Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

”What the hell?”

The fist slammed into me before I could react.

The impact felt like being struck by a siege weapon. Every bit of air was driven from my lungs as my body was sent hurtling toward the ground.

Just before the force could fully tear through me, [Fractured Reality] shimmered.

The familiar distortion rippled across my body, absorbing part of the blow and preventing what would’ve almost certainly been a fatal hit.

Even so, it wasn’t enough to stop my fall.

The ground rushed up to meet me, but just before impact, I activated [Warp], and the world blurred.

I reappeared a considerable distance away, Ariel already secured in my arms before my feet touched the ground.

She looked up at me, her ears flattened against her head.

”What the hell just happened?”

I frowned.

”She found us.”

The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

The worst possible scenario had come to fruition.

This was exactly why I hadn’t warped back to the clan.

If I’d done that, I would’ve led this nightmare straight to my goblins, forcing them to face an enemy they had absolutely no chance of defeating.

That was never going to happen.

Ripples spread through the air around me.

One portal after another began to tear open across the sky, each identical to the one that had appeared behind me moments earlier. Dark, circular rifts hovered in midair, their edges twisting like liquid shadow.

Then the undead emerged.

They stepped out one by one, clad in weathered armor and carrying ancient weapons. Purple energy swirled around their bodies like living mist, flowing through the gaps in their armor and empty eye sockets.

One of the undead took a step toward me.

Without wasting a moment, I activated [Analyze].

A translucent screen appeared before my eyes.

[Undead Knight Level: 101]

My expression stiffened.

Ariel stared at the growing army before saying:

”We should leave. We can’t take them all.”

”Right...” I muttered to myself.

Charging them head-on would be suicide.

There was no reason to fight an entire army at once when they were the ones chasing me.

If I could keep moving, separate them as they pursued me, and force them into smaller engagements, my chances of surviving would be far higher.

”Don’t bother trying to escape, goblin.”

The voice didn’t belong to the undead knight.

It belonged to Mordra.

The level one hundred and one knight stood motionless as the words left its mouth, its lips never moving. The purple aura surrounding its body pulsed faintly with each sentence, making it obvious she was speaking through it.

”I will find you,” she continued. ”And I will take what I want.”

I let out a long sigh.

”Do we really have to do this?” I asked, tightening my grip on Ariel. ”I never said I wasn’t going to take down Lord Drugar. I only said I was going to do it on my own terms.”

There was a brief silence. Then Mordra’s voice answered through the knight once more.

”And if those terms compromise the existence of the fragment... or lead you to the opposing side?”

”That won’t happen.”

”I cannot afford to take that risk, goblin,” she replied, her tone turning noticeably sharper.

I couldn’t help but scoff.

”Is that really the reason?” I asked, holding the knight’s glowing gaze. ”Or do you simply want to take possession of my body?”

The undead knight fell silent.

It simply stood there, its empty gaze fixed on me without moving.

I narrowed my eyes.

”It seems I was right.”

For a few seconds, the only sound was the wind passing through the open landscape.

Then Mordra spoke again.

”It has been more than a millennium since I was imprisoned, goblin,” she said, her voice quieter than before. ”Do you truly believe I would allow the only path to my freedom to slip away?”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

”So that’s what this is really about.”

I shook my head.

”This was never just about doubting my loyalty.”

I looked directly at the undead knight.

”This is about your own selfish desire for freedom.”

”Selfish?” the undead repeated.

Its voice suddenly grew colder.

”What the hell do you know, goblin?”

The knight took a slow step forward, its armored boot grinding against the earth.

”For millennia, we dedicated ourselves to hunting threats that endangered entire worlds. We watched countless comrades fall, one after another, and still we continued.”

Another step.

”We sacrificed everything we had so others could continue living.”

The purple aura surrounding the knight intensified, flaring with Mordra’s emotions.

”And after all of that...”

Her voice rang with restrained anger.

”...you dare call me selfish?”

The undead knight’s aura erupted.

The purple energy surrounding its body surged violently, and almost immediately, the rest of the undead answered in kind. One after another, their auras flared until the entire battlefield was engulfed in a sea of violet light.

The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.

The mana in the air churned violently, and the pressure pressing down on the surroundings grew so heavy that the ground beneath several of the knights began to crack.

I remained where I was.

The display of power was overwhelming, but it didn’t change what I thought.

”You are selfish.”

Ariel reached up and swatted at my arm, silently urging me to stop before I pushed things any further.

I ignored her.

”The only way you can take control of my body is by killing me and removing Aster’s fragment first.” I kept my eyes fixed on the undead knight. ”Isn’t that right?”

Mordra didn’t answer.

I continued anyway.

”That fragment was created for one purpose. To resist Drugar.”

I took a slow breath.

”The same Drugar that you and the other Archmages failed to stop.”

My voice remained calm.

”And now you’re willing to destroy the very thing Aster left behind simply because you can’t have your way.”

The undead knight remained motionless.

Yet the purple aura surrounding it grew even more unstable, simmering like a fire on the verge of erupting.

”You’re throwing away the meaning behind Aster’s sacrifice just so you can obtain your freedom.”

I didn’t look away.

”That is selfish.”

”Stop it...” Ariel whispered, her small body trembling against my shoulder.

Whether she was afraid for me or afraid of what Mordra might do next, I couldn’t tell.

Regardless, I continued.

”And maybe I don’t know everything about you or the other Archmages. Maybe I don’t understand the weight you’ve carried or the battles you’ve fought.”

I paused for a fraction of a second.

”But I do know this.”

I stared directly into the undead knight’s empty eyes.

”In the end...”

”...you’re no different from Drugar.”

The undead knight’s composure shattered.

A furious roar exploded from its throat, shaking the surrounding air as the purple aura around its body erupted like a storm. Without the slightest hesitation, it swung its sword in a brutal horizontal arc.

A massive crescent of violet energy tore free from the blade and raced toward me, splitting the earth in its path.

I planted my feet.

My stance lowered instinctively as I activated [Hand of the Raging Sun].

Divine flames erupted around both of my hands, bathing them in blinding golden heat that distorted the air around my fists.

Screw running away.