Chapter 326: No Killing

Ned raised the Butterfly endowed with his energy as the green menace of swirling energy covers its surface.

Gogmurch extended his right arm to Ned. Not wanting to let him go the third time. But his eyes widened as Ned held his ground against his grip over the Butterfly. Veins flooded his arm with his strength equaling even Napond.

"Wait!" Napond demanded with his hand raised to stop their advancing. "Something's not right."

Indeed, something wasn't quite right.

There they thought that the Ghostbloods were trying to free the magical beast inside the cage to cause even more chaos in the region. These beasts, which one already freed and left, were beasts that were too Unique, if not Rare, for their kind. There was nothing like Gogmurch anymore. Just what were the Hunters thinking of caging them?

Yet, Ned did not leave the battlefield even if his goal was accomplished. A goal which was supposed by both sides. But Ned was neither both.

Clad in a black tattered cloak, Ned jumped backward after the contest of strength between him and Gogmurch.

"Halooman!" Was what both sides were hearing coming from the captive, now freed, Unique goblin. "Ee ill krayd!"

"No one's paying to no one!" Ned responded which left both sides hanging with their jaws.

"This Baron isn't one of us!" Thirteen shouted. As soon as he does, the Ghostbloods were positioned for another assault. The ones that left were hiding under the bushes, if not behind, the trees and boulders trying to hide their Mana Leaks. Thirteen's voice muffled under his grotesque mask.

"Doesn't matter whose side that man's on!" Napond said. He raised his free hand to issue commands. As soon as he finished, the remaining Hunters ran toward Ned and Gogmurch. While Napond raised and rested the ax over his shoulder and dashed to Ned.

"How come he can talk to the beast!" One of the Hunter shouted, to which even the Ghostblood responded with a nod under their mysterious masks.

"Listen to me, Gogmurch!" Ned said. To show diplomacy Ned recalled the Butterfly back to his Ring. He stood calm, but aware of his surroundings.

[28 Hunters and 32 Ghostbloods, Ned.]

Most of which are focused on me, Ned thought with a sigh under his mask. I better do this quickly.

Blood smeared the sole of his boots, weapons of the dead from both sides scattered on the ground over the greyish ground, adorned with grasses and grey pebbles.

Gogmurch leaped, in an instant, he appeared before Ned with his massive arm venting out toward him.

"Kon Sas Koron!" Ned said after his successful dodge to the right. His shoulder was an inch away from tearing apart.

Gogmurch stopped. He growled, overlooking the Hunters and Ghostblood fighting over Ned's shoulder.

"Have you ever wondered why I can understand you?" Ned spun and exposed his back to Gogmurch. Showing that no parasite was controlling him.

No matter how Ned hide his identity, the smell he was oozing was too pronounced to the goblin general. His eyes widened as he stared at Ned's exposed back.

He was free to attack. He could not. He would not. He should not.

"How?" Gogmurch said instead, that came out as a growl for the Hunters and Ghostbloods hearing it.

"I stayed there, learn your language—"

Ned conjured Windlance and throw it to the incoming arrow.

"Listen," Ned said after another arrow was struck by the Windlance. "We can talk here all day, or we leave now and go back to the Hive."

"Y-you?" Gogmurch snarled. His eyes glared at Napond dashing toward the two of them. "Been to the Hive? Kon Sas Koron let you!"

Gogmurch bellowed which releases air under his feet. Ripples of air waved that pushed the advancing Hunters.

Ned raised a hand to cover his mask from the beast's rotting smell of saliva.

"Not just that," Ned said under his mask, a hint of joy he voiced out. "I finished more than half of the Gate. The rest is up to—"

Gogmurch leaped overhead Ned and landed before Napond. "I can't leave just yet," he then said ramming his shoulder to the Gold Rank Hunter, "after you open two more of that cage." His eyes blaring toward the pair of massive cages, still covered in a tarp. "Also. This human here will have to pay for what he did to me. Perhaps, my anger towards you, little human, be focused on this hairless man."

"Then buy me time," Ned said and adjusted the mask he was wearing. When he's done, he produced the broken Butterfly and injected his energy which extended the tip to almost a meter. Green oozing light swirling over the sword.

Surprised that the new intruder could communicate with the massive and white-haired goblin, Thirteen leaped off the branch with a mind tangled with confusion.

"Who are you!" Thirteen said under his mask and exposed himself before Ned. "Why are you doing this!?"

Ned took the chance of the exposed Ghostblood leader and struck him under his arm. For a moment, Ned felt and sensed that Thirteen, who he fought in the alley before, moved so sluggish. Perhaps he was already exhausted, Ned supposed.

Realizing his mistake, which drove him of his emotion, Thirteen pulled himself away from Ned, away from the path of his sword, but he was too late and too slow that he was cut under his arm. Releasing bubbles of red blood.

Steam exited from the holes under his mask. "Were you sent by Father to foil us?"

To increase tension, Ned did not answer. Instead, he slashed Thirteen which made the latter jitter in a surprise of Ned's speed.

Ned then left Thirteen and proceed to the nearest cage.

The cage was as massive as the one Gogmurch had. With the dull stone on his left, Ned raised the stone near the cage but was halted when he heard a weak growl coming far from his right.

Under the blazing warmth of the sun, and the still air of the surrounding was Napond's body in between Gogmurch's grip.

Gogmurch was a second near on crushing the Hunter's body when a chain of white light coiled around his wrist and was trying to tag him off his grip.

"Little human..." Gogmurch hissed seeing Ned with the spell Zephyr he conjured. "What are you doing?"

The dull stone was thrown and left on the ground in a hurry to stop Gogmurch from killing Napond. To increase the strength of Ned, he once again recalled the Butterfly back to his Ring and uses both his hands to hold the white chains conjured under his wrist.

"No killing," Ned said and was late to notice that Thirteen get a hold of the dull stone and ran towards the first cage with blood dripping under his black cloak. His left was holding a lump of meat, that if one would focus, they could see that it was beating like a heart. Like alive.