The battles were endless...
After cursing the two hobgoblins and 30 goblins, Raven was leaning against the wall breathing heavily, while Evelyn and Lilith hugged his stomach tightly, sitting down.
Both had blood lust eyes that grew more rampant by the day...
"You're bleeding, and your hair is messy; we should head back."
She ignored his words and rubbed his side more lovingly, so Raven sighed, and the three walked onwards. They managed to gain a lot of credits so far, but most went into the shared wallet as Raven was currently well off.
"Raven, why do the goblins seem so smart? They can find us and know when we are trying to rest." Lilith asked as they pushed through the dark dungeon; several branching trails led to nothing but dead ends.
However, small tunnels were made in the rock walls for goblins and creatures to burrow through.
'Did the Dungeon or the goblins themselves create these paths in advance? But normally, a dungeon would reset each time it is cleared... So it is natural for these things to happen?'
Raven ignored her question. They'd fought with goblins for 2 days and nights with little sleep or break, with almost no chance of learning more about this dungeon and constantly forced to fight with goblins.
The two girls could get some sleep as Raven would carry them or guard the pillar they slept on.
Yet Raven himself was suffering a slight pain in his mind due to the effect of missing sleep and fighting non-stop. It was more of a test than his Dread Knight battles...
The 2 days proved that no normal boss existed in the Goblin dungeon.
It was like the dungeon continued to expand, although the exit was always just behind them... No matter how many they killed or how far they advanced, it was difficult to notice the difference in the strange paths.
'I don't know if we can make it to the end...'
Several goblin bosses would appear, such as goblins wearing no clothes wielding clubs or clubs twice their size that sprayed green acid.
Another boss had green, red veins over their bodies, had spikes coming out of their backs and long arms, wielded daggers and charged them.
Sometimes Evelyn and Lilith were injured when goblins attempted a sneak attack or suddenly poured acid on the floor, but Raven was close enough to push or block.
These injuries led to their mental control slowly diminishing. They still slept or hugged him, but Raven felt he was losing his accuracy and precision in battle.
'Do we turn back or keep going?' He wondered, carefully looking into the dimly lit cave opening that echoed goblin noises and rattling of armour and weapons.n0velUsb.c0m
Raven wouldn't have hesitated if he'd come in with a guild; however, the two people were women he cared about dearly, yet as if to tease, test, or even mock him.
In the next moment, the dungeon changed.
The room looked much like the others in which they'd killed dozens of goblins, except for the roof of a dozen pillars and the huge throne at the end with a tall goblin sitting on it with a crown.
'...'
Beside that goblin were four goblin knights and more than a hundred goblins with basic armour and weapons; to the left was one goblin mage, and a shaman to the right.
It seemed that Raven's intuition was correct; these were not normal situations in the dungeon. Lilith and Evelyn were sneaking atop the pillars beside Raven in silence as the king fixed his posture.
He wore thick silverish metal armour and had two small swords impaled in the ground in front of his throne arms.
"Welcome, to our humble kingdom. You did well to come here, high orc!" The goblin king declared and ordered in the common language with a monstrous, deep but slightly regal voice as Raven stood with a slightly surprised face.
'Did he increase his intellect, or is the dungeon mutated; it shouldn't have been sentient to learn this language.'
As expected, Raven couldn't comprehend how the goblins and this dungeon spoke and understood it.
"Goblin King, if I may, how did you learn my language?" He questioned, curious but cautious and with his guard up.
If Evelyn or Lilith suddenly jumped out, he had to react accordingly and ignore the shock and surprise on the king's face for hearing an Orc speak fluently and with no accent or mistake.
"Naturally, our goddess grants all in this land blessing, knowledge, and insight."
Raven was confused; there was never any mention of a goddess. Even when the dungeons appeared, the limit was demons and lesser angels.
But a Goddess... How was such a being free to help a lower existence or to make creatures in a dungeon develop to learn?
"A goddess, you say." Raven took a step forward. If a goddess granted power to these creatures, what did it grant them? What made them different from normal goblins from the dungeon?
'Is it just Intellect?' He pondered.
"Haha, yes, our queen Evone, a lower Goddess, guides us, and I, Goblin King Drinor, am proud to follow her path in our mortal lives." Goblin King Drinor claimed proudly while Raven narrowed his eyes as goblins to his sides were prepared.
"High orc, leave everything and join, work for Queen Evone, become true kings to conquer and breed humans; strong breeds more goblin and orc minions," Drinor requested kindly as if asking Raven out for lunch, and the latter was unknowingly surprised, his eyes wide.
'This is bullshit or an illusion from fighting non-stop... Did he say Goblin Queen Evone...' Raven was perplexed and unsure, blinking multiple times.
Dinner wasn't worried about taking too long, no matter who it was. No intelligent being would decline such a proposal and the rewards of becoming his greatest goblin chief. However...
'His plan makes sense, as orcs love fucking humans, breeding, and capturing or forcing them. But joining goblins?'
"Why would I join the lowly goblin race? What reward does that offer me, goblin king Drinor." Raven ridiculed, shaking his head as Evelyn and Lilith couldn't hold it anymore.
His grip tightened around the axe handle in response, preparing for a gruelling and long battle.
"Why would a powerful orc decline or call the goblins low? How ignorant you are! Our Queen Evone shall forgive you... Leave a name, join our Goblin Kingdom and work, and breed slaves for the masses. What Goblin King, High orc Raven does not know is Queen Evone gives endless freedom."
'A goddess that fornicates with goblins... Never could she be a real goddess.'
"Sorry, but I like my life among humans and the other races," Raven said regretfully before he dashed forward, holding his axe ready to cleave the goblins ahead of him.
In the next instant, goblin archers pulled their bows and fired countless arrows, magic spells from the mages were thrown while the four goblin knights drew their weapons and prepared their shields as goblin after goblin surged around.
'Dammit, a tough choice!' Raven knew he couldn't decline this opportunity and quickly surveyed the ceiling and ground area, where he found nothing special but assumed otherwise.
⟪Dread Aura⟫
⟪Dreda Armour Lv.2⟫
Raven didn't take any chances, as all the goblins focused on him, arrows and magic shooting at his body, he smashed into the goblin warriors like a rugby tackle, then using his full strength, feeling his muscles tightening and he sliced through a group in a huge arc.
Raven had studied, analysed, and imitated most martial arts and class movement abilities, and a sweep was easy to perform.
Goblin knights guarded themselves or retreated, jumping into a battle formation while twelve common goblins died or were heavily injured, letting their weapons fall beside them as Drinor roared.
"Kill that orc, now!!! The women are irrelevant; finish him off first! We can enjoy their bodies after!" His gaze glowed gold for a moment, and Raven narrowly avoided two magic attacks, arrows grazing his back and chest area, causing sparks against his black scales.
He heard loud shrieks. Evelyn and Lilith leapt from atop the pillars, but twenty-five common goblins managed to find them and rushed to attack. It was a sudden wild melee, with him outnumbered completely.
***
It was a bloody, messy, chaotic clash; Raven faced over fifty goblins.
Magic exploded across the huge spacious cave room, creating sharp craters and bumps from below as his axe smashed or crushed two hobgoblin warriors.
He relied on speed and brute strength to destroy his current enemies and strenuously blocked and evaded more arrows or swords with his body, the wounds healing quickly despite the pain.
With Evelyn and Lilith backed into a wall together with 12 hobgoblins and many common ones, the fight was much harder, with one girl using daggers to stab goblins and the other using her tail with a long blade to slice them, cutting off their necks or splitting their stomachs.