The trek continued for another hour, moving deeper into the edge of the outer ring of the Willow Mountains. The terrain grew unforgiving, shifting from soft forest loam to jagged rocks that crunched beneath their boots.

A foul odor began to permeate the air, a heavy, cloying stench of rotting meat that made the stomach turn.

Judas slowed his pace, his hand instinctively hovering over the hilt of his sword. His eyes scanned the dense undergrowth, looking for unnatural breaks in the foliage.

"Stop," he commanded softly.

Summer froze instantly. Her body dropped into a crouch, her crimson eyes narrowing as she peered into the gloom. "There is something ahead."

He pushed aside a large fern, revealing a small clearing.

Standing there was a humanoid creature. It was short, standing perhaps four feet tall, with leathery skin the color of dying leaves.

Rags that looked like they had been stripped from a long-dead corpse hung loosely from its emaciated frame. In its gnarled hand, it clutched a jagged, rusty knife that looked more likely to cause tetanus than a clean cut.

A Goblin.

Judas felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Goblins were not natives of this place. In this world, these creatures did not spawn naturally from the ecosystem. They were the heralds of the apocalypse.

The appearance of even a single one meant a Rift had opened nearby.

'A Rift?' Summer projected the thought into his mind, her mental voice laced with concern. She nodded at him, confirming she understood the gravity of the situation.

Judas analyzed the creature. It was alone, scratching at its armpit with the dull edge of its blade. There was no aura of attribute energy oozing from its body, which meant it had no cultivation. It was a grunt, a scout, or perhaps just a straggler.

"Let's take it down silently," he muttered, his lips barely moving.

Summer nodded, her fingers twitching as mana gathered at her fingertips. "I will slow it down."

Judas shook his head slightly. "No need."

He activated his Agility attribute. The world seemed to slow down around him. His muscles coiled like springs, and he launched himself forward.

That slight displacement of air alarmed the goblin. The creature's oversized ears twitched, and it began to turn around, its yellow eyes widening in panic.

'As always, apocalypse monsters have great reaction times,' Judas thought, watching the creature's mouth open to scream. 'But… that's it.'

He closed the distance instantly. Before the scream could leave the goblin's throat, steel flashed in the dim light.

Sword Slash.

The blade passed through the creature's neck with zero resistance. The head tumbled to the mossy ground with a dull thud, followed a second later by the body. Black blood sprayed onto the grass, but Judas had already stepped aside to avoid the mess.

He flicked the blood off his blade and turned around.

Summer was standing there, looking at him blankly. Her hand was raised, a small wand gripped tightly in her fingers, glowing with a faint crimson light. She had been seconds away from casting a spell, but the fight was over before she could even aim.

She quickly lowered her hand, hiding the wand behind her back. A faint blush colored her pale cheeks.

"You are just okay," she muttered, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "This lady didn't have to waste her energy on trash."

Affection: 29 -> 30

Judas smiled. Her words were dismissive, but she was impressed by his efficiency. Strength was the only language the strong respected, and he had just spoken it fluently.

"Save the magic for the big ones," he said, turning back to the corpse.

He quickly checked the body for loot, finding nothing but a pouch of worthless meat.

"Let's move. Where there is one, there are more."

They continued hunting, following the trail of broken twigs and foul smells.

The forest grew darker as the canopy thickened. The single encounters soon turned into pairs. Thirty minutes later, they spotted two goblins arguing over the carcass of a forest rabbit.

These ones were slightly larger, their skin a darker shade of green, and they carried wooden clubs studded with sharp rocks.

"Two of them," Judas whispered, crouching behind a fallen log. "I take the left. You take the right."

Summer smirked. "Watch and learn."

She stepped out from behind the cover, not bothering to hide. The goblins stopped their squabbling, turning their hideous faces toward the intruder. They screeched, raising their weapons to charge.

Summer didn't move. She simply raised her hand, her fingers curling into a claw.

"Stagnate," she commanded.

The effect was visceral. The rushing goblins suddenly stumbled. Their veins bulged against their green skin, pulsing violently as if the blood inside them was trying to flow backward.

Their movements became jerky and rigid, like puppets with tangled strings. The momentum of their charge died instantly, replaced by confused gurgling as their own biology betrayed them.

'What a powerful blood skill. Must be at least Rare. For her to comprehend it on her own…' Judas silently praised her talent, not wasting time on the reverie as he sprinted.

He dashed past Summer.

His sword lashed out twice—two clean, horizontal arcs. The goblins collapsed, their throats opened, before they could even overcome the blood paralysis.

He wiped his blade again, looking at Summer with genuine appreciation.

"Good skill."

"Of course it is." She looked pleased by his praise. "I thickened their blood, causing instant fatigue and muscle failure. It is useful for crowd control."

"Very useful," Judas agreed.

"I can also slow down…" She stared down at his crotch. "…that liquid."

"Cough." Judas almost choked on his own saliva.

Her chin lifted slightly at his expression, though she tried to hide her satisfaction.

They moved on, the teamwork becoming smoother with every encounter. They cleared three more groups, leaving a trail of silent corpses in their wake.

The combination of Summer's debuffs and Judas's lethal speed was proving to be a grinder for the low-level monsters.

Sword Slash had reached level 4, increasing its lethality.

When it reached level 5, he could improve his Strength attribute. A single increase in his Strength would further improve the lethality of the skill.

Eventually, the smell of smoke overpowered the stench of rot.

They crept up a steep ridge, staying low to the ground. Peering over the edge, they looked down into a shallow valley.

"Jackpot," Judas breathed.

It was a settlement. A crude collection of huts made from mud, branches, and animal skins was clustered around a large central bonfire.

Around the fire, at least a dozen goblins were active. Some were cooking unidentifiable chunks of meat, others were sharpening weapons, and a few were brawling in the dirt.

But what caught Judas's eye wasn't the number. It was the large hut at the back of the camp. It was decorated with skulls and strange, painted symbols.

"A shaman might be in there," he whispered. "Or a chieftain."

'More likely a shaman,' Zephriya's voice echoed in Summer's mind, which she relayed to Judas. 'I sense a fluctuation of mana from that direction. Crude, chaotic mana.'

"We can't rush this," Judas assessed. "If we charge, they will swarm us. We need to draw them out."

"I can pull the blood from the ones near the perimeter," Summer suggested. "Make them bleed internally. They will scream, and the others will investigate."

"Do it."

Summer focused. Her eyes glowed with a brighter intensity. Down in the camp, two goblin guards standing near the edge suddenly clutched their chests. They dropped to their knees, coughing up dark clots of blood.

The commotion drew the attention of the group by the fire. Three goblins grabbed their spears and ran toward the fallen guards, chattering aggressively.

"Now," Judas signaled.

He leaped from the ridge, descending upon the distracted group like a hawk. He landed on the first goblin, driving his sword through its spine. Before the others could process the new threat, he spun, kicking the second one into the fire.

Chaos erupted.

The camp exploded into activity. Goblins shrieked, grabbing weapons and rushing the intruder.

"Blood Bind!" Summer shouted from the ridge.

She cast a wide-area spell. The approaching wave of goblins faltered, their limbs growing heavy. It didn't stop them completely, but it slowed them enough.

Judas danced among them, his blade a whirlwind of steel. He didn't need to block; he simply dodged their sluggish attacks and countered with lethal precision.

One by one, they fell.

Judas was in the zone, his focus entirely on the melee. He side-stepped a spear thrust and severed the attacker's arm. He ducked under a club and thrust his blade into a goblin's gut.

"Behind you!" Summer yelled, jumping down from the ridge to join the fray.

The blood that had spilled on the ground crystallized under her command, launching as a spike into a goblin trying to flank him.

Judas was internally surprised. Another Rare quality skill. And it appeared to be at least level 5.

Together with the help of Summer, they were winning. Once again, Judas enjoyed the feeling of having support.

Without Summer, this would never have been this easy. If his other wives also learned new skills, they could help him just like her. Just like a hero party with beautiful heroines.

Hehe.

Suddenly, the flap of the large rear hut flew open.

A goblin emerged, but this one was different. It wore a necklace of finger bones and held a staff topped with a glowing red stone. It shrieked, the sound grating and unnatural.

Judas was engaged with three goblins at once, his back turned to the shaman.

Summer saw it. She had just finished dispatching a straggler and was standing in the open, scanning for targets.

The shaman pointed its staff. It didn't aim at Judas, who was moving too fast. It aimed at the stationary target.

A ball of roaring orange fire coalesced at the tip of the staff. With a hissing sound like a viper, the fireball launched across the camp, hurtling straight toward Summer.

"Summer!"

Judas didn't think.

He abandoned his current fight, taking a grazing scratch from a goblin's dagger on his shoulder. He pushed off the ground with every ounce of Strength and Agility he possessed.

Summer's eyes widened. The heat of the approaching spell washed over her face. She tried to move, but she knew she was too slow. The projectile was too fast.

She flinched, bracing for the burn.

A heavy weight slammed into her side.

Judas crashed into her, his arm hooking around her waist. The momentum lifted her off her feet. He tackled her sideways, throwing both of them into the dirt behind a pile of supply crates.

BOOM.

The fireball struck the ground where she had been standing a fraction of a second earlier. The explosion sent a shockwave of heat and debris washing over them. Wood splinters rained down, and the ground shook.

Judas covered her body with his own, shielding her from the fallout. He grunted as a piece of burning wood bounced off his back.

Silence followed the blast for a heartbeat, broken only by the crackling of flames.

Summer stared up at him. Her face was inches from his. She could see the sweat on his forehead, the intensity in his eyes, and the fresh cut on his shoulder oozing blood.

Affection: 30 -> 45

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice rough.

Summer blinked, her heart hammering against her ribs—not from fear, but from something else. "No... I..."

"Good."

He rolled off her, springing back to his feet with a snarl. His eyes locked onto the shaman across the camp. The concern vanished, replaced by a terrifying, cold rage.

"Stay here," he ordered.

He charged through the smoke, sword raised, heading straight for the mage who had dared to touch what was his.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.