Chapter 5: I will be eaten

I stop and look directly at the small pack of monkeys; they are a bit bigger and yellower than the usual one. I have the impression of recognizing some hate in their eyes, they are maybe angry because I kill their babies. Naaa, they just want to eat me.

From downstream I hear the laugh of goblins approaching. I will stand here, and certainly not let those monsters brings more goblins to me and use me as their butcher.

A dozen goblins run to me, at the front a goblin half my size and muscular lead the charge. I am ready and inhale a strong shout, my first special technique. When they are only twenty meters between us, I start. I exhale and inhale two times very quickly to build up and catch maximum mana in my lungs.

“Fus Ro “And I shout “Da”

Every goblin is paralyzed and there are only a few meters between us. I run and pierce the leader's head. I have the time to kill two others before the rest wake up and try to swarm me. I am not afraid of them and bash the ones that approach me. It’s a bit hard to go for the kill without using my skill as there are just too many gobs. But it’s ok I will slowly cut all of those stupid goblins into tiny pieces.

I continue to run to never be immobilized or encircled, and then I succeed in blocking them between me and the river.

My second of triumph is interrupted as pain assaults my back. I realize that the forest is behind me. Fuck I should not have turned my back to the monkeys. As I turn around a stone hit my head and I fall. I can’t see with my felt eye; it hurts but I do not stop. Some goblins almost catch me as I am ready to run to the forest and escapes the river.

Oh no, they are some goblins badly hidden in the forest, ready to kill me if I enter it. I turn and charge to the water border and run upstream. I hope the water will handicap the smaller goblins and give me a bit of time to escapes this trap.

As I follow the river meander, I discover the other side of the forest loop, more goblins. I don’t have time to count them, but they are more than twenty of them. I turn and try to flee through the forest by they are even more goblins half-hidden in it.

My head hurt; I don’t know what to do. This is a true trap; those monkeys are way more intelligent and resentful that I was thinking. The previous goblins catch up, the trap is closing around me.

I am back to the river, on both sides are a large group of goblins, and in front of me, the gobs and monkeys wait in ambush.

There is a momentary silence, they are waiting for me to flee to the forest. I can almost feel tension building up as even more monkeys appear in the trees.

Then the chaos starts as the hidden goblins understand that I saw them. The smallest one scream and charges at me. This creates an avalanche of screams and all the small one's straight run to me. From the three fronts, the goblins rush in my direction and some of the big ones go to the river to block me to flee into it.

I charge to the water and ram in them. I slash a goblin on my right and pierce one directly in front of me. Two goblins succeed in catching me but I push my body to continue my charge. I am in the water and throw the goblin on my back at one of my pursuers. It’s hard to advance in the rising water but for the small goblins, it’s even harder. I quickly kill three goblins on my right and run even more into the water. I try to understand what is happening, it’s the chaos. The goblins are charging in the water but some of them tumble and struggle in it.

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As I hesitate to go further in the water something catches my left leg. By instinct, I piece it, but I am unbalanced and I fall into the water. It’s the total confusion as the water takes me. I try to stand up to breathe but a crocodile bit my right arm. He turns on himself and drags me into the deeper water. I can’t spear it, I can’t charge. I can’t breathe.

I inhale water as I drown, I shout with all my desperation. The crocodile is scared and flee, ripping my arm at the same time.

The pain makes me stand up and charge to exit the river. I need to flee! Around me the chaos is total. The crocodiles are killing the goblins in the water and some of them are on the riverbank. The goblins are killing each other and the monkeys didn’t wait to jump to join the river-banquet.

I do not stop utile I am hidden by the first trees. I am absolutely exhausted. Fuck I lost my spear! I look at my arm. The panic starts to take me; my arm is cut at the elbow; blood is squirting from it like...

I can’t die here! I control my mana and push it to my arm. I do not try to boost my regeneration but to close the wound, to stop the blood from leaving my body. This is not enough; I start building up the mana in my lungs with a small shout. Then without opening my mouth I shout. I feel the mana exits my lungs but I direct it to my arm.

Ding

I succeed and sense a new skill helping me. I focus my mana in my flesh to manipulate it. Slowly my flesh moves and the wound is closing itself. The pain is too much, I am torturing myself.

I stop and respire madly as my arm continues to act as a fountain. I scream and mentally crush the wound, putting everything in it.

I succeed but the result is disgusting, my flesh forms a monstrous ball that blocks the blood flow. And a length of my sharply broken humerus stripped of everything is sticking out. My left leg is also completely mangled but I have no more mana.

But I will live I stopped the bleeding. I will live.

As I try to calm my respiration, I survey the field of death. All the monsters are killing or eating each other. This is total mayhem but no one is looking at me, there are enough corps or half-dead goblins around.

All except one is eating or killing. It’s a big monkey, the tallest with yellow stripes. He is looking right at me and slowly approaching. I can see the rage and hate in his eyes. When he notices that I saw him coming he roars and madly runs. His lips are cut, that’s exactly him except he is bigger than the last time.

Shit, he is going to kill me. I flee to the forest but I can barely use my left legs to push, I am too slow. He is catching up.

I hear loud steps on my left. I turn, I try to go faster but I fall to the ground. I just have the time to stand up and he is there right in front of me. I can’t flee anymore but I will not be eaten.

The monkey is in rage, he bashes his right arm at me but I kick him. We fall together but he stands up faster and jumps at me.

He is ready, arms raised in the air to crush my skull with his two fists. I can see the glee in his eyes, he is smiling with his disgusting mouth. He can almost taste the flavor of my death.

I gather all my strength as I raise my right arm and charge at him, and pierce.

We fall again, he is on top of me, my bone penetrating his skull. His dead eyes stare at me, his eyes full of hate.

I can almost hear will voice, he is telling me that I will die, that I will be eaten, and that nothing could change this fact, this is my fate.

He is dead, but his gazes do not lose his intensity.

I lose consciousness.

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