Small Break

With tired faces, they sat on the ground. Lucius looked at the goblin and then glanced at the place where one of them had escaped; he knew something was up.

Taking a deep breath, Lucius asked, "Anyone injured badly?"

"I'm fine, just tired," Talon replied as he walked over to them, covered in green blood from the goblin's hug.

"I'm okay," Lily said, relatively clean with only some minor cuts.

"What about you, Kevin?" Lucius inquired, looking at the warrior who was panting.

"That goblin was strong, physically stronger than me, and forced me to take some wounds. Nothing vital, but a lot of them," Kevin said, pointing at his arms and chest.

"My shield got heavily scratched, and I'm also exhausted," he added, lying on the floor to catch his breath.

"Lily, Talon, loot the bodies for any valuables. We have to be fast," Lucius ordered, standing up and walking over to the strong goblin.

The sword the goblin used was around 80 centimetres long, made of plain metal, and was a one-handed blade.

Feeling its weight, he knew it was a bit lighter than his own but also more flexible, so he decided to use it and store his previous weapon.

While searching the fallen goblin, Lucius' fingers brushed against something in its pocket. Pulling it out, he found a piece of leather, slightly stained with blood.

Curiosity piqued, he unfolded it, revealing a set of markings and a crude drawing. The illustration depicted a river, a large pointed rock, and a cluster of huts grouped together. The significance of these symbols remained a mystery, but it was clear that they held some kind of meaning.

Unfortunately, the map didn't include much more apart from a river near the rock, without any mention of their current location.

Looking around, he tried to find the rock or river, but to no avail, as they were currently in the forest.

''Here are the last of the items we found,'' Lily said, dropping the loot they found on a pile.

It included some makeshift bows that were badly made, some rusty swords, knives, and a broken shield.

The goblin gear was of low quality. Apart from the higher-level ones, they mostly had scraps. Only the leader of this goblin group had a good upgrade.

Sharing the loot between them and storing it, they took out some food from their inventory. Lucius gave some cooked wolf to Talon.

"This is the first time I am eating wolf meat," Talon said, taking deep bites and moaning in pleasure at the grilled meat.

As they all sat down for a small break, taking small bites, Lucius decided to discuss the new information they had.

"That goblin that escaped, I don't think it was out of fear. It should have been an order from the strong one. I don't know their culture or language, and if they have any villages, but we have to move," he said.

After quickly finishing his piece of food, he asked Lily to help Kevin stand as they prepared to head back to town. They walked slowly in silence, with Kevin still recovering.

Suddenly, their feet froze as they heard a dog barking and goblin shrieks in the distance, indicating that something was coming for them.

"Fuck," Kevin muttered, gripping Lily's shoulder for support. This single word perfectly captured the gravity of the situation they found themselves in.

"Talon, go check out the noise. Stay hidden and run back to us if you see anything dangerous," Lucius ordered, and Kevin started running. Thankfully, he wasn't injured in the legs, so despite the pain, it didn't slow him down.

Talon knew he was the fastest, so he left the group and hid behind trees as he slowly approached the source of the sound. More and more barks and goblin shrieks filled the forest, along with the clanging of metal and approaching footsteps.

What he saw sent shivers down his spine, and he felt his blood run cold. Taking a double look at the system panel, he confirmed what Kevin had said—'fuck'. They were in serious trouble.

"This will be tough," Talon muttered as he observed the scene. There were 20 common goblins, each armed with spears, clubs, swords, shields, and makeshift bows, ranging from level 1 to level 3.

The odds were heavily stacked against them, and the gravity of the situation sank in.

However, the real concern was their leaders. Two [Strong Goblin LvL4] were each leading a group of five common goblins, and the last one, a [Strong Goblin LvL5], was commanding a group of ten.

The two leaders appeared similar to the ones they had faced before, but the level 5 goblin stood out as a truly formidable opponent.

Standing at 1.7 meters tall, it carried a sword on its side and was clad in leather armour, making it a stark contrast to the simple clothes worn by them.

Its deep red eyes seemed to radiate intelligence and cunning, and it exuded an aura of authority, commanding the other two leaders.

As if the situation wasn't challenging enough, each of the goblin leaders also had a [Wolf LvL1] on a chain, sniffing the ground where the group had passed.

The wolves were tracking their scent, drawing closer to the spot where Talon was hiding.

Taking a deep breath he ran back to Lucius and others in urgency to warn them and think of something in this situation.

A few seconds after Talon had left, the level 5 Goblin turned its head in the direction where he had been hiding.

If he had still been there, his presence would have been detected by the goblin's keen instincts.

Rushing back, he almost stumbled on a stone, catching up to Lucius and the others. Huffing and breathing roughly, he exclaimed, "We are do..ed!" His heart was beating fast.

"Calm down and explain," Lucius said, crossing his arms on his chest with a frown.

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "20 normal goblins..." Before he could finish, Kevin interrupted, saying it was not the end of the world.

"3 strong goblins, 2 the same as we faced before..." Talon looked at Kevin, expecting another interruption.

"Okay, that's not bad too, I guess? We can just run, they are fighting the wolves anyway, right?" Kevin replied more silently this time.

Shaking his head, Talon said, "No, there is one more level 5 goblin, and it has wolves on a chain tracking our smell."

Before giving Kevin a chance to talk ''Go, fast.'' Lucius already sprinting ahead of them. They followed, running fast, as the barking behind them grew closer.

Running a bit farther, amidst the echoing barks from various directions, he said, ''This way.'' Lucius took the lead in climbing down a small gorge, approximately 10 meters deep, in an attempt to shake off their pursuers.

As they ventured deeper into the gorge, its rocky and muddy ground echoed with the sounds of approaching goblins, and they soon came into sight.

The goblins seemed to have split off into three search parties, actively searching for the group, and the ones that found them were the weaker leaders.