I Am Not The Duke's Evil Son-Chapter 84: Novarian vs. the Goblins

Arthur stared at Octavia’s beautiful face, which made her feel a bit shy. With a long, quiet sigh, he said, "That’s exactly what I intend to do. He’s gotten out of control lately, and I need to discipline him."

Octavia replied with a hint of excitement and schadenfreude, "Yes, my lord. He has gone too far and deserves punishment."

Without continuing the conversation, Arthur began thinking:

’Although his actions were reckless, thanks to him, the goblin extermination went smoother and faster than I expected. Still, I must punish all the soldiers for disobeying my orders. This isn’t a joke.’

He shook his head and stopped bothering himself about something he couldn’t control. With sharp eyes, he observed his soldiers during the battle. After a few minutes, he nodded in approval:

’Their strength has clearly increased. They’re also applying the combat knowledge they learned. Even though excitement carried them away, they’re still acting rationally especially Selene. Her calculated magical attacks are providing great cover for the soldiers.’

But he suddenly frowned slightly as he noticed something:

’There are more goblins than Maarit claimed. Did they receive reinforcements or something similar?’

At the same time, the battle before him was nearing its end. His soldiers had annihilated most of the goblins, leaving only a few retreating in defeat. But then, the shaman emerged from the nest. He wore a massive skull on his head and carried a bone staff, accompanied by several Rank D goblins.

"Grrgrgrgr!"

The shaman shouted something, giving orders to the remaining goblins. At the same time, he cast the spell Wind Blades, but Novarian reacted quickly, blocking the attack. With strange excitement, he locked eyes on the shaman, eager to strike. A few Rank D goblins got in his way, but he didn’t care he cut them down effortlessly.

The short delay from the Rank D goblins gave the others time to form a defensive formation around the shaman, who raised his staff high and began chanting a strange spell. Within moments, fierce winds swirled around them, shielding them from the soldiers’ attacks. The shaman didn’t stop and continued casting, the wind barrier growing stronger with time.

[Spell: Raging Tempest – Rank C]

As soon as Arthur identified the spell, he found it odd. Calmly, he gave his command: "Fall back. Novarian, stop the shaman and kill the rest."

’It’s better if Novarian handles everything. He still needs to develop his combat experience.’

"Fall back!" Chadwick shouted upon hearing the order, snapping the soldiers out of their excitement. They quickly withdrew, leaving Novarian alone in the front.

He coldly nodded, unfazed, and activated the skill Berserk, boosting his stats. Then he used Enhancement Magic to strengthen his body further and triggered the skill Explosive Steps, aiming to end things quickly.

The ground exploded beneath him, rocks flying everywhere. Before the soldiers and goblins could grasp what happened, he covered twenty meters in an instant, appearing right in front of the goblin formation that hadn’t expected him.

They panicked and tried to strike him, but Novarian showed no mercy. He unleashed his full strength, using several skills simultaneously. First, he cast Illusion Magic, creating dozens of clones of himself rushing in from all directions, scattering the goblins’ focus and defenses. Then he activated Absolute Presence.

The goblins immediately felt crushing pressure, their bodies overwhelmed. The weaker ones collapsed unconscious, while the Rank E and D goblins barely stood. As for the shaman, he lost his composure and messed up parts of the spell, causing the wind barrier to fluctuate and weaken.

Novarian swiftly pierced the unstable wind barrier and entered the goblin cluster like a wolf in a sheep pen. His presence alone was enough to make the goblins soil themselves.

The shaman quickly regained composure, roared at his followers to attack, and changed his spell mid-cast.

Even though so much happened, it all took place in mere seconds. Most soldiers and Droblin couldn’t understand what had just happened. They could only watch in silence, trying to follow Novarian’s unbelievable speed and movements.

Unlike them, Arthur could see everything clearly, thanks to the skill Plot Savant.

Without pause, Novarian continued his rampage. He activated Claws of Evil, and long black claws resembling sharp daggers extended from his left hand, radiating a sinister aura.

With a powerful swipe, he slashed through all goblins in his path. Like a raging beast, he tore through the crowd, aiming for the shaman. No goblin could slow or stop him. A single scratch from his claws was enough to freeze goblins in place due to the intense poison.

’I really envy this bastard.’ Arthur couldn’t suppress his awe or jealousy. With disappointment, he compared himself to Novarian and thought about how many resources and efforts he needed just to rank up unlike Novarian, who only needed to kill monsters and steal their skills and strength.

’Should I steal his ring? It’s an SS-rank magical artifact.’ He shook his head and dismissed the thought it was sheer madness. He frowned and thought: ’If I remember right, only three SS-rank treasures appeared in the novel: Novarian’s Ring, the First Hero’s Sword, and the Heart of the Dragon Ancestor. Obviously, I can’t get any of those even in my dreams.’

Suddenly, he remembered something that made him smile oddly: The Mountain Gauntlet.

Excitedly, he thought, ’I forgot about that A-rank magical artifact. According to the novel, it’s located in a mid-tier dungeon in a neighboring barony. Novarian finds it in Volume 3 of the novel, where he meets the second prince and the Bloody Falcon military unit. That’s also when the side effects of his ring begin showing.’

The events of Volume 3 raced through his mind, helping him recall more important things he needed to prepare for. After deciding his next move and clearing his head, he returned his focus to Novarian just as the shaman was about to finish his spell.

Suddenly, the fierce winds around him turned into a powerful tornado filled with sharp air blades, cutting and destroying everything nearby.

A massive tree was blown over and fell nearby, so Arthur ordered his followers to retreat further to avoid injury.

As for Novarian, the winds didn’t affect him. He kept slaughtering goblins without concern, until only ten remained.

"Alright, that’s enough," he muttered coldly. He decapitated a Rank D goblin, then used Spider Web to imprison five more. He then turned toward the terrified shaman, intending to kill him.

But the shaman reacted quickly, hurling his completed spell at Novarian.

Dozens of slicing wind blades shot toward him, cutting through his clothes and gashing his body in several places. Yet he remained standing. Remarkably, his wounds were healing.

Novarian scowled and cursed, "You little Shit"

He then raised his head and let out a deafening howl like a wolf, activating the skill Howl of Terror. His voice carried a powerful aura that froze every living being within a mile in absolute fear. Even Arthur and the rest of the soldiers were paralyzed, holding their breath, their eyes fixed on Novarian’s back in terror.

The same happened to the shaman. He froze, losing control of his spell, which caused the winds to scatter. Coldly, Novarian walked up to him, stared into his terrified eyes, and casually cut off his head.

Then he turned around and stabbed the five goblins trapped in the web. Only three Rank D goblins remained. He showed no mercy. He stabbed the first, then moved toward the other two. But the effect of Howl of Terror ended, allowing the goblins to move again. Without hesitation, they fled but Novarian had expected that.

Coolly, he muttered, "Where do you think you’re going?" and launched two fireballs at their backs. One goblin was burned alive. But suddenly, a shield of thorny roots protected the second, who fled deeper into the forest.

Novarian watched him escape, then turned to Arthur and asked, "Why did you let him go?"

Arthur shook off the eerie feeling caused by Howl of Terror and coldly said, "Because I wanted to." Without further explanation, he looked at his soldiers and said, "Clean the area and collect anything valuable."

He then looked at the shocked Maarit and said, "Our deal is complete. From now on, you and all your companions are my slaves. Send someone to inform your village, so they don’t come looking for you."

Maarit regained a bit of composure and replied hesitantly, "Y-Yes, my lord."

After giving his orders, Arthur sighed deeply and thought, ’I hope that surviving goblin spreads word of our presence to their leader. That might make him hesitant to attack us and buy me time to better prepare my troops.’

After checking the goblin nest and killing the remaining young ones inside, the soldiers gathered all the valuable items they could find. Luckily, there were some good finds that lifted Arthur’s mood. Due to war preparations, the goblin nest was filled with medicinal herbs, monster cores, rare materials, and even coins and old jewelry likely plundered from somewhere.

After spending the night there, they returned to the barony in high spirits, unaware that Arthur planned to punish them immediately upon return. He assigned them the filthiest task possible: cleaning the entire town of all human and animal waste accumulated over the years. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Even Novarian was punished but he refused the task and escaped into the forest to hunt monsters until Arthur calmed down.