As though realising their cover had been blown, several hidden figures leapt out from tree branches and bushes, surrounding them. About twenty goblins appeared. They had green skin, long pointed noses, bulging bellies, and statures like toddlers.

They wore animal skins tied at the waist and held wooden or bone clubs.

"KIKIKIK!! KIKIKIK!!"

"This is it! Enter formation.. Don’t panic! All we need is to defeat these goblins, then finish off the final boss and his pack before they realise that there are trespassers in the forest," Draven ordered, clenching his sword.

The others nodded, prepared for battle as they were surrounded by the goblins.

This was the dungeon’s first phase. After defeating the goblins, they could safely reach the Final Boss’s lair. The Final Boss always fought with his pack, and all his skills related to them. To win, they needed to kill the pack first. Then, finishing the Final Boss became much easier.

However, if they failed to finish off the goblins on time, then they might risk alerting the Final Boss and his pack to their appearance. The battle would then evolve into a pincer attack where they needed to defend and attack against the goblins and the Final Boss and his pack from both sides, along with the other goblins scattered across the forest.

Considering that the Final Boss’s skills were primarily focused on coordinating his pack and enhancing their skills, the battle would favour them and become a playground for them to play in.

This was the mistake that many Hunters had made in the past during the initial manifestation of the Baneroot Forest Dungeon. They had delayed their battle with the goblins, attracting the attention of the Final Boss and his pack, and underestimated the pack by attempting to kill the Final Boss first, before being killed off one by one by the pack and the goblins.

Without waiting another second, the goblins launched an attack.

[Taunt]

Brak activated his skill.

An invisible burst of mana emerged from him and exploded across his surroundings.

The goblins that were previously charging towards his party members shifted their attention and charged at him.

Brakk met them head-on with his heavy shield pushed forward, smashing several goblins into its spikes. Then he swung his long sword forward, slashing them in half.

BANGG!!

SWOOSHH!!

PTUI!!

[Slash]

Draven activated his skill as he charged forward as well.

An invisible trail of mana wrapped around his sword as he swung his blade against a charging goblin.

SWOOSHH!!

PTUI!!

He fought beside Brakk, ensuring that the goblins didn’t overwhelm him or get too close to their healer, while eliminating them at the same time.

Reina also joined the battle. Although she didn’t have an active skill like the others, she had a passive skill.

[Accuracy Boost]

She knocked an arrow against her bow and fired it at a goblin in the distance.

SWIISSHH!!

PTUUII!!

The arrow shot forward like a homing beacon, piercing through the head of the goblin and another behind it.

Eight goblins fell in an instant from their combined attacks.

Within several seconds, the corpses of the goblins slowly began to rise.

The livestream buzzed as they continued to fight.

However, the chats only came from one person.

[That’s it! You guys might really beat the clearance record if you continue at this pace!]

[Go.. Go.. Newbies!!]

Before the battle began, the party had placed the livestream in the background, as it was standard practice to do so when clearing a dungeon so they wouldn’t get distracted by its content mid-battle. They also placed the donation alerts in the background for similar reasons.

However, they could view what was happening with a thought whenever they wanted. So they were oblivious to [Lone_Inspector]’s chants.

Meanwhile, in the distance, hidden within a thicket of bushes, was a massive 4ft (1.2m) tall wolf about nine feet long, with blackish grey fur and a silver stripe running across its back, alongside ferocious fangs and sharp, glinting claws extended from its paws resembling knives.

This enormous and ferocious wolf was Abel, who was still in his Final Boss Persona.

After testing his abilities, he had charged straight to the Hunters’ spawning point and had been monitoring them since then, observing and studying their every move.

Initially, he wanted to launch a surprise attack with his pack, but had decided that it was too reckless because he didn’t know what kind of skills they possessed, or if they even possessed a talent that would prove dangerous against his Final Boss persona.

One of the other reasons he hadn’t attacked was that he still hesitated to attack fellow humans.

As the Warden of Blacklung Burial Mine, it was different. All he had to do was swing his axe, and it was sufficient to eliminate them. But here, all he had was a pack of fangs and claws. So he would have to tear them down until their lives were ripped out from them.

Abel did not see himself engaging in such brutality. Though he had become a Final Boss, how could he forget his years of experience as a human?

He didn’t know whether he was being hypocritical. But all he knew was that he couldn’t cross that line.

Rather than facing them head-on, Abel chose to coordinate his pack to do the attacking themselves.

As the Hunters and goblins clashed, Abel looked at the wolves beside him, who were patiently awaiting his orders, and nodded.

GRRRRHHH!!

GRRRRHHH!!

GRRRRHHH!!

The wolves growled, receiving his commands.

WHOOOOSH!!

WHOOOOSH!!

They rose and charged out of the bushes one by one, heading towards the Hunters.

Abel also rose to his feet and waited for the right time to act.

Now!

Abel activated his skill.

[Bloody Howl]

"RAAGGHHH!!" He parted his jaws, and a terrifying roar emerged from within and thundered across the surroundings.

At the battlefield, Draven was about to slay another goblin when a terrifying roar thundered across the air. A chill spread through his spine, momentarily freezing him in place.