Chapter 104: Together!

And so, the battle began!

The twelve Dark Giant Spiders rushed toward us, their massive black bodies making them look like twelve walking patches of hairy darkness, each with four pairs of glowing crimson eyes.

KIEEEEEEEEK!

Their shrill screeches echoed throughout the clearing.

"RAAAAAAH!"

Gopuro charged forward to meet them, but this time, he wasn’t wielding his massive two-handed axe.

Instead, he carried a one-handed sword.

Meanwhile, Gopuran had taken possession of the Blazing SkullCleaver. Since Gopuro had already exhausted his mana using [Whirling Flame], it’s time for her to weild his monster of a weapon.

And against twelve of these monsters, we needed every advantage we could get.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Gopuro weaved between the spiders’ attacks, using his sword to parry their blade-like legs whenever he couldn’t dodge in time. He was clearly being cautious, never lingering in one place long enough for the monsters to surround him.

Still, even his agility had its limits.

Two enormous legs suddenly thrust toward him from the side, aiming to skewer him before he could react!

Fortunately, Gopugiga was already there.

CLAAAAANG!!!

The giant goblin stepped between Gopuro and the incoming attack, intercepting both legs with his massive shield.

"GRRRRAAAAHHH!"

He drove his shield forward with all his strength!

The impact sent one of the spiders stumbling backward, its legs scraping furrows into the ground as it struggled to regain its balance.

And right at that moment...

"POWER SHOT!"

FWIP!

An arrow zipped past Gopugiga’s shoulder and flew straight toward the staggering spider’s head!

It struck directly in the eye, sinking deep into the monster’s socket.

KIEEEEEEEEK!

The spider recoiled in agony, jerking its head backward as black blood sprayed from the wound.

But Gopuberry wasn’t finished.

She had already drawn another arrow. Before the injured spider could recover, she released it!

FWIP!

The second arrow struck right in the middle of its mouth!

The monster staggered again, its front legs flailing as it struggled to orient itself.

And that was all Gopuran needed!

The goblin girl immediately rushed forward, gripping the Blazing SkullCleaver with both hands. Her eyes practically sparkled with excitement.

"EAT THIS YOU BASTARDS! WHIRLING FLAME!!!"

FWOOM!!!

The Blazing SkullCleaver erupted in scorching flames!

Gopuran swung the enormous axe, unleashing a blazing wheel that tore through the air toward the wounded spider!

The monster desperately raised its front legs to defend itself.

Too late!

KRRRAAAAAASH!!!

The fiery wheel tore through its defenses and carved straight through its body!

Flames burst from the wound, engulfing the spider as its enormous frame split apart.

The burning remains crashed to the ground.

But the attack didn’t stop there.

The wheel of fire clipped the spider behind it, tearing through two of its legs before continuing onward. The second monster shrieked and stumbled sideways, its balance suddenly thrown off.

GOOD!

That’s one down, and one badly injured!

Unfortunately, there was barely any time to celebrate.

Three more spiders immediately turned toward Gopuran and rushed her from different directions!

"Puran! Watch out!" I shouted.

But she already reacted and retreated, keeping the massive axe between herself and the monsters. Its long reach gave her a little breathing room, but the spiders were fast, and they weren’t about to let her escape so easily.

One lunged at her from the front.

Gopuran twisted aside.

Another blade-like leg came sweeping in from her left!

CLANG!

She caught the attack with the shaft of her axe, but the impact rattled her arms and forced her several steps backward.

She was going to be surrounded.

Fortunately, Gopugiga and Gopuro rushed in to help, each intercepting one of the spiders before they could close in on her.

That left the third monster momentarily exposed.

Just then...

A slender figure darted past the others.

And it was Gopushadow!

The white-haired goblin moved with astonishing speed! He slashed at the spider’s head, forcing it to go back to defend, before quickly moved, slipping between the spider’s legs before it could react. Within moments, he had appeared behind the monster, his daggers already flashing toward its exposed abdomen!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

His attacks landed in rapid succession!

At first, the cuts were relatively shallow. But with each successive strike, a faint white glow grew brighter around his weapons, and the cuts were a bit deeper now.

The spider twisted around, trying to locate its attacker.

Too slow!

Gopushadow had already slipped away, reappearing behind it to strike again!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

The glow around his daggers intensified with every hit!

Right! It’s that skill!

[Fury Strike Lv. 1]

Each successful attack applied a debuff that increased the damage dealt by his next attack against the same target. The effect stacked up to ten times, with each stack increasing the damage by 10%.

The catch was that the accumulated bonus would disappear if he failed to attack the target again within five seconds.

....

In other words, he had to keep up the pressure.

And Gopushadow was doing exactly that!

He attacked so quickly that the spider barely had time to react. His arms were blurry, his daggers flashed again and again.

And just five seconds... that was all it took for him to unleash more than forty attacks!

And then...

... when he finally reached his fiftieth strike...

SHING!!!

His dagger plunged into a weakened section of the spider’s abdomen. The accumulated damage proved too much for its already body!

SPLOOOOSH!!!

The spider’s abdomen suddenly burst open, showering the ground with black blood!

The monster staggered violently, its legs buckling beneath its enormous body before it collapsed.

...

HOLY CRAP!

THAT’S TWO DOWN!

Gopushadow didn’t even stop to admire his work though.

He sprang away from the falling spider, dodged a desperate swipe from another monster, and darted toward his next target.

Seriously, how could someone move that fast? With two shining daggers, this guy was like a freaking blender!

And then, as I watched him zip between the monsters, an idea suddenly came to me.

Wait a minute...

He’s fast enough to move between these things without getting caught. If we use that speed properly, we might be able to control the entire battlefield!

"Shadow!" I immediately called out through our connection. "Can you draw the attention of as many spiders as possible?"

"Yes! Leave it to me!"