“*It’s time to ri-ise and shi-ine!*~” Springing from the ground, the Guild Raid got me worked up. Since leveling up, things felt so carefree; when things didn't go as hoped, there was still always the implication I could reach them in time. The raid on Yhrack may seem divergent from my original plans, but experience and bodies were infinitely useful, and Khtraal’s promise to bring me chikan for fighting would help provide for the journey.

Catapulting through the woods, I trained changing between weapons while in motion, as well as jumping and dodging around the underbrush. Every second spent was to improve myself, if not muscle training, then skill training! With boundless energy, Oirk came into view shortly thereafter.

The Oirk horde seethes with anticipation, antsily alternating between flexing and relaxing their muscles, weapons constantly changing hands for a ‘better’ one. A human presence probably shouldn't have so easily gone to walk among them, but after telling them I was an Iyrkraal working under Khtraal in goblin, the hostility of some lowered. It seemed only goblins spoke goblin, so if someone spoke goblin, they were a goblin. This sort of logic made me wonder if I could hide from them by placing a towel across my eyes. The stupidity allowed me to reach the Chief’s dome safely, so it wasn't all bad for me.

In the interior of the muddy structure, Khtraal, Ychk, and eight others awaited. Gathering glares from the unnamed goblins, I noted only one was not a raal, and that one had oddly shaped hands. Speaking in their warbling and squawking tongue, I only understood a few words. There was no use in simply standing on the outskirts of the meeting though.

“Ah, Ahlric,” letting out a raspy noise, Khtraal coughed “Excuse me, this language isn't the easiest for goblins. These fellows lead my warg riders. They'll be riding with you.”

“When do we set out?”

“As soon as the scouts return. Yhrack is only a few hours away walking, the message should get to me quickly. Then we will enact the plan. Stand at the ready for now with the wargs.” Shrugging, there wasn't much to do other than obey.

Vamp and I greeted each other and strolled within the warg territory. I was interested in learning more about their anatomy and variances within a species. Vamp on the other hand seemed to be establishing dominance; probably to get first pick of the dead. We both sparred against the wargs for our own reasons.

Then, barely noticeable amidst the din of growling and pawing across the leaves, shouts rapidly approached. With the sound of a strong wind gusting through the forest, the warg being ridden forwent stealth for speed. Its chest heaving and mouth wide open, the warg staggered to a stop; the goblin rider shouting out.

In response a rallying cry came from the 26 warg riders, mounting up and readying their weapons. Ychk led them, apparently a warg rider himself; his own beast dyed with streaks of chromatic red. Raising his spear, that was the signal to move out.

A black tornado swept through the forest, sending the leaves on the ground flying into the air, and crashing through the bushes and undergrowth that managed to survive under the dense canopy. Half of our mission was to lure in and trap the Uhkhjk riders, so we couldn't be too stealthy or swift. The second I was grateful for, as it let me keep up with the Ychk and the rest. Unlike them, I optimized my path to efficiently move in their wake. Exposed dirt giving me better traction, and destroyed shrubs creating shortcuts, I lagged towards the back.

Vamp was in the back with me, even if he seemed untiring, his four limbed gallop could only move him so quickly. Taking a note from my book he also began trailing the path of the wargs to make it easier. Well it made me a bit happier that the wargs were probably just moving faster than they should. The two of us were already going more than 10 miles per hour, the only shame possible would be from being left behind.

I may not have been able to sustain my pace indefinitely, but my mind remained clear. Smirks were clearly seen on several misshapen goblin faces when they looked back. It was merely the rudeness of underlings on their part and not the sign of some plot; as when Ychk looked back, he would occasionally engage in weaving the pack back and forth, letting Vamp and I catch up by taking a more optimal path. Their barking laughter was quite unjustified, that lot was merely laying against the soft fur of their mounts, as if they could do the same as Vamp and I.

Wearing a neutral expression, I jogged alongside Vamp, but then a thunderous noise swept through the trees to our left. That would be the direction of the Uhkhjk army we were routing around. The Uhkhjk must have predicted this move, or have faster scouts than anticipated.

From the appearance of the Uhkhjk, Khtraal may have underestimated the enemy slightly. If we were a tornado, they were a hurricane. In possession of sturdy looking lances and spears, the Uhkhjk riders also numbered at least 30. Less interested in avoiding objects, their wargs tore themselves a path, though it slowed them. While not possessing as dense a red aura as the Khtraal or Ychk, things looked a little more dangerous than predicted.

It was really just bad news for them, because it meant I ended up fighting them with more Stamina.

Hounding us down, quick maneuvers by Ychk let us keep ahead of the Uhkhjk, leading them through obstacles they would rather crash into. Despite and in thanks to their thick skulls, the Uhkhjk were catching up. The short chase set them on our tails instead of our side which was the plan. With the Uhkhjk gaining, it was almost time.

Flashing toothy grins to each other, we began.

Pulling out two spears in quick succession, I used the handles to help stabilize my balance as I braked hard. Skidding and pivoting in the dirt, the Uhkhjk warg had time to react, but not think about what it was doing. Planting the two spears in the ground, the beast snapped the weapons, but impaled itself at the same time. Collapsing suddenly, the rider was thrown off to be shot several times with . The penetrative power wasn't enough for bone, but it was enough to have the creature bleed out. Admirably struggling though it was mortally wounded, the warg’s vitals hadn't been pierced; a large beast wouldn't bleed out so quickly so it tried to exact revenge for itself. A third spear appeared in my hand, which I thrust down its throat.

“Ahehehe…” Jumping atop the warg, in moments the rest of them descended on my position. Gleefully, I started feeling a familiar rush coursing through my veins, unable to stop laughing. 30 warg riders? That was nothing! Nothing! Drawing a sword, I leapt from the corpse to meet the approaching charge.

Wargs are pack animals, but they don't have a tendency to all attack at once. Compared to their prey, they are too large to all attack at once. So after two turned their attention to me, the rest kept running.

At least, they kept running until hearing the dying howls.

With only two wargs and their riders, I was far from being overwhelmed. The swipes of the wargs were quick, but with pushing against the lances and spears, with such a large moment arm the goblins were nearly unseated, putting their mounts off balance as well. Besides, the clawing wasn't the most dangerous attack.

Tumbling about, I slashed at the nose and lips of the canine. At the moment I couldn't go for the kill, while fighting them was simplistic, it wasn't something that could be resolved with a flip of the hand. I simply couldn't pierce through the fur and flesh without a good shot between my weapon and strength. Instead cutting at the vulnerable points, they were becoming more hesitant and pained.

The riders weren't even so small a threat, they had poor control over their weapons, and could easily be dispatched. It was actually better to keep them until killing them would open up an opportunity against their beast. A sent one tumbling off his mount, giving an opening to strike the warg in the neck.

The greatest strength of the warg is in their terrifying bite. Not so much for jaw strength, as for the ability to thrash the prey around. Teeth curving back, with prominent muscles reaching from the body to the head; a warg’s ability to take down prey was more in wildly ripping off chunks of flesh through force than excessively sharp teeth.

Strength needs to be sustained by the body though. Beneath those firm and resilient muscles, it is necessary for them to be provided energy. So if a warg’s neck turned at the right angle…

“*I bathe in the blood of the damned! Let your souls submit, and be shackled to mine for eternity!*” Slipping the sword between two of the major muscles on the neck released a fountain of blood. I had to use to help guide the blade, as my physical form was still too weak, but that power was also wholly mine. Letting out a gurgling howl as blood filled its throat, it died within moments.

Turning to the other, I held back my sword before striking. Flying in from the side came a familiar red, with a slight mixture of blue and black. Vamp landed on the side of the warg, and using his black claws tore into the midsection. Opening a wound, he began disemboweling it by mouth, burrowing his head in. To let him enjoy the feast, I shot the rider off without ceremony.

As quick paced as the battle was, the rest of the riders hadn't gone 100 meters before the sound of their comrades being killed reached their ears. Abandoning the Khtraal riders, they decided to come and fight the ‘threat’ instead. What idiots.

The idiots were starting to get rather close to killing me though.

“*A great host you say? Let them come!*” My excitement was rising with every kill, but even back to back with Vamp with additional enemies the difficulty grew exponentially. Fewer chances to attack, more energy needed to dodge. I had only taken damage from a few tumbles, but being hit by an enemy strike would likely end my dodging rhythm. We danced, being snapped at by the black heads of Cerebus.

Hot breath enveloped my face, teeth closing down where I'd been an instant before. Having fallen to the ground to dodge, the warg stepped over me. In possession of my faculties, I grabbed the slobbering maw and using the slippery nature of the layer of leaves, I skidded myself under its belly, stabbing it.

It wouldn't have been possible without the litter, but that didn't mean it could be glided across like ice. My shirt tore, and I suffered from abrasions. On top of that, it was not an elegant move with quick recovery; another set of claws and spear began jabbing to the ground around me.

“*Death! I am deeeaaath!*” Cackling as I barely evaded by contorting along the ground, grabbing the spear and hooking it under his arm, I swung the goblin off. Heaving the goblin on the end of a long lever took several moments, and as a warg claw came down, I realized I probably couldn't dodge it.

Welp. This sucks, maybe it can just hit my left arm. It would probably break the bone, but at least I can keep going that way.

Rolling again, trying to get out of the way, but making sure at most my left arm was crushed, I didn't have to worry about that at all. A murky porcelain covered in black streaks appeared yet again, tackling the arm, and tearing at the joint.

Vamp’s impact didn't knock the warg over, but after being staggered and slashed, enough openings were given I could regain my footing. There were still plenty of others surrounding and trying to find openings to lunge at us though.

We started off operating individually, but ended up forced back to back. Technically, if we wanted to run, we could probably still do so, but our odds weren't that bad. Or maybe they were, but under an intoxicating bloodlust, neither of us were willing to back down down. Vamp let out wailing bellows, as I blasted and insulted them in a language they couldn't understand.

I returned the favor to Vamp as we struggled through the battle. A warg about to get him from the side, if it got a hold of him, that would be the end. We were close, but I couldn't push him aside and put him off balance. Instead slipping by him, I put my hand inside the approaching death trap. The warg’s eyes gleamed, thinking me a fool. Then they widened and its head dropped as I withdrew my hand.

Rolling out of its mouth, cracking a few teeth on the way, came a large rock the size of my head. I picked it up to test my Inventory when out with Ross and Troy near when I first arrived. Odd things like that were exactly why I never tried getting rid of my pack rat tendencies. With ingenuity, anything can be used!

The semi-disposable weaponry I could use helped as well, but we were running out of tricks. Only around 20 Uhkhjk riders remained, but that meant we only defeated 10. Leveling up only gave so much confidence; I began to try holding out for an opportunity to escape. Vamp was not tiring, but the strength he could bring our diminished as he sustained further wounds.

Long minutes passed, and I began to wonder if I should withdraw Zog to help me escape. I didn't use it in the end, but not because being seen worried me; secrecy was no use to a dead man. It was because at long last Ychk and the others decided to turn around.

With the choice between a beaten down pair and an oncoming charge, the Uhkhjk turned to face the new threat. Honestly I was a little surprised how easily they forgot about us, and realized how stupid goblins were. Only being suppressed by 20 of you kept us from attacking you, and you turn your backs?

Well, I'll say it for Vamp then...Itadakimasu!

A/N:AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Already lost track of the Hs....again.

A long time ago someone said something about using trees from inventory as a method of combat. Well I did say rocks were more Alric's style. This is what that was referring to. Also rocks are better than trees. Dwarves > point-ears.