Chapter 140

Leaden clouds piled up like continuous mountain ranges, and the thick, grey clouds surged and spilled a curtain of rain.

Crystalline raindrops fell into mid-air, were captured by the long, high-pitched wolf howl, pulled and kneaded to pieces, reflecting the iron-grey wolf teeth flashing with sharp, cold light, and turned into the illusory mane trailing when the wolf head roared.

Sshh—

The fierce wolf head composed of rainwater and grass debris bit down, leaving a bleeding wound on the enemy's body.

A thick arm with dense fur smashed down from the air to the side like a whip, its claws closed, but it only grabbed two broken grass stems and a few tail notes of the wolf howl that had already moved away.

Retreating after a single strike.

Thick leather boots sank deep into the muddy meadow, and the retreating footsteps went from fast to slow, finally standing steadily along with the broken leaves drifting down on both sides and the rainwater falling calmly around his body once again.

"Hoo... hoo..."

His chest heaved violently, and the scorching hot breath sprayed from his nose and mouth condensed into grey-white water mist in the cold air.

Xia Nan panted heavily.

No obvious expression could be seen on his face, which was dripping with rainwater; only those pitch-black eyes reflecting the hulking figure in front revealed incomparable focus.

Berg's head had been crushed, dead as dead could be; Adeline had been slapped away by the Hobgoblin in its frenzied state and had also left the field heavily injured.

In just a few minutes, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

For a time, the only one on the field capable of fighting the Red-maned Hobgoblin head-on was actually himself.

As teammates for many days, the relationship between the two and himself couldn't be called very intimate, but they could be considered friends.

At this moment, he didn't have the time to mourn Berg's death or worry about Adeline's injuries.

The Hong Zong's fierce offensive, which was like a rainstorm, and the immense pressure that meant a heavy injury or near-death if he were grazed even slightly, had already left him unable to catch his breath.

Under these circumstances, Xia Nan didn't even have the opportunity to unleash 【Spinning Slash】, only using the super-strong mobility brought by 【Tooth Hunt】 to leave shallow, short wounds on the enemy that held no hope, before retreating rapidly again.

—The wound he had just cut into the opponent's waist and abdomen with his longsword only two seconds ago had already stopped bleeding and was healing rapidly as the muscles beneath it squirmed.

Since Berg's death, he had fought the Hobgoblin for only a few rounds.

But the physical exertion it had brought to Xia Nan had already exceeded the sum of all previous efforts.

The pressure was too great!

The huge gap in strength and the successive retreat of his teammates—if someone with a less resilient will had come up, they would likely have lost their fighting spirit completely and had their skull smashed by the Hobgoblin's punch.

It was only because Xia Nan had lived a second life, and his attitude, willpower, and other aspects had changed, that he had been able to hold on until now by relying on the explosive speed of 【Tooth Hunt】.

"Where is the breakthrough point?"

He temporarily opened up distance from the opponent.

Xia Nan gripped his longsword tightly with both hands, panting, but he did not calm the boiling, surging hot blood in his body, letting it rush and swell in his blood vessels.

His brain was surprisingly calm, thinking meticulously and comprehensively about how he should win this battle.

Or rather... survive.

Come to think of it, although he had killed quite a few Goblins since transmigrating, Xia Nan had also experienced a few battles where the levels were comparable, or even where the opponent's strength was slightly superior.

He had summarized a bit of shallow experience, not knowing if it was correct or not.

In his view, in battles of this level, the strength of the overall power of both sides was certainly very important.

But what truly determined who could survive to the end and strip equipment from the other side as spoils of war was whether you could seize the fleeting, brief opportunities in battle.

Using your own strengths to pierce the opponent's weaknesses.

The fact that Xia Nan could still stand here breathing and thinking of countermeasures proved that the Hobgoblin's strength in front of him had not yet reached the level where he was unable to resist.

"Then there is still a chance!"

The Hong Zong's physical body was extremely formidable, but it was not armored, and the toughness of its skin and flesh could not be compared to steel; its defensive capabilities were limited.

In the previous few rounds, the reason the longsword hadn't been able to achieve effective damage was because the time left for him to exert force was too short, and he couldn't even use 【Spinning Slash】.

If he were given the opportunity to exert his full strength, he was confident he could make an impact.

On the other hand, the formidable body, as hulking and muscular as a muscle monster, made the Hong Zong not as flexible as himself.

"Perhaps I can start from this point?"

Xia Nan's brain spun rapidly; in just a few breaths, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

"Right, I also need to be careful of that explosive state it used to pierce through the entire defensive line just now!"

Being covered in dark red energy was a precursor; he must pay attention.

Considering other potential abilities the opponent might have that hadn't been exposed yet, he had to be more cautious during the battle, must remain vigilant at all times, and prepare an escape route before attacking.

Xia Nan even began to consider which equipment he was carrying could be effective in the upcoming battle:

Wooden sword 【Green Pine】... although it was his only "Blue equipment," the Hobgoblin in front clearly didn't fit the enemy type for the damage bonus, and its sharpness was no different from an ordinary one-handed sword; he would keep it as a backup;

The three fire oil bombs in his waist pouch... they might be useful.

Referring to the Hong Zong's performance in the fire ruins before, even if they couldn't cause heavy injury, they could play a delaying role when necessary.

In addition, the most critical one, and also his only remaining trump card...

"Hah!"

The familiar voice that suddenly rang out from outside the battlefield abruptly interrupted Xia Nan's thoughts.

He looked subconsciously in the direction the voice came from.

He saw Abi, who had been busy dealing with the Goblins charging into the village and unable to get away, had arrived at the edge of the field at some point.

He was covered in blood, looking exceptionally tragic.

But judging by his eyes, which could barely be considered spirited, and his body, which was still able to move freely, it could be determined that he hadn't suffered any particularly serious injuries.

Most of the blood on his body should have belonged to those green-skinned Goblins that were already dead.

Knowing his strength was limited, Abi didn't charge into the battlefield to drag Xia Nan down.

Instead, he just lowered his body and half-squatted on the side of the field.

In his hand, he held a completely empty small glass bottle.

Beside him lay Adeline, whose complexion was gradually becoming rosy and whose body injuries were recovering rapidly.

Xia Nan was stunned, his mind recalling the scene when he first met Adeline at the alchemist's shop.

"Right! She had a healing potion on her."

He had thought his squad leader had already left the field; he hadn't expected there to be a turning point.

While feeling a slight relief in his heart, he had already charged toward the Hobgoblin again.

He had to attract the enemy's attention to buy time for Adeline's recovery.

And Abi, on the other side, just stood guard silently beside Adeline, vigilant against any Goblins that might appear around them.

The death of the villagers and Berg seemed to have caused this country boy, who had only recently become an adventurer, to grow up a lot.

There was no resentment, and no time for sorrow.

He just bore the stinking blood all over his body with a numb face.

Until Adeline gradually recovered her ability to act under the effect of the healing potion, and after confirming that she didn't need the wooden shield in his hand.

He took a deep look at Berg's corpse on the field and Xia Nan, who was fighting the Hobgoblin to buy them time.

He turned around and charged toward the direction where the shrieks of Goblins in the village were coming from.

(End of chapter)