Chapter 10: Specialty
Often, due to scenes in some movies and TV shows, people tend to believe that beings with robust physiques and ample muscles, while having strengths in power, will have agility and dexterity as their shortcomings.
To some extent, this is indeed true.
Muscles that are too strong to the point of appearing bulky will greatly affect their flexibility; and weight far exceeding that of ordinary people will make their movements less nimble.
But there is one prerequisite for all of this:
That is, the opponent is at the same power level as you.
In modern society, this prerequisite might not be important, as there are no supernatural powers, and no matter how much you train, you can only remain at the level of mortals.
But in a fantasy world where human legends, saintly incarnations, and gods and demons coexist, this point is quite important.
Compared to Xia Nan, an eighteen-year-old 'farm boy' who has just reached adulthood, the Bear Goblin can be said to be completely superior in all aspects except intelligence and farming.
This even includes knowledge—it understands two languages, Goblin and Common.
Therefore, even if Xia Nan temporarily forgot his fear under the effect of adrenaline and immediately seized the opportunity to launch an attack after dodging.
Bear Goblin 'Hengk' still reacted quite easily.
He didn't even pull out the mace that had smashed into the ground; facing the swinging longsword, he just forcefully swung his thick arm covered in brown fur.
Bang—
Xia Nan was instantly sent flying backward.
As if he had crashed head-on into a train, he felt a tremendous force coming from his chest, his thoughts even paused with it, and extreme dizziness accompanied by intense pain almost scattered his consciousness.
"Fuck!"
He struggled to climb to his feet, a strong smell of blood filling his mouth.
On the other side, Hengk's burly figure was already standing in front of him.
"Bug, not obedient!" The Bear Goblin let the shallow wound on his neck bleed, his yellowish-brown eyes filled with anger and embarrassment, as if he had been bitten by a rabbit about to be put on the chopping block.
"Hengk will eat you alive!"
Bear Goblin tribes have not developed means similar to 'torture'; with their near-primitive understanding, letting the prey watch itself being eaten alive is the cruelest act.
For this, the tribe's shamans even found a plant that could keep prey conscious even when severely wounded.
Of course, the current Hengk doesn't have that condition, nor does he have such advanced 'cooking' skills.
Therefore, Xia Nan could likely die a bit more painlessly.
Things had come to this point.
Looking at the Bear Goblin gradually approaching him, and having further understood the power gap between them, he had no thought of begging for mercy in his heart.
On one hand, he didn't think that with the opponent's moral standards, there would be any kindness to let him off;
On the other hand, it was also because Xia Nan noticed that not far behind the Bear Goblin, Hunter Maji, whose lower leg had just been smashed and who was howling in pain, was slowly sitting up against the wall, his right hand tightly gripping his longbow, and his left hand reaching for his quiver.
Their gazes quietly met, touching for an instant before separating.
Although the two hadn't known each other long and had no rapport to speak of, at this moment, Xia Nan instinctively understood the meaning implied in the other's eyes.
Stall for time, attract the enemy's attention.
His brain worked rapidly, he opened his mouth and said:
"Hey, doing that won't taste good."
"Huh?" Realizing the little bug was speaking, Hengk, who was holding the hammer high, couldn't help but be startled, "No! Humans, tasty!"
"If you want to eat it directly without roasting, I recommend using the raw marinated method."
Seeing that the opponent seemed to be attracted by his words, Xia Nan didn't care what he was saying at this moment, just rambling.
"You can first put me in a basin to wash clean, then add fine salt to sterilize and season, after stirring for five minutes, add ginger, garlic, chili, and soy sauce, seal it up and wait for thirty minutes."
"That taste..." Seeing that Hengk seemed impatient with the steps he had just made up, Xia Nan instantly understood and shifted the focus of the topic to the taste.
"The texture is fresh and sweet, it can preserve my original flavor while also allowing you to taste the sour and spicy flavor of the seasonings, it's very appetizing."
"Sweet? Spicy... what does that taste like?" Hengk held the mace in his hand high but never brought it down, instead asking with some confusion.
But after all, he was a Bear Goblin, not an Ogre who is more greedy for meat and single-minded.
As soon as he spoke, Hengk reacted.
"Little bug, trying to trick me, damn it!"
He lunged forward two steps, the muscles in his right arm gripping the mace bulging, as if he was about to smash the annoying bug beneath him into minced meat in the next second.
And at this moment, Maji finally prepared himself once more.
He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, drew back, and aimed.
Whoosh—
The familiar sound of metal piercing the air rang out again.
Compared to before, the distance between him and the Bear Goblin was shorter this time, which meant that even with reaction abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people, it would be difficult for the opponent to dodge;
And the energy barrier that could almost be a nightmare for all archers did not appear.
Thus...
"Pfft!"
Blood and water splattered.
Maji, whose lower leg had been smashed, shot the arrow while sitting on the ground, almost pressed against the cave wall.
Although it was still accurate under the effect of his combat technique, its power was significantly less.
Therefore, even though the metal arrow almost instantly pierced the right eye of the Bear Goblin, which had turned its head due to the sound, only a small portion of the arrowhead penetrated its eye socket.
The paralyzing toxin quickly spread inward from the wound.
Severely wounded, but not fatally.
And facing this last chance to seize a lifeline, Xia Nan was also fearless.
Just as the Bear Goblin was howling in intense pain from his eyeball being pierced, he tightly gripped the one-handed sword in his hands, enduring the unspeakable soreness as if his arm muscles were tearing, and forcefully used 【Spinning Slash】 for the fourth time today.
Cold light flashed.
Brown fur offered no resistance against the sharp blade;
The thick hide, like cow leather, was the first resistance, slightly sluggish;
Accumulated fat was like muddy water in a swamp, the blade was still smooth, but its force was consumed invisibly;
Muscles as hard and solid as bedrock almost absorbed all the sharpness the longsword carried, but were still difficult to penetrate under the bonus of 【Spinning Slash】;
Then, the blade that had broken through fur, skin, and flesh encountered the hardest defense line within a creature's body—
Bone.
"Snap."
No longer needing to pass through the hands of rookie adventurers, the battle-hardened one-handed sword finally met its deserved end.
It broke apart in a fierce encounter that would be etched in its battle history.
The sudden empty feeling as it broke in his hand, the accumulated force unable to be unleashed.
Xia Nan watched the cracks on the sword appear and gradually widen with his own eyes, and then his entire body was sent flying sideways under the inertia brought by 【Spinning Slash】.
"Roar!!!"
Howling madly, the intense pain he had never suffered before made the beast with a physique like a brown bear completely lose his remaining sanity.
Along with his eyeball, he pulled the arrow directly out of his eye socket, and the gushing scarlet blood, like a waterfall, dyed his body red, adding a few more hints of ferocity.
Facing this maddened beast, a weakened Hunter with a smashed lower leg, plus a rookie adventurer with depleted stamina and a destroyed weapon.
The fate of the Rotten Fish and Shrimp Squad seemed clear.
Maji's face was filled with despair.
The second use of 【Precision Strike】 had left his body completely paralyzed after being overloaded.
It felt as if every muscle fiber was twitching and throbbing, unable to even muster a single ounce of strength.
His gaze was vacant, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Perhaps he regretted intruding into this cave due to greed, or perhaps he hated himself for always failing to learn from his mistakes and being more cautious;
Of course, he might also be recalling the girl who looked at him with a smile under the white oak tree in his hometown.
Unexpectedly.
Compared to Hunter Maji, who had completely lost hope for life, Xia Nan, whose body was also on the verge of collapse, had a somewhat complex expression on his face.
Yes, complex.
It was like playing mahjong in his previous life, having a bad hand and planning to play defensively to finish the round, but unexpectedly getting a small win before it ended in a draw; or spending thousands of dollars drawing in a game without getting a gold item, but pulling an SSR with the last free draw given by the official before quitting the game.
It was a strange emotion mixed with relief, surprise, and resentment, like 'Why the hell didn't you come sooner?'
Because just as he used 【Spinning Slash】 and swung that sword.
A large string of translucent characters flashed before his eyes like a screen refresh.
"Proficiency +1"
"【Spinning Slash】 lv4 (100/100) —— 【Spinning Slash】 lv5 (Max)"
"Strength +1, Agility +1"
"Specialty 【Cleaving Expert】 unlocked"
...
【Cleaving Expert】
Category: Specialty
Effect: Slashing damage +5%
Introduction:
Day after day of practice has allowed you to gradually grasp the mysteries hidden between the blades.
Note 1:
"Back in the day, I held this sword in my hand and cut my way from Celestial Mountain all the way to the Nine Layers of Hell. Five years and six months, back and forth, without even blinking once."
——Ragnarok · The Thirty-Fifth Contractor of the 'Sword of Final Annihilation' · The Abandoned One · Julius
Note 2:
"Sweat will not betray you!"
——Stone Saint · Legendary Monk of the 'Li Jie Sect' · Yong Wu
...
Facing a life-or-death crisis, Xia Nan had no chance to carefully examine this information.
He just quickly scanned it, knowing that in the recent battle, he had gained the last bit of proficiency for 【Spinning Slash】, raising it to lv5 max level, and gaining a series of improvements based on this.
Immediately, an inexplicable power erupted and surged from deep within his body like a spring, rapidly spreading throughout his entire being.
His tired muscles were soothed and relaxed as if bathing in a hot spring; his slightly loose physique instantly became firmer, and his strength and explosiveness were significantly enhanced; the ground beneath his feet seemed to suddenly become soft, and his shoes felt like they had springs in them, making him agile and light.
It was as if he had changed into a new body; all the previous fatigue and pain vanished in an instant.
Xia Nan raised his head, his dark eyes fixed on the fierce figure that was roaring and charging straight at him.
He threw the one-handed sword, now only a hilt in his hand, aside.
A flash of silver-white seemed to catch the corner of his eye; he turned his head to glance—
Gagu's corpse was lying on the ground, with his half-man-tall two-handed axe stuck in the ground by his feet.
Thoughts drifted through his mind, and he had already made a decision in his heart.
Bear Goblin 'Hengk', due to his severe injuries, had completely fallen into an uncontrollable state of madness.
His brain was controlled by an endless desire for destruction; even if his deceased Goblin lackeys stood before him, they would be mercilessly torn to shreds by him.
In this state, he naturally wouldn't realize what kind of change had occurred in the weak human youth before him.
Hengk merely instinctively repeated the hunting steps he had taken countless times over the past decade or so.
Charge, aim at the prey, raise the mace, smash...
Buzz—
A streak of silver-white, purer and shorter than before, flashed and disappeared in the dark cave.
What it signified was further enhanced explosiveness and more refined technique.
【Spinning Slash】, which had been raised to lv5 max level, allowed Xia Nan to completely grasp everything about this move.
How to exert the greatest power while conserving the most stamina, from which angle to swing to cause greater damage, the most appropriate timing...
It had almost become a part of his body.
And the 5% bonus brought by 【Cleaving Expert】, although the number seemed small, was a tangible damage increase that was unrestricted and stacked on every attack.
Not to mention the most crucial points, the two precious attribute points gained in 'Strength' and 'Agility'.
Muscle strength and physical potential, reaction speed and alertness...
From '5' to '6' was by no means a 20% increase on a numerical level, but a more complex, all-round growth involving various aspects.
In combination, Xia Nan's combat power almost leaped several levels in just a few seconds.
And the power that could be generated by the 【Spinning Slash】 cast based on this also underwent a qualitative change.
The two-handed axe, which should have been incredibly heavy, felt quite handy after his body was strengthened.
Abundant power surged up from beneath his legs, quickly gathering and transferring.
The axe blade swung diagonally upwards, gathering all the strength in his body into one point, and then erupted fiercely!
"Roar!"
A foul, bloody smell assailed him, and the shadow of the mace raised high above his head enveloped him.
Xia Nan could even clearly see the streaks of blood in the Bear Goblin's yellowish-brown murky eyes and feel the air waves slightly vibrating from his roar.
But that was all.
Because in the next second, the familiar, sluggish sensation of a sharp blade breaking through flesh, which he had gradually become accustomed to in many battles, came from his hand.
Fur, flesh, bone... the defenses that had just blocked his broken sword blade were easily breached.
After a moment of resistance, it was incredibly smooth and satisfying.
The axe blade carried Xia Nan's body, completing a one-hundred-eighty-degree rotation.
Pfft—
The Bear Goblin's massive head spun away from where it should have been, its face even still holding a roaring expression.
The mace fell to the ground.
Scarlet, hot blood pumped out like a spring, and the burly body fell with it.