"Get down!" Gabe yelled, jumping to the floor.

"What is it?" Kyle asked, as soon as she got onto the ground.

"Shh! I'll tell you when we can make noise." With Gabe's warning, they stood there, motionless, for a handful of minutes. Slowly, a rustling noise could be heard amidst the dark forest bathed by moonlight. The rustling slowly grew louder and louder, until it became blaring. Thousands of figures, hundreds of which wielding torches, could be seen in the distance.

"What the actual fuck." Joe muttered in utter dismay.

"SH!" Gabe once again urged for silence, this time, as silently as possible. The ominous parade lasted almost a whole hour. And even longer passed before Gabe slowly rose to his feet.

"Now what?" Joe asked, rising to his feet.

"Now we run the fuck away from here as fast as we can." Was the only other words Gabe uttered that night, before darting in the furthest direction possible from the monstrous army's path.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

He slashed. Again and again. Each time he swung his sword, at least two goblins were cut in half.

"hah~!"

A heavy breath escaped him as his sword mauled half a dozen goblins.

There she was, just a step ahead of him. But no matter how many he killed, he didn't progress one bit. He could hear the crazed laughter of Garth killing dozens more of these monsters that seemed to generate out of thin air.

Cold sweat dripped from the side of his head as he fought the neverending barrage of monsters.

'I've come too far.' He thought. 'I shouldn't have gotten in here.' Regretting his thoughtless decision of engaging an unpredictable enemy. 'They're all dead.' Pain. Not the pain of his regret. A piercing pain on his dominant hand. A dead goblin's arm turned towards their back as if it were completely dislodged wielded a crappy dagger. That dagger cut his gauntlet as if it were made out of butter and pierced his hand. 'Strange.' He thought. This had happened before. On the first battle. Why was his reliable steel failing him?.

*splat*

Another goblin was bisected by his sword, his blood painting patterns on the pile of corpses on the floor.

*exhale*

Power surged inside him for a split second, filling him with nowfound energy and vigor.

'A Level Up?! After this many years!?' He widened his eyes as the power surged through his body. It had been a dozen years since his last level up.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

*slash*

His swordsmanship sharpened. His skill suddenly increased, rather, awakened.

"GHA!"

Yet, in a single moment, fate crushed his hopes and stomped his just acquired relief. Garth let out a pained grunt, making him look behind.

'FUCK!' He thought, turning around yelling his companion's name.

"GARTH!!"

Yet, there was nothing he could do. He slashed through half a dozen goblins, a desperate attempt, as he took a tiny step towards his only friend, paralyzed in pain.

'Just a little more!' He thought, seeing only a handful more monsters in the path of his retreat towards him. It was a little more. Just a little more.

A little more time the gods did not gave him the luxury of having.

"Gug!" "Glug!"

"NOOOOOOO!" He yelled. His sword swung with a violence he never thought possible. It was not a clean swing, he swung it on its side, like a blunt weapon. Yet it blew out the brains of the goblins in its path.

Red colored the silvery color of Garth's armor. Wet sounds could be heard over the bustling noise of the goblins feet. Two such stood by the side of his decades long companion. One who was by him ever since he took lead of the company. One who pushed him to do what had to be done when his father went senile.

Yet, the powerful mercenary came to its knees, his throat sliced through by mere goblins.

'This can't be!'

'This cannot be happening!'

Delusional thoughts of disbelief floated about.

*thump*

Garth's body collapsed on the ground while Gahan slashed his way through the goblins.

'There's still time! I can still heal him with a potion!'

Gahan refused to let go. There was still something he could do. Yet.

'.............................................'

His brain froze.

A goblin stood atop of Garth's body. It posted a spear on Garth's back. Standing there as if bragging about his death.

Rage burned inside Gahan like a raging inferno.

"GWAAAAAAAA!"

His sword swung aimlessly, mauling his way towards his friend's body like a runaway bull, shredding everything on its path.

Inadvertently, in his rage, he forced himself to activate a skill he could only use once a day. And that he'd already used.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

He screamed as his blind rage cut through anything in its bath, cutting the goblin's head without a thought. Even the thoughtless goblins cowered as he stomped the severed head of the goblin in question. Turning it into a pulp. Before staring back straight into the person who caused this whole nightmare for him.

Her.

'IT WAS HER! IT'S ALL HER FAULT!' He raged in his thoughts.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL BREAK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR BONES!"

He yelled, staring daggers at the girl hiding behind dozens of lines of goblins. He rejoiced as he saw her curl into a ball. And his rage morphed into madness.

He did not want her dead. He wanted to see despair on her face. He would take everything from her. Her body. Her will. Her future. Her life. Her soul. He would indulge in her despair as he ravaged her body, tearing her apart from the inside.

The thoughts of how she would break under him became livid in his eyes.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

He dashed into the mass of goblins, shredding his path through the moribund pile of corpses bisected by his sword. Dozens at a time, the goblins piled up in his path, dead. The challenge was not the killing of said, rather, it was walking over the hundreds of corpses lying on the ground as he made his way towards her.

'THE HOBGOBLINS! THAT'S WHY THEY MANAGED TO HURT ME!'

The sudden realization flashed in his head, as he stared at the last line of defense between him and the girl.

Yet, she suddenly stood, and the four dashed away through the opening mob of goblins.

"YOU BASTARDS!" He yelled, slashing through the multitude of goblins that now stood in between them like a meat shield.