Chapter 376

A moment ago.

Clang! Slash!

Kali-Alexander and my captured monsters were launching attacks at each other.

Despite being outnumbered 5 to 1, the Goblin God-King maintained a stand-off, continuing the fight.

No matter how weak goblins are regarded, he was still a boss stage legion commander.

A regular party might stand a chance, but my party of captured monsters, weaker than human heroes, was struggling.

However, I had already planned how to exploit Kali-Alexander's weaknesses.

'Kali-Alexander's magic and ranged attack nullification ability isn't inherent to him.'

It emanates from his legendary armor - the cloak and armor he wears.

In other words,

If I could just damage his cloak and armor, magic and ranged attacks would become effective...!

Charge!

My captured monsters, Skeleton Knight and Scorpion Warrior, attacked simultaneously from both sides.

"Hup!"

Kali-Alexander, swinging his scimitar rapidly, shattered the skeleton's neck and crushed the scorpion's carapace.

But this opened up an opportunity.

Swoosh!

The troll, who had circled to the back, lunged at Kali-Alexander from behind.

The troll, dropping its weapons and spreading its arms wide, grappled the Goblin God-King and rolled on the ground.

Kali-Alexander repeatedly struck down with his scimitar, but the robust troll endured the blows.

Seizing the moment, the skeleton and scorpion clutched their weapons and charged.

"Ugh?!"

Kali-Alexander twisted to evade, but my captured monsters' real target wasn't him. It was his cloak.

Rip!

The cloak tore apart.

The blessing of ranged attack disruption vanished, and a magical shield seemed to peel away from the Goblin God-King.

"Well done, Trio of Dismantlement!"

As I praised them, Kali-Alexander's scimitar brutally slashed, tearing apart the three captured monsters.

No time to assess their condition. I had to move to the next phase of the tactic.

"Charge, newbie!"

Upon my command, the Hawk Bear Assassin, who had been hiding, dropped from the shadows.

Roar!

The giant creature, with the head of a bird of prey and the body of a bear, equipped with wings under its arms, plummeted onto the Goblin God-King.

My assigned task for the Hawk Bear Assassin was to damage Kali-Alexander's armor.

Clatter!

Feathers, sharp as blades, shot from the Hawk Bear Assassin's body like thrown daggers. They were powerful enough to be considered throwing knives.

Usually, Kali-Alexander would nullify ranged attacks with his cloak.

Now with the cloak damaged, could he handle this barrage of ranged attacks?

Clang! Clang!

...He managed it.

Kali-Alexander skillfully deflected most of the feathers with his scimitar. No doubt, he was a master of the sword.

However, defense with a sword has its limits.

"Ugh...!"

A few feathers, which he couldn't deflect, embedded into various parts of the Goblin God-King's body, eliciting a muffled groan from behind his mask.

Simultaneously, the Hawk Bear Assassin's massive frame slammed into Kali-Alexander.

The Hawk Bear roared wildly, swinging its arms ferociously, while the Goblin God-King wildly swung his sword in response.

The two beasts rolled across the ground, furiously attacking each other, and then-

Thump!

Ultimately, Kali-Alexander emerged victorious.

He pushed away the lifeless body of the Hawk Bear Assassin, a sword embedded in its neck, panting heavily.

With the captured monsters defeated and no more summons to call upon, who would thrust a sword into the enemy leader's neck?

"It's me."

Clutching my dagger [Goblynch], I muttered.

"I've got this."

As I prepared to charge, Kali-Alexander, resting his scimitar on his shoulder, burst into laughter.

"You don't seem quite adept at combat, do you, Ash? Are you sure about this?"

"My subordinates always worry too."

I responded with a smirk.

"A commander personally entering the front lines is romantic, but far from efficient."

Perhaps it was a similar situation that led to similar nagging. The Goblin God-King chuckled again.

With a deeper smile on my face, I whispered,

"But, Goblin God-King. Do you know?"

"Hmm? Know what?"

"I only fight battles I can win."

I nodded towards his left arm.

"You can't use your left arm now, can you?"

"..."

The Goblin God-King's shoulder twitched, seemingly confirming my suspicion.

He had been hiding his left arm under his cloak since he arrived for the meeting, never using it throughout the battle.

Even in dire situations, he fought only with his right hand. It appeared he might have been paralyzed or something similar.

Every Nightmare Legion commander has a kind of 'ultimate skill' - a lethal technique.

Kali-Alexander was no exception.

He usually parries with his right-hand scimitar, then suddenly pierces the enemy's neck with an assassin's blade hidden in his left wrist.

But if he couldn't use his left arm...

'A boss monster with its ultimate move sealed?'

...That significantly reduced the number of patterns I needed to watch out for.

In other words, he had fallen right into my range of strategy!

"A duel between commanders is absurdly archaic, but..."

I rushed straight towards him.

"Well, there's a certain romance to it!"

Of course, there's no romance in battle.

A fight for life and death is dirty and messy. The more ruthless you are, the stronger you become.

And the strong survive.

As I closed in, Kali-Alexander immediately swung his scimitar at me.

But I was ready.

Why else would I have stayed back, just observing?

'I've figured out your patterns!'

Kali-Alexander was a seasoned warrior.

But seasoned also meant too accustomed to repetition.

'He parries approaching enemies with his scimitar. Mainly horizontal slashes. Aiming for the face - the eyes.'

As expected, his strike was aimed at my face.

"I was waiting for this!"

I drew my pistol, [Agate], from my waist with my left hand, and fired at his oncoming scimitar.

Bang!

The magic bullet collided with the scimitar, and at the same moment,

Clang!

"Ugh...?!"

Kali-Alexander's scimitar was flung backward.

[Agate] is a magic gun with weak damage but a special ability to knock back.

It can push enemies within 3 meters back by more than 3 meters.

This ability applies not just to enemies but also to objects, successfully knocking away Kali-Alexander's sword.

His right arm, holding the scimitar, was jerked back, and his left arm couldn't move.

Meaning, his guard was wide open!

'Time to finish this!'

Bang! Bang!

I fired two more shots in quick succession, targeting his armor.

Thump! Thump!

"Argh!"

"...!"

However, Kali-Alexander thrust his unusable left arm forward to intercept the bullets.

Blood spurted from his forearm, and a pained groan escaped his lips.

He chose to use his already useless left arm to take the bullet hits instead of letting his armor get damaged. Such a crazy decision!

'But the knockback still works!'

In the close-quarters encounter, the knockback effect of [Agate] activated again, sending Kali-Alexander sprawling back uncontrollably until he hit the wall and collapsed to the floor.

I immediately pounced on him, pinning his chest beneath me, and stomped on his right arm to immobilize it. Then, with both hands gripping the dagger [Goblynch], I thrust it downward-

"You're caught, Ash."

At that moment, 

Flash!

A metallic gleam surged before my eyes.

It was Kali-Alexander's left hand. Throughout the fight, it remained motionless, even taking two bullets, turning into a ragged mess. I thought it was immobile.

But now, it extended powerfully forward - activating an assassin's blade on his wrist, thrusting it straight towards my face.

That's when I realized.

It was all a ruse.

His consistent lack of use of his left arm, even deliberately wincing exaggeratedly when hit by the bullets, was groundwork. It was all for this moment's lethal strike...!

'Damn it.'

I helplessly smiled inwardly as the assassin's blade drew closer in the slowed-down world.

'I've been had.'

And then, the next moment.

Thunk!

Right before my eyes, the assassin's blade halted.

Suddenly, as if the brakes were hit, Kali-Alexander's entire left arm stiffened, immobilized.

Confused by my near-death escape, I looked down at him.

"This is..."

Kali-Alexander's entire left arm was sprouting metal spikes. It looked as if a mine planted inside exploded, bursting out from within.

Kali-Alexander grimaced painfully.

"...I've been had."

And I knew exactly whose handiwork these metal spikes were.

"Thanks, Godhand."

This victory is yours.

Muttering, I drove [Goblynch] down with all my might.

Thump!

The dagger pierced Kali-Alexander's chest. And then,

Shredding sound!

I exerted force to rip open the seams of his armor.

***

Kali-Alexander was in a pitiful state.

Stripped of his cloak and armor, his left arm burst open, and a long gash from [Goblynch] marked his chest.

Leaning against the wall of the grey fortress, he coughed up blood in fits and starts.

"...It was strange from the start."

Yet with a calm voice, he mused.

"You had many chances to kill me after isolating me... Why go through the trouble of disarming me piece by piece?"

"..."

"That's right. You went through this elaborate process to..."

Slowly lifting his head, Kali-Alexander gazed at me.

"...Control my mind."

There I stood, having activated [Commander's Eye], now effective on him.

With all his gear lost, Kali-Alexander's stats, even with the boss boost, were only slightly better than an average goblin's, especially low in magic power.

This meant he was fully exposed to my 2nd skill [Commander's Eye] followed by my 3rd skill [Become Mine].

"You said you wanted to be born human, Kali-Alexander."

I whispered softly.

"I'll make that happen for you."

"What...?"

"Who's human on this battlefield is decided by me."

As Kali-Alexander looked bewildered, I nodded affirmatively.

"Join me. Help protect humanity. Defeat your subordinates and join me in fighting the nightmare beneath the lake."

"..."

"Then I will acknowledge you and your legion as my allies."

Bewilderment flickered in his red eyes behind the mask.

I chuckled lightly.

"Well, you don't really have a choice."

With a swift motion, I extended my arm, gathering magical energy.

"Goblin God-King!"

I declared.

"Become mine!"