Chapter 133 Horde Invasion: A Bloodied Group

Ritsuka took up the front while Felicia took up the rear. The two decided they would keep this formation to make sure Jason and Lee Seng didn't lag behind. They had distanced themselves more from Akali and the hobgoblin. Lee Seng's adrenaline was spiking and his nerves were biting at him.

"A Fox." The hobgoblin's voice echoed. "THEY'LL FIND YOU!" Lee Seng slid to a stop, forcing the rest of the group to come to a stop. Lee Seng shook his head and sighed.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Felicia asked. Ritsuka had jogged a little further and came to a stop when he heard Felicia talking.

"What's going on?" Ritsuka asked, walking back to meet with the rest of the group. Jason turned back to look behind him before looking at Lee Seng.

'What did that hobgoblin mean by that?' Lee Seng wondered. He shook his head and looked up at the trees above him.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Lee Seng asked. The sounds of leaves rustling above them made the situation even more unnerving. Felicia crossed her arms and looked to Ritsuka and Jason.

"This is the way back. I don't think it curves for awhile." Ritsuka answered. "We just need to find that building and then we can go from there."

"Is something bothering you, Lee?" Jason asked. Lee Seng snapped out of his fearful thoughts and looked at Jason. Jason moved closer to Lee Seng, peering into his eyes. Jason could tell something was bothering Lee Seng.

"Uhh," Lee Seng gulped. "I just want to be sure we're going the right way. I can boost myself up above the treeline to see the building clearing."

"What if you spook the others around here? You could get hurt or alert the goblins." Felicia spoke.

"It would be bad if someone mistook you for the enemy. Your form isn't quite..." Ritsuka trailed off.

"Quite <strong>human</strong>?" Lee Seng finished. He nodded.

"Th-that's not what I meant... It's just..."

"It's fine." Lee Seng brushed it off. Lee Seng sighed before looking at his teammates. "It's probably smarter to keep myself hidden from the rest of the adventurers and potential enemies. We know goblins are invading the area, so we should be cautious. Just because they're fodder doesn't mean we should take them lightly."

"So, are we good then?" Felicia asked.

"Are you sure that's it?" Jason asked. "You're doing that worried thing you do when you know something might happen." Lee Seng took a step back and sighed. He had been unconsciously kicking the dirt and Jason had picked it out.

"Well..." Lee Seng trailed off. His ears twitched and turned behind him. His tail swayed behind his legs as he watched.

"What's goin--" Felicia began to ask when Lee Seng hushed her. Lee Seng closed his eyes and listened to what was happening in front of him. He could hear multiple footsteps moving towards them.

'Four or five people...?' Lee Seng craned his neck the opposite direction to listen. 'Panicked...?' The rush of footsteps grew closer, alerting the rest of the group. Ritsuka began to call forth his sword when Lee Seng threw his hand up.

"Friendlies." Lee Seng spoke. Lee Seng opened his eyes and watched as a bloodied group of five flew out of the thick forest bushes. In an instant, the two fronts lifted their weapons and Lee Seng raised his arms. "Hold it, we're friendly!" Lee Seng hid his tail behind his back and watched as the warrior with a staff started to swing towards Lee Seng.

In an instant, Lee Seng was pulled away by Jason, narrowly dodging the swing.

"Kory, enough!" An injured female shouted. The staff adventurer, Kory, held the staff at full extension and narrowed his eyes at Lee Seng. Ritsuka moved, half-covering Lee Seng. Kory took in the rest of the group before slowly pulling his staff back. Lee Seng glanced at the injured woman in the back. She had her arm slung around another male adventurer.

"Adventurers...?" Felicia whispered. She turned to look at Lee Seng. "How did you...?"

"I have great senses," Lee Seng explained. He pushed past Ritsuka, who hesitantly stepped to the side. Lee Seng's tail whipped and Kory and the other front male adventurer pointed their weapons at Lee Seng.

"Hold it." Kory spoke. Lee Seng stopped and kept his arms raised.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm not a humanoid monster." Lee Seng spoke. He nodded at the injured female. "I could hear her panting from here. Did something happen?" Kory slowly turned to look at the injured woman who nodded at him. Kory slowly lowered the staff, again while the other warrior pointed his sword at Lee Seng.

"Which squadron do you belong to? I don't recognize your faces." Kory asked. Lee Seng sighed and nodded.

"We're Academy students. We were told to go back." Lee Seng explained.

"Is this true?" Kory looked at the rest of the group.

"Yes, it's true." Jason pushed past Felicia and stood next to him. The group of adventurers saw the scarred Jason and gulped. "We're one of many Academy groups sent out to aid. Our leader, Number 9, told us to flee and get help. We were on our way back when my teammate, Lee Seng, heard you guys."

"He heard us...? From all the way back there?" The woman asked. "Is it due to his... form?"

"The form just made my senses better than they already were." Lee Seng answered the woman's quiet question. "We ran into those black-veined goblins. Akali, er, Number 9 handled them but we came across a hobgoblin."

"A hobgoblin? What's so scary about a low C-rank?" The sword warrior asked.

"I think its like the black-veined goblins. It seemed to... kill whatever adventurers were nearby."

"Killed?"

"Crushed. Impaled."

"Dammit," the sword warrior turned to look at the rest of his group. "There's more than one of them out there then."

"Do you guys know how many their are out there?" Ritsuka asked.

"The sightings keep on growing. Last time I checked my phone, there were about twenty groups that came across black-veined goblins. About six of those groups came across a hobgoblin with red eyes. It easily wiped out groups like nothing."

"Will Number 9 be okay then?" Felicia asked.

"She'll be fine. Her light form isn't even half her strength." Lee Seng answered.

"If Number 9 told you guys to flee then it must be worse than we thought." The injured woman spoke.

"We should get back to base. These Academy students have the right idea. We need to warn everyone about the hobgoblins." The older man aiding the woman spoke. "The black-veined goblins will be no problem for the B-rankers. C-ranked adventurers can work together to overpower a regular black-veined goblin, but the hobgoblins... They're another story. You'd have to be extremely lucky to kill one as a C-ranker. B-rankers would have a tougher time, but they would suffice. If Number 9 is their leader, she can handle the red-eyed hobgoblins no problem."

"Sir, wouldn't Academy students be in danger then?" Kory asked. The older gentlemen shrugged.

"The Academy has sent their students to help. If these students got into the Academy, I can attest they're probably able to handle C-ranks with their current numbers." The older gentleman spoke.

'That's a bit farfetched, but...' Lee Seng thought trailed.

"Anyways, since we know there's those crazy strong hobgoblins, I think we should--" Kory began to speak when loud screeches were heard.

"Dammit, they followed us!" The woman cursed. "We need to continue back to the base! Run!"

The two groups began to turn and start moving again. The old man and injured woman began to slow pick up pace. Lee Seng and the others began to turn to move when goblins rushed out. Lee Seng rushed forward, pulling his sword out and slashing at the air. A large blast of gravity flew and severed the goblins in one blow. Three black-veined goblins raised their arms to block the gravity blast.

p "Take up rear. We're leaving!" Lee Seng shouted.

"H-holy crap!" Felicia shouted. "Come on!" Ritsuka, Lee Seng, Jason and Felicia covered the back. Lee Seng trailed behind, looking behind him once in awhile.

"How many black-veined ones are there?" Ritsuka shouted.

"I only saw three!" Lee Seng answered.

"Three?!? There was five!" The older gentleman shouted.

"Where the hell did the other two go then?" Kory asked.

"No time to think! We need to strengthen the sides just in case anything happens! Students, could you help Rose here?" The older gentleman asked. "I'm a Glass and can easily protect us from the black veined ones."

"Lee Seng, I think that's you!" Ritsuka shouted. "Don't you have crazy strength too?" Lee Seng rushed past Jason and Felicia and kept pace with the injured woman and older gentleman.

"White Fox Cloak." Lee Seng whispered. In an instant, his body shimmered gold and white. Lee Seng moved to grab Rose. "I can hold her in my arms. It'll give us more speed!"

"Are you sure young man?" Rose asked. Lee Seng grabbed onto Rose's legs and put a hand on her back. In one motion, the older gentleman let go and Lee Seng pulled Rose into his arms. "W-whoa!"

"Ahhh, the youth are so bold!" The older gentleman chuckled. "If we have time, I wish to know about your powers there, young one."