Yaaawn

  Just like humans, or many humanoids and animals, for that matter, goblins could also yawn.

  One specific goblin, standing guard beside a large pine tree, was living proof of that.

  It looked back to the camp, composed mainly of large, ragged tents – the type one would expect to find in an overcrowded refugee camp beside a major city, or its dirtiest slums, if nowhere else.

  The tents were mostly located around the central area of the camp, which occupied a large clearing in the forest, leaving a large perimeter between them and the forest.

  Despite their decrepit appearance, the rags did a fine job of resisting the repugnant morning sunrays, keeping the insides cozy and dark.

  The goblin wished it could join its sleeping kin, resting comfortably inside those tents. However, this was not meant to be…

  The goblin guard threw another glance backwards, looking at the massive frame of its ascended kin. One greater goblin was standing a few dozen steps behind him, its head occasionally turning to oversee every guard. Farther behind it, on the other side of the tents, stood a regular goblin, keeping an eye on the rest of the guards.

  This level of discipline was uncharacteristic of a regular tribe – under normal circumstances, the goblin guard would at least lower its head for a moment, if only to have a short rest.

  However, after witnessing the greater goblin rip the head and spine of its lesser kin with its bare hands, all for doing that very thing yesterday, the goblin’s dread overpowered its laziness, banishing any thoughts of neglecting its duty.

  rustle

  Suddenly, it heard a sound from the bushes a dozen steps in front of it – a clear sound, as well as the distinct movement of the leaves of movement.

  “Scree!”

  The goblin screeched – not too loudly, for now, as this could still just be an animal, but loud enough to alert those who were awake.

  However, the next moment, the goblin became certain this wasn't an animal, as two round glass objects, the bright-yellow liquid inside glimmering under the sunrays, shot into the air from behind the bushes.

  The goblin couldn't help but trace their trajectory through the air, slowly rising, then descending in an arc… Straight towards the entrances of the two closest tents, which were just behind its greater kin.

  “SCREEE!”

  clank BFOOOM!

  As the greater goblin released a mighty screech of its own, the two vials broke upon hitting the ground, exploding into bursts of liquid flame – most remaining on the ground, while some splashing on the dry rags, setting them ablaze in an instant.

  “SCRUUUEEE!”

  The guard screeched with all its might, pointing at the bushes while leaping backwards, intending to regroup with its kin. However, two things happened one after another in rapid succession.

  First, two more glass bottles, this time containing murky silver liquid, were launched from the bushes, targeting the ground just a dozen steps in front of the rapidly igniting tents.

  In less than a second, those bottles would hit the ground, exploding into a cloud of heavy smoke, which would linger in a roughly ten meter radius for a few dozen seconds, before most of it would disperse or settle down.

  However, the goblin would not witness this scene, as, from the bushes, one of the attackers finally appeared – a tall, lean young human, with somewhat messy black hair and green eyes, wearing an open helmet and a set of leather armor with a few metal chains peeling from underneath its chestpiece.

  The goblin did not get the chance to look upon the human for long, as, after getting into some kind of stance, his figure suddenly blurred and filled its view.

  One moment later, a long, dark-ashen sword pierced the goblin’s skull.

  ***

  “You want us to use these?”

  Jim was shocked, clearly familiar with the strange potions.

  “Excuse me, but what are those potions?”

  The big man gave me a strange look, while the deputy couldn't help but chuckle.

  “Those are not potions. The yellow concoction is called a ‘Flame’s Kiss’, the regular type of Alchemist’s Fire you can request in the watch. It does just what you'd expect – once the liquid inside comes into contact with air, it bursts into flames.”

  So this was basically a self-igniting Molotov's Cocktail. While I digested the information, he pointed at one of the murky silver concoctions.

  “Those are smoke bombs. They will create a cloud of thick white smoke, slightly suffocating to breathe in, but otherwise harmless. In the open, but without wind, it will take at least twenty seconds for most of it to disperse.”

  That one really didn’t need further explanation.

  “You will use all those beauties to wreck some havoc.”

  “All of them? Are you sure that's ok?”

  “...that's fine. The city will reimburse me for them.”

  Compared to every other thing Thomas said until now, his answer to Jim’s query was distinctly lacking in confidence. However, this was not my gold, so I gave it no second thought.

  “There is a goblin guard behind those bushes, so you’ll have to move very slowly. Don’t make a single sound. Once you reach the bushes…”

  …and so, he laid out his plan.

  That took place about five minutes ago.

  Now, after miraculously hitting the tents’ best spots with both our throws, using the first two smoke bombs, and attracting every goblin’s attention, we were beyond the point of no return.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Swinging my sword to the side, letting the blood, gray liquid, and pieces of goblin brain slide to the ground, I sprinted into the smoke, with ‘Big’ Jimmy doing the same half a dozen meters behind me.

  At the same time, I took my last smoke bomb from my already-open potion case and threw it, aiming a dozen meters behind where I last saw my target. Of course, me and Jimmy had one main target - the greater goblin, who had already reacted to our arrival by drawing a huge two-handed warhammer from behind its back.

  ‘No time to waste!..’

  The next part of the plan involved me and Jimmy killing the big goblin together, under the cover of smoke, while its brethren were disoriented.

  If that worked, it would be up to us to either kill a few more goblins, or find another way to keep their attention on us while Thomas handled his part.

  As for the deputy's job, he would release the captives, cutting open the cage doors and using a smoke bomb to cover their escape, after which he'd use his skills and his second smoke bomb to stealthily charge toward the camp's center, where the other 2 greater goblins would be just waking up, and assassinate them.

  After that, he'd regroup with us, and we'd make our escape, while hopefully, the captives would be able to outrun the goblins, escaping in the opposite direction.

  Of course, some parts of this plan were shaky, but this was the best course of action we saw – as for the rest, we'd have to hope for the best, and improvise if it came to the worst.

  And, it seemed we'd have to start improvising soon.

  “It’s retreating!”

  Through the smoke, I managed to make out the heavy set of steps moving farther back, while a few fainter footsteps rushed to position themselves around the heavy ones.

  It seemed that, despite his natural bloodlust, and the overall confusion amidst the smoke and flames, the greater goblin decided to slowly retreat closer to the camp's center, and a few goblins came to its aid.

  At least, judging by the commotion and pained screeches coming from the burning tents, we'd not have to worry about our flanks for now.

  “Go!”

  Jimmy was still behind me, poised to do his part. Given the fact that he was a level 2 Warrior, his part was bigger than mine, at least on paper.

  I could barely see two meters ahead, but my sense of hearing was unaffected by the smoke. Moreover, I memorized the layout I could see from that bush, so I knew the greater goblin and his posse of lesser kin were standing on clear, open ground, with no nearby obstacles.

  Relying on all that information, my knees bent slightly, and then…

  [Charge] !

  With a gust of wind, pushing some of the smoke aside, I suddenly appeared in front of three goblins, with the greater goblin slowly walking backwards behind them.

  [Arc Slash] !

  Before the smaller goblins could react, two of them were already split into four gory pieces, spraying blood and other fluids all over the ground.

  However, the greater goblin was much faster to react, already swinging its massive hammer and leaping forward.

  WHOOOSH

  I heard the sound of the hammerhead piercing the air inches away from my face, after I desperately twisted my torso, leaning back. I would have loved to counterattack, but the greater goblin’s reach was as long as mine, and while its swing's momentum prevented it from immediately readying its hammer, my dodge put me in an awkward position as well. Especially when…

  whoo

  The small goblin, holding a short sword with both hands, already pounced on me, barely missing its swing at my arm due to me twisting my body once more.

  However, it did not stop, turning the failed swing into a stab.

  Hwaack

  The sound of its sword tearing my left leather leg pad could be heard, as the blow managed to reach my skin, and leave a shallow wound.

  With all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I did not even feel any pain, instead swinging my sword at the retreating goblin, preparing to take its head.

  However, I was forced to abandon that swing, redirecting the sword towards the metal hammerhead instead, which was once again flying at me.

  Creeeeee

  A grating metal sound was heard as my sword cut through the hammerhead’s metal. Which would be a good thing - if my swing had enough power for it to fully cut through.

  With my regular swing lacking the necessary strength, my sword only cut halfway through the metal. Not only did I still receive the kinetic energy, making me stagger backwards, but the sword was momentarily stuck, halfway through the large body of metal.

  The big goblin did not waste this opportunity, pulling its hammer back. While it freed my sword, the price of that freedom was a strong tug towards the greater goblin, with its smaller kin launching another swing at my left knee.

  In an instant, I made a risky decision - with not enough time to regain my balance and dodge another swing of the warhammer, doubly so if I tried to use my sword to deflect the incoming sword, I instead jumped forward and to the right.

  This brought me out of the sword's reach, and too close for the big goblin to swing its hammer. The only problem was…

  CRASH!

  I barely brought up my right hand in time to block the massive fist that was coming my way with my bracer. The force of the strike sent tremors through my body, throwing my hand back, and causing a serious bruise, if not a fracture. The bracer dented slightly inwards where the fist hit.

  At the very least, I managed to use the force of the big goblin's strike to give me a small boost when jumping back.

  The hammer was already above the deadly monster's head, ready to descend. The smaller goblin circled to my left, moving towards my blind spot. At this moment…

  SPLAT!

  With the sound of metal tearing through bone, the right arm holding the hammer was severed from its elbow, erupting into a fountain of goblin blood. The perpetrator was a large battle axe, a small trail of shifting air still visible behind it.

  “SCRAAGH!”

  The greater goblin roared in pain, its eyes instinctively turning left, towards the source of its anguish, at least for the moment.

  That moment was more than enough for me.

  [Thrust] !!

  For the first time in real combat, I found a practical use for my other ‘half-skill’. Taking a step forward, my sword pierced the big monster's skull, completing the first grueling objective.

  At the same time, Jimmy decapitated the confused remaining goblin.

  The whole fight lasted a tad longer than ten seconds – largely thanks to Jimmy, who managed to pick an opportune moment.

  However, now was not the time to celebrate.

  “Retreat!!”

  Jimmy did not waste time in giving the order – perhaps his old military instincts kicked in. Given both his seniority in terms of experience, as well as Path level, he was well within his right to take command.

  “You?.. HUMAN!!!”

  Suddenly, a roar in broken Post-Imperial - which was the language common to most human nations, at least in this part of the world - reached our ears, coming from roughly a dozen meters ahead of us, in the direction of the camp's center.

  For a moment, I was confused, but then, seeing ‘Big’ Jimmy's expression, considering the fact the roar followed his call, and the story of his battle from yesterday…

  I looked at him, and his eyes met mine. Simultaneously, we both nodded. The main objective was the assassination of the three greater goblins, and now the weakest one was coming to us.

  Of course, the smoke would start clearing soon, so this was not without risk. Luckily, I heard the goblins from the nearby tents - apart from a few unlucky ones set ablaze by the merciless flames - rush out the other side, likely cutting a hole in the back, running towards the center of the camp. Away from the fire and smoke, and also – away from our flanks and rear.

  Wordlessly, we turned back around, halting our retreat before it even began.

  Along with the greater goblin's heavy steps, I could hear two or three lighter sets, as well as that many goblins scurrying from the sides and running to assist their leader.

  This would not be an easy fight.