Chapter 22 - 22: Giant Beetle

With the goblins losing their only weapon, their fighting power was reduced more than 90%

Reif's swift blade easily slashed their throats and all the goblins were killed

As one of the weakest mobs, most goblins are only F-rank monsters. The only reason why this mission was evaluated as E rank was because of the number of goblins that needs to be killed

The minimum kill was 5. That means that an F rank adventurer needs to defeat and kill 5 enemies that roughly have the same level of power as them

That's a hard thing to do for them. Not to mention, goblins are numerous. If a person is unlucky, they can encounter groups with 15 or even 20 goblins

The smell of blood was unpleasant for Reif's nose but he simply ignored it and starts taking one right thumb each for every dead goblin

It would be the proof that they really killed goblins that they need to show to get their payment

After Reif finished taking all the thumbs, he stored them inside a pouch and proudly waved them in front of Rhash

"Big Brother, I killed all of them!" Reif happily announced with a cheeky smile and Rhash lovingly pats his head

"My Reif is really talented!" Rhash complimented the kid and Reif's smile almost reachest his ears

"But don't be too overconfident yet, alright? Our goal for today is to destroy a whole goblin village! Big Brother will buy us another feast if we succeeded"

A village of goblins has several tens of goblins. Not to mention, there are surely goblins in there that has power above F rank

Typically, a goblin village extermination quest is a D rank quest. That's because of the sheer number of goblins and also because there were stronger goblins present in a village

"I'll do my best, Big Brother!" Reif replied with a fire burning in his eyes before the two continued on their way

Naturally, this forest doesn't only have goblins as inhabitants. Seems like the luck of the two was quite lacking as they encountered a giant metal skin beetle

Rhash already researched the common monsters in this forest for safety and he knows that this beetle is a tough nut to crack

In fact, if they can't discover a goblin village today, it wouldn't be bad to change the target into this beetle

The giant metal skin beetle typically has the power of a D rank adventurer. If Reif and Rhash joined hands, they have a chance to kill this beetle if they are careful

"Reif, this is a strong monster. Beware of its pincers and be careful if you see it moving its head in your direction. The beetle can also use sound type attack"

Rhash is not an expert in the magic beasts field but he still researched some common monsters. Not to mention, his body gave him superior memory and it was easier for him to memorize things

"I understand, Big Brother!" Reif replied as his serious eyes stared at the battle. Just like what Rhash said, the beetle has strong pincers and it charged at the two kids

Fortunately, it has high offense and defense but its speed was mediocre. Reif controlled the gravity around him to moved his body faster than before and he dodges the charge attack

Rhash also threw his backpack away to focus on the fight while popping one condenses blood into his mouth

Compared to Reif's tasty blood, the condensed blood taste horrible enough to give Rhash an urge to vomit

Rhash can't be choosy though as the condensed blood instantly boosted his power

Rhash can feel lifeforce filling every inch of his body and the bloody aura around him looks more vibrant than before

With the boost in his physique, Rhash easily dodged away before his nails grew sharper and longer

In a flash, Rhash appeared on top of the giant beetle and he uses his sharp nails to attack

Screeching sounds can be heard as Rhash's nails left some scratch mark on the beetle's skin

However, true to its name, the beetle has metal-like skin. Aside from the shallow marks, Rhash didn't manage to leave substantial damage to it

Reif was also not in a better condition. He manipulated the gravity around his sword and uses it to thrust into the beetle

However, it was as if Reif attacked a metal wall, not a living creature. Reif's sword didn't manage to pierce through the beetle's defense deep enough to leave any severe injury

The beetle still felt some pain though and it moved its head towards Reif that is on its side

With Rhash's warning from before, Reif immediately moved away from the beetle's head just in time before an invisible sound attack was fired from his previous location

The attack was invisible but it was not silent. In fact, it was quite loud and as long as a person is careful, they can somehow evade it

It was the innocent trees that receive the brunt of the beetle's sound attack. Several trees in a row gained large holes into their trunks to the point that they can't continue standing erect anymore

Rhash sigh in relief after seeing Reif is safe from the sound attack and he went to attack the beetle again

This time, Rhash's hands were ignited with fire. It looks as if his whole hands were burning but he wasn't harmed in the slightest

Two crimson flashes appeared as Rhash attacked the beetle's back. He still felt strong resistance as before and the only thing that Rhash can do was to spread the flames into the beetle's back

The flames only managed to bring some pain to the beetle but it was not enough to kill it

The burning sensation in its back angered the beetle and it turned its head into Rhash's direction

Rhash immediately runs away as one sound wave after another was sent into his direction by the beetle

The innocent trees around were once again abused as several of them fell down at the same time

"Reif, ice magic!" Rhash shouted after his fire magic used up all of its power

As long as a person has imagination and skills, they can use basic elemental magic. The only difference was how easy it is to use that particular type of magic as it would depend on their talent

With Reif having a 100% trust in Rhash, he immediately poured mana into his sword and slashes it in empty space

An icy wave traveled in the air that also hits the part of the beetle where Rhash attacked it earlier

The still hot metal skin instantly turned frozen with Reif's power

The beetle thrashes around as it continues to open and close its mouth to send sonic wave attacks

The battle area was already devastated. The sounds of heavy things hitting the ground reverberated in the area thanks to the trees that can't stand anymore due to the huge holes in their trunks

The birds already flew away and a thin layer of dust blanketed the surroundings

When Reif's ice magic is finally losing its effectiveness, Rhash sent another wave of fire to the beetle's back that was just cooled down by the ice

The cold beetle's skin instantly experienced an inferno and it almost makes the beetle crazy

One second it would feel hot in its back just for it to feel cold in the next second. The sensation was simply torturous and its attack even became faster and stronger

The two kids had a harder time dealing with the sound attacks. The more inexperienced Reif even got hit in his shoulder

"Reif!" Rhash shouted out of worry while running towards the kid

The beetle on the other hand also charged at Reif that was kneeling in the ground while clutching its shoulder that is in severe pain

Reif is still a green bud. He hasn't experienced many injuries yet and just this alone already makes him lose his fighting power

If he was alone, he might die here but Rhash wouldn't let that happen

Rhash's white hair fluttered in the winds as he stood in front of Reif. The bloody aura around his arms turned thicker than before and Rhash uses his hands to stop the beetle's charge attack

A strong force was received by Rhash's arms and it even forced him back for a few meters

Rhash can feel that his internal energy was in disarray but he still gritted his teeth while trying to push the beetle away from Reif

However, Rhash was unsuccessful. He might be able to easily kill normal humans with his physique alone but D rank monsters are different

Rhash is proud of his body but it was still immature. It cannot defeat a beetle at this level yet

Seeing that Rhash was still resisting, the beetle opened its mouth again. Screeching sounds can be heard in the surroundings once more as another sound attack was fired by the beetle

The sound attack heavily slammed in Rhash's chest and he even heard a loud ringing in his ears that was so annoying it caused him to momentarily lose control over his powe