Chapter 442 Rikko vs Pestro
Rushing through the northern woods, Rikko continued to drag Hadurt behind him. "Give Rikko halberd!"
"No, I don't want to! It's mine now!" Hadurt argued.
"Rikko give back, but need to bait Pestro," stated Rikko. "Rikko need halberd for Rikko kill Pestro."
"Really? You can kill him?" Finding that hard to believe, Hadurt asked, "If you can kill him, then why didn't you earlier?"
"Because Rikko no want all EXP. Now Rikko need kill Pestro or Rikko die. You want die?"
"No! But promise that he won't take it back."
"Rikko stole halberd and Rikko never let go after Rikko steal," Rikko proudly stated while taking the halberd from Hadurt. "Rikko no let go ever, no worry."
"Okay…"
"Now, you run. Unless you want die."
"Fine, then let go of me!" Hadurt shouted and slapped Rikko's hand but failed to affect the Goblin God's grip at all.
"Okay… but you run back now. Rikko face Pestro."
Finally, Rikko released the berserker, who tumbled through the undergrowth before gaining his footing and running away at full speed.
When Pestro saw Hadurt run, he instinctually turned to chase. That was until he heard Rikko.
"Fat Pestro no want halberd? Or Pestro scared Rikko pop fat Pestro?"
Snarling, Pestro turned back to Rikko. He saw the Goblin God twirling the halberd and slapping his rear while laughing at Pestro.
"If Pestro scared, then say so. Rikko be easy on fat Pestro if Pestro want," Rikko taunted again and again, proving he was falsely titled and was more befitting of the name Trash Talk God or the God of Taunts.
Caving into his rage, Pestro rushed after Rikko. But he failed to catch Rikko before the goblin began to run again.
"See, Pestro too fat. Rikko help Pestro lose weight. More running, more!"
The dark demonic energy coursing over Pestro started to look like burning fumes from the Demon God's anger. With both swords in hand, Pestro hurled wave after wave of demonic energy to fell all trees nearby.
With no trees to aid in Rikko's escape, the Goblin God finally stopped. His motionless body was turned away from Pestro, who stood still while his rage built more and more.
Then, the sudden sound of trickling water filled the air.
Pestro didn't know what to think. He kept his focus on Rikko, not bothering to investigate the sound further.
Rikko finally turned around to face the Demon God, releasing a long sigh of satisfaction and relief. At the same time, Rikko readjusted his loincloth.
"Aaahhhh… Now Rikko done. Pestro still want halberd?" Rikko held the halberd out, acting as if he would willingly hand it over.
Pestro was confused for a moment, until he spotted the yellow liquid dripping off of the halberd.
"RIKKO!! YOU FOUL GOBLIN!"
"So Pestro no want?" Rikko frowned, continuing his act. "Then Rikko keep safe. Now worry, Rikko care for halberd forever."
"RIKKO!"
Throwing himself at Rikko, Pestro showed no mercy. He used full-power attacks that tore apart the ground and shook Rikko's clothes as they passed by him. But Pestro was gaining more and more speed with each swing of the sword.
Rikko kept narrowly avoiding each blade. Occasionally, he would block an attack using the halberd.
After almost a minute of that rampage, Rikko attacked back. The goblin slid past the two swords and swung the halberd toward Pestro's side. He missed as Pestro sidestepped but some of that yellow liquid sprayed off the tip of the blade and onto Pestro.
"There, now Pestro smell better," Rikko chuckled as he backed away again.
Noticing the goblin piss on his belly, Pestro angrily wiped it off and continued his rampage.
The two seemed to be quite coordinated. One focused on attacking while the other mostly evaded to only sneak in a few attacks here and there. Yet neither of them seemed to have an advantage against each other.
That continued for another minute or two before Pestro roared, "Coward! Fight me for real!"
With relentless fury, Pestro continued to attack, forcing himself to his limits to increase his speed even more.
Rikko noticed the change in pace, finding the new speed quite dangerous. There were a few swipes that caught a piece of Rikko's flamboyant loincloth as he blew around. Rikko attacked yet again, swiping at Pestro's belly.
The Demon God though nothing of the blow, quickly sidestepping into his next attack. But he suddenly felt something jab into the side of his belly.
"Oh, Pestro no pop…"
Looking down, Pestro noticed how the goblin was now closer than ever with the halberd barely puncturing Pestro's stomach. And when Pestro lunged to grab Rikko, the goblin swiftly moved again while unsheathing the halberd's blade from Pestro's fat.
"Well, Rikko no pop Pestro… Rikko only kill Pestro now," Rikko stated, shrugging as if he had no other choice."
"You… What did you do?" questioned Pestro.
"Rikko do what?" Tilting his head to the side, Rikko played coy. "Rikko stab Pestro but Pestro no pop. That what Rikko do."
"But why were you so fast?!" shouted Pestro.
"Oh… Because Rikko fast."
A slight crackle of electricity sounded, catching Pestro off guard when he spotted blue lightning dance over the blu goblin's body.
Smiling, Rikko stated, "Now… Rikko fastest!"
Pestro attack with both swords, but Rikko had vanished before his eyes and his fined tuned senses.
"Up here!"
Slapping Pestro across the face with the blunt side of the halberd, Rikko gave himself away. He was standing on Pestro's shoulders, smiling from ear to ear.
"You!"
Rikko vanished yet again, not giving Pestro the chance to cleave the goblin in two.
Figuring out Rikko's speed was simple now. Pestro deduced that Rikko had finally started using wind magic earlier, but Pestro had no clue that the Goblin God could wield lightning magic as well. That proved that Rikko was toying with Pestro the entire time, keeping his speed at the perfect level to keep Pestro distracted and away from everyone else.
Also, Pestro deduced that Rikko had no finishing move that could kill him. The stab into his stomach was barely enough for the demon god to feel it, let alone take any major damage.
The two gods had approached their paths to greatness with similar strategies, only varying one thing. They both chose to focus on a single stat. One focused purely on strength and brute force to become the ultimate barbarian. The other focused on only speed, turning himself in the speediest rogue to ever live.
"Even with lightning magic, you're so weak!" Pestro shouted, returning Rikko's taunts with his own.
"Pestro fat but no have thick skin," Rikko teased while wagging his finger back and forth. "Rikko have thickest skin, so Rikko no mad. But Rikko sad… Rikko want see Pestro belly pop…"
"Take me on like a man! What are you, scared?" Pestro questioned, trying his best to taunt the Goblin God.
"Yes, Rikko scared," replied Rikko. "Rikko scared Pestro no want to play with Rikko. Then, Rikko need kill Pestro because Pestro no fun…"
"Then come on!"
'Rikko, where are you?'
Evading Pestro's attacks, Rikko answered the telepathic call, 'Eedaj go north. Rikko play with Pestro there. Where Tralbok?'
'He's busy with Kori…'
'Oh, Kori here! Rikko want see Kori too!' Rikko started to clap his hands while dancing around Pestro's swinging blades, taunting the Demon God with his actions and not his words.
'You'll see him later. Let's cripple Pestro again before that.'
'Okay… then Rikko wait,' replied the goblin, still evading and not attacking. 'Rikko use wind and lightning already but no hurt Pestro. Pestro mad mad so Rikko distract. Eedaj go for head when arrive.'
'Alright, just don't die before I arrive.'
'Rikko too fast for Pestro. Rikko no die!'
The two gods continued, one getting giddier the more he dodged and the other growing more furious than he could ever have imagined possible as he missed time and time again.