Army

The big group had passed the river, leaving messy muddy footprints cutting deep into the other side. Lucius knew this was the starting point of the goblin territory, as most of them were below level 5 here. For some reason, the goblins didn't pass this area.

Taking a deep breath, they crossed the river using the same familiar route, keeping their boots dry. Talon scouted ahead and signalled for them to stop, pointing to a spot up ahead.

Reaching the spot, they saw signs of a fierce battle. Around 20 goblins and 6 humans were dead. The goblins were mostly low-level beings, with the stronger ones damaged beyond recognition. It was clear that they had put up a desperate fight, managing to take down 6 of the humans with them.

One of the goblins, possibly a level 5, had its hand covered in human blood, using it as an improvised weapon when it lost its own. Another goblin had pieces of human meat in its mouth, indicating a gruesome last stand.

The humans' bodies showed various wounds, with one of them having a chunk of its neck missing, likely bitten off by a goblin. The group most likely left the bodies here, as carrying them would be hard. They had plenty of provisions with them, so they probably abandoned the bodies.

Searching for anything valuable, Lucius didn't even find a weapon; most likely, they had stored them somewhere. With the image of the gruesome scene in front of them, they continued until they saw signs of smoke and heard the sound of weapons clashing in the far distance.

Exchanging looks, they took their weapons out and rushed to investigate the source of the commotion. Soon, they saw a scene of slaughter. The humans, like a wave, were rushing without any formations but relying on their overwhelming numbers to cut through the goblins with ease. This place seemed to be a mine, similar to the log working area they had encountered before, but this was for mining activities.

The goblins were quickly disposed of, and the sounds of cheers echoed in the area. Lucius put a hand out to stop the party from leaving their hiding spot, deciding to spectate for now. He knew a goblin village should be in the distance, and it was clear that they had already discovered the commotion here.

Among the cheering humans, Lucius spotted Reni in the midst of a jubilant group. It seemed that Reni had reached around level 3, and their group had managed to eliminate a significant number of goblins.

Suddenly, shrieks were heard in the distance, the group turned their heads to see around 400 goblins rushing towards them. Despite the humans still outnumbering the goblins, a few of them looked particularly threatening.

One was a 1.8-meter tall goblin with toned muscles, wielding a massive great axe, exuding an aura of strength. The other goblin appeared weak but had intricate tattoos and held a bone staff in its hand, hinting at its magical power.

Lucius quickly checked his status and a prompt appeared before him: [Goblin Fighter LvL7], [Goblin Shaman LvL7]. These two goblins stood out among the others, indicating their elevated levels and exceptional abilities. The fact that they attacked with a group of 400, not afraid of being outnumbered, showed their strong belief in their own skills and power.

The leader, seeing the goblins arriving, gave the order to the archers to ready their bows and slow down the goblin charge.

''Shoot!'' he commanded with a hand gesture and a loud voice. A volley of arrows left the bows, making a 'swish swish' sound as they headed towards the charging goblins. The goblin fighter, recognizing the danger, looked at the shaman who created a small whirlwind in the sky, capturing the majority of the arrows.

Lucius watched the scene unfold and knew that this would be a tough fight, but it would also be rewarding. He ordered the group to split into three smaller parties, with Kevin and Lily each leading a group. Lucius decided to go alone, with his goal being to kill the shaman and a few of the stronger goblins, while the rest of the group could use the distraction to gain experience in battle.

Leaving the hiding spot, some humans pointed and yelled at them, but Tom gestured to show that they were friendly, allowing them to pass without incident.

''How long have you been stalking us?'' Tom asked with a hint of hidden meaning.

Deciding that honesty was the best approach, Lucius answered truthfully, stating that they had been following them since the start. He wanted to see if their group was strong enough to handle a situation like this.

Tom listened to Lucius's words, feeling a bit uneasy, but he decided not to comment at this crucial moment and to save it for after the battle. He welcomed them and allowed them to take their positions.

Lucius walked to the front of the line as the shrieks of the goblins were getting closer. Locking on to a few targets he could kill, he made some calculations in his mind.

Then, he turned his gaze to Lily and Kevin, who were on the second line, and signalled for them to come forward and attack once the initial wave of goblins crashed, prioritizing gaining experience while also putting their lives before the others.

He had them focus on taking down the stronger goblins, leaving the level 1 and 2 goblins for Charlotte and Emilia to deal with.

They were still at a lower level and needed to catch up to the others; this strategy would be the fastest way, but it would also mean facing the weaker ones alone, which would be a trial for them. However, he didn't force anyone into this situation, and if they chose to do so and faced the risk of dying, it was up to them to survive.

Taking a breath, he closed his eyes while pulling the sword out, the smell of blood and shrieks assaulting him. He began to control the mana in his heart, spreading it all over his body, and with each silent push of his heartbeat, the mana climbed up the blade, while at the same time, flowing into his legs, gathering momentum.

With the goblins close to him, he opened his eyes with a murderous look and charged forward, slashing with all the power he could muster in that instant. His blade cut through three goblins in a row, leaving them in pieces. The system prompt echoed in his mind, "Swiftstep Slash''.