I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 12: Hunter and Prey

“Whoosh!”  

Following Gauss’s command, Hayley chose not to use any skills.  

But even without skills, her years of training with the bow and arrow still allowed her to maintain relatively good accuracy.  

While the goblins continued to swarm Gauss, after missing several shots, Hayley once again pierced through the upper arm of one goblin and the side waist of another.  

Gauss parried the attacks with his wooden shield and spear, sidestepped, and moved to the wounded goblin’s side.  

Seemingly realizing what he was about to do, the goblin trembled and shakily raised a crude wooden club with one hand, trying to intimidate Gauss.  

Gauss, however, ignored it as if it didn’t exist. His accelerated thoughts seemed to enter a calm mode, and with a sliding step, he reached behind the goblin.  

He thrust the wooden spear forward, and amidst the goblin’s terrified scream, the spear pierced straight into its heart while it was injured.  

“Killed Goblin *1”  

He didn’t hesitate. Dodging the next attack, he sprinted toward another goblin with a pierced side waist and stabbed the spear into the wound.  

Twisting his wrist, the spear tip glowing faintly white churned wildly inside the slick body, delivering a fatal blow!  

“Killed Goblin *1”  

“Total Monster Kills: 5”  

He felt himself becoming more and more skilled.  

The wooden spear in his hand was strong and powerful, wrapped in a faint white glow. The moment it struck the goblin, a mysterious force burst out, amplifying its power.  

It was precisely because of this mysterious burst of power at the moment of contact that he was able to kill the goblins more easily.  

“Title acquired: Goblin Slayer. This title upgrades with the number of kills.”  

“Current Effect: Nemesis. In battles against goblins and their advanced species, damage dealt is increased by 10%.”  

Gauss recalled that he seemingly had a title.  

The Nemesis effect allowed him to unleash greater power when facing goblin creatures.  

At this moment, the fear and panic he once felt about the battle had completely dissipated.  

Though his entire body was soaked in blood, and his breath was heavy from intense fighting, his eyes became even more resolute.  

He looked again at the four remaining goblins left after the slaughter.  

His emerald eyes reflected the burning flames on the ground, which inexplicably caused several goblins to feel panic.  

Goblins were inherently cruel yet cowardly creatures.  

Their cunning nature made them naturally adept at assessing situations.  

When they had overwhelming numbers, their brutal side dominated.  

At such times, goblins were fearless warriors, attacking relentlessly with the ferocity of beasts tearing their prey apart.  

This was why they would actively come out from their caves to fight.  

But now, as one after another of their comrades were pierced, bled out, and fell lifeless to the ground by Gauss’s hand, their cowardly side inevitably surfaced.  

Adding to that was an inexplicable aura of unease radiating from Gauss, causing the goblins facing him to tremble uncontrollably. Panic spread among them like a contagion.  

Now, who was the hunter?  

Who was the prey?  

Gauss glanced at the wooden spear embedded in a goblin; its tip was already broken.  

He didn’t know if it was unable to withstand the white glow’s reinforcement or simply because of poor material.  

His arm was starting to ache, so he decided to switch weapons.  

He pulled out the dagger hanging at his waist.  

“Whoosh!”  

After missing several arrows, one arrow finally pierced a goblin’s calf.  

Hayley provided support again.  

Seeing this, Gauss stepped on the bloodstained, dark-red soil and swiftly charged forward with his dagger.  

With the dagger, he became more agile.  

He also found that in this accelerated thinking state—almost like a low-resolution bullet time mode—lighter weapons suited him better.  

Holding a shield in one hand and nearly two-meter-long spear in the other had severely limited his movements and turns.  

Meanwhile, the other three goblins seemed so frightened that they stood frozen in place.  

“Slash!!”  

Raising his dagger high, he slashed diagonally downwards. The blade, empowered by white light, sped up even more the moment it touched the goblin’s skin. The goblin, powerless to resist, was like a lamb awaiting slaughter.  

Its neck, one shoulder, and an arm were sliced open in a huge gash.  

Blood splattered, staining half of Gauss’s cheek red again.  

Another one down!  

“Total Monster Kills: 6”  

Gauss grunted, riding the momentum of consecutive victories, and turned his gaze toward another goblin not far away.  

“Bang!”  

He raised his small round shield, and the moment it clashed with the goblin’s wooden club, all his strength burst forth.  

The goblin’s wooden club slipped from its hand and fell.  

Gauss took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and slashed with the dagger, cutting across the goblin’s abdomen that had lost its weapon.  

“Total Monster Kills: 7”  

Hayley, who had climbed up a tree, stared blankly at the scene.  

What was up with Gauss?  

So strong!  

Gauss was starting to show signs of bloodlust.  

Although his brain felt a sting, and his arms and thighs began shaking uncontrollably from repeated bursts of power, his body and mind were exhilarated.  

Swallowing saliva tinged with a rusty blood taste, he looked at the two remaining goblins that showed signs of fleeing.  

They had completely lost their will to fight under Gauss’s ferocity.  

Their weapon-holding arms trembled wildly.  

“Mage Hand!”  

Magical power manifested again in the air.  

Mage Hand seized the weak gap caused by the goblins’ fear and swung down from above.  

With a force exceeding ten pounds, it directly knocked the weapon out of the first goblin’s hand.  

Then, Mage Hand knocked the weapon from the second goblin’s hand as well.  

The last two goblins were completely disarmed by Mage Hand.  

Now exposed and powerless before Gauss, they lost their final will to resist.  

Gauss naturally would not waste this precious opportunity. Suppressing his heavily heaving chest and enduring the fiery pain in his lungs, he quickly closed in.  

Both hands tightly gripped the dagger, his waist driving his shoulders, upper arms, and forearms in unison. The dagger slashed horizontally, ruthlessly cutting open the abdomen of the panic-stricken goblin attempting to flee.  

Its intestines spilled out in a gruesome cascade.  

“Total Monster Kills: 8”  

Ignoring the two halves of the goblin lying on the ground, Gauss’s gaze chased the last goblin trying to escape.  

He gritted his teeth and stepped hard, crushing the foul-smelling intestines and viscera spilled on the ground, then charged forward.  

With three quick strides, he caught up to the last goblin just about to dash into the forest.  

“Swish!”  

The dagger stabbed into its back, finally sinking into the goblin’s soft, tofu-like abdomen.  

Gauss twisted his wrist fiercely, the dagger inside the goblin’s body shredding its internal organs.  

“Roar!!!!” The goblin let out a final, unwilling howl.  

Gauss withdrew his dagger, but suddenly his legs went weak.  

His body lost strength abruptly, nearly falling. He caught himself with his hands and knelt halfway to the ground.  

The continuous high-intensity bursts had drained his stamina faster than expected, now pushing him into overload.  

“Total Monster Kills: 9”  

Watching his trembling calves and arms, Gauss gasped for breath.  

His cloth armor was already tattered, and his body bore some fresh cuts from careless strikes.  

“Hiss—It hurts a bit.”  

Gauss temporarily ended his side of the fight. The excitement faded, replaced by exhaustion and pain flooding his body and mind.  

He had actually overperformed beyond his limits.  

Besides the initial one-on-one duel with the goblin scout, he had cut down seven goblins in one continuous spree.  

This was partly thanks to Hayley’s constant archery support from afar. Without her steady arrows pushing back goblins, forcing them to reposition and wounding them, Gauss wouldn’t have had so many chances to dodge and land lethal strikes.  

If the battle had lasted longer, the victory would have surely tilted toward the seven goblins.  

But ultimately, Hayley was only auxiliary. The main credit for the current outcome belonged to Gauss’s firm will to fight.  

Although he looked like he was mercilessly slaughtering the goblins, their combat strength was not completely overwhelmed.  

If anything, he might have been the weaker side.  

Fast thinking, the Nemesis effect, and the panic his ferocity caused among the goblins—without these factors combined, the battle’s outcome might have been completely reversed.  

As the saying goes, when the body reaches its limit, the will will carry you through.  

The goblins lost their fighting spirit in the end, while Gauss, though physically exhausted, fought with even greater courage. This was the difference between life and death!  

Atop the treetops, Hayley lowered her bow. Drawing and shooting repeatedly had made her arms ache and throb, clearly strained.  

Just as the two caught their breath, a sudden pained scream from a boy rang out from another direction.  

It was Bell’s voice!  

Right, aside from Hayley’s support and Gauss’s main assault, the two had jointly slain nine goblins.  

There were still nine goblins surrounding Bell, Mia, and three other villagers.