A devastating sequence of slashes and thrusts came from Evan's odachi; the more goblins fell, the more of them appeared.
'Shit! I won't be able to hold on for much longer.'
At that point, Evan's body was already covered in wounds, and his mana was draining rapidly. He could no longer fully manifest his flames.
Just as he was about to deliver a vertical strike, Evan ended up stumbling among the dead bodies of the creatures. Taking advantage of the opening, the goblins quickly struck Evan's body in different places.
"Aargh!"
The moment a claw was only inches away from tearing into his throat, the goblin was hit by a powerful jet of water, being violently thrown against the cave walls.
"Step back while you recover."
Karin said, firing a barrage of attacks at the goblins.
'I can barely move in this situation, damn it.'
But to Evan's relief, Quelbert and Katherine, seeing the state he was in, came to help him lean against the walls.
"You did well. Focus on recovering and come back to help us."
Quelbert said, while Katherine wrapped a piece of cloth around the wound on Evan's leg.
Christian, even though he was completely injured, was helping Karin, violently punching the goblins that tried to attack the girl.
Evan watched the scene while trying to regain a bit of strength.
'Looks like that ogre is finally cooperating.' Evan thought.
"I think they're done." Katherine announced, hopefully.
Looking ahead, Karin followed right after.
"Help him stand up," she said, pointing toward Evan.
"I can walk on my own. You can move forward," the boy replied.
Leaning against the rocks, Evan continued following the rest of the group. As they walked, no other goblin appeared to attack them.
"Did it finally end?" Katherine asked.
"Just stay alert. We don't know what's ahead," Karin replied.
Walking at the front, Christian suddenly surprised the entire group.
"Hey, there's a door up ahead."
When everyone reached him, they were faced with a massive gate coated in gold.
But they could feel something was truly wrong behind that gate.
"The energy coming from the other side of this door is on a whole different level compared to those goblins," Evan said, while the others remained silent.
"If we want to get out of this place, we have no other choice. We need to open that gate," Quelbert said.
"I'll go first. Stay behind me."
Christian moved forward as he slowly pushed the gate open.
The moment it opened, the group immediately fell into panic.
A massive hall filled with golden stained glass, with different paintings across the walls.
But what stood at the center of the hall was the real reason for their fear.
A throne covered in golden runes around it, and a large figure with pointed ears wearing a crown.
{Analysis – Complete}
{Tropical Goblin King}
{Threat Level – (C-)}
The sovereign of the tropical goblin species is known for his ability to control lower goblins from a distance.
'What the hell is this pressure coming from that thing?'
Evan felt chills run through his entire body. The pressure was so intense that the group could barely stay standing.
"We're screwed!!"
Christian shouted in despair.
Before he could retreat out of the hall, the gates immediately slammed shut.
"Ghrr... I can't open the gate anymore."
Quelbert tried, but at that point, all they could do was face the massive goblin.
At that moment, a devilish smile formed on the creature's face. With a simple snap of its fingers, hundreds of smaller goblins appeared all around the hall.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
Karin complained as she fired at the goblins.
"JUST STAY TOGETHER, WE CAN'T GIVE THEM ANY OPENINGS!" she ordered.
Following her orders, the group remained close together.
While Christian brutally punched any goblin that dared get close to Karin or Katherine, Evan and Quelbert stayed right behind.
TshI Ths!
Evan's odachi slid through the goblins' flesh as if it were cutting through simple butter.
'He won't stop summoning these bastards! Soon we won't even have the strength to stay on our feet.'
But there was something that made the situation even worse.
'If only Karin used her other affinity at this point, we'd be in a much better position.'
Karin was considered one of the empire's greatest jewels, precisely because she possessed a dual affinity, inheriting the water style from her mother and the earth style from her father.
But early in the story, Karin refused to use any power connected to her father, a man she had rejected since childhood.
The lord of the Roughstone family always treated Karin's older brother as the priority, naming him the future successor to the throne when he and Karin were still children.
Since then, the girl had nurtured a growing hatred for her own father.
"KEEP ATTACKING!" Karin shouted, firing bursts of water missiles.
The goblins Karin couldn't finish off, Quelbert quickly handled, striking with swift attacks powered by his wind affinity.
Meanwhile, Katherine tried to slow the creatures down as much as possible, turning the ground into large pools of mud.
After slaughtering hundreds of goblins, the group finally believed the army of the creature on the throne had run out.
"I think his mana must have run dry," Katherine said hopefully.
For the first time since they entered that hall, the Goblin King finally rose from his throne.
The creature was about 2.5 meters tall and was covered in black leather armor.
At his waist, there was a pair of shining daggers.
Without saying a single word, the creature teleported at a speed the group could barely follow.
And then, suddenly...
"CHRISTIAN, BEHIND YOU!" Evan shouted, trying to warn the boy.
But it was already too late.
The creature drove its pair of daggers cruelly into Christian's heart.
The sight left the others in complete shock.
"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC, STAY ALERT!"
Since childhood, Karin had always been trained to surpass anyone who crossed her path. But the only person she truly felt incapable of surpassing was her own brother.
Even though witnessing the death of someone under her responsibility hit her brutally, she couldn't allow her emotions to take control.
'I won't die to a creature like this.' She whispered, biting her lips hard.
In that same instant, Karin pulled a small dagger from her pants and charged at the creature.
"Evan! Cover me."
Watching Karin rush at the creature alone, Evan grew more and more distressed.
'What the hell is that girl thinking?!'