Chapter 18 : Quest Gone Dangerous

I faced the way where the I saw the goblin first. And at that site, the goblins appeared. However, there is no caves or anything there.

Where they appeared... was inside the trees. How do they do that? But there wasn't any rime to hesitate, as I looked at the one behind me. Eina was sleeping there soundly, as if her rage earlier was a lie.

The goblins made their move, and more came from inside the trees. There's something really strange about this. Not only that, it isn't the usual goblins.

They were hobgoblins, something that should only appear rarely in goblin tribes. You couldxve count them in just your hand, but they came in massive numbers this time, with the other goblins behind.

I've got a bad feeling about this... haven't they investigated it? How come it was so different from the one they reported? No, I'll just report it later.

Then, the hobgoblins started the fight. They throwed rocks, and the others charged into me. How come they can do a formation?!

I repelled the throwed rocks by using the 'Repel' spell, and the first hobgoblin to reach me was cut by my sword horizontally. The two on the back was also cut even though my blade didn't reached them. The secret?

It was one of the arts of the Liberal Style—Horizontal Slash. It may be the weakest art of Liberal Style, but using it correctly can even defeat someone more powerful than you. It was actually done by the creator of this style.

The Horizontal Slash was activated with wind magic, actually, to 'extend' its blades, making it a long sword with half of its blade invisible.

But I only cut 3 hobgoblins. There are still so many to kill. But... as long as the situation didn't change, I have the advantage, and I'll even make some good amount of money by selling these hobgoblin ears.

For a while, I continued defeating them. I slashed those who get near, and I'll use my spells to those throwing the rocks. While they are doing formations, their intelligence is still low so it was easy to overpower them.

However, even I would get exhausted. Maybe someone was waiting for this moment. Why? Because the amounts of goblins pouring out became more fast, and they also now have swords, although rusted and clearly not maintained.

At this rate, I'll be at disadvantage. Guess it's time to use 'that', huh? I readied myself and took my stance... not, I just simply stood there, and I chanted.

"「Manifest, 'Chaos Instigation'」"

After chanting, the atmosphere changed instantly, and the hobgoblins looked really confused. After a while, they started hitting each other. They killed each other right in front of my eyes.

Their numbers quickly decreased as they kill each of their kins. I thought this should be enough to kill them all, but something unexpected happened.

On one of the trees emerged a goblin. A different one. It had a mask like the Tiki. It also has a stick—no, a wand in his hand. I've read this.

A shaman. They can use powerful magic humans cannot use, and if they appeared it could cause large damage. They had huge magic pools, after all. But... this one's weird.

A Goblin Shaman should only be a size the normal goblins, albeit having accesories and stuff, but this one is so large its height reached more than 3 meters. Only one goblin could reach a size like that.

"A Goblin King..?"

Yep, what kind of existence is that?! It should be illegal! A Goblin King that is also a Shaman?! Are you kidding me?!

But life isn't that easy, I know. I could only sigh as I saw that.

"So that's why the goblins can form a formation, it's because of you, huh?"

〔That's right, human.〕

Yep, it can speak. Goblin Kings were known for their high intelligence rivaling humans. But what about... what to call this thing..? Goblin Shaman King?

It got a cooler name now... no, this isn't a time for jokes! I readied my stance and also my revolver ready. I did the first move.

〔Excellent. You'll make a good practice opponent.〕

As he said that, I swung my sword, aiming for his neck. But before I could reach him, a barrier suddenly appeared in front of me, slamming me into it. After that, I recieved a very hard kick I managed to block, but it still knocked me away.

"Gahah!"

〔Hmm, I still cannot control my power it seems. No matter.〕

I-I can't move... It hurts so much... You might've forgotten, while I'm an adult inside, I still have the body of a 13 year-old. Rather, a 13 year-old fighting this creature wasn't even normal. I could only manage because of my magic and some sword arts.

While I can't move, I picked my revolver and charged it with magic. Of course, a piercing magic. Firing it off, I managed to shoot his shoulder. If my hands weren't trembling, I could've shot his head, but that still managed to stop him in his tracks.

As he looked at his pierced shoulder, his confidence crumbled and anger could be seen on his face.

〔You dare wound me? A mere human dare wound me?!〕

Then he raised the staff he has and it emitted black colored magic power, and hobgoblins started being summoned again. Also, the other dead hobgoblins with bodies intact rose up, becoming undead.

A crisis started. How can I fight though..? I tried to stand up and used a stance different from before. While earlier I prioritized adaptability, right now I focused on speed to swifty finish them off. But it isn't perfect as I am still not used to this.

I could feel I'll lose this fight. But suddenly, a change of atmosphere changed and the battle did a 180 degree turn.