The heavy wooden branch splintered violently against the side of Lucious’s skull.
A sharp, blinding pain exploded right behind his eyes, ringing so loudly in his ears that his vision instantly split into double.
The sheer force of the blow sent his tall frame stumbling sideways, his boots losing all traction on the wet, slippery grass.
As he fell toward the mud, his human instincts screamed that this was the absolute end.
He vividly remembered the sickening crack of his head on the dungeon floor that had killed his original human body. He expected the familiar, cold embrace of death to wash over him in the darkness.
But this time, his skull did not cave in.
Lucious hit the damp earth hard. He immediately shook his head, spitting out a mouthful of bitter dirt and a small glob of crimson blood. He snapped his glowing red eyes toward the massive tree trunk where Dori was standing.
She was still completely rooted to the spot, entirely frozen in her trauma. Heavy tears were streaming rapidly down her dirty face, her hands trembling by her sides as she stared blankly at the chaotic violence unfolding.
A sudden surge of absolute, unadulterated anger flared deep within Lucious’s chest. She had literally just watched him take a potentially fatal blow to the head, all because he was trying to protect her, and she had done absolutely nothing to intervene.
Before he could even open his mouth to shout at her, the goblins swarmed.
The monsters completely ignored the weeping girl by the tree. Their crude, primitive instincts labeled the bleeding, glowing-eyed man thrashing in the dirt as the supreme threat to their camp. Three of the heavily muscled, dark green creatures lunged at him simultaneously, their rusted swords and jagged spears aimed directly at his chest and neck.
Lucious did not have a weapon, so he was forced to rely entirely on his bare hands and his unnaturally high agility.
He rolled sharply to the left, narrowly avoiding a spear thrust that embedded itself deeply into the mud where his neck had just been.
He pushed himself up off the ground, his movements a blur of fluid, terrifying grace. He stepped smoothly inside the guard of the closest charging goblin, completely bypassing its rusted blade.
Lucious drew his fist back and drove his knuckles directly into the center of the creature’s ugly face.
The sickening crunch of shattering cartilage and breaking bone echoed loudly over the popping of the campfire.
The sheer physical force of a True Vampire’s strength behind the punch lifted the heavy goblin entirely off its feet. It flew backward through the air, its neck snapping instantly before it crashed into the bushes in a lifeless heap.
[Target eliminated. F-Rank Forest Goblin.]
[10 blood points obtained.]
Lucious did not have the luxury of reading the ethereal blue text floating in his peripheral vision. The remaining goblins shrieked in absolute fury, pressing their attack relentlessly.
One of the smaller creatures leaped into the air, swinging a heavy wooden club aimed right at his knees. Lucious pivoted on his heel, reaching out with a pale hand to catch the goblin directly by its thick, green throat. He used its thrashing body as a grotesque meat shield, hoisting it up just in time to block a vicious, jagged sword strike from another monster.
The rusted blade sank deeply into the trapped goblin’s back.
The creature let out a gurgling screech of pain, spitting dark blood all over Lucious’s ruined shirt. Without a shred of hesitation, Lucious violently twisted his wrist, snapping the trapped goblin’s neck with a wet crunch.
He dropped the fresh corpse to the mud and immediately launched a devastating kick forward, burying his heavy boot directly into the chest of the sword-wielding monster. The goblin’s ribcage caved in with a loud snap, its internal organs crushed by the impact.
[Target eliminated. F-Rank Forest Goblin.]
[Target eliminated. F-Rank Forest Goblin.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Agility has increased by 5.]
[Strength has increased by 5.]
A fresh, intoxicating surge of raw power washed through Lucious’s muscles, dulling the throbbing pain in his head. The heavy weight of his own body seemed to lessen even further, his strikes becoming faster and far more lethal.
But the numbers were simply too many for a completely unarmed man fighting in an open clearing.
"Dori! Move!" Lucious roared, his deep voice cutting through the high-pitched screeches of the surrounding horde.
He glanced desperately over his shoulder, hoping the display of brutal violence would finally snap her out of her paralyzing fear.
But she just stood there in the shadows, shivering uncontrollably, her arms wrapped tightly around her own body as she wept silently into the dark.
That brief moment of divided attention cost him dearly.
A goblin managed to slide beneath his line of sight, slashing its rusted, jagged dagger violently across the back of Lucious’s thigh.