NOVELNEXT Chapter 21 Chains
The situation went from quietly abrupt to critical. The knights may have been well-trained as their swords were sharp enough to slice through even very tough hide, but they could not compare in strength to a four-meter-tall monster that had more muscles than all of them together.
"AGH!!!" The knight screamed in pain as Hobgoblin's grip was powerful enough to crumple his armor, gradually making his bones crack.
'Shit! This is really bad!' Zayne inwardly exclaimed as a shiver ran through his body before he ran up to the monster's leg. He quickly plunged the blade into Hobgoblin's toe and cut it off in a sharp motion.
"ROOOOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!" Hobgoblin roared furiously with a painful expression as his roar spread throughout the village, sending chills down the back of the soldiers standing on guard.
"Well done! We must not let him come to his senses!" Roland exclaimed with a serious look, speeding up and leaving more and more cuts on the monster's left leg.
Whooooooooooosh.
Hobgoblin tossed Zayne aside with a leg kick and pointed his other hand toward the knight's head, about to squeeze it with his long fingers.
"No!" Roland exclaimed frightened since for him to lose one of his men was his worst nightmare.
"Chains of Water Sorrow, tame the one who brings only rage and chaos with him!" Aron exclaimed as his deep voice made everyone freeze for a moment, then the ground next to Hobgoblin cracked.
A rack of blue chains with an unusual aura flew outward, and in a heartbeat they enveloped Hobgoblin's arm, preventing the knight's death, as the monster's fingers were already nearly clamped around his head.
"Damn! These chains are unbelievable!" Zayne's eyes went wide, staring at the massive monster that seemed unable to resist.
The chains pulled Hobgoblin to the ground with tremendous force, almost preventing him from moving, but despite this, all Aron could achieve was to get Hobgoblin down on one knee.
"Hurry up! I can't hold him back much longer!" Aron shouted as he waved his hand.
Roland nodded silently and for some reason jumped back instead of continuing to attack the immobilized monster.
'Use a skill, always should be in a critical situation, but it must be effective, so I think this moment has come.' Roland muttered inwardly as his eyes flashed.
His gaze moved to the outstretched arm of the monster that still held one of the knights, then Roland took a deep breath and stepped forward.
The ground beneath him cracked, and a white flash went through his sword as he headed toward the monster like black lightning. In an instant he was in front of the massive arm, clenched his teeth tightly, and swung his sword with a perfectly straight slash, cutting it off.
"ARGHHHH!!!" Hobgoblin exclaimed violently as a stream of dark blood spurted from the wound. It hurt him, but the rage was greater, so Hobgoblin instantly attacked Roland, with his other hand.
Roland's pupils narrowed as he thrust his sword out in front of him, blocking Hobgoblin's sharp claws. Sparks flew from their clash as the shockwave threw Roland back several meters. He was stunned by the monster's strength but was able to regain his balance and land on his feet.
"Ahahaha, Elder Aron, your abilities are incredible!" Roland exclaimed cheerfully with an excited expression as he placed the blood-covered sword on his shoulder.
The other knights quickly pulled their mate from the monster's severed arm and dragged him to a safe distance. Of the ten knights, four were now wounded, but Hobgoblin's situation was much worse.
"Hey, this is our chance to kill him, right here and now! If I understand correctly the chains will be gone soon, so we need to hurry!" Harald exclaimed, running forward. Roland nodded and quickly followed him.
Harald clenched his fists tightly, stopped in front of the monster, and punched it in the stomach with all his might. Though Harald was several times smaller than Hobgoblin, his punch made the monster's face twist in pain and open its jaw wide, trying to take it.
"Great! I'll finish him off!" Roland exclaimed, plunging his sword into the monster's chest. Dark clots of blood flew out as a few drops landed on his face.
Hobgoblin fell silent as he made not a sound, which caused the knights' faces to shine as it seemed that the huge monster had finally been defeated.
"The commander succeeded? Unbelievable!" Someone exclaimed, but suddenly his face turned pale as Hobgoblin opened his blood-filled eyes wide.
Roland and Harald flinched, instantly placing a block in front of them as a moment later the monster's long arm tossed them aside, then Hobgoblin attacked the closest target, which was Zayne with his last breath.
Hobgoblin decided to use his last weapon, his powerful jaw with many sharp teeth, which was headed toward the shocked Zayne.
'Shit... He's so huge, I couldn't beat him, I have to run!' Zayne inwardly exclaimed, but his body wouldn't listen to him, then a devious grin appeared on his face, 'Well, maybe next time we meet I should thank Gael for the advice. My fears are as big as this monster, but there's no point in running away from them.'
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ Whooooooooooosh.
The blade in Zayne's hands was covered in a dense layer of blue energy as Zayne rushed forward. A moment later, the monster's jaw snapped closed right where it had just stood with a loud sound that echoed throughout the hut.
"Just die. You may be scary, but unlike the Black Wolf, you are incapable of instilling terror equal to my nightmares." Zayne's blue eyes grew deeper as he plunged the blade into the monster's throat and blood poured down in a mighty stream, "You're tough, so this won't be enough for you."
Zayne gripped the hilt tightly and pressed the blade with all his might, extending the cut to shoulder level. The blood loss may not have been severe enough to kill Hobgoblin, but he just couldn't breathe anymore and died holding his only hand to his throat in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the bleeding.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
Hobgoblin's massive body dropped to the ground, causing a shiver as Zayne with relief fell to his knees. Though it was only a game, the sensation was more than real, he could feel the monster's flesh slashing and the foreign blood dripping from his face.
The others silently looked at Zayne with wide-open eyes since they couldn't believe that he was the one who dealt the goblin leader the final hit as several messages appeared in front of Zayne.
[You defeated Champion Monster! Goblin Leader, Hobgoblin Troq!]
[You were the one who made the final hit, so you get more experience than the rest of the group!]
[You got 50 Exp!]
[You defeated an opponent who was several times bigger than you!]
[Received Title - Battle Against Goliath]
[Battle Against Goliath - damage increased by 10% against huge opponents.]
"Agh... 50 Exp...? Well, that's a lot more than for the Black Wolf, pleasant, but undeserved." Zayne muttered with a slight smile, but he wasn't talking about himself, "That monster wasn't so scary, they gave too much experience for it..."