The other goblin was of the same mind. It had acknowledged its brethren's death, and was dancing around erratically, looking for a way past Tolsey.
But the Vice-Captain's eyes were fixed upon it. As soon as it made a step to go around him, Tolsey's precise sword stroke cut it in half.
In that moment of inattention, the Gorebreaker made its move. Tolsey noticed it just a moment too late. He panicked. With the Gorebreaker half a step in front of him, his sword was unable to reach it, and he chased after it.
The beast ran straight towards where Beam and Lombard were standing. The Captain drew his sword with a sigh, and finished the beast with a blinding speed that put the Vice-Captain to shame. The headless corpse went skidding to a halt some distance behind them.
"It seems three squadrons worth of space is still too much for you, Vice-Captain," Lombard said, his words harsh, but his voice neutral, as though he had expected such a thing.
Tolsey hung his head in shame.
The Soldiers soon finished up their work as well. That was when Beam noticed that Judas was amongst them. There was a spear in his hand now – a spear that looked far too small for him – rather than his usual baton, and his strikes made a lasting impact on the Konbreaker.
The sergeant gave orders, apparently having noticed Judas' skills by now, putting him on the back of the beast, where he'd be more likely to deal a killing blow.
Beam could see even from a distance that the man had fear flowing through his veins. He empathized with that feeling. A fierce adrenaline leant Judas' movements strength, and with a thrust of his spear, he staggered the Konbreaker.
"Good luck," he said mildly. A noble wishing a peasant luck – even that would have been special in different circumstances. But Beam was growing focused now. He had his own tiredness that he was battling with, after only managing a mere few hours of sleep. He spared Tolsey another nod, and ignored the intense gazes that he could feel the rest of them giving him.
By now, out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the other squadrons had about finished up their kills, and were busy dragging them away, towards the fire. Judas was amongst them. Beam could hear his loud voice drawing attention towards Beam, and pointing.
"Ah! There he is. Just when you wrongin's were starting to complement my handiwork, the boy's shown up and he's about to steal all my thunder," Judas said.
His words were met with chuckles and doubtful glances. He seemed to have already established himself as something of a joker amongst the men, despite his short time there.
Beam returned his attention back to the battlefield. Three Konbreaker and a pack of horned goblins. Far more than even three squadrons would normally be dealing with alone. Lombard had been about to give the order for another couple of squadrons to come in and take the load off him, but when he saw how calmly Beam was poised, he paused.
"Captain... Should we not..?" Tolsey urged from his side, but Lombard merely held up a hand.
"Why don't we wait and see, mm?" Lombard said.
With a deep breath, Beam organized his thoughts. It had been a busy morning, after all. He'd woken up in an unfamiliar place, and caused all kinds of waves in the village square. The social stuff was what wore on him most, and despite putting on a brave face, it quickly got to him, as evidenced by his increasing lack of patience during Lombard's questioning.
But now here he was, in a moment that he had trained for. In a situation that he had grown rather adept at handling. He wasn't sure how he felt about suddenly fighting on Lombard's behalf, but when he considered it, he did not think his master would quibble with his decision.
"It'll be good experience for you, fighting with the soldiers and the knights alike," Dominus said. "You'll need all that going for you if you're ever going to be capable of taking on the Pandora Goblin," Beam could imagine him saying.