One down, four to go.
I killed one of the elite goblins that the goblin king destroyed easily. They were the same strength of high-level beasts but maintained a body of low-level beasts. It was a nightmare that a goblin knew swordsmanship. But it wasn't enough, I need more.
I drank the blood of the goblin I killed earlier, healing both my mana and my health at the same time. As well as reminding me how many liters have I drunk enough.
[Drain Activated Extraction Completed consumed two liters of blood]
Goblins come in different sizes, and so do liters. The larger the goblin is, the more blood the monster has. Meaning that the goblin king had a lot of blood to store in since despite its large size, its high intelligence makes it more complex.
I shot the remaining elite goblins with ease knowing that the blood arrows had homing capabilities that always a sure-hit on the head. I fired each of my blood arrows and pulled the bowstring many times. It was successful.
As I swept through the horde of goblins through my view, a loud roar echoed through the ravine. It was abysmal.
"Grahhhh…*
I couldn't see the goblin king, but I heard it roar. Did it already know where I was? I peeked out again and saw it was storming the battle formation, its ears pointed up on alert. Then it turned toward the boulder I hid and stopped.
"Damn it. It knows where I am."
The goblin king unleashed another roar and glowered at me across the distance. The goblins surrounding it now knew where I was too, and they let out menacing howls.
This was bad. My stats were still a long way from matching the goblin king, as if it came to combat in close quarters, the odds weren't in my favor. There were six goblins left, two elite goblins and the goblin king.
But I couldn't run either. If the goblins beat me, it would strengthen their resolve, and their attacks on the town would grow more vicious. I thought of the faces of the townspeople I had spent the day living with. The smiles of joy. Each of their faces passed through my mind, smiling as they offered my hand.
I gripped the black bow. I didn't want to lose any of them. Power surged through my body with that thought.
"Prepare for battle, Plasma." I should
"I knew you'd say that. Avoid the goblin king, and Concentra on picking off the formation."
Plasma didn't advise me to retreat. He knew how I felt and understood my message loud and clear. All that was left was to win.
The two elite goblins retreated and began surrounding the goblin king, they were on either side of the goblin king were difficult targets, being protected. My only option was to start feasting on the remaining goblins to steadily raise my stats.
Now that the goblin king had given away my position, there was no use of hiding. I stood up from the boulder, readied my blood bow, and fired as many shots as I could, every one of them was a goblin.
After I killed them on the spot, I opened my mouth wide and drank their blood easily in an instant. The drinking time was two seconds, and I drank all the goblin's dead bodies in a full minute, enough time to restore my mana, all thanks from my longer fangs
[Drain Activated Extraction Completed consumed twelve liters of blood]
There was no time to view my blood curse, I felt that my stats were rising easily. I can feel it through my core.
Now that it had seen the blood bow's attacks, the goblin king knew the goblin's current location in the ravine made them all easy targets. It sent the goblins into the forests left and right.
There was only one place for me to go, straight at the goblin king and its two elite warriors. Now that the remaining goblins had spread out and drained, this was my chance. Even if it was a trap, it was better than standing still and letting them come to me.
Through my thoughts, I could tell Plasma felt the same. His powerful voice echoed through me.
"Roxy! Keep the goblin king occupied with the bow, then cut it down at close quarters with the blood sword."
"Easy for you today. You're not the one that has to fight it."
"Hahaha, but what choice do you have?"
"None."
I leaped from my position, blood bow ready. I fired my first shot as I ran, a blood arrow sent straight to the goblin's king forehead. Without missing a beat, I fired a second arrow, this one aimed at the neck of the elite goblin warriors.
The goblin king stopped both arrows, swiping away the one aimed at its head and catching the one aimed at its minion.
"What the hell kind of monstrous speed is that?" I muttered
The goblin king sent a snarling grin as it snapped the blood arrow in its hand, like a twig. The arrow, made from my own blood, dissipated into particles and vanished.
Frontal attacks with the blood bow were useless. They worked on lower-ranked enemies, but not this monstrosity. It saw every arrow and stopped them without trouble, even the ones I had fired from hiding. Direct attacks meant nothing to it. But I wasn't going to stop.
I fired arrow after arrow and the goblin king kicked away every single one. It moved with a grace and skill that contrasted with its hulking body. But I only needed to keep it occupied long enough to close in. Then I could the blood sword.
My target was either of the elite warriors. If I devoured one of their blood, it would raise my stats to just above the goblin king. That was the only way to quickly bring the odds into my favor and even the playing field.
"Grahhh…"
The goblin king roared, and one of his two servants raised their heads. They dashed in to surround me.
I had expected this. The difference had only ever been in whether I waited for them to come at me. The situation now, where I was battle ready, was vastly superior. On top of that, the timing was perfect, because I will use the elite warriors to gain stats.
I sent the blood sword through the chest of one elite warrior and charged with its body toward the goblin king. I didn't have time to drain its blood, the elite was likely to be alive.
It was time to eat.
The elite warrior showed fangs as it attacked, but it was no match for me. I brought the blood sword down with my right hand and sliced the goblin in two.
To drink the blood properly, I took cover as well as taking the dead goblin's body. I drank the body until it was left dry. I felt that power was rising through my body. I didn't care about the taste, I wanted to become stronger.
[Drain Activated Extraction Completed consumed four liters of blood]
The attack was heavy. Even though my stats were a touch higher, the difference between the goblin king and I was minimal. The king was still far larger than me. The goblin king pushed me back; its massive body weight threw me. I had intended to stop the attack, but it sent me flying. I smashed into one of the huge rocks behind me.
The attack knocked the wind out of me, and my consciousness pulsed white. Plasma sent out alarm bells ringing through my mind.
"Wake up, Roxy!"
Plasma's voice brought my vision front and my center to the approaching goblin king and his remaining elite warrior. Now that they had pinned, they would push in to continue their attack.
I rolled on the ground, just barely evading the goblin king's next blow, which shattered the rock it had thrown me into. As I watched the stone turn into dust, however, I realized that "shattered" was too light a word. The goblin king's attack completely pulverized the rock.
The monster's destructive power was unbelievable. If I was hit by that strike, I was, without a doubt, dead.
Still stunned, I didn't realize that when I rolled out of the way, the elite warrior kick was waiting for me. It struck me so hard I thought my spine would break.
"Ahhhhhhh… you dare me kick in the stomach you goblin!"
I gripped the elite warrior's leg, and with all the power I could muster, I tore the limb straight off. Then I snatched the black sword up from the ground where it had fallen and put an end to this beast.
"Damn you… That's what you get for kicking me in the stomach."
I drank the leg I've just pulled and immediately recovered. But the pain still resided, so I used my pain manipulation to numb my pain in ease. Like I said earlier, it is a built-in anesthesia.
With all the elite warriors dead, the goblins that hid in Boulder shook with fear and doubt. Their formation broke. They were dogs, in the end, and powerless against their instinctive fear.
"Damn you minions. Don't leave me here! I'm your king!"
The goblin king replied through the fleeing goblins, but they all left, leaving the goblin king alone in the ravine. Keeping my distance, I turned to face the peak-level beasts, abandoned as the weak goblin scattered. It glared through me in pure loathing.
"Damn you knave. You'll pay for this, you courtesans!"
The goblin king glared as I closed in. I swung my sword, blocking the elite warriors sword easily, they were good at swords and weapons. The goblin king growled in irritation as it tore the body into shreds. Then it turned on its heel and launched a second attack behind it, toward where I now stood.
"Ugh!"
A sharp pain ran through my left arm. The goblin king's claws slashed through it. It was a large cut, too large enough that stretched through my left arm. It cut through my flesh like a hot knife through butter. Pieces of my arm flew everywhere, exposing the white bone underneath.
"Ahhhh…"
I screamed in pain, as a huge chunk of my left arm was gone in an instant. I used my pain manipulation to ease the pain a little bit. Numbing in the process.
Suddenly, a loud crack was heard through my arm…
The goblin king stood over me, his big chest moving up and down with a wet growl. He did not just cut me, he tasted my fear. It made him move faster. The smell of my blood, thick and sweet filled the air but for the first time it did not smell like food. It smelled like death.
I looked at my arm. The bone was visible. It was covered in blood, jagged and open where the muscle was torn away. My fingers were moving on the ground a foot away but it felt like they were not even mine.
The goblin king was very strong. I said to him in a disheveled expression.
"You think pain is on your side?" I said this through my teeth, which were tight together. I used my skill to manipulate pain to ease the pain at least.
My vision was getting blurry. I was using all my power to control the pain. The world was getting grey. The hurt was feeling like a heavy weight.
I tried to lift my blood sword to find a way to fight back.. The goblin king was not playing anymore. He saw the fight in my eyes. Made a loud laughing sound. It was not a roar, it was like he was making fun of me.
"Hahahah… you knave. You humans don't stand a chance against me! You weakling… Hahahahaha"
He moved towards me not with his claws but with his big hard hand. He grabbed my hurt shoulder. It made a loud painful sound.
I thought to myself in a dangerous situation.
"Plasma, I need help."
Then I heard Plasma's voice, loud and clear.
"Run, Roxy!" he said
I could not run. There was no place to go.
The goblin king turned his hand. I heard a sickening sound. It was like my bones were breaking. I did not feel the heat, I did not feel the blood. I felt like I was going to fall. I looked at the goblin king. He was not looking at me. He was holding my cut off arm high in the air like a prize. The blood was dripping into his mouth.
The world was. The ground was coming towards me. As everything was getting dark I thought to myself.
"The goblin king cut off my arm! The goblin king cut off my arm! I will not be able to grow it back."