Chapter 182 - Vol. 3 - Chapter 47
***
Seeing how the Knights were boosted by his display of courage and power, he too switched to his main weapon, Ragnius, who was covered in the blood of the goblins, enhancing the menacing feeling one would get from watching the spear.
Whatsmore, the weapon was in the process of evolving and recovering, reaching a new form, a sign caused by the (87%) experience the weapon managed to gather in the whole process Mathias was fighting from Gravelmark Mountain to the Goblin Cave.
The fight against the stronger level monsters which proved a challenge for the wielder and the weapon, it caused a swifter raise toward the next form.
Using his Raven Movement speed which consumed less compared to his MP recovery which was of a stable 85 MP per second thanks to his passive High MP Recovery Rate and amount of INT which reached past 1000 points with all the buffs he had on himself, he started dashing toward one of the Goblin Riders who tried to get back on his wolf.
Picking on the level 140 Goblin Riders that didn't seem to be of a similar build to the Champions that had a build similar to Warriors, instead, those Riders were slimmer, showing more agility in their approach, it didn't change his direct and ruthless approach.
Even if his level was only 78, he was fighting like someone who was about the same level as his enemy, and as he used [Waning Moon] and [Piercing Rain] combo to stop the Rider from mounting the wolf, it still wasn't enough to put a stop.
Then with a ruthless act, Mathias pushed harder so he would take advantage of everything he could gain, activating the [Bloodfall] and [Treachery] combo who blasted the health gauge of the level 140 Chamber Leader taking the monster to 50% HP.
"HUMAN, I WILL KILL YOU!" roared the Rider holding his upper body area that was full of piercing and slashing wounds caused by Ragnius in a merciless manner.
"Vermin, you don't deserve to speak with me." added Ragnius who exploded in power again, approaching in a swift manner the retreating Rider who took out his sword to fight back.
Clashing his sword against Ragnius, the Goblin jumped on the back of the wolf and sent a kick as the wolf was trying to bite his flesh off, only to have their attempts blocked by the [Arcane Barrier]. Then with his defensive skills working like a charm, he sent an Arcane Blast which brought a lot of imbalance in the footing of the Rider.
Seeing how the goblin was struggling to stay mounted on his ride, he taunted just so he had the upper hand in all the exchanges from physical to psychological.
"That's all you can do, vermin? Even though your level is higher than mine … you aren't much."
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" roared the Goblin Rider who kicked the body of the wolf to push him harder, with his murderous eyes increasing in intensity.
Nevertheless, the Goblin wasn't the only one feeling the killing intent, as Mathias who could barely keep the Red Energy condensed in his body, so it wouldn't gush out like a pressurized chamber.
It was a stable fight that made Sera who never expected Mathias to hold his own against the high-level Goblin especially one of the monsters that looked like the Field Bosses.
The clash between the human and the goblin was a delight, where each of the Rider's attacks was parried and countered by Mathias who was akin to a Sea Wave, unpredictable in his attacks, and even if what he was doing made him look victorious, he knew that he was playing with fire.
The Rider's attacks even the clashes he would parry would drain him of his HP, while the attacks that managed to cut him would do about 20% of his HP, forcing him to enter into a zone of metal focus, akin to the times he would have his hard sparring with the professional MMA fighters.
Switching from his aggressive strategy to an approach that looked far more reserved, where he focused on downloading the attack patterns and various body signs given off by his enemy, being a gift that he had since young, to be patient and always observant of his surroundings.
"ARGH! STOP RUNNING SO MUCH YOU HUMAN!" roared the goblin, who couldn't quite kill off Mathias because of his evasive movement, which helped him recover his drained MP.
"You can't even understand that much? Pathetic. This is why you monsters will always remain inferior vermis."
Mathias's strategy worked in angering the monster, constantly frustrating him for not being able to end him, and with the fight stretching to about 5 minutes, this is where Mathias noticed how the body language in the Goblin Rider changed, with some muscle fibers tensing on his right hand.
'What are you planning now, bug? Your hidden dagger? The one you think is hidden from my eyes?'
He was constantly working at 105% of his mental capacity when experiencing those hard challenges, and as predicted correctly the Goblin Rider roared and with some swift changes in weapons, the monster jumped like a bullet off the back of the Dire Wolf and used a combo which destroyed his impervious armor.
[Ding!] [Your <Arcane Barrier> has been destroyed]
[You have suffered 4526 damage]
'Huh, I didn't expect this skill from the goblin to be so quick. It took out all the remaining damage protection from the shield and even wounded me so much.'
*GROWL*
The Dire Wolf who was a second weapon of the Goblin Rider also charged at Mathias about to gnash on his right leg as he lost the Arcane Barrier.
"Scram, you mutt!"
Saying that while the Goblin was readying a second attack from where he was, synchronizing together with the Dire Wolf, he casted an <Impactful Wave> a skill that he didn't use quite often because it could attack enemies and friendly targets along, sending the wolf flying away from him, while seconds later he dropped to the floor dodging the dagger strikes of the Rider following with his own attack making the goblin scream in pain, but even if he was placing everything in his attacks, the limits of his Victorian Set started showing.
Mathias was now item-wise at the pinnacle of a high-ranker who needed to upgrade his items to match the new challenge the level 100+ monsters would place him under.
"There's no way in Hell I will be defeated by the tactics of a rat." commented Mathias who was on the offense, attracting the attention of the middle-aged knights who had their own fights.
Trian, Alec, and Kalas found out the hard way how challenging fighting against those sneaky and agility Goblin Riders was, since deep down the goblin as a species had the tendencies of fighting in a cowardly manner, with a Hit and Run tactic, doing something akin to a Guerilla Warfare.
They struggled until Mathias moved closer and closer with his fight, and began telling them various information he managed to download in regard to the Goblin Rider, and with new information about their enemy, the High-Level Knights began their own offensive.
.
On the other hand, as Mathias began wrapping up the fight, having it under his bag, he couldn't help but get annoyed at the Dire Wolf targeting some of his weak spots. But what annoyed him the most was how this Dire Wolf he was facing reminded him of the Level 18 Wolf he fought in the past leading to the sequence of his own first death at the claws of Iljnoks.
'What mutt … can't you understand I already know all your attack patterns. As a wild beast and monster, you are limited by how much intelligence you have.'
'Besides, you can't even unleash your full potential because of the Goblin. You can feel that once you leave that green-skinned rat, I will impale him.'
Mathias was right on one of his observations when clashing with the Goblin Rider and the Dire Wolf. The wild beast knew that without his "rider" it would die against Mathias, and the Goblin knew he couldn't hang along with Mathias in speed and technique, such that both beings were in synchrony.
The strategy worked for the Riders until Mathias's body began releasing dark-purple light a sight he was preparing his Arcane Magic, but which, the Goblin had no idea, and to alert his mates, he whistled hard with a specific pitch.
When the Goblin Rider did that, all the Riders looked around vigilantly left and right, as if expecting some of Mathias's Arcane Missiles to rain down on them from this human Sorcerer, even ignoring a bit Trian and his group.
Yet, what the Goblin Rider facing Mathias got was a cold amused scoff, and in a flash using the <Phantom Steps> like a true ghost he appeared before the monster and wild beast, and with both of his hands extended toward the Dire Wolf's head, he blasted it with the Arcane Missiles, blasting both of the beast's eyes in the process.
*HOWLL*
The wild beast screamed as if suffering the biggest wound in existence, and it couldn't be far from the truth, as blindness was an excruciating curse for those who tasted light.
*GAHSHAASSFM*
The Goblin shouted something toward Mathias in the language of the goblins, while taking out a dagger that he threw in a swift manner with an insane amount of power which Mathias didn't expect for the Goblin to possess and to be so decisive, and while attempting to dodge it, his upper clothes were razed by the sharp dagger.
From the slash of the goblin it reveals a cut coming from his rib area which immediately oozed blood.
"Not bad." commented Mathias who escaped from suffering the brunt of the attack, gazing at the monster with cold eyes, thinking about how close he was to dying if he wouldn't have dodged the unexpected attack on time, it would for certain hit his heart and be a one-hit kill.
As for the dagger that grazed Mathias, it pierced the head of a goblin that dropped dead in front of Sera.
"Guys, focus your attacks on the wolves, those Goblins aren't so good without their pets." shouted Mathias, bringing in the news to everyone in his group.
"Indeed, I have this feeling from before, that they are quite connected to their beasts." mentioned Trian who instead of focusing on the Goblin, started slashing his daggers at the wolf, cutting his stomach wide open with his dagger and swiftly decapitating the beast with his sword.
Seeing the example set by Mathias and Trian, the other 2 middle-aged Knights started their onslaught, focusing their attacks on the sole Dire Wolf who was overpowered rather swiftly, dropping Death and leaving out the Riders to fend for themselves.
"This is the end for you, green monsters." called out Trian victorious, pushing ahead to end the fight once and for all.
Mathias was there among to the elder Knights, hitting the final nails on the annoying goblin with a series of ruthless attacks, but because there was still the level difference between him and the monsters, his damage was still lower then he knew it could be, but soon with the Knights ending the Riders they were facing in a decisive win, they jumped to assist Mathias each of them stabbing the goblin with their swords.
"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE THE CHIEFTAIN'S WRATH!" said the Goblin Rider, as parting words for the humans who killed him.
"Don't worry, you'll meet him in Hell too." said Mathias who ended the fight while casting an Arcane Blast that disintegrated the goblin's head, making the Knights look with a surprised look at how ruthless this young man could be against his enemies.
Sera, Bernard and Eric handled the goblins decently, even though they were pressured, it didn't take long for them to get the Knight's assistance as Mathias planned out in the beginning, since the Knights still outpowered and out-skilled the Goblin Champions who fought with primitive techniques.
Mathias, who watched everything unfold as he planned and expected, felt a sense of pride, especially when he noticed how all of the Knights remained unharmed so far, which made him remark to himself a bit sarcastic.
'A Knight will always be a Knight regardless of how trash his equipment is.'
{This is why I constantly tell you to train, train and maybe once in a while take a break and take your girls around town.}
'Mhm, I know that. Don't worry, fully aware of what I am supposed to do.'
With the fight reaching a conclusion, what was left from the battle was to clean out what loot might have dropped on the ground and with the players including Mathias to clear out the notifications which could form out a 20-page length since he didn't clear the notifications since starting the new journey.
[Ding!] [Congratulations you have leveled up!]
[You have raised to level 84]
'I can't say I haven't noticed the new level and boosts I gained. From 78 when we got to this chamber to now being level 84.'
'And those morons were constantly making fun of me "You have to level up or we might have to pick Red as Guild Master.". Bunch of ungrateful brats, now I will teach you a dear lesson to not mess with old me.'
[You have gained a Goblin Rider Trophy]
[You have gained a Goblin Champion Trophy]
'I have cleared out notifications … The worst part of this job.'
As a big contributor to this fight, where he landed big hits on each goblin thanks to his Arcane Missiles and Arcane Barrage, he received a trophy for each Elite Monster killed in this fight even though it was clear he wasn't the one doing the final blow.
What else remained on his mind was for what Quest were those Trophies … he couldn't understand why and what for.
– [I am pretty sure he will need those when he joins the Black Knights and is required to take one challenge to show his Knightly Valor...]
"Should we check the Armory? Trian, how sure are you that some of your weapons could be here?" asked Mathias, sizing up the decently sized Armory which was akin to a two-story high building.
"We are ready, Lord Octavian. At your orders." replied the Knight who sounded to be trusting in Mathias's words, after experiencing this fight with him.
Nodding his head as he finished sorting things out in regard to the rewards, splitting things fairly with Sera and her group, without any big fuss, since he didn't need much of the gear dropped by the Normal Goblins, the Champions, or the Riders, and with his Stamina being at half the gauge, he started walking slowly toward the building.
Reaching the closed door, the three elder Knights offered themselves to open it for the group, and once inside the building, they found out a chamber in a rectangular shape that was clearly been carved out of living rock.
"Everyone … move slowly behind me, and trust in yourself. At most those rats will try to ambush us. So check your blindspots at all times."
The room was dark since the goblins didn't need fire to see, as they had an infrared vision, being good ambush predators and night hunters, yet Mathias stopped everyone after taking some steps inside this room.
*Tremble*
'People? Old Hay, do you hear this?'
{Yeah, those are people. Maybe some goblins hiding in darkness?}
He could hear the sound of shaking, and raising his hand he released his Arcane Energy, illuminating the dark room, revealing in a corner of the room, huddled together several ragged, starved-looking small people the size of a dwarf, which was instantly discernable from the dwarfs, shaking around in fear, staring at Mathias with terror and fear.
"Gnomes?" asked Sera, confused, being the voice of the other two players, who could discern from Dwarf to Gnome.
The Knights were surprised to see those small people, while Sera and her party too didn't expect to see in this room, the gnomes from Fantasy Stories, but here they were.
Meanwhile Mathias who had a quick discussion with Haycien was swift to act, especially after seeing them in that pitiful condition, moved toward them, which instead caused the gnomes to shake and buddle together even harder.
"Don't fear me, little friends. I am not here to hurt you like those barbarian monsters. In fact I know what you are. Gnome friends, how have you got yourself in this situation?"
Mathias who walked slowly towards them, gave off a warm Red Aura, and lowering himself on his knees, he touched their heads in a serene way.
"Don't fear me. See, I am not here to hurt you. I came here to put an end to those infesting rats."
The gnomes who got touched by Mathias who was using his Red Energy, felt their bodies being washed by a warm sensation as if they were bathing in the warm rays of the sun.
"Kind human, this used to be our home, but those green monsters migrated from the upper levels of the Heavenly Mountain and took my tribe by surprise, killing everyone. My Elders, they killed even the leaders. Those monsters destroyed our daily lives forever."
Thanks for the chapter!