Stand Up To Tyranny

Nox stared the Mini-Boss in the face with a dauntless smile.

Tightening his grip on his longsword, he delivered a few mental commands.

Cobo's eyes burned brightly as he charged towards the Goblins' outstretched spears. With a guttural cry, Aurus closely followed behind and carried Nox into battle.

Before the trio could clash with the frontlines, the Hobgoblin Archer loosed another arrow straight towards Nox's head. The projectile whistled through the air and threatened to burst his skull like a watermelon.

Nox was prepared, however. His eyes hadn't left the archer for a second. When the arrow shot his way, he managed to react just in time to split it down the middle with his sword.

While his brain was saved, the kinetic energy transferred to his forearms was so powerful that he almost lost grip of his blade. He could only grit his teeth and persevere as Cobo finally made contact with the spearmen.

If there was any weapon that Cobo's skeletal figure excelled against, it had to be a spear. There was no vulnerable flesh to puncture, and the pikes could easily get entangled within his exposed ribs.

The collective thrusts of five spearmen managed to do little more than chip his bones somewhat. His high Resistance and endurance-based Skills helped him to negate almost all the damage coming his way.

Cobo's main purpose in the first clash was to provide an opening, and he'd achieved it beautifully. Two spears had managed to lodge themselves between his ribcage and get stuck.

With a hefty spin, two Goblins were left unbalanced and disarmed, their weapons clanging helplessly on the floor.

This was the chance Nox was waiting for. While a line of pikeman usually countered a cavalry unit, all it took was a brief gap in the formation for Nox to slip through.

Aurus' eyes glistened with azure light as his [Mount] boosted steed charged passed the dumbfounded Goblins. The Hobgoblin Archer's face contorted in derision as a pair of hooves threatened to collide with his face.

A similar azure light coalesced around Aurus' hooves as they thundered through the air. The horse activated the [Power Stomp] Skill with the utmost confidence that he'd pummel his opponent. Unfortunately, things wouldn't be so easy.

With an instantaneous flash, the archer vanished from his spot. Nox's eyes widened in confusion. Before he had chance to react, he felt a mighty impact strike his back, sending him tumbling onto the ground.

"What...was that..." Nox groaned in pain as he felt his internal organs jostle around uncomfortably. His spine sent waves of pain surging through his body.

As he tried to clamber to his feet, his legs felt numb and uncoordinated. A strong haze fell over his mind and his vision turned blurry and unclear. It was only with the assistance of his longsword that he managed to stand up again.

The Gift interjected briefly in that moment.

[Host Has Been Struck By Skill: Disorienting Blow]

[Host Has Been Afflicted With Daze (Major): All Stats Reduced By 35% For 20 Seconds]

The Boss could use Skills! That explained it! A lightbulb lit up in Nox's mind.

This wasn't some common monster he was fighting, but a Boss! If he could wield skills, what was stopping monsters from the same?

As a creation of the Gods, monsters did not possess the Gift. That being said, battles would be too easy if they didn't have Skills to lean on.

The monsters were supposed to train and temper the mortal races. If they were too easy to kill, what was the point?

"So, this thing has at least two skills: a disorientation ability and an instant movement ability. That complicates things."

Of course, as an archer, Nox couldn't discount that the Hobgoblin possessed a bow-related ability as well. It was best if he assumed that to be the case.

Even with his mind in disarray, Nox managed to use the [Command Undead] Skill to manage his companions.

Aurus followed the archer's movements closely and aimed to disrupt him from firing any shots. He leveraged his body weight and dangerous horn to obstruct the Hobgoblin's movements. While he didn't do any significant damage, he managed to hold the Boss at bay.

Unfortunately, his steed was unlikely to last for long. For every strike it landed, the monster managed to deliver three back. Being an archer, it clearly excelled in dexterity as its movements were unwaveringly swift and precise.

The sturdy longbow made for a decent improvised staff with which it could clobber his horse into paste. All the while, the creature sought to increase the distance and deliver a fatal arrow strike.

Nox could only grimace as he watched his companion be bullied by the much stronger foe. With his reduced stats, he'd struggle to even keep up with such an agile opponent.

Instead, he gathered his strength and headed over to the spearmen to assist Cobo.

After his initial display, the three remaining Goblins had all begun acting cautiously, weary of being disarmed. They prodded with their pikes rarely, mainly opting to ward off any of the skeleton's abysmally slow strikes.

Meanwhile, the two other Goblins circled the battlefield, aiming to jump in at an opportunistic moment. With large rocks taken from the ground, they likely posed an even bigger threat to his companion than the spearmen.

The group noticed Nox's unsteady arrival, one Goblin leaving the pack to fend him off.

"One measly Goblin?" Nox sneered at their underestimation. Even with half his current stats, he could wipe the floor with these weaklings.

The spearman approached cautiously, thrusting his pike forward in a straightforward manner. Nox lazily took a half step to the side as he watched the blade slide past his face.

The Goblin, stricken with panic at its failed attempt, hastily tried to withdraw its weapon for another thrust, but was halted in its tracks. Nox clamped the shaft of the weapon underneath his armpit tightly, rendering it little more than a stick.

The beast sweat bullets as it tugged desperately on the shaft but to no avail. Nox stared the monster in the eyes with a look of pity. Eventually, the Goblin gave up and dropped the pike to the floor helplessly.

With renewed vigour, it charged towards him, arms raised, screaming some unintelligible babble. While Nox would've loved to entertain the poor creature, he had more pressing concerns.

Like a lightning bolt, Nox raised his rear leg and snapped forward with a devastating front kick to the Goblin's head. The monster didn't even have the time to react before it was sent flying to the ground.

A boot print was firmly imprinted on its face as it drooled unconsciously on the cavern floor.

The defeat of their ally did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group.

With the loud thud of the unconscious Goblin, the others all paused their battle momentarily to look in his direction. He turned his head slowly and looked them all in the eye with a gentle smile.

They all gulped audibly at the sight.

While this would've been an opportune moment for Cobo to inflict some fatal damage, Nox instructed him to hold back. He had other plans in mind.

Instead, he accompanied his skeletal minion in disarming the remaining Goblins while his Stun timer ran its course. By the time it ran out, four Goblins kneeled in a line at his feet, their eyes stricken with terror.

To their expressions, Nox maintained his tranquil smile. He looked each one of them in the eye as if they were his greatest friend. The Goblins were only more unnerved than ever.

Glancing back at the main fight, Nox frowned at the sorry state the Aurus found himself in.

His steed was of a low level, and poorly suited to one-on-one duels. Without a rider, Aurus could only suffer against the Hobgoblin's offensive.

Large gashes marred his fur revealing the deathly flesh beneath. An entire eye was missing from its socket which Nox could only assume had been lost on the battlefield somewhere.

With each step, he limped infirmly. While his mount couldn't feel pain, his damaged limbs struggled to hold his body weight in their weakened state.

Fixing his gaze on Aurus prompted the Gift to speak out.

[Minion: Aurus]

[HP: 2/7]

[Minion Is Immune To Bleed Status Effect]

[Minion Is Below Half HP: Stats Reduced By 30%]

Nox winced. He had never seen his companion in such a sorry state. Even during the Goblin ambush he wasn't so battered.

"I'm sorry buddy, I've let you suffer. You can rest now" he reassured the beast mentally through their connection.

The horse practically collapsed to the ground with a pained whinny as it lay motionless. If Nox didn't know better, he'd think the beast was dead, or...well, deader?

Leaving Cobo to watch over their captives, Nox approached the Boss on his own.

The Hobgoblin barely looked as though it had been through a fight. Its figure was more or less pristine, barring its somewhat sweaty and dishevelled appearance. It seemed Aurus' beating was decisively one-sided.

The monster didn't hesitate to draw an arrow from its hip quiver and nock it on his bow. As it began to draw the arrow, however, Nox interjected.

"Ah, ah, ah. Let's not be too hasty. We wouldn't want your friends here to get hurt, would we?" Nox smiled as Cobo wordlessly rested his spear tip against the back of one of the Goblins' head.

Nox would never attempt to communicate and reason with most beasts, but Goblins excelled in nothing if not intelligence. They were no dumber than humans for the most part. While it may not understand his language, it seemed to get the picture.

Instead of hesitating, however, the Boss snorted in contempt as it loosed an arrow straight for Nox's head. Nox anticipated that this would happen, however. In fact, he counted on it.

He pre-emptively leaned to the side, letting the arrow fly past him and straight into the target behind him.

As the other Goblins stood in shock, a small green corpse slowly thudded to the ground. A cloud of dust spewed into the air as black blood dripped from the large hole in the Goblin's head.

Seeing his plan work, Nox couldn't help but smile. He had taken somewhat of a calculated risk here.

He was very confident that the Boss would act this way given its past behaviour and treatment of its lackies. He was sure it wouldn't even consider giving in for the sake of its peons. The only thing he wasn't sure of, was if this would count against the second Optional Objective.

He hadn't killed the Goblin, so it should be fine, right? Either way, he was more excited about completing the Special Objective, even if he had to sacrifice some other rewards.

His plan had begun with success. This was only step one, however.

Even the Boss seemed a little taken aback by what it had done, stuttering in its movements as it went to draw another arrow.

This gave Nox chance to turn and face the remaining three Goblins.

Their eyes trembled in fear at the sight of their boss. Would they be the next victims of his fight with this human? The trio shivered as the Hobgoblin's figure seemed to grow increasingly malevolent in their minds.

Nox struck while the iron was hot.

"Your boss doesn't care about you! He treats you like slaves, caring not for whether you live or die. As long as he survives, he won't even hesitate to kill one of his own!" he shouted emphatically.

The Goblins' fearful gazes all snapped to Nox's charismatic figure. As he stood above them, they couldn't help but feel safe. Like a guardian was watching over them from above.

The fact that he pummelled their companion just a moment ago seemed to slip their mind.

"He has threatened you. Beaten you. Killed you! He has convinced you that you are weak, that you are helpless against him. You know what I say to that?"

Leaning down to the ground, he took a large rock into his hands.

"Screw that!"

With all the power he could muster, Nox launched the rock towards the Boss' face. With the monster's excellent Dexterity, it should've easily avoided the projectile. Despite that, the stupor it found itself in temporarily rooted it to the spot.

The rock collided with the beast's head and flung it backwards. As it slowly brought it back, a trickle of black blood began to run down its face.

Something about that sight ignited something in the trio of Goblins. Seeing their infallible God bleed showed them that he was just a mortal, as they were. If he could bleed, they could kill him.

They shared a look briefly as their eyes began to shine with conviction. They stood resolutely, gathered their strewn spears, and marched forward.

As they passed Nox, they paused briefly, giving him a short nod. His mouth began to curve into a grin as he looked towards the Boss.

The Hobgoblin's eyes widened in disbelief that his minions would dare oppose him. Him, their rightful leader! How dare they!

Its longbow creaked ominously as the beast clenched its fists in unbridled fury. As its eyes scanned the surroundings in indignation, they eventually met Nox's.

The two stared at one another intently, Nox's grin broadening into a wide smile. Thinking of the poor state of Aurus, Nox couldn't help but look forward to getting some payback.