Chapter Five
Immediately, the seven archers in the group moved to different positions, making sure they surrounded the goblins from all sides.
When Jacob saw that everyone was in position, he raised his hand.
Then...
He brought it down.
The signal to attack.
Immediately, the sharp sound of arrows cutting through the sky rang out, startling the goblins.
A rain of arrows descended upon them.
The archers literally emptied their quivers, sending wave after wave of arrows toward the goblin crowd.
The goblins were thrown into chaos.
Immediately afterward, the Goblin Chieftain let out an enraged roar.
It waved its wand, and a fireball instantly shot toward one of the archers hiding on top of a stone house.
The archer was scared senseless.
He immediately jumped down from the stone house.
BOOM!
The fireball exploded against the structure, sending stone fragments scattering in every direction.
Before the Chieftain could cast another fireball...
"I'm your opponent!"
A loud shout suddenly resounded.
Jacob charged toward the Chieftain with his battle axe raised high, cleaving downward with all his strength.
The Chieftain reacted quickly.
It blasted a fireball toward Jacob while simultaneously creating distance between them.
Jacob swung his battle axe.
BOOM!
The axe collided with the incoming fireball and completely canceled it out.
The two stared at each other.
One with fury burning in his eyes.
The other with a faint smile.
Seeing his tribesmen being slaughtered only fueled the Goblin Chieftain's anger.
Right after Jacob charged in, the others followed and began killing the remaining goblins.
The members of this team possessed an average strength of approximately one thousand kilograms.
However, Old Black and another member named Louis were different.
Both possessed a strength of three thousand kilograms.
Therefore, the moment the battle began, Old Black and Louis immediately went after the four F-Rank Elite goblins, with each of them taking on two opponents.
Old Black was walking the path of an assassin, so his speed was naturally exceptional.
He continuously weaved around the two goblins, his dagger striking their joints with frightening precision.
One strike.
Another.
And another.
Soon, the two goblins were rendered immobile.
Old Black then finished them off without hesitation.
Louis also killed his opponents not long after.
The two then joined the others in slaughtering the remaining goblins.
The battle seemed completely one-sided.
But then...
A loud roar filled with anger and powerlessness suddenly erupted from the Goblin Chieftain's mouth.
"ROAAAARRR!"
A strange red fog suddenly erupted around its body.
The atmosphere changed.
The Chieftain threw the wand in its hand onto the ground.
The moment the wand touched the ground, it disappeared.
Then...
Something else appeared in the Chieftain's hand.
A massive Great Sword.
The weapon shone with a terrifying red luster.
At the same time, the sword rapidly grew until it reached two meters in height.
Cold sweat instantly appeared on the faces of everyone present.
Even those who had been busy slaughtering the low-level goblins couldn't help becoming distracted when they felt the terrifying pressure radiating from the transformed Chieftain.
They knew they had just poked a hornet's nest.
They had encountered a rare phenomenon...
A monster evolving after going berserk.
The Chieftain's attributes began changing entirely.
And when everyone saw the result...
They knew they weren't lucky enough to witness such a rare phenomenon.
Instead, some of them even felt as though their long-dead great-grandparents were already smiling at them from the afterlife.
[Mutated Goblin Chieftain]
[Race: Hobgoblin]
[Rank: F-Rank Lord]
[HP: 10,000/10,000]
Jacob's expression changed drastically.
"Run!"
He immediately turned around and bolted toward the village exit.
The others followed without hesitation.
This Lord-Rank monster now possessed a strength of ten thousand kilograms.
That was already on par with a Half-Awakened human.
At this moment, Jacob knew that throughout his entire life, this was the closest he had ever been to death.
He possessed a strength of only seven thousand kilograms.
If he stayed and fought this monster...
He would simply be courting death.
The entire group scrambled out of the village.
But escaping did not bring them any relief.
Because the Chieftain was following them.
It was like the reincarnation of a devil.
It wasn't even rushing.
Instead, it followed them at a leisurely pace, killing them one after another as though it wanted every single one of them to understand what true despair felt like.
...
[Mutated Goblin Chieftain]
[Race: Hobgoblin]
[Rank: F-Rank Lord]
[HP: 10,000/10,000]
[Description: A berserk goblin that underwent an evolution due to intense stimulation, thereby increasing its power and racial limit.]
When Carl saw the information of the leading goblin, his mind went blank.
Almost instinctively...
He turned around and ran.
He left Alex and the others behind without hesitation.
Right now, Carl wished he could grow two more legs.
Hell, he would even settle for growing wings and experiencing the freedom of flying through the air.
Unfortunately, those were nothing more than fantasies.
So Carl ran.
He ran without looking back.
The moment Carl started running, the humans who were being chased by the Goblin Chieftain noticed him.
And sure enough...
The Mutated F-Rank Lord Goblin Chieftain also noticed them.
A human-like grin appeared on its face.
It was the smile of a predator that had just discovered even more prey to toy with.
Alex watched Carl running away.
A cold thought crossed his mind.
I think it's time to discard him.
He's no longer useful.
Carl's strength was only two hundred kilograms.
He couldn't run very far.
Before Carl could react...
A figure suddenly appeared beside him.
A pitch-black dagger exuding a dark aura pierced directly into his chest.
Puchi!
Carl's eyes widened.
Blood immediately spilled from his mouth.
Alex stood beside him.
His eyes had already turned red.
Carl's body trembled.
Then he felt something even more terrifying.
Something inside his soul was being absorbed by the dagger.
The sensation was agonizing.
It felt as though his very life was being ripped out of him.
At the same time, a system notification appeared before his eyes.
[You have been stabbed by the Evil Dagger of Luck.]
[Luck -1]
[Luck -1]
[Luck -1]
[Luck -1]
Carl's pupils trembled.
"Dark Vatican..."
Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth as he whispered those words.
According to everything he had read about them, the Dark Vatican was a group of lunatics who were willing to do anything to achieve their goals.
They were regarded as devils in the eyes of countless people.
And now...
Carl finally understood.
He was dealing with one of them.
His life was rapidly flowing away.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't resist.
He couldn't even escape.
Tears trickled down his cheeks.
Then, as his consciousness began fading, Carl suddenly remembered the Great Sword inside his storage bag.
Desolate.
With the last bit of strength he possessed, Carl took out the sword.
The moment he did...
The blood trickling from his chest landed on the Great Sword.
Instantly...
BOOM!
A blinding light erupted.
A terrifying shock wave exploded outward, sending Alex flying backward.
A golden glow surrounded Carl's body.
Warm energy surged through him.
The wounds on his body began healing at an astonishing speed.
At the same time, the attributes belonging to the weapon began flowing into his body.
They were assimilated directly into him.
Everything happened so quickly that it might sound as though it had taken a long time.
But in reality...
Everything happened within less than twenty seconds.
Carl's eyes slowly opened.
The golden glow surrounding his body became even brighter.
Alex stabilized himself and immediately looked around.
Then he spotted something approximately thirty yards away.
A massive chasm.
Without a second thought, Carl jumped toward it.
The golden glow continued protecting his body as he plunged into the darkness.
He believed in one simple principle.
There was life in death.
And right now...
That was the only chance he had.
...
Jacob was still running when he suddenly noticed people ahead.
His eyes lit up.
He immediately shouted toward them.
"Help!"
As he approached, he noticed that one of the young men possessed a strength of eight thousand kilograms.
That person could become a suitable ally.
Jacob immediately increased his speed, desperately trying to catch up with them.
He knew that the reason they had managed to run this far without all of them dying was because the Mutated Goblin Chieftain was deliberately toying with them.
The monster wasn't even using its full speed.
It simply followed them at its own pace, constantly allowing them to feel a terrifying sense of impending doom.
But then...
Jacob witnessed one of the young men being attacked.
He saw the black aura surrounding that man.
His expression instantly changed.
"Dark Vatican..."
The others following Jacob heard the words as well.
At first, they were stunned.
Then...
Despair filled their faces.
They had already thought today was their death day.
But now they realized that even if they somehow escaped the Goblin Chieftain...
They might still not survive the people before them.
They were trapped between a rock and a hard place.
"Clean up."
Alex looked toward the chasm where Carl had jumped.
To him...
Carl was already a dead man.
Immediately after he spoke, Chris, Justin, and Jack also transformed.
Their eyes turned completely red.
Their skin became black.
Sharp claws grew from their fingertips.
Their teeth elongated into terrifying canine-like fangs.
"Those three are also Dark Slaves!"
Someone from Jacob's group shouted in terror.
The remaining humans began trembling.
They had truly been caught between a rock and a hard place.
When the three Dark Slaves transformed, even the Goblin Chieftain sensed a faint feeling of danger.
Before it could understand what was happening...
The three Dark Slaves attacked.
With terrifying speed, they leaped into the midst of the humans.
Their jaws clamped onto the victims' necks.
Blood was sucked out.
Life force was drained.
And not long afterward, the victims were reduced to dried, mummy-like corpses.
With every life they consumed...
The Dark Slaves grew stronger.
Seeing these filthy creatures' savagery and the frightening speed at which they grew stronger, the Goblin Chieftain immediately turned around and attempted to flee.
But it was too late.
Two of the Dark Slaves tackled it to the ground.
Slash!
A claw swept across the Goblin Chieftain's stomach.
A deep wound appeared.
The Chieftain roared in fury.
It immediately commanded the goblins around it to attack.
At the same time, it tightened its grip around its Great Sword and charged toward Alex, intending to kill him.
The Goblin Chieftain raised its Great Sword.
Then...
It performed a devastating downward slash.
The attack was powerful enough to smash Alex into meat pulp.
But Alex immediately dodged to the side.
He pulled out his Bronze-Rank sword and performed a vertical slash.
Dark energy oozed from his body and coated the blade.
CLANG!
The two attacks collided.
Alex was forced backward before creating some distance between himself and the Chieftain.
One thing had to be understood.
Now that Alex had stopped hiding his true strength, his power had increased dramatically.
His strength had risen from eight thousand kilograms to nine thousand five hundred kilograms.
That was a substantial increase.
Therefore, at this moment, Alex wasn't at a disadvantage against the Goblin Chieftain.
Suddenly...
The wound on the Goblin Chieftain's stomach began to corrode.
A system notification appeared before Alex.
[You have inflicted 500 damage on the Goblin Chieftain.]
[You have inflicted Corrosive Damage on the Goblin Chieftain.]
[The target will lose 50 HP per second.]
[Duration: 20 seconds.]
A creepy smile appeared on Alex's face.
The corrosion wasn't merely damaging the Chieftain.
It was also affecting its movements.
Alex lowered his body slightly, preparing to attack once again.
But suddenly...
An axe came dangerously close to cutting off his head.
Clang!
Alex quickly raised his sword and blocked the attack.
The tremendous force sent him flying backward.
Blood trickled down his neck.
Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep.
Alex landed on the ground with one hand.
He slowly pushed himself back up.
Then he touched his neck.
When he saw the blood coating his fingers, he brought them toward his mouth and licked the blood away.
A strange expression of delight appeared on his face.
Then he began to cackle.
"You seem quite powerful for someone with only seven thousand kilograms of strength."
His red eyes stared directly at Jacob.
"How about you become my Dark Slave?"
Jacob's body trembled.
Alex's laughter became increasingly manic.
Then...
He suddenly lunged forward.
In an instant, he appeared directly in front of the Goblin Chieftain.
The Chieftain had already prepared for his attack.
It immediately swung its massive Great Sword in a wide arc.