I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 369: Kills: 20000

The Goblin Chieftain carefully observed its surroundings, but found nothing out of the ordinary.It turned to look at its clan members, only to find they had already run off again, prancing about nearby, either chasing sparrows resting in the jungle or two of them tangled together in a fight.

Its mood couldn't help but become even more irritable.

Just as it was about to head to the warehouse to fill its stomach, the air suddenly became exceptionally quiet in an instant.

Then, the originally somewhat cool air temperature began to rise sharply.

It lifted its head and saw a small dot in front of it gradually releasing a blinding light. By the time it noticed, that tiny point of light was still rapidly expanding.

"ROAR!!!!"

It let out a mighty roar, all the hair on its body standing on end.

It then twisted its body, its two feet erupting with tremendous force, propelling its massive frame to fly into the distance.

And behind it, the expanding wave of scorching heat followed closely.

"THUD!"

It stomped, shattering the wooden platform. Amidst the flying wood splinters, its body leaped up, landing on the bark of a distant, dried-up giant tree.

Immediately after, its claws, covered in spikes comparable to rock nails, dug deeply into the bark. Relying on the friction provided by its claws, this ape-like Goblin Chieftain swiftly ran up the massive tree trunk.

"BOOM!!!"

The fireball exploded in the center of the goblin nest camp.

Raging flames and shockwaves spread outwards in a ring.

Nearby wooden platforms, rope nets, and bark were blasted apart, along with figures screaming and rolling in the firelight, falling from the heights like leaves scattered by the wind.

"!!"

"BOOM!!"

Before it could run far, the Goblin Chieftain, taking cover behind a piece of cover, peeked out to assess the situation. Two more violent explosions sounded within the nest.

Gauss, floating in mid-air, paid no mind to that chieftain hiding far away.

His gaze swept over the now-ignited Tree-city below.

The three Fireball spells just now had already blasted apart several of the large transportation hub platforms within this goblin Tree-city nest, which was the purpose of using the fireball spells.

Given the dispersed density of the remaining goblins, using Fireball again would be somewhat inefficient.

He took out the White Wand with his right hand.

"Ice Storm!"

As the incantation in Intermediate Draconic Language was uttered.

A terrifying, bone-chilling power erupted from his body as the origin point.

Dark clouds were rapidly gathering in the sky above.

While he was preparing to cast the spell, from within the surrounding giant trees, goblins poked their heads out from shooting windows and then drew their bows, launching arrows at him.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

For a moment, arrows shot towards him from all directions.

However, the vast majority couldn't hit Gauss, who had landed right above the nest. Some fell short of range, others lacked accuracy. The few arrows that did coincidentally hit him were immediately deflected by the Mithril light armor he wore.

His gaze turned towards a distant branch where several goblins were drawing their bows.

But the next moment, as his attention focused on them.

A terrifying aura descended.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had suddenly grabbed their throats.

They immediately lost all strength in their bodies, swayed a few times, missed their footing, and with several miserable screams, fell below.

As for that Goblin Chieftain, after it discovered Gauss was casting a spell powerful enough to alter the weather, it finally jumped out from behind its cover.

Its back still bore traces of burnt hair.

But it had no time to care about that now.

From Gauss's body, it sensed an extremely terrifying power.

For some reason, it felt its own body becoming somewhat heavy and stiff.

"ROAR!"

After letting out a low roar to bolster its own courage, its body made several leaps and bounds, quickly hopping towards the direction where Gauss was.

A subconscious instinct told it that if it didn't seize this moment to attack, that human exuding a devilish aura would completely destroy their entire nest.

"THUD!"

Before it could get close.

Two shadows shot towards it like spears, flying directly in its path.

It was forced to stop in its tracks, looking warily with its eyes at the two dark, solidified shadow bodies before it.

Shadow also materialized alongside the shadows.

"Don't even think about getting past."

The three figures launched a coordinated assault towards it.

In the sky above.

Gauss completed the casting of Ice Storm.

The dark clouds in the sky had completely gathered, countless hailstones wrapped in freezing air plummeting from the heavens.

"THUD! THUD! THUD!"

One green-skinned figure after another was struck by the hail. Some were frozen into ice blocks by the burst of cold air it released, then fell to the ground, shattering with a crash, pieces scattering everywhere, utterly lifeless.

Frost descended, the early spring forest instantly transforming into deep winter.

On the outskirts, the three-person team of Aria, Serlandul, and Albenia also began killing their way inwards from the outside.

Seeing the goblins exposed outside were rapidly being reduced in number, Gauss turned his gaze towards that Goblin Chieftain.

"Leave it to me. You go deal with the other goblins."

"Alright."

After flying to Shadow's side, Gauss spoke.

Shadow didn't insist on being stubborn. With a few quick flashes and retreats, she distanced herself from the Goblin Chieftain, leaving this big fellow to Gauss.

She indeed couldn't defeat this opponent in a short time. The Goblin Chieftain's frontal combat ability was somewhat stronger than hers.

And this was the result with Gauss nearby, weakening it.

Her task was to briefly stall this big fellow while Gauss was casting his spell, preventing it from disturbing Gauss.

Now that the task was complete, it was time to hand over.

She didn't linger. With a few flashes, her body shot towards those ordinary goblins who had taken refuge inside the Tree-city.

Now, not only Gauss, but his several teammates had also unwittingly become experts at killing small fry.

Gauss floated in the air, looking at the Goblin Chieftain standing on a tree branch.

Up close, it looked even more like a giant ape. Its upper body was more robust than its lower half, its two arms thick with muscle, clearly possessing immense destructive power.

Only by focusing on its face could one recognize its identity.

Putting everything else aside, the goblin's face was ugly in a very distinctive way, achieving a level of ugliness that was universally consistent.

While Gauss observed the Goblin Chieftain, it was as if hit by a paralysis spell, not moving an inch the entire time.

Looking closely, beads of sweat the size of beans were oozing from its forehead, sliding down the deeply wrinkled grooves, finally splattering into droplets on the tree trunk.

As Gauss approached, the oppressive aura bearing down on it grew even heavier.

Death!

I will die!

A voice in its head was frantically sounding warnings.

That human looked so slender and fragile, yet at this moment, his figure kept magnifying in its eyes.

And its own three-meter-tall frame was rendered utterly insignificant in contrast before him.

"Huff—"

It exhaled a breath.

Subconsciously, it took two steps back.

This was absolutely the most terrifying human it had ever encountered in its entire goblin life.

So small, yet the sense of oppression was so intense!

Gauss met its gaze, reading fear in its eyes.

He felt slightly surprised inwardly.

Although this Goblin Chieftain's reaction wasn't like other ordinary goblins that would be instantly killed by his gaze or lose the ability to move, it still imposed sufficient psychological pressure.

Is it because its strength is inferior to mine?

Gauss guessed that might be the case.

The weaker a goblin is, the stronger the effect of the title's "Awe" ability. Conversely, the effect is weaker.

And targets stronger than him likely experience minimal effects.

After a brief observation.

Gauss suddenly moved.

"Crackle."

His body slowly stretched in mid-air, covered in streams of black and white energy. His hair quietly turned snow-white, and the two small horns on his forehead neatly passed through the internal gaps of the helmet's horns.

He tilted his head left and right.

This Mithril light armor had excellent elasticity. The changes in body size brought about by activating the Second-Stage Ghostification form were within the design margin.

Clearly, Albenia had been very thoughtful.

No wonder, before forging the armor, she specifically asked him to activate Second-Stage Ghostification several times. She was gathering data.

"Now, let the battle begin."

His figure flickered, appearing beside the Goblin Chieftain.

"Monstrous Strength!"

He delivered a kick to the goblin's body.

Even though it reacted quickly, raising its arms to protect itself, the powerful force erupted. In an instant, its massive frame was sent flying.

"THUD!"

It smashed into the trunk of a giant tree.

Countless pieces of bark fell like an avalanche.

And the main trunk of the tree now bore a deep, massive crater.

"Cough! Cough!"

The Goblin Chieftain coughed up a mouthful of blood, as if kicked awake, snapping out of the daze induced by the oppressive aura.

It twisted its neck, looking towards Gauss's direction. The cowardice in its eyes faded, replaced by a slow-burning hatred.

"If hatred is provoked, does that weaken some of the effects brought by the mental suppression?"

Gauss flew in the air, looking at the Goblin Chieftain deeply embedded in the giant tree, muttering to himself.

This Goblin Chieftain didn't pose a very strong sense of threat to him.

So he simply decided to use it to test the practical effects of the Mithril light armor and the Awe effect of the title [Goblin Expert] in actual combat.

This Goblin Chieftain's strength was just right as a test subject. Too weak would have no experimental value, too strong risked backfiring.

Awe was a form of mental suppression.

Therefore, when the target was in an extreme emotional state, its effects would change somewhat.

Since anger could ignite its desire to resist, then if emotions like fear or anxiety multiplied greatly, would the effect of Awe rapidly intensify?

Gauss felt this was a direction worth exploring.

Perhaps later he could find ways to collect skills for bluffing, or illusion spells that made enemies feel fear and unease, using the intimidation effect to suppress enemies to the maximum extent before battle.

"ROAR!"

Facing the Goblin Chieftain leaping high, claws bared as it pounced.

Gauss flashed, appearing beside it, his armored shoe pressing against its waist and abdomen, then erupting with tremendous force.

"THUD!"

It was immediately kicked flying again, smashing into the main trunk of another giant tree.

This Goblin Chieftain's strength was still around level 6-7.

However, compared to the one during the rescue of Toga, this Goblin Chieftain's combat power was slightly inferior. Its attacks and bursts weren't as outstanding, perhaps related to that one having divine favor.

Moreover, his title had been upgraded, and his own strength had grown to a certain extent during this period, naturally making him more at ease in dealing with it.

In the end, being at a similar level to him and belonging to the goblin race, which he naturally suppressed, destined it to have little ability to resist before Gauss.

The Goblin Chieftain, cleanly kicked flying twice, lay in the indentation, its eyes gradually becoming much clearer.

That human's movements were too fast.

Not only could he fly, but his reactions were also astonishingly quick.

Its method of relying solely on leaping between giant trees to attack him was undoubtedly too clumsy. It couldn't maneuver flexibly in mid-air either.

"Cough! Cough!"

It coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood. The tearing pain in its abdomen reminded it that this was a terrifying opponent it couldn't hope to match.

That sliver of fighting spirit it had mustered was rapidly fading.

It turned its head to look around.

Once the thought of escaping arose, it became uncontrollable.

It realized that if it didn't run, only death awaited it.

Climbing out of the indentation, it no longer looked at Gauss. Its feet pushed off the tree trunk, and its body leaped in the opposite direction from Gauss.

"Trying to run away?"

Gauss looked at the opponent who had completely lost its fighting spirit, focused solely on escaping, and shook his head.

This was perhaps also a potential drawback of Awe.

After being thoroughly beaten, a goblin's desire to escape would become even stronger.

"Control Water!"

Countless tiny streams of water converged on his gauntlet. A spear shimmering with golden-blue light was taking form. Looking closely, the surface of the spear was also entwined with a strange energy of intertwined black and white.

These two forces of opposing attributes, one righteous and one sinister, were skillfully combined under his control.

His arm, gripping the water spear, drew back slightly.

His gaze locked onto that "ape" leaping swiftly through the air.

The next moment, the spear was hurled with force.

A streak of blue-gold tore through the air, tracing a perfectly straight trajectory.

Finally, with pinpoint accuracy, it arrived at the back of the Goblin Chieftain, who was still mid-leap in the air.

The Goblin Chieftain's hair stood on end all over.

It already sensed that lethal threat, but the attack was too fast.

It allowed no time for any adjustment.

The next moment.

"SHWICK!"

The spear pierced through its several-centimeter-thick, tough hide, then penetrated its extremely robust body.

"THUD!"

Carried by powerful kinetic energy, the spear pinned it firmly against a tree.

Even more fatal, those two highly destructive, foreign energies were madly infiltrating along its wound, wreaking havoc inside its body.

It felt its life force rapidly draining away.

It kicked its legs a few times, but they ultimately went limp and hung down.

"Chieftain-level Goblin (Arboreal Species) *1 killed."

In the blink of an eye, a once-mighty goblin "overlord" died at Gauss's hands.

"Control Water!"

He retrieved the Godwater, then turned his gaze towards those goblins plunged into terror.

He then deactivated Second-Stage Ghostification and swiftly charged into the Tree-city.

"Vampiric Touch!"

Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, Gauss descended into the interior of the Tree-city where goblins resided, immediately unleashing a bloody slaughter.

Just as he had anticipated.

After his title was promoted from [Goblin Slayer] to [Goblin Expert], he could indeed almost kill ordinary goblins without any cost, cutting them down as easily as mowing grass.

Even those elite goblins only required a slightly greater exertion of force.

Of course, this immense advantage of near-zero loss wasn't solely due to [Goblin Expert]. More importantly, it was his incredibly proficient mastery of the act of killing goblins.

Anything repeated ten thousand times becomes a skill, enough to form an instinct akin to breathing.

The techniques for killing goblins were now internalized in Gauss's muscles and blood.

The moment he saw a goblin, he knew exactly how much force to use to deprive it of its life.

This amount of force was neither too little nor too much, precisely the degree needed to kill them.

One ounce less wouldn't finish them off, one ounce more would be wasteful. He had reached such a level of precise elegance.

In this world, was there really any human more skilled at killing goblins than him?

Even those with higher kill counts than him likely achieved them using some large-scale destructive spells. In terms of technique and familiarity with goblins, they might not be stronger than him.

This artistic precision even made the recovery effect of [Bloodthirsty] somewhat excessive.

In the blink of an eye.

"Total monsters killed: 20000"

The total kill count broke through the 20,000 milestone, reaching a new quantitative landmark.

"Total monsters killed: 20011/20000, 20000 Kill Milestone Achievement reached."

He flashed away from his spot, leaping a few times to appear on a high, empty tree branch.