Chapter 227

227 Time is running out

[Hurry up and run! The bear is trying to leave the pit!]

The moment Vincent heard Kazumi’s warning, he turned his gaze and saw the alpha grizzly bear’s head poking out of the hole. The monstrous bear was about to escape while menacingly glaring at them.

The goblins saw the alpha grizzly bear about to escape from the crater and flinched after witnessing the bloodshot glare piercing their soul and shattering any courage they had remaining. Terror started consuming them, and their bodies trembled from fear.

Vincent noticed the goblins were terrified. A few were breathing with difficulty, and others were looking as if they were about to flee.

Vincent frowned and tapped into his desire to kill. A wave of killing intent burst forth and dispersed the alpha grizzly bear’s killing intent. The goblins felt less intimidating pressure, stopping any desperate action for now.

“If I die, you all die. If I live, the goblin tribe lives.” After dispersing the heavy pressure of dread, Vincent told the goblins the ultimatum. Help Vincent or wait for death.

The alpha grizzly bear wasn’t going to stop after the suffering so much up to this point. The death of its cub and partner had to be avenged, and the first being to injure it had to pay.

Vincent clenched his fists and bolted forward. Step by step, Vincent quickly arrived a meter away from the defenseless head poking out of the hole.

Vincent leaped forward. He clenched both his hands together, and as his arms raised up, multiple green lights appeared in front of his clenched fists. Five arrows Vincent had previously stored before entering Lusterfall City materialized.

.....

The alpha grizzly bear was currently defenseless. It used Earth Spike to make a small foothold to escape out of the hole. However, before the next Earth Spike could be used, Vincent was already above its head.

Vincent locked his gaze at a specific place and brought down his fists like the trigger of a shotgun, shooting five arrows simultaneously before bring down his fists on the stuck arrows like a mighty hammer.

“Can you see me now!” Vincent shouted as the arrows perforated the alpha grizzly bear’s left eye and later followed by a mighty blow, completely assuring the destruction of the left eye.

The alpha grizzly bear wailed in agony and lost its foothold. *Thud!* It fell and slammed on the frozen ground. The monstrous bear fell so hard that the ground shook as if it was a small earthquake.

“Gobu!” Iris’s father shouted while raising the staff of leaders. He pointed at the vines and ordered the goblins to tie them together.

After the goblins watched such an incredible achievement and heard the loud thud of the heavy body slamming against the ground, the goblin’s morale increased, and they promptly decided to follow Vincent’s plan.

A few goblins helped Iris to gently place Ester and Lupa in the cart while the others rushed to find long and strong vines scattered around the area.

Vincent landed on the frozen ground and rolled a few times. As he stood straight, he looked around him and later looked at the sky. “This is gladiator arena, but with cold icy walls.” He mumbled.

Vincent looked in front of him and noticed the alpha grizzly bear getting up with difficulty. *Tch* ‘The arrows didn’t have enough power to pierce its skull.’ He thought after clicking his tongue.

[Fourty seconds remaining. We need to injure the bear and stall for time. It appears the footing the bear used to try its escape was destroyed.]

Vincent frowned. The timer limiting his combat duration was nearing its end. He began feeling nervous like a person fighting with weapons made of ice in the scorching desert. When enough time passes, the weapons would be no more.

*Roar* The alpha grizzly bear glared with its remaining eye and charged at Vincent after a loud roar.

“Kazumi, help me evade and land a counterattack afterward.” Vincent clenched his fists, bent his legs, and rushed at the monstrous bear charging at him.

[Leave it to me.]

The two fighters, one human and one animal, ran toward each other. One second felt like an eternity as the two forces were dead set on running forward without the intention to stop.

Vincent wanted to land a counter blow or at least get the opportunity to ride the alpha grizzly bear. On the other hand, the alpha grizzly bear wanted to land a vicious bite and tear Vincent to shreds. Two opposing forces, with two different thoughts and two possible outcomes.

*ba-dum, ba-dum* Vincent’s heart raced. The moment the two forces entered the point of no return and the range of attack, Vincent steeled his will to act whenever Kazumi says so.

Vincent used all his concentration to move the body, while the Kazumi one used all her concentration to decide when its the best time to act. However, before Kazumi mentioned the slightest word to begin his counterattack, Vincent heard Iris’s voice.

“We can’t find enough vines...” Iris shouted at the edge of the pit to inform Vincent.

However, her voice momentarily interrupted Vincent and Kazumi from concentrating on the task ahead, yet the alpha grizzly bear kept charging at Vincent with the intent to kill.

Vincent was not able to react in time to evade the alpha grizzly bear. After so much training and fighting experiences, his survival instincts activated, and he tried to jump on the monstrous bear’s left side and take advantage of the left blind side.

Furthermore, this was happening so fast that Kazumi couldn’t refocus her attention on the alpha grizzly bear and react quickly enough to use Soul Visit and help.

*Chomp* Vincent evaded the deadly maws by a few inches, and *Bam!* He crashed against the alpha grizzly bear’s left shoulder with great force.

Vincent was flung until he slammed against the wall with great force. The impact was so forceful that the ground lightly shook.

The distressed Iris standing on the edge of the pit wobbled and missed a step. She slipped and fell into the deep hole. *Crack* Was the sound her legs made.

“Ahhhh!” Iris screamed in agony after falling on one of her legs and breaking it entirely.

Iris took a few breaths and gritted her teeth as she started feeling dizzy. Iris slowly moved her trembling hand inside the leaf pouch on her hip. She pulled out a half-used numb mushroom and took one bite after the other with a contorted pained face, hoping to relieve the pain, even by a bit.

Iris’s pained scream attracted the attention of her fellow goblins and the alpha grizzly bear.

The alpha grizzly bear didn’t see Vincent move after he was slammed against the wall with great force. When the monstrous bear took the first step towards Vincent, its nose twitched and picked a particular scent.

The alpha grizzly bear turned its gaze toward the injured Iris with hate and anger. The scent of the grizzly bear was on Iris’s leaf dress after it almost killed Iris. The alpha grizzly bear picked up the scent of its cub, and it wanted to kill Iris now.

Iris felt the trembling ground becoming fiercer. She looked up after everything was becoming darker and saw the alpha grizzly bear raised on its hind legs glaring at her with hate.

The earth shook one more time, however, the alpha grizzly bear didn’t move. A spike made out of earth extruded from the ground cutting a few inched into Iris’s waist. Another earth spike extruded upwards and deeply cut in her broken leg. It appeared the alpha grizzly bear didn’t intend to kill Iris immediately.

*Clank, bam, thud*

Similar to a downpour of heavy hail rained on the alpha grizzly bear, but with rocks, sticks and branches instead. The multiple sounds hitting the hardened fur without leaving a scratch were starting to annoy the monstrous bear.

Iris’s father waved his staff of leadership and ordered another barrage of objects to be thrown. Goblins of all ages and genders worked together, and they were split into two groups. The children and the weak brought things to throw while the strong threw anything placed beside them.

The alpha grizzly bear raised its paw and viciously swung at Iris with the intent to eradicate the suffering gray goblin from its sight. Then later, it could take care of the annoying goblin pests.

As the alpha grizzly bear was about to land the death blow, a cloud of green dust suddenly appeared in front of it. The next rock a goblin threw collided against the hardened fur and produced a spark. A quick green flame blasted like a firework.

The deadly paw swinging slightly changed its trajectory, and after hitting someone, blood splattered on the wall. When the green flame vanished, Vincent appeared standing between the injured Iris and the alpha grizzly bear.

On Vincent’s back was a deep laceration after one of the monstrous bear’s claws needed to hit before the paw could ultimately have its course altered. It seemed like a crazy thing to do, but Vincent was out of time.

.

[Notice]

[The host has suffered pain in a body part, and the damage requirements have been met.]

[Mutation Trait: Pain Mitigation changed from stage one (6/10 | 6%) to stage one (7/10 | 7%)]

.

*Cough* Vincent coughed a mouthful of blood, but even with the agonizing pain he felt, Vincent remained standing with his determination alone.

Best

Iris opened her eyes after she had to close them because of the sudden green light. She saw Vincent with his arms open and his back facing the alpha grizzly bear. Iris gasped the moment her eyes laid upon Vincent coughing blood.