Joining them may have given them a momentary spurt of energy, but it remained a stalemate.
If only I had one of those suits of chainmail. That would mean killing one of the goblins. At this point holding this spot was as much as I could do. I waited for an opening.
A roar from behind me almost pulled my attention away, but sharp points hammering against my shield kept me focused on what was in front of me.
Suddenly the bombardment of spears ceased, followed by a heavy thud. Daring to look up I saw a goblin warrior was grounded with a wooden chair on its lap. The chair had been thrown, pushing a number of the goblins back.
The large yellow eyes of the goblins around their fallen friend bulged even larger.
Suddenly a wooden table flew over my head. Many of the goblins tried to meet it with spears, but it was too solid. Five of them crumbled under the impact.
It was our chance. Finding myself free I lunged forward. The face of one goblin watched my spear come, but he couldn't do anything about it. The table had pinned him into a sitting position.
Without thinking, I looted the goblin and immediately equipped the armor.
A number of others had also finished the pinned goblins. We moved back to put some room between us. The table and multiple dead goblins helped to give us a breather.
It was safe, so I looked back to find reinforcements had arrived. The square-jawed man that had thrown the table stood behind me with a toothy grin, very much reminding me of a bulldozer with a mop top.
***
I was able to pry myself from the fighting fifteen minutes later. It was only then that someone switched with me. I was exhausted but still determined to find my group. The dots on my mini-map were close.
After three more alleys, I finally found them. They were near the rear of some of Cornelius's men. With spears resting against the ground, it looked like they had just gotten off of the front line.
Peter, Kline, and Oliver were all covered in multiple wounds. Blood covered their arms and seeped through at random, staining their clothes. None of the wounds seemed to be bothering them, so most of the serious ones must have already healed. Mostly.
“Lucius!” Victoria choked, still catching her breath.
Her arms flew around me, nearly crushing me even with my new armor.
“Never do that again,” she insisted.
Before I could remind her she would have been hit with the stone if I wouldn't have jumped in, she cut me off.
“We dragged you off, but there was nothing we could do. We were being attacked. I'm so sorry.”
“Fall in!” Oliver interrupted.
Victoria’s neck twitched, startled.
We followed his command. This wasn’t the time. I could see in her eyes she had more to say.
As I joined the line Peter met me with a welcoming nod.
At the flank of the group, even the mighty Kline was still trying to catch his breath. It didn't stop him from greeting me. We were in a much wider alley, more like a small street, that skirted along the wall of the city. Half of Cornelius's men were with us fending off the goblin surge. It was still unclear where their leader was.
“You okay?” Kline asked.
“Yeah. I passed out, so didn't have to deal with the headache long.”
“Haha! It looks like getting hit over the head was good for you. You almost look as pretty as me with that shiny shirt. I'm going to have to get one myself. Can you believe these boogers? No goblin is allowed to outshine Kline!”
“You're becoming a fine gamer.”
Cranking his head to the side, he looked at me offended.
“It's all about the loot!” I added.
“Oh. Oh! Look at us! You're starting to become a jock and I’m a virtual master with muscles. Loot! Give me goodies and experience, you beautiful toothpick wielding turds!”
Even Oliver turned his head and I could have sworn I saw the faintest grin.
***
We stepped between the frontline players as they retreated to the back. Another five or six players were lined up on the other side of our group closest to the wall. I was on the opposite side next to a log building. The extra security to my right meant I would have an easier time defending and hopefully get some kills. My experience bar was sitting close enough to level 16 that it became my new short term goal. Well, and helping Kline get his shiny armor.
A spear point knocked against the top of my shield. Even after so much abuse, it was holding together well.
It was time to take advantage of my position. Jabbing low, the goblin in front of me stepped back to avoid any damage. Perfect. Shifting to the side, I impaled the goblin to my flank in the temple.
Level 16
You have reached Level 16!
Ability Points +1!
Your Creature Indicator range has increased by 2 to 38 meters!
A lunge from the goblin facing me pushed me back, stabbing my shoulder. The armor did its job, leaving nothing but a shallow bruise.
Not happy about the realization that I would have just gotten impaled, I hit the goblin high on the shield, then low and high again. It knocked him back into the goblin behind him. I happily stabbed the mob in the bicep.
Kline surged, shield-bashing one back and literally pushing another to the ground with his spear. He ninja looted the goblin with speed any game mentor would be proud of. The old fart had his new armor on before he even stood back up.
The smile of a madman turned to greet me.
“Shiny,” I said.
“I know, right?”
He celebrated by smacking the goblin he had just shield-bashed back to the ground. His spear swept low and scored a hit on two different goblins in one swipe.
As each minute came and went, each seemed to last longer than the one before it. My time on the front line could have been no more than fifteen minutes. This new level of goblin, the Goblin Heavy Footsoldier, was the hardest common enemy that we had faced by far. They were strict in their formation and their shields and armor made it close to a stalemate.
That wasn’t the worst of it.
“Make way! Wounded!” called a voice from the middle of the player line.
The players between us split to allow them through.
A man in Cornelius’s burnt orange dragged one of his comrades away from danger. The man being dragged had a gash above the knee, just under his tasset, the armor overlaying his groin area.
It was a debilitating wound, for the moment, but the man rescuing him had an even worse wound on his shoulder. It was deep and covered his arm in red. He had the wounded arm looped under the arm of the man he was pulling. His good hand grabbed onto the other’s wrist, and he used his own arm like a harness to pull the man to safety. There was little doubt he had gotten hurt while rescuing the man.
These goblins weren’t just better equipped but were smart enough to capitalize on moments of weakness.
When it was my turn to fight again, it had been about twenty minutes, tops. Even then I hadn’t completely recovered. It seemed like my body healed faster than my stamina filled up. It had risen to just under the three-quarter mark from full.
We held our ground well, but there was no doubt we were slowly being pushed back. They just kept coming and we couldn’t kill them fast enough.
Kline wasn’t having the same problem I was with running out of endurance. His movements had been noticeably reduced to optimize his energy reserves. Standing firm, he shifted his weight to meet blows with his shield, instead of stepping deep into the block. There were no exaggerated movements even when he attacked.
I started to mimic him, but it was difficult to fully grasp all his tricks with the pounding of spear points that thirsted for my blood. Even then my efforts to become more efficient were helping. The drain on my stamina slowed.
It was while fighting the endless horde of green warriors that I learned what it was to really be exhausted. Not being able to fully recover was taking its toll even as I was wising up to how to manage my movements. Breathing became more difficult before the strength in my arms bled from me. I lost all track of time. When someone called from behind, I nearly fell back as the player rushed forward to take my place. It was a miracle I wasn’t killed right then.