An opening! A chance for the killing blow!

A sharp light flashed in Roland’s eyes. He didn’t hesitate for a second.

The gravel at his feet shattered as his body shot forward, like a bowstring drawn to its absolute limit and suddenly released.

The Mithril Longsword, propelled by the dual force of his own forward charge and the Bear Goblin’s stumbling lunge, drew a terrifying silver line that was fast enough to blur, tearing through the air.

"Flowing Slash!"

The blade cut through the air, letting out a shriek sharp enough to pierce eardrums.

The target was...

The Bear Goblin’s thick neck! 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The shadow of the Death God instantly fell over the Bear Goblin.

Its crimson eyes shot open to their absolute limit.

Deep within its pupils, the ferocity, savagery, and cunning of a predator...

...were all replaced in that instant by a pure, primal Fear that stemmed from the very instinct to survive.

It was the instinctive despair of prey just before the butcher’s knife falls.

Just as the Death God’s scythe was about to kiss the skin of its neck...

Something unexpected happened.

On the Bear Goblin’s thick finger, a plain, unassuming ring set with a Muddy Crystal Stone burst with a faint light without any warning.

VMMMM!

Then, a transparent film, visible to the naked eye and rippling like water, materialized out of thin air in a thousandth of a second, instantly covering the Bear Goblin’s entire body.

The Mithril Longsword, which had torn through the air as if it could sever anything, slammed viciously into this suddenly-appeared transparent film.

CLANG!

A sharp hum, far more piercing and grating than the sound of metal on metal, echoed through the valley.

It was as if countless steel needles were simultaneously stabbing into one’s eardrums.

The film undulated violently, denting like the surface of water struck by a heavy stone, sending out dense ripples.

A massive rebound force traveled up the blade, making Roland’s arm go numb.

The frozen Fear in the Bear Goblin’s eyes seemed to thaw slightly, and a hint of wild joy and mockery—the elation of having survived—flashed across them.

However, that flicker of relief had barely appeared when...

"Just... BREAK!"

Roland’s roar thundered like a sudden clap of thunder.

The current of energy flowing like magma inside him began to circulate at an unprecedented, frantic speed.

All the Fighting Spirit in his body surged like a bursting dam, pouring recklessly into the edge of his blade.

At the same time, the terrifying Power stacked layer by layer in the life-or-death struggle, brought on by his Fermented Battle Intent Trait and combined with the might of Flowing Slash, was completely detonated in that one moment.

The Mithril Longsword began to hum, vibrating at a high frequency as if it couldn’t bear the load.

POP!

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting, was heard.

The seemingly indestructible film was instantly covered in a spiderweb of cracks, like fragile glass, and then...

...it shattered with a crash, dissolving into motes of dissipating light.

The wild joy and mockery in the Bear Goblin’s eyes froze solid the moment the film broke.

In its place was a despair ten times stronger than before, one that chilled it to the bone.

The blade met no more resistance.

The cold gleam of Mithril, carrying with it the resolve to sever all, sliced smoothly through the Bear Goblin’s tough hide, thick muscle, and hard neck bone!

SCHLICK!

The wet, muffled sound of a sharp edge cutting through flesh and bone became the clearest sound on the battlefield.

Time seemed to stretch in that moment.

The Bear Goblin’s hideous head, its face frozen with ultimate Fear and disbelief, was pushed into the air by a fountain-like pillar of dark red blood, slowly, gradually, separating from its neck.

A rain of blood flew through the air, dyeing the cracked ground red.

The massive head carved a grim arc through the air before landing with a heavy THUD on the gravel nearby.

It rolled a few times, its eyes wide open, staring blankly at the headless body that once belonged to it, which was now gushing blood like a crazed fountain.

The enormous, headless body stood stiffly in place for a moment that felt as long as a century, before it collapsed forward like all its bones had been removed, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.