CHAPTER 71: CLEVER!

Leon chuckled to himself, his grin widening at the sight of the short green creatures laughing at him as if he were prey.

’Did they really think this little trick would work on me? I’m not that dumb. Their squad had fifteen hunters, the archer included. And the fact that the archer isn’t here only confirms what I already know... their plan is too obvious.’

The goblins tightened their circle around him. Their aim was clear—to distract him in combat so he’d focus on them, while their hidden companions would spring out at the perfect moment for a killing blow.

But Leon had already seen through their ploy. He was more than eighty percent certain of it.

By his guess, at least two goblins were still lying in ambush. That was assuming there hadn’t been additions to their numbers since their first encounter. Back then, he had counted fifteen. Thirteen were here now, leaving two unaccounted for. If reinforcements had joined them, then the hidden number could be even greater.

Still, Leon feigned ignorance.

He let his body language radiate fear, acting like he was shaken. His performance only boosted the goblins’ confidence, making them eager to pounce without realizing they were the ones walking into a trap.

It didn’t take long before their laughter faded, replaced by serious, bloodthirsty determination.

Exchanging glances, the hunters nodded at one another—then charged all at once.

The moment Leon saw them rushing toward him, he dropped the act. His face hardened, his body tensed, and he prepared himself for the massacre to come.

The goblins were startled by the sudden shift. His expression transformed from trembling fear to cold, ruthless resolve.

But they dismissed it. They believed their elaborate plan would be enough to bring him down.

When they had first encountered him, they were shocked. They had never seen a creature like him before. After years of hunting in that forest, nothing like Leon had ever crossed their path.

Back then, they were uncertain—hesitating, unsure if he was something they could even kill, much less eat. His flesh didn’t look like any of the mutant beasts they usually hunted.

He had been fighting the mutant leopard at the time, wielding a strange weapon they had never seen. From their perspective, he had been winning. Choosing between him and the leopard, they had chosen the familiar prey—the beast.

Leon was alien to them. His hands and legs were human-like. He walked upright, sentient, intelligent—nothing like mutant apes or monkeys, which though humanoid, still acted like foolish beasts.

And towering above them all, Leon was the tallest being they had ever laid eyes on. Taller even than their king.

Goblins were relatively short monsters—the tallest among them stood at only about 1.4 meters.

Their king himself was no more than 1.2 meters, so the sight of a humanoid being towering above them made them doubt their plan.

It forced them to wonder if Leon could actually defeat them, even if they all joined forces.

So they had hidden at first, studying him, comparing his combat ability to theirs from the last time they fought a mutant leopard.

After watching closely, they realized that even though he was just one person, he had injured the leopard much faster than they ever had during their previous hunts. And from that alone, they were sure of one thing—

Leon was strong. Strong enough to make them wary, even if all of them attacked at once.

From his actions and intelligence, they knew he wasn’t just any beast. He must have been from an advanced, highly intelligent species—perhaps even more intelligent than goblins themselves.

That was why they had chosen to attack the leopard instead of him. The leopard had been injured, easy prey compared to Leon.

They preferred stealing the kill and finishing the wounded animal rather than risk facing him.

The archer goblin had attacked Leon first back then, loosing three arrows in rapid succession from different angles, yet somehow Leon had managed to avoid them all.

With no better option, they had all attacked together.

But Leon held firm against their assault, showing not a single ounce of fear.

During the chaos, the archer goblin had turned and fired at the leopard, finishing it with a single arrow.

The others had been confused for a moment, but they didn’t think too much about it. They had no idea the food they had worked for was poisoned.

Afterward, the archer goblin boasted to them about how it had "chased Leon away." They knew the story was exaggerated, but they kept silent.

They only hoped they would never cross paths with that strange fiend again.

But now here he was, marching toward their village without hesitation. From his movements, they knew he was deliberately trying to lure them out.

And though they hated it, they had no choice. If Leon entered the village, a massacre was inevitable. They had to stop him here, or never.

Whispering hurriedly among themselves, they formed a plan. Their hearts boiled with anger and hatred.

All they wanted now was to kill the beast in front of them.

---

Meanwhile, Leon—already surrounded by the goblins—launched forward at full speed, aiming to finish them off so he could continue his mission.

At the same time, the goblins rushed at him from all directions, determined to overwhelm him with their numbers.

Leon, seeing their charge, smiled coldly.

And just then, another arrow came streaking toward him—fired by the archers still hiding.

They clearly thought Leon was distracted, locked in the melee, and waited for the moment he was most vulnerable to strike.

But Leon severed the arrow mid-flight with his steel claw, sparks flying as he infused mana into his leg, coating it with as much energy as his body could bear.

No sooner had he cut down that arrow than three more came flying toward him.

"Annoying archers!!!" Leon growled, irritation flashing across his face.

’So there are three of you, huh?’ His grin returned, sharp and sinister. He had discovered them—judging from how the arrows came simultaneously from three separate directions.

As the arrows closed in, Leon gathered the mana surging in his legs, feeling the raw strength building inside them.

He grinned wider. He was ready for a little gymnastics.

At the last instant, he leapt high into the air, completely evading the arrows.

He had left them intentionally—because he knew exactly what would happen.

The arrows slammed into three goblins below, striking their arms and drawing screams of pain.

Green blood spurted from the wounds.

Those goblins had been so focused on Leon, they hadn’t noticed the arrows coming.

Their shrieks threw the rest of the hunters into confusion—and that was exactly what Leon wanted.

As he descended, falling fast from above, he knew this was his chance.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he erupted into action—mercilessly cutting down goblins one after another.

His movements were precise, brutal, without hesitation. Blood sprayed across the dirt as his claws tore through flesh.

He knew the archers were stunned by what had just happened—injuring their own comrades. They wouldn’t recover from that mistake immediately, and when they did, hesitation would plague them. Next time, they’d think twice before firing—wondering if Leon would dodge again and make them wound their allies.

And that was exactly the doubt Leon wanted to plant.

It didn’t take long. In mere moments, ten goblins lay dead, their bodies falling before they even realized they had been killed.

Leon deliberately targeted the healthy ones first, leaving the three wounded goblins for last.

Soon, only four remained. Of those, three were already injured. Only one still stood without a wound.

It was at that moment the hidden archers finally overcame their shock.

Realizing they had been tricked into harming their own, they gritted their teeth and forced themselves to act. This time, they were cautious.

They rained arrows down on Leon again, before rushing out from hiding at full speed.

If Leon could dodge their arrows from afar, then they would try cutting him down up close.

But stepping out came with one drawback—now they had no cover.

Leon hadn’t noticed yet that they had abandoned their hiding spots, his focus still locked on the immediate fight.

After a vicious series of clashes, his steel claw sank deep into the chest of a goblin. Blood erupted as the creature shrieked in agony before collapsing.

The sight enraged the archer goblins even further.

Fury burning, they loosed arrow after arrow at him—firing in rapid succession, even shooting into the air in case he tried leaping again.

Leon frowned. He could feel danger pressing in from all sides.

He swung his claws furiously, shredding the arrows flying straight at him.

He thought of leaping again—but knew if he did, he’d be struck from above and below at once.

’You’re clever... but you forgot one thing,’ Leon sneered, his grin returning as his eyes glinted coldly.

He thought of leaping again—but knew if he did, he’d be struck from above and below at once.

’You’re clever... but you forgot one thing,’ Leon sneered, his grin returning as his eyes glinted coldly.