Chapter 75: Danger (1)
The Great Forest is a vast area that includes forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, and swamps.
It is so large that most people cannot estimate the size of the regions inhabited by different types of beasts.
Lucius is an expert in these kinds of places, so he could easily tell where it was safe to move and where it would be dangerous.
As the day wore on, he made his way toward the mountainous area.
When night fell, Lucius and Clara began to be more cautious, but also more proactive in searching for that beast.
"Hey, did you hear that?" Clara asked suddenly.
Lucius frowned and turned to her. "Did your ice sense something?"
"A strange echo."
"An echo?" He looked around. There was nowhere here where something could echo.
"It must be a beast. Blast your breath in all directions. The ice will help you pinpoint its exact location. Let’s hope it’s an Echo Cricket."
"Okay." Clara nodded and immediately did as she was told.
The breath didn’t come out as an attack, but to blind... or pinpoint. The cold intensified all around them as the breath began to spread like a wave or a strong breeze.
Clara suddenly frowned and looked at the ground. Suddenly, the temperature beneath them dropped beyond all limits.
A huge question mark appeared in her eyes.
But then Lucius rushed over, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her away.
BOOM!
An explosion of earth and ice rocked the spot where Clara had been standing just a moment before.
Lucius then swung his sword forward, striking something invisible that was coming toward him.
He stumbled backward and took several steps before regaining his balance.
"Wow, so a Cricket teaming up with an Ice Goblin, huh?" Lucius laughed. "I like that combination. I want them both!"
The Ice Goblin was standing on a low tree branch, and on its back, the Echo Cricket glowed softly, while echoes constantly emanated from its body in waves of varying intensities. They were gentle—not attacks. It was simply its body emitting sound waves.
Clara stood up and moved behind Lucius. "Ice Goblins are dangerous. But that attack he just did... What kind of Goblin is he?" she asked.
"It’s a pretty good control-type attack. I like that kind of magic."
"Are you going to try to get it? Won’t that hinder your future growth?" she asked.
"Not for me. It’s to complete your set of five. With two F-Ranks and three E-Ranks, you’ll have a solid foundation," he replied.
"For me?" She frowned and looked at the Ice Goblin.
Since she was an Ice-attribute character with no attack or defense capabilities, that kind of magic suited her very well.
She then took a step back. "I’ll back you up," she said.
Lucius gripped his sword and nodded at her. "If the cricket gets close to you, bathe it in your breath so you can see where its echo attacks are headed," he whispered.
He leaped forward just as the Goblin began jumping among the branches.
The little goblin waved its tiny hands at Lucius and attacked him from the ground.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Several pillars of ice shot out of the ground at high speed.
’Even though it’s small, its magic is quite powerful.’ Lucius dodged the first attack, and split in half the other.
He jumped up and cut through the branch where the goblin was standing, before feeling the ice blocking the heat his body was generating...
It was time to shine.
Goblins aren’t as smart as mythology makes them out to be. As soon as he saw he was falling to the ground, he looked for something to land on.
The Echo Cricket knew it was time to attack, so it turned around and, without breaking away from the goblin, began firing invisible echoes that traveled great distances in an attempt to strike Lucius.
However, Lucius didn’t even have to dodge them.
Since it was falling on its back, the Cricket couldn’t calculate where to aim them. The attacks went to places where no one was.
Lucius took advantage of this to close in and struck the goblin with a powerful blow to the chest.
"Buagh!"
The goblin tried to counterattack, but as soon as he fell, his body was sent flying by another blow from Lucius and pinned to a nearby tree.
Lucius tried to press his advantage, but stopped immediately when he noticed something very small moving beside him.
"Attack my support? Heheh, you must be pretty arrogant to think that’s possible." Lucius sneered and swung his sword backward, then hurled it straight ahead with all his might.
SWOSH!
The sword sliced through the air, and suddenly, a loud, echoing scream rang out.
"KYAAAAA!"
The sword pierced the Cricket’s wing and carried it along until it was impaled on a tree.
"Freeze it!" Lucius shouted, before leaping toward the Goblin.
It had already recovered, so Lucius’s leap was cut short.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Lucius leaped backward twice, but quickly realized that was a bad idea. The goblin might escape—it was so tiny.
"Tsk, I didn’t want to use it, but..." He took a deep breath...
[Meteor Impact].
BOOM!
His fist shattered one of his opponent’s ice attacks, and without pausing, he charged forward at high speed.
His first blow shattered the tree behind the goblin, but since the goblin was so small, a single sidestep allowed it to avoid all the damage.
However, it was left at a disadvantage against someone as strong and fast as Lucius. They looked each other in the face—one above, the other below. Lucius smiled maliciously.
"Can you take it?"
Mid-air, he changed direction and, instead of attacking head-on, began to strike downward.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the goblin’s attempt at defense, and his fist continued on its path until it struck the goblin in the head, driving it into the ground.
The goblin’s small body managed to hold up, but its unprotected head was blown to pieces.
[You have killed an Ice Goblin...]
"It was easier than I thought," he whispered.
"Lucius, help me!" Suddenly, Clara’s scream put him on high alert. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he turned toward her.
The Cricket was under control—completely frozen by the breath. However, two beasts had appeared near her.
Two Rank Ds, ready to attack!
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