Chapter 26: The "Powerful" Second-Tier Goblin

Although it felt somewhat strange, Luo Xiu had no time to ponder. Seeing the swarm of goblins rushing toward him, he suddenly exerted force with his feet and launched a flying kick at the nearest guard goblin.

It landed squarely on the goblin's chin.

With a crisp "crack," the sound of the goblin’s lower jaw colliding with its upper jaw echoed. The guard goblin was sent flying backward, landing heavily on the ground a short distance away. Luo Xiu did not bother to check if it was still alive; after all, the point-allocation notification ringing in his ears could not be false.

Fourteen remained.

But in the time it took to deliver that kick, the other goblins had already pounced, claws and teeth bared. They swarmed him, leaping high to bite at his arms, legs, and even his neck. This was a common tactic for a goblin pack; even against an enemy many times stronger than them, as long as there were enough goblins, they could wear their target down to death.

Luo Xiu grabbed the heads of two goblins trying to bite his neck and exerted force with both arms, slamming his hands together.

Squelch!

With the 57-point strength bonus, the heads of the two Tier-1 goblins burst like overripe melons, splashing red and white gore. Meanwhile, the other goblins had latched onto his body.

In a brief moment, five goblins were already clinging to him. They shrieked with high-pitched, guttural cries, their faces twisted into expressions of triumph, convinced that the enemy before them was a lamb for the slaughter, never considering how their previous companions had died. They bit down hard on Luo Xiu’s body, but the scene of tearing through flesh and blood that they imagined never came to pass.

They felt only immense resistance; their teeth could not penetrate his skin.

Luo Xiu felt a slight prickling sensation on his body and silently calculated. These Tier-1 goblins could barely cause him any harm now. In other words, while it appeared there were twelve enemies left, in reality, there were only two.

Casually tearing off a goblin biting his waist and snapping its neck, Luo Xiu looked at the two goblins wielding massive stone hammers. He still felt uneasy about the look those two Tier-2 goblins had given him earlier.

As Luo Xiu looked at them, the two Tier-2 goblins looked back at him. The excitement in their eyes grew even more pronounced. They kept shrieking, as if to say, "We’ve finally caught you!"

This gaze made Luo Xiu’s skin crawl. It was his first time encountering Tier-2 goblins. Were they much stronger than he had imagined? Could it be that these two had been specifically waiting here for him?

*Maybe I should allocate some points?*

He acted on the thought. To be safe, Luo Xiu kept ten points in reserve and poured the rest into his stats—a full 12 points. Ten into Strength, two into Agility. His Strength reached 67.

Feeling the surge of power within him, Luo Xiu felt more at ease. He took a deep breath, looked solemnly at the two Tier-2 goblins charging at him with their stone hammers, and drew the Tier-2 black broadsword he had bought from Lise from the magic pouch at his waist.

After days of constant experimentation, the black broadsword was his strongest offensive tool. It was incredibly heavy, and with his strength, slicing through Tier-1 goblins was like preparing a cucumber—he could choose to slice it into thin strips or smash it into pieces as he pleased. However, his opponents now were Tier-2 goblins he had never seen before; he could not afford to be careless.

Luo Xiu’s focus was absolute. He completely ignored the remaining goblins biting at him, who were now throwing futile tantrums. His eyes were fixed only on the two Tier-2 goblins sprinting toward him.

Seeing them swing their stone hammers high, descending upon him with overwhelming pressure, Luo Xiu steeled his heart. Summoning all his might, he swung the black broadsword with a powerful strike against the two massive hammers!

BOOM!

A thunderous collision rang out! A cloud of dust billowed outward from the point where the blade met the hammers.

A second later, two large green figures flew backward out of the dust with expressions of disbelief.

Luo Xiu, standing where he was, felt just as bewildered. He was completely dumbfounded.

*Why did it feel like they didn’t use any force at all?*

If he had to describe it, it was like throwing a full-force punch at a sandbag, only to realize the bag was empty. While the bag wasn't broken by the punch, he hadn't felt any resistance.

Watching the two Tier-2 goblins lying on the ground, grimacing in pain and unable to crawl back up, Luo Xiu picked up one of the slightly damaged stone hammers and swung it idly.

Yes, it really wasn't that heavy—much lighter than his sword.

Beside him, the four Tier-1 goblins that had been biting him had all been knocked unconscious by the shockwave of the collision. Luo Xiu used the stone hammer to finish them off one by one, like a game of whack-a-mole.

He gained another 8 points.

The remaining goblins stood not far from him, frozen. They had been prepared for the second wave, but the current situation left them at a loss. Although they were naturally fearless of death, the piercing, shrill screams of the two Tier-2 goblins constantly grated on their nerves.

After hesitating, a few began to back away. Seeing their companions retreat, the others immediately turned and fled. These goblins were actually afraid because of Luo Xiu!

As the goblins scattered, Luo Xiu knew the battle was effectively over. Yet, he felt a lingering sense of frustration, as if he had braced himself for a massive struggle only to find nothing there. *Could I have been wrong? Maybe these two goblins didn't have any hidden agenda at all, let alone knowing who I am.*

After thinking it over, he smiled in relief. *Indeed, what kind of plans could two Tier-2 goblins possibly have? I’m just being too sensitive.* Ever since arriving in this world, he had encountered too many irrational things, making him overly cautious at times.

Regardless, being able to easily defeat Tier-2 goblins was a good thing. With that thought, his mood improved, and he prepared to swiftly finish off the rest of the goblins.

But suddenly, seeing him move, the two Tier-2 goblins scrambled up in panic and ran toward a spherical stone house in the center of the settlement.

Luo Xiu’s heart skipped a beat. He wanted to stop them, but it was too late; they were already too close to the house.

The two Tier-2 goblins knelt before the door, shrieking in a truly miserable fashion. Half a second later, a thick, twisted ritual staff—as sturdy as a tree trunk—reached out from the shadows inside the house, instantly smashing one of the Tier-2 goblins, crushing half its body.

Then, to Luo Xiu’s astonishment, the staff pointed directly at him, and a voice spoke in extremely archaic Grand Continent language from within the house:

"You... dare... return... here."