Versatile System

Almost immediately, all of them were surrounded by the full group of eight goblins.

The first hammer came crashing toward Trevor’s head, but he reacted instantly, dodging sharply to the side as the weapon slammed into the wall, creating a deep hole from the sheer force of the impact.

Trevor rolled across the floor to the other side, narrowly avoiding the attacks of two more goblins by nothing more than a whisker.

Meanwhile, Caroline wasn’t truly being engaged in direct combat. She moved around the edges of the fight, trying to support Trevor and fend off incoming attacks, but she couldn’t help noticing something strange.

The goblins weren’t interested in her at all. Their focus was completely fixed on Trevor.

She couldn’t understand why.

At the same time, Trevor drove his sword forward, aiming straight into the abdomen of one of one the goblins.

The creature raised its hammer in an attempt to strike him, but Trevor used one hand to hold it back just enough to avoid the blow.

Although the sword was made of wood and its tip was blunt, the force behind the strike was enough to stagger the goblin, leaving it momentarily vulnerable.

Trevor didn’t waste time finishing it. Instead, he gave a quick signal to Caroline, and she immediately understood.

Without hesitation, she slipped forward into the exact spot where the goblin had crouched, clutching its stomach. With a fierce and brutal swing, she struck its head with overwhelming force, delivering a decisive blow.

That was one goblin down.

Trevor couldn’t help but marvel for a split second. This was just wood, yet it was proving incredibly effective in battle.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. The remaining goblins erupted in fury at the sight of their fallen companion and rushed toward him with terrifying speed.

Trevor didn’t panic. He began dodging frantically, his body moving freely and instinctively as he avoided each incoming strike.

Every time he managed to land a solid hit, Caroline followed up immediately with an even more devastating strike, either killing the goblin outright or leaving it weakened and on the brink of death.

Within the next thirty minutes, they had taken down three more goblins, reducing their number to just three remaining.

Even so, the situation didn’t sit well with Trevor. Exhaustion had already begun creeping into his body, slowing his movements and dulling his reactions.

Meanwhile, the goblins showed no signs of fatigue. They continued attacking relentlessly from every direction, their weapons crashing down again and again with brute, unyielding force.

Despite all of this, the frost bear hadn’t moved. It simply stood at a distance, watching the battle unfold as if it had no intention of joining the fight yet.

Caroline noticed Trevor beginning to struggle and stepped forward to assist him, but at that exact moment, the bear moved. It dropped down between her and Trevor, cutting her off completely from the ongoing fight.

Caroline immediately steadied herself, gripping her wooden sword tightly. Her stance became firm, her eyes locked onto the creature as she carefully studied its movements.

Yet the bear still didn’t charge. It simply stood there, unmoving, as if waiting.

Behind it, Trevor was clearly struggling to keep up with the goblins. The only thing keeping him going was pure adrenaline, driven by the life-threatening situation he found himself in.

Caroline took a deep breath. Then, without wasting another second, she lunged straight at the creature.

Still, it didn’t move.

Instead, it slowly lifted its head, and within seconds, Caroline was frozen mid-air, ice and frost rapidly covering her entire body until she became nothing more than a suspended statue.

Trevor looked up just in time to see it. Caroline, completely immobilized in the air.

But that single moment gave him an idea.

Everything suddenly began to connect in his mind.

When the bear turned its attention to freezing Caroline, the goblins’ movements became slower, more predictable, and far easier to deal with. In fact, that was the only reason Trevor had even survived long enough to notice the pattern.

Trevor took a deep breath as a crazy idea formed in his mind. It was, without a doubt, the most dangerous plan he could think of in this situation. But he didn’t have many options left.

As the beast stood still, focused entirely on Caroline, a crack suddenly appeared across the ice encasing her. Within a second, it shattered, and she broke free, dropping down from the air and launching an attack straight at the bear.

Even then, the creature barely reacted. It lazily swung one of its massive arms, striking Caroline mid-motion and sending her crashing violently into the wall beside it.

But Trevor saw it clearly.

The moment the bear moved, the goblins weakened.

It had been obvious all along. The bear was controlling them.

Caroline struggled to her feet, breathing heavily as blood slowly trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Trevor signaled to her to stay back as he suddenly lunged forward, charging straight into the frost bear.

Just as he expected, the creature reacted immediately. Its attention snapped back to him. For reasons unknown, it seemed far more interested in Trevor than in Caroline.

Trevor was practically running toward his own death.

All he could do now was hope Caroline understood the plan. He couldn’t explain it. He couldn’t even say a word. But he trusted that she would figure it out.

Because if she didn’t... they were both going to die.

The real target had been the frost bear all along. It was the one controlling the war hammer goblins. But due to its low rank, it could only fully focus on one target at a time, becoming slower and less responsive whenever it tried to divide its attention.

Trevor could only imagine how terrifying such a creature would become if it ever evolved further.

But there was no time to think about that now.

Trevor fought desperately, throwing himself into the battle in a frantic attempt to buy Caroline time.

By stepping directly into the bear’s line of focus, he forced it to concentrate on him, limiting its control over the goblins.

At least, that had been his assumption.

To his surprise, the bear still didn’t move. Instead, the three remaining goblins suddenly increased their speed, their attacks becoming three times faster than before.

Trevor was barely holding on now, fighting purely on instinct as he swung his wooden sword wildly, doing everything he could to avoid the crushing blows of their hammers. He knew that even a single direct hit would end everything instantly.

Then the bear finally acted.

It raised its hand, and frost surged forward, racing across Trevor’s body.

Within seconds, his legs were completely frozen from the waist down.

He was trapped.

One of the goblins immediately saw the opening and lunged forward, its hammer raised high for the finishing blow.

Trevor could only shout one name in desperation.

"Caroline!"

This was their final chance.

If he died here... everything would be over.