Chapter 676 Suppressed! Suppressed! Suppressed!

What met his eyes were exactly fifty-six Green-Skinned Goblins.

These were not the fragile kind found on the surface. Every single one was an enhanced variant, their bodies visibly more robust, with dark purple mycelium spreading across their skin.

Fifty-six was a substantial number, but in the dim, cramped confines of the Underdark, the sheer volume felt even more exaggerated. From a distance, they formed a massive, swarming horde that completely packed the tunnel. Accompanied by strange, raspy shrieks, they surged forward like a dark purple tide.

Even more eye-catching was the massive, twisted silhouette looming behind the goblins.

It was undoubtedly a hook horror. The enormous, sharp hooked claws on its arms, the beak-like mouth, and its layered carapace clearly proved its identity.

But much like the goblins crowding in front of it and charging toward Xia Nan's group, this hook horror had undergone an eerie, terrifying mutation.

Compared to its kin, its body seemed stretched, standing nearly ten feet tall when upright. Yet despite its height, the hook horror looked exceptionally hunched, giving off a jagged and twisted impression.

It still bore the dark brown carapace adapted to the Underdark, but between the cracks of its shell, it seemed parasitized by some bizarre fungal colony. Dark purple mycelia tangled together, oozing a nauseating, viscous fluid whenever it moved.

Meanwhile, a goblin was "sitting" on the hook horror's left shoulder.

Compared to its shrieking kin on the ground, this Goblin seemed completely drained of its life force. The dark purple mycelium that originally only spread beneath its skin was now oozing out of its pores, almost entirely devouring its body. It looked like some crude bio-armor, leaving only a few scattered spots of exposed skin. And looking down, sweeping over its lower half—

Wait!

Earlier, constrained by the angle, he hadn't seen it clearly.

Observing it carefully now, this Green-Skinned Goblin, completely swallowed and wrapped in mycelium, wasn't actually "sitting" on the hook horror's shoulder as Xia Nan had subconsciously assumed at first glance.

Its lower body had dissolved and melted entirely into the hook horror, enveloped by the mycelium.

Like some deformed conjoined twin, only its upper half protruded from the hook horror's shoulder, hanging limp.

In that split second, Xia Nan remembered his time adventuring in the Southern Archipelagos. During a Secret Realm mission, he had encountered a powerful Shark Beast fused with an eerie human body. Even now, its combat style—combining a formidable physical body with bizarre spellcasting abilities—remained fresh in his memory.

"Stay on guard!" Xia Nan warned. Without looking back, he raised his left hand toward the two young men behind him, making a hand signal.

Without a shred of hesitation, the moment Zanfrey and Winsor saw Xia Nan's signal, they turned and sprinted wildly in the exact opposite direction of the charging goblins.

The group had discussed this beforehand. After all, the Underdark was extremely dangerous, teeming with massive numbers of monsters with high Challenge Ratings.

If they truly encountered enemies of comparable strength, the two of them staying behind would only be a burden. They would only hinder a battle of that level, and no one could spare the attention to protect them while fighting.

Therefore, the group had agreed that if Xia Nan gave the signal, it meant the enemies ahead completely exceeded what the two could handle. All Zanfrey and Winsor needed to do was run.

Flee to a hiding spot that was safe enough, yet not so far away that they would be hard to find or easily get lost, and quietly wait for the battle to end.

The hurried footsteps behind them gradually faded. For the moment, only Xia Nan, Winter Wolf Fanny, and the gnome Rogue Ronda Rockwhistle remained.

"Damn it, what the hell is that thing?!" the gnome Ronda said, his expression ugly as his eyes remained glued to the massive creature charging toward them.

He clearly hadn't expected the hook horror he remembered roaming nearby to undergo such a mutation.

But he was an experienced veteran Adventurer, after all. Knowing that anything was possible during an expedition, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Turning his head slightly, he looked up at Xia Nan and said, "I'll leave those goblins to you and your Winter Wolf. In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep this hook horror occupied."

Although they called themselves a temporary Adventurer Squad, when they actually ran into strong enemies, the only ones with genuine combat ability were the two men and the wolf.

Manpower was limited.

Under these circumstances, they naturally couldn't prepare any complex or highly specialized tactics. They could only keep things simple.

Earlier, when Ronda and Xia Nan's group had reached their cooperation agreement, they had communicated their respective combat styles. The gnome Rogue had stated he only excelled at one-on-one combat, while Xia Nan had explained that he was quite familiar with group battles; if they encountered swarms of enemies, he would handle them.

Right now, even though he didn't know the dark-haired Adventurer's specific fighting style or exact power level, the gnome Rogue could only follow their previous plan against the charging enemies. He would leave these fifty-plus goblins to Xia Nan and Fanny while stepping forward himself to pin down the hook horror.

To be honest, he actually felt a bit uncertain.

On one hand, the goblins and the hook horror charging at them had clearly undergone some bizarre mutation.

The strength of the ordinary Goblins had almost doubled, and he reckoned the hook horror's power boost wasn't small either.

It already possessed a Level 3 Challenge Rating. After this enhancement, who knew how high it had climbed? Ronda truly couldn't guarantee whether he could successfully stall it as planned.

On the other hand, Ronda could tell from the young man's condensed aura and equipment quality that Xia Nan was quite strong. He estimated that, at the very worst, their Class Levels were roughly equal.

However, regarding Xia Nan's actual combat prowess and whether he was truly as skilled in group battles as he claimed, Ronda couldn't be entirely certain.

Driven by the instincts of a veteran Adventurer, Ronda had even prepared for the worst-case scenario at this very moment.

If the enemies' strength exceeded expectations, or if his teammate's actual combat ability turned out lower than anticipated, he would have no choice but to look for a chance to—

"Arooo!!!"

Erupting from beside him, a long, high-pitched wolf howl abruptly interrupted Ronda's train of thought.

He instinctively turned his head to look.

What met his eyes were biting astral winds swirling in the air, severed limbs and shredded flesh flying in all directions, miserable wails from the goblins, and a pitch-black wolf beast tearing through the goblin ranks like a meat grinder.

Ronda's previously hesitant and uncertain expression suddenly froze.

"Drip."

Caught in the astral wind, a drop of blood from some unlucky Goblin landed by his mouth.

He subconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked it.

"Gulp."

He quietly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

His emotions surging amidst the tragic screams of the goblins, Xia Nan forcefully suppressed the corners of his mouth, which were gradually trying to curve up.

He had suppressed himself for far too long.

Ever since leaving the port and heading for Bloodcast Keep, Xia Nan had rarely tasted blood.

Even on the rare occasions he had the chance, outsiders were generally present, making it inconvenient to reveal his other side.

Although he was similarly restricted right now, just listening to the goblins' miserable shrieks, feeling the wet sensation of blood and shredded flesh against his skin, and experiencing the momentary smoothness after the slight resistance beneath his blade was enough to somewhat quell the burning desires in his heart.

Of course, Xia Nan knew perfectly well that this was merely drinking poison to quench his thirst. It only extinguished the flames licking at the surface. In fact, because his desires weren't fully unleashed, this teasing only caused them to accumulate even more severely.

But even so, this slight relief allowed him a moment of relaxation amidst his ever-growing repression and hidden anxiety.

"Squelch!"

Wolf howls echoed as the sickening sounds of wind blades slicing through flesh filled the air.

The narrow environment of the Underdark made it difficult for Xia Nan to utilize his mobility advantage. But by the same token, those fifty-plus goblins also lost the space to spread their formation. Forced to crowd together in the cramped tunnel, they looked like a pile of bowling pins forcibly stacked against each other.

Xia Nan didn't even need to aim precisely. By merely activating [Fang Hunt] and charging into the densest cluster of goblins in his line of sight, he could thoroughly enjoy a storm of winds of blood and rain of gore.

It was worth noting that—perhaps influenced by the mycelium on their skin that seemed to have already infected their brains—[Night Mother's Gaze], which should have accompanied the release of [Fang Hunt] to plunge the surrounding goblins into a state of fear, failed to produce the expected effect.

Only a few, whose bodies had a shallower spread of mycelium, reacted after hearing the wolf howl. Their eyes, almost entirely swallowed by the dark purple fungus, slightly blanked out, but they quickly recovered.

Xia Nan didn't mind this at all. In fact, he faintly felt this was even better.

The difference between Green-Skinned Goblins taking the initiative to attack him with ample fighting spirit versus goblins losing their will to fight in terror under the influence of [Night Mother's Gaze] was like the first sip of ice-cold soda on a scorching summer day compared to a disgustingly lukewarm sugary drink left inside a takeout bag next to piping hot food.

Furthermore, compared to the Green-Skinned Goblins on the surface, whose bodies were as fragile as toys, he found that these Goblins, made stronger by the mycelial erosion, were equally "delicious" while being noticeably "chewier."

The flavor in this... was something probably only an "old Goblin connoisseur" like Xia Nan could appreciate.

It was hard to imagine just how much Xia Nan would have enjoyed this if he were alone on the field, without needing to care about the gazes of others.

Unfortunately, the gnome Rogue was right beside him, and Winter Wolf Fanny was also slaughtering her way through the goblin horde alongside him.

To maintain his image among the local Adventurers and prevent several rather unsightly nicknames from popping up out of nowhere after the mission ended;

And to avoid losing his composure too much in front of Fanny, Xia Nan ultimately refrained from revealing his hidden side, forcefully suppressing the burning desires in his heart once again.

Using reason to suppress his bestiality, he efficiently fulfilled his duties within the squad, swiftly clearing the goblin fodder on the field at an exaggerated speed that far exceeded his teammate's imagination.

Meanwhile, compared to Xia Nan's outstanding performance, the gnome Rogue Ronda, who was responsible for pinning down the hook horror, fared much worse.

"Hiss-Roar!"

The beast's sharp, ferocious roar nearly sent tangible ripples through the air.

Wrapped in mycelium and gleaming with a dark purple luster, the terrifying hooked claws tore through the air. Illuminated by the glowing moss on the nearby stone walls, they transformed into a fleeting blur that slashed down abruptly at the enemy ahead.

To be honest, Ronda's reaction was already fast enough.

If it were a normal adult hook horror, he truly would have had the ability to stall it for a bit.

But at the end of the day, he was only an ordinary Class Holder who had stubbornly ground his way to Level 4 step by step, relying on the accumulation of time and Proficient mastery of ordinary-quality combat techniques. He was merely at the average level among Adventurers of the same tier.

Let alone Xia Nan, he couldn't even compare to Ake, who hailed from the "Shield of the Silver Lake" family.

And right now, the monster before him, eroded by the mycelium, hadn't just lost its reason and grown more frenzied; its physical attributes had also skyrocketed by a massive margin, far exceeding the scope of what the gnome Rogue could handle.

On paper, he was pinning it down; in reality, he was just dodging miserably and struggling to survive under its fierce onslaught.

Buzz... The gnome's frail, diminutive body was suddenly covered in a layer of twisting, trembling shadow energy. As his presence plummeted, his overall speed skyrocketed in an instant.

Using an exceptionally awkward body posture, he narrowly dodged the hooked claws crashing down toward his face.

He rolled across the ground multiple times before scrambling to his feet, his face covered in dirt.

"Huff... Huff..."

His chest heaving violently, Ronda gasped heavily for breath.

The high-intensity combat—far beyond his capabilities—and the rapid, successive use of combat techniques had drained a massive amount of his stamina in just a few short minutes. Even his dust-covered face had turned somewhat pale.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the greasy, iridescent sheen refracting off the edge of his dagger in the fungal glow.

Ronda's plan was incredibly simple.

By leveraging his Agility advantage as a [Rogue], he intended to kite the enemy as much as possible while relying on the poison smeared across his dagger. Even if the blade couldn't deal any effective lethal damage, the accumulating toxins should still drastically sap the monster's stamina, buying him a comfortable margin for error.

But now, the hook horror's physical attributes—multiplied far beyond his expectations by the mycelium infection—had completely derailed the first half of the gnome Rogue's plan.

As for the second half—it was even worse.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"What the hell is this monster!?"

He had pictured the hook horror growing increasingly sluggish under the venom's influence, but that never happened.

The terrifying fungal threads clinging to its carapace and covering its body seemed to grant the beast an absurd level of poison resistance. Even though Ronda had pushed himself to the limit to carve numerous wounds across its hide, the toxins that should have seeped into its bloodstream hadn't taken the slightest effect.

Crushed by the suffocating pressure, Ronda had lost the ability to even think.

He relied purely on the muscle memory forged from years of experience, narrowly dodging the powerful monster's relentless strikes time and time again.

It was entirely predictable: if this dragged on any longer, even the most microscopic mistake would cost Ronda his life.

That was, until a deep, resonant wolf howl rang out beside his ears: "Awooo!!!"