Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

An arrow of ice struck an orc squarely in the chest, knocking it backward and sending it crashing to the ground.

Zarah exhaled, a plume of cold vapor escaping her lips as she looked across the battlefield.

Two more orcs to go.

At first, she had thought she might need reinforcement to deal with the invading orcs, especially after seeing how many had poured through the portal. But the longer she fought, the more she realized that she had seriously underestimated her own strength.

With the innate skill [Frost Vein] that Eli had given her, her body had become far stronger and more capable than it had been before, allowing her to manipulate ice with enough speed and power to handle roughly a dozen orcs on her own.

One of the remaining orcs suddenly hurled its axe at her.

Zarah immediately leaped sideways, twisting into a barrel roll as the weapon tore through the space where she had been standing. The axe struck the ground behind her with a heavy thump, burying part of its blade into the earth.

Before the orc could recover, Zarah turned toward the remaining two.

She drew her bow and released two arrows in quick succession.

Both projectiles were made entirely of ice.

They flew straight toward their targets and pierced through the orcs’ heads with enough force to penetrate bone, the frozen arrowheads embedding deep inside their skulls.

The two orcs dropped almost simultaneously.

Zarah remained still for another moment, her bow still raised as she watched their bodies for any sign of movement.

Neither moved.

Only then did she allow herself to lower the weapon.

Zarah let out a sigh of relief before turning her attention toward the portal.

No other orcs were coming through.

She reached into her belongings and pulled out one of the potions Granny Flogga had given her before uncorking it and drinking it in a few quick swallows. Then she drank two more, allowing the potions to replenish some of the mana and stamina she had burned through during the fight, although the recovery was far from enough to restore her completely.

Still, she felt reenergized.

The fatigue hadn’t disappeared completely, but the heaviness in her limbs had eased, and the faint headache caused by mana exhaustion was beginning to fade.

She flexed her fingers around the bow.

”Good enough.”

Zarah looked at the portal again.

She wondered whether she should leave and go assist the others, or remain where she was and stand guard in case more enemies emerged from the portal. Neither choice felt particularly safe, but leaving the portal unattended seemed like an unnecessary risk.

She didn’t have to think about it for long.

The portal suddenly shimmered.

Zarah’s grip tightened around her bow as she stared at the swirling surface, expecting another orc to emerge.

Instead, two goblins stepped through.

The first was lean and slightly taller than Zarah, with sharp features, messy black hair, and a crooked grin that made it difficult to tell whether he was joking or already planning something.

His clothes were light and flexible, clearly chosen for mobility rather than protection, allowing him to move freely without anything weighing him down.

The second was broader and more heavily built, with short brown hair, thick arms, and a stern expression that contrasted sharply with his companion.

Unlike the first goblin, he carried himself with a quiet seriousness, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding area as though he was already assessing every possible threat.

”Oi, oi... what happened here?” the first goblin asked, staring at the massacre spread out before him.

His eyes moved across the battlefield, following the trail of corpses.

There wasn’t a hint of fear in his expression. If anything, his curiosity seemed to increase.

The second goblin’s gaze soon landed on Zarah, and his expression immediately hardened.

”Look.”

The first goblin turned toward Zarah, his crooked grin returning as he took a few steps forward.

”Pretty goblin. Did you do this?”

Zarah formed a bow of ice in her hands, the weapon taking shape from the surrounding frost as she drew the string back.

The first goblin stared at her for a couple of seconds before suddenly laughing.

”Interesting. The System tells me you’re not a Chosen, and yet you possess this much power!” He tilted his head, his grin widening. ”How about you join us?”

Zarah ignored his words, focusing only on one word she had heard.

System?

Hearing that single word made everything clear.

It wasn’t a word ordinary goblins should have known.

At least, not in the way he had used it.

He hadn’t said it with confusion or hesitation. He had spoken about the System as though it were something completely familiar to him.

That meant only one thing.

These two weren’t ordinary goblins.

They were Chosens.

A thin layer of cold sweat formed across her back.

If they had been regular goblins, Zarah would have felt confident in her chances, especially after dealing with the orcs that had come through the portal. But these weren’t ordinary goblins.

They were Chosen.

Known to be intelligent and unpredictable, each possessed abilities that could vary wildly from one individual to another, which made it impossible to know exactly what she was dealing with until they revealed their skills.

And that uncertainty made them dangerous because even if she could handle one of them, there was no guarantee she would be able to deal with the other at the same time.

Her eyes moved between the two.

One wrong move or a single mistake in a fight against either of them could cost her her life.

Wes was clearly the more relaxed of the pair, but that didn’t mean he was the weaker one. His carefree attitude could easily be an act, and the fact that he was comfortable enough to joke while standing in the middle of a battlefield suggested that he wasn’t taking her seriously.

The other goblin was different.

He hadn’t said much.

His eyes had been moving constantly since he arrived, taking in the battlefield, the corpses, the portal, and finally her.

He was assessing the situation.

That made Zarah even more cautious.