Chapter 30: The Thirst for Battle

Before the other elite Goblins could react, William launched a fireball straight out, firing it at the elite Goblin that was rushing toward him.

The elite Goblin, already holding a long bow and hiding in a tree to ambush David, saw the fireball coming, couldn't draw his long sword in time to defend, and had to sidestep and jump down from the tree.

He fell head‑first through the air, and William did not hesitate; as a fireball shot from his right hand, his left hand swung his sword outward.

Sword Strike!

William shouted, and a pale‑blue sword qi that coiled around the blade of his Long Sword sliced out; the pale‑blue crescent‑shaped sword qi passed through the falling elite Goblin's body, cutting that elite Goblin and the tree trunk behind it into two sections.

At this moment the other elite Goblins also reacted, and were all startled by the outstretched hand of William, the human child who had rushed to aid.

With the harassment of long‑range attacks from the other elite Goblins gone, David finally could let loose, "Martial skill 【Sprint】!"

David, taking advantage of the elite Goblins' attention being all drawn to his son William, used the skill to sprint straight to an elite Goblin he was melee‑engaged with; that elite Goblin, already distracted by William's sudden appearance, could not block the silver‑rank adventurer's full‑force surprise strike and had its head cleaved off by David's sword.

Blue blood sprayed from the elite Goblin's neck, and the other elite Goblins, seeing this, realized that without their comrades' ranged support they were no match for the human man before them, and they clustered together and retreated.

Not far away, the other elite Goblins had already put down their bows and drawn short knives; they understood that if they did not kill the suddenly appearing human child, they would all be slain by that powerful human man, so the remaining six elite Goblins brandished their knives and charged at William.

"William, be careful!" David shouted loudly as he saw his son surrounded by six elite Goblins.

William remained calm; Geilan and the others, having taught him combat techniques for dealing with Goblins based on his hypothesis about a Goblin raid on Bigen Village, had all etched those lessons into his mind.

A single Goblin is not strong, but they excel at group tactics; when facing Goblins, terrain and positioning are key.

But William's hands, gripping his sword, trembled slightly; the more he fought, the more excited he became, feeling that in battle he could freely expend his magic while his mana remained inexhaustible—a sensation he had never experienced in his previous life.

At this moment, more than retreating, his heart and blood yearned for direct combat!

Six elite Goblins encircled him from three directions, coordinating with seamless teamwork; some moved faster, some slower, and once they had surrounded William, each was at just the right distance to launch a simultaneous attack on him.

Enhancement, Focus.

William consecutively applied two buff spells to himself, paying no heed to the elite Goblins charging from other directions, and rushed straight toward the elite Goblin directly in front of him.

That elite Goblin had never seen such a reckless tactic, as if trading its life for his own; when it saw the human child charging at him with huge, battle‑only eyes, it was instantly terrified and dared not move forward.

Because of that brief hesitation, the Goblin's position was slightly farther from the other five companions, so when William surged to the front of this Goblin, the other elite Goblins were half a heartbeat slower to notice William behind them.

Without any flashy techniques, William swung his sword with full force; the terrified elite Goblin, already retreating, frantically brandished its short knife to block, but the short knife was weaker than a Long Sword, and the Goblin's rear foot slipped, leaving its body unable to leverage the ground.

Thus, what began as a strike from the opponent turned into William swinging his Long Sword with full power, the force breaking through the Goblin's defending short knife and landing on its chest, instantly cutting the elite Goblin down onto the ground.

At this moment the other five elite Goblins arrived from behind William, drawing their blades toward his back; seeing this, David's heart rose straight to his throat.

Unable to turn, William dropped to his knees, gathered strength, and leapt upward while using the skill, "Second Stage…".

With a whoosh, William sprinted upward at full speed, soaring high into the air and just evading the blades thrust by the five elite Goblins.

However, William could not gain leverage in the air; the five elite Goblins below stared at him hungrily, waiting for the moment he fell to the ground so they could all thrust their blades and pierce him.

From the moment William slashed a elite Goblin to his leap into the air, only a brief heartbeat passed; David could not chase the other Goblins he was melee‑engaged with, so he hurriedly used his skill, "Sword Strike Combo!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several sword qi streaks sliced from David's blade toward the five elite Goblins waiting at a distance for William's descent, but even at their fastest, the sword qi required time and could not slay all five before William landed.

At this moment William reached the apex of his ascent, his upward speed dropping to zero; just as he was about to begin falling, the mana within him surged, instantly inscribing the magical runes for the latter half of his skill.

…Piercing Thrust!

Whoosh!

A sound of breaking air rang from beneath William's feet; everyone saw that there was no point of leverage under him, yet his figure vanished strangely into the air.

Boom!

In the instant after his disappearance, William reappeared at the center of the five elite Goblins; because he missed the mark, his Long Sword plunged straight into the ground, sending earth and stone flying, and the massive impact hurled all five elite Goblins outward.

At this time David's sword flashes also reached William's vicinity, instantly killing the three elite Goblins that had just risen from the ground, while the other two elite Goblins, being farther from William's blast, evaded David's sword light and escaped by luck.

William stared blankly at the Long Sword in his hand; it seemed he had grasped a new application of the "Second Stage Piercing Thrust" in the recent battle.

"William, are you okay?" David ran to his son's side, reaching out with concern.

"Oh, father, I'm fine."

William grasped David's hand, and was pulled up; as he came to his senses, he realized his earlier state had been off, acting recklessly, and wondered whether ingesting Kusara's mana had affected him.

At the same time, Geilan's teachings resurfaced in his mind; if his reckless actions had caused his father injury, his guilt would be great, so he apologized, "Sorry, dad, I was too reckless just now."

David gave a slight smile, not paying much attention; although he didn't know what had transpired, he was genuinely surprised that his son William's strength had already reached the Bronze level.

He raised his sword, looking toward the distant reformed formation of the remaining eight elite Goblins, and said, "Eight remain, let's go together."

"Alright." William nodded.

Seeing the two human males, one large and one small, eyeing them menacingly, the eight elite Goblins were all horrified; the adult male was powerful enough, but when a human child becomes this troublesome, it's like seeing a ghost!

Suddenly the ground beneath the eight elite Goblins began to tremble; they realized something, and instantly shifted from defense to an aggressive advance, vowing to block the two human men's path of retreat.

David and William also sensed trouble; the ones who had just tried to slay the eight elite Goblins now instantly wanted to flee.

For a moment the sides swapped offense and defense, each unwilling to yield an inch.

The rumbling of the ground grew louder; first a massive ogre's bulk appeared in everyone's view, followed by the huge horn of the Goblin army, and then the entire Goblin army, half‑wounded, with about two hundred survivors, came into sight.

Seeing that the two of them were now surrounded by the Goblin army, David and William gave up further offense; after losing two more, the remaining six injured elite Goblins engaged them in close combat, and the two stood back‑to‑back, raising swords to defend.

The six wounded elite Goblins returned to the Goblin army and reported the situation to the Goblin Chief; upon learning that only six of the last twenty elite Goblins he had sent remained, the Chief did not become angry but smiled at David and William, though his grin was grim and eerie, not at all a happy expression.

Chirp! Whoosh!

The Goblin Chief ordered, and four ogres, each wielding a thick wooden club, marched forward toward David and his son.

David forced a strained smile and said to his son William, "William, it seems dad can never escape his fate; I'll hold the line here again, you hurry and get out, and take good care of Mom for me."

William gritted his teeth, tears of frustration welling in his eyes; he struggled to keep them from falling and asked himself, "Can I really not change the fate of those around me? Then what does my Rebirth truly mean?"

"No, Mom has already safely retreated to Mobius Town; fate can be changed. Think quickly, find a way to turn the battle around, think fast!"

The ogres drew ever closer; David, seeing his son still had no intention to leave, scolded, "William, hurry up and go! Do you want to stay here and hold me back? Go!"

William gritted his teeth and shouted loudly, "I won't give up! There must be a way!"

"Your survival is the solution! Go quickly!"

The ogre raised its club, about to smash the two, when its head suddenly burst like a water balloon, spraying a torrent of blue blood that drenched David and William, turning their bodies entirely blue.