25

Dungeon's Goblin Assault

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A dark passage lay on the opposite side of the entrance to the cave. The silence they were hoping for was swiftly broken by a couple of pairs of footsteps. A rapid approach of a few goblins was accompanied by the clicking language they became all too familiar with.

The first sound completely gripped the hearts of these dungeon invaders. Their arrival would happen any moment now. Hearts were beating fast and their tension turned into sweat.

The couple of flashlights they carried with them started shaking, they didn’t help in the slightest. The final passage in front of their formation was painted with pitch-black darkness, almost as if a wall was right in front of them.

But small glimpses of light of the luminescent roots showed it was a passage. The hazy light which fought the darkness showed them a hazy vision of what was coming toward them. But even then, this light completely faded the further in they tried looking.

And finally, with the help of these hazy spots of starlight in the dark passage, they saw a shadow approach.

“Krrhahahrrkarakrahra!”

“Hold your position!” Theo yelled.

The footsteps were fast. The shields awaited their arrival, grips tightened their hold on their weapons.

“Krharhrkhahrrkarakra!”

The clicking voices arrived right in front of them.

“What’s that?”

“Hold your position!” Theo repeated. “Fi-“

A bowstring snapped. Shots were fired. But the sound of something exploding resounded in everyone’s ears. The bowstring made out of the tendon of an unknown creature made it seem like the arrow was launched with an explosion.

“HOLD!” Edward yelled out but his voice was drowned out by a cry of sorrow.

“NO!” The heartrending voice erupted from the final line.

The last remaining embers landed as a creature tumbled and crashed into the first line of defense.

Alduin felt a wet sensation on the back of his neck. The arrow was shot over the entire formation. Alduin couldn’t help but turn around.

‘WHAT?!’ His mind couldn’t fathom what he saw.

Being on the third row of defense, Alduin stood in front of the hunters. His vision was clear. His hand which wiped the back of his neck was painted bright red.

A headless body stood in front of him with its rifle raised.

“THEO!” The hunters had lost someone.

The final line of defense, something the entire strategy relied upon, almost instantly broke down.

“IT’S COMING!” Edward roared even louder.

The first individual tumbled into the cave with gun wounds on its body. Yet that didn’t diminish the strength of its charge by much.

Before they were able to counterattack, the second twang rang out.

“DUCK!”

But it was too late. Three people in front of Alduin were catapulted backward as if hit by a car. The shield that received the impact had a round hole in it, something that continued to the last person.

Alduin was jolted awake. His eyes still hadn’t closed. The vision of Theo lingered in his mind as he moved his feet on instinct.

Two more gunshots rang out.

“THEO!” Another heartrending voice erupted as a cry of sorrow broke their concentration.

Theo had died. A single arrow had hit his head. The headless body shook as it fell to the ground. Alphons stared in shock at his only son. His resolve was broken. His rifle dropped to the ground. The most resilient survivor held his son while crying in pain.

Only a short moment passed since they entered the cave. Even shorter was the approach of their enemies. But two shots almost collapsed their defense.

It was only normal. Humans, unfamiliar with medieval warfare, couldn’t compare with creatures who lived and died in such fights. The first target would always be the disruptor, those with a bow could control the flow of the fight.

And for these goblins, a rapidly made formation told them everything they needed to know about their opponents.

“NOW!” Alduin ran through the collapsed defense line. His movements roused up his allies as his spear shot forward like a snake.

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The only thing the goblins didn't expect, was the damage a single bullet could do.

“KRHAARKAARRHAAKRR!”

A goblin captain cried out in pain. Its charge was finally broken. Dead people were catapulted back into the rest of the formation but a spear arrived the moment it fell down.

“There’s only two!” Edward finally realized. One close range and the other long range.

'We can win.’ His rifle pointed forward.

A third twang rang out. The bowstring once more assaulted their eardrums.

“N-“ Another head exploded.

Edward pulled Alfred to the ground, their heads completely hidden by those in front of them. A human shield to give them time. They had no choice, they were the final lifeline.

‘One is down for the count.’ Edward witnessed Alduin’s actions

“Keep low and keep firing, the passage isn’t wide!” Edward spoke with urgency toward Alfred. His hands never stopped reloading his rifle.

“Alphons!” Edward hit his friend with the butt of his rifle. “Get a grip!”

This was the first time he saw this old man react like this. While he had always been reliant on his son, this reaction was going to cost them their lives.

“Krakgkhkhkrarrk,” A clicking noise of anger suddenly erupted.

‘Alduin!" Edward looked to his side. A spear finally entered its opponent.

The spear moved fast. Alduin’s mind forgot the surrounding chaos. His main focus was the goblin that stumbled down. Bullet wounds riddled its stomach.

“The heart.” The spear tip entered right beneath its lungs. The place they found where their heart was, hidden right above its stomach.

“The core.” The spear exited as the goblin shouted with madness. But this madness was almost immediately silenced as the spear tip entered around its navel.

A fourth twang resounded. But Alduin had already dropped down.

A wave of wind washed over his head.

‘I knew it!’ His body was burning up. The moves he wished to perform flowed with perfect accuracy. After killing the weakened goblin captain, it was only natural for him to become the main target. And this action cost the archer an important shot.

“NOW!”

Two gunshots rang out. A final shriek pierced their eardrums.

Silence descended.

A short period passed as everybody tried to understand their situation, until finally, groans started breaking out.

“My arm!”

“I- I can’t breathe!”

“Help- Help me!”

Shields littered the grounds. Almost half of their formation was dead after this short interaction.

“What-“

“Dad!” Alduin walked over. “Are you hurt?!”

Alduin had confirmed his kill. The death of Theo put his mind into a state of intense fear. Everything had happened instantly.

“I-I’m fine.” Lucas was pulled from underneath someone. His clothes were completely covered in blood.

“Good!” Alduin patted his father. “Don’t relax yet.”

Alduin moved quickly as he tried helping where he could.

‘No way, no way.’ His mind was still etched with the picture of Theo, someone he knew incredibly well, being decapitated.

“What the-” Leon mumbled.

His small shield was half broken by the impact of the charging goblin. But his vision shook as he was suddenly surrounded by dead people, some of whom he knew closely.

A single charge. A single charge had hit them this hard.

“Silence!” Edward suddenly yelled.

Every person shut their mouth. Did they overlook something? Every person realized it at this moment.

‘What?’ Alduin listened closely. The goblin corpse he killed was the same as the goblin captain.‘Are there more?’

“Krhrharakrark.”

A gasping and struggling sound could be heard. But this time, it moved further and further.

“Don’t tell me.” Edward realized it first. “Leon!”

Leon was already moving, he had already caught on to the next part of their plan. An action he was now overly familiar with. His blade completely cut open the stomach of the creature that Alduin just killed.

From his hand, it was clear to see. A bloodied gemstone, reflecting a sky-blue shine from the luminescent tree roots.

“It’s the same!” Leon exclaimed loudly.

It was to the point where Alduin was even a bit late in understanding what happened just now. But it didn’t take him long to realize. This stone emitted the exact same energy as the warm current he felt in his sleep.

This was a captain’s core. Something carrying a frightening amount of energy. Which could only mean one thing-

“Alphons!” Edward pulled the old man from his son. “We don’t have time.”

A gunshot immediately followed. Alfred, Leon’s father, had also caught on.

Their hypothesis was proven to be correct. Alduin was right, any moment they waited would decrease their odds of survival immensely.

“Everybody, grab a weapon and get moving!”

A second gunshot sounded. But the gasps and shrieks could still faintly be heard. The second captain was escaping.

“I can’t move my arms!” someone replied.

All people here understood the responsibility they carried on their shoulders. But in the end, some weren’t able to continue. Fear, pain, injury. Of the twelve survivors, only nine could stand up.

Their families were waiting. The countless goblin corpses showed them they were right. They only had to kill a single one, only one more target. The last goblin sound they could hear in this oppressing silence.

“We can’t let it recover.” Alduin finally found his balance. Everything was happening too quickly but his spear was already pointing forward.

“Lucas.” Edward handed Theo’s rifle over. “We’re going in.”

The dark entrance awaited them. If a ranger like that could recover they were doomed.

The arrows it shot were swift, even their rifles couldn’t match up to the frequency of its shots. A short instant was enough for multiple arrows to be fired. And besides that, the strength they carried was enough to pierce through three men.

“Go.” Edward looked back. Alphons kneeled in silence next to his fallen son. His sole reason for fighting disappeared before he even fulfilled his purpose.

“Follow us quickly.” The darkness overwhelmed Edward. “We’re counting on you.”

Three loaded rifles, behind three spearmen and three shield bearers standing in the front line.

A single exchange that lasted only a fraction of a second resulted in such immense losses.

Now, for the last time, they would move forward. Dead comrades lay together with their dead enemies. Three survivors were left behind, of which two were incapacitated.

Alduin burned with an unknown fire. His blood was pumping with such strength that he could hear the beating of his heart.

In the thick blanket of darkness, only the small glimpses of light guided their path.

‘What is going on?’ Alduin's mind was utterly confused. ‘What were they saying?’

The darkness had swallowed him whole. His hands tried grasping the air but shivers ran through his body.

‘There shouldn’t be more, right?’ The sensation he felt right now was different from anything he was familiar with, almost as if the darkness itself was alive. As if they were walking in the jaws of a beast.

“Get ready.”

In front of them, an exit slowly formed out of the light of intertwined luminescent roots.

And only a single goblin could be heard.

“It’s eating!” Edward warned.

The first shield bearers exited. And after three gunshots immediately rang out, they could finally see it.

The final miscalculation stood there, waiting for them.

“You’re finally here.”

The clicking voice rang out in Alduin’s ears, as a language he could understand.

And with it, another head rolled down.