Ah, even if I wanted to sit up and think about the notification in front of me, I simply couldn’t any longer. The exhaustion from cultivating was weighing on me heavily and only a moment or two later, my eyes closed and to dreamland I went.

…

Knock Knock

Knock Knock KNOCK

“RAIZEN!”

“…Hm..?”

“Raizen!!”

“Ah…That’s Richard’s voice…I’m coming!”

“Hurry up!”

Hearing the urgency in his voice I quickly got dressed. Hm? Did my shirt shrink? Even my pants? I also tried putting my boots on and it didn’t fit right either…What the hell is going on? Not having time to waste, I quickly cut my pants at the knee, ditched everything else, including my shirt, boots, and armor. I’m a little confused why nothing fits but I clearly didn’t have time to think about it.

I rushed outside looking very weird, leather pants that were cut at the knee and now a lot tighter than I remember, and a spear in hand.

“What the…whatever no time, come with me.”

He was obviously very confused at my appearance, and I couldn’t blame him, but no matter I’ll deal with it later. I followed him to the gate where it looked pretty empty right up until I stepped outside. All of our cultivators were formed up and waiting outside. They looked like a small army. 10s of people with Rock Iron weaponry, and the armor from the blacksmith. It was quite a sight to see, and maybe something that would be cause to smile if not for the reason they were lined up in the first place. I didn’t like that I was the last one to show up…

Anyway…the area around the Outpost looked a lot different.

Just last night, the clearing the Outpost sat in had little space left after the upgrade and the expansion of the Outpost, but now…that seemed to change in the blink of an eye. The clearing was widened even further, as if overnight an entire team of magical lumberjacks went crazy in getting rid of the trees, as the entire tree line was pushed back over 50 yards, it seems like.

I ignored the weird looks I was getting from everyone as I walked to the front of the group with Richard.

The clearing wasn’t the only thing raising eyebrows.

At the end of the new clearing, 10 of the big ones stood watching patiently. That alone would be cause for concern, but that wasn’t all. They were armored. Strong looking leather armor covered them from head to toe.

They stood there ominously, just watching us. This was very different from their usual behavior. So, I guess the behavior we experienced in the Dungeon wasn’t limited to it. Either way this was a bit of a problem, and I doubt anyone else here could tell how much of a problem it was. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them.

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Hundreds, maybe thousands of other Goblins were hiding deep within the forest. I could hear their murmuring, their steps on the ground, their random movements. I could hear it all.

Is this the added danger Greja mentioned?

This is far too much for the people here.

Hm. It seems I will need to cause a massacre.

It was then I heard Richard’s voice while I was busy planning murder.

“The guards on duty last night had no idea how this much of the forest went away. They said one second everything was fine, then before they knew it the trees just vanished. Then at some point this morning, the Hobgoblins in front of you walked out of the forest and have been there for about 30 minutes so far. I think there are a lot more Goblins in the forest, but we have no way to tell for sure.

“Also…you grew. A lot.”

“Hm?”

I looked…down at him. Down? I wasn’t a very a tall person, and Richard wasn’t a giant, but I think he still had an inch or two on me just yesterday, but now I’m looking down at him? This is the first time I really took a second to look at Richard. Wow, I really am taller than him. Is this due to breaking through to the 5th Cycle? I didn’t know how tall I was exactly, but it had to be over 6ft at this point.

I’ll figure out my height later but for now we had things to do…Also Hobgoblins huh? Interesting.

“I see…anyway you're correct in saying there are a lot of Goblins in the forest. There could be thousands of them in there.”

I saw Richard’s face visibly lose color and I didn’t blame him. Now I would normally listen to what they all had to say and go from there, but I’d be making a decision here.

“Richard listen. I’m gonna go in the forest alone. Form up here with Brandon and be ready to fight anything that comes out after I go in.

“Oh and no matter what you see, don’t lose focus and be ready to fight. Focus on defense, fight together, and never enter the forest. Sounds good?”

Richard looked at me with seriousness for a moment before responding.

“I understand. I’ll get them ready. We rushed out here when the guards on shift first spotted the Hobgoblins, so we didn’t really have time to prepare as much as we needed. I’ll do that now.”

I nodded back to him as he walked off and he immediately started barking out orders. We really looked like an army at times like this.

Anyway, I stood at the front and just watched the…Hobgoblins as they calmy stood and likewise watched me. Even though I plan to dive headfirst into the forest, I wouldn’t do it until Richard and the rest were ready or at least until the Goblins started marching out.

Though only a few moments later and the Hobgoblins all calmly walked back into the forest. I don’t know why they were just standing there, or why they decided now was the time to walk back into the forest, but something was about to happen.

I could hear them now…it sounded like marching…they were coming. I didn’t know how many exactly but the sounds of all of them marching almost made me take off running into the forest right then and there.

They would soon be upon us and I had no idea the types of Goblins that would be arriving, and if the Hobgoblins were armored, were the others too? Richard needs to move faster.

“Richard! Whatever it is your doing, HURRY IT UP!!”

“GOT IT!”

I gripped my spear tightly, and I could feel my flames rousing as my readiness for slaughter rose with it.

I have no plans in becoming a mindless killing machine, but sometimes that mentality was necessary. We had long since realized that killing in some way shape or form would be the new norm. At least until things settled and proper communities formed.

But for now, I will allow myself to embrace this side of me that seemed to welcome this type of slaughter.

These Goblins….these monsters…they will soon know the wrath of an Infernal.

“We’re ready Raizen!”

That was all I needed to hear before taking off at full speed. I planned on keeping my flames hidden for as long as possible, but it seemed the time has come.

I’m confident I could kill every last Goblin in the forest if I was fighting all by myself, but this was different. I had people I wanted to protect. People I chose to protect.

This wasn’t a time for controlled training, this was a time to prove the faith placed in me wasn’t misplaced.

I coated my spear with flames and ran straight into the forest.