Goblin Stronghold Assault

After devouring the scattered goblin corpses piled against the palisade with Devour, I sprinted down the mountainside without pause.

"Where are you headed?"

"If I'm going to stir things up, I might as well hit every spot I can."

"So you intend to destroy every outpost, just like this."

"And leave one survivor at each."

Smashing a single outpost wouldn't draw every Blue Goblin together. I needed to keep stabbing at goblin territory from all sides.

If my teammates were strong enough, we could launch simultaneous attacks, but expecting that from a randomly matched party was unrealistic. I'd be lucky if they didn't get in the way.

Just because Plan A failed didn't mean I was giving up. There were other ways to clear the first-floor mission besides using the Blue Goblins.

The most representative was Plan B: releasing the old troll that the Red Goblins had captured.

Anyone with half a brain who had spoken kindly to that uncle would have aimed for Plan B.

"I need to speed up the clear rate."

I circulated my inner energy according to the principles of the Cloud Flow Steps manual I had received from Shin Junseok.

Papat!

My running speed doubled—no, tripled. The scenery blurred past me. If I couldn't control the momentum, I might crash straight into a tree.

"Perfect."

With my current Agility stat, I could barely manage the increased speed. Reacting to sudden environmental changes would be difficult.

But I had the Instinct skill.

Instinct read threats faster than my eyes. I surrendered my body to that sense and weaved between the trees scattered across the mountain.

"Such movements should be impossible with your dynamic vision."

"I've got pretty good instincts."

Not every player who obtained Instinct could move like this. Using it this way came entirely from experience.

"It seems Ye has chosen her contractor well."

Leaving the goddess's admiring voice behind, I scoured the mountain for goblin groups.

After operating the movement technique for about three minutes, my inner energy had dropped by half. Movement arts were meant to support combat and usually didn't consume much energy, but according to the system description, Cloud Flow Steps consumed far more than other techniques of the same rank.

I'd have to use it sparingly. If I overused it, I might not have enough inner energy left to activate Blood Claw Technique when actual fighting began. It was fine against Blue Goblins, but facing a stronger opponent would be a different story.

"There it is."

Another forward base came into view, similar in scale to the one I had destroyed three minutes ago. Without slowing down, I accelerated with Agile Hind Legs and plunged straight through the palisade.

Kwaang!

The moment my feet touched the ground, dust exploded in every direction.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't expected the carapace to lose durability just from absorbing the impact of my own strength.

"Kiiik?"

"Kkik. What's going on?"

Startled voices of Blue Goblins reached my ears. My approach had been so fast they hadn't even registered an intruder. My figure was probably hidden behind the rising dust cloud anyway.

I was running low on inner energy. Because Cloud Flow Steps consumed so much, I'd have to seal Blood Claw Technique during mob clearing.

The second battle was even more trivial than the first. Blades of darkness danced against the flow of gravity. Wielding Polar Night to cut down goblins consumed almost none of its power. I swept through the entire group without lifting a finger. The only cost was a slight drain on mental energy from visualizing the blades.

"You adapt to Ye's power quickly."

Nyx murmured in a pleased tone.

Just like the first battle, I left one goblin alive, then reduced the rest to dust with Devour.

A skill that granted my blood the Paralysis attribute. I had devoured this essence before regression as well, but it was useless on its own. However, as I always said, no essence was truly unnecessary.

A synergy effect. This time, an additional bonus applied, similar to Fire. When bleeding occurred, I would still use Acidic Blood over Paralysis Poison, but the efficiency boost was a welcome benefit regardless.

In the past, I had gone to great lengths just to obtain this skill. Using Devour turned monster corpses to dust, and the poison sacs beneath goblin chins fetched a decent price on the outside. Back then, I had bowed repeatedly to my matched teammates just to extract the Paralysis Poison essence from Blue Goblin corpses.

The future was changing. The difference from that time struck me anew.

I swept through the eastern foothills of the mountain. Ten forward bases destroyed. I found one more, but it was empty.

"Look at that. They clearly fled!"

Goblin tracks stretched across the base. Dozens of footprints.

"Just as planned."

I found four or five more bases, but not a single poisoned needle remained.

"Everything unfolded exactly as you said."

"That's just how goblins are."

"Huhu, to Ye's eyes, it almost seems as though you know the future."

"……"

This goddess could be surprisingly sharp at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠times.

With Nyx accompanying me, I climbed toward the middle of the mountain. Outpost locations shifted with each mission, but the main village remained fixed. The same applied to the Red Goblins. I didn't have to worry about getting lost while wandering the mountain slopes.

"A few hundred of the small monsters have gathered."

"So they have."

A palisade encircled the mountainside. The Blue Goblin colony had fortified its entire territory. Armed goblins peered at me from behind the haphazardly woven wooden walls.

"Kiiik. Are you the intruder?"

Deepest within the goblin cluster, a goblin holding a bone staff pointed at me.

"At least six hundred, by the looks of it."

"They've gathered the entire horde."

"If it becomes too much, ask Ye for help immediately."

"Having a goddess on my side is reassuring."

I walked straight toward them. Strategy? Why would I need one? The gap in combat power between me and the goblins was that vast. The physical abilities of first-floor monsters like goblins were inferior even to Thorn Boars or Silver Fangs. Moreover, their primary weapon—poison—didn't work on me. Unless they could break through Thorn Carapace, no attack could wound my body.

Would slaughtering six hundred goblins wear down my mind? I had witnessed far worse during the age of extinction.

Piyung!

Dozens of poisoned needles struck my body, but the result was the same.

"Creatures without learning ability."

I leaped high with Agile Hind Legs. The moment I closed in on the goblin cluster—

An instant-activation skill locked onto me. Kkrik, twang! The catapult stationed in the colony bent like a bow and launched its suspended boulder. The catapult's accuracy wasn't particularly high, but thanks to the Precise Shot used by the Blue Goblin Shaman, the attack was guaranteed to hit.

Yeah, I knew. A boulder the size of a house came hurtling toward me. I had to take back what I said earlier. I immediately deployed Dark Dominion, creating a barrier in the boulder's trajectory.

Kwang! Kwang!

The barriers of darkness shattered upon impact, unable to withstand the force. Polar Night energy drained rapidly.

The maximum Polar Night energy I could manifest was 5 points. Once that energy was exhausted, I generated another barrier with Polar Night to reduce the boulder's destructive power. That should be enough. I clenched my fist. This wasn't the time for martial arts like Blood Claw Technique.

My fist drove into the center of the boulder. Kwarurung! The boulder split in half and passed on either side of me. Though the Thorn Carapace cracked and blood spurted, I avoided being crushed beneath the massive rock.

"I didn't expect you to overcome the limits of your output like that!"

"It wasn't really overcoming anything. Just a minor trick."

"No. It is an improvisation made possible because you understand your own limits well."

When you lack teeth, you chew with your gums.

"Yet you told Ye to ask for help whenever needed!"

"Well, it's only this much."

I meant it. It was just a few minor wounds. Thanks to maintaining my momentum, I had even penetrated deep into the goblin cluster.

"Kkik!"

A goblin that tried to swing a stone knife screamed after being pricked by the Thorn Carapace.

"Asking for help against these guys would be embarrassing."

Seogeok!

Sharp Claws raked across the goblin's torso. I could fell goblins of this level in a single strike without using inner energy.

I devoured the freshly torn corpse. I had already filled the Blue Goblin essence to 100%, but Devour restored my vitality. The bruises from breaking the boulder healed slightly.

"Still not enough."

Devour's true value shone brightest in chaotic melee. Unless facing undead or golems, I could absorb any corpse to recover from injuries.

Ssususut! A blade of darkness impaled one goblin. The creature let out a short cry and died. I pulled the blade and used Devour on the suspended corpse as well. That wasn't all.

I also activated the Regeneration skill with my overflowing mana.

"Kkik. Aim for the wounds with your needles."

The Blue Goblins placed the blowpipes back in their mouths at the shaman's command. Once the carapace was broken, I had to wait a full minute before redeploying it. They had targeted the weakness well, but—

I wrapped the wounded area with a portion of manifested Polar Night. Ting! Ting! The needles fired from the blowpipes failed to penetrate the veil of darkness.

"To think you would apply the clothing-weaving lesson in such a manner!"

Nyx exclaimed in admiration. A good student knew how to utilize what they learned. With Dark Dominion, I slaughtered every goblin that entered within a ten-meter radius.

"They won't be able to interfere now, right?"

I released a blue sphere twice its normal size, shattering the support of the catapult in the rear.

"Kiik!"

The goblin shaman waved its staff.

A difficult-to-handle mental attack. An ordinary player facing the goblin shaman would have suffered greatly. But that was for ordinary players.

Curses that interfered with emotions could not penetrate Cold Blood. Higher-grade curses might be different, but the low-grade curses of a first-floor shaman could not corrupt my mind.

It didn't take long for the Blue Goblin colony to be dyed in death. "Kkik, kkik!" With a final struggle, I snapped the neck of the goblin shaman who had resisted to the very end.

"You truly annihilated them without Ye's help."

"Because I had the advantage in compatibility."

I possessed an unbreakable shield. In contrast, the goblins had no spear capable of piercing anything. The outcome had been decided before the clash even began.

"But these goblins are a bit strange."

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is?"

"I sense instinct and hostility, but certain things that living beings should possess are partially missing."

"Because they were bred or created inside the Tower."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The Tower of Babel had absorbed dozens of dimensions so far. Many of the monsters manifested within it were based on creatures absorbed from those dimensions—imperfect lifeforms created solely for the sake of 'missions'.

"So I feel no pity."

No matter how many I killed, it was all part of building the steps that would eventually reach the Old Gods.

"You are truly a strong individual."

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

I chuckled at Nyx's words and picked up the shaman's corpse, its neck broken. Now then, what essence will you give me?