Their group moved quickly. They returned to the main street where they encountered a small group of Goblins. Xavier tested Taunt to enrage the Goblins and pull all of them in his direction to give Glut, Leyla, and the hunters various openings to strike the hideous monsters.
Xavier didn’t hesitate to attack as well but he hoped that the hunters and Leyla could increase their Foundation quickly. Everyone had to become a lot stronger if they wanted to deal with the Monster Gate tonight.
The group of Goblins was decimated quickly. Leyla annihilated the Goblin Archers swiftly before helping the hunters in taking down the remaining Goblins.
Once they were done, the group split up to clear the houses on the main street first. Nobody was certain whether there were survivors in the main street or not. Even if there were, it was quite obvious that they were holed up in a place that was well-hidden to avoid the nearby Goblins by all means.
They didn’t make a sound so it would be easy to miss them. Thus, Xavier and the others moved through the houses hurriedly, quietly calling out for survivors. If there were any, they had the chance to come out of their hideouts and join the hunters.
Unfortunately, they found no one. Xavier, Mark, and the hunters gathered around Leyla who’d been guarding the street with Glut.
“Nobody found anyone? That’s odd,” Leyla mumbled, and Mark agreed.
“It is odd. There were no signs of a fight either in many houses. Either they were not at home when all of this started, they ran away shortly after it all began, or they’re still hiding. Unfortunately, it’s of no use to force other people to join us if they are doubtful. We allowed them to follow us and they didn’t pick it. It is too risky to spend more time convincing others to follow us. Either they join us on their own accord, or they stay here. All we can do is respect their choice.”
The others agreed and followed Xavier through the cobbled street to reach the side street where Xavier found the elderly couple and Julian’s girlfriends – or whatever they’d been. The bodies of the Goblins next to the elderly couple’s house were still there.
However, the Goblin Warrior and Insightful Infected he’d seen further away in the street were missing. Either someone devoured them, or the corpses were taken to the Monster Gate to nourish it.
While they were having a hard time finding survivors, there was no shortage of green monsters. While moving forward, Xavier and the others spotted several groups of Goblins at the end of the street.
Each group was carrying some prey and from a distance, Xavier assumed it to be the corpses of mutated animals from the forest. Luckily, they didn’t seem to have noticed Xavier yet.
The number of Infected had decreased drastically. Nonetheless, there were still a bunch of them. Xavier used Taunt on the Infected, luring them in his direction. He then approached the Goblins who’d been carrying their prey through the street.
The Goblins’ large eyes flicked to him the moment they took note of his existence. They sensed a strong prey, so they quickly threw the mutated animal they’d been carrying to the side and readied their weapons to attack. Xavier took a quick look behind to see what the Infected and others were doing before he rushed to the side.
The duration of Taunt wore off when the Infected were only a few meters away from the Goblins. The Goblins were fully focused on Xavier so missed on sensing the trap he was luring them into.
Their Archers released a series of arrows whereas their Swordsman and Spearwielder rushed toward him. Xavier evaded the arrows with brisk movements. He kept jumping around, attracting both Infected and Goblins until the distance between the two kinds of monsters was no more than two meters.
Xavier used Dash and disappeared from their sight. He dashed to the back of the Goblin group at full speed, unsheathed one of the emerald daggers and sliced through their throats without hesitation.
Goblin has been slain.
Goblin has been slain.
Goblin has been slain.
Xavier ignored the messages and turned around to watch the chaos he’d created. The Goblins were still focused on him. However, the Infected lost track of Xavier. They turned to the next best targets, which were the Goblins, and attacked.
“You guys should join the battle to clear up the mess a little bit faster. I will inform the survivors about what’s going to happen,” Xavier announced before dashing to the end of the street.
There were still some Goblins in his sight but they were near the forest. Xavier didn’t intend to rush into the forest and brawl with some mutated animals. His destination was the last house at the end of the street where he believed to find some scared survivors.
This part of the town was a less frequented area as it was a bit farther from the bustling center of the village. A small dirt trail also led to the lush forest on his left. The dense trees swayed gently in the breeze and he heard the sound of rustling of leaves and chirping of crickets. But the empty streets and abandoned possessions lying scattered around told him that this area was not completely unaffected from the events of the past few days.
A sense of gloom and foreboding now enveloped the once quaint and serene atmosphere. He shook his head to empty all the negative thoughts and reminded himself of the task awaiting him.
Taking a deep breath, Xavier raised his hands and cupped them around his mouth to amplify his voice.
“To all the survivors, my name is Xavier Vador and we will rescue everyone in a few minutes! We are not from the military or the police, but I hope that everyone here can trust me, my family, and everyone else who wants to rescue as many fellow survivors as possible. If you DO NOT wish to join us that’s fine as well. We won’t force anyone… BUT please consider your choice carefully. We might not come here a second time, so this is your only chance to escape!” Xavier screamed at the top of his lungs.
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He had to take a few deep breaths when he finished his lengthy announcement and smiled foolishly. It would have been a lot easier if he’d said ‘We are here to help. Pack your stuff and come with us!’ like he intended to do. Maybe Xavier would do that later. For now, he wanted to gain the trust of the other fellow survivors if there were any, in the first place.
Xavier heard the hunters further away starting to shout as well. It seemed like they finished the Infected and Goblins faster than Xavier expected. That was a good thing. They now had enough time to call out the survivors in the open without fearing getting ambushed by a large group of predators.
As everyone called out for the survivors, telling them to prepare to leave, the Goblins nearby got wind of them and began marching towards them as well. The commotion made them leave the area near the forest’s entrance and charge at Xavier, whom they noticed first.
Small groups consisting of five to ten Goblins. There were almost ten such groups spread out near the forest entrance. The Goblins didn’t move together, yet they charged simultaneously at Xavier.
Xavier considered charging into the fray of Goblins at once, but his attention switched to the two Goblin Warriors that entered his sight. The Goblin Warriors emerged from the forest much later than the ordinary Goblins. However, they were much faster and caught up with their weaker brethren in an instant.
The concrete street tremored, causing Xavier to tense up. The Goblin Warriors charged past the ordinary Goblins and arrived in front of Xavier with their maces lifted high into the air. Xavier used Dash and jumped to the side. He accelerated instantaneously and used Taunt to enrage the Goblin Warriors and pull them behind him.
Xavier turned around and charged toward Leyla and the other hunters at top speed. He was faster than the Goblin Warriors and pretty sure that his Foundation of Strength was on par, if not higher than theirs, as well. Nonetheless, he was not alone.
There was no need to push himself too hard. Many more Goblin Warriors and hundreds of Goblins awaited his arrival. Now was not the time to tire himself out while facing merely two evolved enemies.
Leyla was the first to react with Glut. Glut blasted through the air, ready to conjure and release several embers in quick succession.
Meanwhile, Leyla readied her first arrow. She used Power Shot, which coated the entire arrow in a white hue, and activated Pierce right after. Pierce created a thick layer of silver light around the arrow, increasing its piercing properties.
Leyla let out a breath to calm her nerves and turned into a statue for a moment before she released the first arrow. The arrow shot past Xavier’s head and impacted hard. The Goblin Warrior behind Xavier roared in pain, but Xavier didn’t hear it quiet down or collapse to the ground. It was not dead yet.
Glut released his first ember on the face of the closest Goblin Warrior. It spurted and spread all over the Goblin Warrior’s face. By the time the second ember was unleashed, Leyla had readied her second arrow. Pierce and Power Shot were activated instantaneously. All Leyla had to do was aim and wait for the perfect moment.
Xavier glanced at Leyla and sensed that she would release the second arrow at any moment. He accelerated a little and kicked the ground to change his trajectory at once. He made a 180-degree turn, and felt a painful sting in his ankles that he ignored as he charged straight at the Goblin Warriors.
The second ember impacted and a white-glowing arrow brushed past Xavier. The arrow impacted its intended target, piercing the Goblin Warrior’s throat whereas the ember burned the Warrior’s right eye. Xavier unsheathed the ruby katana, lowered his body and ducked underneath the mace that would have turned his head into a pulp.
Xavier slashed the Goblin Warrior’s right leg. A fountain of blood gushed out of the Goblin Warrior’s calf as the ruby katana cut deep into it. Xavier didn’t stop moving after the first attack was inflicted. His arms moved rapidly, cutting and slicing through the Goblin Warrior’s thighs and calves until the Goblin Warrior’s legs caved in.
He retreated as the Goblin Warrior was about to turn around. Meanwhile, the other Goblin Warrior charged at him, only to get pierced in the neck by an arrow. Yet, instead of collapsing to the ground, the Goblin Warrior continued to charge.
Their Vitality!
Xavier shouted in his mind when he noticed that the Goblin Warrior, whose legs he’d just minced, got up from the ground again. Under normal circumstances, the Goblin Warrior shouldn’t be able to get up. Unfortunately, the world was not normal anymore.
Xavier cursed in his mind and conjured an Air Bullet as he dashed to the injured Goblin Warrior. He evaded the other Goblin Warrior’s mace by a hair’s breadth and arrived in front of the injured Goblin Warrior to burst his only unscathed eye. The eye splattered into pieces as the Air Bullet pierced through it in one go.
No matter how high someone’s Vitality was, it seemed like some spots would always remain weak – or weaker than the rest of the body, at least.
The injured Goblin Warrior turned blind after one of its eyes was burned by Glut’s ember and the other pierced by an Air Bullet. Leyla released a few more arrows amplified with Power Shot and Pierce to weaken the Goblin Warrior even further.
Xavier inflicted two more deep gashes into the Goblin Warrior before he was forced to turn around to the other Goblin Warrior once again. Xavier used taunt to enrage it and maintain its focus on him. Glut began a bombardment of ember near the monster’s head while Xavier circled the Goblin Warrior to cut its tendons and further cripple its mobility.
Meanwhile, the hunters had arrived in front of the injured Goblin Warrior. They circled it as well and attacked. Their weapons somehow managed to barely scratch the Goblin Warrior’s skin but they didn’t cut deep into the monster’s flesh.
However, it was enough to worsen its condition and prevent it from recuperating from its injuries. Enraged, unable to see, and wounded, the Goblin Warrior smashed the mace around itself mindlessly. Mark and the hunters kept a distance from the Goblin Warrior, but they knew that they had to do something more.
They activated their Cards and began to hack down on the Goblin Warrior. Mark used Heavy Strike to deliver lethal blows. They worked, but their lethality was nothing compared to the tremendous power his son displayed.
Xavier moved around the other Goblin Warrior and inflicted injuries all over its body with every passing second. Leyla and Glut supported him with painstaking efforts. They weakened the Goblin Warrior enough to grant Xavier the opportunity he needed to jump ahead and pierce the ruby katana through the Goblin Warrior’s neck. He twisted the blade and pulled down as he retracted it before releasing a few Air Bullets upon the Goblin Warrior’s face.
The Air Bullets hadn’t been necessary because the Goblin Warrior slumped to the ground, but Xavier did not want to test his fate and give the Goblin Warrior a chance to deliver a desperate blow to him. Every wound he sustained could turn into a major setback for the following steps of their plan, after all!
Goblin Warrior has been slain. +3 Soul Essence +1 Common Card
Xavier looked at the others as the notification popped up in front of him and saw his father raise his weapon to deliver the final blow to the other Goblin Warrior. The Heavy Strike connected and the Goblin Warrior’s head rolled to the ground with a thud.
Goblin Warrior has been slain. +2 Soul Essence +1 Uncommon Card Shard
Xavier raised an eyebrow given the rewards he’d obtained just now but he did not have enough time to focus on them. There were still close to 80 ordinary Goblins waiting to be hunted down.