Chapter 9: Terrible
Maji seemed to have lost the ability to resist.
It wasn't because he was disheartened and only sought a quick death.
Although despair filled his heart, having been an adventurer for so many years, his psychological fortitude wasn't that poor.
The Hunter was currently in a state of physical rigidity, unable to move.
Precision Strike is a skill exclusive to the Ranger profession. It not only helps the professional accurately lock onto the enemy's weak points in complex battlefield situations but also slightly enhances the damage of arrows to a certain extent.
As a Combat Skill, it naturally doesn't consume mana, but it also requires a certain level of physical fitness to support it.
Normally, with a professional's physical fitness, this kind of physical exertion can be said to be very easy, not a burden at all.
But for ordinary people like Maji, who haven't obtained a professional level and lack professional basic bonuses, the side effects of using Precision Strike are a bit too severe—
After each use of the Combat Skill, he needs to endure a state of extreme weakness for nearly 15 seconds.
In this state, let alone fighting, Maji needs help just to walk.
Therefore, in most cases, Precision Strike is his last resort.
Now, facing a Bear Goblin, a monster far beyond their small team's ability to handle, the Hunter chose to cooperate with his teammates from the beginning and unleash his most powerful move to seize the initiative in the battle.
This was perfectly fine.
However, the arrow missed due to some unknown force, the plan failed, he lost the best opportunity, and the scales of victory tilted towards the enemy, which was naturally logical.
Hiss—
The Bear Goblin, Hengk, exhaled a puff of white smoke from his expanded nostrils.
"Ruined Hengk's lucky day," he mumbled, his turbid yellowish-brown eyes reflecting the fragile, unmoving body of the human before him. "Little worm, needs compensation."
A few months ago, his underlings had captured a woman from who knows where.
Hengk was very hungry and particularly liked this food called "human"—tender and delicious, much better than the wild boars and rabbits in the forest.
But having just become independent from the tribe, he still remembered the teachings of the shaman who was said to have lived for two hundred years.
"Females should be kept for breeding, and can only be eaten after giving birth."
So he had been guarding the nest like this, not knowing how much saliva he had drooled.
Until today, when the woman finally gave birth.
But before he could even take a bite, he encountered these few little worms.
"You will be punished, Hengk will..."
The scent of blood in the air rushed into his nostrils, and that wonderful taste made him involuntarily lick his dry lips.
As if realizing something, a hint of surprise suddenly appeared on Hengk's face, which had been somewhat annoyed.
Thinking this, the Bear Goblin, Hengk, had already raised the spiked club in his hand high.
The muscles of his arms, as thick as a normal person's thigh, bulged, and the barbs covering the hammerhead emitted a chilling glow under the firelight.
He swung the iron hammer in his hand towards the little worm in front of him.
And just then,
Buzz—
In the dimly lit cave, a sharp silvery light suddenly flashed.
Whirlwind Slash
The biting wind stung his skin, and Hengk only felt a cold chill on the side of his neck.
By instinct, he subconsciously moved his body to the side.
The movement of his hand couldn't help but pause, and the spiked club that was originally aimed at Maji's vital point also shifted its position, hitting the right calf.
"Ah!!!"
The fragile leg bone of the human was instantly shattered by the metal hammerhead, along with the knee, the entire right leg was severely twisted and deformed.
Maji wailed in pain, his pale face covered in cold sweat.
However, at this moment, no one on the field was paying attention to him anymore.
Xia Nan stared intently at the burly figure in front of him, feeling a slight regret in his heart.
As an ordinary person who hadn't even killed a chicken before yesterday, he felt that he had already done his best.
Within 0.5 seconds after witnessing Gagu's head being smashed by the Bear Goblin, the following series of thoughts flashed through his mind:
Realizing that the opponent's strength was something he couldn't face head-on, and at the same time, realizing the unreality of escaping due to the explosive power displayed by the opponent, and making the decision to secretly ambush while the enemy hadn't discovered their situation.
Xia Nan even patiently and accurately seized the brief moment when the Bear Goblin swung its hammer with force.
However, he didn't expect that this monster from a fantasy world could exert force a second time.
While swinging the iron hammer, it could also control its body to dodge his attack.
"This is bad..."
Xia Nan murmured.
The good news was that he had indeed injured the opponent, and knew that this non-human existence was still made of flesh and blood, and had a health bar!
Also, his previous strike did not trigger the energy shield that the Bear Goblin had displayed before, which meant that it should have entered some kind of cooldown state, or perhaps it simply didn't trigger in melee.
As for the bad news...
Firstly, having unleashed the third Whirlwind Slash in a short period of time, his body had reached its limit.
Just holding the sword hilt, he could feel the muscles in his forearm trembling, as if they would cramp with just a little force.
Secondly, although his previous sword strike hit a vital point, the Bear Goblin's dodge reduced the severity of the injury considerably.
This not only failed to effectively weaken the Bear Goblin's combat power, but also exposed himself to the opponent's sight, and attracted its hatred.
Roar—
A furious bear roar suddenly erupted, low and fierce, as if an invisible sound wave surged through the air.
Having been ambushed by the "little worm" and having a bloody gash on his neck, Hengk instantly fell into a frenzy.
Looking at the muscular figure charging towards him like a tank of flesh and blood.
Xia Nan had no time to formulate any tactics.
He simply plunged to the side under the instinct for survival, then followed with a very awkward somersault.
Bang!!!
The dark spiked club scraped past his head and slammed down fiercely, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the ground.
The strong wind carried splashing dirt, stinging his cheeks.
Perhaps it was because he had already died once in his previous life, or perhaps the surge of adrenaline in his body made him ignore those negative emotions.
At this moment, Xia Nan, facing an opponent he couldn't defeat, didn't feel the slightest fear.
He quickly got up.
The long sword in his hand was already swinging towards the opponent's neck again.