Although Vaan easily killed the Rank 2 Green Hobgoblin with a single bullet through the eye, it would have been a different story if he tried to aim for its forehead.
Peng!
Vaan fired another bullet with Earth Acceleration at another Rank 2 Green Hobgoblin. And as expected, the bullet got stuck in the hobgoblin’s forehead, failing to penetrate it thoroughly.
‘No surprise there. Right now, my bullet’s firepower is solely reliant on Earth Acceleration… Which should be enough to kill ordinary Mid-level Rank 2 monsters and below…’ Vaan mused while slashing off goblin heads around him.
‘These enhanced hobgoblins are at least High-level Rank 2 or Peak-level Rank 2. If normal accelerated bullets don’t work, then…’
Vaan’s eyes sharpened in the next instance.
He targeted the same hobgoblin and applied Heat Manipulation and Earth Acceleration to his next bullet.
Swoosh!
A red-hot bullet flew out from one of his gunblade’s barrels with a fast spinning force like the previous shots, thanks to the spiral grooves found inside the gunblade barrels.
Nevertheless, unlike the last bullet, the red-hot bullet drilled right through the hobgoblin’s head and killed it.
Vaan didn’t simply apply Heat Manipulation to the entire bullet, only its outermost layer. As such, it was able to most of its structural firmness.
Ding!
Following the skill creation of [Hot Shot] from the application of [Heat Manipulation] and [Earth Acceleration], Vaan tested different combinations such as [Earth Manipulation] and [Earth Acceleration] to shoot with more spin.
And finally, he tested the simultaneous application of [Heat Manipulation], [Earth Manipulation], and [Earth Acceleration], giving his bullet more power and spin on top of its speed.
Ding!
‘Enhanced Hot Shot… I can break the defense of a Low-level Rank 3 monster with this kind of attack power. I’d best consume my bullets,’ Vaan decided.
Vaan started throwing his crude knives, blades, swords, and spears as his killing spree continued. Every weapon he had collected from the goblins was used as projectiles in place of his bullets.
In a short eight minutes, he slaughtered nearly half the thousand-strong goblin force, almost achieving a kill rate of goblin per second.
Despite the high-intensity fight, Vaan was still far from feeling exhaustion.
Kreuk!
The remaining five hundred goblins and hobgoblins started to waver, terrified by his ever-growing killing intent, and retreated a few steps to create distance from him.
As if those steps weren’t enough, they backed further away from the blood-soaked area of headless corpses.
However, they suddenly stopped at a certain point and gritted their teeth, seemingly struggling with an internal decision.
Roar!
Sometime later, the hobgoblins growled at Vaan and commanded all the goblins to attack him at once from every direction.
“So the goblins fear the being behind them more than they fear me, huh? Alright, come! I’ll send you all to an early grave!” Vaan welcomed the goblins’ charge.
…
…
…
In the core region of the Red Goblin Mountains, near one of the mountain peaks, several large cave entrances could be found, each leading deep underground.
Outside one particularly larger cave entrance, a group of fifty-six wolf-men from the Assembly of Silent Night all gathered around the campfires in their small camp with weary expressions, uncertain of their future.
Suddenly, one wolf-men reached out and grabbed one of the cooked birds roasted over the campfires to eat. But after taking the first bite, he spat the meat out in the next instance.
“Ptui! Absolutely disgusting. How are we supposed to continue living like this?” the wolf-man spat.
“Just be grateful that you are even alive,” Silver Hawk coolly stated.
“If it weren’t for the Cave Master letting us through, we would still be hanging around the middle region, hiding away from both the goblins and witches.”
“Heh, I wouldn’t call this living. We are just living on borrowed time,” Blood Knife snickered before he added, “Who knows when we will become food for the goblins? We haven’t even seen a trace of this Cave Master, only heard his voice. But considering he can command all the goblins in the Red Goblin Mountains, he is most likely the Goblin King—or so I would like to say, but…”
“…Kekeke, what an idle lot you all are…”
A ghastly female voice suddenly sounded from the depths of the cave, causing all the wolf-men to become alert and nervous.
The ghastly female voice precisely belonged to the suspected Goblin King.
“I let you all into my mountains when you lot had nowhere else to go, and this is how you repay me? By talking behind my back? Perhaps, making you all food for my lovely goblins isn’t such a bad idea.”
“Please ease your anger, Cave Master. Blood Knife does not speak for the rest of us. If you must punish someone, please punish the offender alone,” Silver Hawk pleaded, decisively and coldly sacrificing Blood Knife to save the rest of the group.
“Kekeke, look how frightened you all are. Of course, I was just joking,” the ghastly female voice laughed sinisterly.
“On a more serious note, the enemy is already at the door. I’ve already sent out my lovely goblins to confront, but they alone are not enough to stop the enemies. So it’s time for all of you to go out and prove your usefulness.”
“There are some troublesome flies in the cursed region. I don’t need to tell all of you how to deal with them, no?” the ghastly female voice mentioned.
“Not at all, Cave Master. We know exactly what to do. The cursed region is practically our turf. Those witches from the kingdom won’t stand a chance against us,” Silver Hawk solemnly stated.
“Then, get moving. The longer you delay, the fewer cannon fodders you will have to deal with the enemy.”
“Understood, Cave Master.”
Silver Hawk and the rest of the wolf-men obeyed the ghastly female voice’s will. They had no choice but to do so.
No one knew how strong the Cave Master was, but her ability to instill fear with just her voice spoke volumes of her power.
“Oh, yes. The Battle Maiden of Holy Light, Astoria Braveheart, is fighting at the forefront,” the ghastly female voice suddenly added.
The Silver Hawk and the others paused their steps briefly with heavy expressions after hearing those words.