These twelve small goblins, about a meter tall, also wore loincloths made of tattered rags that barely covered the lower part of their bodies. However, the clearest distinction with the big goblin apart from the size and the big belly was their weapons.
While the fat goblin wielded a large white bone, the smaller goblins had wooden crossbows in their hands and a small quiver with sharp bone arrows on their backs.
"All of you follow the road and look for Bai Zemin and the rest!" Shangguan Bing Xue ordered calmly and without waiting for a response from the convoy drivers dashed off into the forest behind her.
Seeing her disappear into the shadows so quickly, the highest goblin shouted some sharp words and chased at full speed while the smaller goblins shouted and ran after quickly.
The drivers didn't linger to think things over and set the vehicles in motion in a hurry turning into a gust of wind and dust that soon disappeared in the horizon towards the village where Bai Zemin and the rest were currently stationed.
* * *
Due to the existence of the mana, the forests and plants had mutated.
Shangguan Bing Xue ran for five minutes and all she saw was green, green, and more green. Knowing that it was not good for her to go too far into the great forests of China she stopped in the middle of a large clearing as she had noticed that the fat goblin's aura was fixedly focused on her, which meant that due to their equivalent speeds she could not leave the monster behind.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!...
Immediately after she stopped the wind swooshed and Shangguan Bing Xue swiftly retreated causing the bone arrows to miss their target and instead hit the ground and the trees behind.
"Kekeke..."
The fat goblin stepped out of the shadows of the forest and laughed loudly as it looked at her and licked its dry lips with its monstrous tongue.
Although the goblins of the fantasy stories were not necessarily the same as the goblins born from the mana of the world, at least their lewdness was the same considering the lustful eyes the little creatures had when they looked at the beautiful woman in front of them.
Shangguan Bing Xue was never a woman of many words so after judging and identifying her enemies she immediately began to attack with no other intention but to end the other side's life.
"Ice Thorns!"
Under her command, the ground in front of the fat goblin suddenly froze and several sharp-tipped thorns shot out without warning.
The fat goblin snorted through its nose and without any strange act struck forward with its bone stick, destroying the Ice Thorns with utter ease before charging forward while laughing wildly.
Shangguan Bing Xue frowned slightly as the enemy's physical strength was really annoying. Her Ice Maker skill was great for attacks, defenses, and even traps; but it wasn't as destructive as fire-type skills or other attacking elements.
The fat goblin swung its bone stick and hacked horizontally.
Although the bone stick was not sharp, it was incredibly hard so if this attack hit her she could definitely break a rib or two. Shangguan Bing Xue jumped high into the air, evading the attack, and waved her hand creating several ice bullets before shooting them forward.
The ice bullets hit the fat goblin's body but all of them exploded on its tough skin and turned into water that ran down its body. The beast laughed out loud as if it was sneering.
The twelve small goblins raised their crossbows while laughing like wild children and shot towards Shangguan Bing Xue who had not yet touched solid ground.
Being in mid-air it was simply impossible to dodge, therefore, Shangguan Bing Xue created a small ice platform under her feet and hurriedly used it to propel herself to the side, barely avoiding the bone arrows.
Just before reaching the ground, she pointed with her wand and coldly said, "Ice Arrow."
Immediately over twenty ice arrows were crafted and with a wave of her hands were launched forward at astonishing speeds.
Being level 25, just one step away from evolving, Shangguan Bing Xue was way more powerful than the small goblins. The small beasts could not even react when the more than twenty arrows pierced them in the head, chest, heart, abdomen, and others parts of their bodies.
[You have acquired the Soul Power of Wild Goblin level 16].
[You have acquired the Soul Power of Wild Goblin level 13].
...
Twelve messages quickly flashed in her retina and Shangguan Bing Xue finally realized that these creatures really were goblins and not just identical in appearance. After all, the Soul Record possessed the power to read the very soul and source of every being in the universe.
At the quick death of its comrades of the same race, the fat goblin laughed with its high-pitched voice and as if it cared nothing about it charged forward again with the intention of injuring her severely.
Right. From the beginning the goblins were aiming to injure and capture her, not kill her.
As for the reason... She was clear about the purpose.
Shangguan Bing Xue couldn't help but chuckle coldly and her red lips curved into a strange smile.
"Ice Vines!"
From the ground, dozens of frozen but incredibly flexible vines shot out towards the fat goblin, successfully stopping its charge. The beast growled as the fat on its body seemed to vibrate, causing the ice vines to crack rapidly.
Shangguan Bing Xue expended 60% of her remaining mana and crafted a small, delicate ice sword. She rushed forward in a hurry knowing that her time was limited as the vines definitely could not hold out for more than a second or two at most.
Just before the vines exploded into thousands of tiny ice fragments, she managed to make a light slash at the fat goblin's body before being forced to retreat as the large bone stick hit the ground where she was previously standing, shaking the earth hard.
"Kii kikiki kekekeke!" The fat goblin touched the wound on its chest from where some green blood was barely trickling out and burst out laughing.
Shangguan Bing Xue noticed that the wound was too light and could not help but frown slightly. Although this ice sword had consumed practically all her Mana, she could barely pierce through the skin of the enemy before her.
Worst of all, to maintain the ice sword she needed to constantly consume Mana so at most she needed to finish the battle in thirty seconds before she was powerless.
While Shangguan Bing Xue had great control over her own Mana, it was impossible to completely master it in such a short time. Even she, just like Bai Zemin, could not help but over-consume when she found herself in too tough a fight because a small mistake in activating her skill could make a big difference in energy consumption.
The fat goblin licked its bloody hand and charged forward again. Its eyes flashed with unbridled madness and burning lust; it was as if the beast knew no fear or as if it could feel no pain from the wound in its chest.