On the one hand, Fang Zhen could feel the tension, excitement, and impulsiveness welling up inside him. He felt all these emotions, no different from any normal person.
But on the other hand, Fang Zhen felt as if his consciousness existed on a higher plane. It was like a raging sea, whipping up storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis with its violent winds and surging waves, yet utterly unable to affect the serene, jade-like moon hanging high in the sky.
Fang Zhenâs emotions and impulses were the raging sea, while his consciousness was the moon, observing and controlling everything from a higher dimension.
In this state, Fang Zhen was unaffected by fear or impulse. His movements took on a strange, aesthetic quality as he calmly continued with his plan, loading another Crossbow Arrow.
The Kobolds charged forward. Five remained. The one at the very front was a Dogman Miner, brandishing its pickaxe less than six meters away from Fang Zhen.
Fang Zhen raised the weapon. He didnât even bother with the sights, relying purely on his combat instincts as he fired a shot.
A steel ball struck the nearest Dogman Miner in the throat, piercing through. The creature staggered, its pickaxe slipping from its grasp. It clutched its throat with both hands and knelt on the ground, hacking dryly.
After taking out the Dogman Miner, Fang Zhen tossed the Dragon Gall Crossbow behind him. His right hand found the high-intensity flashlight propped up on a pile of rubble and flipped the switch.
The flashlight suddenly flared to life, blasting out an intense beam of light.
At this moment, the closest one to Fang Zhen was another Dogman Miner, and behind it was a Dogman Warrior wielding a short axe, its torso covered in iron armor and its lower body in a leather kilt.
The former was only about three meters away from him.
The moment Fang Zhen switched on the flashlight, a brilliant white light washed over the four remaining Kobolds, completely engulfing the charging creatures.
The Kobolds immediately shrieked in pain. Their charge halted as they instinctively threw their hands in front of their faces, squeezing their eyes shut against the direct glare.
âHeh, thatâs exactly what I wanted!â
Fang Zhenâs Spirit was roused.
He could guess what the four Kobolds were experiencing. It was like driving at night when an oncoming car flashes its high beams, leaving you momentarily blind and disoriented by the glare.
From Fang Zhenâs experience, it would take several seconds for the Kobolds to recover, and even then, their vision would be impaired.
Fang Zhen snatched up the spear he had placed beside the flashlight. He lunged forward and thrust it straight at the nearest Koboldâs heart.
Fang Zhenâs position kept him out of the flashlightâs glare, and he was striking from a position of advantage. Employing basic spear techniques, he delivered a precise and vicious thrust that buried itself in the foremost Koboldâs chest.
The Dogman Miner shrieked, stumbled, and fell. After a brief struggle, it lay still.
Fang Zhen yanked his spear free from the Dogman Minerâs chest and immediately thrust it at the neck of the next closest enemy, a Dogman Warrior.
This was the Dogman Warrior in the leather kilt. It was still dazed by the light, unable to open its eyes.
Fang Zhen knew his spear wouldnât easily pierce its iron armor, but its neck was exposedâa clear weak point.
Fang Zhenâs basic spear technique was steady and precise, and his strike was ruthless. The spearhead plunged into flesh.
The Dogman Warrior shrieked as the spear pierced its neck. It was clearly much tougher than a Dogman Miner, however. It managed to counter-attack, swinging its short axe wildly and striking the shaft of Fang Zhenâs spear.
The blow carried considerable force, and it was the blade of the axe that struck the shaft.
A jolt ran through Fang Zhenâs hands. The force behind that swing was comparable to a human of the Koboldâs height, perhaps even stronger.
If the spear had a wooden shaft, the axe would have likely snapped it in two.
But the shaft of Fang Zhenâs current spear was made of alloy.
The Dogman Warriorâs axe, far from breaking the shaft, only caused the embedded spearhead to twist violently in its neck. The puncture wound became a ragged tear, and blood gushed from the Koboldâs neck like a fountain.
Fang Zhen sidestepped the spray of blood as he pulled the spear free, giving it a sharp twist on the way out for good measure.
The Dogman Warriorâs wound widened, and the bleeding intensified.
The Dogman Warrior was tough. Its neck was half-pierced, and blood was spraying out like a fire hose, yet it still hadnât collapsed. It staggered forward, still trying to charge, its will to fight astonishing.
But Fang Zhen gave it no chance to fight to the death.
Fang Zhen pulled his spear back, preparing for another strike. He aimed for the Koboldâs eye, intending to finish the Dogman Warrior off.
But before Fang Zhen could strike...
Suddenly!
Behind the injured Dogman Warrior...
...the Iron Dogman Warriorâthe one that had been holding a candle with a Longsword on its back, presumably the leaderâhad at some point drawn its weapon. The candle now lay discarded on the ground.
This Armored Dogman Warrior let out a savage bark and, gripping its Longsword with both hands, swung it in a wide, horizontal arc.
Slightly startled, Fang Zhen quickly retreated to evade the Longsword.
The Armored Dogman Warrior with the Longsword was still blinded by the flashlightâs glare. Its slash was wild and undirected. It missed Fang Zhen completely, but its swing carried it from behind right into the neck of the short-axe-wielding Dogman Warrior, who was still spurting blood.
The blood-gushing Dogman Warrior had been about to charge Fang Zhen one last time. But now, its unfortunate neck was struck by one of its own kind... no, by one of its own dogs. The Longsword was sharp, and the axe-wielding Dogman Warriorâs neck, already grievously wounded, couldnât withstand the blow. It was severed in one clean cut, and the head tumbled to the ground.
The body of the axe-wielding Dogman Warrior took two more steps forward before the headless corpse knelt and collapsed. Its head rolled several meters away.
Even in his state of heightened combat focus, Fang Zhen was momentarily stunned by the sight.
âHoly shit, thatâs ruthless!â
âWhat kind of tactic is that?â
âGoing so crazy you even kill your own dogs?â
âSavage!â
âNo, a savage dog.â
âSo heartless!â
Fang Zhen was astonished for half a second, but his body kept moving. He took another half-step back, and then it dawned on him.
Fang Zhen instantly understood. The Armored Dogman Warrior hadnât gone mad and killed its own kind; it was simply blinded by the glare.
This Dogman Warrior possessed a degree of combat intelligence. It must have guessed that Fang Zhen was about to press his advantage while it was blinded. So, it had simply swung its Longsword recklessly to force its enemy, Fang Zhen, to retreat.
It had either forgotten about its ally in front of it, or was simply too selfish to care.
The result? Well, it achieved its goal of forcing Fang Zhen back a step. The unintended consequence, however, was beheading another Warrior-class ally who could have still put up a fight.
Fang Zhen figured it all out in an instant. His gaze toward the âsavage dogâ became complicated.
âHow should I put it?â
âThe Armored Dogman Warrior with the Longsword is cunning and selfish, for sure.â
âAnd it has some degree of combat intelligence.â
âBut... itâs not exactly a genius.â
At this time, the Longsword-wielding Armored Dogman Warrior and the Dogman Miner behind it had both recovered from the blinding glare.
Perhaps realizing its last slash had missed Fang Zhen and killed its âown dogâ instead, the âsavage dogâ became flustered and enraged. It barked furiously and charged at Fang Zhen alongside the remaining Dogman Miner.