The goblins were large in number and spoke gibberishly.

Leo frowned. "What are they saying?"

"How would I know? Goblins are lower class creatures in Eldrath. They’re just like the lower animals back on Earth. The only difference is they have their own form of communication which is the gibberish they’re speaking." Yin Li said.

A maniac grin spread on Leo’s face as he turned to Yin Li.

Yin Li stared at Leo’s expression and immediately frowned.

"No, no... I hope it’s not what I’m thinking."

Leo’s smile widened slightly. "Think about it. This is a test. Maybe killing more foes gets us more marks and I still want to know what your ability is."

"That is exactly the mindset that gets people killed inside ancient death realms."

Leo shrugged carelessly. "Then don’t die."

Yin Li opened his mouth again as if preparing another complaint, but Leo had already started walking away from the trees. The chubby boy quickly followed after him with visible reluctance while muttering things under his breath.

The goblins around the fire still had not noticed them completely. A few continued speaking in rough gibberish while tearing pieces from the roasted creature over the flames. Others wandered around with crude weapons resting over their shoulders. Their movements lacked discipline, but there was still enough awareness among them to make direct engagement annoying.

Yin Li lowered his voice. "We can still leave before they notice us."

Leo glanced at him. "You’re very against violence for someone carrying a sword larger than his future."

"It was a family gift." Yin Li scoffed.

"That explains a lot." Leo said

Yin Li’s face twitched.

Before he could respond, Leo suddenly stopped moving.

An arrow passed directly between them.

The projectile struck a tree ahead with enough force to bury almost half its length into the bark. Both of them froze briefly before movement immediately spread throughout the surrounding forest.

The goblins had noticed them. Several creatures emerged from behind the trees while others jumped down from branches above them. More rough voices echoed through the forest as additional goblins started appearing from different directions with crude bows and blades already raised.

Leo sighed. "So much for leaving peacefully."

Yin Li immediately raised the odachi with both hands while panic appeared on his face. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT."

The goblins charged.

The first one rushed directly toward Leo while screaming something incomprehensible. Leo stepped aside calmly and slammed [Yielding Spine] against its side hard enough to send the creature rolling across the ground. Before the second goblin could reach him, [Grinning Mist] spread outward and covered the area around him in pale smoke.

The creature hesitated immediately.

Leo moved through the mist and struck it across the head before turning toward the others.

Meanwhile, Yin Li was already struggling.

A goblin lunged toward him with a rusted blade while another attempted to circle behind him. Yin Li panicked slightly and swung the odachi too early. The heavy blade missed completely and nearly dragged him off balance along with it. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Leo stared for half a second.

"...Your swordsmanship is terrible."

"I KNOW THAT." the chubby boy yelled in panic.

Yin Li barely avoided the next strike before suddenly planting his foot into the ground. The muscles around his arm tightened visibly beneath the armor covering him, swelling slightly before he forced the odachi upward with surprising speed.

The blade crashed into the attacking goblin and launched it backward hard enough to knock another creature down with it.

Leo raised an eyebrow slightly.

’Interesting.’

Yin Li himself looked surprised the attack actually worked.

Another goblin rushed him from the side, but this time the chubby boy reacted faster. His shoulders shifted unnaturally beneath the armor as though the tension in his body was redistributing itself. He moved quicker than before and narrowly avoided the strike before stumbling backward immediately afterward.

His movements were rough...very rough.

It looked less like a trained fighter and more like someone forcing his body to move beyond what he was naturally capable of handling.

Leo stepped in before the next goblin could exploit the opening. [Yielding Spine] pierced through the creature’s shoulder before Leo kicked it aside and glanced toward Yin Li again.

"You’re wasting movement." he said briefly.

"I’m trying not to die." Yin Li scoffed.

"That too you’re also bad at." Leo said with a frown.

More goblins rushed them from the trees.

This time the pressure became noticeably heavier as arrows started flying from multiple directions simultaneously. Leo clicked his tongue and pulled Yin Li downward before another projectile passed over their heads.

The goblins were weak individually, but their numbers were becoming troublesome.

Leo moved again before they could fully surround them. The smoke around him thickened while [Shell Of Dread] reinforced his body beneath the pale armor. He entered directly into the nearest cluster of goblins and struck two aside before grabbing another by the throat and throwing it into a tree.

The creatures screamed in anger and immediately retaliated.

One jumped onto Leo’s back while another slashed toward his side. The armor absorbed most of the impact, but the force still pushed him slightly forward. Leo grabbed the goblin attached to him and slammed it into the ground hard enough to crack the earth beneath it.

Yin Li was still fighting nearby, although calling it proper fighting felt generous.

He swung the odachi with brute force rather than technique while constantly adjusting the tension throughout his body to compensate for mistakes. Sometimes his arms suddenly accelerated midway through a swing. Other times his legs tightened before explosive movements that briefly increased his speed.

The problem was consistency. His control over the ability was clearly underdeveloped. One moment he moved surprisingly well. The next moment he nearly tripped over his own weapon.

A goblin managed to slip past his guard and slash across his shoulder armor.

Yin Li yelped loudly and stumbled backward.

Leo rolled his eyes before immediately stepping between him and the next attack. [Yielding Spine] swept horizontally and forced several goblins backward at once.

"You really are helpless." Leo hissed in annoyance.

"I was academically raised."

Leo didn’t reply.

Another wave of arrows came from above.

Leo reacted quickly and expanded [Grinning Mist] further throughout the battlefield. Visibility immediately worsened for the goblins as pale smoke spread between the trees and disrupted their aim.

The effect bought them breathing room.

Yin Li exhaled heavily while adjusting his grip on the odachi again. The muscles beneath his armor shifted once more as tension gathered around his arms and legs simultaneously.

This time when a goblin rushed him, Yin Li moved first.

His body burst forward unexpectedly fast before the odachi came down with far more force than earlier. The strike crushed directly through the goblin’s crude weapon and slammed the creature into the ground.

Yin Li blinked.

"...Okay that one felt good."

Leo kicked another goblin away before replying.

"Try doing it without looking surprised afterward."

The battle continued spreading across the forest around them. Goblins moved through trees while others attempted to flank from behind, but the smoke made coordination difficult enough to prevent them from fully overwhelming the two students.

Still, their numbers were not decreasing fast enough.

Leo noticed it immediately.

Every time several goblins fell, more replaced them from deeper within the forest. The memory field was either reconstructing forces nearby or the original goblin group had simply been much larger than expected.

Neither option was comforting.

Yin Li suddenly cursed.

Leo turned just in time to see three goblins rushing him simultaneously from different angles. The chubby boy panicked and tightened his muscles too abruptly. His body burst sideways faster than intended and slammed directly into a tree.

The goblins paused briefly in confusion.

Leo almost laughed.

Unfortunately, the goblins recovered first.

One raised its weapon toward Yin Li while the others advanced immediately afterward.

Leo moved before the strike landed.

[Yielding Spine] intercepted the attack while Leo slammed his elbow into the nearest goblin hard enough to twist its body sideways. He then grabbed another creature by the face and threw it directly into the third one before stepping back again.

Yin Li slowly slid down the tree.

"...I meant to do that."

"No you didn’t."

"...No I didn’t."

Another goblin screamed loudly somewhere deeper within the forest. The sound was answered immediately by several more voices.

Leo’s expression finally shifted slightly.Yin Li apparently realized the same thing because his face immediately paled beneath the armor.

"Leo." he muttered. "I think we should run now." he added.

Leo looked toward the deeper parts of the forest where movement had already started spreading between the trees again. Then he glanced toward the exhausted Yin Li beside him.

"...Fine," he muttered. "You’re slowing me down anyway."

Yin Li looked offended. "You are unbelievably rude for someone saving my life repeatedly."

Leo ignored him completely before immediately turning toward the opposite direction.

"Run first. Complain later."