At last, the other monsters noticed how dangerous Zayn was. They stared wildly at the five Hobgoblin Spirits and the other Spirit Souls and dashed forward.
Under normal circumstances, any Player below Tier-2 would turn around and run for their lives. However, Zayn was already prepared for the upcoming onslaught. He hadn’t been using Florakinesis and Root Strike since he entered the training hall without reason.
A tremendous amount of energy surged out of him. Zayn activated Florakinesis and Root Strike once again.
The stone ground tremored once again. However, this time, it didn’t end with mere tremors. The cracks spread throughout the training hall burst open and transformed into tiny fissures, revealing what Zayn had prepared for the remaining Goblins and Hobgoblins.
Roots thicker than the Hobgoblins’ waists shot through the split-open stone ground, but there weren’t merely a few massive roots. There were hundreds of them. The gigantic roots emerged through the holes in the ground, whereas the smaller roots pushed through the tiny fissures. All roots shot high into the air, where they searched for their targets.
A bunch of roots coiled around the legs and waists of the charging Magma Goblin Warriors. They managed to barge through the restraints, but their movements slowed down, granting the Hellhound and other Spirit Souls an opening. The Goblin Spirit Archers on Zayn’s side moved quickly. They pulled arrows out of their quivers, nocked them smoothly, pulled the bowstring back, and shot without taking as much as two seconds to aim.
Most arrows hit the slowed targets. Two Magma Goblin Warriors died instantly, while the others went down with severe wounds. The Goblin Spirits took advantage of their wounds and slit their throats mercilessly.
The Hellhound refrained from using soul flames wherever the massive thicket of roots passed by, but it burned the foes strong enough to escape the roots’ restraints.
After a burst of soul flames, the Hellhound inched closer to the targets alongside the Assassin Spirits. They timed their entrance perfectly, shot toward the squealing targets, and ended their lives with quick slashes and dagger thrusts.
The Archers continued wreaking havoc. They dipped their arrows into poison vials before targeting the monsters that threatened Zayn the most. Zayn was having difficulty controlling hundreds of roots while commanding the Spirit Souls. Fortunately, the Star of Spirit was already well-developed. It was a little bit annoying to be in charge of controlling everything rather than being on the frontlines.
However, that was necessary to deal with the remaining Magma Goblins.
A glance across the battlefield told Zayn that there were roughly 200 ordinary evolutions of Magma Goblins, 30 advanced evolutions, and at least one superior evolution of Magma Goblins. The ordinary evolutions were barely at the 1st Tier, with a Foundation between 500-550. They were relatively easy to deal with. The roots Zayn controlled had been strengthened by his Spirit Foundation, which was already at 486 Units thanks to the massive boost from the Lord Rune.
Even if Root Strike and Florakinesis were only Common and Uncommon Cards, they belonged to a Level 80 Card Set and were usually boosted by the Star of Wisdom and Star of Energy. But since Zayn’s Star of Spirit was a mix of all, the boost granted through the Spirit Foundation was twice as useful.
It was not omnipotent, but it was possible to slow the ordinary evolutions of Magma Goblins for a while. His Spirit Souls killed more than 40 evolved Magma Goblins in the first minute of the battle, granting Zayn 67 Soul Essences.
Integrate 67 Soul Essences into the Star of Spirit.
442/1000 → 509/1000
His Spirit Foundation skyrocketed beyond 500 Units. His Lord Rune's boost also applied, further pushing his Foundation. The massive roots trembled violently as Zayn used the Florakinesis Card alongside Root Strike repeatedly. At last, several notifications appeared before him.
Zayn’s lips curled into a bright smile, a whisper escaping his lips.
“Finally.”
[Proficiency of Florakinesis reached 100%. Level 17 → Level 18]
[250 enemies have been slain with Root Strike. Upgrade Requirement has been fulfilled.]
[Root Strike - Common - meets all requirements to be upgraded.]
Upgrade?
“Don’t waste my fucking time and do it!” Zayn screamed, continuing to use Florakinesis and Root Strike to keep the Magma Goblin’s ordinary evolutions in check. His Spirit Souls kept the other enemies in check, all while the Hellhound and his little followers eliminated one foe after another.
[Root Strike - Common - has been upgraded to Nature’s Little Wrath - Uncommon. Congratulations!]
[Excessive proficiency accumulated within Root Strike has been released.]
[Proficiency of Nature’s Little Wrath reached 100%. Level 1 → Level 15]
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
[Proficiency of Florakinesis reached 100%. Level 17 → Level 19]
Zayn didn’t think that Root Strike would be upgraded so soon. He didn’t count the enemies killed via Root Strike since it didn’t matter much. Nonetheless, he was happy that Root Strike had been upgraded to Nature’s Little Wrath, though Zayn couldn’t help and remove the ‘little’ in his mind. It sounded too lame.
Zayn switched from using Root Strike to unleashing the fury of Nature’s Wrath. Aided by Florakinesis, which regenerated the damaged roots while accelerating their growth, Zayn could easily restrain the Magma Goblin’s ordinary evolutions. They fell prey to the root network that encompassed the whole training hall.
That was great.
Not so great was that the Assassin Spirits, the Archer Spirits, and the Goblin Spirits had been killed. The Hellhound was mostly fine, but even the Goblin Warrior Spirits had been badly damaged. Only one of them was left behind, leaving five Hobgoblin Spirits, one Hellhound, and a single Warrior Spirit by Zayn’s side.
That was a little bit annoying, but there were enough Soul Wisps in the air for Zayn to resurrect. His eyes traveled to a few Hobgoblin corpses that his lovely Hobgbolin Spirits had killed, and he jumped into action right away.
Zayn blinked away from the danger and used the next 20 seconds to resurrect as many Spirit Souls as possible. Simultaneously, he invested more Soul Essences into his Foundation. The Magma Goblin’s superior evolution, the Goblin Champion, was on his tail. He couldn’t avoid it too long, otherwise, his other Spirit Souls would fall victim to its fury.
Integrate 29 Soul Essences into the Star of Vitality.
70/100 → 99/100
Integrate 29 Soul Essences into the Star of Strength.
70/100 → 99/100
Integrate 30 Soul Essences into the Star of Agility.
170/1000 → 200/1000
Integrate 29 Soul Essences into the Star of Dexterity.
70/100 → 99/100
Integrate 31 Soul Essences into the Star of Spirit.
509/1000 → 540/1000
The Goblin Champion was a massive creature. It towered two heads above the Hobgoblins and was wider than two Hobgoblins meshed together. Its arms were thicker than a Hobgoblin’s head, which gave Zayn a pretty good picture of what to expect if the Goblin Champion reached him. He would have shuddered at the thought of getting squashed if he wasn’t confident about what was about to happen.
The Hobgoblin Spirits charged the Goblin Champion along with the last Goblin Warrior Spirit. The Goblin Champion tore the massive roots apart that blocked his path and ripped everything around him into shreds. His eyes glowed crimson as the heavy axe in his hands flashed down, severing the Goblin Warrior Spirit in two halves.
The Hobgoblin Spirits, with the distraction of smaller and larger roots, were enough to slow the Goblin Champion. However, it was only a matter of seconds before the Goblin Champion would reach him. Fortunately, Zayn had already grasped a bunch of Soul Wisps. Soul Link succeeded in binding them to his soul.
[Soul Link succeeded. The connections to 11 Magma Hobgoblin Warrior Souls have been established]
[Soul Link succeeded. The connections to 3 Magma Goblin Lumberjack Souls have been established]
[Soul Link succeeded. The connections to 5 Magma Hobgoblin Assassin Souls have been established]
The Soul Links succeeded. Three of five Hobgoblin Spirits fell victim to the Goblin Champion, giving their lives to grant Zayn a few more seconds to resurrect as many Spirit Souls as possible. It worked out better than expected, but Zayn found himself overwhelmed. To be precise, his Soul was overwhelmed by the mass of Spirit Souls under his control. There were only a total of 21 Spirit Souls in the training hall, but each of them was in the 1st Tier. They required a lot more of his Spirit than the ordinary Magma Goblins.
Zayn was forced to command the remaining Hobgoblin Spirits, who engaged in a fierce brawl with the Goblin Champion to initiate a suicidal attack. Their limbs were severed and ripped into shreds by the Goblin Champion, but they managed to pierce their Onyx Scimitar and Opal Spear into the Goblin Champion’s broad chest.
The damage was insignificant, but the wounds inflicted were all that mattered. The blades contained some of the paralyzation poison, after all!
It didn’t take long before the Goblin Champion realized that it had been poisoned, and it took even less time for Zayn to comprehend that the poison barely affected the Goblin Champion.
That was expected, but it was a shame nonetheless.
Zayn stretched his back briefly, his eyes locked on the Goblin Champion as it charged ahead. Soul flames washed over the Goblin Champion, but it ignored them, just like the weapons stuck in its chest and the roots around it. The Goblin Champion almost tripped as it charged across a large intertwined root. It didn’t have to pay attention to the root to tear it apart.
Zayn sighed heavily. Even Nature’s Wrath and Florakinesis weren’t enough to stop the Goblin Champion in its tracks.
The Spirit Souls jumped into action. They charged the Goblin Champion without hesitation, their weapons brandished to strike at any moment.
Zayn dashed to the left, disappearing behind the vibrant golden bodies of the Hobgoblins. The Hobgoblin Assassins disappeared as well. However, they’d moved to the right, using the cover of corpses and roots to merge with the surroundings to their best ability.
Zayn used the environment’s energy – the roots – to empower Aegis Natura. He activated Aegis Natura’s strongest form, draining all energy the Card had accumulated to conjure one highly resilient shield. The Aegis shield formed before the Goblin Champion, slowing it a little, forcing the massive creature to swing its heavy axe and cut the shield in two parts. That move was enough for dozens of roots to shoot out of the ground and coil around the Goblin Champion’s arms, legs, the war axe’s handle, and the monster’s neck.
Zayn appeared behind the Goblin Champion with one Blink while the Assassin Spirits appeared beside him. Even the Hellhound was there, ready to strike.
A mighty roar escaped the Goblin Champion’s hideous mouth as it sensed danger inching closer from all directions.
The Spirit Souls froze in their tracks. Even the soul power coursing through them seemed to come to a halt.
Intimidation. It wasn’t a special power of the Goblin Champion but rather spontaneous. The Goblin Champion unleashed its fury with an energy-infused roar.
To its misfortune, Zayn was already accustomed to fighting monsters that used such lowly techniques.
The Verdant Saber flashed, the poison-drenched blade piercing deep into its back.