Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

Chapter 383: Barrier

A deep humming sound echoed throughout the walls, vibrating through the surrounding ground as mana surged across the structure like energy rushing through veins.

Then the barrier activated.

A translucent layer of energy began rising upward from the walls, stretching toward the sky in massive arcs before gradually connecting together above the settlement.

The nearby goblins froze.

Then murmurs and gasps spread almost instantly.

Those who noticed the phenomenon first pointed upward, while others emerged from tents and huts to see what was happening. Soon, nearly the entire settlement had gathered outside again, staring toward the sky in awe as the barrier continued expanding over the clan like a massive protective dome.

I moved toward the next empty slot and inserted another garnet into place.

The moment it connected, another pulse of light spread across the walls, and a glowing line of barrier energy shot upward into the sky before linking with the first section.

Then I moved to the next slot. And the next. Each time a garnet was inserted, another section of the barrier was activated, the energy lines spreading further across the settlement like a growing network.

The surrounding goblins watched the process in complete silence now.

Even the air itself seemed different. Heavier. Charged.

Finally, after the last garnet was placed into the final slot, the entire wall reacted at once.

A deep hum resonated throughout the settlement, vibrating through both the walls and the ground beneath our feet as all the separate barrier sections suddenly connected together overhead. The translucent energy lines locked into place in a massive hexagonal pattern stretching across the sky before stabilizing completely into a unified dome surrounding the clan.

Gasps echoed from every direction. Some goblins stared upward with wide eyes while others instinctively reached toward the barrier as if trying to confirm it was actually real.

Even Dribb and Gobbo, who had been stationed near the entrance the entire time, were openly staring at it now. Gobbo even reached out and pressed a hand against the barrier curiously, while Dribb struck it lightly with his fist to test its firmness.

The surface barely reacted.

I used [Warp] shortly afterward and reappeared beside the gathered crowd near Zarah.

She continued staring upward at the barrier for another moment before glancing toward me.

"Is it impenetrable?" she asked.

I nodded.

"You can test it if you want."

Zarah immediately gave me a look that clearly asked whether I was actually serious.

I nodded again in response.

A grin slowly spread across her face afterward as she stepped forward.

"Go all out as well," I added.

I was honestly pretty confident in the barrier’s durability.

If it could withstand my dimensional slash without collapsing, then there was no way an ordinary attack was bringing it down that easily. And while Zarah was strong, especially after all her recent growth, her attacks still weren’t anywhere near that level yet.

Zarah stepped forward without hesitation.

Cold mana immediately gathered around her arm as she formed a bow out of ice, the weapon taking shape with sharp crystalline details before she drew back an arrow made entirely from compressed frost energy. Then she held it there. Charging it.

The surrounding temperature began dropping almost instantly as mana poured into the arrow at an increasingly dangerous rate. Frost spread lightly across the nearby ground, and several goblins close to her instinctively stepped back as the pressure from the attack intensified.

Even the air itself felt colder to breathe. Then she released it.

The ice arrow shot forward like a streak of pale blue light before colliding directly against the barrier.

A deep humming sound echoed throughout the entire dome the moment the attack landed, ripples of energy spreading outward from the point of impact in expanding waves.

For a second, the arrow remained lodged against the barrier surface, freezing the surrounding area rapidly. Then the barrier reacted.

The frost energy was gradually absorbed into the hexagonal structure itself, the ice breaking apart and dissolving piece by piece until it vanished entirely.

And after a few moments, the barrier returned to complete stillness. As if the attack had never happened at all.

The crowd stared upward in stunned silence before gasps spread throughout the settlement once again.

Zarah narrowed her eyes afterward and immediately fired a second arrow. Then a third. Both struck with enough force to shake the nearby air slightly, yet the outcome remained exactly the same every single time.

The barrier absorbed the attacks calmly without showing any visible signs of weakening.

Even Dribb got interested after that.

With an excited grin, he stepped forward and unleashed his flames directly against the barrier, fire exploding outward with enough heat to force nearby goblins farther back.

But despite all the noise and power...

The barrier barely reacted beyond faint ripples spreading across its surface.

"It really is impossible to break through," Zarah said quietly as she stared at the barrier overhead.

I nodded slightly in agreement.

"It’s not completely impenetrable, though," I said. "It can be torn open temporarily."

A few goblins immediately turned toward me after hearing that.

"But achieving that is ridiculously difficult," I continued calmly. "And even when it happens, the opening only lasts for a brief moment before the barrier restores itself."

I paused slightly.

"I would know."

Several gazes filled with awe landed on me almost immediately after that.

Even some of Caius’ men looked surprised.

Meanwhile, I kept my expression completely calm on the outside.

Internally, though?

Yeah, I was absolutely enjoying it.

That’s right. Your chief managed to pierce through this thing before. Marvel appropriately.

Caius stepped closer to the barrier afterward, studying the flowing hexagonal patterns carefully before speaking.

"I agree that barriers like this aren’t truly absolute," he said. "I’ve heard stories before of certain clans developing specialized weapons capable of piercing them."

My eyes widened slightly. "Is that so?"

Caius nodded.

"I’ve never personally seen one," he admitted, "but considering how old some clans are, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve managed to develop something capable of achieving that."

I let out a slow breath after hearing that.

And here I thought we’d managed to create the ultimate defense. Or something close to it.

But this was for the best.

Even if the barrier looked invincible now, it was safer to assume there would always be something capable of countering it eventually. The moment someone starts believing their defense is absolute is usually the moment they stop preparing for the possibility of it failing.

And in a world like this?

That kind of mistake could get an entire clan wiped out.

"Bundi..." I called out.