Chapter 152

Boy, 74 goblins. Were they ready to fight those, my little adventurers, hmm? Actually, twenty, but you get the point.

Hobgoblins were comparable to orcs in so many ways. The orcs weren't nothing. Big guys. Very tall, large, and strong.

That's why it happened. Only partly. The "Main Attraction."

The leader and damage dealer attacked first. They didn't do any damage, though. That was on purpose. They didn't directly swing their swords and spilled some blood.

Right in front of the little, hideous goblins, they stopped. And now the goblins went charging at them. The four goblins, that is. Not the whole herd. The others weren't so close, after all.

The four of them charged head-on. One of them might have thrown a glance behind them before it charged. Just what you'd expect of these silly creatures. With the usual enraged-spirited behavior they normally displayed, wrath washed over them.

Angry, darting, and hurried, they went along with the humans' petty taunting.

The leader had his sword slammed against his light shield, and the damage dealer performed one funny mocking dance, giving it his whole, jiggling and fidgeting his entire body at them. He occasionally imitated their screeches, too. What the heck.

Anyway, the goblins responded to that with screeching sounds even louder. But the humans already were falling back to their friends.

So now, the friends acted. They had stepped out of their hidden station behind trees. Only by a little, though. They still stayed at the rear.

The tank was another story. He had already gone off his hiding, ready to welcome the arriving monsters as he always did.

The goblins weren't so fast. Maybe the adventurers' speed had increased instead? The humans running were quick, while the mindless goblins were slow.

Or slower, yeah. They're still rapid, the little ones, and they swung their little daggers and feeble spears restlessly at the humans' backs. The monsters soon met with that huge, slashing sword that came right for them.

The usual fighting formation was displayed. And so far, everything looked good.

When the leader and his friends ran past the wild tank, they skillfully spun around, going right back to the monsters.

If we kept things ordinary, the tank should have given about his provocative skill first. That didn't happen. Instead, he drew a beautiful arc with his arms and shoulders. My monster-hunter friends progressed well.

The four goblins were rushing on. Only two escape the tank's forceful attack.

What just happened was a first. Never before had such a skillful blow been performed. When that feeling of pride and grandiosity spread across the round face of the tank, the whole party felt the same pride.

The priestess had had time to perform one of her spells of transparent shields of light, protecting her three champions. That ought not to have been necessary.

Then, the sorceress briefly stunned the two other hideous creatures. Quickly, the two other guys fell on them.

Then, only one goblin remained. My champions were proud. A moment later, that last monster-type had to drop its rusty spear. The damage dealer snorted, and the fight seemed to be over.

They surprised me there.

Everything? Brilliant. I insist. They'd made a lot of progress.

I must insist. Brilliant. However, they still weren't up to what would befall them next. Still, the monster-hunters weren't worn out. Everything had gone so smoothly the atmosphere breathed with satisfaction. To process their instant victory, my boys and girls had to take a moment to themselves. They were standing witnesses as the growth they always wished happened finally came around in their abilities. A breakthrough.

I checked their status through the System. True enough, there was progress. The day I joined their party, I could read they were on average level 12. Today, this number was changed to 17. They had to take a moment to fully appreciate their quick victory...

But they couldn't.

The problem was simple. Not a second had run by before the rest of the herd swung by. I mean it literally. The other 6 hobgoblins and 10 goblins were hidden for a reason. That reason was no more.

Let the monster-hunters reap what they sowed.

If the leader had been patient enough, this wouldn't have happened. Usually, before they jumped into a brawl, he always urged the group carefulness as he examined the fight. Today, he didn't. These goblins weren't alone.

That simply was bad luck, I guess. It's not like he could know those four goblins only had split with their gang only for a moment. And that very soon, either they'd have gone and joined back with their fellow savage tribesmen, or the other tribesmen would have gone and joined back with them.

Anyway, that's what happened.

The last goblin fell and whacked its head onto the ground.

In the dull silence which ruled over the place, the sharp 'toc!' rang out. And just as if it were the ominous beat produced by a war drum when two armies faced one another, it set away the rather peaceful atmosphere which reigned here.

Five goblins went off of their hiding. Well, the war drums had announced it.

The adventurers weren't there. Not mentally. They didn't notice.

The war drums were hit again—five other goblins went off of their hiding place.

The adventurers' eyes were cast downward, their senses dulled. Now, they'd notice the goblins, at last, a second after they showed up. They sensed them.

Well, they screeched. Who wouldn't notice, then? Kicking that battle off with their piercing shrieking sounds, they dashed onward. It was as if their lives depended on the rush they undertook.

With their spears, swords, or daggers. All rusty, rotten, and out of shape. Whatever. They could still tear open soft stomachs with their dull weapons.

They ran fast. With quick feet. Important feet. Really important. Off to cut several stomachs open.

And so the adventurers were here, blatantly beholding all of what seemed surreal. Surreal, yeah, but non-occurring, no. Deadly-gripping fear seized them by their guts. To deal with all of this unhappy surprise, first off, the humans were in denial.

Oh, and yet another group of five goblins jumped off of the deep forest, clearly coming after the humans, too.

The denial was total. Now, you could say they'd totally noticed their enemies. The adventurers did. They all but blinked in surprise. Repeatedly. For at least two seconds straight. Two seconds was a lot of time in their situation.

Fear truly settled in, seizing each of the adventurers by their guts, with cold hands and cold expectations. If, after those two seconds of denial, you didn't shiver, well, there was something wrong with you my friend.

The war drums never ceased. Their world rumbled under the enemies' quick footwork.

Now, on the bold adventurers' side, all that remained was crippling fear. They'd die. Yes. They would. They burned inside. They felt like everything was over. And they sensed their guts being torn apart within their bellies. That was how strong this sudden rush of anxiety was.

Hell, should they fight? Hey, but how to even fight illusions? All of that couldn't be real, after all, right? Ah, maybe they should just drink water? Like men of the desert? Wait, was this even how you unsee a mirage, though? —I tried to guess what wild thoughts went on in their minds.

Well, I'm sure there was a lot going on in their heads at the moment. That was especially true for Leader. He was the man in charge here. And on top of that, he thought a lot.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-Sh-Shit...! Shit!" he cursed.