The Goblin King raised his head.
Sure enough, he spotted that group of adventurers.
But then, he locked eyes with Lin Tian in a death stare.
"Don't think you can earn my favor this way.
If you don't want to die, get lost!"
Was this guy insane!?
Lin Tian was dying to tear that smug face to shreds!
But he restrained himself for now, wanting to see what kind of power the Goblin King had after breaking out of his cocoon.
"Hmph, your eyes are sharp for a piece of trash.
Get lost!"
The Goblin King sneered, kicking Lin Tian away.
Yet, when he looked at his own foot, he found it unexpectedly broken.
Forcing it back into place, he drew a shortsword and leaped at the adventurers above!
"Boom!!!"
The ceiling of the mine collapsed, sending down a barrage of massive rocks!
Dust filled the air!
Given the thousand-meter thickness above, there was no fear of collapse.
When the dust settled, the adventurers stopped pretending and surrounded the Goblin King directly.
"Getting seen through by a low-level goblin, how embarrassing," the adventurer captain snapped.
The Goblin King, with a face full of madness, looked at them.
"Humans?
You dare come to my tribe to die?
Kekeke, children, it's your turn!"
To everyone's surprise, he retreated to the back, letting a horde of goblins charge forward.
Lin Tian's heart ached watching this; he thought this guy was a formidable foe.
He swore to make him die a slow death later!
The adventurers maintained their formation while the mages bombarded the goblins relentlessly.
The result was a gruesome scene of goblins blown to pieces, blood splattering everywhere.
However, it did deplete the adventurers' energy.
The Goblin King, being highly intelligent, understood the principle of sacrificing others to save oneself.
Even if all the low-level goblins died, he wouldn't care.
Soon, tens of thousands of goblins were killed or injured in the explosions!
The Goblin King glared at the adventurers, enraged.
"I'll make you wish you were dead!
Especially that female mage!"
"Hmph, if you have the guts, come and try," the female mage sneered, her staff constantly casting explosive spells.
The thunderous roars echoed through the mine!
Deafening!
One giant crater after another appeared as if bombs were being dropped.
But this also consumed a lot of the supporting adventurers' magic.
Suddenly, the Goblin King activated his skill: Death Sandstorm!
"Shashasha!"
A powerful sandstorm surged through the entire mine!
It filled every crevice like a flood, even spraying high up from the main shaft a thousand meters deep!
Lin Tian frowned slightly.
Was this the extent of the Goblin King's power?
He had a battle power of 7,000; it shouldn't be like this.
He wondered if the system had recently malfunctioned, overestimating the battle power.
This sandstorm was ineffective.
However.
Dozens of meters high, sandworms roared and emerged, touching the mine's ceiling!
At least a hundred of them, like gigantic centipedes, with vicious, hardened black mandibles capable of slicing a person in half.
All of them attacked the adventurers.
The female mage panicked.
"Super-tier Magic · Destructive Explosive Flame!"
Flames burst out, unable to kill even one sandworm.
In the sandstorm, other elemental skills were significantly weakened, while the sandworms' strength greatly increased.
Originally with a battle power of 1,000, now each had 3,000!
Their defense was also incredibly high.
The Goblin King, having absorbed the earth element and sandworm genes, could move freely in his sandstorm.
He began a counterattack with the sandworms.
This explained why he didn't care about the goblins' lives.
Compared to the useless goblins, these sandworms were much stronger.
Under the sandworms' assault, the adventurers were pushed back with no escape.
"Ultimate Sword Technique · Heris Greatsword!!!"
The adventurer captain was forced to use his trump card, his sword conjuring a golden phantom!
A massive sword formed.
With a swing, it easily sliced through the sandworms.
Thick, viscous fluid sprayed everywhere, nauseating.
Lin Tian watched from a distance, relieved he hadn't acted first.
Everyone was holding back their ultimate moves.
Though he could handle it, it would still be troublesome.
The Goblin King felt heartbroken.
"Come back, my babies!
Don't all die!"
He had hoped to use these sandworms to conquer the Sword Kingdom.
Now they were being cut down like weeds, dying in pairs.
Helplessly, he dispelled the sandstorm, recalling the sandworms.
But doing so exposed him to concentrated attacks.
"Kill him instantly!"
The female mage commanded angrily.
"Ultimate Magic · Dragon Binding Chains!"
Giant chains temporarily restricted the Goblin King.
The other adventurers began concentrating their attacks, unleashing all their skills.
In just one second, the Goblin King was severely injured, even losing an arm to the adventurer captain's golden greatsword.
"Don't drive me to the edge!"
The Goblin King roared, dragging his battered body.
The adventurer captain's eyes were cold.
"Hmph, a monster like you, I want to drive you to death.
What about it?"
Just as he spoke, the Goblin King suddenly charged.
But he aimed at the captain's sword.
"Swish!"
With one strike, the Goblin King fell dead on the spot!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Did he just commit suicide?
This king variant died too pitifully!
No one anticipated this.
The Goblin King's body on the ground began to rot visibly fast.
In the blink of an eye, it turned into a viscous liquid.
"What's happening?"
The adventurers were full of confusion.
The female mage sensed something amiss.
"Look, these liquids are solidifying.
Doesn't it look like a cocoon?"
"Break it quickly!!!"
The adventurer captain's expression changed drastically.
He swung his giant sword frantically!
But each hit felt like striking steel!
The pain shot through his hands!
And because the giant sword state had been maintained for too long, his magic power was nearly exhausted.
The female mage's magical attacks were also useless.
Despite their combined efforts, they couldn't damage the cocoon's silk.
Helpless, the adventurer captain had to order,
"Let's go quickly.
This guy is definitely up to something!"
As they prepared to flee, the cocoon started to move.
Bit by bit, it began to shed.
Everyone's backs were covered in goosebumps, their minds filled with one thought: escape!
"Where are you going?
This state feels absolutely amazing!
Hahaha!"
Suddenly, the reborn Goblin King stood before them!
He was completely different now.
His skin had turned into a biological exoskeleton like the sandworms'.
His mouth transformed into mandibles.
He had insect wings on his back!
His segmented body had turned into an arthropod's exoskeleton.
The powerful, confident pressure made the adventurers almost unable to breathe.
In an instant, he caught up with them, the speed unimaginable!
The Goblin King waved his hand!
Without needing the sandstorm state, he summoned numerous sandworms!
They surrounded all the adventurers.
"Bite them to death!"
The Goblin King said playfully.
The sandworms' mandibles tore through, producing metallic crunching sounds!
If bitten, one wouldn't survive; even if they did, they'd be maimed!
"Ahh!
My leg is gone!"
An adventurer cried out in terror.
With his magic power exhausted, he couldn't hold his sword, let alone resist.
He was instantly caught by a sandworm.
The pain hadn't even fully set in; it was just adrenaline numbing him.
In the next second, a sandworm bit his head, pulling it out along with his spine!
"Lar!!!"
The female mage almost collapsed in fear!
She could barely hold her staff!
The scene was suffocating!
The adventurer captain, veins bulging in anger, swung his sword again at the Goblin King.
"Swish!"
"Crack!!"
However, his sword struck metal and broke!
The light-element sword was only powerful in its magical state, like the golden greatsword earlier.
In normal state, it was as strong as a finely crafted alloy sword, sturdy but not exceptionally hard.
But it shouldn't have failed to cut a person and instead broken.
"How is this possible!"
The Goblin King wiped a white mark off his shoulder, drew a tenth-tier shortsword, and thrust it violently!
He stabbed the adventurer captain's heart!
With a twist!
The heart shattered into pieces!
"You!"
Blood gushed from the adventurer captain's mouth, and he fell dead without uttering another word.
The Goblin King sneered disdainfully.
"With so little magic power, don't go strutting around.
If you'd used your light-element state, I might not have withstood that sword."
"Captain!"
The female mage watched her captain die miserably, sinking further into despair!
Suddenly, a teammate was bitten by a sandworm, and with a pull, was torn in half.
Half of him landed on the female mage.
She almost fainted in fear!
The Goblin King approached her slowly, breaking her limbs.
"Kekekeke, it's been so long since I played with a human.
How nostalgic."
"Ahhh, let me go, my limbs are broken!"
The female mage screamed in agony, yet she was lifted up.
Every movement caused her broken bones to shift, stabbing into the nerves beneath the flesh, the pain obliterating any sense of pleasure.
Foaming at the mouth, she lost consciousness!!!
The Goblin King's evil laughter echoed amidst the screams!
He then discarded her like trash, not even interested in eating her.
Because he felt invincible now.
He planned to raid villages, enjoying younger and tastier prey!
Now that he could fly, he wasn't afraid of being hunted by the Sword Kingdom.
He could escape anytime.
Returning here was his domain, where he could control all the sandworms in the sandstorm state!
At least tens of thousands.
No need to breed goblins anymore.
If they died, they died.
He didn't care.
"My kingdom will be built in the sand!
Hahaha!!!"
The Goblin King laughed, fantasizing about ruling the region.
At that moment, a cold, ominous voice sounded.
"Boss, I'd like to share your kingdom too, can I?"