Vernon's cry of pure rage marked the beginning of the clash between the Hollow Slayers and the Goblins as they grinned and wasted no time maddeningly charging, but more importantly to him, it incited absolutely no reaction from the fleeing man, if anything, it was as if his stride hastened as the looks of his allies broadened.

"Kukukukaakuu"

The laughing goblins sneered with ecstasy at the sorry sight of their fleeing opponent as a group of them previously heading to the main battle detached. Their eyes were imbued with a newfound light as their breaths became deeper and more visible as they sprinted in pursuit, throwing spears and arrows that just so narrowly missed their fleeing prey.

"Enemies are coming! Everyone, in formation!" Lisvern shouted, trying his best to regain control of his men, yet their morale was not shaken by his words as it was Adam who was next to furrow his brows and voice his inner thoughts.

"That damned Alucard! He acted so tough yet in the face of true danger, he's nothing more than a—!!"

"SHUT IT!!" Lisvern burst, thrusting his arms out. "Now's not the time to be arguing amongst ourselves!! Alucard is a strong man! If he is fleeing now, there must be a good reason for it!" Panting, he spoke unwavering, cleaving a goblin in twain.

"He took a good chunk of them away from us! And Those seem to be somehow stronger than these ones! I don't think even he can survive! I'm going after him!" He once again averted his gaze towards Alucard who now had several arrows clung to his back, moving with a heavier limp. "You all maintain formation and eliminate everyone here! Understood!?"

"WHAT!?" Vernon roared. "WHY!? Leave the little shit alone! It's his fault he's in this mess! Come back!!"

"No! That won't be good!" Lisvern promptly retorted, sprinting without looking back. "If those powerful goblins kill him and come back, we would be forced to face them and I'm almost certain we won't be a match if they sneak up as we fight! Now listen to orders and stand your ground! Is that understood men!?"

"YES!!" All at once, the hollow slayers steeled their gaze and yelled with conviction, all but Vernon who clacked his tongue and belligerently shook his head with a whisper.

"Whatever… BUT DON'T YOU DARE DIE FOR SOMEONE LIKE HIM!! YOU HEAR ME LISVERN!!"

Vernon's impulsive shout stunned the sprinting Lisvern, making him hesitate for but a brief moment before he turned his head and gleamed at his fighting comrades.

"Same goes for you Vernon! Keep everyone safe! I'm counting on you!"

****************

Lisvern managed to shake off the last Goblin that had followed him, and all that was left for him now was to catch up to the elites chasing Alucard into the forest.

Despite wielding such a monstrously heavy sword, Lisvern's movements were swift like the wind, at his current pace, he would no doubt reach them in seconds, it was his mastery of Ki-Arts that was to thank.

The goblins clean in his sight were twelve, but assuming some blended in the tall grass beyond his vision, he assumed there to be at least seventeen.

However, it was inevitable that he would catch up to several of the elite goblins lagging behind before he would be close enough to communicate.

And what was most shocking of all, was that these goblins offered little to no resistance at all despite their intimidating nature. With one clean swipe of his blade, each goblin fell, and as they fell they did not incite the reaction of any of their nearby peers who fell soon after.

It made no sense to him, it was as if they were eerily hypnotized, true, frenzied beasts with nothing in their mind but the prey ahead.

The more he neared, the more the plan brewing in his mind became clearer. The original twelve goblins in his sight were now reduced to a mere seven, and the uphill battle he had initially envisioned began to turn around.

A slight grin twisted upon his sweating face— as long as they worked together, victory was set in stone. He had a plan, and he wasted no time sharing it with Alucard ahead.

"Alucard! I'm right behind you! Turn around and fight them now! Don't go into the forest where they have a massive advantage! We can sandwich them in the open and catch them off guard by disrupting their rank!!"

Yet, all that Lisvern was left in was complete, utter shock. Despite his screams, again, Alucard did not respond… But more importantly, he did not heed his warnings as he went directly into the forest.

Lisvern stopped in his tracks. He could not speak, his heart sank, and his guts began to harbour doubts.

A group of goblins sprinted into the forest still following Alucard, however, the vast majority of them abruptly stopped and laughed heartily into the sky.

"KUKKKUKUKUKUKUKUUU!!"

As they turned around, their crazed gaze and sharp, foaming mouth met that of Lisvern. The person who had just so recently been nearly invisible to them suddenly became their main target.

'Shit' He inwardly cursed, tightening his grasp upon his blade. 'Is he a fool? What if he truly did betray us? Should I have not trusted him!?  I can't take them on all at once!'

Lisvern was driven into a corner, although the option to flee to his rear seemed to be an alternative, in reality, it was not the case considering bringing all these Goblins to his allies would have led to widespread confusion and only more peril. He had to focus and thrust Alucard to the back of his mind.

Despite all the odds, he had to stand and fight, he was the absolute last line of defence. His eyes narrowed, the moment of overwhelming pressure had now subsided, and his resolve could not be stronger, the weight of his comrades' strength invigorated him.

"BRING IT ON FIENDS!! I WON'T LET A SINGLE ONE OF YOU GET PAST ME!! YOU HEAR!!!" He lifted his glowing greatsword in the sky and braced for combat, and the Goblins ahead did not make him wait too long after.

"KUKUKUKUKU AGIRUH!! GIGAKU!!"

All at once, the goblin elites rushed at him, trying to circle around and catch him from all directions.

Yet, Lisvern's keen eye for battle picked up on it and did not allow for an encirclement, intercepting the closest goblin advancing to his right side.

"KI-ARTS! [ HEAVY SLASH! ]" With his teeth clenched, using all his strength, he swung his sword from over his head, striking his opponent below with a thunderous impact.

*Crack*

"Kukukuku…"

"..."

"WHA!?"

Nevertheless, despite all his efforts, the goblin still lived. His sword cracked blocking atop his head, his body shook trembling, yet the laugh never failed to escape out of his mouth as he slid his blade away, stabbing Lisvern in his thighs before immediately abandoning his sword and slipping away before Lisvern's next swing.

'How!? No way these are the same goblins that fell to a single slash of my blade earlier!?' Lisvern could not believe his eyes.

In that instant, his heart sank once more. He had greatly underestimated his foe and he dearly paid the price.

The goblins did not fail to notice this opening as they continued to surround the wounded Lisvern, chortling as they leapt towards him from all directions to deliver the finishing blow.

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME BASTARDS!!"

It seemed all but over, but suddenly, it was as though Lisvern had caught a second wind, or was perhaps finally using his full strength. More power than ever before surged within his body as he tightly gripped his sword and swung toward all the goblins with overwhelming strength that blew them all away.

No goblins died in the exchange, yet it was the first time they did not immediately laugh. With cracked weapons in hand, for the first time, they harboured fear as they looked upon that man…

At least that was until they heard words from behind, almost as though giving them orders.

"GIGAIGAKU KA!! GEEGEE!!"

Reluctantly, the Goblins at the front pulled back, and the ones at the rear advanced further beyond before once again going on the offensive.

"OGAKUKO!!"

Even still, in the face of the incoming foe, Lisvern did not waver, if anything, he felt himself filled with even more power than before.

'I DON'T CARE HOW MANY OF YOU COME AT ME! I WON'T LOSE!!'

With a single swipe of his blade, the goblins that drew anywhere near were sent flying. Despite the overwhelming numbers, it was Lisvern who seemed to hold the advantage, almost as though he was a completely different person, like he had become one of those beasts he had sworn to destroy.

Goblins began to finally fall to his bloodshot gaze, their swords could not combat the onslaught of pure strength, and in the first time since the battle commenced, their flesh began to shed blood.

However, that was not to say that it was a completely one-sided fight. The goblins had begun incorporating ranged combat with bows, making it crucial to keep an eye on both ranged and melee, which proved to be exceedingly difficult. Although goblins died, many of them slipped past Lisvern's defences, landing several many crucial strikes that bloodied him from head to toe, some even sacrificed their own lives recklessly rushing him before falling to his blade.

Such injuries clearly slowed him down, yet the sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through his throbbing veins suppressed nearly all of it.

"GAGAGUKA GA!"

In the end, the Goblins numbers were reduced down to just three, two of whom were archers, and they similarly fell back to regroup. Yet, this time, it was Lisvern who took the offensive.

With pure determination, he rushed towards the vulnerable archers, only to be thwarted by a stray Goblin hiding within the bushes who had leaped to intercept.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!!"

He lifted his blade up towards the setting sun and once more used Heavy Slash with all his might. Naturally, the Goblin could not withstand the blow, and in an instant, his sword immediately snapped in two along with his body as his innards exploded out like bloody confetti, and through that, masked by the shower of guts emerged a single glimmer headed straight for his skull, one that he did not expect, and one that he had just so narrowly reacted to by twisting his head, glimpsing as an arrow whiffed past the right side of his smiling face.

'Heh… Such barbaric tact GA—'

"KUKUKUKUKUKKUUUUUU!!"

His smile did not last for long as the laughs of dreadful celebration echoed loudly through the expansive fields, and his sights grew beyond wide, black veins akin to tree roots slowly pulsating and engulfing his right eye before quickly spreading to the right side of his body.

A heavy feeling overwhelmed his right side, like an anchor was tugging him down to the depths of the ocean. His knees collapsed, and his fingers opened, dropping the greatsword he could no longer bear.

Confusion overcame him, nothing made sense… He had never in his life felt like this; the right side of his body was completely unresponsive and no matter how hard he tried, there seemed to be no sign of movement.

'MOVE!! MOVE!! … Move…'

His right eye began to darken, and before it went black, he finally noticed it… There was blood leaking down ever so slowly from his right cheek… And in that moment, things immediately clicked.

He had not completely dodged that final arrow, it must have ever so slightly skimmed his skin, yet that seemed to be more than enough for this poison to take effect…

Still, knowing about his affliction proved to be of no help in his predicament.

His bones began to crackle, and his skin felt as though it was being ripped apart, stabbed by hot knives by his sheer will, yet nothing seemed to be moving beyond the heavy vibration of his body.

All he could do now was try his best to pick up his sword and get back on his two legs, but that feat seemed impossible. He knew his friends' lives were on the line, in fact, they were the sole thing on his mind and the source of his power… Yet, even still…

"KUKUKKKKKUUUKKKKUUU!!"

Ever so slowly, the Goblins approached the struggling Lisvern, bloodied weapons in hand trampling over their fallen comrades without batting a single eye. The foam in their mouth now began overflowing like a waterfall over their puss-ridden skin of green ooze, only leaving slight remnants of their yellow teeth visible.

"Kukukukuku"

With every step, their joyous laughter became more sombre, and the struggle and dread of the grunting man in their sights only increased until they were all face to face, and their blades soared high above.

"Gugugika!!"

Despite not understanding a single word of the goblin's tongue, he was more than certain of their mockery…

It was more than clear that his body was at its limits, he could not even find the power to look up towards the creatures about to strike him down. And at that moment, he decided if that was the case, then even if it tore him to shreds, broke every bone in his body… he had to push past his limits to survive… No, to protect the people he so dearly loved… He could absolutely not allow defeat so long as he drew breath.

"ARRRGGHHHH!!"

For the first time since being poisoned, his hands not only gripped, but lifted his heavy sword. And through all, he could muster, closed his eyes and swung.

Yet, he did not hear his blade slicing flesh, no, it felt akin to clanging upon hard metal… His final strike was nothing more than a wet noodle. His body cramped beyond his imagination and wanted nothing more than to fall numb on the ground. His eyes felt weak, and his brain felt tired. And yet, despite that all, he did not let go of his blade, but instead tried again… and again… and again… All to no avail. Even as his body broke, his spirit lived on with no signs of regression.

He continued on as though completely ignorant of his reality. It was truly the height of foolishness. All he saw was dark, bloodstained red...

But then in that darkness emerged a spark… A spark of bright heat followed with screams of utter beastly agony and the stench of searing flesh…

"AGAGAAGAGAGAGAGAGGAGAGA AHHHHHHHH!!"

"AHHHHH!!"

Abruptly his left eye swung open, witnessing as one by one, blackened bodies fell down to his eye-level like flies... The enemies he had fought so hard to defeat were now all left without breath.

His speechless face looked blank, but his inner turmoil did not due it justice. Good or bad, even more than before, he could not at all comprehend what was happening...

"Hey… Lisvern… You still alive?"