Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Caius POV

Evangel was confused.

His mind struggled to comprehend what the hell Caius had done to him. One moment, he had been fighting normally, and the next, his entire perception of the battlefield had become impossible to trust.

Was it an illusion skill?

That was the only explanation he could come up with, but even that didn’t make complete sense.

His eyes moved toward the corpses scattered across the battlefield. Several dead orcs lay around them, their bodies twisted in the aftermath of the battle.

Evangel narrowed his eyes.

Did I kill them?

Or had Caius done it?

He studied the corpses carefully, examining their positions and the wounds covering their bodies. The answer quickly became obvious.

It was his work.

The manner in which they had been killed matched the attacks he had used earlier, even though he couldn’t remember every moment clearly. That realization only made the situation more disturbing.

He slowly raised his gaze toward Caius.

The goblin was simply standing there, watching him without saying a word.

There was no urgency in his expression.

No obvious sign that he was preparing to attack.

And yet, something about his eyes immediately caught Evangel’s attention.

There was something strange about them.

Something that made Evangel’s instincts scream at him not to look any longer.

He hurriedly looked away.

”Is that how you do it?” Evangel asked, his voice carrying a hint of suspicion. ”Put people in an illusion just by staring at them?”

Caius’s lips curled into a faint grin.

”How about you raise your head and look at me to find out.”

Evangel clicked his teeth.

He wasn’t foolish enough to accept such an obvious provocation.

”Tricks like that won’t be enough to defeat me, Caius.”

”Really?” Caius spoke in a tone of skepticism, his faint grin never leaving his face. ”Then why are your boots trembling right now?”

”Huh?”

Caius tilted his head slightly, as though he were genuinely curious about Evangel’s reaction.

”It’s pretty obvious you’re afraid and just rambling to convince yourself otherwise.”

Evangel’s expression darkened immediately.

”You bastard.”

His fists tightened at his sides, and the irritation in his voice quickly gave way to something much more hostile.

”You don’t know what it means to be afraid.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Evangel vanished.

There was no warning.

One instant, he was standing several meters away from Caius, and the next, his presence disappeared completely as he moved with such speed that even the surrounding air seemed to shudder from his departure.

”I’ll show you what it means to be afraid.”

Caius remained unmoved.

He didn’t chase after Evangel, nor did he bother looking around frantically for his location. His expression remained calm as he stood among the dead orcs, completely certain that whatever Evangel was planning, he could handle it.

And handle he did.

Evangel, still invisible, appeared behind Caius without warning, his blade already moving toward the back of Caius’s head. He had timed the attack perfectly, intending to end the fight before Caius could even realize where he was.

But Caius reacted.

He turned just enough to intercept the incoming blade with his own, deflecting the strike away from his body before immediately countering with a slash of his own.

Evangel clicked his teeth and pulled back, his expression hardening.

So he could still react even when he couldn’t see him.

Fine.

If one attack wasn’t enough, then he’d overwhelm him with everything he had.

Evangel began activating the skills in his arsenal one after another. His muscles tightened as his physical strength surged, mana flooding through his body and reinforcing every part of him. His speed suddenly increased as well, nearly tripling as the enhancement took effect.

The air around him seemed to distort from the sheer acceleration.

He moved again.

This time, he aimed directly for Caius’s eyes.

His blade swept toward Caius’s face, but Caius leaned backward, narrowly avoiding the attack. The movement flowed naturally into a counter as Caius lifted his leg and kicked upward, sending the heel of his foot directly toward Evangel’s jaw.

Evangel saw the attack coming.

But instead of avoiding it, he made a quick judgment.

I can tank that.

With his enhanced physical strength and reinforced body, he was confident that a single kick wouldn’t be enough to seriously hurt him.

That confidence lasted until the kick connected.

THUMP!

The impact slammed into his jaw with far more force than he had expected, snapping his head backward and sending his entire body flying through the air.

Evangel crashed several meters away before rolling across the ground and finally coming to a stop.

For a moment, he remained still.

Then he pushed himself back onto his feet, one hand immediately going to his jaw as pain throbbed through his face.

He gritted his teeth.

That bastard...

It was a good thing he had enhanced his physical strength before attacking.

Otherwise, that kick would have undoubtedly knocked him out.

He stared at Caius and saw the goblin standing there with a grin on his face, his eyes closed.

Evangel frowned as he stared at him.

What message was Caius trying to send by doing that?

There was no reason for him to keep his eyes closed unless he was deliberately trying to provoke him.

Evangel stepped forward, his entire body practically boiling with rage as the humiliation of the last exchange continued to sink in.

”Are you mocking me?!”

Caius’s grin widened slightly.

”Indeed. Since I cannot see, maybe you’d stand a chance.”

Evangel froze.

His expression twisted.

Caius couldn’t see him.

He already couldn’t see him.

And yet, despite being completely blind to Evangel’s position, he was still getting his ass beaten.

It was as if Caius were deliberately pointing out the obvious, rubbing the fact directly in his face and making sure Evangel understood just how badly things were going.

It was like salt in a wound.

Evangel clicked his teeth.

Then his anger finally broke through whatever restraint he had left.

He surged forward with a roar, his body accelerating as mana erupted around him. Multiple arrays of offensive spells began forming above and around him, each one taking shape through the flow of his mana as he poured his rage into every attack.

Flames gathered.

Blades of condensed energy took form.

Explosive magic circles overlapped one another, their combined pressure making the surrounding air tremble.

All of them locked onto Caius.

All of them carried the same overwhelming intent.

Rage.

Evangel unleashed everything at once, sending the barrage screaming toward the goblin who stood there with nothing but a sword in his hand.

But...