The grenade Wolfram had thrown did much more damage than expected. In fact, it changed the tides of battle. In a matter of seconds, the soldiers were on the losing side as they lost fifty percent of their battle power. As for the goblins, they still had the numerical advantage even after suffering heavy losses.
Spells were cast and bullets were shot, the ground was dyed red from the blood of the fallen, the stench stretched all the way to Wolfram, who chuckled.
'Yes! I hope you all die miserably.'
Though most of the prisoners were guilty of atrocious crimes, that didn't give the scientists the right to experiment on them. The thing they did were better left unsaid, some even created monstrous abominations that were inhumane in appearance and behavior.
The heinous experiments, done for the sake of their so-called 'glorious evolution'. No mercy or empathy was given to the prisoners, who were, in some cases, promised freedom for their cooperation.
The fight continued for ten more minutes before all the noise quietened down. With [Light Steps] and [Sneak] passively activated, Wolfram made his way to the scene only to hear some footsteps.
The source of the noise was three soldiers, who were checking the corpses of the goblins and finishing any that remained alive. They had actually managed to emerge victorious, against all odds.
After making sure all enemies were dead, they were going to return to their temporary base when someone of them suddenly said
"Aren't we going to bring their bodies with us?"
Obviously, he was referring to his comrades' bodies, which laid in the ground, piled up next to the goblins. He didn't want his friends' final resting place to be next to foreign monsters, left to rot forever.
Unfortunately, a bearded man who seemed to be their leader, snorted and retorted
"Stop spouting nonsense and follow me!"
His tone was strict as he glared at his colleague. The three had suffered injuries, but they were still able to walk.
They seemed to have used all of their bullets, therefore, Wolfram, who was watching them from a safe distance, noticed the blood on the tip of the rifles and their military knives, which reeked of blood and gore.
'Two of them run out of ammo. One has still a bit left.'
Without making any sound, his gaze focused on one of the soldiers for a few seconds before moving to the next. After ten brief seconds, he was done with his observation.
'One has an injured knee and a dislocated arm. The second has first degree burns on his neck and was pierced in his back. The leader is the weakest, he isn't showing it, but he was stabbed in his abdomen.... pale skin and unsteady walking... most likely suffering from blood loss and feeling disoriented.'
The stab-wound the leader sustained would have killed him if not for the strange system that strengthened their bodies, or so Wolfram assumed. To be able to prevail over such a large number of goblins, these three soldiers were strong fighters.
Wolfram wasn't over-estimating himself, but he had complete confidence in finishing them off. He just needed attack at the perfect timing.
'When to strike... when to strike.'
The answer was easy: It was when the soldiers thought they were safe. The closer they were to their base, the safer they would believe they were. It was an instinctive feeling, one which everyone would have after surviving a deadly battle and returning to a place they perceived as 'home'.
It was when the adrenaline rush stopped and the fatigued kicked that their senses would momentarily dull, therefore making them more susceptible to an ambush.
Specifically, when they reached the end of the corridor and were about to turn right, where the barricade of tables and chairs was. Wolfram expected one of them to be on-guard, but that was left to be seen.
The hallway where the battle occurred was around thirty meters long but since it was a straight path, if Wolfram were to show himself, he would be discovered. Although he was dressed like a soldier, there was a strong chance they would take a defensive stance and even shoot him, either from surprise, fear, or confusion.
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Using his rifle, it was possible to kill the soldier at the end of the hallway, but it would alert the two others and they'll have time to escape before he crossed the thirty meters distance. Alternatively, a retaliation was a plausible outcome, but, due to the state of their exhausted and wounded bodies, retreat would be a more favourable and safer option.
After thinking of different plans, Wolfram decided to return, or get very close to their base before finishing them off. Of course, there was the blockage they put which will block him from chasing them, however, considering that the roof was three meters above his head, coupled with his stats, he could potentially leap over the barricade.
And so, the three soldiers passed through and hastily returned to where their base was.
Just as the three were safely on the other side, Wolfram swiftly ran through the corridor, bypassing the corpses and even stepping on some goblins.
As he was in the middle of running, a red card popped in front of him, but he paid it no heed so it vanished thereafter.
*[Run] Lv1 acquired! +0.09 Card Points.*
Due to the few obstacles along the way, it took him around five seconds to cross 30m. Without even bothering to hide behind the wall and see where his targets were, he charged toward the wall like a bull and made use of his flexible body to nimbly kick it and make use of his momentum to perform a remarkable leap.
When he landed, he felt a slight pain through his whole body, probably due to the injuries he received from the torture. His body was supposedly healed, but the electrocuting chair really did mess up his body. It was no wonder it had been banned in multiple countries.
Even though he tried to be as soundless as possible, his landing still caused some noise, which alerted his targets.
They were a fair distance away from him, approximatively twenty meters. Still, without any sliver of hestiation, Wolfram, who was in a half-kneeling position, raised the rifle, took aim, and pulled the trigger.
Just his sudden appearance startled the three of them, furthermore, his attire was of a soldier, so when he aimed at them, they became even more surprised.
Unfortunately, the leader, who was Wolfram's first target, couldn't dodge or block the bullets as one penetrated his chest and the other went through his neck.
The first of the three fell on the floor with blood gushing out of his neck and mouth. His body convulsed for a few seconds before turning lifeless and motionless.
Their initial shock notwithstanding, the two remaining targets were still seasoned soldiers, so, knowing they had no bullets left, they chose to turn around and make a run for it.
A wise decision made in a moment of desperation.
If it was a normal person, they would have missed the following shots, fortunately, Wolfram was an assassin. Firearm Accuracy was one of his strongest suits, and with the two targets relatively close to him, he was able to precisely hit them with ease.
The two of them fell after running for ten or fifteen meters, their last expressions were that of fear and disbelief.
After disposing of the three soldiers, Wolfram quickly returned to the previous hallway. He wanted to go check their corpses for any cards but that would have to wait for later.
The number of soldiers on this floor had decreased drastically thanks to the goblins attacks and his unknown 'contribution'.
'I think there are two or, at most, three soldiers left. They sent a big group to take care of the goblins but everything derailed. The rest should be scientists and normal workers... all weak. Sheep that won't survive for long.'
Wolfram only paid attention to the soldiers, the rest were inconsequential. There was also the people who might have gained special powers and abilities. They were dangerous, but worth encountering.
The bloody battle from before did leave a considerable number of bodies, therefore, Wolfram had a great 'harvest' awaiting him.
He was done looting in just under a minute, so he entered a room near the intersection and sat up to rest. He heard no footsteps coming from the survivors' base. The goblins were inactive too, probably due to the death of the Hobgoblin and their subsequent failed attack against the soldiers.
*You have killed a human Lv3 ; +0.2 Card Points.*
*You have killed a human Lv3 ; +0.18 Card Points.*
*You have killed a human Lv4 ; +0.32 Card Points.*
*You have killed a human Lv2; +0.15 Card Points.*
*You have killed a human Lv2 ; +0.19 Cards Points.*
..
--
Wolfram Sakimoto
--
Race: No Race
Class: 1 Star Trickster
--
Cards Control : 3
Cards Sharpness : 3
Cards Speed : 1.75
--
Strength : 3.08
Vitality : 2.4
Speed : 2.15
Perception : 3.11
Magic : 2.41
Magic Control : 1.33
Magic Resistance : 1.19
--
Card Points : 1.42
---
Skills: Sneak Lv2. Dagger Mastery Lv2. Sensor Hearing Lv1. Lightsteps Lv2. Search Lv1. Gun Mastery lv1, Run Lv1.
Despite looting a decent amount of Stats Cards, the overall boost in prowess wasn't that significant. Nonetheless, the slight increase was much needed in Wolfram's case. Twenty goblins and five humans died, from twenty-five corpses, he looted 14 Stat Cards. Moreover, his grenade killed two Humans and four Goblins. The CP he had accumulated was dumped into Card Speed. He wanted all card-related stats to reach 3 points and test what his deck of cards was truly capable of.