THWUCK!
With a soft sound, the sharp spear in Fang Zhen's hand pierced the left side of the outermost goblin's chest.
The spear was incredibly sharp, and it punched clean through the goblin's body.
Fang Zhen didn't know if a monster like a goblin had its heart on the left side of its chest like a human. He wasn't familiar with goblin anatomy, but he figured it was a safe bet.
In fact, after the spear pierced the goblin's chest, its body trembled once, shuddered, and then lay still.
'Dead?' Fang Zhen thought.
He yanked the spear out, and a spray of purple blood gushed from the wound.
Fang Zhen withdrew the spear and immediately lunged, ramming it into a second goblin's chest.
The spearhead tore through the goblin's body, passing through its chest as easily as if it were a block of frozen tofu.
"GAK!"
Perhaps because the spear had landed closer to the center of its chest rather than its heart, this goblin didn't die silently. Instead, it shot up like a live fish on a cutting board, flailing its limbs and letting out a shrill, agonizing scream.
The goblin's screams and frantic movements woke the others nearby.
An idea sparked in Fang Zhen's mind. He swiftly pulled out his spear and, while the other goblins were still groggy and confused, lunged at them.
'While they're still dazed, I need to kill as many as I can!'
He pulled the spear free, stabbed another goblin in the back, withdrew it, and thrust again. He impaled a fourth goblin in the stomach, twisted the blade, and ripped it out.
In the space of less than ten seconds, Fang Zhen had killed two goblins and critically wounded two more. All four were out of the fight.
By now, the remaining three goblins were wide awake.
The goblins' reactions were surprisingly fast.
One goblin shot out of the hovel and lunged for Fang Zhen's calf.
It latched onto his leg, opened its mouth, and bit down hard with its sharp, needle-like teeth.
Fang Zhen felt a pressure on his leg and his heart skipped a beat.
The goblin's bite was surprisingly strong, like a stray dog's. For a moment, it reminded Fang Zhen of being bitten by a dog when he was a child.
He felt his calf tighten, but there was no pain—just the intense pressure of the bite.
'The riot suit.'
The suit's material could stop a sharp dagger, let alone a goblin's teeth. As sharp as they were, they were no match for steel.
'It didn't get through.'
Fang Zhen relaxed slightly. He pulled his spear back and, reacting on instinct, swung the shaft down on the goblin clinging to his leg.
The spear shaft smashed hard against the goblin's head. It shrieked and slid off his leg.
Fang Zhen stomped down hard with his left foot on the fallen goblin. He put all his strength into it, feeling as if he'd just stepped on a rack of ribs. He could even hear the crack of bone.
Fang Zhen reached for the middle of the spear shaft with his left hand, intending to reverse his grip and finish the goblin on the ground with the blade. But just then, another goblin shot out of the hovel. It brandished a rusty dagger and pounced with the speed of a wildcat, stabbing at Fang Zhen's stomach.
The impact on his abdomen felt like a solid poke from a pool cue—a bit painful, but nothing serious.
'It didn't get through this time either.'
At that moment, Fang Zhen's first thought was, 'This riot suit was worth every penny!'
'If it weren't for this gear, I'd probably be dead by now.'
A moment later, a wave of fury surged through Fang Zhen's chest.
"You've got a death wish!"
Rage boiled within him, and he unleashed a surge of immense strength.
He roared, bringing the spear shaft around with tremendous force and smashing it into the face of the dagger-wielding goblin.
The goblin shrieked as the bones on one side of its face shattered, causing half of its face to collapse inward.
Fang Zhen smoothly drew the machete from his waist with his left hand and brought it down on the head of the goblin pinned under his foot.
Half of the goblin's head was split open. It immediately went limp, clearly dead.
Fueled by rage, Fang Zhen tossed his spear aside, switched the machete from his left hand to his stronger right, and charged the goblin that had just stabbed him. He swung the blade in a vicious diagonal arc, from high right to low left.
The goblin that had failed to kill him was half-sitting on the ground, its face a collapsed mess, whining in agony.
The next moment, Fang Zhen's sharp machete bit into the goblin's left shoulder. The blade was so keen and his burst of strength so great that the single slash traveled from its left shoulder clean down through its right side, shearing its head and upper torso off in one brutal motion!
The goblin's torso collapsed, lifeless.
Even Fang Zhen was taken aback by the result of his strike. But still consumed by rage, he didn't dwell on it and turned to face the last living goblin.
That goblin was armed with only a wooden club. It might have intended to charge, but after seeing its companion's gruesome death, it was scared witless. Its eyes, fixed on Fang Zhen, were filled with terror.
It let out a terrified shriek, all courage to fight gone. It dropped its club and turned to flee.
By now, Fang Zhen was seeing red. He roared and gave chase, catching up to the fleeing goblin in two strides and slashing at its neck.
The goblin let out a wretched scream as the blade cut three-quarters of the way through its neck. It pitched forward and collapsed.
Machete in hand, Fang Zhen scanned the area, feeling an urge to keep cutting.
But there were no enemies left standing in his sight.
After a moment, the bloodlust boiling within Fang Zhen began to cool.
He took several deep breaths, and the boiling rage and adrenaline slowly began to recede and subside.
As his mind cleared, Fang Zhen looked around and realized just how intense the fight had been. The ground was slick with goblin blood.
Goblins really were completely different from humans. Their blood was a purplish color. He had no idea what the biological reason for that was.
It was only then that Fang Zhen felt the aftereffects of the intense battle. His limbs felt weak.
Looking at the forest clearing, which now had the grim atmosphere of a battlefield, Fang Zhen stared for a moment before shaking his head with a wry laugh.
'I never would have guessed... I actually have a talent for being a Berserker.'
'When the fight broke out, my head was filled with images of revolutionary heroes, bravely fighting against enemies that outnumbered them. I probably watched too many patriotic movies as a kid.'
'I've heard that when soldiers see red on the battlefield, they don't even feel grievous wounds like being disemboweled. All they can think about is killing the enemy. That's exactly the state I was in just now.'