Goblins were swarming from every direction—not with the cautious, slow movements of the previous wave, but pouring out like a relentless, surging flood.

This time, it wasn’t just weak goblins. Some were muscular, some tall and stealthy, and some had red skin—a mixed horde of different goblin races.

"Damn it... I should’ve seen this coming," Lucian hissed through his gritted teeth.

"The stench of three hundred rotting corpses..... it was bound to attract a horde of this strength.."

Beside him, Elira stood clad only in her skirt and black bra.

Without a single word needing to be spoken, Lucian stepped back.

Their spines pressed together. The warmth of her back against his was the only grounding sensation in the chaos. A perfect back-to-back stance, covering all blind spots.

Lucian scanned the entire army while activated his Villain’s Gaze:

[Hobgoblin]

Combat Power: 150

Reward: 15 FP per kill

Rank: C

Abilities: Enhanced Strength

Weakness: legs

[Red Goblin]

Combat Power: 160

Reward: 16 FP per kill

Rank: C

Abilities: High speed.

Weakness: head

[Goblin General]

Combat Power: 400

Reward: 40 FP per kill

Rank: B

Abilities: High Endurance

Weakness: Eyes

"Counting... assessing..."

314... 371... 455... 529...

As the numbers kept climbing, more goblins emerged from the treeline, advancing toward them — as if the jungle itself was vomiting them out.

"Shit..."

That was the only word he could force out of his dry throat. Staring at this massive army... the reality set in — it was roughly five times larger than the previous ring. And worse, strong variants completely dominated the frontline.

"Hey, Elira... I know you’re pretty strong, but—"

He had barely gotten the warning out of his mouth when a sudden movement from his partner made him glance over his shoulder.

She was calmly stretching.

First, she rolled her shoulders, letting out a soft, satisfied sigh. Then she rolled her wrists, the joints popping audibly, before casually bending down to touch her toes, stretching her hamstrings.

Lucian just stared at her, utterly bewildered.

Catching his dumbfounded gaze, Elira stood up, flashed a serene, almost angelic smile, and gave a slight, confident nod.

"Come on, they are just petty goblins... I know we can handle this much..."

Just petty goblins? JUST PETTY GOBLINS?! Is she lost her brain somewhere else?

A series of involuntary twitches rippled across his face.

Looking at her peaceful expression amidst a literal death trap, it finally clicked. He was finally beginning to see Elira’s true nature — underneath that flat, emotionless exterior lived a high-level psycho menace.

Accepting his fate, Lucian took a slow, deep breath and let his eyes fall shut for a split second to center himself.

Open.

The massacre began. Three Red Goblins broke from the front layer, shrieking as they lunged straight for Elira

Then the wave broke loose from all four sides... The driving force of the horde was so overwhelming and savage that the larger variants didn’t even care about their own kind. Dozens of weakling goblins were brutally trampled to a bloody pulp under the massive feet of the larger variants before they could even reach their targets.

Elira remained rooted to her spot, beginning her long-range assault. Small ice daggers formed above both her hands and struck... formed and struck... in rapid succession.

Some slit throats, others pierced eyeballs, while some drove clean through foreheads.

One dagger per goblin was all it took to halt their advance — and Elira knew all too well that drawing her sword this early, wasting precious stamina and breaking her momentum, would be nothing short of idiocy.

Meanwhile, Lucian’s strategic mind had already mapped out his next move.

Without hesitation, he executed the first phase of his plan.

"Zero Domain."

The 10-second countdown ignited in his consciousness.

Tick.

Without wasting even a fraction of a second, Lucian thrust both palms toward the goblins positioned along the inner circle’s perimeter.

Tick.

The next instant... a torrential cascade of luminous blue liquid erupted from his hands.

This was not any magic.

Through meticulous deconstruction using his Spell Analysis skill, he had reverse - engineered the molecular structure of mana itself — recreating something akin to gasoline in this fantasy realm.

The blue fluid rained down upon the edge formations, thoroughly drenching their grotesque bodies until they glistened in the moonlight.

Tick. Tick.

Lucian didn’t slow down.

He moved rapidly in all directions in the frozen time — trying to cover as many goblins as possible with that liquid.

For 8 seconds, he did everything he could.

Then he began making his way back toward Elira.

Any goblins that crossed his path — whether on the ground or suspended mid-air — he blew their heads off with fire bullets without stopping.

And as he went... he shot one fire bullet straight toward the outer edge as well.

It wasn’t flashy. Everything was based purely on survival instinct and precise execution.

By the 9th second, he had seamlessly returned to his stance, his back pressing against Elira’s once more. He looked toward the frozen frenzy with a slight, almost demonic smile.

The very next moment...

Flames began spreading from one goblin’s head after another, crawling down their bodies.

Then those flames spread backward in a chain reaction.

In the absolute stillness of the frozen night, the scene was mesmerizingly terrifying. It looked like a series of streetlights switching on in a perfectly synchronized pattern — one after another, in a flawless rhythm of destruction.

There was still 1 second remaining.

The strangest and most haunting part of it all? Not a single scream had come from the goblins yet.

Seeing this silent, a strange feeling stirred inside Lucian — as if something shifted from his navel to his stomach...

It was pure anticipation. He was just waiting... waiting for the domain to drop, for time to resume... and to hear hundreds of agonizing screams erupt all at once.

And then— 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

10th second.

Time resumed.

[You have gained +15 FP]

[You have gained +40 FP]

[You have gained +16 FP]

[You have gained +15 FP]

[You have gained +40 FP]