retired swordsman

"Goblin Slayer?"

"Humph! I hope your abilities surpass the prowess of your words!" The goblin leader raised his shield and brandished his blade angrily.

The elderly man and the two disabled ones naturally noticed. Although humans, in general, may be stronger than goblins, the great goblin warrior did not consider these individuals a threat.

"Charge! Leave one alive for questioning about what happened here!"

In response to his crooked-headed subordinates, the remaining three goblin warriors approached Night Threefold and his companions with their spears.

Compared to the poor fellows wielding wooden spears during the day, these three goblins had solid metal-tipped spears, were stronger, and thrust their weapons faster.

Night Threefold, not willing to confront the spears with his hands or any part of his body, took a step back and swung his sword.

A crisp sound echoed as the longsword clashed with the spearheads, producing faint hints of burnt odor in the air.

At this moment, Old Gu and Dong Chen Xi Jiu finally arrived, clumsily wielding their swords to fend off the goblin thrusts.

Although goblins used spears and they used swords, the added reach balanced the odds, especially with Dong Chen Xi Jiu ganging up on one goblin. The skirmish held a semblance of back-and-forth.

"Humph! Cowards!"

The goblin leader spat and, after cursing, charged into the battlefield.

Even though they were just a few worthless humans, as long as they could withstand a few injuries, they could be dealt with. However, the goblin leader's subordinates seemed unable to shake off their fear of humans, fighting hesitantly and irritating the leader.

It wanted its underlings to understand that goblins were not inferior to humans!

"Come, face your doom!"

With a swing of its curved blade, a glint of cold light enveloped Night Threefold.

His expression changed, and he rolled to the side, but a thudding sound followed. Old Gu and Dong Chen Xi Jiu were knocked aside by the goblin leader's shield.

"This shorty is quite strong!"

Night Threefold disdainfully patted Old Gu's shoulder, realizing that the goblin leader's involvement significantly tipped the scales. Combined with the three goblin spear wielders...

"Should we retreat?"

Night Threefold glanced behind him. If he let the skeletons take the rear, he could surely find an opportunity to escape. However...

Once he retreated, the goblin leader would not likely let him off. Leaving this forest would mean losing his source of soul essence. Killing people?

That would only lead to a faster demise.

Glancing at the wound on his left shoulder, Night Threefold sighed and stood up.

"Hey, shorty over there, come and meet your end!"

"Who are you calling shorty!"

Indeed, the goblin leader, hearing the commotion, charged towards them with a flushed face.

Although it was robust, its height had always been a sore point. This was also one reason it hated humans. Despite being stronger, why was it shorter than even a human child?

"I'll cut off your feet!"

The goblin leader roared and swung its blade towards Night Threefold's shins. Night Threefold raised his sword to block, and with a clang, even his palms were numb. Fortunately, he managed to block the strike.

However, the goblin leader's wooden shield struck his abdomen faster, and with a thud, Night Threefold spat blood and staggered backward.

"Humph! Fragile!"

The goblin leader sneered, closing in again. Night Threefold licked the blood at the corner of his mouth, continuously blocking with his sword, but most of his attention was on the goblin leader's left hand.

This fellow's left hand was twice as powerful as the right!

As long as he maintained balance and did not let the shield break it, he could endure the sword exchanges. However, the inherent danger was known only to him. A split-second delay in attacking or a failed dodge could result in being cleaved in two.

Gradually, he was left with only defensive capabilities. With each frenzy of strikes from the goblin leader, its emotions heightened.

"Haha! Insanity! Let yourself go mad!"

"Brave words, but why don't you thrust your sword at me! Goblin Slayer?"

After a round of attacks, the goblin leader suddenly realized that the human opposite him seemed to be weakening. Stumbling underfoot, its face lit up, and it swung its blade towards Night Threefold's abdomen.

"One slash, and you're done for!"

Yet, halfway through the slash, its expression suddenly changed, and it rolled to the side. 

"What are you doing?!"

Seeing a spear impaled where it had just stood, the goblin leader roared at the goblins in the distance. But as it raised its head, it froze.

Why did that fellow have an arrow in his mouth?

Seizing the opportunity, Night Threefold stepped back, breathing rapidly. Although he could go without breathing, it didn't mean he didn't need it. More rapid breaths allowed him to gain more energy from his blood, even if it wasn't the coagulated mess found in zombie bodies.

"Necromancer?"

The goblin leader glanced at Night Threefold suspiciously.

It knew that there was a kind of magic capable of controlling others to attack. The profession that mastered this magic was called a Puppeteer. However, it did not see Night Threefold's fingers manipulating anything.

Was it a more advanced form of puppeteering magic?

"Humph! Even so, you're still weak... Dead!"

The goblin leader proclaimed while taking a glance at the ongoing skirmish on its side, suddenly shivering.

Under the faint moonlight, three terrifying pale skeletons approached, wielding longswords. Blood occasionally dripped from their blades, and behind them lay three familiar bodies.

"Are... Are you a Necromancer?"

The goblin leader asked in a trembling voice.

A Puppeteer and a Necromancer were two different concepts. Although both involved control, the former was just a pervert, while the latter was a pervert among perverts.

Playing with bodies and toying with death, the latter was evidently more terrifying.

Seeing Night Threefold remaining silent, the goblin leader gathered its courage, stood up, and charged at Night Threefold again.

"So what if you're a Necromancer! If you want me dead, it won't be that easy!"

Seizing the thief first was aptly applied to a Necromancer, whose combat skills were lacking. This pretty-faced man's martial skills were not impressive. As long as it killed him, the three skeletons would naturally disappear!

At this moment, the goblin leader made a decision with its not-so-bright mind and the remnants of its courage.

"Die!"

A flash of cold light rose, yet Night Threefold did not move.

Drip.

Immediately, a gush of blood spouted from a severed arm, and the goblin leader widened its eyes, watching its right hand, holding the chopping knife, twirl a few times in the air before landing on the ground with a snap, twitching for a while and then going still.

"Ah!"

It, horrified, rotated the left hand holding the shield, and intense pain plunged it into madness.

"Why is your sword so fast! Why!"

At this time, it was only in the middle of the night that he pushed the figure in front of him aside and said calmly.

"Because he is an old sword master!"