“Ready?” I ask, get the nod I’m looking for. “You take closest the three, I take the four in the back. Don’t stop moving until we’re out!”

Valka is as dense as they get but she’s far from stupid. However, a quick reminder never hurts when the situation is this intense.

“Go!”

At my word Valka burst forth into the light, surprising the goblins, cooking what seems to be an entire monkey. She rushes at the closest ones like a true predator and I follow close behind with four spears of ice floating at my sides and glistening in the light. Their tips are already aimed at my targets and a thought is all they need to shoot out, flying right past Valka and striking true.

From this distance it’s hard to miss, however, only two manage to deliver a soul each to Malor while the other two suffer only mortal wounds. But that’s not good enough for me.

Advancing past Valka who’s currently snapping the neck of one of the poor goblins I release a wind blade on course to sever the head of the kneeling goblin while dealing with the other one backing away from us in fright. Just as it opens its ugly mouth with a few teeth here and there the wall behind it turns into a rocky porcupine and pierces the deformed green body enough times to kill it in an instant.

“Done.” Valka declares with blood pouring from her arms and a goblin still in her grasp.

I thought I was a bit cruel but she seems to have shattered a skull, broken a spine, an arm, and a throat, and lastly… she basically tore out the throat of a poor creature. At least she did her thing silently.

“Let’s keep-”

“Iiiek!” A high-pitched scream of terror and anger comes from the righthand tunnel where now stands a goblin, an eighth one we didn’t account for.

The screech was clearly for its brethren because just like spiders, rats, and locusts, goblins rely on their numbers to bring down their target. Valka hurls the body still in her hand at the new arrival taking it to the ground only for me to finish it off with a pebble through one of its eyes.

“To the right!” I pick our path and start running.

Even though the goblin just came from this direction and we’re almost guaranteed to run into quite a few more of the green pests the tunnel slopes upwards and that takes priority. Being discovered was within my calculations from the start however I didn’t expect it to happen this soon. We’ll need to pick up the pace and be ready to face a veritable goblin horde if our usual luck persists.

We no longer proceed in our Valka first and I’m right behind as fire support setup, instead advancing as fast as we can and taking turns clearing the path. When a few goblins pop up there’s no need for the both of us to get bogged down.

I can make the walls devour them and break all their limbs, just simply shoot them down with a lightning bolt, or send an explosive pellet straight into their necks. Valka just breaks things… brute. The goblins prove only slightly more resilient than the rats however there is a reason why many call them the scourge of civilization…

A cleverly hidden tripwire and a careless step is all it takes for the wooden frame hidden in the wall right next to me to slam around in a half-circle, adorned with rusty spikes and whatever scrap weapons the goblins found. It’s a nasty trap and with the potential to be lethal… But compared to what we faced down in the tunnels this is a joke.

I do get startled a little yet my steps remain steady as Serene Spellcrafting does its job and I find a simple solution. First, a touch of earth magic rips the springs and hinges out of the wall, turning the trap into a flying hazard after which a simple pillar of stone stops the spikes in their track. Simple, swift, efficient.

And I’m smug as fuck because that looked awesome. I’m a natural genius.

From behind the trap pops up yet another deformed green child, probably hoping for the trap to do the brunt of the work but the shock and disappointment on its face says it all. Finally, I can put the hand-to-hand combat Bennett made us drill into practice.

I grab its slim wrist holding the chipped and rusty knife, twisting it slightly using the goblin's momentum before digging my knee into its chest just the way we practiced. The goblin proves to be a lot weaker opponent than August was, that uncooperative bastard, and hugs right away. Just to do things without magic for a change I stomp on its neck to finish the job only for Valka to bolt past me.

“Stop messing around!” She yells, already rounding the corner and gaining a huge lead.

“This isn’t a race.” My voice probably doesn’t reach her through whatever carnage she’s causing but still, we’re trying to be professional here. I could probably win though…

With that thought in mind, I race after the warrior with a white mane. She can smash all the goblins for all I care, it only means less of the bothersome enemies for me without much danger to her life. Maybe she needs this, maybe this is her way of coping with the hardships of life.

And then I catch up to her, faster than I expected, finding Valka standing at the mouth of a dark room with a heavy stench of blood and decay oozing out into the tunnels. A quick glance is all I need to recognize what the goblins use the place for an…

“Go ahead.” I put a hand on Valka’s shoulder. “I’ll deal with this.” And the flame dancing behind me turns from orange to furious, incandescent white.

She just silently nods and walks on with fists clenched and knuckles white, clearly shaken by the sight. And so am I even though I already knew what goblins are. They’re parasites, unable to multiply on their own and without any morality or the slightest regard for life. Let’s just say they need a body… dead or alive.

We just so happened to find their brood and I’ll make sure nothing can walk out of this chamber alive.

I let fire do the cleansing, turning my head to the side and dismissing any and all kill notifications I get. Someone had to do it and Valka is kinder than she shows. Besides doing this by hand…

With a heavy heart and vengeance vested in me by all those who fell victim to the goblins, I continue following in the wake of destruction. Valka clearly lost all sense of mercy and went on an absolute killing spree, maiming bodies beyond necessity and venting her emotions in the only way that comes to mind.

“She won’t leave me any.” I chuckle as the battle-cries of the girl in question echo through the tunnels.

When I catch up Valka is already covered neck-deep with goblins, smashing them like mosquitoes and snarling no differently than a beast. This isn’t the most optimal situation because hitting the goblins without causing any collateral damage is… Hehehe, it doesn’t matter.

Windblades. Many many windblades. I swipe my hands left to right, up and down and in whichever direction I can come up with, sending arcs of razor-sharp air into the fray without any concern.

The goblins fall, in many pieces mostly, and Valka does a quick job on the remainder with only one regrettable casualty on our side.

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“You’re naked.” I state the obvious, although most of her body is actually covered in blood.

“And whose fault is that, huh? Who tore my clothes to shreds?” She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow without a hint of embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you new ones.” I have no idea where we might find clothes in the forest.

“How can you even wear all the extra layers in this weather? I can basically feel my skin melting under the gaze of Solaire.” She complains, already past the whole clothes issue.

It’s a pretty mild summer actually, I don’t know what she’s on about… Or maybe she's one of those people. The exhibitionists.

Why do I always end up with the weirdos?

Then my eyes get drawn to something else other than the butt-naked girl standing in my face and the piles of corpses. Everything else in the room. The room itself actually. The design, carvings, and material are a picture-perfect match of what we found deeper below at the city and prison of the spirits. The abuse of time and mostly the goblins does make a big difference but I trust my intuition telling me to dig around a little and finally get some of that loot we deserve.

Heaeps of scraps, bones, pieces of rock and other things the goblins seem to have found valuable litter the room and the sizeable stone tables. Garbage is the only word that comes to mind and Mana Perception only confirms that idea.

“Put this on, we’re not animals.” I throw her a tunic that’s relatively clean and likely belonged to an unfortunate soul murdered by the green savages.

“C’mon, we can’t waste more time here.” For a change, I’m the one acting irrationally and Valka is the voice of reason but I just can’t let this go.

“But it doesn’t make any sense.” I rummage through things in a frenzy. “Why is this chamber here? For what purpose- Arrgh!” I begin to rage and smash things left and right.

Until it comes to pushing off a piece of uncure fur from the masterfully carved stone table in the center. Half its top is smashed to bits but the remaining side… well, they do say many things about knowledge and this could probably be considered a type of treasure.

image [https://i.imgur.com/2r5lTSA.jpeg]

“Holy shit.” I mutter.

I’ve never seen a map of this scale, not in any books or even in the planning room. The Elder Forest, the Green Sea, the Sarahal Desert…

“Oh, I think that’s where I lived.” Valka exclaims and points to the mountains in the top left corner.

“You can read maps?” I look at her incredulously because that definitely isn’t a common skill.

“No?” She tilts her head. “But it says Koleth right there, and the mountains are covered in snow.” She basically reminds me once more that the lack of knowledge is no proof of one's intelligence.

A map of this scale and age is probably worth a sum larger than how far I can count on its own if not for the damage and these small white symbols. Are there buildings? Wait, just to the left of the Azure Shore, is that… us? Does this map show the location of bases just like this one? I need to learn more about whoever built this place and maybe the others marked right here.

“Eli, we need to go, right now.” Valka begins to drag me away as the roars and high-pitched warcries coming from the depths of the tunnels grow louder.

“Just a few more seconds.” I whisper with my eyes glued to the map as I try to memorize each and every location.

“NOW!” Valka picks me up and start running. “No secret is worth dying for.”

“Wait-” My words get stuck in my mouth as four more goblins pop around the corner armed to the teeth and quickly followed by a veritable army of their kin. “Faster!” I yell instead, pulling up a shield to protect us from the incoming projectiles.

Valka moves much faster than anything my legs could ever achieve and being carried like this gives me ample room to unalive anything that breathes.

“Hold on.” The yell of my steed comes just a second before we slam into something, clearly crashing through it only to be basked in light.

We’re out. And we’re surrounded.

The tunnels were teeming with goblins and the mouth of the cave turned out to be no different with tiny huts, wobbly towers, and other botched buildings all around. It’s basically a goblin village.

“How many do you count.” Valka asks as she gently puts me down and steps in front of me.

“About sixty.” Meanwhile, I busy myself with collapsing the cave entrance to protect our backs and stem the source of enemy reinforcements. “Including the five big ones at the back.”

“I don’t feel like escaping.” Valka cracks her neck. “You take half I take half?”

“Don’t get complacent.” I warn her nonchalantly. I know, not the best attitude. “You might be able to shrug off the small ones but they can bog you down. Then the real threats will make you regret looking down on the small green pests.”

Warfare against goblins was part of Martha’s basic curriculum, even though we never actually faced off against them before, and she drilled it into our heads to never look down on goblins. They’re weak but still manage to kill people as frequently as real predators in the wilds. Really nasty opponents.

“Slow and steady, got it.” Good girl, she listens to me. “But I want the big one.” She points at what should be a chieftain or some other sort of leader of the goblins feasting at the back.

Yes, feasting. The absolute unit of a goblin treats us as entertainment, yelling constantly in his kind’s pig tongue flanked by his aides and the only sources of danger in this entire shithole.

“All yours.” I chuckle and make the first shot.

Or rather first few dozen shots. I stomp the ground, a completely unnecessary move, and it bursts forth in a barrage of sharp rocks and mundane pebbles to thin the small army surrounding us. I’d consider an attack like this a waste of mana most of the time but against opponents this squishy and inept… It’s perfect.

A shower of flames follows right after, mixed with a whirlwind of blades and then some more rocks because I liked how they screamed, hehe. They’re goblins, they deserve every moment of the hell I unleash upon them.

Valka stays put, literally acting as my shield which comes in handy in a sixty versus two situation. The scrappy weapons and gnarly claws merely scrape her skin while every swing extinguishes a life, or at least breaks something crucial, like a knight clad in armor and swinging a mace. Except she’s unarmed and barely clothed.

“Left!” I yell and Valka rotates, covering the flank while focusing on killing.

The energy bouncing around in my dancing strands of hair finally lashes out from the tip of my finger with a very different target in mind. A goblin bigger than average standing at the back with the lord observing us with disturbing cunning in its eyes. The feathered headpiece and carved wooden mask, along with human skulls and elven ears hanging from its belt paint a picture of something far more dangerous than the average goblin. Something we cannot allow to join the fray.

The arc flies through the air faster than any of us or even people three times our level could follow yet the spear of lightning does not strike true. A barrier made of all the metal scrap lying around springs up and protects the crazed trophy collector. Mostly. The power behind my attack blasts the shields, armor and broken weapons everywhere before reaching its intended target with a reduced kick.

There’s only one goblin showing no signs of surprise. The fatty, their leader with its eyes locked on me and tongue slowly licking its greasy lips. I judged the disgusting book by its cover… as usual.

Now I’m about to be overrun after leaving myself exposed just to deliver this attack that the target survived anyway. As if to add insult to injury, at a wave of their chieftain two of its aides, a lanky one carrying about a three dozen spears on its back and a goblin with arms thicker than my torso leave their spot to get rid of the disturbances.

I retreat a few steps before spewing fire again and sending waves through the earth to ensure the pests harassing me meet an early end. Their screams are just as unbearable as their stench or sight yet before I can make sure all of them are well done Premoniton picks something up from the corner of my eye.

The line it draws goes right through my chest, starting from a spear held in a reverse grip already mid-throw to take my life. Abandoning my assault I jump back to save my life only to bump into a back I’ve seen one too many times.

“Should we retreat?” Valka asks as if that would be a simple thing to achieve.

We’re in a tough spot but the thought of losing to goblins… to letting them fill their broodchamber again… I hate it.

“I want to slaughter them all.” I declare no matter how wrong it sounds.

The next spear flying straight at me gets stopped by an earth wall I prepared but clearly too weak to stop the buff goblin charging right toward us. The number of goblins is slowly decreasing but something tells me things will only get more difficult from now.

“Finally something we agree on.” Valka’s chuckle surprises me along with the wicked grin on her face but it’s also reassuring at the same time.

Some people find joy in the heat of battle and although I don’t consider myself to be one of them weirdos for some reason… I look forward to this one.