Chapter 139: Fire and Teleportation

"Something's off. These Goblins are definitely a problem!"

Cornell stared at the Goblins before him, their bodies cloaked in a thick, pus-green glow, their forms swollen to nearly twice their original size under the Black-robed Goblin's spell.

A bad feeling welled up inside him.

Though before entering Mist Forest, he had already known that this seemingly ordinary "Goblin Extermination Mission" was no simple affair.

After all, if it were merely a common nest of a few dozen Goblins plus a single Bugbear, the Adventurer Association wouldn't have needed to hire Advanced Adventurers like them.

But based on his past experience and the reward tier posted by the Adventurer Association—

At most it would be a large Goblin gathering led by some Hobgoblin who had attained a Professional Level; or perhaps a lucky Goblin Priest who had received a Divine Gift blessing.

Basically incapable of posing a threat to them.

But right now, the Goblins swarming around his small party like an endless tide—frenzied, ecstatic, showing not the slightest fear or retreat no matter how many were cut down—

And the Black-robed Goblin standing motionless atop the Altar, whose single strike had already cost them a team member—

Clearly exceeded his expectations.

The situation was gradually slipping beyond Cornell's control.

And for a Spellcaster who, since his apprentice days under his mentor, had buried himself in countless tedious data and experiments, accustomed to keeping everything in the palm of his hand—this was absolutely unacceptable.

His two teammates cleared the Goblins surging in from both flanks, giving Cornell room to observe and think.

His calm, steady gaze swept the field as his brain rapidly gathered and processed the collected information.

First, the silver-white device hovering above the Altar—besides being able to impose heavy pressure on them, it also possessed the ability to defend against ranged spells.

Not only the five-circle Spellcasting 【Death Cloud】 he had just cast, but also 【Fireball】, 【Earth and Stone Burst】, and the few other schools of spells he had mastered.

Often, before he could even get close enough to strike the enemy, the device would dissolve and absorb the attack, reducing it to chaotic, ineffective streams of energy.

Detecting no Magic Particle fluctuations, Cornell couldn't even tell whether this was some strange spell he had never seen, or some special power beyond his comprehension.

It was like a natural enemy of Spellcasters—even if his spell repertoire were twice as deep, he could do nothing.

As for closing the distance and fighting in melee…

The Orc corpse currently suspended in mid-air, drifting along with fresh blood and shattered stone, slowly orbiting the silver-white device, had already shown what that approach would lead to.

Unless there were no other options, rashly closing on the enemy was not a rational move.

Although, as a veteran Adventurer whose strength neared Transcendence, and a Mage whose Professional Level reached "9," he still had many trump cards unplayed, and the current situation was still far from a true "desperate strait."

But compared to the possible gains, the risks to be faced were undoubtedly far greater.

As his thoughts flowed, he had already made his decision.

Raising his head, he took one last look at the Black-robed Goblin atop the Altar ahead, as if to etch that hunched, emaciated figure deep into his mind.

Cornell suddenly raised his hand and brought his staff crashing down.

Hum—

The staff's tip blazed with brilliant silver-white light; intricate, dense patterns rapidly spread outward, weaving beneath the Mage's feet into a massive, glittering sigil array.

"Prepare to retreat!"

The small party's coordination was extremely Proficient.

The instant Cornell's words fell, the two teammates who had been clearing green-skinned Goblins around him reacted at once.

"Hiss!"

Cloaked in verdant light thick with the breath of life, the slender sword dancing in the golden-haired elf's hand halted for an instant.

The gentle breeze that had been rippling around him suddenly surged, howling and churning, shattering the swarming Goblins into broken limbs.

The Human Warrior in heavy armor, as before, silently swung the reddish-brown longsword in his grip.

But one could see that the force behind his swings had risen noticeably compared to before—like a paper shredder, grinding any Goblin daring to approach into scattered chunks of corpse.

The two striking simultaneously caused the Goblins clustered around the party to vanish in an instant, expanding the open ground around the Mage to a radius of forty feet.

And almost at the same moment, the heavy-armored Warrior and the golden-haired elf sheathed their blades and sprinted toward the Mage.

The timing was extraordinarily precise.

Almost the instant the two charged into the array, the incantation on Cornell's lips reached its end.

—5th circle, Spellcasting, 【Teleportation Circle】.

And at that very moment, the Black-robed Goblin—who had long since noticed the Mage's move and had stood motionless ever since instantly killing the Orc Volga—suddenly raised its right arm.

A withered, wrinkled right hand like a dry branch emerged from beneath the robe; its black claws reflected a dull sheen in the torchlight from the stone walls on either side.

It pointed from afar.

The same pus-green beam that had earlier twisted countless Goblins into misshapen war machines crossed the barrier of space in an instant, streaking toward the party.

The heavy-armored Warrior lunged forward, as if to shield his teammates from the strike.

But the beam, for some unknown reason, came in fierce and violent—yet abruptly twisted and dissolved into the air about five feet in front of the party.

Elf, Warrior, Mage—not a single one was harmed.

But the array already formed beneath Cornell's feet collapsed the instant the pus-green beam dispersed.

The silver light that had been cloaking the party under the Teleportation Circle, slowly turning their bodies translucent, faded; once more they solidified, standing firm upon the ground.

"Damn it!"

The magical radiance no longer reflected in his eyes, Cornell cursed inwardly.

He wanted to cast another spell, but his spiritual sense told him that the spatial layer around his body—once soft as a sponge, freely permeable—had now been coated by the pus-green glow, every loophole sealed shut.

Teleportation-type spells: nullified.

Sweat dripped from his cheek, splashing tiny droplets on the smooth ground.

Cornell's right hand gripped his staff tightly as he stared at the Black-robed Goblin atop the Altar ahead.

On his refined, scholarly face, a fierce look emerged.

"You asked for this!"

The left hand rose, placed before the chest, fingers splayed wide.

Invisible mental intent conducted through the air; two rings set with different gems on the ring finger and index finger burst forth with magical radiance in succession.

Magic particles circulated following the patterns of a spell model prepared long ago.

A Goblin holding a wooden club, shrieking as it charged the Mage, suddenly felt a searing heat beneath its feet.

Looking down, it saw a pitch-black scorched mark cracking open from the ground.

Before this stupid, ignorant low-level monster could figure out what this was, the next second, with a sudden burst of blinding firelight.

Fierce, scorching flames erupted from the scorched mark, swallowing him along with over a dozen Goblins nearby, turning them into human-shaped torches.

And within a few seconds, it rapidly spread and expanded, raising a winding, twisted, towering wall of flame within the cave.

—4th Circle, Evocation, 【Fire Wall】.

The battlefield was instantly split.

At the same time, the vortex of fire that had appeared out of nowhere and was spinning under the effect of the ring on Cornell's index finger finally coalesced into form.

The temperature of the entire cave soared accordingly.

A scorching white flame core radiated layers of orange-red fire waves outward, seemingly restrained by some invisible force, condensed within an invisible container, forming a tall, vague humanoid shape.

No facial features; only two floating, unstable chunks of charcoal within the flames formed hollow, eerie eyes; two long, whip-like, twisted arms waved and swayed, leaving trails of flame; the lower body had even lost the concept of "legs," remaining only a columnar flame swirling and surging like a vortex.

—5th Circle, Conjuration, 【Summon Elemental Creature】:

Fire Elemental, Challenge Rating 5.

Not done yet!

While channeling the left-hand ring to release a spell that had been stored long ago, Cornell also multitasked, connecting to the Magic Net, chanting incantations, and pouring mana into the spell model.

A thick sulfur stench suddenly floated in the air.

Roar—

A wild roar filled with violence and ferocity caused the flames surging and swirling on the battlefield to twist.

An eight-foot-tall muscle monster covered in orange fur like an ape-beast crashed down from the sky with a boom.

A pair of massive hands capable of crushing an adult Human like maggots hammered the ground like iron hammers; the spiderweb-like cracks that appeared were filled with crushed Goblin flesh and blood.

—5th Circle, Conjuration, 【Summon Higher Demon】:

Bagura Demon, Challenge Rating 5.

The underground nest, originally filled with countless Goblins and bathed in ghostly green, was instantly covered by restless, scalding firelight.

The towering, winding wall of flame scorched and drove them apart, splitting the Goblins on the field; the Fire Elemental darted and weaved left and right of the fire wall, its two flame whips swinging wildly, melting packs of Goblins into smoking cooked meat; the Bagura Demon, which originally lived in the Bottomless Abyss filled with lava and seas of blood, possessed natural resistance to fire and was even more excited, punching again and again, crushing countless Goblins into meat paste.

The situation on the field reversed in an instant.

And on the other side, having confirmed there was no possibility of retreat, while the Spellcaster within the team turned the tide.

The other two members also took action simultaneously.

No on-the-spot communication was needed, nor was any unnecessary exchange required.

As teammates for many years, at this moment, they displayed unparalleled decisiveness and tacit understanding.

Merely based on the type of spell cast by the Mage, the core of the team, and the effects caused on the field, they clearly knew what they should do.

Including the Human Warrior who had never left the Mage's side before, together with the Blonde Elf, they split left and right, charging toward the Black-robed Goblin along the path guided by the fire wall ahead.

Clear wind wrapped around emerald light; the Elf's movement speed surged to an unimaginable pace; the fine sword flashing with cold light seemed capable of piercing even the darkness in the air.

On the pale, smooth face, emerald-green patterns like thorns appeared, and the entire body's physical attributes suddenly rose by a large margin.

Yet maintaining rationality, stepping on clear wind, he circled and prodded around the Black-robed Goblin.

The precedent of the Orc kept him always maintaining a certain distance from the opponent, not approaching easily, but using the emerald light and sword wind to leave scratch marks on its black robe.

Faintly visible were bleeding wounds beneath.

Effective.

Seemingly seeing through the enemy's depths, this flexible attack method of the Elf, after a few rounds, actually left the Black-robed Goblin with no way to strike back.

Even possessing exaggerated explosive power enough to kill an Orc in one strike, facing an opponent whose form could not be captured, it could not be unleashed at all.

A withered, thin arm suddenly lifted.

Buzz—

The silver-white iron ball hovering and transmitting from behind suddenly accelerated; a low-frequency humming sound resonated through the air.

On the Elf, the gravity that was barely being resisted under the effect of the emerald light suddenly doubled; the figure moving at high speed seemed to sink into mud, slowing down instantly.

But before the Black-robed Goblin could make a further move, a wild wind mixed with the smell of iron had already roared forth.

The Human Warrior, clad in full heavy armor, charging straight through, arriving a step slower than the Elf.

Immediately after approaching the enemy, he did not choose to launch an attack.

Instead, he suddenly reversed the hilt of the sword in his hand toward the teammate whose form was lagging under the gravitational pressure.

Boom—

In an instant, the Blonde Elf's movements became agile and swift once again, even faster!

As if even the gravitational suppression received at the very beginning had completely dissipated at this moment.

And on the other side, the Human Warrior's tall body suddenly sank heavily.

Both feet sank deep into the ground; even the iron armor on his body twisted and compressed under the suddenly doubled gravity, emitting a sharp, ear-piercing sound.

In an instant, he transferred all the extra gravity borne by the Elf onto himself.

The sword edge was sharp and chilling; the emerald light was dazzling.

Sensing the scale of victory tilting toward the other side.

The Black-robed Goblin no longer held back.

The originally hunched, small body suddenly swelled and deformed; withered muscles inflated like balloons; bones expanded and stretched; two sharp fangs dripping saliva protruded from beneath the hood.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a giant Bugbear ten feet tall, his body covered in fearsome scars, his build even more burly and muscular than a Bagura Demon.

The loose robe that had once hung on his frame now became a tight short tunic that could barely cover his upper body.

His fighting style was utterly different from his identity as a Priest; it was as wild and violent as a Barbarian, his arm swings generating surging gusts of air.

However, an enemy type as agile as an Elf seemed to hit exactly where the opponent was weak.

There was no difference from before the transformation; he was merely passively enduring the opponent's damage.

Deep within his fierce, turbid beast eyes, a glimmer of human-like light flashed, and he made a decision in his heart.

As he exerted force, his body suddenly tilted to the side, as if losing his balance and about to fall, feigning an opening.

Luring the Elf to close in.

Riiip—

Sword light flashed; the rapier's surface was stained with blood. The Black-robed Goblin's thick right arm, severed, flew high into the air and landed on the ground.

But at the same time, his other left hand firmly clamped the blonde Elf's neck.

Even though a longsword from a Human Warrior behind him had already pierced his chest.

He did not hesitate.

He exerted force and crushed it.

"Roar!!!"

He threw his head back and roared. Dots of green light gushed from his throat, forming intricate patterns in the air that enveloped the Black-robed Goblin and the silver-white device above his head.

In the distance, Cornell, who had been watching the situation on the field, noticed the familiar pattern in the air.

The silver bracelet on his right wrist flashed with silver light.

A scroll had already fallen into his palm.

"Trying to run!?"

He exerted force with both hands and tore the scroll to shreds.

Accompanied by Magic Particles that suddenly burst forth, the space within the lair was locked.

The green light array above the Black-robed Goblin's head dissipated.

Roaring wildly, he turned, as if intending to use the corpse in his hand as a weapon.

The Human Warrior, whose body felt lighter now that his teammate was dead and no longer subject to gravity suppression, exerted force in silence.

The reddish-brown blade piercing the enemy's chest glimmered slightly and suddenly swept upward.

Riiip—

Blood gushed forth.

The massive corpse, draped in tattered black robes, fell heavily to the ground.

On the Altar behind him, the silver-white device floating in midair had already vanished.

In the air, only faint glimmers remained, extinguishing like fireflies.

(End of this chapter)