It looked more like an Imp than a Goblin.
The hybrid had red skin, two small yet pointed crimson horns growing on its forehead, and two bumps of keratin mounds on its temples.
It being a hybrid meant that the ruby crystal socketed onto its sword wouldn't be as compatible as it would when wielded by a pure blood demon.
The latter two features Thariel listed were the typical demonic traits universally found across the infernal race.
But since the hybrid's parent had been a Satyr and the hybrid lacked the ram horns the hedonists were known for, it was clear that the greenskin didn't fully inherit the demonic genes it got from the Satyr.
The best example of this failed inheritance being the limp, clearly useless limb hanging below the hybrid's right arm. It still had three arms however, with its extra third resting around its waist pretending to be some kind of belt.
The greenskin's gear, however useless, is nothing to scoff at but it may also have magic on top of that.
Thariel took caution and mentally noted to keep watch for the third arm during the upcoming fight.
She waited for the hybrid to get close enough for her to inspect more of its features.
The hybrid had a wooden mask on its face and is soundlessly treading towards the hollow tree trunk that the drake called its nest with the aid of its leather boots.
Thariel readied her spear, she only had one chance to throw it at the goblin without telling it about her position. She pulled her arm back, the nights of training on how to properly throw a spear coming back to her in crystal clear clarity.
Her muscles moved with practiced precision as her arm catapulted forward, the burst of speed her limb could instantaneously produce had shocked even her.
Her own instincts were sharp enough to know when her hand reached the end of her body's natural flexibility. Thariel's reflexes took over then, guiding her fingers and causing them to loosen and let go of the weapon.
The spear whipped through the air with a whistle before landing on the hybrid's shoulder.
The greenskin stopped moving and began to wail in pain. Its cries loud and audible.
It reached for the weapon buried in its tendon and used two of its hands to try and pry it out. This is when Thariel jumped out of the bushes and started her own ambush.
She ran for the now panicking greenskin who in response activated the enchantment on its sword and making it erupt into flames.
The ruby crystal socketed into the hilt began to crack as it powered the fire around the now melting sword using the hybrid's meager reserves as well as the tiny bit of energy its tiny frame could store.
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This did not lessen the threat that the hybrid posed whatsoever.
Thariel jumped back and dodged a fiery slash. A direct hit would have caused the molten metal to get onto her skin and stay there. Not an ideal outcome by any means.
She hastily moved to the left and almost stumbled when she saw the third arm of the goblin raise upward and shoot out a spell.
The ball of hot ash which almost struck Thariel head-first flew by her ear, missing it by mere inches before singing a few strands of her hair.
Thariel activated [Strong Arm] and ran forward before quickly jumping back and shifting her magic channels into using [Tough Skin], a wise choice given that droplets of liquid iron dripped onto her arm and neck.
Thariel bit back a scream of pain for fear of the drake's attention.
She hastily retreated and removed the cooling metal on her skin. She squeamishly winced when she saw strands of flesh stuck to the metal getting taken off as well.
Thariel glared at the greenskin when she dodged another ball of hot ash, surely it's running out of magic by now? The ruby crystal should be sustaining the fire on the sword all on its own so why-
A sharp crack. Then the crystal shatters.
This was shortly followed by the flames lapping the hybrid's sword dying down.
Thariel looked at the orange-hot lump of iron that the hybrid was holding and felt relieved.
Calling it a blade no longer fit, it was now just a useless hunk of steel whose only threatening feature was the fact that it would break apart from the smallest pressure and slather anything in front of it with molten metal.
Thariel bent down and threw a rock at it.
The hybrid's futile attempt at dodging backwards caused its own weapon to sway towards it and with how malleable the sword is, it bent downwards and then struck the goblin's chest.
The hybrid began to panic, screaming and jumping in a futile attempt to shake off the molten metal on its skin.
Thariel was about to deliver the finishing blow when out of nowhere, the Timber Drake leapt out of the darkness and chomped on the hybrid. The goblin got swallowed starting from its head and down to its knees.
It died with a crunch and like any demonic hybrid, it erupted into flames the moment its flammable blood made contact with its organic muscles.
This fiery reaction made no difference to the wood attribute dragonoid as it gulped the corpse down. Flames and all.
Thariel froze when the Timber Drake stared her down. The pseudo-dragon barely sported any wounds even after it had been ganged up on by a hob and 8 goblins.
Come to think of it, it should still be distracted by now shouldn't it? Did it leave when it heard the screaming near its nest?
"They're gonna get away," Thariel warned it.
She knew that the drake would understand what she was saying. The pseudo-dragons as a species were smart enough to know words even when they couldn't respond to them due to a lack of the appropriate vocal cords.
Thariel didn't know what the ensuing silence meant but she hoped that it was one of agreement to her proposal.
The growl that vibrated out of the drake's throat told her that it, in fact, wasn't.
"They're gonna come back in larger numbers and overwhelm you." Thariel elaborated even further. Come on, heed her warning and let her chase the stragglers!
The drake growled.
"The goblin you just ate was a hybrid, they're being led by a Satyr and it wants your egg," Thariel added more information, "it will send more of its children here to fight you until it gets what it wants." Thariel inhaled, third time's the charm right? "Let me go and I might just buy you time to relocate your nest by killing the straggler."
The drake settled down.
"The Satyr will assume that the hybrid you just ate will try to undermine its rule and will send out scouts to search for its child instead of coming here, buying you time to escape."
Miraculously, the drake turned away.
Thariel sagged in relief. It was sad that her spear was swallowed by the Timber Drake but she didn't mind, she'll just buy a new one.
She left the vicinity of the nest and ran to the direction the Timber Drake came from.
She soon reached the corpses of the goblins and saw that all of the lesser goblins had died, including the hybrids judging by the scorched ground.
Only the hob was left.
She wouldn't struggle searching for the remaining survivor.
Thariel left the corpses and followed the blood trail leading deeper into the forest.
Her ears soon picked out heavy breathing and her nose got a whiff of a scent that, while captivating, also smelled disgusting.
Thariel eventually decided that she wouldn't get any other opportunity better than this in practicing how to track using her senses.
She inhaled sharply and began to determine which direction the scent of blood is the thickest.
Left. The blood had clustered to her left.
She ran to that direction while continuing to follow her nose.
It didn't take her long to come upon the mortally wounded hob goblin.
Its bloated stomach had a massive gash near the waist and one of its arms is missing. Half its face had been torn apart and its mouth now had an open hole that exposed its teeth. A few molars are missing from the row.
Thariel activated [Strong Arm] and scaled the trees.
She jumped from branch to branch until she was directly above the greenskin where she then dropped from above and delivered a hammer blow to its hairless head.
The creature died seconds after its skull got caved in.