It was only a matter of moments before I faced a goblin that saw me coming. I deflected its blow and put some distance between me and the goblin line. Looking back, I saw dozens of goblins were leaving the formation and chasing me. Just behind them, the hobgoblin was somehow picking up speed. Its yellow eyes were now blood red.
The pace I set was no longer determined by my will, but whatever my failing body could manage. My lungs pounded. Or was that my heartbeat? Was I going to fall now?
Funny. It wasn’t fear of pain, but defying the hobgoblin only to be done in by the lower class goblins that bothered me.
Stumbling, I just barely caught my footing. My legs were pushed to their limit. Note to self. Increase endurance.
I heard the carnage behind me as the hobgoblin caught the goblins running after me.
Were my eyes getting blurry? I thought I saw Kline running at me.
I stumbled again. This time I fell.
With my face resting happily on its side and my lungs sucking air, I almost stayed there and welcomed my death. Perhaps if I died I would awaken fully energized and save on recovery time. For some reason, I doubted it would be that easy.
Chapter 22 – Final Confrontation
An annoying bark came inches from my ear. The panic in Wink’s whimper demanded that I kept moving. Was this some kind of annoying warning system?
Pushing up from the ground I fell more than ran forward but managed to keep my feet under me. If they reached me then I’d greet them with my sword if I wasn’t already dead.
I was seeing Kline again. His pearly whites greeted me from about a hundred yards away. Real or not, I would reach my friend. Wait, was that Peter and Oliver running behind him? Who in their right mind would be here behind enemy lines?
My arms and legs were moving on their own. Nothing was allowing me to stay on my feet except for sheer will. I continued on. Fifty yards. Twenty. It was then that I realized they weren’t just a figment of my imagination.
Kline led my friends. When I was about to slow and ask him what he was doing, he shot past me and yelled, “Can’t let you have all the fun!”
Oliver and Peter followed.
Bewildered, I stopped and looked to see what they were up to.
Kline had inventoried his spear and shield and was two-handing his woodcutter’s ax. He struck a goblin on the shield and even though it was ready for him, the creature’s knees buckled as if it had been hit by a truck. He didn’t just use the blade, but also the flat rear of the ax like a hammer. Swatting goblins like flies as he waded through their charge, their bones shattering, chainmail or not.
Oliver wielded a new weapon, an iron-balled mace. He went from goblin to goblin, bashing one and crushing the next.
The two strong men held nothing back. I had known they were impressive, but they both seemed to defy physics with their explosive blows. Had they been holding back or pacing themselves?
Peter didn’t hold back either, but unlike the two men, he wielded his long sword in one hand and a short sword in the other. I had seen blade masters before, but watching his footwork baffled me. He stepped lightly from one foot to the other, tiptoeing through the midst of the enemy. His blades never missed their mark. From slash to skewer, the monsters fell before him like leaves meeting a strong wind at the end of fall.
The giant arrived, rising up against them.
I was interrupted by a cackle of snorts to my side. The rear of the goblin army was no longer facing the players defending the city.
Raising my sword and shield to meet them, I found I was the furthest thing from their minds. They started to back away. I moved out of their path. Over a hundred of them fled the line leaving those still fighting the players alone to their ultimate demise.
Their retreat left me free to watch my friends. The goblins they were fighting had caught on. They were trying to get away as my friends and the hobgoblin cut them down.
Holding up his hand, Kline signaled for Peter and Oliver to back away. What was the old fart up to?
The boss monster didn’t slow. It now wielded its tree-club single-handed while using its other hand to help keep its balance.
With his ax sitting on his shoulder, Kline looked up at the towering beast.
When the beast swung, Kline darted in well before the blow could reach him. From a two-handed grip, he cranked his ax back, then unleashed it. The blow was so vicious it took the hobgoblin’s front leg that was holding its weight right out from under it.
With a single leap, Kline bounded to the creature’s back. Like lightning from heaven, his ax struck down dead center on its spine with all of his might. Again, and a third time was all it took. I was close enough to hear a sickening crunch as he crippled it
The beast tried to fight, but its arms only twitched in response.
He jumped off and started walking toward me. Grabbing his ax by the neck he offered me the handle.
“Would you like to do the honors?” he asked. Never had I seen him so serious.
His offer was not about finishing the hobgoblin. This was the first time I had seen him show what he was really capable of. It was a challenge.
“I’ll get the next one.”
He nodded, “Good answer," then turned to finish the job.
“Kline,” I said, stopping him.
He turned back. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
His customary grin returned.
I watched him walk away to finish the monster. It came up to his waist even though it was still face down on the ground.
As his ax struck home, a chorus of popup windows flashed one after another. There were so many of them it could have been a dangerous distraction even though they were translucent.
From the pack of goblin slingers sirened a long horn blast. The most disturbing squeal imaginable rose up from the remaining army of goblins. In a panic, they all fled, each in their own direction.
Few of them were left in close proximity to where the hobgoblin had been. I caught one that was within a few strides, but I still needed to fully recover so I didn’t pursue any others. The defenders had other ideas. Hundreds of men surged forward, their cheering deafening.
A second horn blast called in the distance. It came from the eastern gate where the other battle was taking place.
“Hold your men back!” Cornelius demanded through group chat. “We mustn’t leave our station defenseless! Let those that have gone pursue. It will be enough.”
Immediately voices rose up and down the line relaying the message.
“If I may,” Victoria said over the same chat channel. “Check your notifications. I think it’s actually over!”
“It’s true!” Peter added.
My friends were walking toward me after looting their kills.
I found myself more than just physically exhausted. This trial had been as much an emotional one as physical. Letting my legs go limp, I fell back to my rear. Lying back, I stretched my arms in victory.
Bringing up the largest popup window, I checked to see what they were all talking about.
Quest Type: (Regional Event)
You have completed the quest Survive Week One!
Colonel Erriach will not continue trying to take the city now that Master Sergeant Rrasche is dead. He has been caught in the act of trying to breach the side entrance of Willingham and killed!
Reward: +10,000 Experience, +Access to trainers, +Ability to form a guild.
Bonus Reward: For causing the goblin leaders Rrasche and Grrach considerable damage in combat, 10% discount for all training facility costs per boss monster you fought for the next month.
+20% Discount Training Facility
(Duration: 1 Month)
Note: Porting into a Gym or Training Room requires you to go to the physical location of a Training Facility. If an enemy army of more than 100 enters your city gate you will be ported out of training immediately and will spawn at the Training Facility.