Battle in the sand (1)

[Beep! [Beep! Name: Sand Wolf | Class: Wild Beast

Strength: 1.9 | Agility: 1.8 | Vitality: 1.5

Description: Sand wolves are creature who have adapted to the South of the Dalian Empire, with fur that isolate their body from the sun. Unlike most creatures, sand wolves also possess a tremendous ability to store water in their body, with little transpiration. Sand wolves travel in small packs led by Alpha. In the hierarchy, the Alpha is protected by the Beta wolves, possessing greater strength than most wolves. Sand wolves are infamous for their speed, sense of smell, and great survival assets, making them a prime target for Sand Goblins who tame and breed them]

Greem continued to look in front of him, with unyielding focus. Scanning the monsters was a good way for him to gauge their strength, and the data he possessed on them was naturally quite complete, after having spent three years in the Dalian Desert. Surprisingly enough, it seemed like encounters with goblins and numerous language stored in the data base allowed him to gain a basic understanding of goblin markings.

[Beep! Name: Sand Goblin Raider Captain | Class: Beginner Warrior

Strength: 1.9 | Agility: 1.5 | Vitality: 2.0

Description: Sand Goblins live in tribes. Translation in progress...The markings on its flag depicts their membership to the Sand Spear Tribe. Judging from the size, gear and individual strength of its underlings, this unit of goblin raiders is probably the elite army of a medium-sized sand goblin tribes. Sand Goblins are usually small in terms of heights, but possess more strength than human children, as well as a unique wilderness making them difficult to handle. Sand Goblins are very proficient at riding Sand Wolves, and they also possess the notion of training, making them fearsome opponents. This Sand Goblin Raider Captain seems to have broken through the Warrior Realm, which is the equivalent of knights for goblins and orcs, having ignited their life force]

In the army, Greem could spot 2 Sand Goblin Raider Captains, with strength equal to that of knights who broke through early on. Although their attributes were a bit lower than human knights, and their weapon mastery much more basic, the fact that they were monsters remained. Their wild attacks, uncontrolled berserk state and lack of fear in large scale battles made them opponents on par with fearful knights.

Unfortunately for those sand goblins, the 6th battalion was not an average 100-men-strong army. It was an elite army where the soldiers went through gruelling training on a daily basis, with a strong sense of cohesion, and a deep understanding of formations. Phalanxes were not optimal against a cavalry, since the charge would result in many casualties, but it was the only way to mitigate the damage.

*FIRE*

The 20 archers in the battalion, managed to fire its third volley of arrows, injuring a couple of goblins, and killing two of them. Unfortunately, arrows were not lethal against goblins moving at such high speed.

A few minutes later, the goblins were within reach.

*PREPARE FOR THE IMPACT*

As Captain Sanders gave orders, the morale of the troops increased slightly.

Greem himself focused, as he looked at the sand wolves crashing against the shield warriors trying to hold their ground against beasts that looked like giant monsters. Thankfully, Greem had prepared for this, and moved forward with his northern stallion, on his way to flank the sand goblin raiders. Greem knew that as long as he could flank the enemy army, he could damage their numbers greatly, and prevent many deaths from occuring.

Naturally, it was an independant decision that might count as insubordination, but the fact remained that it was the optimal way to deal with the situation. Had it been the 13th Battalion, his strategy of flanking the enemy would have proved ten times more effective as he could have taken trusted men with him. Unfortunately, he was quite unfamiliar with most individuals in the 6th battalion, and even if he had spoken with them, it was not nearly enough for him to convince Captain Sanders to lend him some men.

Three sand goblin raiders noticed him, and stopped their charge to meet Greem. It seemed like Greem's full set of armour, which was obviously of high quality, had entered the goblin's eyes.

"Human ahead! He has a shiny armour, so he must be a noble human. Be careful", the sand goblin captain shouted

[Beep! Name: Sand Goblin Raider | Class: Preparatory Warrior

Strength: 0.9 | Agility: 1.3 | Vitality: 1.0]

[Beep! Name: Sand Goblin Raider | Class: Preparatory Warrior

Strength: 1.0 | Agility: 1.1 | Vitality: 1.1]

[Beep! Name: Sand Goblin Raider | Class: Preparatory Warrior

Strength: 0.9 | Agility: 1.2 | Vitality: 1.2]

Although the sand goblin raiders that charged him could be considered quite strong based on a goblin standard, their physical attributes were only average in comparison to the imperial soldier standards. Greem was someone who could easily defeat a dozen imperial soldiers on his own, without even using his knight killing techniques. This time, however, he had another weapon in his arsenal, which greatly reduced his stamina consumption: [Quick Draw]

Although the power of the knight killing technique was only average, perhaps even a bit inferior to a strong thrust or slash, it had the ability to surprise his opponents. Evidently, goblins were unfamiliar with swordsmanship, not to mention a knight killing technique. Goblins were only so strong because they feasted on the weak merchants and their bodyguards. They were only strong in the eyes of the weak.

However, Greem was someone who had trained days and nights, practiced his swordsmanship up to twelve hours a day, and went through hundreds of battles in the past three years. His swordsmanship and knight killing techniques were top grades as well, thanks to his noble heritage. It was not something that mere goblin raiders could imagine.

*SPLASH*

Three quick draws later, the sand goblins who tried to stop him were beheaded swiftly, without even having the opportunity to react. The Sand wolves, however, targeted Greem's horse, and bit off one of its leg, causing the horse to fall.

*CRUNCH*

Greem fell on the sand like a bag of potatoes, before regaining his balance, blocking the incoming wolf claws. The beasts had a very strong bond with their masters, so he could understand their rage through their growls.

However, beasts were just beasts in the end. Taking a knife out of his waist, Greem plunged it in the wolf's throat. Using the momentum to take back his sword, the two wolves that came at him were easily taken care of.

[You have used the [Optimized Bluehill Swordsmanship 12th Form: Vertical Strike]. Completion Rate: 96%. Target is not showing any sign of life]

The biochip would never fail to see whether an enemy truly was dead or not. If he did not receive the familiar mechanical voice, he would always be wary for attacks, something that saved his life a few times already.

'To think that I would lose my horse so early on...', Greem thought with bitterness.

He originally thought that it was an easy opportunity to claim military merits by doing a heroic action, and grow his reputation with the Flying Citadel Acolytes. However, he never expected that instead, he would be in grave danger because of his recklessness. The Sand Goblin Raider Captain that he had analysed was seemingly very smart, and he had not forgotten about him, sending ten more goblin raiders to take care of him.

Greem could take care of footsoldiers with ease, but spear-wielding goblins riding monstrous giant sand wolves was not so easy, even for him. Sighing, Greem reluctantly started to breath in and out in a regular rythm, stimulating his life force in his body. He disliked using this ability, because the secondary effects of soreness and intense pain upon activating the skill were truly mind-breaking. However, it was the only way for him to limit the injuries he would receive in the battle.

Meanwhile, Neeko and Ingrid were completely frozen in fear. The blood, the smell, the screams, the battle for survival made them fail their incantations. Fortunately, Hildir was holding his ground, using his massive double-wielding axes to cut down the sand goblin raiders passing the wall of imperial soldiers shielding them.