At the bottom of the massive cavern system lies the underground lair of the Magma Goblins. It was a hive of activity. Magma Goblins of all kinds bustled through the tunnels carved from solid rock over centuries to reach their destination. At the bottom of the tunnels, which twisted and turned like the branches of colossal trees, the center of the Magma Goblins’ Lair emerged.

The heart of the Goblin Lair unfolded before Zayn. The main chamber sprawled like a vast underground city, bustling with its inhabitants' chaotic energy. Ramshackle huts and crude dwellings lined the walls, constructed from salvaged stone and scavenged materials. Fires burned brightly in crude hearths, casting flickering shadows across the rocky walls, but there were also other light sources.

Floating lanterns illuminated the massive cavern, revealing the dark crimson skin of hundreds, if not thousands, of Magma Goblins.

Zayn swallowed hard, but his smile never ceased. As he ventured closer to the ramshackle huts – stealthily, of course – Zayn sensed that the air and atmosphere changed. There was a waft of acrid scent of sulfur and decay in the air. It was disgusting and enough for a veteran like Zayn to frown deeply.

His eyes traveled to a bunch of Magma Goblins carrying mining tools. They entered a passage near him and disappeared into the darkness, where they were busy toiling around, mining precious ores to craft their Armaments. Zayn recalled the quality of their equipment, and a tinge of greed threatened to overwhelm him. He resisted the urge to follow the miners and search for the precious minerals.

Zayn ignored the echoes of pickaxes striking stone, which reverberated through the surroundings and pushed forward. His high perception granted him great insights into the details around the Goblin Lair's heart. He pinpointed some hidden passages that lead to gates.

Either the gates lead to their treasury or some secret chambers used for dark rituals. It was also not unlikely that the Magma Goblins’ prison was located there. Zayn didn’t plan to play hero, but he would release the prisoners if there were some left. Magma Goblins were rather devious to their prisoners. The males would be tortured and killed within 24 hours, whereas the females would be used for breeding until their spirit would be crushed and ground into smithereens. He was unsure if someone was left to rescue in the first place.

However, Zayn would have to eliminate the Goblins before he could rescue someone.

His attention was pulled back to the lair, where countless generations of Magma Goblins were thriving and multiplying. They’d evolved and adapted to the harsh conditions of the Magma Prairie, creating grotesque evolution paths. He pinpointed a few Pyromancers, a handful of Hobgoblins with blazing manes, and a wide variety of even crazier Magma Goblins.

“How am I going to deal with them?”

Zayn’s danger was triggered when he perceived something to his right. He saw something from the corner of his eyes and stepped to the side in a single smooth motion. He twisted his body until his sides ached in pain right before a highly condensed energy bullet whizzed past his head. The energy bullet missed Zayn by a hair’s breadth and would have killed him if it had struck him square in the face.

His eyes narrowed as his attention fell upon a small Magma Goblin wielding a sizeable wooden wand.

“A Goblin Shaman?” Zayn asked, his eyes glimmering.

This was getting better and better. A Goblin Shaman in the Goblin Lair was a lot better than expected. It meant the Goblin Lair must have gathered more high-quality treasures like the Champion’s Tier-2 weapon.

“It has been a while since I beat the shit out of a Raid Boss. What a pleasant day to procure a Raid Boss Spirit!”

Zayn used Florakinesis and Nature’s Wrath, ready to entangle the Goblin Shaman, but the Goblin Shaman exploded in a burst of mist, only to reappear on top of a small roof.

‘Misty Step? Unexpected, but nothing extraordinary,’ Zayn charged forward, transferring a significant portion of his lifeforce into Lifeforce Conversion. His speed accelerated, but he disappeared the instant he reached top speed. Zayn blinked twice to appear beside the Goblin Shaman, the Verdant Dagger Set in his iron-tight grip slashing out.

The Goblin Shaman squeaked but didn’t panic. It conjured two semi-transparent barriers, blocking Zayn’s attacks with ease. Several energy bolts conjured around the Goblin Shaman. Zayn was about to retreat when more barriers were around him, blocking his retreat paths. A deep frown covered his face, but he didn’t panic either.

Zayn utilized Draining Touch and Double Impact around the tip of the Verdant Daggers. He twisted the daggers in his hands and stepped them into the center of the barriers. The instant his attack impacted the hardest, he released the accumulated power of Draining Touch, draining the energy in the center of the barriers, only for Double Impact to unleash its fury. The barriers cracked and shattered.

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Zayn twisted his body again and was about to strike the Goblin Shaman’s neck when more barriers appeared around the creature. The energy bullets around the Goblin Shamans propelled forward, but Zayn didn’t pay much attention to them. He twisted his body to avoid most energy bullets. They barely scratched him, while only a few bullets managed to strike him in the chest – if he hadn’t used Aegis Natura’s strongest form right before they impacted.

The Aegis shield shattered, but the energy bullets were blocked without inflicting severe harm. In the meantime, Zayn’s scheming worked out better than expected. Several roots burst through the goblin hut’s rooftop underneath the Goblin Shaman. The Goblin Shaman was about to use Misty Step, but it was too occupied blocking Zayn’s dagger attacks with several barriers that prevented it from casting Misty Step simultaneously.

Even if the Goblin Shaman’s Energy, Wisdom, and Perception were very high, it couldn’t multicast yet. At least, that was what Zayn thought. The Goblin Shaman managed to surprise him. It stayed calm despite the roots coiling around its legs and the dagger inching closer to its neck. Several smaller energy bullets conjured around it and whizzed downward, severing the roots right before the Goblin Shaman exploded into mist.

‘Are you already at the 2nd Tier? How high is your Wisdom and Perception?’ Zayn asked inwardly, sighing deeply as his eyes fell upon the position the Goblin Shaman had reappeared. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged inwardly before ordering his Warrior and Assassin Spirits to attack and pursue the Goblin Shaman. Zayn was ready to aid them with Nature’s Wrath and Florakinesis, but he stopped wasting his time playing dog chase with the hideous grimace of a Goblin Shaman. Six Assassin Spirits and 10 Warrior Spirits should be strong enough to stall some time.

‘The Goblin Shaman’s physical traits are weaker than the weakest Hobgoblin. It’s only good at casting barriers, energy bullets, and Misty Step. The latter should drain a considerable amount of energy,’ Zayn recollected in his mind before blinking to the Warrior Spirits, where he retrieved a bunch of shields and armor pieces, which he had been collecting ever since he entered the Goblin Lair.

It would be a shame if the shields and armor pieces were to break, but killing the Goblin Shaman ought to generate more benefits.

He willed the Assassins and Warriors to charge the Goblin Shaman while he joined the Hellhound’s mission to aid the Champion Spirit in destroying the Goblin Lair. The massacre, to be precise.

The Pyromancer Hobgoblins threw fireballs at the Champion Spirit while the Hobgoblins with blazing manes shrouded their bodies and weapons with searing hot flames. The Champion Spirit could have evaded the fireballs, but it didn’t bother. It charged ahead like a tank, merely wielding its heavy War Axe to block some fireballs while ignoring the test.

The fireballs exploded, burning away a portion of the Champion Spirit’s body, only for the burned portions to recuperate at the expense of Soul Power. Zayn didn’t like how the Champion Spirit wasted its Soul Power, but he had to acknowledge that Champion was highly resilient and that the fireballs inflicted less damage than expected.

Champion appeared before the Pyromancer Hobgoblins, lifted his War Axe, and cleaved downward. Some Pyromancer Hobgoblins managed to evade the attack, but others failed miserably. Zayn intercepted them in their attempts to flee, controlling a batch of roots to hold them back. Champion severed them in half, killing the Pyromancer Hobgoblins with one strike.

A notification popped up before Zayn, but he didn’t pay much attention. He was more focused on the weight of his soul. He sensed that the weight had decreased and that his connection to some warrior spirits had disappeared. The Goblin Shaman managed to kill a few Hogbolin Warrior Spirits.

Zayn willed the Champion Spirit to continue slaughtering the Goblins while he went over to resurrect the Pyromancers. Simultaneously, he used the Soul Essences to strengthen his Spirit Foundation.

[Proficiency of Soul Sense reached 100%. Level 50 → Level 51]

[Soul Link succeeded. The connections to two Hobgoblin Pyromancer Souls have been established]

[Proficiency of Soul Link reached 100%. Level 51 → Level 52]

Zayn discarded the notifications and continued attacking. The Pyromancer Spirits and the Hellhound focused their firepower on killing the weaker Magma Goblins and their ordinary evolutions. At the same time, Champion and Zayn moved over to kill more Hobgbolin Pyromancers and Blazing Savages, which were the names of the Hobgoblins with the blazing manes. The massacre continued, and a flood of notifications reached Zayn, announcing the death of dozens of Magma Goblins.

Simultaneously, the Assassin Spirits and Warrior Spirits died slowly. They stalled the Goblin Shaman well, but the damage they sustained couldn’t be underestimated. He resurrected more Pyromancers and Blazing Savages to aid him in battle while increasing his Spirit Foundation until it reached 999/1000.

Just as Zayn believed they were about to emerge victorious from the bloody massacre, a Goblin Champion emerged. Zayn frowned deeply, but he moved forward. Several Blazing Savage Spirits shot forward alongside Champion to attack the Goblin Champion. Zayn blinked behind the Goblin Champion and used Florakinsesis and Nature’s Wrath to manifest and control massive roots around the Goblin Champion, restraining him slightly.

A moment later, Zayn drove his Verdant Saber deep into the Goblin Champion’s neck, releasing Draining Touch and Double Impact.

Champion arrived before the Goblin Champion, his War Axe drenched in blood. The Blood Sharpened enchantment was filled to the fullest. It was sharp and cut cleanly through the Goblin Champion, splitting its massive body in two.

Spirit Soul has slain Goblin Champion (Superior).

+23 Soul Essences, +1 Uncommon Card.

Everything was set on fire. The surroundings were littered with corpses, blood, and intestines.

Once again, death and destruction followed the Soul Lord.

It was like it used to be in ancient times.