Chapter 57: Bear Slayer

Earlier, the moment we first heard the screams of the four other goblins, I had already sent a mental command to Gopuro, ordering him to rush over and help.

He had come without a second thought.

Unfortunately, because I could only use [Vassal’s Eyes] on one citizen at a time, I had no way of seeing his approach or knowing how close he was. All I could do was trust that he would arrive before it was too late.

Thank god he had made it in time.

Otherwise, his little sister would probably already be in pieces.

Still, we couldn’t relax yet. The danger was standing right in front of us, and the bear was still in its enraged state, stronger than ever. Sooner or later, it would recover from Gopuro’s interference and come charging back at us.

"PURO! RUN! TAKE PURAN WITH YOU!" I shouted into his mind.

But Gopuro didn’t move.

Instead, he stood there staring directly at the enraged bear. Then, to my growing disbelief, a wild grin slowly spread across his face.

Fuck.

No, no, no, no...

This muscle-headed idiot...

What the hell is he planning?

"Big Boss, I can do it! Leave this to me!" Gopuro shouted confidently.

And then, to my horror, the idiot charged straight at the bear like some reckless hero from an action movie!

"PURO, WAIT!"

It was already too late.

With no other choice, I immediately activated another Lord’s Blessing.

Blessing of Strength!

A 30% increase to both Attack and Defense should at least give him a fighting chance!

Or so I hoped...

The bear’s massive paw swung toward him almost immediately, and despite the blessing, Gopuro had no chance of blocking it head-on.

WHAM!

The blow sent him flying through the air before he crashed heavily into a nearby tree.

"BLARGH!"

Blood burst from his mouth, but the madman refused to stay down. He staggered upright, wiped the blood from his lips, and charged back into the fight as though getting smashed into a tree were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

His [Enraged] state was still active, and the blessing was reinforcing his body with additional strength and defense. Together, they gave him just enough power to keep himself in the fight against the monstrous bear.

"Damn it! Puran! We have to help him!"

"YES!"

Gopuran was finally able to get back onto her feet now that her own [Enraged] state had taken effect. The pain tearing through her battered body no longer seemed to matter, and she quickly picked up her sword before rushing toward the battle.

Meanwhile, Gopuro tightened his grip around his iron axe and closed in on the bear again.

The beast noticed him immediately and swung one of its enormous claws toward him. Thanks to the tremendous speed boost from [Enraged], however, Gopuro managed to react at the last possible moment. He dropped into a crouch and slid beneath the sweeping claw, the massive talons passing barely an inch above his head.

As soon as he reached the bear’s side, he twisted his body and swung his axe at its back, clearly intending to use [Big Slash].

Unfortunately, the idiot had forgotten one rather important detail.

He was out of mana.

Without enough mana to activate the skill, his axe merely carved a shallow cut across the bear’s thick hide. The wound was barely noticeable, and the beast didn’t even seem to feel it.

The bear immediately spun around, its bloodshot eyes locking onto Gopuro with murderous fury. It rose onto its hind legs, towering over him as one enormous paw slowly lifted into the air.

Gopuro looked up.

A massive shadow swallowed his body.

"Uh-oh..."

The confidence disappeared from his face as he stared at the paw hanging above him. For one brief moment, it looked as though death itself had appeared right in front of him.

The paw came crashing down.

But before it could reach him, Gopuran burst in from the side.

"PURO!"

She slammed into the bear with a full-force tackle!

"ARGGHHHH!"

Her impact knocked the enormous beast off balance just enough to throw its attack off course. Instead of crushing Gopuro, the massive paw slammed into the ground beside him with an earth-shaking BOOM, sending dirt and broken roots flying into the air.

The bear staggered sideways.

And that single opening was all Gopuran needed.

She lunged forward, threw her sword aside, snatched the iron axe from Gopuro’s hand, and immediately retreated several steps. Once she had enough distance, she planted her feet firmly into the ground and raised the axe above her shoulder.

Then she began charging [Big Slash Lv. 1].

If Gopuro was out of mana, then at least Gopuran still had enough left to use the skill!

But she needed time.

Just one second.

A faint glow gradually gathered around the iron blade as mana surged into it, growing brighter with every passing moment.

Gopuro saw the glow and immediately understood what she needed without being told.

He had to buy her that second.

With a roar, he threw himself back into the fight.

He charged straight toward the bear and drove his fist into its face with everything he had!

BAM!

The punch produced a loud impact! But it barely did any damage. The bear’s enormous head hardly moved, and the beast seemed more annoyed than hurt.

But Gopuro wasn’t trying to hurt it.

He only needed its attention.

The bear’s head snapped toward him, and its remaining eye immediately locked onto Gopuro. Its claws rose once more, ready to tear him apart.

And that was exactly what Gopuro wanted.

Behind the bear, Gopuran had finished charging.

Her [Enraged] state was still coursing through her body, boosting her stats and filling her limbs with explosive strength. Combined with the additional power from my [Blessing of Strength], every muscle in her body was now primed for one devastating strike.

All she needed was an opening.

And Gopuro had just given her one.

*****

[Castle Points Remaining: 35]

Activating blessings on both of my citizens was draining my Points at a terrifying rate.

Three Points per second for each citizen.

That meant I had already burned through 60 Points in the last ten seconds alone.

At this rate, I could maintain the blessings for only another ten seconds.

Which meant... I was literally betting everything I had left on this one attack.

If this final attack failed, Puro and Puran would both die. There wouldn’t be another opportunity like this.

*****

"EAT THIS!"

With a furious scream, Gopuran swung the glowing iron axe with every ounce of strength she possessed!

The blade slammed into the bear’s neck.

For one brief instant, it met tremendous resistance. The beast’s hide was incredibly thick, its muscles densely packed, and its Defense had been pushed to an absurd level by [Enraged].

But even that wasn’t enough.

SLAAAAAAASH!

The glowing blade finally broke through!

It tore through flesh, muscle, and bone in one savage arc, severing the bear’s enormous head from its body.

The head flew through the air in a spray of dark blood before crashing into the undergrowth several meters away.

Blood erupted from the severed neck, splattering across the forest floor as the giant, headless body remained standing for one surreal moment.

Then it swayed from side to side for a brief second, before collapsing with a thunderous crash.

...

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The forest had fallen completely silent.

The giant bear was dead.