Chapter Eight

As the goblins rushed at me, I let mana course through my limbs. I tightly clenched the dagger in my hand as the first goblin lunged at me. I grabbed it by the wrist with my free hand and then I slashed at its forearm tendon. I could feel the muscles sever from the bone. In that split second, I traced my way up its arms with my blade.

Thanks to their height, I reached its neck and I managed to slice through its neck before it could even screech out. As the body was about to fall, I raised my dagger in the air and I plunged it down at the skull of a goblin behind it, since its vision was blocked off so it wouldn't have seen it coming. I quickly let go of the dagger as an axe was aimed at my wrist. I stepped back with a back kick landing at a goblin that was getting ready to stab me in the back.

Thanks to my muscles being reinforced with mana, my foot managed to smash through its face. Another slashed at me but I stepped back and the blade just cut my shirt. I crouched down and swept three goblins, but while I was getting back on my feet, a goblin jumped in the air and dived at me with its dagger, but I blocked with my palm and the dagger went right through my hand.

"Argh! Fuck!" I yelled. I grabbed the goblin by its neck and I crushed its throat with all my strength. I pulled out the knife and the pain was freshly renewed. "Son of a bitch, argh!"

The three goblins I had swept had gotten up and were now joining the other goblins in surrounding me. The wound on my palm was slowly healing and in ten seconds, the wound had finally closed. Ever since I started storing mana in my cells, my healing got faster. I grabbed the dagger in my hand and this time I didn't wait for them to rush at me. I rushed at them. As I did, I grabbed onto the nearest goblin, picked him up, and I stabbed him through the heart.

As the life left the goblin, I let the body fall down and then I picked up the axe that was still clenched in its hands.

"Fucking come on!" I shouted. "I'm not dying until I kick Mike's ass, so fucking come on!"

I swung the axe around and I managed to strike a goblin on its head. The axe stuck in its head and I didn't have time to pull it out so I pulled it and I turned around using its body as a shield as one of the goblins stabbed it in its guts. I then kicked the goblin as I pulled out the axe and the carcass fell on the goblin that stabbed it. I ducked down as an axe swung over my head. The force the goblin had used made it stumble in front of me.

I quickly gave it a push kick at its knee and the knee caved in. It was as if I had struck it with a hammer. The goblin screeched out in pain as it was about to fall on its belly. I quickly plunged my dagger in its chin and I swung the axe cutting its neck clean off.

As adrenaline coursed through my veins, my senses were sharper than ever. I sensed some goblin lunge at my back. Dodging his lunge, I counterattacked. I swung my axe upwards performing an upwards slash, slicing his arm from his shoulder. The arm that was in possession of the dagger fell to the ground.

I turned it in the air and did a side slash that cut off half of its head. I then dodged to the right, narrowly dodging the knife that was aiming for my face. I threw the dagger behind me and two goblins dodged it, but the goblin behind them wasn't so lucky. The dagger impaled itself in its head.

I then did a sideslash through the knees of the goblin and the goblin fell down on its stomach. I raised foot and I crushed the head of the goblin on the floor.

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"Mike when I get out of here, I'm gonna shove my foot way up your ass," I said as I pulled out the knife from the last goblin.

My core was halfway full or half empty depending on your perspective. My clothes were ripped to shreds, my body was a canvas of green goblin blood, and my body was tired. But the one thing that truly bothered me was that the hob goblin still sat on its throne.

I picked up an axe that was stuck in one of the spines of the goblin. I took a deep breath and then I chucked it at the hob goblin with all the strength I could summon. As the axe neared the nine-foot green beast, it quickly dodged and the axe managed to cut off half of its right ear.

"Fuck you," I said as the hob goblin glared at me. The hob goblin stood up from its bony throne and it picked up a mace that was resting on one of the armrests of the throne.

The mace was made of a long metal rod. At the end of the rod was a skull of an animal that had four horns. The horns itself were covered by red blood. The hob goblin placed both its hands, one at the base of the skull and the other at the center of the rod.

I turned my dagger sideways and took a fighting stance. Both him and I started running at each other. The goblin swung the mace aiming for my head. I dropped down on my knees and slid right under the mace. I reached his ankle and I stabbed the dagger right in his calf.

"Grrr!"

It dropped down on its knee but it turned the mace and the end of the rod, the metal end not the spiky death end, hit me right in my chest. The force was too strong that it sent me flying back and I landed right on his throne with my back.

As my back hit the edge of the seat, the dagger got loose and it left my hand. The hob goblin used this opportunity to rush and try to end the fight. He swung at my head but I kicked the seat which pushed me away from the mace.

The mace broke the ground, I did a kip up and then I ran at the goblin. I jumped up with a punch. The punch hit its nose making it bleed. It stumbled back letting go of the mace. The goblin swung its huge fist at me. I closed the distance with weaving and as I was close enough I hit him with a hook right in its ribs.

I then went up with an elbow at its chin, it stumbled back as one of its sharp canines got knocked off. I then rushed at it. I slid forward with one knee, I grabbed its uninjured leg knocked it to the ground, it fell with its stomach first and then I locked my legs on its right leg.

"Argh!" I yelled as I twisted my entire body with all my strength, the goblin's knee snapped and the roar that the goblin made shook the entire cave.

I let go of the leg and I jumped up in the air. I grabbed my ankles so that my point of impact would be my knees. The goblin tried to stand up but it was too late. I had landed on its spine breaking it too.

"Garrnushka scream that shit again," I said, my voice filled with venom as I wrapped my arms around its neck.

I pulled with all of my strength, the goblin's neck was huge so it didn't require too much squeezing. Also, I had broken its spine so it was immobile, which meant it didn't put up a fight and after a while the goblin finally kicked the bucket.

After the hobgoblin's death I finally let myself rest, I didn't get up from the body of the hobgoblin, no I simply lied on top slowly the adrenaline left my body and an insurmountable exhaustion replaced it.

My eyelids shut themselves and soon my consciousness faded away.

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Lilith was pacing back and forth in their home it was the middle of the night and her son hadn't returned yet, heavens know if he was alright, she had spent the last few hours searching for him she even went to Henry to ask him but he had no clues.

"Raiden where are you?" Lilith asked as she sat at their front door the thought of losing her son was too much to bear for her.

She didn't mind the gripping cold or the fact that mosquitoes were now busy feasting on her she just sat there the entire night but there was no sign of Raiden even as the sun rose up.