Chapter 4: Starfall’s Fury: The Goblin Warrior’s Demise

The hidden maiden, witnessing the explosive scene, breathed a slight sigh of relief:

“Is it over?”

“Not yet.”

“ROAR!!!”

The deafening roar scattered the dust and smoke, revealing the Goblin Warrior’s form.

Before it could even make a move, a ball of Starflame slammed into its head.

With a resounding thud, the Goblin Warrior’s already dark face became even more charred and burnt.

It let out an enraged bellow, pushing off the ground with immense force. Its raw strength enveloped its battle-axe as it leaped high into the air, descending like a plummeting meteor.

Zhang Luan executed a swift roll to the side, dodging the attack. Seizing the opportunity, he drew a longbow from his system inventory, nocked an arrow, and fired. The arrow, wreathed in Starflame, shot forth.

The goblin disdainfully reached out, intending to swat away the seemingly frail arrow. Yet, the moment its hand made contact, a piercing agony surged through it.

Upon impact, the arrow began to spin furiously, burrowing into its arm at an astonishing speed.

The Starflame blazed intensely, incinerating the Goblin Warrior’s entire arm clean off.

“AOW~!!!”

It shrieked in pain, its health bar plummeting to roughly fifty percent. The burning and bleeding effects continued to chip away at its remaining vitality.

[Multi-Helix Arrow]

This was a skill from the Strength-type abilities.

Zhang Luan could utilize it because, in his previous life, he had been a Divine Archer of the Strength-type. The methods for using such skills were deeply ingrained in his memory. Even though he hadn’t chosen the Strength-type this life, nor had he specialized as a Divine Archer, he could still employ most of these abilities.

The assault was far from over. Arrows rained down in relentless waves, striking the Goblin Warrior’s head. The creature gritted its teeth, swinging its battle-axe repeatedly to deflect the projectiles.

It resembled a cornered beast, fighting desperately. It seemed that if Zhang Luan continued to wear it down, the monster would be vanquished within fifteen minutes. However, to prevent any unforeseen complications, he decided not to prolong the fight.

In his previous life, he had often guided new players through goblin hunts, so Zhang Luan knew precisely that the moment a Goblin Warrior’s health dropped to fifty percent, its strength would multiply severalfold.

Conversely, all of the Goblin Warrior’s resistances would reset to zero, making that the prime moment to sever its head.

His movements grew swifter. He even weaved and dodged around the Goblin Warrior, demonstrating the Divine Archer’s skills to their fullest. Not only were his shots unerringly accurate, but each arrow struck a vital point.

Even when the Goblin Warrior attempted several Great Charges, Zhang Luan skillfully evaded them, for a mere goblin could only charge headlong.

Soon, the Goblin Warrior’s body was drenched in blood, its ugly eyes becoming even more frenzied. Blood-red energy surged around it, and new flesh sprouted on its severed arm, eventually restoring it to its original state. It roared, raising its battle-axe high with both hands, leaping forward with even greater speed than before, and bringing it down upon Zhang Luan. [Great Berserk] had been triggered.

Its demonic skin shattered, its resistances gone. It was his turn to perform.

“Finally, it’s here. This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

A brilliant smile spread across Zhang Luan’s face, while the maiden hiding behind a nearby boulder was terrified. She couldn’t believe this young man could still smile under such circumstances; this terrifying goblin was nothing short of a demon, and she didn’t even have the courage to look at it.

Leaping to the side, Zhang Luan dodged the attack. Simultaneously, he drew his longbow to its fullest, channeling all his extraordinary energy into one point. He prepared to unleash [Starfall Arrow], the fastest, strongest, most spectacular, yet most impractical early-game Strength-type skill. He drew the bowstring taut, then aimed at the sky.

“Go!”

The arrow shot forth instantly, vanishing swiftly from sight. He rolled backward, creating some distance, then smiled at the goblin, dropping his longbow. He crooked his right index finger in a taunting gesture, saying:

“Hey, you idiot, you dropped your integrity.”

The incredibly mocking expression combined with that gesture was comprehensible even to the berserk goblin, which had no intellect in its current state.

This was simply too much for the goblin to bear!

The last thread of its sanity snapped with a ‘click’.

It let out a furious roar, pouring all its strength into a charge at Zhang Luan, moving at the fastest speed of its life. Its muscles bulged, its battle-axe raised to its highest point. This attack, abandoning all defense, could be considered the Goblin Warrior’s most glorious moment. If it could survive to boast to its goblin kin, it might even advance further.

But…

“Time’s up.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A single arrow of light, trailing a fiery Starflame tail, pierced straight through its head to its feet in an instant.

[Starfall Arrow], a Strength-type archery skill with exceptionally high early-game damage. Its release condition required shooting into the sky.

The moment it descended, its burst damage reached a terrifying 2200%. What’s more, Zhang Luan had infused the arrow with the power of Starflame. With the Goblin Warrior’s resistances at zero, the damage from Starflame also reached its maximum potential, further boosted by a one hundred percent bonus from his Ultimate Ability, and finally, it triggered a ten percent critical hit.

This Goblin Warrior’s death was certainly not unjust.

As the Goblin Warrior’s body gradually vanished under the explosive burning of the Starflame, Zhang Luan finally received a system notification.

[Defeated – Goblin Warrior · Pumpkin Nananan]

[Acquired: Pumpkin Nananan’s Great Battle-Axe ×1, Great Charge Skill Book ×1, Great Berserk Skill Book ×1, Goblin Warrior’s Demonic Skin ×1, Experience Points: 250,000]

[Received first solo cross-level elite monster kill reward: Lucky Roulette Spin ×1, Gold Coins ×100]

[Quest: Help!!! Reward: Experience Points: 110,000, Lucky Roulette Spin ×1]

[Acquired Title Reward: [Goblin Slayer]: Deals an additional 30% damage to all units of the goblin race]

[Ding!! Level Up – Current Level: 11]

“What a haul!”

Zhang Luan hefted the battle-axe, a look of pure satisfaction on his face.

The spoils from defeating the Goblin Warrior were quite generous; he even obtained the Berserk skill book. This was a formidable weapon for Strength-types. Though he wouldn’t use it himself, selling it for a high price would be quite profitable.

The Demonic Skin could also be used to craft armor. Such highly resistant skin would be very popular even among the native inhabitants of the Otherworld.

However, the most precious items were the two Lucky Roulette spins. These could yield a wide variety of items, from mythical weapons down to pots and pans – there was nothing one couldn’t imagine it producing.

But for now, a small matter needed addressing. He turned to the maiden still hiding in the distance, teasing:

“Aren’t you going to come out yet?”