CHAPTER 47: GREY GOBLIN TRIBE

"So there’s the mini-boss," Rhys muttered. "And if that ritual finishes, this whole zone might get permanently corrupted."

He stood, eyes narrowing.

"Time to move."

The cursed wind rustled the trees, their bare branches creaking like they were whispering ancient secrets. Rhys crouched low in the thick brush, watching the faint red light glowing just beyond the hanging vines.

In the clearing stood a corrupted altar. Around it were crude totems made from bone, rotting wood, and rusty metal. Grey Goblins danced and moved about the altar—but these weren’t ordinary goblins. Their armor was patchy, but some of it glowed faintly with enchantments—shoulder guards had glowing runes, their helmets were scratched with claw-like symbols, and they wore bone charms tied to their weapons and belts.

At the center of the ritual stood the Grey Goblin Shaman, its glowing red eyes flickering like infected wounds. It thumped a skeletal staff against the ground, syncing with a pulsing blood-red crystal embedded in the altar.

[ Ritual Progress: 78% ]

[ Decay Influence Rising – +10% Corruption Spread per Minute ]

From behind a jagged stone pillar, Rhys slowly observed the situation.

"Too many to take head-on. And there might be hidden reinforcement—So, we fight fast."

He triggered Swift Cut.

In the blink of an eye, he shot forward, a silver streak through the mist. The first goblin didn’t even realize what had happened before Rhys’ sword sliced through it diagonally, shoulder to hip. The next goblin opened its mouth to scream—but Rhys reversed his blade, slashing across its throat. The third raised its crude club, but Rhys brought his sword down, carving through its chest like it was made of rotted fruit.

The goblins around the altar shrieked, scrambling into formation to defend the ritual.

"Kyuuuuu!" came the call from above.

Puddle flew overhead, trailing streaks of glowing black and white light. It fired Light Bullets, five shimmering projectiles that struck one of the totems. It cracked and burst into a spray of sparks. Red energy flickered and then vanished into the air.

Another totem lit up behind it—a stronger one.

[ Reinforced Totem: Curse Amplifier – All Incoming Healing Reduced by 50%, Defense -15% Within Range ]

Then the Shaman lifted its staff and shouted something twisted and ancient.

"Tʜʀᴇsʜ ᴏɴ ɢʀᴀᴠᴇ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ!"

A wave of red and black magic burst from the altar, slamming into Rhys like a tidal wave of rot. His vision blurred as the dark energy wrapped around him.

[ Minor Decay Curse Applied – HP Will Gradually Drain, Mana Regen -2% ]

Rhys gritted his teeth and rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a spear hurled by a Shaman Warrior—one of the elite variants. Bigger than the others, it was covered in ritual tattoos and carried a long glaive laced with poison.

Two more elite goblins stepped from the shadows, positioning themselves to guard the altar.

"Elite garbage, huh?" Rhys said coldly. "Alright then. You want a fight?"

He dove into the middle of them, his blade spinning in a wide arc with Whirlwind Slash. Sparks flew as one of them blocked him, but the other wasn’t so lucky—Rhys severed its leg with a low sweep.

He flipped backward, breathing hard.

"Puddle, now!"

Puddle cast Shadow Tendrils, sending black roots of magic erupting from the ground to bind the feet of the two remaining warriors. Then it followed up with Aqua Veil, a soft mist that surrounded Rhys and began to heal the damage caused by the Decay Curse.

One of the warriors broke free, roaring and swinging its poisoned glaive in a wide arc—but Rhys ducked under the blade and struck back with a Vertical Slash, cleaving the creature clean down from its shoulder.

Blood sprayed across the altar.

[ HP -89 ]

[ HP Recovered +72 from Aqua Veil ]

A goblin priest rushed in from the trees, chanting. It threw a Decay Bomb into the air. Rhys instinctively tossed a dagger up—it hit the bomb midair, exploding it early, but the toxic splash still hit his leg.

[ Movement Speed -10% | Limb Crippled: Right Calf (15 seconds) ]

"Alright, enough of this," Rhys growled.

Puddle charged Aqua Lance. This time, instead of aiming at the Shaman, the high-pressure water spear launched at the Curse Amplifier Totem.

FWOOOSH—

The lance smashed through the totem and made it explode from the inside. A burst of white energy surged out, washing over the battlefield and purging much of the decay aura.

The Shaman let out a furious screech.

[ Ritual Progress: 91% | Time Remaining: 40 Seconds ]

It slammed its staff into the ground again.

[ Dark Ritual Activated – Blood Clone Summoned ]

A ghostly double of the Shaman formed beside it, glowing with dark energy. Both of them raised their arms, forming two separate magic circles.

Rhys narrowed his eyes.

"Double-casting? That’s illegal."

He activated Mana Shield, just in time.

Two beams of decayed magic fired from the twin Shamans. One hit the shield, dispersing harmlessly. The other struck a nearby tree, rotting it instantly into black sludge.

Rhys charged, his sword glowing with power.

The Shaman clone stepped forward to block him, but Puddle was faster—Light Bullets disrupted its casting. Rhys slipped under its clawed arm and slashed the original Shaman with a full-powered Mana Slash.

CRACK—

The staff broke in two. The clone let out a final shriek before dissolving into black mist.

[ Shaman HP: 12% ]

[ Ritual Progress Frozen at 94% ]

Rhys didn’t hesitate. He cast Halo Spear. Light Spear of energy homed in on the Shaman, slamming into its chest and skull. With a final scream, the Shaman’s head shattered like brittle pottery.

He never anticipated, a human who was fighting with sword all this time could use magic, catching him off guard.

[ CRITICAL HIT – ENEMY DEFEATED ]

The clearing fell silent.

One by one, the remaining totems flickered and collapsed into dust.

[ Ritual Terminated. Corruption Level Receding... ]

[ Decay Zone Stabilizing – Local Mana Flow Restored ]

[ Bonus Achieved: High-Tier Ritual Interrupted – +12,000 EXP | Extra Loot Gained ]

Rhys breathed heavily, his sword still crackling with fading mana. Puddle floated beside him, softly pulsing with pride.

"That was rough," Rhys said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Strongest fight yet, huh?"

A shimmer caught his eye beneath the broken altar. Carefully, he stepped forward and pulled a few objects from the rubble.

[ Rare Drop: Shaman’s Bone Charm – +20% Dark Resistance | Unlocks: Decay Pulse Skill ]

[ Special Item: Totem Fragment (1/5) – Used in Light Cleansing Ritual Crafting ]

[ Uncommon Drop: Glaive of the Grey Moon – Two-Handed Polearm | Bonus Skill: Piercing Gloom ]

He tucked them into his Inventory with a nod.