Lys spun around with CorpseSlayer in his hand, the blue rune still glowing hot against his palm.
But as soon as he turned around, he saw a huge green fist was already flying straight at his face.
There was no time to dodge. No time to think. The fist was bigger than his head and moving like a thrown boulder.
So, he did the only thing he could at this moment.
He jerked the sword up and turned the blade flat, holding it sideways like a shield right in front of his nose. His arms locked tight.
The fist slammed into the flat of the blade.
BANG-NNNG.
The impact shot through the steel and straight into his bones. His whole body shivered like someone had hit a giant bell with a hammer. Pain exploded down both arms and into his already broken ribs. His teeth clicked together hard enough to taste fresh blood. For half a second, his vision went blurry again.
The goblin's knuckles scraped along the edge of the sword, leaving a thin line of dark blood on the steel.
Lys didn't wait for the next punch.
He shoved off the ground with everything he had left and stumbled backward two fast steps, then three. His boots splashed through the shallow stream edge. Cold water soaked his shoes, but he barely felt it. His heart hammered so loud it drowned out everything else.
The goblin stood there for a moment, shaking its thick hand like it had burned itself. Its yellow eyes narrowed on Lys, and also at the sword.
The creature breathed heavily, chest rising and falling, blood still dripping from the knife wound on its wrist and the earlier cut on its forearm.
They stared at each other.
The forest around them felt too quiet now. Just the soft gurgle of the stream and the heavy, wet breathing of the goblin. Lys's left side burned with every breath. His shoulder throbbed where he had landed on it. His face felt swollen from the backhand earlier. The crushed herb bag lay a few feet to his right, flattened and leaking green juice into the dirt.
He could still see the woman's face and the quest paper in his head, even through this life and death fight.
The goblin took one slow step forward. Its club dragged behind it, leaving a groove in the wet ground.
Lys's grip tightened on CorpseSlayer until his knuckles turned white.
'Not yet,' he told himself. 'Don't rush. Wait for the opening.'
The goblin lunged again, swinging the club in a wide, angry arc. Lys ducked low, almost on his knees, and darted inside the creature's reach. The heavy club whistled over his head and smashed into a small tree behind him, splintering bark and sending wood chips flying.
This was it. This was the opening he was waiting for.
He drove the sword low and fast, aiming for the back of the goblin's knee. The blade flashed once in the weak moonlight that made it through the leaves.
CorpseSlayer slashed deep into its knee.
The cut opened clean across the thick tendon at the back of the knee. Dark blood sprayed out in a hot arc. The goblin let out a huge roar that shook the leaves above them, half pain, half shock. Its leg buckled like someone had kicked the support out from under it.
The big creature dropped hard.
THUD.
The ground actually shook when it landed on one knee. The other leg stayed straight but trembled.
The goblin tried to push itself back up, but the wounded leg wouldn't hold his weight. It slipped in the mud and its own blood, and the creature crashed sideways against the stone wall with a wet slap.
Lys didn't celebrate this small victory of his. He didn't even smile.
He just ran.
While the goblin was still roaring and trying to stand, Lys darted sideways.
He snatched the crushed herb bag off the ground and slung the strap over his good shoulder. The bag felt lighter now, ruined, but he wasn't leaving it. Not after everything he has been through.
He turned and ran toward the forest.
He didn't look back.
His boots pounded over wet leaves and roots. Every step sent fresh pain through his broken ribs, but he kept going. The forest edge was close now; he could see brighter light between the trees ahead. Behind him, the goblin's steps started again. Heavy and uneven. One foot still dragging. The ground still shook with each step, but slower. Much slower than before.
"Come on… come on…" Lys muttered through gritted teeth. His voice came out hoarse as he cursed while running. "You're not catching me today, you oversized green piece of shit."
The goblin roared again, closer than he wanted. A tree branch snapped somewhere behind him. Lys pushed harder. His lungs burned. His left side felt like it was full of broken glass. But the anger from earlier was still there, pushing him forward like a push on his back.
He broke through the last line of trees.
Full moonlight hit his face. The open grass of the forest edge stretched out in front of him. The village gate was still far, but it was visible now, a small dark shape in the distance. He could make it. He had to make it.
Behind him, the goblin burst out of the trees too. Its steps were louder on the open ground, but the limp made it clumsy. It stumbled once, almost falling again, and let out another furious roar.
Lys kept running.
His vision started to tunnel a little from the pain and the mana drain. The Aura of Intimidation had finally faded, but the cost still sat heavily in his chest. He could feel the system warnings flashing somewhere in the back of his mind, but he ignored them.
'Just keep moving. One foot in front of the other and I'm there.'
The crushed bag bounced against his back with every step. Green juice leaked through the leather and soaked his shirt, but he didn't care. He had the sword in one hand and the ruined hope of a desperate woman on his shoulder.
The goblin's uneven footsteps grew a little fainter by now.
Lys also slowed down, but only a little, enough for his pain from the broken ribs to subside a little.
He walked fast, almost like a jog, toward the village like the whole world was chasing him, because right now, it felt like it was.
And somewhere deep inside, under all the pain and anger, a small, cold feeling settled in his mind all of a sudden with a large boom sound.
He glanced back once, and what he saw made all his hopes of escaping from it get crushed in that instant.