Overwhelming Firepower

"Father, please allow me to face the Gobling King alone," Lucen spoke with a lot of confidence and a bit of eagerness to it.

Vardon, whose face was mostly always stoic, looked at his son with a quiet stare. The soldiers near them were still attacking, but also trying to listen to the conversation. The two locked eyes for a few seconds before Vardon spoke.

"Why?"

It was a single word, but Lucen understood what Vardon was trying to ask. Even Lucen himself did not understand why, but for some reason, after gaining new skills and seeing a new monster he had never seen in the game, his gamer blood was boiling.

He wanted to face the new monster and see what kind of moves it would use, what lines it would say.

"... I won't lie to you, Father. I just want to fight the Goblin King," Lucen answered.

"Hahaha! That's the spirit, young lord." Thalos clapped his hands.

Vardon's eyes narrowed slightly at his son's bluntness. The son he knew in the past would do anything to impress him, and the son he knew now was someone who seemed to plan every move he made, but the son standing in front was neither of those.

It was a warrior wanting to challenge a powerful foe. Vardon studied Lucen in silence, the clash of steel and roar of goblins muffled beneath the weight of the moment.

"In the past year, you kept on changing, and it would seem that I, too, would need to keep up with your changes... Then go and fight to your heart's content, but always remember to never bring shame to the Thornehart name."

"Don't worry, young lord. The others and I will make sure that you and the Goblin get to fight one-on-one without anyone bothering you." Thalos clenched his hand into a fist and smiled.

"Thank you, Father. Thank you, Sir Thalos." Lucen gave a knight's salute and then used his new technique to fly through the air towards the Goblin King.

Lucen did something that he had wanted to do ever since he got strong enough to do it. Lucen landed on the ground in front of the Goblin King, doing a superhero landing.

The ground cracked beneath his boots as Lucen rose from the landing, smoke and dust curling around him. He straightened slowly, rifle already in hand, eyes locked on the towering Goblin King.

A few goblins tried to attack Lucen, but they were shot down, and those that were able to get past that were smashed into the ground by Sir Thalos's fist.

Sir Thalos appeared near Lucen, making his knuckles crack. He was ready to take down anyone who came close to Lucen and the Goblin King.

The Goblin King's lips pulled back into a jagged, toothy grin. His breath came out in a rumble that shook the air, half-laugh, half-snarl; there was also a hint of anger in there.

"You dare stand before me by yourself, human child! You continue to insult me! I will make sure that you scream in pain and beg for mercy, which I have none."

The Goblin King was ready to fight. Lucen, on the other hand, replied with something he wanted to say the very second he saw the enemies were goblins.

"A person I once knew said that the only good goblin is a dead goblin."

Lucen spoke of the meme; obviously, he knew that the real line was the only good ones, are the ones that never come out of their holes. Still, it was the same meaning, and the meme was the cooler line to say right now.

Hearing what Lucen said just made the Goblin King even angrier than before. He pointed his colossal, jagged sword at Lucen.

"You truly are a brave human child. To mock me, the king of all goblins! I will enjoy making you scream!"

The roar rolled across the battlefield, making even goblins flinch for an instant. Lucen raised his rifle, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. His stance was steady, unyielding.

"Then come prove me wrong."

As if that was the signal to start the battle, the Goblin King, who was a few meters away from Lucen, charged at him with incredible speed. Still, Lucen had already expected this as he had observed how fast the Goblin King was.

The Goblin King's colossal blade howled through the air, the ground splitting where it struck. Lucen had already sidestepped, boots skidding across the torn earth as the shockwave rattled his bones. He exhaled slowly, finger tightening on the trigger.

The rifle cracked like thunder. A bullet wrapped in fire mana screamed toward the King's temple, only to be cleaved aside by a blur of jagged steel. The bullet, upon contact with the sword, sparks erupted.

Even at this distance, the Goblin King was able to react to the bullet. Lucen didn't frown. Instead, his smirk widened. 'So it really can react that fast...'

The Goblin King lunged again, every step cratering the earth. Lucen leapt back, chambering another round in a smooth, practiced motion, this one imbued with ice. The shot whistled forward, freezing mist trailing behind it.

The King twisted his sword, deflecting it, shards of ice exploding across his chest. The shards of ice were unable to pierce too deeply into the Goblin King's sculpted body.

The Goblin King roared and suddenly moved faster than before. Lucen could not dodge and was forced to block using the rifle in his hands.

The jagged sword came down like a thunderbolt. Lucen braced, the rifle's steel frame screeching under the impact. Sparks burst between the clashing weapons, the sheer force making him fly a few meters away.

As he was flying, Lucen snapped the bolt, chambered another round, and loosed fire, but this time he was not aiming directly at the Goblin King. It felt like he was aiming at nowhere, but then he made a second shot.

The ricochet bullets screamed through the gorge, bouncing with impossible precision. One caromed off a jagged outcrop, the other curved after striking the frozen ground.

They converged at an angle impossible for a straight shot, streaking toward the Goblin King's exposed flank.

This was one of Lucen's less-used skills, ricochet.

Seeing the incoming bullet that was about to hit him, the Goblin King knew he could not dodge or deflect them in time.

The Goblin King's veins bulged as mana flooded his frame. His green flesh darkened, skin rippling as though stone and iron were crawling across it.

The bullets struck, sparks exploded, but instead of piercing, they bounced off the shimmering armor that had suddenly covered his body.

Still, there was some damage from the attack, which was seen in the Goblin King's muscular body. Two bruises where the bullets were supposed to pierce. This was the first time the Goblin King had been truly hit, and that made him furious.

'So it has a defensive skill, making its body into some sort of metal. Still, the bullets were able to damage him.' Lucen analyzed as he was ready to fire his next shot.

The Goblin King slammed his jagged sword into the ground, the impact cracking the frozen earth and sending a shockwave racing outward. Goblins near him were thrown aside like rag dolls, crushed by the sheer force of their King's fury.

Thalos was also affected by the shockwave, but he withstood it.

Lucen slid one foot back, bracing himself as the pressure in the air spiked. The metallic sheen across the King's body pulsed, each beat of mana making the bruises fade ever so slightly.

'Oh, it's healing.' Lucen quickly noticed the regeneration, but he also noticed the slight decrease in the mana the Goblin King was emitting.

The Goblin King raised his head, eyes glowing like molten gold, and fixed them on Lucen. His grin widened, fangs gleaming.

"You think your toys can kill me, human child? Come closer. Let me show you what true power looks like."

Hearing what the Goblin King said, Lucen couldn't help but smile as he let go of the rifle, making it disappear. He then created two peacemakers in both hands and loaded them with bullets imbued with the fire elements set to explode upon contact.

"Fine, then let's play the way you want it up close and personal."

This time, it was Lucen who dashed towards the Goblin King. The second he came close enough, the Goblin King slashed horizontally at Lucen.

Lucen slid on the ground and evaded the sword slash by bending his body backward and sliding forward. Lucen then shot the Goblin King's side.

The Goblin King reacted quickly and made his body into iron again. The bullet exploded upon contact with the Goblin King's body, but it did very minimal damage.

The Goblin King roared and slashed at Lucen again, but with his battle instinct, gun kata, and the growing agility from Kill Zone, Lucen once again evaded the strike.

He then made four successive shots at the exact same spot as before, and the Goblin King once again made its body into iron to tank the shot.

Unlike the last time, this one had created more than just a bruise; it made the Goblin King bleed.

The final bullet hammered home, punching through the gleaming iron sheen. A spray of dark, viscous blood arced across the snow, hissing where it touched frost. The Goblin King staggered half a step, eyes flashing wide in disbelief, then narrowed in fury.

"You do bleed after all." Lucen then created more bullets imbued with fire elements and pointed his peacemakers at the Goblin King.

"If it bleeds, I can kill it." Lucen couldn't help but smile as he said that line.