Testing His Limits

The young man's irrational experiment brought him sensational results, so Atlas immediately returned to the surface after experimenting for a bit with his newly acquired power. And as he had predicted, he found the goblins waiting for him right there.

"Hehehe, that bastard looks very angry. In other circumstances, I could have used this fact to my advantage, but that creature is too intelligent, and I don't think my traps work against someone like him. Moreover, with that beast in charge, even the remaining goblins will be much more difficult to fool... What bad luck..."

Since stealth attacks had become useless, Atlas stepped out of his hiding place and strolled toward the enemies, opting for a direct confrontation.

"Hey! Stupid thug... I'm here!"

"KRII!!"

"Hehehe... I see that you have vented much of your frustration around here..."

"KRIII!!!"

Seeing that little human approaching its group so arrogantly, the leader wriggled his giant sword left and right, shattering the debris scattered in the square.

"Mmm... you still seem to be in strength. What a pity. Anyway... I got a little bored of this putrid hole... Why don't you let your head be cut off? I swear I'll do it quickly... But, of course, if you place your neck well, just one slash will suffice... Hehehe..."

The young man did not know if that creature could understand his words, but he did not find it so bad to be a bit arrogant sometimes. Instead, he discovered it quite amusing.

While failing to understand the stupid speech of that walking corpse, the goblin had seen many arrogant people in his long life and knew well what that wicked grin on the human's face represented, so he launched the attack without further words...

Its body was stockier and more muscular than an average goblin, but its speed was on par, if not faster than the latter.

"Finally, an interesting battle..."

At the same time that the goblin advanced into battle, Atlas leaped into danger with his faithful companion clutched in his hands.

The rough blade of the mighty sword and the icy blade of Astra impacted, but neither warrior retreated due to the impact.

Finding himself in that uncomfortable situation, the goblin ranted angrily, releasing a nauseating stench on the adventurer's face.

"What a crap... Close that sewer!"

Atlas knew well that staying in that position was dangerous, especially after inhaling that putrid hell. Hence, he shifted the weight of his body slightly to one side, freeing himself from that position.

The young man wanted to take advantage of that sharp movement to inflict a well-placed blow on the enemy's left leg. Still, the creature had returned victorious from many battles and immediately understood the human's plan.

Although the weapons were blocked, the two warriors knew how to best use their bodies to dominate the battlefield, and when the creature perceived that slight movement, it pushed his heavyweight forward, hitting the young man's shoulder with the armor plate.

Everything happened in an instant, but during a battle, even a tiny moment was crucial.

Atlas and the goblin fell to the ground simultaneously but got up a moment later, ready for the next fight.

"Hehehe... indeed a worthy opponent."

The goblin was a creature of few words and attacked again as soon as it noticed a minus distraction from the enemy.

The long blade of the goblin was certainly more advantageous in close combat because it allowed the warrior to keep a decent distance from his opponent. However, the additional weight still made the movements slightly slower than Astra.

Atlas was not an expert in deadly battles, but he had been trained for many years in different situations by his grumpy grandfather.

Although the weapon used at that time was a trivial long stick, Atlas couldn't forget all those beatings.

So when he saw that lethal lateral blow directed towards his uncovered side, he leaped backward, avoiding it by a breath. But it didn't end there because as soon as the blade passed, Atlas made his move with a direct blow to the beast's left arm.

The goblin missed its target, but Atlas's chop opened a deep wound along the enemy's arm.

Horrified by the human's powerful slash, the goblin quickly retreated, avoiding the subsequent lightning attacks.

"Hey! Where do you plan to escape?!"

Seeing the enemy's actions, how could the young man let him go so undisturbed?

With a shot to the left and a few jumps here and there, the young man avoided the devastating lunges of the enemy and then struck coldly for the second time.

This time the slit ripped through the hard flesh of the goblin between the junction of that mighty iron armor.

The battle that previously seemed effortless to the beast turned into a nightmare in a few moments, so the goblin was forced to call its subordinates to face that fearsome human.

"Coward! Do you think your little helpers can do something against me?? More than a dozen have died under my blade, and they will end up the same..."

Atlas had always kept an eye on those three goblins, waiting for the right moment to eradicate them permanently. So, when he saw them running towards him, he rejoiced internally.

With the addition of three new enemies, the battle could only change for the worse for the young man, so instead of continuing the attack against the strongest creature, he suddenly charged against one of them, surprising them with one of his deadliest attacks.

By this point, those inferior goblins had become too weak, like those poor Howling Leaves Wolves, because the young man knew well how and where to hit them to conclude that battle in a few breaths.

With the help of its underlings, the leader had gained some time, but that choice also decided their fate.

A series of precise but lethal blows was enough to eliminate those useless obstacles. Still, it was not over there because once that massacre was over, Atlas returned all his attention to his primary opponent, with the blade of his faithful companion soaked in the green blood of the goblins.

The death of the three goblins did not sadden that beast, but they were still his subordinates, greedy but loyal creatures who had followed him far and wide in this terrible world.

So, the creature couldn't help but unleash its anger toward the human.

Atlas didn't let go of such a good opportunity and used its anger to his advantage, striking down with all his power. Yet before the blade could even reach its target, a powerful shock wave exploded from the goblin's body, which threw the young man at least twenty steps away.

It took him a while, but soon, Atlas stood up from the ground, covered in dirt and blood: "What's going on? It seems like a body technique... Heck, I can't let him complete it."

Unfortunately, even though the young man understood what was going on, he could no longer do anything because that powerful Technique had already changed the goblin's body from the inside.

"Shit..."

As the blade lashed on the goblin's bare chest, bluish veins spread throughout the body from the heart's position. Once sparkling and green as emeralds, its eyes turned red like an intense flaming sun.

Another shock wave threw Atlas away. However, this time, the force had at least doubled.

Shaken by the mighty blow, Atlas lost contact with the enemy for a brief moment, and when he lifted his eyes, he saw those two flaming balls a few inches from his face.

Perhaps after that transformation, the goblin was no longer the same because, instead of inflicting a lethal blow with its weapon, it used one of his terrifying punches to hit the body of the young man lying on the ground.

The goblin turned even more ferocious than a vicious beast and struck the young man's body and face repeatedly, leaving him no room to defend or even react.

It was a brutal beating. Atlas's bones fractured, and the skin darkened rapidly. But inevitably, a brief moment of peace came, and Atlas grasped it with all his might, screaming a few simple words in his mind: 'Ruthless Void Blade!!'

Atlas shouted the command with all force, and in an instant, a dreadful blade, which seemed worthy of a god, appeared in his hand.

"Bastard... die!!"

Atlas pierced the goblin's right fist with the small blade and, with his companion in hand, sharply mowed down the damn arm that had repeatedly hit his body.

The Ruthless Void Blade had immediately demonstrated its terrifying powers. Still, the young man knew well that the advantage was only temporary, and if he wanted to take full advantage of it, he had to act quickly.

With the blade still inserted in the goblin's fist, Atlas kicked the enemy's belly by pushing him away, then leaped forward and sank the icy edge of his faithful companion precisely on the other shoulder, cutting off this, too.

He had only a few seconds to use this mysterious weapon, so he repeatedly tore the enemy's body with the short blade and then pointed directly at the throat.

Rivers of green blood flowed from the goblin's wounds, but that creature seemed possessed, and although his arms were no longer attached to his body and its throat was devoured by the void, the creature's black and nauseating fangs brutally bit the young man's left arm.

An unimaginable pain sprang from that wound and tormented the young man, leaving him breathless.

"Damn! Let me go..."

The dagger had disappeared, but Astra continued relentlessly to cut off one piece of flesh after another from that monster, splashing blood everywhere.

The goblin knew that its end was near, but it decided to remain attached to that human until the end, with the precise objective of hearing for one last time the cries of pain of his last enemy.

"AHH!!! Dammit!"

With one last blow, Atlas cut off the goblin's head, letting it dangle from his arm like a searing stinger.