[SOUL ART NAME CHANGED TO SOUL ARMAMENT]

••••••••

Realizing the severity of the situation, the goblins were on high alert, retreating step by step.

After their attacks were repeatedly repelled, they belatedly realized that compared to the human’s equipment, what they held in their hands was nothing but a pile of junk, unable to even break through his defenses.

The goblins had never encountered such a troublesome opponent.

It wasn’t that he was particularly strong; in fact, the goblins could vaguely sense that this iron-clad man was quite clumsy with his weapons, with a monotonous way of attacking and no knowledge of saber skills or techniques.

Yet, despite this, his suit of armor alone rendered them helpless.

It was like a moving fortress, unstoppable.

“A bunch of filthy sewer rats, used to bullying the weak, that’s all you’re good for,” Winnie taunted as he held his saber.

He slowly stepped into the cave, partly to conserve his strength, and partly because walking this way added to the intimidation.

Given such an opportunity, why not put on a show?

On his first mission as an adventurer, Winnie thought he had been cautious enough.

However, his lack of experience meant he failed to notice the sly glances exchanged by these cunning goblins.

Goblins lacked the ability to craft or learn magic, relying solely on weapons they had scavenged to fight.

This fact constrained Winnie’s thinking, leading him to believe that the goblins’ shoddy weapons posed no threat, making them nothing more than sitting ducks.

As it turned out, the goblins’ cunning far exceeded his expectations.

Realizing their weapons couldn’t penetrate his armor, the goblins began to retreat, but not aimlessly.

They retreated with purpose, feigning fear to lure their prey step by step into a trap.

“Click!” Winnie took a step.

Previously, he had been stepping on solid ground, but this time, it felt like he had stepped on an uneven stone.

“Huh?” A sense of danger instinctively rose within him.

Immediately after, he saw a massive wooden log swinging down from above, aimed straight at him.

Winnie’s heart raced with alarm.

While his armor could indeed protect him from slashes and stabs, it couldn’t fully absorb the impact of a powerful external force, which would still affect him.

He wanted to dodge, but his weak physique and slow reflexes made it impossible.

At the critical moment, he gritted his teeth and crossed his arms in front of his chest to block the log’s impact.

“Thud!” With a heavy sound, the iron-clad man fell to the ground.

Seeing this, the goblins revealed their ferocious nature.

Previously, none had dared to approach, but now, with their prey on his back, they rushed forward to deliver the final blows.

Winnie’s chest ached from the log’s impact, his blood surging, feeling as if he might vomit from the pain.

But he knew he had to hold on and get up immediately.

As he tried to push himself up with one hand, several goblins pounced on him, pinning him down.

Though goblins weren’t heavy, Winnie’s strength was limited.

With several of them piled on top, he was forced back to the ground.

The goblins howled with excitement, raising their weapons to stab and slash at Winnie on the ground.

Yet, the result was the same, even pinned down, their weapons couldn’t breach his armor.

Seeing this, the goblins attempted to strip Winnie of his armor.

With their companions’ help, they tugged at his arm guards and chest plate, trying to create gaps to deliver fatal blows.

However, no matter how hard they pulled, Winnie’s armor remained firmly in place.

“Wak Wak!” The goblins shouted and screamed, though it was unclear what they were trying to express.

Taking advantage of their momentary confusion, Winnie seized the opportunity.

He rolled on the ground, slapping away the three goblins clinging to his armguard.

“What a pity, you disgusting vermin. This isn’t just armor—it’s Soul Armament,” Winnie said as he stood up, adjusting his ragged breathing.

Performing these movements while clad in armor had nearly drained his stamina, and his saber was nowhere to be found.

The goblins seemed intent on pinning him down again, lunging at him.

Winnie grabbed one goblin’s wrist, snatched the short knife from its hand, and stabbed it into the chest of another goblin.

He then hurled the now unarmed goblin at the others, sending them tumbling into a heap.

Seizing the moment, Winnie retrieved his saber, decapitating one goblin with a single swing and smashing another’s face with his fist.

Goblin blood splattered across the gleaming fish-scale armor, illuminated eerily by the cave’s firelight.

The iron-clad man leaned on his bloodied saber, his gaze slightly raised.

Seeing this, the goblins scrambled backward, desperate to retreat deeper into the cave.

But before they could get far, two goblins were grabbed and thrown to the ground.

“Did I say you could run?” the iron-clad man said, towering over them as he raised his blood-stained saber.

“Wak Wak!”

The remaining goblins completely disregarded their kin, fleeing for their lives.

In their panic, they even knocked down their own companions to slow the terrifying iron-clad man’s advance.

These goblins, who still had some fight left in them, fell victim to their allies’ betrayal.

Thanks to their “assistance,” they were unable to rise in time and were swiftly cut down by Winnie.

Winnie was now fully consumed by bloodlust.

Strangely, his previously exhausted body now felt invigorated.

As if driven by some external force, he moved through the dim cavern, slaughtering every goblin in his path.

When he cornered the goblins in a dead end, they hurled every ranged weapon they had at him.

Stones and arrows rained down, clattering against the bloodied scale armor like rain against glass, only to be effortlessly deflected.

Winnie stretched his limbs and let out a cold laugh at the desperate goblins.

These bastards probably had no more traps left, and he was now vigilant, careful not to step on anything suspicious in the goblin-infested cave.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Let me give you a riddle. If you answer correctly, I’ll let you go,” Winnie said, stepping closer with a wicked grin.

At this moment, he seemed to recall his original character’s persona.

“What has two legs but can’t move?”

The goblins exchanged confused glances.

Before they could respond, Winnie revealed the answer, raising his saber and grinning at them.

“No need to guess—it’s all of you in a moment!”

With that, Winnie charged forward.

Though the armor slowed him down, to the goblins, the sight of an invincible, fully armored iron-clad man charging at them was like witnessing the grim reaper himself.

In this situation, perhaps some goblins could have tried to hold Winnie off while the rest escaped.

After all, Winnie was alone, and his stamina was limited.

He couldn’t possibly block the exit and chase them all down simultaneously.

But goblins were goblins. The lives of their kin meant nothing to them.

In this critical moment, none were willing to step up and take the risk.

They would rather believe their shoddy weapons could miraculously penetrate his armor than gamble their lives.