The Goblin Lord’s Folly

After all, a game was not reality. Since gory scenes were absent, the Goblin Lord would naturally not truly be blinded by such an attack.

Nevertheless, this strike still triggered a critical hit, inflicting immense damage that sent the Goblin Lord reeling back with a pained shriek, its arms flailing wildly as it tried to snatch Bai Xia.

Yet, before it could even react, Bai Xia had already used Dark Harvest to instantly teleport behind it, not only causing its grasp to meet empty air but also allowing her to swiftly wield her Shadow Dagger, dealing a significant amount of additional damage.

Concurrently, Tian Zheng, who had just been repelled, surged forward, and as the Goblin Lord’s aggro was completely drawn to Bai Xia, he cleaved his sword directly at its neck!

Why did both of them seem to favor striking this particular goblin’s neck? The reason was simple: its neck appeared vulnerable, and attacking it offered a bonus for striking a weak point.

Perhaps they should be grateful the Goblin Lord wasn’t clad in armor; otherwise, this battle might have proven far more challenging.

Tian Zheng’s damage output was considerable, and he wasn’t content with just a single slash to the Goblin Lord’s neck. After empowering himself with Exhilaration, he immediately followed up with a Reincarnation Slash, which, while not knocking the creature airborne, plunged it into a state of rigid paralysis.

Following this, he and Qing Qiu (TL Note: This character ‘Qing Qiu’ is not in the provided glossary. I will add it as ‘unknown’ gender to the updated glossary.) positioned themselves one in front and one behind, adhering to the ruthless principle of striking a foe when they are down, and ruthlessly carved yet another chunk from its health bar!

As a Level 10 Elite BOSS, the Goblin Lord certainly lived up to its title in terms of attack power, skills, and health pool. However, it possessed one fatal flaw: its defense was woefully inadequate.

By Bai Xia’s calculations, the Goblin Lord’s inherent defense was likely only marginally superior to that of a common goblin, a fact that, coupled with their sustained assault, had already inflicted a considerable amount of damage.

Having already been at half health, the Goblin Lord’s health bar now appeared increasingly precarious.

It unleashed a Lightning Explosion, forcing Bai Xia and Tian Zheng to retreat, while the rapid depletion of its health also triggered its innate talent skill: Summon Minions.

However, both Bai Xia and Tian Zheng perceived this as an incredibly foolish move, for when the Goblin Lord summoned its minions, it would remain stationary and utterly defenseless!

Thus, the moment the Goblin Lord began summoning its minions, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng unhesitatingly rushed back, unleashing their attacks without a shred of reservation.

Then, just as the Goblin Lord finally reacted and prepared to attack them, the two of them, with unspoken synchronicity, instantly shifted their targets, pouncing on the goblin minion that had just manifested from a burst of white light. Before the minion could even comprehend its surroundings, they had already dispatched it with the utmost speed, sending it back to wherever it came from.

The Goblin Lord could only let out a somewhat impotent roar. Though its attacks grew increasingly berserk as its health dwindled, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng, having already discerned its attack patterns, only grew more evasive and cunning with each passing moment.

Tian Zheng maintained his frontal assault, yet every time the Goblin Lord attempted to strike him, Bai Xia, as slick and elusive as an eel, would instantly teleport to interrupt its attack. When the monster then turned its attention to attack the girl, her skills were either deftly dodged or proved utterly ineffective. Even in moments where escape seemed impossible, she could simply activate Shadow Stealth to widen the distance.

Bai Xia’s relentless interference exasperated the Goblin Lord to no end, yet it remained utterly helpless. Moreover, even as she disrupted its actions, she never forgot to seize every opportune moment to inflict additional damage, even immediately shifting to the primary damage dealer whenever Tian Zheng fell back to defend.

Moving in tandem, one in front and one behind, they steadily whittled down the Goblin Lord’s health through continuous positioning and coordinated attacks. If the Goblin Lord attacked forward, its rear would become a vulnerability; if it struck backward, its front would suffer immense damage. Any attempt to unleash a skill was either swiftly interrupted or anticipated, allowing them to dodge well in advance.

If the Goblin Lord possessed a higher intellect, it would surely have roared to the heavens, choosing to self-destruct and take these two cunning humans with it! Alas, despite being an elite monster, it was still merely Level 10 and, furthermore, an incomplete, watered-down evolution.

With a brain capacity not significantly larger than that of a common goblin, the Goblin Lord now exerted less pressure on Bai Xia and Tian Zheng than even the initial swarm of numerous small monsters they had encountered upon entering the nest, which at least had been genuinely bothersome to deal with.

While the Goblin Lord was undeniably far more potent than its smaller counterparts, its combat patterns were limited, making it remarkably easy to evade or even counter its attacks with focused attention.

Consequently, as time wore on, the Goblin Lord’s health slowly dipped below 30%, instantly raising the guard of both Bai Xia and Tian Zheng, who had been meticulously observing every shift in the battle. They knew the Goblin Lord possessed a powerful ultimate skill, one it would only unleash once its health fell beneath that critical threshold.

True to their expectations, and perhaps out of an overwhelming desire to eliminate Bai Xia and Tian Zheng, the Goblin Lord, having just met the activation conditions, didn’t even bother summoning its minions. Instead, ominous streaks of lightning began to crackle and leap across its body!

The lightning at this moment was far more volatile than anything they had witnessed before. Enveloped by the raging electricity, the Goblin Lord’s very form seemed to transform, appearing as though it were now composed entirely of crackling bolts.

A strange, guttural roar emanated from its throat. After a brief moment of intense condensation, it raised high the massive, lightning-wreathed blade in its hand, its original form now obscured by the sheer electrical energy.

Boom!

The instant the lightning blade descended, hundreds, even thousands, of thunderbolts violently splintered outwards from its epicenter, instantly transforming half the cavern into a tempestuous sea of electricity!

“…This skill is absolutely insane!”

Bai Xia, her body pressed tightly against the cavern wall, had retreated immediately, yet she had still narrowly avoided being engulfed by the lightning. Her small face was now bleached white by the blinding radiance.

Though the nearby Tian Zheng remained silent, a palpable sense of lingering trepidation emanated from him.

It was fortunate that they had instantly created distance the moment they saw the Goblin Lord preparing its ultimate attack. Otherwise, given the sheer destructive power of this lightning domain, even Tian Zheng might have been instantly obliterated!

However, even the most spectacular ultimate skill was utterly useless if it failed to hit its target.

Therefore, since Bai Xia and Tian Zheng had neither been caught in the blast nor instantly killed, the Goblin Lord’s demise was now unequivocally sealed.

Thus, as the terrifying barrage of lightning, which had endured for a full three or four seconds, gradually dissipated to reveal the gasping Goblin Lord within, Bai Xia’s eyes sparkled with an unprecedented brilliance.

The Goblin Lord, having expended its ultimate skill, appeared somewhat listless, the strange markings on its body having grown noticeably faint.

It lifted its head, scanning its surroundings, likely hoping to confirm the demise of those detestable humans. Instead, its gaze fell upon an utterly unharmed Bai Xia and Tian Zheng.

The Goblin Lord froze, then let out a roar of utter frustration and unwillingness.

With its ultimate skill having missed its mark and its other abilities temporarily unusable, Bai Xia and Tian Zheng clearly had no intention of granting it a reprieve during this vulnerable period.

While its innate talent skill remained unaffected, allowing the Goblin Lord to summon another minion as the two approached, this act ultimately held no sway over its impending fate.