Chapter 215 — The Killing March
Evan walked through the valley pathway once again.
This was the same path he had desperately fled through before.
The same path where he had been chased by the Goblins.
The same path where he had nearly lost his life.
But this time...
Everything was different.
Evan's steps were steady as he made his way toward the forest.
His attention remained fixed on the System panel floating before him.
The numbers displayed upon it had undergone a massive change.
[Current Effect Subjugated: +4%]
That unexpected reward had come from the final lightning attack of the Blue Serpent coiling around SkyPeak Mountain.
The same attack that had nearly killed him.
The same attack that had buried him beneath tons of rubble.
And somehow...
It had given him exactly what he needed.
That was why Evan had thanked the serpent before leaving.
He had nearly died because of it.
But he had also gained the greatest benefit he could have asked for.
Evan brushed a piece of charred skin from his chest.
Most of his upper body was still exposed, burned and scarred from the battle.
He opened his status one final time.
The numbers appeared before him.
And this time...
The curse suppression had been reduced by 52%.
His original target of fifty per cent had already been surpassed.
A faint smile appeared on Evan's face.
'Now I just need to finish that settlement.'
His eyes narrowed.
'Then I can finally get this mission over with.'
He sighed inwardly.
'I wonder what kind of mission the Trial will throw at me next.'
His status unfolded before him.
__
◆ HP: 15,000
◆ MP: 26,520
◆ Strength (STR): 58 {+32 Red} [1,694]
◆ Agility (AGL): 44 {+35 Red} [1,843]
◆ Vitality (VIT): 84 {+28 Red} [1500]
◆ Intelligence (INT): 00 {+51 Red} [2,652]
◆ Endurance (END): 03 {+27 Red} [1,406]
◆ Stamina (STA): 85 {+28 Red} [1,500]
◆ Spirit (SPT): 86 {+6 Red} [357]
◆ Unassigned Stats: 600 [🔒]
◆ Attack Power:4,244.4 (Physical) | 3,978 (Elemental)
◆ Defence: 2906
◆ Storage Summon:4,958/6,860[🔒] [11/3,570]
__
Evan stared at the numbers for several seconds.
He couldn't help but feel the difference.
Compared to when he had first entered the Trial...
He was several times stronger now.
The Goblins that had once forced him to flee?
They were no longer worthy of the same caution.
Against his current strength, ordinary Goblins would barely have time to react.
A cold grin appeared on his face.
'Now I'll show that skull-headed bast*rd what awaits those who come knocking on death's door.'
His grin faded slightly.
Then he looked down at himself.
"...But first."
He glanced over his body.
His clothes were a disaster.
His spare clothes had already been destroyed.
His cloak had burned away during his escape.
And the serpent's final attack had reduced what remained to almost nothing.
At this point, all Evan had left were a pair of tattered pants and a few miserable pieces of fabric clinging to his body.
He sighed.
'This Trial really doesn't want me to maintain any dignity.'
Evan thought for a moment.
Then his eyes brightened.
"Bone Armour."
Mana flowed through his body.
The bones surrounding him shifted.
Instead of forming the usual heavy combat armour, Evan deliberately adjusted their shape.
A thin layer of pale bones appeared across his body.
It wasn't comfortable.
Not even remotely.
But it served one important purpose.
It covered him.
"Good enough."
Evan started moving again.
This time, his steps were noticeably faster.
He was eager to return.
Eager to finish the settlement.
And, more importantly...
Eager to finally rest.
A proper meal sounded especially tempting after everything he had endured.
With his recovered strength, his speed was now far beyond what it had been before.
Half an hour later...
The familiar end of the valley finally appeared ahead.
The passage had been destroyed earlier by Evan himself.
Collapsed rocks and massive boulders still blocked the route.
He slowed down.
Then raised his hand.
His senses spread through the earth.
Footsteps.
Evan's eyes narrowed.
There were people on the other side.
No.
Not people.
Goblins.
'Scouts.'
He immediately recognised the movement.
They were guarding the passage.
Evan wasn't surprised.
The Shaman clearly hadn't forgotten what happened.
After Evan's previous escape, there was no way the Goblins would abandon this route.
Evan's gaze became cold.
'So they really left people here.'
He moved closer.
Behind the enormous boulders blocking the passage, a group of Goblin scouts was stationed.
Twenty...
Exactly twenty-eight Goblins.
They had been ordered to guard the blocked pathway until the settlement completed its preparations.
The Shaman didn't want to give the mysterious human another opportunity to attack.
Even if the passage was blocked...
The Goblins remained here.
Waiting.
Watching.
One of the scouts slowly walked around the barricade.
His eyes scanned the surroundings.
Nothing.
Just rocks.
Trees.
Silence.
Then...
He noticed something.
A slight movement came from the massive boulder blocking the passage.
The Goblin frowned.
"What... was that?"
He approached cautiously.
Another Goblin called from behind him.
"Hey! What are... you doing?"
The scout glanced backwards.
Then toward the boulder.
Nothing.
He shook his head.
'Probably... just my imagination.'
He began turning around.
Then...
Rumble.
The ground beneath his feet trembled.
The Goblin froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
He looked toward the boulder.
It was shaking.
Not from a natural tremor.
Something was behind it.
The other Goblins noticed it as well.
Their expressions changed instantly.
Weapons were drawn.
Bows were raised.
Spears were gripped tightly.
The entire scout group became tense.
"What is that?"
"Get ready!"
"Something is coming!"
The trembling intensified.
Rumble...
RUMBLE...
Then suddenly...
Silence.
The shaking stopped.
The Goblins stared at the boulder.
Nothing happened.
One of them lowered his weapon slightly.
"Was it just an earthquake?"
Another Goblin glanced around.
Then...
BOOOOOOM!
The entire barricade exploded.
Massive boulders were ripped apart and launched forward.
The Goblin standing closest to the barrier didn't even have time to react.
A huge chunk of stone slammed into him.
CRACK!
His body disappeared beneath the rubble.
The impact threw several other Goblins backwards.
Dust erupted into the air.
The remaining scouts screamed in panic.
"What happened?!"
"Attack!"
"Where is it?!"
But then...
The dust began to clear.
A figure stood atop the shattered rubble.
The Goblins froze.
Their eyes widened.
The person standing before them didn't look like the human they remembered.
Bone Armour covered his body.
A crimson blade rested in his hand.
But the weapon...
That weapon was unmistakable.
They had seen it before.
The human.
The same human who had infiltrated their territory, slaughtered their scouts and destroyed their settlement's plans.
Their expressions changed.
"It's him!"
"The human!"
"How is he alive?!"
Evan ignored their screams.
His eyes moved across the group.
The Shaman wasn't here.
Exactly as he expected.
'Perfect.'
Evan raised his hand.
The earth around him suddenly lifted.
Chunks of rubble rose from the ground and began orbiting his body.
Then they fused with his Bone Armour.
Stone reinforced bone.
Bone supported stone.
The gaps between them were instantly filled with ice.
In moments...
Evan's body was covered in a strange three-elemental armour.
Earth.
Bone.
Ice.
A cold metallic sound echoed as the armour finished forming.
At the same time...
Crimson Edge ignited.
Flames spread across its blade.
But they weren't merely crimson this time.
Black and grey flames crawled across the weapon as well, swallowing its edges in an ominous aura.
Lightning crackled around Evan's body.
For a brief moment...
He unleashed his full strength.
The atmosphere around him changed.
The playful survivor who had been taunting the lightning for hours was gone.
The exhausted man who had thanked the serpent was gone.
There was no grin.
No joke.
No excitement.
Only cold intent.
Evan's eyes settled upon the nearest Goblin.
The creature stared back.
Fear slowly filled its eyes.
It didn't understand.
How could the same human who had been fleeing from them earlier suddenly possess such overwhelming pressure?
The Goblins instinctively stepped backwards.
Too late.
Evan disappeared.
Whoosh!
A flash of movement crossed the battlefield.
The nearest Goblin didn't even see him approach.
A crimson line appeared across its chest.
Then...
Blood erupted.
The Goblin collapsed backwards.
Thud.
Its eyes remained wide open.
Terrified.
A massive slash had torn across its chest.
Evan stood beside the corpse.
Crimson Edge dripped with blood.
The remaining Goblins froze.
Then their fear became panic.
Evan looked toward his next target.
An archer.
The Goblin's hands were trembling as he drew his bow.
He desperately nocked an arrow.
"Die!"
The arrow flew.
Whoosh!
Evan vanished.
The arrow passed through empty air.
A split second later...
Crack!
The arrow was sliced cleanly into two.
The archer's eyes widened.
He hadn't even seen Evan move.
Then a hand appeared before his face.
Evan had already arrived.
His fingers clamped around the Goblin's head.
The creature struggled violently.
It kicked.
It clawed at Evan's arm.
It tried to scream.
Evan didn't give it the chance.
Black and grey flames erupted from his palm.
The flames swallowed the Goblin instantly.
Its body convulsed.
Then...
It stopped moving.
Within seconds, only a charred corpse remained.
Evan released it.
The body dropped heavily to the ground.
Thud.
He turned toward the remaining Goblins.
His eyes were completely emotionless.
Two corpses.
Twenty-six remaining.
Evan tightened his grip around Crimson Edge.
The massacre had only just begun.
The moment the second Goblin fell, he lunged toward another.
Whoosh!
Crimson Edge flashed.
Another corpse hit the ground.
Then Evan moved again.
There was no hesitation in his movements.
No wasted motion.
Only the relentless advance of someone who had already decided how this battle would end.
Within minutes...
Half of the Goblins were either lying motionless on the ground, their blood staining the earth, or had been burned beyond recognition.
Others had been caught by Evan's ice and transformed into grotesque sculptures of frozen flesh.
The once-organised scout group had completely collapsed.
Only ten Goblins remained.
Their weapons trembled in their hands.
The confidence they had possessed earlier was gone.
Even their breathing had become uneven.
Still...
One Goblin gritted his teeth.
Perhaps desperation had finally overcome fear.
He tightened his grip around a blunt dagger and slowly moved behind Evan.
He waited.
Then...
He lunged.
Stab!
The dagger struck toward Evan's back.
But the instant the blade entered the range of the lightning surrounding his body...
ZZZZZZT!
Lightning immediately jumped toward the Goblin.
His entire body convulsed.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
His scream echoed throughout the forest.
The dagger dropped from his hand.
His skin blackened as lightning coursed through his body, while blood spilt from the corners of his mouth.
A moment later...
Thud.
His burned body collapsed onto the ground.
Evan didn't even turn around.
The remaining nine Goblins froze.
Whatever courage they had gathered moments ago...
It was disappearing.
Fast.
Their eyes shook as they stared at the human standing among the corpses.
He hadn't even needed to look back.
The lightning surrounding his body had killed their comrade on its own.
The Goblins exchanged terrified glances.
Then one of them gritted his teeth.
There was still one Goblin positioned farthest from Evan.
A rusty sword trembled in the Goblin's hands as he looked toward him.
"You... go tell... the Shaman."
His voice shook.
"The human has... returned."
He swallowed hard.
"We hold... him off."
The distant Goblin immediately understood.
He turned around.
His legs were already preparing to run.
But before he could take even a single step...
Evan's voice echoed through the battlefield.
"Do you think I'm a fool?"
The Goblin froze.
Evan slowly turned toward them.
"Did you really think I'd let you leave like that just so you could report to your chief?"
His voice was calm.
Almost casual.
But the Goblins felt their hearts sink.
Evan raised one hand.
An icy aura began gathering around his palm.
It twisted.
Condensed.
Then shot forward.
WHOOSH!
The cold spread across the ground like a wave.
Eight Goblins were caught instantly.
Ice climbed from their feet.
Then their legs.
Then their bodies.
Within seconds...
Eight half-frozen figures stood motionless across the battlefield.
Only the Goblin farthest away escaped the worst of it.
The ice barely caught his legs.
He stumbled.
Then desperately broke free.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Behind him...
The human calmly walked forward.
Step by step.
No urgency.
No need to chase.
One by one, Evan finished off the frozen Goblins.
Slash!
Another body fell.
Slash!
Another.
Crimson Edge moved through flesh and ice alike.
The fleeing Goblin watched everything from a distance.
His face was pale.
His entire body trembled.
His comrades were dying one after another.
And the human wasn't even hurrying.
He was simply walking.
As though their lives meant nothing.
The Goblin finally turned around.
He ran.
Not walked.
Not retreated.
He ran.
He sprinted toward the settlement with every ounce of strength left in his body.
He had to warn the Shaman.
The human had returned.
And he was far stronger than before.
Behind him...
Evan stopped.
Then his gaze shifted.
Two Goblins remained.
Both were staring at him in absolute terror.
They couldn't even raise their weapons anymore.
Their arms had become too heavy.
Their minds were overwhelmed.
The terror radiating from Evan was immense.
It was comparable to the fear they felt whenever they stood before their Shaman.
Then...
Evan raised his hand.
The earth began moving.
Fragments of stone gathered before his palm.
They compressed.
Condensed.
And slowly formed into a stone spike roughly the size of a ball.
Evan aimed it directly toward the fleeing Goblin.
The two remaining Goblins stared in horror.
'He's... going to kill him.'
Their final hope was about to disappear.
Evan released the attack.
BOOM!
The stone spike shot forward.
But...
It missed.
Barely.
The projectile passed within a hair's breadth of the fleeing Goblin's head before crashing into the earth.
BOOM!
A crater formed.
The shockwave struck the Goblin and caused him to stagger.
He almost fell.
The Goblin turned around with widened eyes.
He looked back.
The human was still standing there.
Watching him.
But...
Evan wasn't chasing.
He wasn't even moving.
The Goblin's eyes widened further.
He understood.
The human had missed.
His survival instincts took over.
He immediately turned around and ran deeper into the forest.
Within moments...
His figure disappeared between the trees and dense flora.
The two remaining Goblins stared in the direction he had escaped.
For the briefest moment...
A trace of relief appeared on their terrified faces.
They had succeeded.
Their plan had worked.
Someone had escaped.
Someone would warn the Shaman.
But that tiny smile vanished when Evan spoke.
"Hah..."
He glanced toward them.
"What are you two laughing about?"
The Goblins froze.
"Do you really think I missed?"
Evan tilted his head slightly.
"No."
A faint smile appeared.
"I let him leave."
The Goblins stared at him.
Evan's eyes became colder.
"I don't want to attack without notice."
He tightened his grip around Crimson Edge.
"That pesky Shaman of yours should know something."
His voice carried through the forest.
"The human he tried to hunt has returned."
A faint killing intent emerged from his body.
"And this time..."
"I have the power to slay him."
The Goblins trembled.
Evan took a step forward.
"Don't worry."
His smile disappeared.
"After you two are gone, I'll send your entire settlement behind you."
His eyes narrowed.
"It won't take long."
The two Goblins couldn't even respond.
They were too shocked.
Not because of his threat.
Because of his words.
They understood every single one.
The human...
Was speaking their language.
Their own tongue.
Before they could process it...
Slash!
Crimson Edge flashed.
The final two Goblins fell.
Silence returned to the forest.
Evan looked at the corpses scattered around him.
Then he opened his status.
His eyes immediately landed on his mana.
More than half remained.
And it was still regenerating.
A satisfied expression appeared on his face.
'Now this feels more like the original.'
For the first time in a long while...
Evan could actually feel a portion of his former strength returning.
It felt good.
And what he had told the Goblins wasn't an empty threat.
His mission was simple.
Eradicate the Goblin Settlement.
Until now, he had been forced to rely on stealth, traps, ambushes, and careful manipulation.
But that was no longer necessary.
Not with his current strength.
Evan looked toward the distant forest.
A different idea formed in his mind.
'Why bother sneaking in?'
He had one mission.
They had one settlement.
And he had enough power to knock directly on the front door.
'I'll just walk in.'
A cold smile appeared.
'Then finish everything.'
But before leaving...
Evan's gaze landed on the bodies scattered across the battlefield.
He raised his hand.
Mana surged.
"[Raise Undead]."
The moment the skill activated...
A wave of energy poured from Evan's body.
It moved toward the corpses.
Then entered them.
The dead Goblins began twitching.
Fingers moved.
Bones cracked.
Bodies jerked violently.
And within seconds...
The first batch of Skeletons rose from the ground.
Evan stared at them.
For a moment...
He simply watched.
It was good to finally use the ability he was supposed to have.
He had spent so much time fighting with half his arsenal sealed that even something as simple as raising undead felt strangely satisfying.
But then Evan noticed a problem.
Several of the Goblin Skeletons were fractured.
Some had damaged limbs.
Others struggled to move properly.
His previous attacks had been too destructive.
Evan raised his hand again.
"[Necro Heal]."
The energy spread outward.
It landed upon all twenty-seven Goblin Skeletons.
Their fractured bones began repairing themselves.
Cracks disappeared.
Broken limbs reconstructed.
Damaged joints returned to their proper positions.
Within several minutes...
The entire group had recovered.
Twenty-seven Goblin Skeletons stood before him.
Evan looked over them.
Then frowned.
'This won't be enough.'
His eyes moved toward his summon storage.
Storage Summon:4,958/6,860[🔒] [38/3,570]
A pitiful number compared to what he actually possessed.
Most of his forces remained locked away by the Trial.
Evan slowly swept through his available skills.
There had to be something else.
Something he could use to increase his numbers.
His gaze eventually stopped.
One skill.
A skill he hadn't properly relied upon for additional force.
[Undead Summoning]
Evan's eyes narrowed.
The skill allowed him to summon a skeleton for battle.
Normally, it wasn't something particularly impressive.
But right now...
Every additional soldier mattered.
"Let's see how many I can get."
Evan activated the skill.
Mana immediately surged.
The earth beneath him cracked.
A skeletal hand emerged.
Then another.
Crack...
Crack...
Skeletons began climbing out of the earth.
Ghostly energy surrounded their bodies.
A gloomy aura spread across the battlefield.
The temperature seemed to drop.
One skeleton.
Then another.
And another.
Evan continued.
Again and again.
But his mana was disappearing rapidly.
He kept summoning until his reserves dropped to a dangerous level.
Finally...
He stopped.
Evan looked at his mana bar.
Only around ten percent remained.
'That's all?'
He looked ahead.
A massive group of Skeletons now stood before him.
He began counting them.
One.
Two.
Thre...
...
After carefully counting and moving the newly summoned Skeletons into his summon storage...
Evan finally reached the total.
Thirty-one.
Thirty-one additional Skeletons.
Evan blinked.
He had expected somewhere around twenty.
Maybe a little more.
But thirty-one wasn't bad.
Then he checked the skill.
Its level was only around Lv.60.
Evan wasn't surprised.
With such a low skill level and the Trial's restrictions, this was already close to the maximum he could currently squeeze from it.
He looked at the Skeletons again.
Then toward the distant forest.
The Goblin Settlement was still waiting.
Evan began forming a plan.
He couldn't rush in blindly.
His strength had recovered significantly.
But this was still a settlement containing hundreds of Goblins, Hobgoblins, and their Shaman.
He needed to gather enough force first.
So Evan retreated.
He moved deeper into the valley pathway, away from the settlement.
For now...
He needed to recover his strength.
He needed to gather his summons.
Then...
He would strike.
There was only one chance.
If he succeeded...
The mission would be completed.
If he failed...
There might not be another opportunity.
Evan looked toward the forest in the distance.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
The decision was already made.
He would finish this.
No matter what.