the chieftain’s nape, quicker than the creature could turn its head, swiveled to face him. The eyes embedded at the ends flashed violet. Simultaneously, Ian’s senses misaligned. His vision blurred, and a barrage of horrific hallucinations assaulted his mind.

Hmm.

However, Ian’s mind was not easily corrupted. He had withstood even the roar of a dragon up close. Far from inducing fear, the chieftain’s attempt couldn’t even disturb his calm.

The momentary disorientation was replaced by a swift return of his senses. The Northern Warrior\'s Longsword flew toward the chieftain\'s neck, but the chieftain raised its shoulder to block the attack.

Crack!

The blade bit into the thick hide covered in red scales. The creature finally turned its head, eyes wide in shock.

Ian smirked slightly.

You didn’t expect it to pierce, did you?

The Northern Warrior’s Longsword was infused with both magic and chaos power. Chaos power was as effective against void creatures as divine power was.

Of course, the blade was vibrating intensely, unable to withstand the power. Though he didn’t check the information screen, its durability was undoubtedly plummeting at an alarming rate. That was something he couldn\'t help.

"How... could?"

Even as it asked, the chieftain swung the greatsword buried in the ground upward. Ian, sensing the gathering strength in the creature’s body, was already leaping in the opposite direction.

Woosh—

A purple arc sliced through the air with tremendous force. Even Ian would be torn to shreds if he got caught in that trajectory.

That is, if I got caught...

Ian planted his foot on the ground and halted, turning to look at the chieftain. Despite the prolonged battle, Ian still breathed easily. Only when he was near his limit did he realize how much his stamina had improved.

Moreover, stamina didn’t just affect vitality and vigor. Even after a considerable amount of time in combat, his Concentration remained steady. The throbbing pain in his temples was much less severe, and his heightened senses were still sharp.

Despite expending a lot of magic, his body was coping with the aftereffects.

As expected. There’s some realism to these stats.

Ian recalled the moment he increased his Strength and Agility. Even then, his Stamina had slightly improved, and he felt mentally clearer.

It became evident that all states slightly influenced each other. Not as effectively as directly increasing the specific stat, but still noticeable.

Tap, tap—

Ian charged at the chieftain, which had yet to retrieve its greatsword. The creature’s third eye gleamed. Magic rippled and a purple force field surged.

I thought it was a transformation cut scene, but it was an active skill.

Ian struck the force field. The forming shield shattered. It gave the chieftain enough time to swing its greatsword down again. Instead of retreating, Ian leaned sideways.

Woosh.

The arc narrowly grazed his head, and the resulting wind pressure and magic scratched his ears and cheeks. Unfazed by the blood, Ian closed in on the creature.

Crunch.

His outstretched sword pierced the nearly broken chain mail and embedded deep into the chieftain’s side. The tentacles writhed as if feeling the pain first.

Ian’s eyes flashed gray. With a silent explosion from within, the chieftain’s massive body was blown away. Shredded organs and fluids burst from its torn side.

Crash!

The chieftain rolled on the ground but soon stood up. Red fibrous tissue and writhing tentacles rapidly covered its side.

"What... are you...?"

The creature’s expression was more bewildered than pained. It was understandably so. Having transcended its species, it never imagined being overpowered by a human.

From Ian\'s perspective, the power this creature held was immense. If they had met in Chapter Three like in the game, it would have been a challenging battle. But at this moment, that wasn\'t the case. The creature had not yet fully adapted to its newfound strength and body.

The creature\'s movements and use of power were clumsy from Ian\'s perspective, who had faced countless corrupted beings, monsters, and demons. This instance was no different.

Are you still in shock? That level of power won\'t kill you, anyway.

With the spell complete, Ian extended his hand. In an instant, the Ice Prison, blossoming like a honeycomb, encased the chieftain. The chieftain gritted its teeth and swung the blade-like tendrils sprouting from its shoulders. The Ice Prison shattered easily but immediately reformed, freezing again to fill the gaps.

Those few seconds were more than enough for the Lightning Whirlwind to gather in Ian\'s outstretched hand.

Zap, zap—

A tornado imbued with blue lightning shot out over the Ice Prison.

Standing, the chieftain let out a scream, "Screech, screech—"

The magic flared from its body, dissipating the whirlwind.

Swoosh.

But by then, Ian was already right in front of it.

Ian thrust his sword as the chieftain’s third eye flashed, raising a force field.

Crash.

Ian’s charge shattered the force field. The Northern Warrior\'s Longsword, unable to withstand the strain, broke apart. Yet Ian’s expression held a faint smirk as he let go of the hilt.

This part is especially sloppy. Your response is too predictable.

Ian swung his prepared left hand with all his might. The Ancient Meteoric Dagger he released embedded squarely in the center of the chieftain’s third eye.

Crack.

The eye shattered with a sound like breaking pottery, turning red.

"Roar—" The chieftain howled in agony.

Ian, landing from a roll, surged back toward it with all his strength. The broken Sword of Judgement was now in his hand.

Swoosh—

Blue holy energy surged up the crossguard like flames. A dazzling blue arc slashed toward the chieftain’s neck.