Chapter 23: Savage Goblins

The group stayed in the town till nightfall, and soon everyone went in. No one walked around town, everyone ensured that their doors were locked, well, except one person.

Leon stood close to the house that Micah lived in. He hung by the wall of it and simply watched. He had a feeling that staying here would reveal more than they were expecting.

A few minutes went by, and he heard the sound of creaking. Someone was coming out of the house.

Micah peeped out of the house and ensured that no one was watching, and then he snuck out, light steps on the ground as he walked. Leon watched him go and followed behind. He used wind magic to keep his feet off the ground and ensure that he made no sound at all.

’I knew something was up with this dude,’ he thought as he followed. Soon, Micah reached the forest edge, and in the next second, he sprinted in so fast it shocked Leon. Leon tried to follow, but as he entered the forest, he could no longer find Micah.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue and turned back, heading into the town to find Snow and Roger.

He very quickly explained to them what had happened.

"I noticed he was fidgety during our talks. I should have watched him closer," Roger stated while holding his chin.

"We should stand outside the forest and wait for him to come back," Snow suggested.

"Makes sense. That way, we can catch him when he comes out," Roger agreed.

They moved closer to the edge of the forest, and they laid wait for an hour. Finally, he stepped out. Micah was stunned when he saw them. He froze immediately, then slipped his hands behind him.

"Our saviors," Micah spoke.

"I’m very sure the instruction was given that no one should be outside tonight," Roger stated.

"I’m so sorry. I simply went to pay respect to the grave of my son that I have in the forest. It is the only memory I have of him," he spoke, and tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Cut the crying crap already," Leon said, exhausted. He could tell this fool was lying easily.

Sniff, sniff.

Snow began sniffing in the air.

"I smell blood, not monster blood, human."

When she said that, panic flashed in the man’s eyes. He stepped back in fear and looked at them.

Roger stepped in close, and Micah tried to turn and run. Roger grabbed him and pulled him back. He pulled out the hands that he had hidden and saw that they were covered in blood.

"What did you do?" Roger asked in a hurry. He pulled his sword and placed it on the neck of Micah. Micah froze in fear. He tried to speak, but everything that came out of his mouth was stuttering.

"Talk!" Roger barked.

"Uhm, Roger, we have bigger issues." Leon pointed at the forest. Roger looked up, and there he saw more than a hundred pairs of red eyes.

"Shit," he cursed and got to his feet.

Micah got up and ran as fast as he could, but none of them paid attention to him.

"There are so many of them," Roger said.

Leon also stared. He pulled out his wand and got ready.

[High Threat Scenario Found]

[Survive]

[Reward: New Mastered Spell]

[Penalty: Death]

The system sent out a message, a message that Leon had never seen before. It was completely new. But he knew one thing, and that was the fact that the system did not send out messages recklessly, and if it called this a high threat, then it must be a high threat.

"Roger, I don’t think this is a normal goblin attack," Leon said.

"Yeah, that idiot must have done something to change things," Roger said. "I think we should retreat a bit."

The moment he said that, the goblins launched, moving so fast that they got to the edge of the forest in seconds. They burst out, each one three feet tall with a mouth full of razor teeth, claws that were an inch long, and builds made of pure, dense, lean muscle.

Roger stepped in first, and two leaped at him. His hand moved in a clean arc that slashed right through the chests of the two. Dark blood spilled as they cried out and collapsed to the floor.

"Watch yourselves and keep distance," Roger yelled.

One goblin came toward Snow fast. She did not hesitate, moving her hands. A small vial that she had under her clothes shattered, and blood flowed out of it. She formed it into a bullet shape and shot it right through the head of the goblin. She immediately proceeded to pull out more blood from the goblin and made an even larger ball of blood to make use of.

She formed them into multiple blood blades in the air, and when the second lunged at her, she attacked fast and cleaved off its head in one swoop.

The goblins were relentless, and with their numbers, they started to circle, and a few were passing and heading towards town.

Leon stood, faced with three that were running toward him. He moved his wand in a swift pattern to activate the spell. Three Ice Lances formed in the air and shot at them. They nailed two in the head, while the third dodged the attack.

"Tch."

The goblin lunged at him. Leon went low and under the goblin, at the same time attacking with a wind spell that shot the goblin high into the air. It fell back down hard and cracked its neck.

Leon stood there looking at the three, when suddenly, he felt something rush into him from the three dead goblins.

[Mana Fragments Consumed]

When he saw that message, he was stunned. It was another first time for him, and he did not know what it was.

He did not have time to focus on what the system was doing, though, as he had to stop the goblins.