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- Goblin Horde

The cut was quick and easy, her blade dug fast and steady.

The goblin's never saw it coming, as their head flew from their necks, and their bodies.

Three dead, so easy and simple, for all it took was the rage to fuel the swipe of her sword. Rage fro the dead, rage for the inhumanity, and rage for not being here sooner.

Lia was not alone.

Rian was up and running even before she was - his own fists smashing the heads of two other goblins.

From the bushes Lukali was sniping them, his arrows were fast and true, and all at once there were only three left.

They had worked so easily like a well trained brigade. There were no words shared, no sounds made, yet they all knew exactly what to do, as if the severity of the situation spoke its own levels to their compatibility.

"Kreee!"

The goblin's shrieked, their daggers ready and drenched in blood. Lia could see the tips lathered in a poison, and before she could check to look, she knew the surviving girl was already poisoned.

One shot forward, his small body easily increasing his speed, while his tongue flailed with saliva, teeth bared.

Lia was tense and ready, and before the goblin could get within a foot of her, an arrow shot from the tree line, digging its way into the goblin's side, knocking it off balance.

Without wasting the moment Lukali had given her, Lia dropped the tip of her sword to the ground, and swiping upwards, cut the goblin across his chest, as well as his head.

His blood sprayed Lia, her face and all, yet she didn't bother to react, for she knew doing so would leave her vulnerable.

Creating some distance between them, Lia put herself between the girl and the two remaining goblins.

They looked at each other, shocked and afraid. Goblins work best together, attacking all at once, overwhelming their opponents with their numbers and speed. A cowardly tactic.

But one Lia had easily destroyed by catching them by surprise.

'They're mistake of keeping themselves out in the open. Now they're left to die alone.'

Lia survived the battle field, her eyes still tense on the goblins, as she looked for any stragglers.

However, something caught her eye. A body laying not too far away, his face turned to her, while a deep gash in his back flowed with blood oozing out of it.

The man looked familiar.

Yet when LIa made the connection, she gasped, frozen in place.

The goblins - seeing this - did not hesitate in jumping forward, dashing to her at incredible speeds.

"Lia!"

Rian called out, already rushing to her in defense.

Lia had barely any time to react as she brought her sword around, parrying a blow from a knife that narrowly missed her head.

The second goblin attacked her knees, or at least attempted to.

Taking the opportunity, another arrow flew from the bushes and the tree line, slamming against the dagger with a clang!

At once, Lia took the opportunity while the goblin was stunned and raised her sword, her hands gripping the handle backwards so the blade was facing the goblin. At once she brought it down, the goblin's head pierced by the sword as it dug its way deeper into its flesh.

Unbeknownst to the goblin, Lia had changed the weight of the sword, allowing for a heavier blade to impact against the skull, shattering the bone, and slicing the head open.

The other goblin made a dash for it, only to be slammed into the ground by Rian, breaking apart the pavement.

But before he could raise his other fit to land the finishing blow, Lia stopped him.

"Wait!"

Stopping, Rian pinned the goblin to the ground, his face portraying his confused expression.

However, instead of answering, Lia turned to the girl, who was now furiously compulsing on the ground, foam at the mouth.

"Cain!"

Lia held out her hand, her rune circle changing shape, and with a flash, Cain appeared, already kneeling over the girl.

Nodding to Lia, Cain motioned for the still breathing goblin from Rian, who instantly understood, and brought over the unconscious creature.

Leaning down, Cain muttered to the girl, whose face was full of fear.

"This might hurt a little bit, but you'll live."

Muttering something else under his breath, Cain fist glowed a bright golden color. It wasn't blinding, but it wasn't easy to look at either, as both Rian and Lukali, who had come out from the tree line, covered their eyes.

Only Lia was unaffected as her eyes had been changed due to the senses she shared with Cain. Thus, her eyes were unaffected.

But in some ways Lia wished she didn't see what she just saw.

As the golden hue surrounded the goblin, it struggled compulsively before its skin appeared to cling to its own bones, then its bone tore from the rapidly tightening flesh, and even then the rest of its body turned to dust soon after that.

It appeared as if life was literally sucked from the very goblin itself.

Placing a hand on the girl's forehead, the golden hue surrounded her, yet before she too could compulse, Cain did something to knock her out, allowing for the golden hue to surround her even faster, healing the gash in her thigh, and the foam no longer appeared from her mouth.

Just as soon as the glow had come, did it disappear, the goblin's corpse no longer flesh, turned to ashes as they floated through the wind.

The girl, once injured, now was simply breathing peacefully, though sweat was already starting to accumulate on her forehead.

"The poison's effect has been reversed, but the poison is still there. Unless you bring her to a nearby guard barracks, or all the way back to the Hunter's post, she will end up just as she was."

Taking in a deep breath, Lia looked around at the bloodied corpses of the fallen Hunters.

"Which ones are closer?"

Thinking to himself for a moment, Cain turned back to her, mapping the distance between each.

"Hmmm, I would say the Hunter's post. The guard barracks are on the other side of the town, and even the eastern gate - which I doubt has a cure - is probably empty. At least for now."

Nodding her head, Lia decided they would shoot for the Hunter's post, but they would have to leave right now if they were going to make it.

Goblin poison was a fast acting poison that shut off the blood flow from one body part to another. Depending on where the cut came from, the poison could reach the heart in a matter of moments, leaving the infected dead quicker than a cure could be administered.

Looking over the bodies once more, Lia felt sympathy and pity for the fallen Hunters, whose age and lack of experience was no doubt what led to their deaths.

Yet Lia felt sympathy for them still.

"Leave them. You won't make it back to the post in time if you bring them."

Standing up, Cain pointed through the tree line, a small deer path forming the trail.

"Cut through the forest and follow that trail. You'll hit the post faster."

"What about you?"

Judging from the tone in his voice, Lia could tell that Cain was not coming along, as he sounded quite firm on getting them out of there.

"Don't worry about me. I'll stay here and make sure these bodies are left untouched. Better me than you, so get!"

Cain again pointed to the tree line, urging them to hurry on out.

Heeding his words, Rian stooped down to pick up the girl, carrying her unconscious body on his back. And like that, they were off, speeding along the tree line, down the deer path and towards safety.

Time was of the essence, and they had little of it left.

Watching them go, Cain tore his eyes from the tree line and passed his gaze over the dead corpses of the fallen Hunter's, parts and all.

Mumbling to himself, Cain's voice was grave as he knew the weight these deaths would carry.

"A new batch. Damn. This ought to get the Post riling again. In fact, Lia might actually be forbidden from going out if the Post finds that it's too dangerous. Especially since her party's only Rank F."

Shaking his head, Cain thought of the different possibilities that could come from this discovery.

'On one hand they might increase the number of notices for these goblins, or even raise the piece per head.'

Glancing at the torn corpse that had once been a living, breathing Hunter, Cain sighed.

'Of course, they could just ignore this. After all this isn't that rare.'

His ears twitched, his senses spiked.

Something was in the brush.

'But I know what is…'

Narrowing his eyes, he turned to face the brush line just as a small arrow of pure white flames shot towards him.

Reacting quickly to this attack, Cain swatted the arrow away, disappearing in thin air.

"Shaman!"

Cain's voice was a growl, his eyes filled with excitement as he glanced back at the brush, positioned against the tree line.

"Strange for one of you would be out here, knowing that you don't go near civilization."

His palm sparked at his side, his hands engulfing in flames.

"You mostly live in the glades, robbing farms and stealing women."

Smiling his sinister smile Cain walked further down the road, avoiding the brush line, but keeping his eyes locked on.

"You pillage and you steal, robbing and looting, stealing and killing. Then you run to your little holes in the ground, just like the cowards you are!"

Another blast, Cain had angered him. Only this time the white flaming arrow came from behind him.

As Cain quickly repositioned himself to parry the arrow, another came flying from the same direction he used to be facing.

He parried this one as well, glancing between the two opposing tree lines.

"Oh…"

At once he made a connection with the two separate flaming arrows.

"There's two of you. Strange for a horde, but less strange than a territorial dispute."

He chuckled to himself.

"What, did you two fight over some village to rob, or some woman to steal?"

Another two blasts, this time both were parried away easily by Cain's flaming hands.

However, he was soon surprised to find another flaming arrow coming from the trees high above, their shadows casting a protective layer of darkness over the attacker.

Parrying the arrow away, Cain frowned, looking between all three places, each one different.

"Three…no. Three is too much."

He glanced between the three once again, his mind turning its gears trying to understand what was going on.

And at once, it hit him, like a hammer to the head.

Of course the headache he felt after the realization of what was going on, did feel like the after effects of a hammer to the head.

"Sh*t."

Cain barely had time to react, as a large shadow was casted over him, and his back felt the almost terrifying blow of pure strength, as his body shot towards the tree line, smashing against a grand tree trunk.

Cain didn't groan, didn't gasp, nor did he wail in pain. He simply stood there, body lodged into the wood, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well…that was unexpected."

His eyes peered over his arms, staring at the giant green body that had just hit him.

"Titan."

A goblin titan, similar to a hobgoblin, yet more evolved.

When a normal goblin evolves, they either grow to a shaman based on their intelligence, or they evolve into a hobgoblin more based on strength.

A titan goblin was a hobgoblin, just more evolved.

And that's what Cain was currently facing, as his mind began to wonder just how a goblin titan ended up this close to a city.

Around its feet were the three shaman's from before, their gaze piercing Cain's body, half expecting him to be faking his condition, the other half utterly shocked he was not already broken in pieces.

"A goblin titan, and three shamans. Well…this ain't good."

Correction, this was very bad.

***

"Do you think those three are really something special?"

Carlena asked, leaning against the counter top, her gaze sweeping over Randolph, who was seated across from her, sipping a tankard of ale and beer.

Taking a moment to swish around the ale in his mouth before swallowing, Randolph placed the tankard back on the counter.

"Terrible taste."

"Well maybe you should just let me make you one, rather than drinking the stale stuff."

Laughing at her offer, Randolph slapped the counter.

"You always make the best ale, though I can never figure out why?"

Chuckling, Carlena saw what he was trying to do, and dropped the conversation immediately.

"You're avoiding my question."

"Am not."

"Are too."

Sighing, Randolph crossed his arms, and thought seriously for a moment. Finally, coming to the right phrasing of words, he spoke.

"I'm not sure. Those three were here but what, five minutes into the town, and they already made a few enemies I happened to chase off."

"Did they now?"

Holding her head in one hand, Carlena frowned, her curiosity spiking.

"Tell me."

"They were eating in a tavern not too far away from the city gates - the one that leads to Neverdark. So I already figured they came from there, but not even five minutes into eating their food, they suddenly found themselves in the midst of four men making threats."

"Probably just some old drunken fools."

"They weren't drunk, and they weren't fools. In fact…"

He trailed off, his voice growing serious.

"...They looked like they could kill, and easily at that."

Carlena's eyes widened when she heard this, but smiled softly when she saw how much Randolph was worried.

"You must really care about them don't you?"

Shaking his head, he turned back to Carlena, his face regaining some of the laid back expression it once held.

"I guess you could say that. Though to be honest, they just really remind me of my youth, don't you agree?"

"I do. After seeing that girl this morning, I knew at once that she was just like you in your younger years."

Sighing, her mind traveled back to distant memories - memories of her, Randolph, and her old husband before he ran off.

"I remember those days, when we all would be together, Hunting and arguing with each other."

"Yeah, Dean was a piece of sh*t, but he still made a great friend."

"Yeah…"

Her voice trailed off as she remembered the past, how she and Dean got married not too long after their party broke up, and how - after their child was born - he vanished, running off with nothing but a note to wish her good luck.

Remembering this, Carlena couldn't help but feel angry that she ever fell for a man like that, and his stupid - selfish attitude.

"Thinking back on it, after we broke up our party, you just kept on Hunting. You were never one to give up on that lifestyle."

Randolph said nothing, his eyes still one Carlena, her face somehow growing more beautiful every second.

"You think those three will break up like we all did?"

Snapping him from his thoughts, Carlena looked at him for answers.

"Oh - uh…no, I honestly think they'll last for a long while. Those three have strong wills."

Nodding her head, Carlena agreed, thinking about what would have happened if they had stayed together as a party, how the distance between them might have changed.

"Carlena…"

Attacking her attention, Randolph looked to Carlena with longing eyes, his voice growing distant as they locked stares.

But before they could say anything to each other, the front door to the Post building slammed open.

Standing there in the doorway was Lia, Lukali, and Rian, who was carrying the unconscious girl on his back.

"We need help!"

Lia cried, her voice serious and afraid.

All at once, everyone within the Post froze, their bodies unmoving. Then, as if they all came to the same conclusion, dropped everything they were doing and rushed to the injured girl.

Randolph leading the group.

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