Chapter 14 – Chase

A group of cultivators was in the middle of a destroyed village. The huts made with skins and bones of crystal beasts that once formed this village were now all in ashes. Goblin bodies were scattered all around them, their open bodies stripped of their crystal core.

The cultivators all looked at the young man in front of them with a trace of fear in their eyes.

The young man was 1.81m tall. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was equipped with armor made of crystal beast materials worth at least 1 million nova credits with a dark red robe on top of it, an expression of arrogance was on the youth's face.

A man left the group of cultivators before advancing in front of the young man, bowing.

"Master Allen, we still haven't found the goblin leader who got away."

A cold look crossed Allen's eyes.

"I don't care that you haven't found him!"

Allen raised his hand, and a ball of red flame appeared above it. With a wave of his hand, the ball flew on the man transforming him into a human torch.

The man rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames that consumed him.

"Arghhhh!!! Master... Allen... Please..."

The man’s voice was hoarse, he was trying to crawl towards Allen, his hand was reaching out to him, begging for his life.

Allen didn't even look at the screaming man at his feet, he looked at each person in front of him, their eyes filled with fear as they heard the screams of the burning man in front of them.

Seeing them so afraid of his power filled Allen with immense pride. A smile appeared on his face as the man slowly turned into ash.

"I want you to find me that goblin right away!"

"Yes!"

The group quickly dispersed, not daring to stay a second longer here, leaving Allen alone with the man who had now become a pile of ash.

"Erick!"

A shadow appeared behind Allen, taking the form of a man in his thirties.

"Yes, Master Allen?"

"Find me that goblin, I want the soul crystal in this purse."

"Master Allen, the goblin is a Bronze rank crystal beast. Even I couldn't kill him easily. Now that he's run away, he's going to be hard to find."

"I don't want any excuse! I paid a fortune to this cultivator with his divination ability. I want you to bring me this soul crystal!"

"Yes, Master Allen."

The man disappeared into a shadow without making a sound.

***

Away from the location of the goblin village, two blurred figures moved rapidly through the forest, one chasing the other relentlessly.

The goblin swung his club through the air, pulverizing every tree that had the misfortune to get in his way, but the smile on his face showed that he was enjoying every moment of this hunt.

Kieran was running with all his might, panting with every step he took, trying to get some air.

'That damn goblin, why is he chasing me like this? He's been chasing me for over an hour already. Just leave me alone!'

He had been trying to run towards the refuge all this time, but every time he wanted to change direction to go there, the goblin stopped him as if he knew what was in that direction.

The mad pursuit of the goblin continued without him being able to do anything about it.

'If it continues like this, I will end up exhausting myself, and the slightest blow from this guy could kill me without me being able to do anything to defend myself.'

A resolute look crossed his eyes, he leaped into the air, leaning on a tree, his body almost sticking to the tree as if he wanted to merge with it when he used all his strength in his legs to throw himself at the goblin, his form quickly changed in the air, becoming a giant with wolf hands.

Crystal essence crossed his body, strengthening his claws. In a second, he arrived in front of the goblin, his claws about to pierce his head.

The goblin reacted quickly to this situation leaning his head to the side, Kieran’s claws left only a slight cut on his cheek that slowly closed, leaving no trace behind.

"Gihihi!!"

The goblin gave a strange laugh, an excited look appeared on his face. This hunt started to annoy him, and seeing that his prey was scrambling to survive boiled his blood again.

'It's strength and speed surpass any crystal beast I've faced so far. Is he at the peak stage of the Iron rank? Can an Iron rank really be that strong?'

The goblin rotated his body, swinging his club towards his head.

Kieran changed form again to take that of a wolf, dodging the attack, but before he could rejoice, the goblin lifted his right leg from the ground, kicking him in the stomach, which broke three ribs and threw him into the air.

Kieran spat blood, his body spinning several times in the air. He couldn't tell if he was up or down as everything in his vision moved rapidly around him.

The goblin looked at the body of Kieran, who was helpless in the air. He lowered himself to the ground before a small explosion sounded in the forest, the goblin appeared in an instant above him, clutching his empty hand in a fist, he hit him in the head.

Kieran's body fell like a meteorite, hitting the ground hard, his vision blurry, and he lost consciousness, reverting to human form.

The goblin landed beside him, lowering himself. He grabbed him with one hand by the head and lifted his bruised body in front of him.

"Ghiihi."

The goblin lifted his club with his other hand, sliding it down Kieran's body. Seeing every wound on his body made the goblin happy, he shook him, trying to trigger some reaction.

Seeing no reaction from him, the goblin lost patience, he raised his club back, swinging it at Kieran.

Suddenly a horrible pressure stopped the goblin's movements, the club stopped just before it could touch Kieran's body.

The goblin was frozen in place, unable to move, a cold sweat running down his backbone, his instincts screaming at him to run away, but his body wouldn't move.

Kieran's body in his hand quivered for a moment, black fur covering his entire body as the hand of the goblin holding him was ripped into several pieces.

*roars*

The goblin quickly took several steps back, his body instinctively shaking at the creature in front of him, which seemed to be constantly changing shape, with its bones shifting under his skin as if trying to reshape his entire body.

This change only lasted a moment before the creature's body stopped changing shape. A humanoid creature stood in front of the goblin, casting a shadow over him.

The creature looked like a lycan. It had the shape of a wolf-man, measuring 3 meters high. Black fur with dark green hues covered his entire body, a long tail had grown down his back, long claws had replaced each of his fingers, and his eyes were reddish brown with slit pupils.

The creature's eyes were blank as if unconscious. The horrible pressure that attacked the goblin's senses was now gone as if it were just a remnant of the distant past.

The goblin's face was grim, no more smiles could be seen on his face. His eyes turned red, his body suddenly grew to a height of two meters, the muscles in his arm swelled, stopping the bleeding from his hand.

A blue mist surrounded the entire body of the goblin, empowering every part of his body with a huge crystal essence.

It gripped tighter on his club, and with a strong pressure on the ground, his body disappeared, appearing in an instant in front of the lycan, his club racing straight towards his head.

"Giii!"

His scream carries no more excitement, only uncontrollable rage.

The lycan's arm moved quickly, protecting his head. His arm twisted slightly on contact with the club, managing to stop the attack.

The lycan raised his other arm, a pair of claws flying through the air, slicing through the goblin's chest. At the same time, the goblin had managed to step back, avoiding a mortal injury that the claws could have caused him.

The goblin no longer looks like an all-powerful existence that could embody fear in others. At that moment, a deep fear was hiding deep in his red eyes.

*roars*

A roar came from the lycan, who disappeared in front of the goblin. Feeling a sense of danger in his back, the goblin swung his club to protect it.

*clang*

Like the sound of metal clashing with metal, the lycan's claws left a deep mark on the goblin's club. Having failed to defend himself from all the power of the attack, the goblin was projected forward. Trying to regain balance, his body left a long slice in the ground.

The goblin stared at the lycan, his body still shaking from the blow he had just received. His weapon has almost been cut in half from that blow.

To the great horror of the goblin, the lycan disappeared again. Only a black blur could be seen moving quickly around him. The pair of claws of the lycan, which shone with a cold glow, appeared just in front of the goblin’s head.

Then, as if time had stopped, the claws stopped moving, remaining 1 cm from shredding the goblin's head.

The claws disappeared without a trace, and with them, the black fur, the fangs, the long tail, as well as this imposing body of 3 meters high.

All gone leaving only Kieran unconscious, where the lycan was standing a moment ago.

Looking at this weak human in front of him who had caused him so much fear, the goblin was filled with intense rage, his body moved rapidly, swinging his club.

When the club was about to hit Kieran, a shadow appeared behind the goblin as well as a thin line of blood that slowly drew on his neck, ending his life.

The goblin's body fell lifeless in front of the man who had just appeared behind him.

The man stared at Kieran, who was unconscious, with an incredulous expression as if he couldn't believe what he had just seen with his own eyes.

"How could someone at the early stage of the Iron rank put a Bronze rank goblin in such a state?"