[Adam’s POV]

“Do you trust him?”

“No. Obviously no.” I respond. “But we need that silver, Gent.”

He sighs. “I know. One hundred silver. Just like that.”

“He got a bounty, so it doesn’t mean anything. Well, it means it’s important to him, but nothing more.” I reply.

“And you want me to find the warlock.”

“You are the best. I don’t want to send someone just to die. You have a chance.”

“I don’t like it.”

"Who should go then?”

He stays silent. One hundred silver is going to get us enough food for a year. I’m assuming the price of food is not insane, but even if it is, this is enough to survive. An average unskilled laborer gets a bronze a day, which is enough to survive in poverty. This means 365 bronze a year—nearly four silver.

Our group grew bigger during the winter. More refugees came, though I only took in those who could hunt and fight, along with their families. This makes our group have a bit over one hundred members in total. I know many of those who I refused died. It pains me, but what should I do? Take them in and let all of us starve? I now understand Roheb's governor, even though I still have a grudge against him.

Going back to the topic of money, assuming our group has exactly 100 members, which is untrue, we only have one silver per person. Not much, even though one hunderd silver coins feels like a lot. We can still hunt, though. The town's guards won’t let us migrate to a not-over-hunted region for the time being, so there’s not enough game, but with Ferdinand’s money, we should be fine for a while. The town's guards will probably leave in a month or so, letting us migrate.

“Goblins are going to kill me," Gent says.

“I have a plan. We need to play them both. Mr. Ferdinand wants you to invite the warlock for a chat. We want a non-aggression pact. We can give the warlock some compromise. Give him information. Assure him we won’t attack him and his forces. Maybe even tell him Ferdinand is suspicious.”

“Actually, I think I know a better way.”

“Oh?”

“I overheard a conversation. You know, Samantha.”

I nod. She is the one goblins used for procreation.

“She has a friend. Our temporary lack of food and broken deal with goblins backlashed on them hard. Nobody wants to share food with them, and they are even bullied and beaten.”

I frown. “That’s not good. We can’t penalize those who make sacrifices for the group.”

“The point is, Samantha doesn’t seem to treat it like a sacrifice. That’s what I overheard. She wants to go find goblins and join them for a cushy whore’s job together with her friend.”

"You want to present them as an offering.”

He sighs. “I feel guilty. They don’t need to do this. Not with the money on the table. I won’t be able to protect them. I’m not strong enough. You know as well as me where the goblins probably are.”

The second-tier zone. Here, we are relatively fine. We can kill 1st tier monsters and escape 2nd tier ones. In a second-tier zone, there are going to be only 2nd tier monsters. And 3rd tiers are going to be a common sight. We are not strong enough. We checked tracks, so we are reasonably sure goblins didn’t march north or south, unless there are significantly fewer goblins remaining than we think.

“Warlock escaped from the town, so it’s unlikely he can fight his way into the 2nd tier zone. He is probably at the outskirts.” I start. “And we can dupe Ferdinand. He may be suspicious, but we can’t just dismiss his superiors, whatever they exist or not. We are the weakest here. One wrong move and it’s over.”

“Damn.”

I want to say sorry, but I know that is stupid. I can’t say it. Not as a leader. “You can just use the girls as bait. In the worst-case situation.” I tell.

“You are joking.”

I look at him. “We need to do what we need to do.”

He didn’t look back into my eyes. He closed them. “I will leave tonight.”

“Prepare well. Take whatever you need. I’m counting on your success.”

[Smag’s POV]

Kobolts. I hate kobolts. Currently, I’m in the middle of a battle. Axi is fighting a 3rd tier lizardman, probably an evolution of a cobolt. He also has mana-insulating scales, giving him and all kobolts some magic resistance. My Vitality Clot is not working. Axi’s Fireball is triggering at their skin, not at vitality inside of them. Sure, a fireball to the face is still hurting, but not outright killing like a fireball directly to your internal organs.

Axi is actually holding some advantage. I’m buffing her with the aid of my Healer perk, so her stats are more than doubled. The enemy chieftain is also a fire mage, with more proficiency than Axi, but she can also control Earth mana, which gives her an advantage. Their Will stats are around the same, so they mostly use fire to infuse their weapons. The chieftain uses a club that’s on fire, practically like a heavy torch. A simple wooden club is disposable, and Axi has already nearly chopped his club into pieces. A few more strikes should finish it, but the chieftain has another club strapped to his back.

Kobolts have another magic user, but I’m like 90% sure he is just a weak healer with order mana. He is good enough to patch the chieftain after the battle and maybe try to distract me a little.

Unfortunately, the rest of my goblins are not as good. I used the Healer perk on the four strongest hobs I have, and I buff them sporadically to save my mana. This only makes it good enough to not lose. Nearly all Kobolts are stronger than my hobs. I’m pretty sure kobolts don’t have a natural progression path, locking them at the peak of the 2nd tier. They are also better organized, to my shame. I would say their initial tactics were better too, but I learned quite a bit after two previous battles.

For example, I’m standing around my archers and protecting them from fireballs. Few of my hobs learned how to create a mana shield, but most of them didn’t even unlock mana skills.

I look back at the battle. None of my attacks can hurt kobolts, so I’m mostly healing. Someone lost a head? There’s still vitality in that body. Vitality that’s no longer connected to a soul, so I use it to heal my hobs. Cut-off arms and legs are also fine. This is not enough, though. I send a signal to Axi through my strategist skill perk. She moves to the left, and the chieftain follows. Another signal, this one meaning ‘go back’. And so…

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Now! The chieftain is exactly where I want him to be. I use my mana and control a dead kobolt lying beneath the chieftain. I left it there a few hours ago, before the battle. I can't create a proper flesh golem yet, but making a half-working prototype is manageable. The pseudo-zombie grabs the chieftain's legs and holds them tight. The chieftain pours fire at it, but kobolts scales are still mana-resistant even after death. I sense fire mana pushing inside the corpse via eyes and other ortifies, though. No matter. Axi jumps closer, makes a faint, and forces the chieftain to move his shield. Then, Axi strikes true. The lizardman tries to dodge, but he only moves a little. Axi strikes him in the shoulder, probably breaking a bone. I smile. Got you!

The chieftain swings his club, but a wounded arm means he lacks strength. The best part is that this is not his first wound. Axi had already chipped his HP during previous fights. I have topped her up, while the chieftain’s healer doesn’t have such powers. There is no fast regeneration for him.

The chieftain roars and shouts something. I don’t understand their language, but it becomes obvious in a moment. He tries to retreat. A few kobolts charge at Axi, hoping to keep her occupied. I buff my hobs, which quickly move into the kobolts ranks, with renowned effort.

The chieftain shoots a large fireball my way. Stupid move. Good for me. I grab ambient mana with my will and create a shield two meters before me. The enemy's shaman tries to distract me, but he is way too far away to stop me. He only slows me down minimally. The fireball hits the shield and explodes. I raise my hand and cover my face from scorching air. After two meters, flames are mostly extinguished, but the heat didn't dissipate.

“Attack! Show no mercy!” I shout! Now’s the ideal chance to inflict as many losses on them as possible. The chieftain shoots another fireball, this time at my hobs. I shoot a mana orb to intercept, but the enemy’s shaman once again interferes. Axi is closer and strikes the fireball with a ball of soil. Nobody on this battlefield can interfere with that. Fireball explodes. Kobolts stop fighting and just run.

Hobs are trying to stop the fire. It wasn’t a direct hit, but our ranks are broken, and hobs are confused. Maybe intimidated. Fucking cowards. Axi wants to give chase. “Stop!” That could be an ambush for her.

She throws a fireball, but the chieftain steps forward and seizes it from her. Damn it. We could chase after them even now, but there are traps in their territory. It will be easy to turn the table on us.

“Don’t chase. Pick up wounded and corpses.” I order. We are hungry. Constant fighting means we don’t have time for hunting. And there’s a problem with hunting as well. It’s best to create relatively small hunting parties. Those parties are vulnerable to kobolt ambushes. I lost four such hunting parties early.

We pick corpses. Two hobs and four kobolts. Axi must have killed them when I was busy defending from the fireball. We go back to our camp.

“Did you break his bones?”

“I think so.”

“Good.” I smile. “We need to push them. Maybe move deeper into their territory later today and force them to engage. If we can kill their chieftain, that’s as good as winning.”

“We are losing.”

“They have a better tactic. And they are better at working in groups." I reply. “But unless they can delay for a week or so, we have won.” I believe it should take at least a week for the chieftain’s bone to mend. Order Mage is going to pour his entire core of mana into that bone, but that would only speed up the healing.

We arrive at our camp. We cut down a few trees and built a few barricades and shacks. Some of them are burned down. The fucking chieftain ambushed us at night and bombarded us with fireballs. Before me and Axi reacted, he killed five goblins. Only the fact that we build shacks for ourselves prevented him from wiping out half of our forces.

I sit down in my shack with Axi. She smiled when I told her we were winning, and then, imminently, her lips went down. She is still bitter about Anastasia. Honestly, we are trapped here. We moved here so I could have healthy babies with Axi, but I can't impregnate her right now. I need her as a combatant. Our numbers are only going down.

We also don’t have enough food, and we are forced to eat our own fallen. Should I tell Axi to hunt?

There are actually two herbivores that are common prey around here. The first kind is a tree parasite. You can find it glued to tree trunks. They are unpleasant and acidic, but they are extremely easy to hunt. The second herbivore eats dead wood, living in some way in cooperation with the first type of herbivore. This one looks a bit like a miniature rhinoceros. The main difference is that monsters have very sharp teeth, which they use to cut through wood. They are 2nd tier monsters and only dangerous if you let them bite you. Not very fast, but relatively durable.

I don’t know what kobolts will do. What would I do as a chieftain of kobolts? I would run away... That would be the best outcome for me right now. Let’s assume he won’t or simply can’t. He is losing in open battles, so that leaves ambushes and irregular warfare.

“Take a few hobs and hunt some meat for us. Conserve your mana.”

She frowns. “I don’t mind, but won’t the tribe be vulnerable without me around?"

Whoa! She is getting cocky! “I’m more worried about you. You won’t have my buff. I’m going to be okay, even if they attack. I can buff the remaining hobs. Unlike you.” She frowns. Good. I don’t want her to think the power I give her is her own. That would just get her killed.

The problem is that I don’t know what the enemy will do. I don’t have any scouts or the ability to spy on them. It’s way safer to stay in one group, but that means fighting on an empty stomach tomorrow. They can just stall and kill us with hunger. We need to hunt.

“Stay close to the camp. It’s best if you stay within my communication perk, but it’s fine if you leave it a bit.”

She nods and leaves. I sigh. This is all too troublesome. The worst part is that me and Axi don’t even have time to have sex! I sigh again. I should have taken a human girl with me.

I think about kobolts. Why don't they use bows? Honestly, it’s strange. They could easily win that way. A few archers would keep me down, making it impossible for me to cover my goblins from the chieftain's fire. I can’t stop an arrow with a mana shield. I would need to keep ducking or blocking with a shield. A hit to the head would probably kill me.

They have traps. I looked over their hands, and while they are more claw-like, the fact they have traps means they are capable of crafting. They have primitive weapons as well. I have two possible solutions to this mystery.

1. The chieftain wants to maintain his ranged superiority within the tribe. It’s a bit stupid, but it could be possible. If that's true, then they may bring bows to their last stand.

2. They never needed it. It’s possible most monsters in the region have some sort of natural armor, like kobolt scales. This would make bows ineffective, or at least not cost-effective. They can craft, but a good and strong bow is not easy to make. This option is way better for me, since it’s unlikely they would suddenly develop archery.

My musings are interrupted as a hob runs to me and shouts, “Chief! Humans!”

What?!

[Gent’s POV]

At the end of the second day, we find the goblins. I frown. It could be a different group. But what are the changes? Nope. This must be it. We left the village at dawn yesterday, and it’s around noon now. The girls have blisters on their feet and are slowing me down. Fortunately, it seems goblins killed all monsters on their way, so I just had to kill a few 1st tier stragglers.

The trek here makes it obvious to me why the governor wouldn't organize a group to kill Smag. One small team is not enough to defeat goblins. 3rd tiers leave the region as soon as they can, unless they want to retire and become governors or so. How many 2nd tier adventurers are needed to kill all the goblins here? Quite a lot, probably. Especially if Smag is as powerful as rumors say. Providing for a large group on a march is going to be a nightmare. They can just pack supplies, I suppose, but goblins can run right away, forcing any large group to retreat or suffer from starvation.

I shake my head. I need to concentrate on here and now. I have yet to unlock a skill to perceive mana, but I’m pretty sure it’s a 2nd tier region. Trees are bigger. All plants are more vibrant, more green. The monsters here are way stronger, or so I heard. I’m going to run back to the village as soon as I make a deal with Smag. I should be able to reach the village before dark, as long as no monster attacks me.

“Here we are. Go ahead.”

Both girls look weary, wary, and a bit relieved that we are here.

“Okay. I will go first.” Samantha says. “Maybe they remember me.”

“Are you sure?” The second girl asks. Then she looks at me. I scoff. What do you want from me?

“Don’t you know goblinish?” I ask.

“Just a few words… but it should be enough.” Samantha says this and actually walks forward. I’m a bit impressed. She is quite brave.

Two hobgoblins spot them soon after, and Samantha says something to them. I place an arrow on my bow, but I don’t raise it. The hobgoblin shouts something, and another hobgoblin runs toward the goblin village. If you can name it as such. The villiage is mostly composed of fallen trees and monster furs on branches, creating extremely primitive homes. We wait a few anxious minutes until a small delegation comes our way. This is it.