Chapter 21: Goblin Pro

“Bang, bang, bang!”

A series of muffled bangs rang out as one after another, faintly glowing Magical Bullets were fired from the barrel, shattering the heads of Goblins one by one.

Before long, several greenish corpses lay scattered throughout the Goblin Settlement. All five Adult Goblins standing outside had been taken down, along with a few Young Goblins.

After several rounds of shooting, Krexia’s position was already exposed. The remaining Young Goblins noticed where the shots had come from, and the Goblins inside the caves and wooden structures, upon hearing the noise, started to run out one after another.

They quickly glanced around and then charged straight toward Krexia’s location.

Among these Goblins, she did not spot any sign of a Greater Goblin.

“Hmm… they’re surprisingly composed.”

Clack.

The crisp sound of metal against metal echoed as Krexia folded down the stock of her Gunblade, revealing the now-empty Magic Crystal Cartridge inside.

She took out a Second-tier Magic Crystal, loaded it into the cartridge, and the Gunblade immediately regained power, ready to fire again.

If those mercenaries still relying on close combat and swords to fight magical beasts saw this scene, they’d probably be dumbfounded.

Against Goblins—creatures with generally low combat skills who like to cluster together—the efficiency of the Gunblade’s attack was undoubtedly inferior to a Third-Tier Magic Spell.

But Krexia had to conserve her Magic Power for any possible Goblin Shamans or Mutated Hobgoblins that might appear.

Besides, the main reason was that picking off enemies one by one from a distance with the Gunblade just felt really satisfying.

There was an indescribable thrill to it.

“Bang!”

A few more shots rang out, and the few remaining Adult Goblins fell beneath the Gunblade’s Magical Bullets, their skulls shattered or half their bodies blasted apart.

The damage per shot was extremely high, capable of one-shotting a non-defense-specialized Second-tier magical beast.

The remaining Young Goblins, seeing the Adult Goblins fall one after another into pools of green blood, suddenly shrank back in fear and didn’t dare to advance.

Looking up at Krexia standing on the tree, their eyes were filled with a fear of the unknown.

They didn’t understand what kind of magic this was.

According to the older Goblins’ stories, humans dressed like Krexia typically couldn’t fire continuously, and their bodies were very fragile.

After each attack, they needed a moment to prepare for the next.

But the recent assault had clearly exceeded their expectations.

“Goblin can be afraid, huh?”

Krexia lowered her Gunblade, watching the Goblins below with interest at the almost human-like expressions in their eyes.

It was something new to her.

In her experience, magical beasts acted on instinct—they might feel threatened and retreat, but their eyes never showed emotions similar to humans.

Well, there was no need to waste a Mana Core firing shots at these little guys. Better to just finish them off directly.

With that thought, Krexia put the Gunblade back on her back, took out her Magic Wand, and aimed at the Goblin group below, beginning to chant a spell.

Chanting mainly consumed spirit rather than Magic Power, so it just delayed the magic release by a couple of seconds.

It was just clearing out the fodder, no big deal.

Soon, ten Magic Runes and a basin-sized Magic Circle were completed, the magical circuits linking together as the entire formation emitted a faint blue glow.

Krexia’s garnet eyes began to shimmer with tiny red sparks.

Sensing the overwhelming threat radiating from the Magic Wand, the Young Goblins finally couldn’t hold back and started retreating.

[Elemental·Third-Tier Attack·Fracture of Water]

Worried about running out of Magic Power, Krexia thoughtfully added several extra charging Magic Runes within the Third-Tier Magic Circle’s capacity during the chant.

“Roar… ah!”

Just as Krexia prepared to unleash the spell, the magical beast energy within the cave, carrying a faint witch’s aura, suddenly stirred restlessly.

Then came a deafening roar.

The Young Goblins hearing the roar were as if spotted by a natural enemy—terrified, their legs gave out, and one by one, they collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

“Ah, this might be trouble.”

Krexia glanced toward the cave entrance, where a massive figure was slowly emerging from the shadows.

Two eyes, completely blood-red, fixed unwaveringly on Krexia’s position.

As it stepped fully into the sunlight, its entire form was revealed.

Its body was abnormally large.

Compared to the slightly smaller stature of a Second-tier Adult Goblin, this Greater Goblin emerging from the cave resembled a small giant.

It was estimated to be nearly four meters tall, broad and bulky, with thick, muscular arms.

The bulging muscles on its upper arms, chest, and back rippled like tangled worms, with veins crawling across its entire body.

The Goblin’s face was extremely fierce, two protruding canine teeth clenched tightly, steam billowing continuously from its mouth.

Its body was smeared with green blood, looking like a raging bull gone mad.

The explosive muscles were glowing with an abnormal purple light, and the strength of the magical energy reaction sensed by Krexia was rising rapidly, almost reaching Fifth-tier levels.

Krexia’s expression darkened instantly.

Coutia had said that a Third-Tier magical beast exposed briefly to witch’s aura could at best be pushed slightly beyond Fourth-Tier strength.

But this… whatever this was, she wasn’t sure it could still be called a Greater Goblin.

No matter how she looked at it, the creature’s appearance was unlike that of an ordinary Fourth-Tier magical beast.

Glancing down at the frightened Young Goblins below, no longer a threat, then back at the imposing muscular brute emerging from the cave with fierce momentum—

Krexia decisively aimed her magic at the mutated Greater Goblin and released the spell.

The high-speed water blade struck the Greater Goblin’s body in an instant.

However, the water blade, which could usually slice through trees and pierce rocks with ease, felt a clear resistance upon hitting the Greater Goblin.

“Ah!!”

The Greater Goblin bore the water blade’s impact as if it had no effect.

Its sturdy, tree-like thigh muscles contracted slightly.

Then it slammed its foot down, causing the rocks around to crack like spiderwebs.

Crack!

With the shrill sound of shattering stone, the mutated Greater Goblin, reeking of foul stench, charged like a cannonball toward Krexia’s position.

Its momentum seemed determined to smash through anything blocking its path.

The water magic striking its body was completely ignored.

In those blood-red, violent eyes burned an insane murderous intent.

(1/2)