intrusion

Alex glare hardens, gazing unflinchingly, at the sea of dark greens exiting the wood. Raising his right arm, he slowly pulled the bowstring. Bend at its maximum capacity; he releases his hold the instant the notch on the arrow cross the arrow rest.

The guards' gaze, on his side, unconsciously followed the arrow fly, barely able to catch it as the *twang* of the bowstring resound in the eerily silent settlement, a soft *thud* ring in the distant.

While they could barely distinctively make each goblins exiting the wood, they all see a particular goblin flung back, nailed on a tree trunk at one hundred thirty metres.

Their silence broke when an uninterrupted flow of arrows started to shower the goblin. All looked at Alex standing on the wall top, firing arrows in a continuous motion, releasing two other arrows by the first one travelling to the goblins.

The sight was mindnumbing to them, never before seeing someone fire arrow this fluidity and with such consistency. It was only due to Alex superior strength and the marking on the arrows that Alex could have such a feat, but it remained spectacular nonetheless.

~~~

While his proficiency was awing those at his side, fear was starting to grip the goblins. The group had only exited the wood from a minute, gathering at the edge, that arrows rained on them never before they assisted to such vicious attack, from such distance.

Because they ran from their lair to there, they had exhausted a significant part of their stamina without stop. The plan the Alpha had given was simple, run, stop, recover and launch the assault.

But nothing unfolds as expected. The goblins, too exhausted to see and react to the projectile, were powerless to face them.

As the second trickles, more and more of their own were slaughtered, nailed to trees or threw back in the wood, dead. Even if unarmed goblins were now able to arms themselves, it was useless; nothing was protecting them from the flying stick.

~~~

While Alex's action disturbed the hobgoblin plan, it had no incidence on the other three packs. As none had his skill and power, the guards had none other choices but to let the goblins recover from their marathon to the settlement.

Only the sound of clapping bowstring maintain their morale, knowing that a portion of the wall was already taking off a part of the burden from their shoulders. None had illusions, knowing who was firing at the goblins, and once again, the guards were thankful for the stranger's presence.

~~~

With him decimating their numbers, the goblins and variants targeted by Alex hadn't other choice but throws themselves at the settlement. Hiding wasn't in their nature, and the promise of female was clouding their mind. The anger they feel as being denied those females only drive them further insane, thus the assault.

While sniping a target from afar and striking a moving target was another skillset altogether, none had a real incidence on Alex killing rate, other than a slight delay between two released arrows.

While they moved, goblins weren't intelligent enough to move on the side to confuse him. Running in a straight line and coming closer only helped Alex secure his accuracy, always aiming either for the chest or the head.

By the time they decided to move, Alex had already shot down forty-two goblins. Now that they were moving, his target changed from the goblins to the variants. With their larger and more robust bodies, along with the sword, they were the real treat here.

While a sword was heavier than hatchets, their stronger frame and longer limbs made them the head of the attack.

With a clear view on the thirteen variants, Alex had just enough time to kill them before reaching the walls, with the last crumbling barely seven metres before them.

When the goblins crossed the guard firing range, an additional four arrows were shooted at the same time that Alex. By the time the goblins attains the walls, Alex had halved the pack number, all the variants killed and most of the weapons lost, leaving most either bare-handed or with simple stones.

~~~

The smooth surface of the settlement wall forced the goblins to pills on the other, to attempt reaching the top. Due to their greedy and vindictive nature, most than not, those pills crumbles, when those bellows tried to climbs higher.

Alex fired arrows with such proximity had more than enough power to struck at least two goblins every time. While he may not kill both, the surviving one couldn't free itself due to the deeply buried arrow and the dead weight of its brethren.

With the five of them, Alex and four guards, this side of the wall was cleared under five minutes after they reach the walls.

With the last goblin killed, Alex immediately shoots off to another section of the walls, overwhelmed by the numbers.

~~~

Alex action didn't have an only positive influence on the horde. As soon as the first pack assaulted the walls, the three others followed. Even if exhausted, none of the guards had Alex skills with the bow. The three other groups kept intact until the forty-meter demarcation before the better skilled started to shoot them down.

By the time the goblins struck the walls, less than twenty were killed in each pack. More than four hundreds of goblins to slam against the walls added to those numbers where the variants, already working their blades on the settlement's doors.

It didn't take long for the goblins to overwhelm the guards and successfully invade the walkways at the top of the wall with such high numbers.

~~~

When Alex turned to the side, he could see the goblins already invading the walkaways and the retreating guards. Without them to risk friendly fire, he continues his onslaught of deadly arrows, taking with him the bundles of arrows he had.

The goblins reacted to Alex attack, diverting many of them from the retreating guards. Seeing that they would incircle him, he decided to stay where he was, sniping as much as possible goblins, before moving.

When they neared on him, he jumped down the wall, his targets, the variants banging at the doors.

~~~

After helping Alex shoot down the goblins, Bob, Patrik and Henri regrouped with the settlement guards. Due to the threat of goblins and other monsters, houses were constructs with two meters high stone walls. After the guards' rungs the alert, specially carved blocks of stone had been put in the hole made by the door.

This wouldn't stop determined goblins from entering the houses but would leave the families inside few days of reprieve, generally enough to let the guild send some reinforcement and deal with the monsters.

However, those blocks wouldn't stop variants and stronger beasts, making their elimination the top priority.

"Henri report!" Shooted Josh, between paring and slashing at the goblin with a hatchet.

"One pack of been taken down, along with all thirteen variant, sir! Alexander had taken care of them. I just see his jump to the other side of the wall when the goblins overcome the walkways. With enough luck, he would take care of the remaining variants before they breach the gates!" Yell Henri passes over the sound of the battle, while his group craves their way to the remaining guards holding the position in the square dais.

"That leaves us with five hundred plus goblins to deals with. You hear that men hold the dais!" Oder him with vigour, a little of hope surfacing at the news.

"Ohhh!" Equally bolstered with the news of one pack and thirteen variants already down, the guards tighten the rank, hacking and slashing at every goblin trying to jump on the dais.

~~~

Jumping down the six-metres tall wall, Alex immediately anchors himself to the wall through two knives. After all sound around dwindled until only the sound of clashing steel against iron and squeaking of split fleshes, he climbs back, now alone on the walkway. Briefly look at the situation down, he could see few goblins rapidly vacating the place to regroup at the door. Due to the lack of sufficient number, only around four hundreds of goblins haad invade the settlement by bypassing the wall; the rest chose to follow the variants, striking at the doors to enter.

As the settlement was a small place, only a single door had been installed, facing the wood's opening toward the distant grassland. While it signifies that Alex only had a single entrance to take care off, it also means that he had hundreds of goblins to bypass before being able to strike down the variants.

From there Alex had two choices, going head-on with a significant chance of becoming goblins chew under five minutes, or kill the variants from the side of the gate, and attract the attention of the climbing goblins.

-Not very a hard choice, isn't it.-

'Yes, but our possibilities are limited. even if I take care of the one outside, I can't return to help the guard, the hobgoblin had still to appear, and I don't know when he will.'

-That will only leave them with around ten goblins each; I think they can take care of themselves, and even then, until your safe, It better to not think of them.- CS words may be cold, but if Alex were to die here, he would leave behind Susan And Lily. As much as he was thankful from the Tiris settlement people to have welcomed him, it had been born of a need of preservation, as none would have survived the horde.

~~~

I rapidly run on the top of the wall, before stopping at a small post made on. Silently climbing, I could see the remaining goblins spill in the settlement. Peaking above the flat roof, I could see that nearly only the variants were left at the gate, along with a smattering of goblins, now too little to climb the six metres and rejoins the others.

Thankfully, the variant didn't seem too much more intelligent than the basic goblin, only more powerful. They were still striking the door with the swords, and from the bits on the ground, broke some already.

'I count only twenty-seven variant; I dealt with thirteen, do you think they deal with the remaining ten?'

-That or they are already in, but since I can't hear many screams, perhaps, useless the cries are lost in the noise.-

'Possible.' Even if they were already in, I can't take care of them at the moment, as the door took priority. Nocking an arrow, I shot down a variant at the rear, before aim for the next.

In taking them out from outside to inside, I hope to cover the crashing noises, with the gate' pounding. I was left with eight when the rest became aware of the surrounding.

'Good.' Due to me sniping them, the variant momently stopped to bellows at me.

Dispatching the remaining variant, I killed the rest of the goblins as soon as possible. Done, I jumped down and couldn't help but wince. While swords weren't the most efficient tool to broke a door, hatchets do, and a sneaky group of goblins had shaved more than half-way through the log, while covered by the variants.

The hacked hole was tremendous, enough to leave three goblins to enter the door side by side, and would only need the variant to bend a little to enter. Looking through the corpses, blood and forming mud, I stored all the hatchets I could, unwilling to leave some tool for the last pack.

While I could have stayed outside to welcome it, I decided to return to the settlement and help the guards eliminate the goblins.

I had barely returned to the walkway and started to shoot goblins after searching, leading me further from the gate, that I heard them. Turning Around, I couldn't help but freeze at sight. Coming from the grassland, another sea of dark green appears. Even from where I stood, I could see the large numbers of variants, but the more frightening was the hulking form of what must be hobgoblins, three of them.

The roar they bellow was so loud that It hurt my ears, making my vision blur under the pain. By the time dizziness leave me, only the sound of heavy pounding seems to register in my brain. I could felt my eyes widen at the two titan broking into a sprint, already near the gate. Before I could even react, the wall trembled as the door exploded, the goblins had breached the gate.