"Cool..." Amon whispered to himself.
Having used his Palm Of The Devourer Skill on many Disappearing Chameleons and Horned Hares, Amon realized that he could control how fast the defeated creature's body was assimilated.
At the moment, about half of the Black Wolf's body was covered by the veiny amalgamation of flesh that his hand had turned into.
'By learning to control it better, I could decide which parts of the body I want to assimilate and which parts I want intact. This will allow me to keep useful body parts, like the Horns I got from the Horned Hares.'
Those sharpened horns had, after all, been very useful in defeating the Black Wolf.
Currently, only one of the two horns remained embedded in the Black Wolf's body.
One had been pulled out for good measure.
'Let's try to assimilate the Black Wolf using the Palm Of The Devourer Skill without assimilating the horn.'
A minute later, Amon nodded. He had been successful in doing so.
The Black Wolf's body had disappeared, and only the sharpened horn remained.
'Even the blood that was on it was assimilated. The horn is perfectly clean.'
[The Palm Of The Devourer presents five choices.]
[Choose two of the following choices:
[1-Black Wolf's Fangs.]
[2-Black Wolf's Claws.]
[3-Black Wolf's Pelt.]
[4-Black Wolf's Sense Of Smell.]
[5-Black Wolf's Sense Of Hearing.]
]
'The Black Wolf's Claws would definitely be useful. I witnessed firsthand how sharp and deadly they can be. Still, they would make me look weird since these Goblins do not have claws. I don't want to stand out just yet, not until I have the strength to stand up to them.'
Amon thought for a moment.
'Having the Black Wolf's Fangs instead of these teeth would be a good idea. Fangs aren't noticed as easily as claws. The Pelt can help in low temperatures, but I don't need that now. Hearing, Smell, Claws...'
Amon ended up making his choice a couple of seconds later.
While his ears started to tingle, his teeth started to hurt, forcing him to open his mouth wide.
"Ugh…" He groaned a moment later. "The pain wasn't too bad, I guess." Amon whispered to himself as he brought a thumb to his newly acquired fangs. "These will be especially helpful against other Goblins."
Amon definitely wanted a better sense of smell as well, but he wasn't too worried.
After all, a bunch of Black Wolves were still waiting at the Goblin Village.
'They unleashed one of the Black Wolves to play with us. Damned Hobgoblins, as my brethren would say.' Amon thought with a chuckle. 'Although...' He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, causing his fangs to snap and snap. 'I am pretty thankful to them right now.' Amon thought with a smirk.
Eventually, he placed the two sharpened horns into the piece of cloth that hid his privates, and turned towards the fallen Goblins which had been torn apart by the Black Wolf.
'Eight Goblins. Dessert is already served!'
One by one, the Goblins were swallowed by the Palm of The Devourer.
Since no System Message was received, Amon assumed that he would get his reward once all were assimilated.
He was proven right after consuming the eighth and final Goblin.
[Evolution Choices are now available!]
'Nice, I get choices when it comes to Evolutions as well. That's good to know!'
[Please choose one of the following:
1- Muscular Goblin[E- Rank]
2- Agile Goblin[E- Rank]
3- Goblin Scout[E- Rank]
]
'These come with an increase in Stats, right?'
[Correct.]
'Hm... Will I keep my assimilated features, like the fangs?'
[Assimilated Features are akin to Passive Skills.]
[Skills will not be lost by way of Evolution.]
'I see, yes. That is important.'
Amon tapped his cheek for a moment.
'I could Evolve now or wait until I get some more Goblins in. These choices are not as strong as the Goblin Chief. I saw some Goblins more muscular than others after all. Maybe I should wait until I get some Hobgoblins in too, though that would be a bit tough. Although my Invisibility Skill, nothing is impossible. Still, the Cooldown is a bitch-'
Amon's thoughts were interrupted. The corner of his lips curled into a smirk.
'The Black Wolf's Hearing is already showing its usefulness.'
With the Black Wolf's Hearing, Amon could tell that the sounds he was detecting were coming from a mile away.
Not only that, but he could precisely tell what was happening there.
'Sounds like ten Goblins surrounded… Surrounded by…' Amon started running, his eyes brimming with enthusiasm, and his hand tingling. More than a dozen Wolves!'
***
Because of everything that had happened so far, Amon expected the surrounding Wolves not to be Black Wolves but a weaker Species.
Once he had eyes on the open area where the fight was taking place, he was unfortunately proven right.
Corpses lay on the ground, but the fight wasn't over just yet.
While only four Goblins remained, ten Gray Wolves growled.
'The Goblins are taking a beating. Six of them are dead on the ground, while only two Gray Wolves have fallen.'
Amon sighed before chuckling internally.
'Guess I gotta save my brethren.'
***
The Gray Wolves were positioned in a circle around the four Goblins.
The Beasts were being careful, despite the fact that the number of Goblins had decreased by more than half.
The Gray Wolves would periodically leap forward and snap their fangs, scaring the Goblins and forcing them to move their spears towards the leaping Wolf while another on the opposite side of the circle would attack, hitting the Goblins from behind.
It was a simple but effective strategy that balanced offensive and safety perfectly.
'The Goblins are too dumb to realize that they're being baited. Or maybe just too scared to think straight.'
Amon was surprised by the fact that the Goblins even had spears. Just like the huts that filled the village, he assumed that they had been found in the village or stolen somehow.
'Maybe I just don't give them enough credit.' He shrugged. 'In any case, these Goblins look older than the others.'
The weapons were rudimentary, made with wood and sharpened stone.
The Gray Wolf that had leapt forward and snapped its jaws growled as it jumped back, confused by the fact that no Goblin had fallen.
It had managed to scare them and had caused them all to turn towards it.
Why didn't the Gray Wolf on the other side of the Goblin group attack then?
Seconds passed, and the Beasts' confusion only grew.
Fear started setting in.
Before the Gray Wolves knew it, there were only five of them left.
Half had died.
'Only a couple of seconds left before my Disappearance Skill Deactivates!'
One last Gray Wolf was defeated.
'Hurry, hurry!' Amon repeated to himself internally as he ran away.
Thankfully, he managed to hide behind a tree before the Disappearance Skill time limit was hit.
'I could just fight alongside the Goblins but… I'd rather see how this plays out.'
A Gray Wolf, enraged by the nonsensical situation, leaped forward and snapped its jaws.
Unlike what it had expected, the Goblins weren't scared at all.
On the contrary, their confidence was at an all-time high, as they had somehow been standing their ground for quite a while now. The fear that the group of Gray Wolves had instilled into them had plummeted.
The Gray Wolf snapped its jaws, and the Goblins thrust their spears at once.
A painful whimper echoed, sending shivers down the rest of the Gray Wolves' spines.
***
CLANG!
The iron bars' reverberations made her whole body tremble like a leaf.
"W-What do you want?!" The panicking prisoner shouted with a shaking voice.
The torn rags could barely hide her body. Still, she held onto them, trying to cover herself.
"Here." Syl, The female Hobgoblin dismissively threw some scraps her way. "You're in for one hell of a ride."
The Half-Vixen lowered her gaze toward the scraps, pressing her lips together.