CHAPTER 18

They arrived earlier than I expected, Sapphire thought as her Danger Perception, alerted her of incoming danger.

Sapphire tilted her head to her left as an arrow soared through the air right for her head. It passed harmlessly through her hair, that wasn't able to get out of the way in time. Slowly, an entire horde of goblins emerged from the woods, charging towards the village.

Many goblins were armed with clubs, daggers, and banners, made of bones and wood. She could see many goblins with slingshots and bows towards the back as well. She didn't see anything too dangerous and the stats of the goblins were negligible compared to her own.

Activate Intimidation1, Sapphire ordered appraisal.

As Sapphire activated her skill intimidation all the goblins stopped in their tracks, their eyes widening in terror and many started to take several steps backwards in fear. Sapphire smiled to herself seeing that it was working well.

Without wasting anytime Sapphire begun her attack. She started with two diagonal dark slashes as she unsheathed both her katana. The slashes sliced through some of the goblins in the front and knocked back many that were behind from its remaining power.

Sapphire opened her jaws and unleashed an attack similar to a dragon breath, a 'Shadow Pulse2'. The attack was completely black in color and caused a small explosion as it impacted with the goblins. The goblins unleashed a rain of arrows and rocks in retaliation.

As the arrows started to land Sapphire disappeared from her spot. All the goblins and adventurers stared at the spot she was at in confusion. Sapphire jumped out of the shadowy ground a step in front of the goblin hoard. Flames gathered around her leg as she kicked the goblin nearest to her while she was in the air. All the goblins close to her pounced at her in an instant. Sapphire tapped her leg on the ground and all goblins in a small area around her fell to the ground,3 paralyzed. Without wasting any time Sapphire performed two dark slashes as she spun on her feet, one bigger and one smaller, to finish off all the paralyzed goblins.

She was caught off-guard as five small fireballs were aimed right at her. There was the option of dodging since they were fairly slow, but she chose not to. The fireballs collided with her and exploded in a small burst of flames. The flames quickly died out and Sapphire stood there, seemingly unscathed.

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 1164/1180, MP: 1316/1800, Stamina: 1820/2060, Strength: 370, Defense: 256, Speed: 821, Hunger: 39%, Skill points: 200."

Perhaps I overestimated my elemental resistance, Sapphire thought.

As the shamans charged another spell Sapphire teleported right before them and beheaded all with a horizontal Dark Slash. Some of the other nearby goblins were also harmed by it. Using the Shadow Movement: Sprint she moved from one part of the horde to the other and slaughtered them with both her katana and skills.

The goblin horde quickly depleted at a rapid rate. Any goblins that attempted to flee were taken down by the archers and mages. It was going pretty smoothly, and so far, no other bells had rung.

Sapphire leapt backwards as her Danger Perception alerted her of a danger right beside her. A giant wooden club smashed into the ground where she was before. Sapphire turned to her attacker and focused her intimidation skill on it.

Appraise.

"Goblin Warlord (unnamed), level 48, HP: 2580/2580, MP: 750/750, Stamina: 1268/1370, Strength: 890, Defense: 876, Speed: 178, Hunger: 73%, Skill points: 0."

This is a warlord? I expected warlords to be much stronger, this one is pretty weak, Sapphire thought as she eyed the warlord.

The warlord raised its club above its head and brought it crashing down towards Sapphire. Sapphire sheathed her older katana and looked at its attack for a moment.

"Slow," Sapphire mocked.

Sapphire took a small step to the side and allowed the club to hit the ground beside her. The instant the club smashed down she jumped onto the warlord's arm with which it held the club and stared right into its eyes, the look of fear evident in them.

"Goblin Warlord (unnamed), level 48, HP: 1935/1935, MP: 563/563, Stamina: 951/1028, Strength: 668, Defense: 657, Speed: 134, Hunger: 73%, Skill points: 0."

Sapphire smiled and punched4 the warlord right on its face, causing it to stumble backwards while holding its face. As the warlord steadied its footing it looked around and let out a confused growling sound. It raised its arms and felt around, attempting to figure out where things were.

"Maybe I will be a bit more serious now," Sapphire laughed, "Draconic Power.5"

"Appraise." Sapphire said quietly.

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 28. HP: 1746/1770, MP: 1974/2700, Stamina: 2730/3090, Strength: 555, Defense: 384, Speed: 1232, Hunger: 37%, Skill points: 200."

"Let's go!" Sapphire exclaimed joyfully as she charged right towards the goblin warlord and pounced on it.

Fire Attack and Paralysis Attack.

Sapphire kicked him with a combination of both skills and it fell backwards. Using Shadow Movement Teleport Sapphire teleported right on its chest.

Fire Attack and Dark Slash.

Sapphire used a combination of the two attacks on both her katana. She arced her newer one diagonally downwards while she arced her older one diagonally upwards while unsheathing it. She struck the warlord's neck with both her katana and created a wound deep enough for it bleed out in a little while.

Using Shadow Movement Sprint she disappeared from there and jumped out of the ground in the middle of a large group of goblins. She tilted her body upside down and performed two dark slashes, landing back on her feet afterwards. In an instant she wiped out all the goblins in that area.

"Experience threshold has been reached, Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, has advanced from level 28 to 29. Proficiency-based skill levels have been gained: <Bite > has risen from level 11 to level 12, <Endurance > has risen from level 13 to level 14, <Vision Enhancement> has risen from level 3 to level 4, <Dual Sword Mastery> has risen from level 8 to level 9, <Sword Mastery> has risen from level 12 to level 13, <Arithmetic Processing> has risen from level 8 to level 9, <Elemental Resistance> has risen from level 4 to level 5, <Pain Resistance> has risen from level 3 to level 4, <Shadow Movement> has risen from level 4 to level 5, <Dark Slash> has risen from level 9 to level 10, <MP Regeneration> has risen from level 1 to level 2, <MP Drain Reduction> has risen from level 1 to level 2, <Stamina Drain Reduction> has risen from level 1 to level 2, <Dark Attack> has risen from level 1 to level 2, <Shadow Pulse> has risen from level 1 to level 2, <Intimidation > has risen from level 1 to level 2, <Appraisal > has risen from level 6 to level 7."

Okay those were a lot of levels, way too many levels. Not like I am complaining.

Sapphire used the boost of Draconic Power to its fullest. She used skills without any worry of MP and stamina drain. Within fifteen minutes of activating Draconic Power she wiped out all the goblins in the vicinity. Her perception skills also indicated that there were no more left, but she felt like something was amiss.

Appraisal, how many goblins did I kill?

"197 goblins, 103 goblin warriors, 2 goblin warlords."

302 goblins, they all said there were at least 500 of them. Where did the others go?

As Sapphire wondered all the other bells rang at the same time, and twice. One ring meant goblins were attacking, two rings meant goblins were attacking in large numbers and they required assistance. Sapphire used Shadow Movement Teleport and teleported straight to the western side, the side which rung the bell first.

Sapphire emerged right in the center of the horde and sliced all the nearby goblins with two dark slashes before standing still and assessing the environment.

Activate Intimidation.

The effect of intimidation was greater than before. This time a lot more of the goblins backed away and started fleeing, though they were taken down by the archers. Swinging both her katana Sapphire charged right into the goblins.

Using a dark slash to kill several goblins in front of her she used a paralysis attack to immobilize all nearby goblins, before spinning on her heel and killing them off with another dark slash.

Using Shadow Movement Teleport she teleported right on the back of a warlord. She slashed its neck with both her katana, one using the Fire attack and one using the Dark attack. The warlord's body caught on fire and it stumbled around as its vision darkened, crushing many of the goblins in the process.

After thinning their numbers enough Sapphire moved on to the southern side. She repeated the same process there and quickly wiped out a large number of the goblins, before moving on to the eastern side.

As Sapphire jumped out of the shadows to repeat the process she was hit by something heavy and sent flying. She landed on her back, bounced, and landed on her feet, stopping after skidding on the ground a little more distance. Sapphire glared at her enemies, not being pleased by their welcome.

"Goblin General (unnamed), level 67, HP: 4780/4780, MP: 1450/1450, Stamina: 1468/1880, Strength: 1370, Defense: 1376, Speed: 248, Hunger: 74%, Skill points: 0. 

Goblin General (unnamed), level 69, HP: 4830/4830, MP: 1470/1470, Stamina: 1676/1930, Strength: 1411, Defense: 1476, Speed: 233, Hunger: 76%, Skill points: 0. 

Goblin King (unnamed), level 83, HP: 6080/6080, MP: 3800/3800, Stamina: 4280/4280, Strength: 2345, Defense: 3456, Speed: 38, Hunger: 94%, Skill points: 50."

Two generals and a king?

The warlords were already much bigger than her, but the generals were even bigger than the warlords, the king was just slightly bigger than the generals however. The generals carried metallic clubs while the king carried a claymore, something it stole from an adventurer from the looks of it.

Sapphire glanced at how the others were faring. It seemed to be in the adventurers' favor, if the generals and king didn't get involved that is. Sapphire sheathed both her katana and smiled to herself.

Guess they are all mine. Focus Intimidation on those 3. Sapphire commanded as she prepared herself to fight the three, all stronger than her.

All three of them were able to resist the fear effect to some extent. They were hesitant to attack, but they weren't scared enough still. Sapphire used Shadow Movement Sprint and emerged right in front of the king. Using Dark Attack she punched him right in the face. The king staggered backwards a few steps before tripping on a large rock and falling on his back.

"Goblin King (unnamed), level 83, HP: 4560/4560, MP: 2850/2850, Stamina: 3210/3210, Strength: 1759, Defense: 2592, Speed: 29, Hunger: 94%, Skill points: 50.

Goblin General (unnamed), level 67, HP: 3585/3585, MP: 1088/1088, Stamina: 1101/1410, Strength: 1028, Defense: 1032, Speed: 186, Hunger: 74%, Skill points: 0. 

Goblin General (unnamed), level 69, HP: 3623/3623, MP: 1103/1103, Stamina: 1257/1448, Strength: 1058, Defense: 1107, Speed: 175, Hunger: 76%, Skill points: 0."

Intimidation is overpowered.

Sapphire begun her attack instantly. Even after a stat decrease they weren't all that weak. She needed to make every moment count in this fight.

She started with the goblin general to her right. Using Shadow Movement Sprint she emerged from the ground near his legs and jumped to right in front of his face. Unsheathing both her katana she stabbed both of his eyes. The general roared in pain and lifted its arm up which was quickly engulfed in flames. Sapphire jumped off the moment it brought its arm towards its face. The general fell backwards as it hit itself and its head was lit on fire, the inflammable goblin hide giving the fire some great fuel.

As one of the generals roared in pain the other froze in fear, which was what Sapphire saw at the least. The general disappeared from its position as she glanced at it, appearing right behind Sapphire. Before Sapphire could react it slammed its metallic club into her and sent her flying.

She landed not far from the goblin horde and was quickly surrounded by goblins. They cautiously circled and feigned attacks at her, though none actually attacked. Sapphire slowly got back up on unsteady feet. Just as she did she was hit from behind and her head was slammed down on the ground. She felt many arms instantly grab her and pin her to the ground.

Can't. Lose! Sapphire ordered herself.

Before the goblins knew anything they were all lit ablaze and blasted. All of them scattered howling in pain, but were quickly slashed to pieces by dark slashes. The general that was in the process of casting dispel on the king turned his attention to the commotion.

"Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 29, has acquired skill: <Fire Magic> level 1.

HP: 546/1793, MP: 1435/2730, Stamina: 2113/3143, Strength: 564, Defense: 389, Speed: 1253, Hunger: 31%, Skill points: 0."

"Let's see what you have actually got." Sapphire snarled as she walked towards the general, bleeding from her head and many places on her head, the goblin horde having gotten the chance to inflict many wounds quickly.

She tossed her hat and cloak to the side as they hindered her movements to some extent. The moon shined on her black hair and ears, her blue eyes reflecting the moonlight, giving them a strange glow.

"Conditions satisfied: <Blessing of the Moon> level 8 activated."

Sapphire didn't notice that as she prepared herself to fight the general. The general hastened the process of casting healing magic on the king as Sapphire retrieved both her katana, first the older one, then the newer one. Picking up her newer katana she instantly performed a diagonal dark slash aimed at the general.

He quickly sidestepped and dodged the attack, which ended up landing on the king. The king barked a complaint as dispel was interrupted and the attack hit him. The general growled an apology as it turned and walked towards Sapphire. As Sapphire walked towards the general a dark blue aura enveloped her. The general gave a quizzical look but disregarded it as a power boosting skill.

The second Sapphire was in striking range he swung his club upwards with all his strength, but Sapphire easily dodged it by a nimble back step. The general then brought it down with all his force and smashed it on Sapphire.

Instead of dodging it, which she easily could have, Sapphire crossed both her katana above her head and blocked the attack. The general stared wide-eyed as Sapphire pushed his club upwards after blocking it, knocking him off balance. He staggered a step backwards before falling to the ground.

"Is that all you got?" Sapphire asked coldly, her katana prepared to land the finishing blow.

The general stared at her in horror. It retreated its free hand behind its body and started casting a spell. The moment he did that Sapphire disappeared from her spot and appeared right behind him, without using Shadow Movement.

She sliced his arm off with a fire attack and kicked him in the face with a paralysis attack the second he turned around. The general fell on his face and lay there motionless.

"Pathetic weakling," Sapphire spat.

She raised her right arm to the left side of her head and decapitated the general with a dark slash. Then, she turned to the others who were still clueless as to what was happening.

Fire Magic: Infernal imbuement,6

Flames gathered around both her katana as she used the spell. Then, she walked to the king and general and quickly decapitated them with two dark slashes. After being done with those two, she turned her attention to the remaining goblins. Using Shadow Movement and all her other skills she quickly exterminated all the goblins before her Draconic Power skill deactivated.

Walking back to where her hat and cloak lay she put them back on and just sat there. All her stats were back to normal and she felt completely exhausted from doing all that. She didn't quite have any desire to return to the village and get all the attention like a hero. She simply wanted to go in a corner of the world and sleep. She hadn't slept at all in the last two days or eaten well so she was feeling extremely exhausted.

"Midnight wolf (female), name: Sapphire, level 30. HP: 378/1210, MP: 73/1840, Stamina: 126/2130, Strength: 382, Defense: 262, Speed: 849, Hunger: 22%, Skill points: 200. List of skills: <Howl > level 8, <Blessing of the Moon> level 9, <Child of the Dark> level 3, <Child of Destruction> level 4, <Transformation > level 10, <Leap > level 10, <Evasion > level 6, <Bite > level 13, <Olfactory Enhancement> level 10, <Arbitrary Enhancement> level 10, <Greater Endurance> level 1, <Claw Slash> level 11, <Vision enhancement> level 5, <Breathing Mastery> level 9, <Dual Sword Mastery> level 11, <Sword Mastery> level 14, <Fist Mastery> level 10, <Throwing Weapon Mastery> level 7, <Enhanced Poison Resistance> level 3, <Arithmetic Processing> level 9, <Appraisal > level 7, <Elemental resistance> level 6, <Draconic Power> level 6, <Pain resistance> level 5, <Thermal resistance> level 6, <Dragon Slayer> level 6, <Shadow movement> level 7, <Dark Slash> level 11, <Dark magic> level 3, <Sneak > level 5, <HP Regeneration> level 4, <MP Regeneration> level 3, <MP Drain Reduction> level 4, <Stamina Regeneration> level 6, <Stamina Drain Reduction> level 5, <Dark Attack> level 3, <Thought Acceleration> level 4, <Impact Resistance> level 3, <Faint Resistance> level 3, <Shadow Pulse> level 2, <Intimidation > level 3, <Danger Perception> level 3, <Motion Perception> level 3, <Healing Magic> level 2, <Fire Attack> level 4, <Paralysis Attack> level 4, <Fire Magic> level 2, <Goblin Slayer> level 6, <Skill Steal> level 1, <Poison Fang> level 1. Titles: <Goblin Slayer>, <Dragon Slayer, <The Shadow>.

Midnight Wolf (female), name: Sapphire, can now evolve. Two evolution options are available: Midnight Wolf (Chaser) and Midnight Wolf (Ambusher)."

Well good that I can evolve again, but I have no clue what I will eat after evolving. I had eaten an entire dragon last time so I doubt what I have will be enough, and I absolutely do not want to eat a goblin, that would be disgusting. Also, can I be informed of the difference between the two evolutions?

"Evolution Info: Midnight Wolf (Chaser); increases stat growth of Speed, Stamina and MP. Midnight Wolf (Ambusher); increases stat growth of HP, Strength, and Defense."

I think I will be taking Ambusher, but not right now, once I find enough food. Sapphire raised her head as her Motion Perception alerted of someone approaching, a few someone at that. is is not going to be fun, Sapphire sighed.