Translator: CinderTL
"ROAR!"
Amidst the roar, the Bear Goblin swung its weapon with all its might, the resulting wind forcing Theresa to stumble back three steps.
Then, with a piercing shriek that tore through the air, it hurled its weapon at the rock face where Avril stood.
BOOM!
Half the rock face crumbled under the impact.
Amidst the rain of flying debris, the monster, its eyes burning red, slowly turned. Molten-like saliva dripped from its twisted mouth, and each step it took left deep imprints in the ground.
Seeing this, Roland held nothing back.
Battle Frenzy activated!
"ROAR!"
The Bear Goblin's massive claws tore through the air and slammed down before him. Roland raised his shield to meet the attack head-on.
BANG!
The steel shield face instantly caved inward like a bowl. Roland was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, his boots leaving deep gouges in the ground.
Before he could even regain his footing, another attack followed.
Gritting his teeth, Roland rolled to dodge the pursuit. The ground where he had been standing was blasted into a half-meter-deep crater.
Roland barely managed to parry the blow, his tiger's mouth splitting open, blood flowing down the sword hilt. Each impact sent a groan of unbearable strain through his arm bones.
Yet, amidst the escalating battle, his blood began to slowly boil.
After three parries, the bleeding tiger's mouth suddenly stopped trembling.
By the fifth dodge, his heavy legs had become nimble.
When the sparks from the tenth clash of sword and claw erupted, Roland could finally keep pace with the crimson afterimage.
"Not enough!"
He growled hoarsely, his focus attribute fully activated. The surging Knight's Breathing Technique accelerated wildly within his burning blood.
The sluggish nodes were repeatedly scoured by the scorching current, like frozen earth crumbling in the spring thaw.
A strange transformation began.
Faint white vapor rose from his skin. Each breath burned his throat, but this pain was transforming into a chilling euphoria.
When the Bear Goblin's burning claws tore through the air again, Roland's lips curled into a manic grin.
He could feel his blood boiling, his heart pounding like a war drum.
Not from fear, but from a long-forgotten excitement.
Since his duel with Gondar, the "Iron Wall" of the Golden Valley Kingdom, Roland hadn't encountered an opponent who could truly push him to his limits.
Ordinary demonic beasts couldn't even warm him up.
But now, facing this berserk, ferocious beast, every fiber of his combat instincts roared with excitement.
"Perfect timing!"
Roland raised his shield to meet the charge. The impact drove his legs deep into the ground, sending rocks flying.
Amidst the flying debris, his eyes burned with fierce light.
This life-or-death pressure, this constant tension where every second could decide victory or defeat, was the kind of battle he craved.
As the effects of [Battle Frenzy] gradually manifested, Roland could clearly feel his strength steadily increasing.
But surprisingly, the Bear Goblin's berserk state was also intensifying.
The battle resembled two rising tides crashing against each other, each vying to reach its peak first and overwhelm the other.
Roland's sword strikes grew increasingly fierce, but the Bear Goblin's counterattacks were equally ferocious.
Their clashes were like two erupting volcanoes colliding, each exchange unleashing earth-shattering bursts of energy.
The ground beneath their feet continued to collapse, and deep cracks riddled the surrounding rock walls.
Gradually, Roland began to gain the upper hand in this grueling battle.
His breathing technique flowed more smoothly, and the stiffness in his swordplay gradually vanished.
Yet even so, the Bear Goblin fought on fiercely, each counterattack carrying a lethal threat.
The thunderous clash of combat still echoed through the valley, though only a moment had passed.
Avril stood atop the cliff, her longbow drawn taut as a crescent moon. The deep green energy swirling around her arrow suddenly dissipated.
She bit her lip, her emerald eyes widening with curiosity, but quickly nocked another arrow, sending three feathered shafts whistling through the air to pierce the Bear Goblin's knee joints.
"Looks like I won't need to intervene," Galvis said, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he watched Roland's heroic performance. He itched to pull out paper and ink to capture the scene in words and images.
But the bard finally realized the battle was still raging, so he strummed his lute once more.
Sound waves materialized into visible, pale golden ripples, coating Roland's sword blade with a razor-sharp gleam.
Theresa's bright eyes flashed as she darted into the fray like a silver swallow.
Though her rapier couldn't pierce the Bear Goblin's iron-like hide, each precise thrust found its mark at the joints.
"Left!" she cried, her rapier tapping the Bear Goblin's elbow joint and retreating instantly, forcing the giant beast's attack to falter momentarily.
In that fleeting opening, Roland's Mithril Longsword struck like a viper's fangs, tearing a bloody gash across the Bear Goblin's chest.
The beast roared in agony, its claws slashing wildly, only to shatter the afterimage Theresa had left behind.
"Beautiful teamwork!" Avril called out from afar, her bowstring vibrating continuously as arrows rained down, sealing off the Bear Goblin's escape routes.
Each arrow landed perfectly, blocking its intended movements and forcing the beast to face Roland's increasingly ferocious swordplay head-on.
At the center of the battlefield, Roland had completely seized control of the rhythm.
Each breath he took released a plume of scorching white vapor, his Mithril Longsword radiating a dazzling silver light under the influence of the battle song.
Though the Bear Goblin's furious attacks remained fierce, it was now riddled with openings under the combined assault of the three.
Its retreating steps became more frequent, and the savage glint in its eyes began to mix with fear.
After a particularly violent clash, Roland used the recoil to step back half a pace, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
He made a move that stunned everyone.
Not defense, but a preemptive attack.
"Hah!"
With a low roar, Roland swung the fine iron round shield in his hand—already riddled with cracks and deeply dented at its center—with all his might, like a hammer, smashing it directly into the Bear Goblin's face.
The shield whistled through the air as it hurtled forward.
The Bear Goblin clearly hadn't expected its opponent to abandon its last line of defense. A flicker of savage fury flashed in its crimson eyes.
It didn't even bother to dodge. Its massive claws, radiating destructive power, met the shield head-on without hesitation.
"Boom! Crack-crack-crack!"
The deafening crash echoed through the valley, far louder than the previous metallic clashes.
Under the Bear Goblin's furious blow, the fine iron round shield shattered like fragile pottery, instantly exploding into four pieces.
Twisted metal fragments, still searing hot, shot out in all directions like a deadly iron rain, embedding themselves deep into the surrounding rock and earth.
The shield was broken.
But just as the shield fragments were still scattering in the air, momentarily obscuring the Bear Goblin's vision, and just as it instinctively relaxed for a split second after shattering its opponent's defense, Roland moved.
There was no panic in his eyes at the loss of his shield, only a cold, almost glacial focus that suggested a long-laid plan.
His right hand, still gripping the Mithril Longsword, remained steady, the blade pointed forward.
But his left hand, like a viper emerging from ambush, flashed toward his waist and drew a razor-sharp dagger.
Twin Performance!
Roland's body seemed to shed its skeletal constraints, becoming as fluid as water.
With a maneuver that defied human anatomy—a twisting side-slide that pushed his body to its absolute limit—he narrowly dodged the Bear Goblin's momentum-driven, still-extended claw, which had swung through empty air after smashing the shield.
Simultaneously, the Mithril Longsword transformed into a silver arc that tore through the air, thrusting straight for the Bear Goblin's exposed throat. The blade's sharpness, amplified by Galvis's battle song, emitted a piercing shriek.
Meanwhile, the dagger, freshly drawn from its sheath, arced in a wickedly cunning trajectory, like a scorpion's venomous stinger, silently and ruthlessly slashing across the Bear Goblin's inner knee tendon of its supporting leg.
Two weapons, two completely different trajectories, two lethal intentions—yet they achieved perfect harmony in Roland's hands.
His movements flowed without the slightest hesitation, as if he were born to fight this way.
Swoosh!
Thud!
The sounds of two blades piercing flesh rang out almost simultaneously.
The Bear Goblin's roar instantly transformed into a pained shriek.
Though it had narrowly dodged the fatal blow to its throat by tilting its head, the sword still sliced through its tough hide, sending dark red blood gushing forth.
Meanwhile, the dagger's precise strike to the inner knee joint caused its massive frame to buckle violently, its supporting leg's strength suddenly failing.
This sudden, rhythm-altering double blow completely disrupted the Bear Goblin's momentum.
It was forced to wildly flail its remaining claw, desperately trying to parry the attacks coming from both sides—attacks that were delivered at tricky angles with equal force.
Seeing this, a glint flashed in Roland's eyes.
He abruptly paused, introducing a deliberate, almost imperceptible hesitation into his previously fluid, water-like assault. He even intentionally exposed his left flank to the Bear Goblin's still-active right claw.
"Roar!"
The Bear Goblin's crimson eyes instantly flared with the desperate ferocity of a cornered beast.
It didn't even have time to consider whether this was a trap. On the brink of death, the creature saw only one last chance to tear its opponent to shreds.
Gathering every ounce of its remaining strength, with the desperate resolve of a creature willing to die alongside its foe and a scream that tore through the air, the Bear Goblin's massive claws slammed down toward the "weakness" Roland had deliberately exposed.
The blow was as swift as lightning, as fierce as thunder.
It looked as though Roland would be torn in half.
At this critical moment, Roland's physical prowess, pushed to its absolute limit by the combined effects of Battle Frenzy and the Knight's Breathing Technique, erupted in full force!
"Arc Moon Draw!"
With a low, sharp cry, Roland's left arm spun in a blur of motion at an angle and speed that defied human limits.
The dagger, no longer a venomous serpent poised to strike, transformed into a silver arc of guiding force, meeting the Bear Goblin's devastating claw strike with pinpoint precision.
Clang! Crack!
A deep, heart-stopping clang erupted simultaneously with the sharp crack of shattering metal.
The fine iron dagger, upon contact with the Bear Goblin's razor-sharp claws, buckled under the force as if struck by a collapsing mountain. The blade groaned under the strain before shattering into fragments.
Yet in that instant of contact, Roland's left hand, wrist, arm, and entire body executed a perfectly orchestrated maneuver of deflection and redirection.
Like the most skilled matador using a red cloth to guide a charging bull, Roland had skillfully deflected the Bear Goblin's all-out, killing blow.
At the instant the dagger sacrificed itself, a clever arc of force had violently knocked the Bear Goblin's strike off course.
The giant claw brushed Roland's side with the force of a landslide, slamming into the hard ground beside him with a thunderous "BOOM!"
The earth trembled violently.
Shattered stones shot out like cannonballs, instantly forming a massive crater.
The Bear Goblin's massive body, thrown off balance by its failed attack and the immense inertia, lurched forward. Its ferocious head, displaying an expression of utter disbelief, was left completely unguarded before Roland.
Opportunity! A chance to strike the killing blow!
Roland's eyes flashed with fierce determination. Without hesitation, he exploded into action.
The ground beneath his feet shattered as his body, like a taut bowstring suddenly released, shot forward.
Leveraging the combined force of his forward momentum and the Bear Goblin's unbalanced lunge, his Mithril Longsword sliced through the air in a blur of silver, a terrifying streak that tore through the very fabric of vision.
"Momentum Slash!"
The sword's edge cleaved the air with a piercing shriek that threatened to shatter eardrums.
Its target: the Bear Goblin's thick neck!
The shadow of death instantly enveloped the Bear Goblin.
Its crimson eyes widened to their absolute limit.
Deep within its pupils, the primal fury, savagery, and cunning of a predator...
In that instant, all other emotions were replaced by a primal, instinctive fear for survival—the desperate terror of prey before the executioner's blade falls.
Just as the Grim Reaper's scythe was about to graze the Bear Goblin's neck, a sudden transformation occurred.
A seemingly ordinary ring on the Bear Goblin's thick finger, set with a cloudy crystal, unexpectedly emitted a faint glow.
"Buzz!"
In less than a thousandth of a second, a visible, rippling transparent membrane, like waves on water, materialized out of thin air, instantly enveloping the Bear Goblin's entire body.
The Mithril Longsword, capable of cleaving through the air itself, struck the suddenly-appeared membrane with brutal force.
"Clang!"
A piercing, ear-splitting screech echoed through the valley, far more grating than metal clashing against metal. It was as if countless steel needles had simultaneously pierced their eardrums.
The membrane rippled violently, caving inward like water struck by a heavy stone, sending out dense concentric waves.
The massive recoil surged up the sword, numbing Roland's arm.
The Bear Goblin's eyes, frozen in terror, seemed to flicker with a hint of relief, even a flicker of mocking triumph at its narrow escape.
But that fleeting moment of reprieve was short-lived.
"Break!" Roland roared, his voice like thunder.
The magma-like currents of qi within him surged at an unprecedented speed, coursing through his veins with furious intensity.
Battle Qi surged through Roland's body like a breached dam, pouring relentlessly into the Mithril Longsword's blade.
At the same time, the terrifying power of the Battle Frenzy trait, which accumulated exponentially during life-or-death combat, was unleashed in full force, amplified by the Momentum Slash's momentum.
The Mithril Longsword emitted a high-frequency, strained hum, vibrating violently under the immense pressure.
Pop!
A sound like a bubble bursting echoed through the air.
The seemingly impenetrable membrane, like fragile glass, instantly shattered into a spiderweb of cracks before...
Boom!
It exploded completely, dissolving into motes of vanishing light.
The Bear Goblin's triumphant glee and mocking sneer froze in place the instant the membrane shattered.
They were replaced by a bone-chilling despair ten times more intense than before.
The sword's blade met no resistance.
The cold gleam of mithril, carrying the resolve to cleave through anything, sliced through the Bear Goblin's tough hide, thick muscles, and sturdy neck bones with effortless precision.
Pfft!
The dull thud of steel cutting through flesh and bone became the clearest sound on the battlefield.
Time seemed to stretch out in that instant.
The Bear Goblin's grotesque head, its face frozen in an expression of utter terror and disbelief, slowly, agonizingly separated from its neck, propelled by a fountain of dark red blood that shot skyward.
A crimson rain fell, staining the cracked ground.
The massive head arced through the air in a mournful trajectory before thudding heavily onto the gravel nearby.
It rolled a few times, its eyes wide and vacant, staring blankly at the headless torso that had once been its own, now gushing blood like a geyser.
The enormous, decapitated body stood frozen in place for what felt like an eternity before collapsing forward with a thunderous crash, as if all its bones had been removed. A cloud of dust billowed up.
(End of the Chapter)
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