Chapter 8: King of the Forest

..."Crack! Crack!" The Wild Goblins waved their crude weapons and screeched as they pounced toward the prey in the camp.

Fuck your mother—!

After the initial shock, Leon no longer feared the goblin-like creatures. He stepped forward steadily and thrust his three-pronged fork at the nearest enemy with a mighty swing.

The leading Wild Goblin agilely dodged and lifted its arm, the rusty Broken Knife firmly blocking Leon's thrust, but it staggered back, and the other two Wild Goblins took the opportunity to swing their weapons directly at Leon's body.

Unlike the wild beasts faced during hunting, these creatures with savage intelligence understood the power of weapons and countered accordingly.

However, when his strike was blocked, Leon did not panic. The situation before him barely fell within the range of his past life's gun skills, especially since he had a substantial advantage in size and arm length over these small creatures.

Quickly stepping back and retracting his pole, he twisted his body, pulled back the fork that had been blocked, and swiftly thrust diagonally, flipping the inattentive Wild Goblin on his left to the ground.

The sharpened iron point pierced directly into the Old Goblin's eye socket, causing it to scream as its eyeball burst and blood splattered. Leon didn't linger to watch, immediately stabilizing his stance and swinging his pole horizontally with both hands, scaring back the newly advancing Wild Goblin in the middle. The fork's momentum didn't diminish, and it knocked down another swing from the Wild Goblin on the right.

Leon resolved the encirclement with a near miss and, amidst the tension, felt his adrenaline surging. Before the fork fully fell, he pushed the tail pole again, fiercely lifting it.

—Puchi.

The three-pronged fork's sharp head abruptly entered the unprotected abdomen of the right-side Wild Goblin. The creature, in pain, grabbed the fork's head in its belly; Leon roared and forcefully dragged the fork, pushing its body towards the other Wild Goblins still coming at him.

The severely injured Wild Goblin involuntarily knocked over its fellows behind it, rolling and howling with three vicious blood holes in its belly.

Leon took the opportunity to swiftly retreat a few steps back to the campfire, adjusting his slightly disordered breathing rhythm.

Catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, Lokhak, clad in Chain Armor, was rapidly slashing and thrusting with a torch in one hand and an Armed Sword in the other. With wide swings, four or five Wild Goblin bodies already lay by Lokhak's feet; wearing Chain Armor and an Iron Helmet, he showed no fear of the enemy's crude weapons. Any Wild Goblin daring to face him would be chopped down within two moves.

Compared to Lokhak's fierceness, Azeryan was much more cautious. He never strayed far from Leon's side, holding a Round Shield and a fork, repelling several attacks from the left flank and steadily protecting his companions' flanks.

Lokhak's eyes red, seemingly caught up in the thrill of the kill, he unknowingly charged into the midst of the Wild Goblins, hacking left and right, his Chain Armor quickly stained red with blood.

Suddenly, a stone-bound lock thrown from the darkness aimed for Lokhak's ankle. The stone weight spun and entangled the young man's legs, and the unprepared Lokhak was suddenly pulled and tripped to the ground.

Goblins lurking in the shadows began to exert force, attempting to drag this most threatening armored target into the dark bushes.

Upon falling, Lokhak immediately swung his sword to cut the rope at his feet, but two opportunistic Wild Goblins emerged from the dark, smashing at him with Short Spears and Short Knives.

"Get away!" In the nick of time, Azeryan, who had always been keeping an eye on his companions, had somehow already arrived.

He charged with his Shield, knocking aside the Wild Goblins by Lokhak.

Leon also noticed his companion's peril. No longer indulging in battling his current foes, he waved his fork to repel the enemies, rushing over with Azeryan to help Lokhak stand up.

"Back off, everyone stay away from the bushes," Leon called out loudly to the two, fighting and retreating, as they once again gathered by the campfire, narrowly saving what could have been a situation of being picked off one by one.

The cries that pierced the silence of the dense forest continued for another several minutes, and during that short time, about a dozen more Wild Goblin bodies were added around them.

These bloodthirsty Wild Goblins were undeniably fierce, but the three seasoned youths were by no means mere vegetarians, both in the literal and metaphorical sense.

The smell of blood that filled the clearing soon calmed the impulsiveness of the surrounding Wild Goblins. They circled the youths, confronting them with roars, yet hesitating to engage in a bloody showdown.

Seizing the moment, Azeryan cleverly picked up a still barely alive Wild Goblin from the ground with his fork's tip. Clasping the fork's shaft under his arm, he lifted the dying creature, displaying its dying kin to the hesitating Wild Goblins around.

"Crack! Crack!" The Wild Goblins raised their weapons, seemingly further enraged by Azeryan's provocation and intimidation. Some impulsive ones attempted to move forward, only to be pushed back by Leon and the others' iron forks and sharp swords.

Gradually, the continuous intimidation took effect, signs of wavering and retreat appearing among the snapping Wild Goblins.

Even these inherently bloodthirsty creatures were weighing the basic pros and cons, having already suffered significant losses from their failed ambush and brief skirmish.