29 Hobgoblin Horror

"The buffs only just ended," I inform the group after everybody had managed through the third round with only a greatest loss of sixty percent of Agnes' health. She was not an up front fighting role, though, so she did well for three-on-one. However, I wanted to see more. "Lil, cast your heal. Everyone, move up halfway from here and lets kite them back to here with basic attacks. Lil, Agnes, you two stay back until your enemies get to you so your skills cool."

Even though I wanted to really push their limits now that our ten minutes of buffing were gone I was not trying to murder them. Even with all their magic skills at their disposal, Agnes would be lucky to survive four-on-one with more than ten percent of her health. Anything could happen in between, as well.

Somehow, even though the description had not changed the level of activity from Geist rose so that almost every second or third swing was accompanied by the smooth stab or slice of an ethereal attack. My hobgoblins fell quickly, allowing me more time to watch the others fight.

Using the Elder Bokuto, Ivana was doing well to continue kiting by keeping her enemies at the end of her weapons while moving to different sides to keep them herded together and away from the rest of us. Evading even the cohesive thrusts of four enemy spears was not that hard for her character and class, especially since they were plain wooden weapons were somewhat reassuring in how little damage one would receive.

Facing four enemies did not seem to be that big of a deal when it came to Skooma. His character's natural abilities boosted his physical stats at least ten points higher than mine right now. His Agility was definitely higher than mine even if I had the movement differences of a classless character, allowing him to more easily compensate for the coordinated attacks.

Skooma's sister, on the other hand, was hard pressed to fight four physically equal or superior enemies even with a burning wolf and a dusk imp mage supporting with fire attacks from the side. However, she managed to make it through with over twenty percent of her health so I was satisfied. "Back in formation!" I call out as soon as the last hobgoblin started fading away.

Even with the addition of a belt I still took an average of ten damage per hit. In the last few rounds I had only been struck two or three times but now that five hobgoblins had come out per person I had to start relying once again on my attacking skill to spread damage around multiple targets while constantly pushing them outside of reach.

I still took a few pokes and prods from their wooden spears but not nearly as much as I could have if I kept using basic attacks.

Now that we were back in formation, though, the enemies were once again spread out between us front liners so that we had to hold off more than just five apiece. Luckily they died quickly enough under the spread of ranged attacks that thirty-five hobgoblins did not simply overwhelm four people. Compared to the last time we did this challenge, we were already ahead in kills alone even if we were still a wave or two short of our last record.

Almost as soon as the fifth wave ended I once again rearranged to formation, making the others call their familiars to the sides so that our ranged supporters could pincer the enemies between their attacks. Cweeper, though, stayed back with Ivana and her familiar to help protect Ivana. While also remaining close to the front line where she could use her contact-heal.

Forty-two hobgoblins in a single wave simply felt different from last time because now was when we were entering the thirties last time while this time brought with it seven extra enemies that all seemed content to target Go and I. In kind, though, the few people in our back row focused their supporting fire around the two of us and Cweeper even took up a position between us while wielding an Elder Bokuto.

She only swung the sword a few times in between throwing elemental claws through the air but the fact that she was so willing to put in this effort was oddly satisfying.

"Are we feeling the pressure yet?" I call out to the others while accepting a blunt wooden spear thrust to my gut for twelve HP while plunging my sword into that hobgoblin's chest before viciously kicking them back. "I SAID, ARE WE FEELING THE PRESSURE?"

"WHAT PRESSURE?" My team asks in unison, startling Skooma and Agnes slightly with the rehearsed response. This was a gimmick my personal parties used during major raids and PVP when people would show off their skills or numbers before battles began. We would just sit there til the last minute and with a simple question and answer would shrug aside everything up until the actual fight.

Wave six of the hobgoblin round ended with Skooma having taken the most damage with little more than thirty percent of his health at the end of the round. Luckily Agnes still had their heal to use as soon as the last hob fell and Lil's would be refreshed soon.

Sadly, Go and I were monopolizing my familiar while I was trying to refrain from overloading myself with First-Aid again.

Since the number of kills this time were already higher by default and we had once again made it to the seventh wave of the second round I decided simply finishing this round of forty-nine hobs would be good enough for tonight. The others, though, did not share the same thoughts when I told them I would be calling it quits soon. Papi, especially, was hungry for kills and experience now that our group had two people the same level as him.

Unlike me, though, they had not taken the same kind of hits or status affects that I had. They thought that they could at least make it to see seventy hobs even if they could not get through them. Sir Beryl did not mind when I checked with him, simply stating he was content to enjoy the show until we called for him.

Because everybody else wanted to keep going, though, I had no choice but to give in to their demands despite the risks. My armor would soon break and hobgoblins ate more of my Blackened Fuller Haunting's durability than goblins did. If I was not using a second weapon to increase my attack speed and the damage output of 360 Edge I would already be at risk.

By the end of the seventh round my gloves and upper armor from Olton simply faded away with an alarming sound like broken glass. The entire team was looking at me as I found myself in only my Traveler Top before opening my inventory to pull out some soft armor before a combat alert closes my menus. "Are you good?" Go asks while rushing ahead of the line to take the most aggro while I put on a new upper armor, gloves, and a pair of bracers.

"I'm three defense short of what I was and I'll be five short once I replace my leggings," I reply calmly while rejoining the forwarded front line with a leaping 360 Edge "I imagine yours and Ivana's equipment will be in the same condition tomorrow, we'll start on our new suits in the morning."

My party wanted to keep going in the hopes of completing the second round of waves, so we kept going and I once more started wearing myself out. This time, though, I gave Cweeper the command to make their way up and down the back of the front line focusing their mana on healing our fighters. Even though sharing her put more pressure on Go and I it was still better for the entire team to share her.

[Acquired Title: Hobgoblin Hunter]

[Acquired Title: Hobgoblin Horror]

[Hobgoblin Hunter: Uncommon. Passive. For slaying a hundred hobgoblin enemies free of charge you have been awarded the Hobgoblin Hunter title that permanently increases the respect and fear shown to you by all of goblin kind with a permanent increase of five percent to your offensive and defensive properties while facing goblins of any kind]

[Hobgoblin Horror: Rare. Passive. For massacring a hundred hobgoblins in a day, even at the cost of stealing kills from your comrades, you have been awarded the Hobgoblin Horror title, instilling increased fear in hobgoblins in your presence to lower their defenses and Agility]

Suddenly, the hobgoblins became a little slower and hesitant while directly attacking me, preferring to consume time by circling around to try and get better angles. This, though, only left the next in line open or the last to move as I whipped back around with a chopping blade. From what I could see while turning about to take full advantage of my new titles, the goblins were behaving only slightly bolder while attacking the others.

As well, they stopped trying to get passed our front line units and focused their attacks en masse. Normally this would spell disaster for our handful of front line enemies while facing numbers like these but it instead allowed Lil and Agnes to attack more freely with overlapping areas of damage. The eighth round ended sooner than the seventh.

"What was that just now?" Papi asks while encroaching closer to the tunnel after the change in combat. "All of a sudden their patterns changed, they got caution and slow!"

"I got my Hunter title for hobgoblins and a second title for in-a-day that debuffs them from fear," I explain while following his example. "They're weaker, now, everybody hold the tunnel entrance to keep them choked up. Ivana, move up with a Bokuto and help us out!"

Just as the combat alert for the next wave flashed around my field of view I was not the central front line with Go and Ivana on my left and right while Papi and Skooma closed off the very sides of the underground passage. Behind our front line were a few more of the familiars to support with light ranged attacks because we had tightened the available positions. This way, though, we could better control the number of bodies that could attack us at once out of sixty-three.

After unloading all of their remaining and cooled AOE skills, Lil and Agnes basically cleared away half of the ninth wave between them and their familiars while us on the front line slowly stacked damaged and then bodies on the enemies in front of us. I had to put a lot of focus in staying nearer to Ivana than Go to share my buff with her, causing his hobs to go off balance as soon as my proximity shifted.

I even had to cast First-Aid on her twice to keep her above sixty-percent health.

Not long after Lil finally got to cast her regen spell on the party and our familiars the ninth wave started coming to a close with only a few hobs left. "Kite!" I call out suddenly as Papi and Skooma rush in to take out one apiece. Luckily, only two of them moved in, which left two hobs with thirty and fifty percent of their health bars left. "Lil, Agnes, let us know once all your spells are cooled. there's no telling what comes after ten this time!"

I took the remaining two hobs for myself and just ran in circles around them at full speed. With at least thirty Strength and twenty-five Agility with light weight armor and mostly light weapons, I could actually move pretty fast pretty easily in a ten-foot circle. I was definitely moving faster than I could in reality while leaning somewhat to the side with my feet planting sides first into the soft ground for traction.

When I finally received the signal from both of our main mages, though, I quickly straightened up and ran back in line where I tapped Go and Ivana forward for the finish. I could not wait until we finally had our main tank who could take my place up front and center with the sheer size of their halfling-giant character.

If I had my magic by then, I would be able to take a back seat and coordinate the crew that way.

Wave ten started seconds later and I only had enough time to use my Overeating skill to once again stuff my face with five pieces of meat after yelling for the others to do the same. Then, as the first hobs met the front line, Lil started unloading her ice spears and hailstorm of rocks on the front half of the seventy hobs filling the tunnel.

Agnes unleashed a surging rush of water and air like the hose of a fire truck that buckled the legs of the back hobs and brought most of them to the ground with some light damage before unleashing several large bolts of greenish lightning that traveled through the wet ground and bodies for immense amounts of damage.

You could tell from the elements and skills given to the druid and summoner classes which if them was more magically inclined than the other. The starting AOE skills for purer mages like summoners, elementals, and alchemists could be used together until more elemental skills were learned or unlocked. The druid's more warrior-like stat spread was only good for harassing enemies at a distance before you and your beasts finished the job up close.

Between the two of them at their full capacity, the tenth wave took only a little longer than the eighth wave before a combat alert flashed immediately after the last goblin faded. Like when the first hobgoblin warrior would appear the ground started shaking, but this time the ground started shaking in sets of two. "EVERYONE FALL BACK HALF," I call out, yelling as loud as I could to bring the attention of the warriors to me and my title bonuses.

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