Odyssey of the Blind God

While admiring the ocean's beauty and nature, Nial had momentarily forgotten about the fact that he and the others had been teleported to the Island as a task to train and overcome numerous dangers.

Because of that, he was shocked for a moment when he perceived a dozen Goblins that were riding on horned wolves.

Both existences radiated an energy that was equal to Originals at the 5th Origin rank, which was quite worrisome, considering that he was barely at the 3rd Origin rank.

However, Nial had already accepted the fact that he would have to fight more powerful opponents on the island that was said to be gigantic.

Nevertheless, what bothered Nial were the gemstone necklaces.

They radiated some sort of energy that influenced the horned wolves.

It was probably the Goblins' means of controlling the wolves, which allowed them to ride them, to begin with.

Yet, it was exactly this fact that seemingly ordinary Goblin Warriors were able to ride the wolves like warriors would ride horses only because of the gemstone necklace that caused him to feel uncomfortable.

After all, the horned wolves and Goblin Warrior were supposed to fight each other, and not work with one another.

With that in mind, the Viper spear manifested in Nial's hand, and he clutched it tightly as his senses went on high alert.

Taking a step ahead, he entered his combat stance and was surprised to see that Bella had become eerily calm.

The unique presence around her had intensified, and faint golden streams of energy intertwined with her long hair that fluttered in the cold wind of the gloomy night.

Two sharp shortswords had manifested in her hands that were gleaming faintly owing to the mana that had been inserted into them.

She was ready to activate her ability [Outburst] in order to massacre the majority of the beasts ahead.

Yet, looking at Nial right next to her, she was not sure whether to leave him alone or to pay attention to him.

However, the moment Nial noticed this, he clicked his tongue, understanding what Bella had in her mind.

She knew that Nial was not weak, by any means, but even Bella had never encountered that two beasts of a different kind were working together.

To add to it, there was a trace of intelligence in the eyes of the Goblin Warriors, which made things further difficult for them.

Nonetheless, the moment Bella heard him click his tongue in disappointment, she knew that by attempting to protect him, she would lose some of his trust.

Because she didn't want this to happen, Bella took a step ahead as she mumbled.

"I will take care of the left side, and help out once I'm done!"

Nial just nodded on hearing this, understanding that Bella was confident of defeating a dozen opponents at the 5th Origin rank with ease.

As such, there was no need for him to worry about her.

"I will protect the two of you, and throw in a few attacks to act as a means of support as well!"

It was Mathias, who suddenly shouted as loudly as possible, nearly knocking him out of breath.

His legs were shaking, and his breath was irregular, clearly showing that he had never fought against any type of overly powerful opponent.

However, this was perfectly fine because Mathias was never supposed to fight enemies in close combat, to begin with.

In fact, Nial had already thought of a few plans on how to fight as a team, which he had wanted to share.

Unfortunately, the perception of the ocean, followed by the appearance of the Goblin Wolfriders made everything quite difficult, preventing him from telling his initial plan.

Nevertheless, everything seemed okay, with the sole annoyance that Nial had to fight against a dozen Goblin Wolfriders alone.

Yet, instead of complaining, he couldn't help but smile lightly.

Moving the Viper spear around himself, he quickly adjusted his body to the cold temperature around him, followed by his mind that was fully focused on perceiving the Goblin Wolfriders' movement.

He wanted to understand their pattern of attack and predict their next move but this was quite difficult as there were two beings moving in one spot.

As such, the moment the first Goblin Wolfrider shot forward, Nial's body stiffened.

His mind startled to rattle, and he quickly changed his combat stance.

The horned wolf alone was already a meter tall, and the Goblin who was sitting on the wolf reached another 60 centimeters into the air.

Taking that into consideration, he was not fighting against some small opponent, but two opponents whose most vulnerable areas of their body were at the height of one meter and one meter and 60 centimeters.

Thus, he was neither fighting normal beasts, nor a human that was his height, turning the stance he had first taken unsuitable.

Releasing the blade on the side of the Viper spear's tip, Nial was ready to slash through his opponents' bodies if thrusting out were to be unsuitable.

But before he could do so, the faint click of the side blade reached the sharp ears of the other Goblin Wolfriders who began to move towards him as well.

Driven by hunger while advancing toward the three opponents they had encountered in their search for food, the wolves reached a remarkable speed.

Using this to their advantage, the Goblin Wolfriders wanted to get rid of their strongest foe at once.

This made them focus on Bella, who was suddenly attacked by a total of 8 Goblin Wolfriders.

Meanwhile, only one attacked Nial, while the other three cornered Mathias.

It irked Nial, but it made sense to act like this.

After all, he was the weakest, and not considered a threat by the Goblin Wolfriders.

Nevertheless, it made him smile a little as he circulated mana through his entire body before pushing his feet off the ground.

Catapulting himself towards the Goblin Wolfrider that was ahead of him, Nial lunged at him. His swift movements astonished the Goblin for a moment, while the horned wolf growled in anger.

Lowering its head, the wolf's horn pointed at Nial, causing the blind youth to smile lightly.

Dismissing him as a weakling, the wolf simply followed its instincts, ignoring the fact that it was not able to see very well with its head lowered.

This made it difficult for the wolf to change its trajectory.

However, by receiving commands from the Goblin Warrior that told it how to move, the disadvantages of a restricted sight were outbalanced.

Yet, instead of accepting this fact, Nial knew that there was a short moment the Goblin Warrior took to react before commanding the wolf, who would also need a fraction of a second before it could work on the orders.

With that in mind, Nial was exhilarated about the fact that the wolf made the entire fight easier for him, voluntarily at that.

Meanwhile, as Nial reached the close range of the Goblin Wolfrider in front of him, Mathias had used his elemental affinity in order to terraform the surroundings.

Erecting spiked walls out of the ground to Nial's right side and Bella's left side, Mathias created an obstacle for the three Goblin Wolfriders.

They would either have to make a detour around or charge through Nial and Bella.

They were already fully occupied with their respective opponents, but Mathias' trust in them was far higher than he wanted to accept.

He had just encountered Nial and Bella, but contrary to his usual behavior, Mathias was able to trust them in the fight of life and death.

That had also been the reason why he accepted forming a team of three because he thought Nial and Bella were the only trustworthy people around.

Considering that they felt the same, it only reaffirmed that his thoughts and instincts had been correct.

As such, he had created a four-meter-tall spiked wall before focusing on utilizing his mana sparingly.

He might be at the 6th Origin rank, but that didn't mean that his mana was endless.

Having used more than a quarter of his mana to manifest the spiked walls, Mathias figured that protecting his friends instead of attacking the Goblin Wolfriders might be the best idea.

Yet, the moment he thought this, Mathias got a glimpse of something he took as a request to attack.

It was Nial, who had deflected the Goblin Warrior's spear with a swift movement, pushing it aside, and giving him an opening.

However, instead of being able to issue a quick follow-up attack, Nial had been forced to avert his attention from the Goblin Warrior to the wolf, whose horn nearly pierced through him.

He had barely been able to adjust his spear, using the lengthy shaft in order to clash with the horn.

This caused a loud tingling noise to resound through the area, only for a quiet voice to follow after.

"Earth spike is coming, Nial!"

The moment Nial heard this, he knew what was going on.

Thus, he used his entire strength to try holding down the wolf, preventing it from moving away.

Yet, its brute force and weight overwhelmed Nial, forcing him to be pushed back on the wet soil, making him almost slip.

It caused Nial to feel burdened, which didn't take long, to his fortune.

After all, his mana perception had already sensed that Mathias had formed a small earth spike, and released it at once.

With a terrifyingly high velocity, the earth spike shot through the air, piercing through the chest of the Goblin Warrior that had lost balance only moments earlier and was now leaning on the side.

It had attempted to regain control over its seat on the wet fur of the horned wolf after Nial had bashed the Goblin Warrior's spear aside.

Not having expected the youth at the 3rd Origin rank to have the physical strength to rival its own strength, the Goblin Warrior had been taken off-guard, only to end up with an earth spike in its chest.

Perceiving the death of the Goblin Warrior, Nial rejoiced, while the Horned wolf couldn't help but howl in confusion.

The Goblin Warrior had fallen from the back of the horned wolf, freeing it from the gemstone necklace's spell.

Yet, it still advanced past Nial, nearly trampling over him, before moving to the right side, where nobody was standing.

It kept turning from left to right restlessly, unsure of what to do.

It still had the commands of the Goblin Warrior in its mind, but the spell that forced it to obey had expired already.

As such, nobody could force the horned wolf to do something it didn't want to.

Nonetheless, seeing its pack, its yellow eyes turned ice-cold, and a ferocious growl stemming from the depth of its body was issued.

Only a moment later it charged back towards Nial.

Yet, instead of even trying to attack it, Nial stood where he was as he felt it brushing past him, unbothered by his existence.

Somehow, he had guessed that the Horned wolf wouldn't attack him right now.

If it were under normal circumstances, Nial was sure that it would have torn him to pieces.

However, it did no such thing right now.

Having shot past Nial, it pounced towards the closest Goblin Wolfrider, clawing at the Goblin, attempting to tear it apart.

Feeling that something about the Goblin had to be the reason that rendered the wolf unable to even think properly, he sensed that it was instinctively trying to save its pack from being imprisoned.

Yet, just before the sole freed horned wolf could react and attack the being sitting on one of its brethren, the Goblin Warrior smiled hideously,

"Kikiki"

It issued a high-pitched sound as if it was laughing hysterically, only to pull at the horned wolf's fur, causing it to rear up, blocking the attack of its own kind.

Only a moment later, Nial couldn't help but feel shocked by what he saw.

The horned wolf that was still under control by the Goblin Warrior attacked the freed horned wolf, mercilessly sinking its teeth into the other wolf's throat before violently shaking its head, tearing the neck apart.

This caused Nial to freeze in place for a quarter of a second, as one question flashed through his mind numerous times.

'What the hell are these gemstones?!'