"Get out of the way! It's magic!" The archer Nia in the back also spotted the blue glow almost at the same time, immediately shouting out a warning.
But Thor and the other two were focused on killing the goblin in front of them and didn't notice. By the time they heard Nia's warning and looked up, the blue-white beam had already reached them.
"Boom!"
As the blue-white beam exploded, a blast of icy cold swept across the area!
Even Raine and his group, who were twenty meters away, felt a gust of chilling wind hit them.
Raine was startled and immediately focused his gaze.
He saw Thor clutching his right hand in horror, his longsword having already fallen to the ground.
The hand that once gripped the sword was now covered in a thick layer of frost, spreading up his shoulder, his chest and right arm were all coated in snowy white.
Raine was shocked to see that the frost was actually a thick layer of ice, several centimeters deep.
Though Thor wasn't completely frozen, his pale face and trembling body made it clear he'd lost all ability to fight.
Evans, the man with dual darts, glanced around anxiously and quickly took several steps back.
"Damn it! It's the Zero Level Spell, Freezing Ray!" the Two-Handed Greatsword man roared.
He hastily swung and swept his great sword, then pulled Thor back with him.
This left the cave's entrance, once blocked by three, suddenly half-open.
As if in concert with the magic, more than five goblins rushed out from the cave.
Among them were two goblins wielding long spears, guarding a goblin dressed in filthy linen clothing who clearly looked different.
"Watch out!"
"It's a Mutated Goblin!"
"How did our squad stumble into such a rare event?" Archer Nia's face changed, muttering softly.
The once-easy slaughter instantly turned into a battle with an unpredictable outcome.
"Schlick!"
A goblin with daggers that nearly reached Nia was killed by Raine's pitchfork and fell dead to the ground.
"Thank you!"
"Of course!"
Raine, also stunned by the appearance of the Mutated Goblin, was the first villager to snap out of it.
He was shocked at the blue-white pillar cast by the Mutated Goblin, muttering in his heart, "So this is magic," but then a thought struck him, and he became excited.
Because an idea—"If I could kill this mutated goblin, I might get its mutated bloodline, right?"—sprang up in Raine's heart!
So, under the huge temptation of killing an enemy who could cast magic, Raine's adrenaline surged, his eyes fixed on the Mutated Goblin ahead.
Unlike everyone else, he felt almost no fear at this moment.
What he had was only a burning desire for that mysterious magic.
Besides, the situation wasn't what one could call difficult.
At least, in Raine's view, if the villagers all charged forward, plus the four adventurers, eight against five goblins.
Even with one of theirs incapacitated and one mutated opponent, the winning chances were over ninety percent!
He just didn't believe the Mutated Goblin could cast unlimited spells, like a Gatling gun.
"Quick, help! These five goblins are probably all that's left!"
Raine was the first to charge ahead!
And thanks to Raine's charge, the other three villagers exchanged a glance and rushed forward as well.
Not just because of Raine. Two villagers' daughters still needed rescue inside the cave, and since an outsider was charging in, the fathers could hardly stay behind.
Besides, there were only five goblins—one mutated—and they had eight people!
"Schlick!"
Raine stabbed with his pitchfork again, boosted by his passive talent Strong Lv1, gaining +1 to both power and agility, making his pitchfork faster and stronger than before.
Right then, another goblin let out a miserable shriek and died under his pitchfork.
Nia naturally witnessed this scene.
Her eyes couldn't help but tremble, as if surprised by Raine's pitchfork power—but really, she found Raine's almost reckless bravery hard to comprehend.
Because Raine led the Oak Village villagers' sudden charge, all the goblins, including the Mutated Goblin, became panicked.
After all, facing eight humans, low-tier demons like goblins couldn't help but be fearful.
Even the Mutated Goblin's eyes flickered, barking something urgently, while the remaining three goblins' gaze was unsteady.
As for the Adventurer Squad, the addition of four villagers boosted their morale!
The tide shifted again.
Seeing the situation turn, the Mutated Goblin quickly raised its hand as if about to cast magic at the crowd again.
But the next instant, an arrow streaked through the air, nailing its raised arm.
"Screech~"
The Mutated Goblin shot by Archer Nia was now truly panicked—it clutched its wounded hand, abandoned the rest of the goblins, and suddenly bolted toward the nearby grass.
Facing the escaping Mutated Goblin, perhaps worried it could cast magic again, neither the Great Sword man holding Thor nor the dagger man gave chase.
The two villagers, eager to rescue their family, weren't motivated to chase, instead charging at the three goblins still lingering near the cave entrance.
So only Raine gave chase right away.
In the dim surroundings, with Low Light Vision, Raine's eyes stayed locked on the Mutated Goblin darting through sparse grass.
But, worried the enemy might cast another spell, Raine didn't follow too closely.
After a few left and right turns, he seized a moment when the enemy paused, abruptly stopping himself, assumed a javelin-throwing stance, stretched out, and hurled his pitchfork hard with his right hand.
"Whoosh!"
The pitchfork brushed through the sparse grass, striking the goblin in the tattered linen shirt on its left shoulder.
With a miserable cry, the enemy staggered and fell to the ground.
Raine was overjoyed, and rushed forward like an arrow, jumping at the struggling Mutated Goblin and stomping hard!
He smashed down on its just-raised head.
"Bang!"
The green-skinned head slammed into the ground, and Raine yanked the pitchfork from the earth in front, stabbing the still-struggling Mutated Goblin several more times.
"Schlick!"
"Schlick!"
Blood splattered everywhere!
Raine only stopped stabbing once the Mutated Goblin beneath his foot stopped moving.
"Huff~ huff~"
Raine gasped for breath. The chase and all-out stabbing, even with Strong Lv1, left him a bit exhausted.
He didn't even know how many times he'd stabbed with the pitchfork just now.
He just focused on killing it, afraid it could use that powerful spell again, so he stabbed without stopping.
Looking down now, he found the Mutated Goblin's body was riddled like a hornet's nest—he'd stabbed it at least a dozen times.
Gazing at the Mutated Goblin's corpse under his feet, Raine thought to himself:
'This should count as landing the final blow on this goblin, right?'