Chapter 322: Mist Lamp Village, Forbidden Area

Xia Nan couldn't remember how he had developed this hobby.

Perhaps it was the few green-skinned Goblins that ambushed the Stinky Fish and Rotten Shrimp squad at the beginning of his crossing; or perhaps it was the huge pressure brought by the adventurer profession and the strange environment, urging him to alleviate it through addictive behavior.

But regardless, for creatures like Goblins, he had now formed a near-pathological, severe dependence.

And he enjoyed this process from the bottom of his heart.

The wonderful, dull sound of the dark-gray straight sword piercing into the body and cutting through flesh, skin, and bone; the arm shield knocking and vibrating the skull, crushing and grinding the facial features of those deformed and ugly creatures, as satisfying as a water-filled balloon bursting; the lean and fragile flesh being torn apart by his hands like paper, the intestines, blood, and bones spilling all over the ground—the light and refreshing pleasure...

Xia Nan, who had always been crisp and neat in battle, showed his diverse means of abuse only when facing these "cute" little animals that were so likable.

Even the battle time was quietly prolonged, just to please himself as much as possible.

Boom—

Thunder resounded across the sky.

The rain curtain was like weaving, and the lead-gray sky light was faintly sprinkled through the overlapping branches and leaves.

The extremely rich stench of blood, mixed with the moist earthy smell that kept surging up under the washing of the rain, filled the air.

Blood and raindrops blended together, dripping down from the black-gray, deep straight sword surface.

Xia Nan stood quietly in place, his face lifted, and there were obvious bloodstains on his leg guards, chain mail, and even the side of his cheeks.

The ground around him was a hideous blood color paved with broken limbs and visceral flesh and bones.

The expression on his face was the lingering satisfaction after enjoyment.

Amidst the sparse sound of rain, it seemed that one could still faintly hear the sharp screeches of the Goblins that had once echoed in the sky.

Of the nearly thirty green-skinned Goblins that had once whistled past this place, only the last one remained.

At this moment, it was shivering, shrinking its body like a quail, lying among the corpses of its kind, shrouded by the tall shadow from the front, not even daring to lift its head.

The cruel and cold means like abuse, and the suffocating high pressure brought by the disparity in strength, had completely lost this poor Goblin's courage to resist, and its psychological defense line had also been completely destroyed.

Only exerting its remaining weak intelligence, it hugged its head and faced the ground as if deceiving itself, hoping that the powerful creature in front of it could ignore its existence.

"H-hello..."

At the edge of the battlefield, Dongshu, who was also shivering because of the shocking scene on the field, ignored the eye-stop of Aspen beside him.

Gathering his courage, he took two steps forward, and in an extremely cautious, respectful posture for fear of angering him, he lowered his voice and said:

"T-thank you for your help, may I ask..."

Before the words of gratitude could be finished, turning around at the sound, those deep, cold, jet-black eyes made him subconsciously close his mouth again.

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the two people dressed as hunters, and his sight stayed slightly on the wound of the middle-aged man sitting and leaning against the tree trunk with a leg injury behind.

He didn't explain much, just slowly opened his mouth:

"Wait a moment."

After speaking, he turned his head and looked at the last Goblin shivering and pretending to be dead under him.

He didn't end its life like its twenty-plus companions before.

Xia Nan gently lifted his leg, and his leather boots covered with mud and blood kicked the other party's gaunt flank.

"Screech!"

As if electrocuted, the Goblin shrinking in the pile of corpses jumped up instantly, its short and gaunt body stretched straight.

Regardless of the tall figure looking at it from behind, it screamed and rushed directly into the dense forest.

With a height of nearly 1.9 meters, the efficiency of his two long legs was naturally more than half a notch faster than the Goblin's two short legs like branches.

And with keen perception, even if the other party ran for a few minutes first, he could still easily capture the traces left by its panicked escape.

A playful smile of success flashed in Xia Nan's eyes. He swung the straight sword in his hand casually and followed slowly.

At the edge of the field behind, the two hunters who had survived the Goblin siege just now looked a bit hesitant when they saw this.

Perhaps the flesh and limbs on the field were too dazzling, and even the falling rain was particularly cold.

The younger one, seeing Xia Nan's figure disappear into the forest, immediately wanted to run in the opposite direction, but was forcibly pulled by the older one, who said two vague words in a hurried tone.

Only then did he struggle to get up, and with the support of the young hunter beside him, he followed carefully, shaking his body.

Xia Nan knew that his luck in this regard had always been good.

He thought that this sudden heavy rain would completely wash away the traces left by the Goblins' activities nearby, forcing him to temporarily give up looking for the Goblin lair that was the target of the Association's extermination mission.

But unexpectedly, the two unlucky hunters happened to encounter this Goblin tribe's hunting team.

Considering the gathering effect of the Goblin lair area, the one that could form a Goblin group of this scale in the surrounding area was most likely his mission target.

So after the slaughter, he specifically left one behind.

However, slightly frightened, the green-skinned Goblin, who fled in a panic because of extreme fear, would instinctively flee back to the lair it subconsciously thought was the safest.

There was no need to deliberately cover up any movement, following all the way, Xia Nan's target appeared before his eyes.

"Screech..."

The miserable wailing came faintly from the deep, bottomless cave ahead.

The excitement and madness in the sharp whistling had long since dissipated, leaving only the miserable, bone-deep torture and pain.

Shivering in the rain, listening to the sound coming from deep in the cave ahead, Dongshu couldn't help but shiver, and subconsciously said to the middle-aged man beside him in fear:

"Brother Aspen, why don't... let's just run!"

"This is too scary!"

In response, Aspen, who had used his eyes to stop the boy from going up to say hello before, appeared much calmer.

Sitting on the ground, concentrating on treating the wound on his leg, he glanced at the other party unhappily.

"You were so stunned just now, and now you know you're afraid?"

"Daring to go up at that time, it was just your luck, otherwise you would have been cut down as a Goblin by that person directly, and others would have nothing to say."

"So are we running or not?" Hearing Aspen say this, Dongshu obviously realized that he had been too reckless just now, and couldn't help but feel a burst of lingering fear in his heart, and even his tone became more hurried, "What if..."

"Don't be afraid."

Aspen, who could still make the calmest decision in the desperate situation before, having finally survived, would naturally not lose his original composure.

"With the other party's strength, dealing with the two of us is actually no different from those Goblins. If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it long ago."

"But since he didn't do it just now, it means he has no hostility. Just sit here and wait for him to come out." ===== CHAPTER 323 =====