Multiple spells were cast in rapid succession, each one heading straight toward the enemies with overwhelming force.
The hobgoblins reacted imdiately, fear flashing across their faces once again.
But before the attacks could reach them—
THUMP!
The boss moved. With a single step forward, the [Hellish Hobgoblin] intercepted everything.
It blocked the fireball head-on, raised its body to shield the others from the lightning, and swung its massive bat to shatter the incoming ice spikes before they could make contact.
Leon’s eyes narrowed.
’Damn... it’s protecting them.’
He had expected to thin out the weaker enemies first while dealing with the boss separately.
The boss seed to be arrogant, but it wasn’t going to let them die easily.
Leon shifted his stance slightly, preparing to engage directly.
But then—
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The ground began to shake again. This ti though, it wasn’t from his skill.
Leon’s expression changed slightly as he looked around, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
The vibrations were getting stronger. Closer. As if sothing was approaching.
No... Not sothing. Many things.
He looked back at the boss. And for the first ti... It was smiling.
A wide, twisted grin spreading across its face as if everything was going exactly as it had planned.
The rumbling intensified. Dozens of footsteps. Maybe more. All rushing toward the clearing at the sa ti.
"Human... die... soon," the boss said slowly, its voice rough and broken, yet filled with clear intent.
It was taunting him. Even if its speech was crude, the aning was obvious.
Leon stared at it for a mont. Then, he let out a quiet breath.
"We’ll see about that, goblin" he replied calmly, tightening his grip on his weapon as the sounds of approaching enemies grew louder and louder.
Fwoosh!
Leon dashed forward at full speed, not even bothering to wait and figure out what exactly was rushing toward him from all sides.
Because in a situation like this, hesitation was the worst possible option, and if sothing dangerous was approaching, then the best move was to take control of the fight before it escalated further.
Abyssal Slash!
Without slowing down, Leon activated his movent skill, his body sinking into the darkness beneath his feet as he attempted to reposition instantly and gain an advantage over the [Hellish Hobgoblin].
But the mont he entered the ground... He ca right back out.
’HOT!’ Leon’s eyes widened as he imdiately canceled the movent, his body reappearing above the surface with a sharp intake of breath, clearly caught off guard by what he had just felt, ’Damn it...!’
The underground wasn’t normal terrain. It was filled with intense heat and molten energy, almost like layers of lava flowing beneath the surface.
And even with his high fire resistance, that didn’t an he could casually move through sothing like that without taking damage.
Which ant sothing important: he couldn’t use [Abyssal Slash] here.
At least, not without burning himself in the process.
"Fool... human!" the [Hellish Hobgoblin] let out a rough laugh, clearly amused by what it had just seen as it took another heavy step forward, its burning bat dragging slightly against the ground.
Leon didn’t even bother replying. There was no point wasting ti.
Instead, he pushed forward again.
Even without [Abyssal Slash], his physical stats were still overwhelming, and with the [Power Sword] in his hand, every single attack he made carried double the strength it normally should have.
SLASH!
The remaining [Fire Hobgoblins], who had just regained their confidence thanks to their boss, rushed toward Leon all at once, believing they could overwhelm him with numbers.
They didn’t even last a second. With a single, clean swing of his sword, Leon cut through all of them in one motion.
His blade sliced through their bodies as if they were nothing more than paper, leaving them split in half as their bodies collapsed to the ground.
His expression didn’t change. It was effortless.
Even the [Hellish Hobgoblin] paused for a brief mont, clearly surprised by the sheer power behind that single attack.
But Leon didn’t give it ti to react.
Fwoosh!
He closed the distance instantly before swinging his sword directly toward the boss.
The [Hellish Hobgoblin] responded imdiately, raising its massive flaming bat and bringing it down with full force.
BOOM!
The clash shook the entire clearing, the impact sending shockwaves through the air as both of them held their ground, neither one stepping back despite the force behind the collision.
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly.
’Damn... even with double strength, that thing isn’t backing down easily,’ he thought as he adjusted his footing, ’Breaking its weapon is probably not happening either.’
Slash! Slash!
The two of them exchanged blows rapidly, their weapons colliding again and again, sparks and flas scattering around them as neither side showed any intention of retreating.
Leon pressed forward aggressively, aiming to end the fight as quickly as possible before the situation worsened.
But the boss... Every movent it made was calculated.
It focused on blocking, redirecting, and minimizing damage rather than rushing in blindly, which made it far more dangerous than Leon initially expected.
Blood Beam! Ice Spikes! Vines of Tornt! Powerful Fireball!
Leon didn’t rely on just his sword.
He continuously cast spells in between attacks, launching them one after another in an attempt to overwhelm the boss from multiple angles.
But none of it worked the way he wanted.
The attacks were either blocked, tanked, or deflected.
’Holy hell... that thing is even tankier than the [Will of Nature],’ Leon thought, his expression tightening slightly.1
And just as he expected... [Celestial’s Might] didn’t activate.
Their [Combat Power] was too close. There was no advantage to be gained there.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Leon gritted his teeth slightly as his attacks continued to be blocked, the [Hellish Hobgoblin] maintaining that sa twisted grin as if it was enjoying the fight.
Then—
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The ground shook again. This ti, much closer.
Leon’s eyes shifted for just a second. He knew ti was running out.
If he didn’t end this quickly, things were going to get far worse.
Fwoosh!
Leon leaped forward with full force, closing the distance between him and the boss in an instant.
But this ti... He didn’t swing his sword imdiately.
Instead, sothing else happened.
A deep crimson aura began to gather around his blade, spreading outward and wrapping around his body as well, the energy intensifying with every passing second.
And when he was just a few ters away—
CRIMSON DANCE!
Leon swung his sword.
At first, it seed like he didn’t hit anything as the blade cut through empty air.
For a split second, even the [Hellish Hobgoblin] seed confused.
It reacted instantly, assuming Leon had made a mistake. It raised its bat and swung it down with full force.
Darkness Barrier!
Leon activated his defensive skill without hesitation, a barrier forming around him just in ti.
BAM!
The impact hit him directly, the force pushing him slightly, but the barrier held.
And in that exact mont—
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Dozens of crimson slashes suddenly appeared around the [Hellish Hobgoblin], striking it from every direction at once as if invisible blades were cutting through its body repeatedly.
The boss had no ti to react. It had committed to its attack. It couldn’t defend.
"GRRHHAAAAH!"
The [Hellish Hobgoblin] staggered backward, blood pouring from multiple deep wounds as its body shook under the accumulated damage.
Yet it didn’t fall. Even after all of that, it was still standing.
Leon let out a breath, "That thing is a goddamn tank..."
But at this point, it didn’t matter anymore. Because the rumbling had reached its peak.
Leon turned his head. And what he saw made him click his tongue slightly.
"Damn..."
From all directions, erging from the burning forest and cracked ground, dozens upon dozens of enemies entered the clearing.
Groups of [Pyroman Apes] and [Fire Hobgoblins], all of them rushing in at the sa ti.
Leon was completely surrounded.
ROOOOAR!
The [Hellish Hobgoblin] roared once more. This ti, it wasn’t just noise It was using a buff skill.
Small flas ignited around every monster in the clearing, their bodies glowing faintly as their strength increased, their eyes burning with intensity as they locked onto Leon.
Leon adjusted his stance slowly, gripping his weapon tightly.
’Those [Phoenix Wings] would’ve been really useful right now...’ he thought with a faint smile, despite the situation, ’Oh well.’
Running wasn’t an option. So there was only one thing left to do: fight.
The [Hellish Hobgoblin], heavily injured from the [Crimson Dance], stepped back slightly, choosing to stay at a distance now instead of engaging directly, clearly aware that another hit like that could be dangerous.
Instead, it let the others move forward.
---
[Fire Hobgoblin]
[Level: 75]
[Talent: Fla Affinity (C-Level)]
[Combat Power: 480,000 ( 50,000)]
[Details: A group of hobgoblins that naturally evolved by staying in the "Hellish Beach"]
---
[Pyroman Ape]
[Combat Power: 450,000 ( 50,000)]
---
The boost was clear. A flat increase of 50,000 [Combat Power] across the board.
That wasn’t sothing to ignore. But Leon didn’t look worried. Not even slightly.
’If I had a water-based skill, this would’ve been over instantly,’ he thought calmly, already planning ahead for the future, ’I’ll get one eventually.’
That was the advantage of mastering multiple elents, as it allowed him to be able to deal with elental enemies like this.
Right now though, he would make do with what he had.
Leon stood there, surrounded from every direction, facing the injured boss and dozens of enhanced monsters at the sa ti.
And yet, he didn’t step back.
The [Will of Nature] wasn’t tanky, it’s just that he had incredible regeneration by the way.
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