Chapter 15: A Declaration of War

Two days had passed. During these past few days, I have come to grasp how to properly use my magic. Although it was still impossible to use fireballs without throwing them, at the very least, I was now able to properly aim at my target. My two minions were now a bit used to fighting too. Even without ordering them around, they would move and engage our target. A felt a bit proud that they have matured to such extent in a short period of time.

“But why aren’t they leveling up?” I asked myself. I have gained two levels already and yet, these two remained level one.

I shook the thought out of my mind for now. I should focus on the enemy in front of me.

“Fireball!”

The ball of fire shot towards a Goblin, successfully hitting it straight at the chest. It stumbled backwards, and my two men immediately hit it with their bone maces. At my rear, another Goblin pounced at me. I sidestepped as I dodged the attack.

“Earth Spike!”

After almost two seconds, a spike made of earth shot from the ground. It approached the Goblin at a tremendous speed, eventually hitting its shoulder. Blood spurted out as the Goblin shrieked in agony.

Earth Spike was a potent weapon, but probably because I was making use of preexisting earth, there was a delay in the magic’s formation, maybe due to the time it takes to alter solid ground. Furthermore, Earth Spike could only be used within a limited range, approximately a meter radius around me, making it a skill almost limited to defensive use. These limitations really show my inexperience as a magician.

The Goblin, after being hit by my Earth Spike, tried clawing at my face. There was rage within its eyes, like a rabid animal in its last moment. Using my experience in fighting these Goblins, I predicted the position it would take in the next two seconds. I cast Earth Spike towards that place.

Bingo.

The spike perfectly hit the Goblin right at the neck. Instantly, the rage in its eyes vanished, and only emptiness remained. The light in its eyes disappeared completely.

You have killed a Goblin Worker!

You have gained 49 Exp!

I turned my attention towards the remaining Goblin. It was shrieking in pain, as my two men continued hitting it with their bone maces. After a desperate struggle, it eventually managed to skitter its way out. Uno and Dos immediately ran after it.

“The two of you, move!” I shouted.

Since this had happened before, the two of them immediately understood what I was trying to do. With quick reflexes, they skidded to a halt and moved to the side, giving me space to aim at the fleeing Goblin.

“Double fireball,” I mumbled. This was one of the things I’ve learned these past few days. It was actually possible to summon two spheres of fire at once, one in each of my hands.

It would be troublesome if this Goblin managed to escape, so I made sure to finish it with two consecutive shots this time. With great focus, I threw a fireball towards the fleeing goblin, then shot another one a second after. The balls of fire made a whizzing sound through the tunnel, before hitting the body of the Goblin. The cries of anguish of the Goblin was momentarily muffled by the sound of consecutive explosions. With the blaze from the spell gone, darkness once again enveloped us.

A notification telling me that I have killed a Goblin Worker popped up. I sighed. This was really tiring. After checking my mana pool, I realized that it was almost empty.

Depleting your mana pool would give your body an exhausted feeling, as though you have run a marathon nonstop for an hour. It was an unpleasant sensation, as though the strength in your body had left entirely.

I took out a crimson stone from my pocket. After a few seconds of hesitation, I put it in my mouth then swallowed it. I grimaced. It was extremely bitter.

You have consumed a Cursed Ruby!

117 Mana has been recovered.

A Cursed Ruby was capable of replenishing 200 Mana after a single use. Since my mana pool was lower than the amount the item could recover, the excess would simply come out of my body as a purple haze, a phenomenon that would last only a second at most.

I felt rejuvenated now that my Mana was at its maximum. It was really convenient that these Mana Stones were readily available at this place. Because of this, I was able to continuously hunt for the last couple of days.

My two subordinates approached my direction. I approvingly nodded the moment we were face to face.

“Well done,” I said to them.

They were obviously pleased by this. They grinned at each other, then at me. Although these two were monsters, I was starting to find them quite adorable.

I heard a grumbling sound. Since we were inside the tunnels, the sound was really audible.

“You’re hungry, huh?” I looked at Uno. “We’ve been hunting nonstop after all.”

I looked at the direction of one of the Goblins. The one that was continuously hit by my fireballs.

“Bury the body of that one,” I said to them, pointing at the Goblin killed by my Earth Spike. “After that, we’ll eat.”

For some reason, the two of them wore grim faces. At first, it was hard to notice the subtle differences in the expressions of Goblins, but after spending time with these two, I was now capable of differentiating between primary expressions.

The two of them began burying the body upon my order. I approached the scorched body of the other Goblin. I’ve tried it out before, and it tasted a bit better than eating it raw. If a comparison was needed, I could say that cooked Goblin meat tasted like chicken meat that had been rotting for two days. Disgusting, but edible enough.

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I sat next to the corpse. Without minding the expression of my prey, I took out my knife and began cutting its arm. Like fried chicken, I began biting the flesh. I chewed then swallowed.

Sometimes, I wondered what Minotaur meat would taste like. I could not really eat human flesh, since that would make me a complete monster, so lately, I’ve began wondering what other things I could eat aside from Goblin meat.

Minotaurs were a cow, or a bull, something like that. They resembled livestock, right? So maybe, they would at least taste better than these pesky Goblins. I was really curious, but killing one of those seemingly immortal monsters would be impossible right now.

Uno and Dos had finished burying the body.

“Here’s your share. Eat,” I said.

The two of them stiffened, their eyes glued at the scorched body before them. I had finished eating the flesh of the goblin’s right arm, and only bones remained.

“You’ve eaten them yesterday, right?” Using my knife, I cut the left forearm of the dead goblin then handed it to the two. “We’ll resume hunting after this. Eat.”

The hand of Dos that took the meat I offered was trembling. They have eaten a cooked goblin yesterday, so they should have been used to it by now, right?

It took some time, but the two of them eventually started eating. Their bodies were quivering as they ate, and I could not understand the reason why. Well, this tunnel was a bit cold right now, so that’s maybe why.

After the two had finished eating, I ordered them to bury the body on the ground. So far, we have successfully hunted a lot of Goblins in this place. I did not know if it was some stroke of luck, or maybe it was because the Goblins could not really care enough about their other members, but we still haven’t been found. There was not even an attempt to try and find the missing Goblins. Well, we always made sure to bury the dead bodies, so that’s probably why.

I stood up then fixed my clothes. I was about to lead my men towards our next prey when the Mine shook. A shockwave blew past us. Dust and detritus fell down the ceiling, and the ground groaned and creaked. For a moment, I was struck by fear that the Mine would collapse.

The Werewolf Lord has declared war on the Goblin’s Paradise.

You have been struck by the Werewolf Lord’s Roar!

HP Regeneration Rate has been reduced by 200%

Mana Regeneration Rate has been reduced by 200%

You have been inflicted by the Fear Status: There is a 75% chance of your Spells failing

You have been inflicted by Paralyzing Shackle: Movement Speed has been reduced by 50%

You have been inflicted by Shockwave Fury: Attack Speed has been reduced by 50%

What the fuck.

What was happening?!

The shockwave that shook the entire Mine had stopped, but these absurd negative status effect continued affecting my body. I could hardly move, and my entire body felt heavy. I looked at Uno and Dos and saw that the two of them were lying on the ground. They were still breathing, but they could clearly not move their bodies.

Although feeling weak, I went towards the two.

“Are you alright?!” I said, worried. “Hey!”

The body of the two were trembling. But still, they tried looking at me and utter a wordless reply. I have grown a bit attached to these two, despite them being monsters. Somehow, it pained me seeing them like this.

My mind was filled with questions on what was happening, and as though on cue, a notification popped out in front of me.

The Goblin Leaders have issued their orders.

All Special Class Goblins are to proceed to the War Room.

An indicator appeared within my mind, showing me the place where I was supposed to go to.

If I remembered correct, Special Class Goblins referred to the Goblin Warriors, Mages, and Spearmen. It seemed that we were being summoned by the Goblin Leaders. Definitely, this had something to do with the werewolf notification from before.

I looked at Uno and Dos. It seemed that they would be fine for now. They should probably stay here and rest.

“I’m being summoned to the War Room,” I said to the two Goblins lying on the ground. They had become really weak. They could not even move their bodies. “The two of you should rest here for now. I’ll try to find something I could use to heal you guys. I promise I’ll be back.”

A low, groaning sound came out the two. Although they have become really weak, for some reason, they were able to move their hand and grab the hem of my clothes. Their eyes clearly told me not to accept the summons.

“It’s just a summon,” I said, frowning. I really wish these two would get well soon. “I won’t die, so don’t worry too much.”

I could probably find out what caused the negative status that crippled these two if I went to the War Room. My instinct was telling me that.

After one last look at my subordinates, I went out the Mine and went towards the War Room. Along the way, I saw the thousands of Goblins sprawled on the ground, heavily breathing and groaning. It was a surreal sight.

***

The War Room was a place I have never been to before. It was surprisingly large, enough to fit hundreds of Goblins in, with enough room to spare afterwards. The ground was flat, and a large round table was placed right at the center of the room. On the walls, glowing plants resembling turnips were latched.

Currently, almost a hundred Special Class Goblins were gathered in this place. I did not know that there were this much Warriors, Mages, and Spearmen. They all stood in attention as the five Goblin Leaders at the very front made their speech.

“The Chieftain is not here, so we’ll be the ones giving the commands,” said a Goblin Leader. Its voice was loud, almost reverberating, and it clearly reached my ears even though I was at the rear.

“Listen,” the Goblin Leader said grimly. “The werewolves have began attacking us. The guards outside are currently fighting their army, but it’s only a matter of time before they invade this place.”

So, the Werewolves and the Goblins were enemies? I did not know that.

“The werewolves invading the Paradise number in the hundreds. Right now, only those of you here are in good enough condition to fight. The Roar of the Werewolf Lord has paralyzed the weaker Goblins. With that skill alone, that bastard has effectively reduced almost all our fighting strength.”

There was rage within that statement, and within those wrath-filled words, I could feel helplessness.

“I have made contact with the Chieftain, and he clearly told us to hold our ground for now. It seems that as long as we defend this place, reinforcements from the Anubis Clan would soon come.”

I remembered the absurdly high-leveled monsters: the Anubis. So, those guys would come to our rescue, huh? It was comforting knowing that, but I have this feeling that things would not be as easy as it seems.

“As you all know, those damn Werewolves are against the opening of the Portal. They seem to like the humans and are against killing those inferior creatures. Than damn clan, along with their ally, the Gryphons, are a disgrace to Muhar ‘Tava!”

The Special Class Goblins around me roared after that statement. I was probably the only one unmoved by that speech. Actually, after hearing that the Werewolves were against killing Humans, a part of me started cheering for their invading army. But still, if they did successfully invade this place, I would eventually end up dead. I cannot allow that to happen.

Werewolves and Gryphons. I engraved the name of those two clans within my heart. At the very least, I have come to know that not all Clans in this monster-infested world were savage beasts.

“What about the Minos?” the Goblin Leader next to the one that made the speech asked.

“They’re on their way. Luckily, the skirmish of the Minos against the Gryphons in the north have been finished. They’ll probably arrive at the same time as the Anubis Army.”

“And the Naga?”

“I have not received a response from their side. The Chieftain said that there’s a high chance that their army wouldn’t come to aid us.”

I was really learning a lot from this conversation.

The Goblin Leader turned to us. With a booming voice, it shouted, “We shall defend this place until the reinforcement comes! We shall defend our land until our dying breath! Goblins of the Paradise! Move out!”

Everyone roared their battle cry. I felt like puking on the ground.

Defend the Paradise!

Defend the Goblin’s Paradise from the invading Werewolves!

Reward: Optional

You can choose from the following rewards:

1500 Exp

A Basic Weapon

A Basic Skillbook

3 Meatfruits

Deserters will be executed after the war.

I did not even say that I was participating in this suicide. I guess this was one of those called “mandatory” quests, huh? I could not even say no.

With a grim face and a body filled with negative buffs, I started moving out.