4 Chapter 4: Goblins everywhere

"Derik, Mason, Gorge, Mary and I will lead, the others follow behind and watch our backs… according to the book I've read, goblins are very cunning … if we meet anything beyond our current abilities… we retreat.. we don't need hero's!!!" Brian said. The others nodded from time to time and when they were done planning, they moved around and picked up arrows fired previously. The arrows were returned to their respective quivers.

"The cave is like a double-edged sword. It has its perks but it also has its own disadvantages…" Derik said "It reduces mobility, making it harder for these goblins to escape our attacks. But it also affects us as well, our retreat will be slow so there is a high possibility that we will be forced to engage these monsters in close combat… load your crossbows and keep your daggers close.." Derik said

"Don't forget this is their stronghold, there are bound to be traps... keep your eyes open… watch your step…James and Dean will hold the torches and light the way for us… we are responsible for their safety… No one is allowed to screw up" Mason added.

…

…

With Dean leading the way the team entered the cave, their speed was very slow but steady. Occasionally they came across different paths in the cave and carefully checked every single one of them to avoid ambushes.

Puff!!!

The arrow dug deep into the skull of the last goblin and blood splattered everywhere, its body twitched repeatedly for a few seconds before it finally died. This was the third detour they inspected, in just one hour they have killed over thirty goblins. The harvest was the best so far. They had acquired over sixty goblin ears, over sixty goblin eyeballs and more than two hundred goblin teeth. Even though goblin body parts were the least valuable thing an adventurer can acquire, selling these parts in bulk could fetch a lot of money. While the rest were rejoicing, Derik, Mason, and Brian were worried. In the adventurers association, most recruits spent all their type training only their bodies while a few train both their bodies and minds, they say knowledge is power but a few people fail to understand the meaning of this statement. Goblin chieftains control about twenty to forty goblins, but in cases when an adventurer encounters more than fifty goblins in a cave the chances of encountering a goblin shaman or a goblin warlord becomes dangerously high. They have only traveled about fifty meters into the cave and yet they have encountered more than thirty goblins.

The three looked at each other and could see tell that the other was thinking the same thing

"Let's just hope we are wrong… even if there is a goblin warlord… I still believe we can kill it…" Brian said

"And what if we encounter a goblin shaman?" Mason asked, there were traces of fear in his eyes that could not be hidden. Brian's expression crumbled and he bit his lips, he didn't have an answer for this. If something like that should happen, they may lose a few members.

"Goblin shamans are too rare and it's difficult to encounter one… I doubt a goblin shaman can reside in small caves such as this one… let's just check it out… if we do encounter one.. we retreat !!!" Derik said. Brian and Mason nodded in support and led the team out of the path and followed the main route once again. On the way, they entered four more paths and killed more than fifty goblins. After an hour, they were sure they were close to the main goblin stronghold. Occasionally they came across paintings done with blood on the walls of the caves and rusted metal armors.

"Dean!!!"Mason was the first to notice the presence of a goblin not far away. He pulled out two arrows from his quiver and shot the first, and the second immediately, this action happened in less than a second.

Peng!!!

The first arrow collided a hand axe, deflecting it and the second flew towards the source. Not long after, screams of a goblin was heard far ahead in the darkness.

"Throw the torch ahead quickly and get behind us... everyone get ready!!!" Derik whispered as he pulled out three arrows from the quiver tied on his back. The torch flew forward and landed about ten meter ahead. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw about a hundred armed goblins patiently waiting for them to get closer.

"This shit is a f##king colony!!!" Derik screamed as he shot his arrows at the goblins

"Everyone shoot!!!… those at the rear… help us!!!" Mason screamed as he shot his arrows.

Swoooosh!!!

Swooosh!!!

Swooosh!!!

The goblins realized they were no longer hidden and dashed forward, unfortunately for them, they couldn't all rush in at once because of the little space in the cave. Under the constant assault of these sixteen skilled archers who retreated slowly as they fired these goblins could not get close. These archers were like messengers of death. Each time they let go of the bow string one or two goblins and sometimes even three goblins died. In less than twenty minutes the battle was already over, the corpse of more than a hundred goblins littered the floors of the cave, small pools made of goblin blood could be seen everywhere.

"We can come back for the body parts later… let's take care of these monster ahead first" Brian said. The team wandered deeper into the cave after pulling out their arrows and returning them to their quivers. They glanced at the corpses littered everywhere and smiled. Even a qualified adventurer team will find it difficult to kill over a hundred goblins in twenty minutes, even though they had more than three times the average adventurers team member count, it still didn't matter. They swore in their hearts to brag about this day for the rest of their lives. After traveling for another hundred meters they knew they were close to the end of the cave, they could literally hear a monster's breathing. This definitely didn't belong to a goblin chieftain, only a goblin warlord was capable of doing such. If they didn't encounter goblins on the way into the cave, they would have assumed that a high level was resting at the other side of the cave.

"We're close… it should be a goblin warlord… get ready" Derik whispered…all fifteen members frowned when he spoke. Even though they knew it was a goblin warlord, they still refused to accept this in their minds.

[Maybe we are wrong] they thought

But when Derik confirmed the identity of the beast, they just had to accept it. In the one books which recorded the levels and strengths of monsters outside the wall found at the library in the castle, the goblins were divided into 4 levels, the first level was occupied by goblin infantries and archers. These little beasts are naturally weaker in nature so they rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm their foes. Then at the second level was the goblin chieftain, these beasts are usually the size of teenagers around the age of 16-18 years. Their primary weapons are stone clubs, these beasts are strong enough to engage a bronze level guardian knight in combat and overwhelm him. At the third level, you see the Goblin warlord, capable of taking on a complete team of four bronze level adventurers and overwhelming all four. Even though bronze level adventurers were the least in the adventurer's ranking, they are still people who were able to complete the adventurers association training and graduate. Such people should not be looked down upon!!. Finally, at the top is the level 4 goblin shaman, capable of conjuring fire, creating smoke screens, releasing poison gas and creating zombies out of goblin corpses. Their affinity to almost all elements is what makes them the most deadly goblin one can encounter. Goblin shamans are responsible for several party wipes, that's why a lot of adventurer teams try to avoid them when possible.

At this moment they were like three hundred meters away from the goblin, this part of the cave was wet. Its red eyes glowed in the dark and its breathing shook the cave. Its cold stare was fixed on Derik who stood in front, this made Derik shiver involuntarily. He was scared but refused to show it, his hand slowly reached for an arrow in his quiver.

"I will get its attention, you guys need to find its vital points kill it immediately," Derik said

"Derik... don't…" Mason said but made no attempt to stop him

"You want to take on that thing on at close quarters?... have you lost your senses?..." George whispered. Even though this plan was insane, it was the only way they could beat this beast. If the warlord decided to charge at them, more than half of the team will be wiped out even if they succeed to bring down this monster. They all knew that Derik's plan was the only way

"Maybe" Derik replied with a smile on his face and took a few steps forward.

"Rapid Fire!!!" Derik growled as he shot his arrows at amazing speed. In just a second he had fired over 5 arrows. The goblin screamed in response and dashed towards them

Peng!

Peng!!

Peng!!!

Derik's expression crumbled as he saw his arrows shatter on the goblin's armor.

[Why is a goblin equipped with a guardian knights armor?]

Derik pushed all the questions in his mind, he let go of his bow and dashed forward. Seeing the human run towards it the goblin roared, its bloodshot eyes were fixed on Derik as it swung the giant stone club horizontally. Derik had gathered enough speed, when the stone club was close enough Derik slid on his knees, tilting his upper body backward evading the attack. The goblin roared and turned around, swinging its stone club again. Derik bent once again to evade the attack again. He quickly turned around and pulled out his crossbow

Bang!!!

The bolt from the crossbow shattered the goblins left knee cap, Derik quickly retreated as he reloaded.

"Cover me!!!" he screamed.

The other fifteen were mesmerized by Derik's performance, they refused to believe that this is the same kid that practiced with them every day. Derik's words snapped them out of it and pulled out the arrows.

Wooosh!

Wooosh!!

Wooosh!!!

The goblin roared as it swung its stone club horizontally, shattering most of the arrows heading towards it while the remnants shattered on its armor. Luckily two arrows found their way to its already injured knee and dug deep into it. The goblin roared in pain and fell on its knees, it struggled to get on its feet but its left leg was almost useless at this point.

"We can do this!!!... keep shooting…" mason screamed when he saw the beast struggle. Arrows rained on the goblin warlord who had already lost its mobility, it swung its stone club repeatedly in an attempt to block the incoming arrows. Soon most of its joints were pierced and blood flowed down its wounds. It struggled to defend against the arrow barrage. By this time Derik was done reloading, he had been hiding behind the goblin the whole time while he reloaded. Luckily for him, it was distracted by the team's constant barrage.. he carefully aimed at the goblins exposed head and…

"vanish" he muttered

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Bang!!!

The goblin didn't move anymore welcoming all the arrows hauled at it. Its face was filled with shock and denial. The rest of the team stopped shooting when they noticed that the beast was not moving anymore, they quietly watched praying that the battle was over. When the body of the goblin hit the ground, loud cheers echoed in the cave