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Goblin Chapter 11: Blood and Sweat...
🕑 Added 2025-07-15 16:03:07 +0000 UTC“Eighteen of them!”
“Stay sharp, everyone!”
Gauss quickly counted the goblins swarming out of the cave.
He didn’t know where the mission intel had gone wrong, but now wasn’t the time to think about that.
They had to deal with the immediate threat—fast.
Eighteen goblins. Even if the four village men each managed to hold off one, that still left fourteen. That meant each of them would have to deal with three at once.
That might not sound like much on paper, but in reality? Surrounded by snarling, shrieking goblins with jagged yellow teeth and weapons drawn, it was terrifying.
A single goblin was nothing.
A mob of them? That was a whole different story.
“RAAAARGHHH!!”
The dark woods echoed with beast-like howls, making the hairs on Gauss’s neck stand on end.
And just like that—the fight began.
The goblins rushed forward like a flood, splitting the battlefield into chaos.
One charged straight at Gauss with a crude spear, eyes gleaming with greed. Its yellowed teeth glistened with spit as it lunged.
The spear—held together with vines—jabbed upward toward Gauss’s jaw.
Crisis mode.
That 7-point Intelligence kicked in.
Time didn’t literally slow down—but his mind did.
Everything became clear and sharp.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another goblin creeping up behind him with a knife. And another to his side, already moving in.
He was nearly surrounded.
With his thoughts racing, Gauss made his move.
He pushed off with his foot, using the rebound from the ground to dodge into an open space nearby.
The spear and dagger both missed—barely.
Sweat rolled down his back.
He was smart, sure—but physically he was just an average guy. His reflexes and strength couldn’t quite keep up with the speed of his thoughts.
Worse, the goblins were sticking too close.
They’d lost sight of him for a split second, but now the three of them snarled and leapt at him again.
He wanted to end one quickly—like he did with the scout earlier—but the spacing wasn’t right.
And these goblins weren’t clueless. They were fast, agile, muscular, and much more aggressive than he’d expected.
“AHHHH!!”
A scream rang out nearby.
Still fending off his attackers, Gauss turned just enough to see—one of the villagers had gone down.
He was on his knees, a spear driven straight through his abdomen. Blood pooled beneath him.
A goblin pounced like a hyena, stabbing its dagger into the man’s wound again and again.
It was savage.
Like an executioner. Or a demon in some ritual sacrifice.
The goblin grinned wide as it carved, enjoying every second.
“AARGH!!!”
The villager wailed. Pain shattered his mind.
His torch fell into the bloody water beneath him—still burning.
The firelight flickered across the goblin’s silhouette, casting twisted shadows. The scene looked straight out of a horror film.
Gauss’s mouth went dry.
He’d never felt death so close.
Not like this.
These things weren’t just monsters. They were predators.
His heart pounded like it might burst. A storm of adrenaline surged through him—fear, excitement, urgency all crashing together.
No. I can’t freeze up. Or I’ll die.
He clenched his jaw.
And then—something strange happened.
That moment of horror flipped a switch. His nerves numbed, and he entered a strange, almost meditative calm.
The threat of death forced him to let go of fear.
To fight.
…
“You bastard!”
From the darkness—THWIP!
A bowstring snapped.
A black arrow spun through the air, whistling with power—
THUNK!
The goblin mutilating the villager was pinned to the ground, nailed cleanly through the chest.
Hailier stood not far off, bow still raised, her chest heaving.
She wasn’t calm either.
It wasn’t that the goblins were too strong—it was the raw violence that rattled her.
“Look out!”
Gauss spotted another goblin sneaking up behind her.
She was still catching her breath, focused on the one she just shot.
Without thinking, Gauss cast Mage Hand.
The invisible force slammed into the goblin’s right wrist just as it raised a dagger.
The blade's path veered—CLANG!
It struck Hailier’s back armor instead.
She stumbled forward from the blow, coughing, but the armor held.
“Hrk—!”
She recovered just in time, grabbed a dagger from her boot, and slashed back hard.
SHHK!
The blade carved down the goblin’s chest and through its gut.
SPLOOSH.
Its intestines spilled out as it fell backward in a heap.
“Thanks!”
Hailier shot Gauss a grateful glance, still shaken. If he hadn’t acted when he did, she’d be the one on the ground.
But the goblins had noticed him.
Like they’d sensed the magic.
Six—maybe seven—green bodies turned his way, snarling as they sprinted toward him.
Shit.
Seeing Gauss being surrounded, Hailier quickly nocked another arrow.
“I got you!”
With a deep breath, she activated Precise Aim.
Power flowed into her arms.
TWANG!
The arrow blasted forward like a missile, punching a hole straight through one goblin’s chest.
It stumbled in place, gasping, then crumpled.
Seizing the opening, Gauss lunged.
His spear drove into the goblin’s wound with a spray of blood.
[Goblin Slain ×1]
[Total Monsters Kills: 3]
He glanced at Hailier—she looked back.
They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to.
They understood.
The battlefield had fractured into chaos.
Mia, Bell, and the villagers were all scattered, fighting their own desperate battles.
If Gauss and Hailier didn’t finish their side soon, they’d never be able to help the others.
“Don’t burn all your energy on every skill!” Gauss shouted.
He knew Hailier’s precision shots cost stamina. A few more, and she’d start to tire fast.
But in that moment, he realized something else.
Yes, goblins were tough to deal with in groups.
Not because of strength or speed—but because of the pressure of getting hit from all directions.
Most people couldn’t handle it. They’d panic. Slow down. Get overwhelmed.
But with 7 Intelligence, his thinking stayed sharp.
And with Mage Hand helping him—disrupting enemies, buying him time—he could keep dodging and countering, even against a mob.
He wasn’t strong. He wasn’t fast.
But he was smart.
And that was going to be enough.
