NOVEL NEXT chapter 17 - Extermination
The goblins, realizing the severity of the situation, retreated step by step, like they were facing a great enemy. After their attacks were repeatedly repelled, they slowly began to realize that compared to the equipment on this human, the pile of trash they were holding in their hands couldn’t even break through the defense.
The goblins had never encountered such a tough opponent. It wasn't that the human was particularly strong; in fact, the goblins could vaguely sense from his movements that this armored man was quite inexperienced with his weapons. His attacks were simple, and he didn't use any sword or knife techniques.
However, even so, the mere armor on him made them helpless.
It was like a moving fortress, and no one could stop it.
“A bunch of sewer bugs, used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and this is all they can do.” Winnie mocked, lifting his sword.
He slowly stepped into the cave, partly to recover his stamina and partly because walking like this was intimidating.
It was a rare opportunity for him—why not show off a little?
This was his first mission as an adventurer, and Winnie thought he had been cautious enough. However, with his limited experience, he didn’t notice the sly glances exchanged among the goblins as they communicated silently.
The goblins couldn’t create their own weapons, nor could they learn magic. They could only fight with weapons they had seized, and that was all they had to rely on.
Winnie was constrained by this, thinking that the pile of junk the goblins held couldn’t possibly pose a threat to him, and so, he considered them easy prey on a chopping block.
It turned out that the goblins’ cunning was far beyond his imagination.
Once they realized that their weapons couldn’t break his defense, the goblins began retreating, but it wasn’t a blind retreat. It was a strategic one.
The front-line goblins even put on a frightened expression, leading the soon-to-be-trapped prey step by step into the trap.
“Creak!” Winnie took a step. Up until now, he had been stepping on solid ground, but this step seemed to land on an uneven stone.
“?” A sense of danger immediately rose in Winnie’s mind, and he then saw a huge wooden stake above the cave, rushing towards him.
Winnie’s heart raced.
The armor could certainly protect against slashes from knives, swords, and spears, but it couldn’t fully absorb a strong external impact, and the force still transferred to him.
He wanted to dodge, but his body was too weak, his reflexes too slow, and he couldn’t get away in time.
At the critical moment, he gritted his teeth and crossed his arms in front of his chest to block the impact of the wooden stake.
“Thud, thud!” A heavy sound echoed as Winnie, the armored figure, collapsed to the ground.
The goblins, seeing this, showed their true nature. No one had dared to approach before, but now that the prey was on its back, they rushed forward to deliver the finishing blow.
The wooden stake had struck Winnie’s chest, causing intense pain, and he felt his blood rush to his head, almost vomiting blood from the force.
But he knew he had to endure. He forced himself to stand up.
However, as soon as he managed to prop himself up with one hand, several goblins dropped down from above, landing on top of him.
Although the goblins weren’t very heavy, Winnie was too weak, and with several of them piling on top, he was once again crushed back to the ground.
The goblins howled with excitement, raising their weapons and stabbing wildly at the prone Winnie.
As expected, even though Winnie was pinned down, the weapons couldn’t break his defense.
Seeing this, the goblins tried to strip the armor from Winnie’s body.
With the help of their companions, they began pulling at Winnie’s arm and chest armor, seemingly trying to tear them off to create a gap for their finishing blows.
But no matter how much they pulled, the armor didn’t budge.
“Cack cack!” The goblins shouted, though it was unclear what they were expressing.
Seizing the moment when the goblins paused in confusion, Winnie rolled on the ground, using one hand to swipe away the three goblins who were holding onto his arm armor.
“Too bad, disgusting bugs. This isn’t armor, it’s Soul Art.” Winnie stood up, adjusting his disordered breath.
His body was nearly drained from wearing the armor and performing the motion, and his saber had somehow been knocked away.
These goblins seemed intent on pinning him back down, and they pounced again.
Winnie grabbed one of the goblins by the wrist, taking its dagger and swiftly stabbing it into the chest of another goblin. Then, he threw the unarmed goblin with force toward the others, causing them to crash into one another.
Taking this opportunity, Winnie retrieved his saber and swung it to decapitate one goblin, then punched another in the face.
The goblin’s blood splattered on his gleaming scale armor, with the flickering light in the cave making the scene look eerily grim.
Winnie, leaning on his bloody saber, looked up.
Seeing this, the goblins began retreating, frantically trying to flee deeper into the cave.
They hadn’t run far before two of them were caught and violently thrown to the ground.
“Did you think you could escape?” The armored man, towering over them, raised his bloody saber.
“Cack!”
The remaining goblins didn’t care about the fate of their comrades. They ran for their lives, and in the process, some intentionally knocked down their companions to slow down the terrifying armored man’s pursuit.
The goblins who had been able to resist were caught in the chaos caused by their own teammates, and before they could even get up, Winnie dispatched them with a swift strike.
Winnie was in a bloodlust. For some reason, despite feeling exhausted earlier, his body was now full of energy.
It was as though he had been stimulated, moving through the dim cave and killing any goblin he encountered.
When they reached a dead end, the goblins threw every ranged weapon they had at him.
Stones and arrows flew through the air, striking his bloodstained armor with sounds that resembled raindrops hitting glass, but they were easily deflected.
Winnie loosened his muscles and coldly sneered at the goblins who still dared to resist.
These bastards probably didn’t have any more traps. Now, he was on alert, ensuring that he wouldn’t step on anything suspicious in the goblin cave.
“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Let me give you a riddle. If you get it right, I’ll let you go.” Winnie advanced step by step, a cruel smile curling at his lips. At this moment, it seemed like he remembered his character from the original story.
“What has four legs but can’t move?”
The goblins looked at each other.
In the next instant, Winnie revealed the answer. He raised his saber and grinned at the goblins. “No need to guess. It’s you guys, in a little while!”
With that, Winnie quickened his pace. Though the armor slowed him down, to the goblins, it looked like a fully armed, invulnerable armored man charging straight toward them. It was like staring at the Grim Reaper himself.
In such a moment, some of the goblins might have tried to hold Winnie back so the others could escape. After all, he was only one person, and his stamina was limited. It would be impossible for him to block the exit and still chase after them.
But, being goblins, they didn’t care for the lives of their own kind. In this critical moment, no one was willing to step forward. They’d rather believe that their broken weapons might miraculously break through his defense than take a desperate gamble.