Chapter 164: Abandoned Tunnel

The gloomy tunnel was created long ago but abandoned for unknown reasons. If Abium didn't come here today, Duke Adhemar would send his soldiers here to search for this tunnel three years later and conquer the Alastall Woodland. In the past, Abium heard a story that fifty elite soldiers entered this tunnel but were annihilated by the monsters. After that, Duke Adhemar personally led a small army of soldiers and eliminated the threat hidden in this tunnel.

Shaking his head, Abium cleared the broken rocks and soon saw a large 3-meter diameter tunnel appear before his eyes.

'Finally!'

After confirming it was the right passage, he returned to his group and decided to rest before exploring the tunnel. Before that, he put some medicine on the bruises on his foot and hands and covered them with bandages. Although the wounds weren't big, they still caused him some pain.

After an hour of resting, he stood up, turned his gaze towards everyone, and spoke.

"Helena, Kuran, Uncle Claude, Sara, and Lily, please follow me. We've got some monsters to take care of." Abium said with a calm tone and shifted his gaze towards Viper.

"Sir Viper, please take care of others while we go and clear the way to pass through this mountain range." His words puzzled some, but Viper nodded.

Abium, on the other hand, led Helena and others to the abandoned tunnel. Although Helena and others were startled by the appearance of an eerie cave-like tunnel, they didn't say anything and followed in his footsteps quietly.

Soon, they unsheathed their weapons and entered inside.

But as they took a few steps inside, they all hurriedly covered their noses and groaned.

"What the hell is this stink?!" Helena couldn't help but curse as she inhaled the air with the mixture of urine and rotten animals.

Meanwhile, Abium took out the magic lamp from his space ring and lit it before walking into the tunnel.

"You'll get used to it sooner." He said calmly.

"Gigigi." "gigigi----Gigi" "Gigi."

Soon, everyone heard many strange noises up ahead and looked at each other.

"Kid, is that the goblins' voice?" Claude asked with slight nervousness. He started to remember what had happened during the goblin ambush but soon snapped out of it.

'I have already become stronger to face these creatures.' Claude gripped his weapon tighter and steeled himself.

In truth, Abium had brought them here not only to kill these monsters but also to train them to fight against large monster hordes.

In the past, this goblin's nest had almost eradicated the elite squad sent by Duke Adhemar. However, these monsters would not pose any danger to Abium. But for Helena and others, these creatures might become a nightmare.

"Polish your skills here. Only constant fighting can improve your survival rate in future battles." Everyone nodded their heads.

"Lily, these creatures are proficient at hiding in the darkness. You can't act recklessly." Abium said in advance, suddenly thought of something, and made a suggestion.

"If possible, you should master a warrior skill related to perception."

"Is it possible?" Lily asked in surprise.

"Yes. Like your unique snatching skill, a few perception-related spatial skills are available in this world. Although it's not easy to get one's hands on it, I can ask Lady Tabitha and buy it for you in the future." Abium spoke.

Lily also realized the hidden motive behind his action and agreed.

After that, they quietly walked forward and soon encountered three normal goblins walking in their direction.

As the goblin trio moved closer towards them, one goblin quickly sensed something was wrong and tried to warn the others.

"gigigi-"

But Lily didn't wait for that goblin to notice their presence. She moved towards it at an incredible speed and sneaked behind it.

Following that, she gashed her curved dagger towards a goblin's neck and decapitated its head in a swift movement.

Splash!

But she didn't stop there. Lily moved her weapon towards the two other goblins and sliced their necks neatly. A layer of red marks appeared on both of those goblins' necks, and soon, their heads started to slide from their bodies.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three lifeless bodies fell on the ground, leaving only a slight noise. Lily swung her dagger to remove the bloodstain and advanced. Within a few seconds, she met another group of goblins ahead and dashed forward. Meanwhile, Helena and others soon followed her and massacred all the goblins.

But Abium knew it was just the beginning.

"gigigi." "gigigi." "Gigi Gigi…"

Eventually, the noise of those goblins itself gave everyone a headache. Nearly a hundred goblins appeared on Abium's spiritual map like a flock of sheep.

'No wonder Duke Adhemer's elite soldiers got massacred. If I don't do something to reduce the numbers, Helena and others might also face such a similar situation.'

"Red Orb" Abium did not wait for the goblins to arrive near them before casting the [Fire Orb] spell and throwing it at them.

He knew Helena and others wouldn't be able to handle this much and decided to give them a bit of help.

Goblins moving in the front were all stopped by the sudden fire. But the ones who came behind them didn't notice that and collided with each other. The flock fell in front of the group, leaving an opening for Abium to attack.

Meanwhile, the [Red Orb] spell moved towards the flock and exploded.

Abium didn't stop for a second and cast two more times.

After a few seconds, only the roaring and shrieking of goblins echoed inside the dark tunnel.

"Now, hurry up and kill the goblins," he added.

Just as he spoke, Helena stepped forward this time and dashed forward while others followed her from behind. Like Lily, her dagger also ruthlessly cut down every goblin while leaving a sunshine aura.

But, Abium noticed something unusual as she battled against the goblins.

'Hmm? Her spirit power is rising!' He was astounded inside. Within seconds, darkness and nature-elemental energies came from the surroundings, encircled her body like butterflies, and started to assimilate into her body.

'She is going to rank up!' Everyone stopped their fighting and watched her with stunned eyes. After all, ranking up when fighting was a rare event.

'Moreover, I heard that the warriors might even receive some kind of enlightenment during such an incident. But I don't know if it is true or false.' Abium muttered to himself as he observed her battle stances.

Helena danced while moving her weapon like a war angel, stabbing each goblin in the vital spot.

She killed more than 55 goblins for nearly an hour but soon exhausted herself. By the time she snapped out of the enlightened state, she had noticed the changes happening inside her body and started to grin widely.

"Haha, I didn't expect that!" She chuckled and walked past the corpses.

'Extraordinary! Even I didn't expect her to receive sword enlightenment during her rank up.' Azolla muttered in Abium's head.

'Yes, she is just one step away from becoming an Advanced Swordsman. A 17-year-old girl with fourth-tier warrior strength, druidic magic, and advanced swordsmanship will rattle all the neighboring nobles.' Abium said in admiration.

'You don't have any right to say those words, lad. If she is a genius in terms of potential, you are a prodigy. Don't undermine your growth potential.'

Upon hearing those words, a bitter smile appeared on Abium's face.

Prodigy? If not for his time travel, he wouldn't have managed to become a second-tier warrior. Although his interference was the reason Helena progressed much faster in this timeline, he knew she was a genius in battle and swordsmanship.

Shaking his head, he took a step forward and followed after Helena. After a few minutes, they met with another goblin group with a shaman leading them and stopped their footsteps.

'Goblin shaman. Troublesome indeed.'

These shamans were intelligent like humans and capable of casting one or two magic spells.

After Abium encountered Grold in the academy, he felt warier of these goblins.

He also felt that there seemed to be more secrets about these goblins.

'I'll ask Azolla about the goblin race later. For now, I should take care of this goblin shaman myself.'

Abium stopped Helena from rushing forward, raised his right hand before conjuring an orb of fire, and threw it towards the shaman.

Meanwhile, the goblin shaman also recited a short chant and released a small ball of fire through its wand.

It's a short version of a fireball spell. Within a second, both fireballs collided against each other and caused the fire to spread in both directions.

Abium didn't waste a single moment, cast the [Blink] spell, and disappeared from where he stood before.

A second later, he reappeared before the goblin shaman and looked at the group sharply. His eyes were cold as ice, making the shaman and other nearby Hobgoblins flinch. The source of this content ɪs novel[f]

Whizz!

A moment later, Abium grabbed his sword hilt tighter, aimed his sword tip at the goblin shaman's heart, and thrust it forward at an incredible speed.

His sword made a whizzing sound, tore through the air like a flash of lightning, and stabbed into the shaman's heart.

"Gaah." The goblin shaman yelled out a pitiful cry and fell. Before Abium could pull out the sword and decapitate the goblin shaman's head, the nearby two hobgoblins swung their large clubs in his direction and attacked him furiously.

However, he easily evaded both attacks with a slight movement and backed away before adding.

"It's all yours now."

Everyone nodded before dashing forward and killing those two hobgoblins in the next few seconds. Following that, another massacre began inside the tunnel.

Blood splattered everywhere as the cries of the goblins continued.

After a long time, Helena killed the last goblin and stood there, panting heavily.

Clatter! Clatter.

"Fuck! Are there still goblins out there?"

Helena stepped back nervously when she heard footsteps coming from the dark tunnel.

Everyone soon saw a Hobgoblin walking toward them.

"I'll take care of it."

Despite her nervousness, Helena dashed toward the monster and slit the Hobgoblin's left shoulder. The intensity of the stroke was strong enough to leave a trail of blood spurting out from the opened wounds. The Hobgoblin grunted in pain and released its massive wooden club in its hand. With quick footwork, Helena made her way to the side of the Hobgoblin and knocked it off its feet.

Urgh!

Before the Hobgoblin could react, her left arm was pressed against its neck and strangled.

As the Hobgoblin tried to move its right arm, a powerful force pressed against its chest and neck, forcing the creature to take a breath.

The Hobgoblin struggled with all its might. Panic and fear took over its former self as its desire to breathe overwhelmed and clouded its judgment.

The next thing the Hobgoblin knew, everything turned dark. That Hobgoblin stopped struggling. There was no more noise; only her panting sound echoed in the dark tunnel.

Helena pulled out her dagger and knelt beside her kill, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

Soon, multiple goblins' cries echoed from the inside and caused others to snap out of the shock, readying their weapons.

A few seconds later, more red marks appeared on Abium's map.

"I'll cast the [Red Orb] spell like earlier and reduce the numbers. You guys should take care of the rest." Abium said calmly and conjured another orb of fire.