Not bothering to crouch or give more than a minor thought to the sound of her footfalls, Kathren stopped. She waited for a second, hoping for any response, before swiping out with her right arm as she sighed. Her sword hacked into the goblin's neck, but not as far as it could have, as the impact knocked the creature to the side and onto the ground.
By the time it hit the ground, it was stirring awake, its hands jerking up to the wound on its neck, trying to contain the gushing blood. It failed in its efforts but was able to let out a desperate burble, probably trying to call out for help as the goblin's wide eyes spun in his head.
For a fleeting moment, Kathren was worried that someone would hear him and raise the alarm… then she remembered this was reality. A reality that had her sympathizing with the bitch who led the team that slaughtered the wounded legionaries. Maybe she was such a bitch because she had to deal with these creatures? What is this world doing to me!? Kathren thought dejectedly as she looked down at the flailing goblin as he bled out.
When he finally stopped, she looked up, seeing her team had finished off the other goblins as easily as she did, and they were all looking at her with similar expressions of disbelieving disgust. Even Drogaith's expression shifted from his natural indifferent outlook on the world to one of contempt as he looked down at the goblin's blood on his knives. From the way he was cradling them, it looked as if he felt guilty for dirtying the weapons.
These creatures were worthless as guards, and they weren't that great as warriors, either. If there was a creature that wasn't worth killing, the goblins were coming damn close to it in Kathren's mind.
Can't do it for meat as they were — if only barely — sentient, and eating them just seemed wrong. And you gained practically nothing from trying to kill them, as it wasn't like they were performing their duties, and their gear was better thrown into a fire than scavenged.
Not that the act of wiping all traces of them from the world wouldn't have a cost of its own, as the smoke would only spread their stench, making the "victor" suffer for their virtuous act, allowing the goblins to claim a final victory even in defeat. Well, the special goblins did have decent gear… and their weapons were deadly. How much effort did that bitch go through? Suppressing a shudder along with the burgeoning headache and nightmare playing out in her mind, she wiped her blade clean on the creature before turning to her left.
Now that she was looking down the long trench toward the almost complete fortifications, Kathren saw the shadowy forms of the legionaries Redgenald was leading a few levels above the trench's edge. In less than a minute, they would be jumping into the enclosed space with her and cutting down the goblins around the far pillar.
A glance over her shoulder showed her that the group led by Centurion Borment was in a similar position if a little higher up and heading toward the switchbacks a few dozen yards to her back. That was understandable, as they had started their advance after Redgenald and had slightly farther to go.
She knew both groups were trying their best to remain silent, but there was only so much you could do with slightly over a hundred armored men. The sounds of construction and orders were loud, echoing off the walls, but that didn't prevent Kathren from hearing the sounds of their advance for long minutes at this point. Apparently, their foes didn't have ears, as they missed all of it.
Kathren wanted her time back. She wanted her frayed nerves repaired and the aftershocks of her jittering, unfulfilled tension to stop. Once both of those happened, she might consider chalking the experience up to a life lesson and moving on. Until then, her grudge will remain.
Really, who can miss a century rushing forward in the open? She grumbled to herself. It might look like a dark, damp cave to me, but they live underground — all the stories of goblins say that — so shouldn't it be like a noonday sun to them?
As Kathren squatted on the ledge, waiting for the alarm to be raised, signaling the start of their attack, minutes ticked by until she eventually hissed, "Fuck it," and hopped down the last couple of ledges. Both of the other teams had advanced to the point that if they were spotted now, they would already be far better off than they had dared to hope.
So she strolled down the last levels and then over to the sleeping goblins before cutting the standing one down. Proving that all of their previous efforts were pointless. The goblins were simply too incompetent or preoccupied to notice anything around them.
Let's get this over with… Kathren sighed before leaning forward and falling into a jog. Quick to follow her, the other stuck to her heels as they quickly covered the distance between them and the next collum. The jostling of their equipment and footfalls echoed off the sixty-foot trench walls, filling the air with sound. As the team approached, the four forms on the ground around the pillar started to stir, finally sitting up and looking around, but it was far too late.
Before the creatures could rub the sleep from their eyes, Kathren's team fell upon them. She took the first, thrusting her weapon into the creature's chests before pulling her gladius out with a twist, ripping open the wound. With the goblin still looking down at the injury, processing the pain, she brought her sword forward again, hacking into his neck. Before even a drop of blood could fall from her blade, her team had cut down the other goblins, preventing them from gathering the breath to call out or scream.
After a quick look around the area and seeing nothing, Kathren jerked her head to the side, and they started moving down the trench to intercept Redgenald again. At that moment, disaster struck — well, as much of a disaster as goblins were capable of causing — as a "guard" at the last pillar stood up and screeched something into the chamber while stepping back and fumbling to draw his sword. If Kathren had to guess, the creature had seen the Arrogant Bastard about to make his drop into the trench.
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Kathren didn't stop her advance at the goblin's noise, and apparently, no one else gave the shouting goblin any heed either, as the sound of construction continued unabated. Damn, I really hate these creatures… Kathren thought, feeling embarrassed on their behalf. Oh, thank the Ancestors.
Finally… It finally happened! Some of the goblins were paying attention as the other four guards around the column jerked and rolled around, trying to get to their feet at the call of the awake goblin. After far too many seconds, the other four goblins around the pillar clambered to their feet and frantically started looking about.
The result of their search was that two of the goblins quickly found the advancing legionaries already in the trench but said nothing as they staggered back in fear and fumbled for their weapons. The other two incompetent guards got into a shouting match with the one who initially gave the warning, and they all angrily threw their arms up into the air, waving them around to help emphasize their points.
It took a couple seconds of shouting and gesturing from the goblin who woke the others up before the two obstinate ones finally turned around and looked at the wall of steel, flesh, and leather charging at them. Realistically, these goblins always had no chance and were going to be killed if they chose to fight.
They could have fled before the legionaries arrived, but that decision was ripped from their clawed grasp before they could make a choice, as their utter ineptitude sealed their fate. When the first goblin darted to the side toward the switchbacks, the others followed the unspoken signal, not that it gained them much.
The goblins stumbled into a run, but they were cut down before making it a dozen steps. Kathren did notice that the three who saw the legionaries coming sooner made it a few strides farther than the other two and that all of them were surprisingly quick on their feet. Not that being skilled in cowardice was anything to be proud of.
The one thing Kathren could say about the goblins was that they could teach anyone a lesson about screaming. It was like watching a child run into a flock of chickens, sending them scattering and squawking in every direction. And before cold steel could chop into their flesh, those small forms kicked up such a blood-curdling racket that it filled the entire chamber.
Enough of one that finally, after everything that had happened, someone bothered to look down and see a century of legionaries inside the pillar trench. That was what Kathren assumed, at least, as the cave was filled with frantic shouts of command. The construction inside the cavity halted as the goblins burst into frenzied movement, with the goblins suddenly running in every direction.
After a few seconds, she could see figures moving to the edge of the nook before looking down at them and pointing at them while barking in their harsh language. Not that Kathren or any of the others were overly concerned, as there was little the goblins could do at this point.
Throwing a look over her shoulder as she slowed to a walk for the last ten or so feet to the milling legionaries, Kathren glanced along the trench. The other team of legionnaires were marching their way up the switchbacks, shields raised like they were assaulting a fortified wall. Which, Kathren supposed, in many ways, that was what they were doing.
Stopping next to Redgenald, Kathren turned and studied the pillars' base for the first time as the legionaries formed up on its far side closer to the nearly finished fort and swarming goblins. Within the first second of scrutinizing the stone casting, Kathren's brow furrowed.
The construction was strange. Instead of a solid base, the bottom five feet of the column were dozens of smaller circular pillars that had a gap of a few inches between each of them. As Kathren leaned closer and looked up the length of the column, she studied cracks that marred the structure's smooth surface, suggesting it was multiple blocks placed on top of each other instead of a single casting.
Speaking more to herself than anyone else, Kathren asked, "Are the pillars composed of multiple sections?" At the same time she spoke, she was reaching out to run her hand along the surface of one of the smaller pillars, only for her arm to be stopped.
Looking to the side in annoyance, Kathren followed the arm attached to the large hand, unsurprised to see Redgenald holding her wrist. His eyes darted to her momentarily, then back to the collection of stones, "We don't know how delicately these stones are placed. A touch could cause them to collapse."
Yanking her arm back as she ignored the warmth of his hand, Kathren snapped, "You think I'm a fool who doesn't know that!? I saw a goblin leaning against these as they slept. I doubt my light touch will cause them to collapse." In all honesty, the thought hadn't occurred to her as she was so focused on the stone, but that didn't mean he had the right to talk to her like that.
“…I am sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything. Being cautious in my line of work has never served me wrong, and I reached without thought."
"Yes, I'm sure being cautious is a necessity for a Reaver, but in a battle, it will get us killed. So will you blast that with a wave of psy, or should I? Or do you want to carefully calculate the benefits and risks to find the most optimal choice while the goblins charge at us?"
Redgenald clenched his jaw in irritation before letting out a long sigh. Turning to the side, he walked around the pillar before calling out to the legionaries, "Pull back behind the pillar!"
Though it lacked the perfect coordination of a century bound together in a Union, the legionaries quickly moved in a coordinated effort as they split around the ten-foot square pillar. They streamed past Redgenald, Kathren, and the Knight, putting ten feet between the two groups.
Leaning to the side, Kathren's eyes widened in surprise and a little fear as she realized hundreds of goblins were pouring down the switchbacks, some literally as they tried to clamber down the sheer side of the walls. "Might want to put a little hustle in your movements," Kathren said, anxiety entering her voice.
Redgenald only grunted in acknowledgment, his brow wrinkled with some internal effort. "The psy suppression is greater than I expected… but I— There!" Hand flicking out, the stacked stones exploded across the ground, and for a moment, the sound of flapping feet was overshadowed by the clattering of rocks.
Relief flooded through Kathren at the first pillar's destruction, and then she found herself being spun about and hauled down the trench. She felt a spike of annoyance that Redgenald would dare to drag her around, but that was quickly forgotten by the increasing sound of tons of cracking and shattering stones filling the chamber. Putting all she had into pumping her legs, Kathren sprinted after Redgenald, who tried and partially succeeded in shouting over the stone avalanche, "Fall back! Get to the next pillar! Move your asses!"