Chapter 46: Experience Acquisition

The level of a goblin, without a doubt, is mostly level one.

Only a very few exceptional goblins have the possibility of reaching level two.

Even that goblin leader appeared to be at most level two, perhaps even less capable than an ordinary level two soldier.

The goblin leader was shouting, his subordinates surrounding him.

He frantically slapped at himself to clear the flames from his body.

"Taste the might of a Son of the Gray Mountains, you damn little monsters!" the dwarf roared, swinging his hammer in a direct circle.

The hammer was covered in dirt-encrusted spikes; under the dwarf's immense strength, several goblins were instantly sent flying with massive screams.

On this side, Aliris and Karna were not lacking in speed either. Swinging their single-handed swords, every strike took down at least one goblin.

The goblins were rapidly turning into corpses at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Waaaah!"

The goblin leader let out a great cry and suddenly bolted backward.

"He's trying to run!"

Karna let out a roar, and Aliris and the dwarf immediately attempted to charge into the goblin swarm.

However, after cutting through a few ranks of goblins, the remaining ones stayed huddled together, attacking them relentlessly and preventing them from breaking through.

"Are these really goblins?" Karna couldn't help but ask.

How could goblins act like this?

While goblins weren't as cowardly as Skaven, they were still considered a cowardly race—especially regarding their leaders. Once a leader died or fled, a goblin colony would instantly collapse. Therefore, the best tactic was to kill the leader quickly during combat.

After that, it would just be a pursuit.

But even with their leader fleeing, these goblins remained tightly clustered, acting as if they feared neither life nor death.

Such behavior would be normal for other races, but for goblins, it was truly incomprehensible.

Unless the goblin leader wasn't actually fleeing, but was instead going to do something else that his tribesmen all knew about.

How could one encounter something like this just by clearing a random goblin tribe?

A small ball of flame flew straight toward them, igniting the goblin leader's clothes once again.

The retreating goblin leader immediately shrieked, flailing his arms and legs to beat the flames out.

Taking this opportunity, Karna pierced the head of the goblin in front of him with a sword and lunged his left hand forward.

Controlling his blood, he sent several strands flying out like ropes, which firmly snagged the goblin leader's leg and dragged him to the ground.

The moment he fell, the goblin leader kicked his legs frantically, struggling and screaming wildly.

The terror in his voice instantly affected the goblins fighting ahead.

An emotion of dread began to spread.

"That's more like it," Karna muttered. "That's how normal goblins should act."

However, things did not go as planned.

The fallen goblin leader suddenly began screaming something, his voice filled with trembling terror.

Even in this state, he continued to speak, his pace growing faster and faster.

As the other goblins heard these sounds, their bodies began to tremble, yet they refused to retreat even a single step.

Filled with immense dread, they stood before them, shaking violently, attempting to block their path.

"Something is wrong... an ominous power... the earth is resisting!"

The dwarf roared, feeling the repulsion of the ground beneath his feet.

Aliris and Karna only felt an unnatural aura; the stench in the air began to grow thick and heavy.

Standing on the periphery in the distance, Bobot's fur stood on end. Danger was approaching.

"Blegh!"

"Ugh... *gag*!"

The goblins began to vomit, spewing out a green liquid that looked like rotting fluid.

"Fall back!"

Karna commanded, retreating instantly.

Aliris immediately followed the order, retreating to Karna's side, and the dwarf reacted quickly to move away as well.

After retreating a few meters, they watched the group of goblins.

The goblins began to vomit on one another, discharging juices that resembled poisonous pus.

The entire cave was filled with a nauseating stench.

"Ugh, so disgusting, I can't take it!" the dwarf roared, covering his mouth as he began to dry heave.

"Hold it in. You must not vomit," Karna warned, frowning at the scene before him. He already knew what they had encountered.

What a nightmare; to encounter this while merely clearing a goblin tribe.

He took his sword and made a light cut across his wrist.

A slight pain flared, and strength surged through him.

Karna controlled the blood flowing from his wrist, shaping it into a thin layer that covered his face.

He then drew more blood from his body, condensing it into a mass and sending it flying toward Aliris.

By the time Aliris reacted, the blood was already in front of her. She could only helplessly control the mass of blood, mimicking Karna by spreading it over her face.

Meanwhile, the vomiting goblins were already covered in pustules, oozing massive amounts of green liquid.

The stench was emanating directly from them.

Some goblins collapsed to the ground amidst their rotting sores, exploding into a puddle of filth.

Only a few goblins did not fall.

This included the leader.

A significant amount of the fallen rotten flesh had converged upon him, making this goblin as large as an ordinary human.

In his hand, he held a green club made of unknown bone and decayed flesh, which was still dripping with pus.

"They haven't been fully corrupted yet. Decapitating them should solve it," Karna warned.

With that, he charged forward, the other two following close behind.

"Embrace... life... welcome... corruption..."

These festering goblins emitted strange sounds from their mouths.

As these strange sounds entered the ears of the protagonists, they translated into those specific words.

As the words entered their ears, an urge to vomit surged from within their bodies.

Karna instantly gagged. The goblin in front of him swung a rotting hand, striking out fiercely.

The gagging interrupted Karna's offensive rhythm, forcing him to raise his left hand.

The long shield on the back of his hand instantly expanded into a round shield, infused with magic.

As the blow landed, he used the vibrating recoil to precisely catch the attack.

The force of the swinging fist sent his arm vibrating high into the air. He lost control of his limb, his entire arm going numb.

Karna lunged forward with a sword strike, but the blade became stuck fast in the goblin's festering neck.

It even sliced through several pustules, causing pus to burst out. A few drops splashed onto his face, causing an immediate stinging sensation.

【Vitality: 14/16】

It was acceptable; no symptoms had appeared in his status.

The shield on his left hand transformed again, slamming hard against the blade.

With another burst of strength, he forced the blade stuck in the neck outward, completely severing the goblin's head.

The moment the head fell, Karna quickly kicked it, sending it flying.

The flying head exploded mid-air, spraying juices everywhere.

"I knew it. Truly disgusting."

But it also proved that these goblins were being fully corrupted at an extremely high speed. Once that happened, it wouldn't be as simple as just cutting off their heads.

Experience +16

"?"

A sudden notification of experience gained caused Karna to freeze for a moment.

【Experience: 589/600】

(End of Chapter)