Chapter 24 – Managing Expectations

A few hours pass as we start preparing for the expedition down south. It’s a careful balance of trying to figure out how many goblins I need to attack, and how many I need to leave behind to protect the village. It’s a difficult decision with no good choice. No matter how I look at it, there is always a weakness when facing the unknown. There have been as many as four different players who have scouted me so far. Two of them clearly being allies of some sort.

Taking stock of my units, I have forty one combat capable goblins and four wolves. This includes both me and the rest of my lieutenants. Excluding myself, I decide to just cut the numbers down the middle. Simple as that. I should be able to do plenty going south with over twenty strong. Worst comes to show, I can just retreat if I face overwhelming numbers after all.

The biggest problem I have is to decide which lieutenants I should bring. As much as I want to bring them all, I just can’t. I need at least one person with more than half a brain to stay behind and keep the village safe. There are just far too many numbnuts walking around. My first instinct is to leave Gut behind. He is by far the smartest of the bunch, and let’s be completely honest. The guy is just going to bring my mood down all the way.

I’m not sure how he will take the news though. The guy made me promise not to leave him behind again. I don’t think he will take to kindly to be left behind a second time. Perhaps I need to suck up to him some more?

Meh.

At the very least, I need to bring Scarfang with me. He can’t stay behind and lead since… you know... he’s a wolf. I also need to bring at least one of the commanders with me. Wrex is the most optimal short term choice, seeing as his [Command] skill has risen to level three already. This means he can now bring fifteen goblins into his war party. That’s a whole bunch more than what Kain can bring to the table with a war party cap at nine heads.

But, then again, Kain could really use the experience. Though, his hard cap is just not optimal for the numbers I’m bringing. I really want to bring both. It would give me more utility in my strategy, and they would both be able to grind some much needed levels.

...

If only I didn’t make that promise to the grumpy old mage.

…

It couldn’t hurt to ask him though, could it?

I walk around the base and find the wrinkly old coot near the campsite, directing the logging crew to prioritize cutting down trees closer to the safety of the village during the entirety of the expedition. I take a moment to be grateful over the fact that Gut is really helpful with all these small details I somehow manage to miss myself.

Gut notices my approach when I’m only a few meters away. One look at my determined face is all it takes for Gut to assume his customary scowl. He straightens his back and crosses his arms across his torso. His eyes glare at me.

I ignore the chilly sensation that crawls down my spine and figuratively grab hold of my balls. I can’t back down now.

“Gut.” I say, raising my chin to meet his glare head on. “I know I made a promise, but I would like to ask you to stay behind to protect the base while I head south.” I can feel some unknown force constricting my chest.

Gut doesn’t say anything. He just raises one of his eyebrows as his eyes remain as cold as ever.

We stand in silence for god knows how many seconds. I don’t think he’ll budge. Not an inch. I have to press forwards.

Clearing my throat, I decide to push on. “I don’t want to leave you behind; but, analyzing the situation, you are by far the most capable of my companions to stay behind and protect the village. I need someone with the tactical sense to keep everyone safe, and the cold resolve to see it through.”

The intensity of his glare only seems to increase. There’s a voice in my mind screaming for me to pull out before it’s too late. Begging me to stop talking before I get seriously hurt.

Well, I’ve never had a girlfriend, so I’m doing what every man before me has done at one point or another… I keep trying to reason with him.

“I need Wrex and Kain to level up their command skills. We need to think long term. And, at the moment, the best thing we can do is focusing our efforts on bolstering our troops.”

Gut’s nostrils seem to flare. My muscles tense as my mind scrambles to think of something. Anything.

“So… If it’s my safety you are worried about, Wrex, Kain and Scarfang will be able to keep me safe and away from harm's way. Besides… My safety will be seriously at risk in the long term if I lose the village. It can only be you.” I try my best to keep my voice from trembling.

Gut’s gaze seems to have lessened somewhat, but I fear not enough. He opens his mouth to respond when a casual voice interrupts us.

“Chieftain, the [Altar] has been completed. What do you need us to build next?”

As an angel arriving at the eleventh hour, one of my [Builder]s approach us at a casual pace. Completely oblivious to the intense confrontation playing out in front of him.

“Oh thank god…” I whisper as I turn to face him. “Please, just think about it for a moment, Gut. We’ll talk after I deal with this.” I hurriedly walk over towards the mountain to check out my newest building. Gut follows suit, but says nothing.

After a moment, we stand in front of a small pyramid with a flat top made out of rough cut stone. There is a small stone table at the top of the pyramid with the fur of a wolf covering it. Adorned on the back side of the table, the five skulls mounted on iron spikes creates an ominous feeling. A small wooden staircase has been erected up the center of the pyramid. To be honest, the entire thing sort of looks like the ghetto version of an aztec temple.

Wasting no time, I climb the stairs and stand idly next to the rough stone table. I put my hands on it, and will the blue window to appear.

Shrine

Allows for rituals to be performed. Grants bonuses to individuals, or your tribe as a whole.

Warning: Only [Specialist]s can learn new skills.

Skulls:

41 Small Skulls (Value: 2)

1 Medium Skulls (Value: 3)

0 Large Skulls (Value: 6)

Skull Points: 85

2 Special Skulls

Auras:

Aura of Blood: Cost: 10 Skull Points p/day or 1 Special Skull p/week.

Grants a 10 percent faction wide bonus to attack power.

Aura of Body: Cost: 10 Skull Points p/day or 1 Special Skull p/week.

Grants a 10 percent faction wide bonus to defence.

Skills:

Skill Training: Cost: 40 Skull Points

Trains a chosen skill to skill level 10.

Skill Training v2: Cost: 80 Skull Points

Trains a chosen skill to skill level 15.

Invisibility: Cost 80 Skull Points or 1 Special Skull

Grants the use the skill [Invisibility]. The skill allows for the user to turn invisible for one minute. It requires one second cast time and can only be used once per day. Warning: You are not allowed to attack for three seconds after the invisibility field is broken.

Telepathic Communication: Cost: 20 Skull Points

Description: Allows for a unit to communicate telepathically with allies inside the same biome.

Warning: This skill can also be taught to non-specialists.

Telepathic Communication v2: Cost 40 Skull Points

Allows for a unit to communicate telepathically with allies across biomes.

Upgrades:

New magic affinity: Cost: 3 Special Skulls

Grants a new magic affinity to the race. Warning: The new affinity will be related to your goblin nature.

Heavy armor: Cost: 2 Special Skulls

Description: Allows for your goblins to wear heavy armor.

18 Summon Points: Cost: 1 Special Skull

Grants you 18 Summon Points to spend at your own leisure

Level up!: Cost: 2 Special Skulls

Grants you 1 level.

Stats refund: Cost: 20 Skull Points

Resets your status points to be assigned again.

Warning: You will lose one personal level in the process.

Oh dear god. I just hit the motherload…

If only religious buildings were this awesome in real life!

That’s one mean looking long list, and I feel like I only scratched the surface of what the shrine can offer. There are so many different possibilities, I don’t know where to begin. I hungrily devour every tidbit of the information on my list. One thing is for certain though. I’ll never distrust Gut’s advice ever again. Well, at least not on village management.

At the top, I can see how many skulls I have currently gathered. forty-one small skulls, one medium skull and two special skulls. It confused me at first, as I was certain that I had collected at least forty-six small skulls, but I suppose I spent five of them constructing the altar itself. The medium skull must be from the human scout I killed. It seems to automatically count every single skull my tribe has collected as a whole, no matter their location. That’s a good thing, too. I don’t particularly fancy running around finding them all.

The big question, however, is how to spend them all!

I like all the options. I really do. But, my supply of skulls is limited. A few of them really speak to me. Especially the skill training ones. If I understand this correctly, it can allow me to instantly powerlevel my mastery of spells! Who could deny the effectiveness and utility of being able to sling spells?

One part of me screams to become a mage. But my gut feeling… Damn it to hell. It knows it would be completely useless for me to use magic when I’m already an archer. I don’t have time to both throw spells and shoot arrows, you know. Least of all have time to level all the skill levels. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just being silly.

Nah. As cool as it may be, I have to stay strong and choose smarter.

The [Invisibility] ability catches my eye though. It’s the perfect skill for running away, or do something really stupid. And, I’m likely to do both!

But, then again… I could also need to spawn more goblins. Or maybe start saving to unlock another magic affinity…

Or maybe…

Shit. I can’t get around this.

“Gut.” I turn around to face him. “I would like for us both to learn [Telepathic Communication]. Would you consider staying behind if we can be in constant contact?” I’m trying for a hail Mary here.

The old mage gives me another ice cold glare. I try to give him my best and most confident smile, but his whole aura of fury is smashing all hope to bits.

He stares at me for a whole minute until he finally relents. Taking a deep breath, he responds.

“Grr. Reckless One. I will agree...” He raises one of his eyebrows again. “But, only if you also teach yourself the [Invisibility] skill.”

Oh hell yes!

“Deal!” I yell in glee. A wide smile crossing my face. Gut’s face relaxes for a moment.

“I want you to give Wrex and Kain the communication skill as well. Also. You WILL contact me every four hours, or before you do something reckless again. And, I swear upon the lives of your children’s children… If you don’t…”

Ignoring his veiled threat, I readily agree to everything he says. It’s progress! I could agree to anything at this point. If he hadn’t been so ugly, I might have kissed him!

“This marks a new dawn for us, Gut! We should celebrate! Bring forth the wine, my vassal!” I slam my arm across his shoulders, guffawing to my heart's content.

Gut growls, but pulls out his wine skin nonetheless.

----------

Yes, I know how you feel.

It took far too long, but I did eventually manage to get the expedition going.

No, really, I did!

We left in the early evening, and we’ve made good progress south. Our first stop is Qargon’s old cave where I’ve decided to spend the night before we head out scouting early on the morrow.

I’m currently leading a force of about twenty goblins strong, excluding Scarfang and myself. I wanted to bring more; but, I had that gnawing feeling at the back of my mind that I should really prioritize keeping my village as safe as possible. It’s better to plan for the long term after all. It takes far less time and effort to retreat from battle and attack at a later date if I lack the forces for it than it takes to completely rebuild and repopulate a sacked village.

So yeah, it’s good. The village is safe and sound under Gut’s care. There is nothing for me to worry about except for this expedition. And, it isn’t even that much to think about at the moment. It’s just travelling through the forest for hours on end.

And well, you know… I’ve said it before; travelling is boring. Like. Really boring.

Luckily for me, I’m far better prepared this time than last. My leather armor does wonders keeping the branches and various foliage from scratching me up. It’s also far more comfortable travelling on top of a giant, soft pelted wolf. It’s like travelling on one of those merry go rounds on a carnival, while simultaneously bringing my own blanket for comfort’s sake.

Life is good.

Another good part about me not having to struggle with moving around is that I get plenty of time to have a conversation with the newest addition to my entourage, Kain.

Kain… Well. I don’t exactly know how to describe Kain. He is probably the most plain looking goblin in my entire tribe. Everything about him is just so damn… average. He’s average of height, has an average sized nose, average looking ears, he’s bald and he has absolutely no ornaments or scars on his face whatsoever. He’s just… Well. Average.

I swear, if he swapped his dagger for a miner's pickaxe just for the heck of it, I wouldn’t be able to tell him apart from a [Miner] even if there was a giant flashing sign above him telling me otherwise.

I haven’t had much time to talk to him yet apart from a few short commands during the organizing of the expedition, but he seems like a straight-shooting fellow. I make a mental note of having a more in-depth conversation with him later.

Since I have all this spare time on my hands, I spend some time going over our formation.

Wrex leads the way alongside four of the seven [Warrior]s I brought. They’re joined by three [Archer]s and a [Blood Mage] for support, with both of the [Scout]s flanking them on either side. At the middle of the pack, you find me, Scarfang, my good old pal - the [Hauler], the two [Fire Mage]s and the last two [Archer]s. Kain, the [Rogue] and the remaining [Warrior]s bring up the rear.

It’s a nice and efficient formation overall. I have a strong frontline, capable of handling any surprise encounters. The center squadron is made up of the damage dealers and the units with high mobility, making it easy for us to move around and support the rest of the troops as needed. The back troops keep us safe from any surprise attacks that may come our way.

I mean, really. I didn’t think I was this good at group tactics. Someone should definitely pat me on the shoulder for this work. You know what? I’m going to pat myself actually.

Splendid work, Greg. You are like the sun in this otherwise bleak world. Keep it up!

You may wonder, why would I bring such an unbalanced group composition to battle? I only have eight front line fighters in total. That’s not nearly enough to protect the fourteen less protected goblins safe.

Don’t worry! I have a plan.

Today I’m just going to set up base at Qargon’s place. Come the morning, I’ll bolster my troops with an additional six [Warrior]s. I brought some spare weapons and armor for the occasion and everything! I almost, but just almost, feel bad about the [Hauler] carrying it all… But meh! The guy has to earn his pay like everyone else.

I did consider spawning a couple more [Archer]s, but I’d rather postpone that until I’ve made an archery range or whatever building I need to spawn proficient [Archer]s. I have plenty of bow wielding numbnuts already, and having any more is just not that necessary. Besides, I need to keep the efficiency of my unit composition at peak levels.

----------

Evening creeps forth as my ragtag band of goblins finally make it to our destination.

Qargon’s abandoned cave lays just where I left it. Snugly hidden on top of a hill. I send Wrex and a few of his goonies ahead to scout it out. It doesn’t hurt to be safe after all. Who knows what sort of monsters could pop up while I was absent. Kobold zombies might be a very real threat, you know!

After a quick scouting, the warband settles in. I station a few [Warrior]s and [Archer]s to guard the entrance while the rest of us settle in and erect a small campfire.

Diligence is important, so I make certain we have a few guards on rotation during the night.

I may not have discussed this earlier, but my goblins do indeed need sleep. From what I can gather, at least six hours is the base requirement. Sure. I can have the units skip a single night worth of sleep to do other activities, but there are negative consequences. For every hour the goblins can’t sleep during the night, their combat efficiency will be reduced by five percent the following day. Not a big issue if they work as guardsmen for an hour or two each per night. Especially if we all sleep for eight. It is a significant detriment if they skip sleep altogether though.

As a result, my weakest units are stuck with guard duty.

Yes. I do absolutely intend to have my [Hauler] pull a triple shift. He won’t be of much use anyway during the following day. At least I expect so.

Come to think of it. When I think back at my battle with Harvalon, I’m pretty sure she suffered from a heavy debuff due to lack of sleep. There is just no way she could have reached me that fast, and her units were surprisingly weak. This feature might as well have been the deciding factor in that battle.

Life is funny sometimes...

Anyway. I do have another little plan going on. I send my scouts out into the night to try and find the enemy base. It’s potentially a very horrible gamble, as I send them out unprotected. But, my guess is that their superior tracking and hiding skills will keep them safe.

Yep, probably.

I’m guessing the enemy will stay in their own base during the night. Because why wouldn’t they? The enemy needs to sleep too; and, having wandering patrols during night time would give them the same nocturnal deficient during the following day as I would. That is if they are not a nocturnal race though… Which would suck… But I strike it from my mind. What are the odds?

I’m far more worried there are nocturnal predators lurking in the forest at night. Who knows what sort of monster the enemy has crawling about?

I decide to believe in the [Scout]s. They are armed with brand new bows, and I didn’t intend to use them as combatants anyway. So there is no reason to worry about the sleep deprivation debuff.

Nope. All is good in the hood.

It’s time for me to get a good grip on Kain. I spot the lone [Rogue] sitting in the shadow of the large central pillar in the cavern. His face is hidden in the shadows giving me an ominous feeling. Honestly. He looks pretty damn badass. Rogues are cool.

Am I right?

As I walk over towards him, I throw an inspect his way.

Status Screen

Name: Kain

Race: Goblin

Tribe: Dark Fangs

Mana: N/A

Rank: Raid Leader

Class: Rogue

Skills

Class skill (Passive): [Enhanced Stealth]

[Telepathic Communication]

Command: Level 1

Melee Mastery: Level 10

-Dagger Specialization: Level 10

--[Backstab]

--[Throw Dagger]

Utility Mastery: Level 10

-Concealment: Level 10

--[Sneak]

-Tracking: Level 3

Equipment

Main Weapon: Tier 2. Copper Dagger (98%)

Secondary Weapon: None

Head: Tier 1. Leather Cap (100%)

Chest: Tier 1. Leather Tunic (99%)

Legs: Tier 1. Leather Pants (99%)

Hands: Tier 1. Leather Bracer (98%)

Feet: Tier 1. Leather Boots (98%)

Bag: None

Items: None

Hmm. Not bad. Exactly what I predicted his stats to be.

It still aches that he lost six levels worth of skills, but there isn't much to do about it. The investment is sound, and I’m certain he will make up for it in due time.

“How’s it going Kain?” I ask the rogue as I find a comfortable rock to sit on.

“Chieftain.” He nods at me. “I am very well thank you. The troops are looking strong.”

“Yeah, they do, don’t they?” I nod along as I rummage through my utility belt. I extract the two remaining skulls and hand the smaller one of over to Kain.

Accepting the skull, I can see his forehead furrow as he sniffs it.

“I borrowed Gut’s wine skin before I left.” I grin at the [Rogue].

He chuckles lightly. “I appreciate it.”

We sit in silence for a while, enjoying the wine. Kain seems like a really awkward guy. I don’t really know how to start a proper conversation with him. He just has this way about him… I don’t know. It just feels weird.

…

Well. As one would overcome any awkward situation in life, you just have to find common ground. And what better way is there, but to have someone talk about themselves?

“I was wondering about that [Sneak] skill of yours…” I start, making sure to drag the sentence out as to entice him to engage in conversation.

“What about it?”

Success!

“Well. Care to explain how it works?”

He looks puzzled. “My sneak skill, huh? Is that so? Hmm… How about I just show you?”

Without giving me time to respond, Kain swiftly gets to his feet and step backwards, fading into the shadows behind him. Activating his [Concealment] skill as he does. His skill level is only ten, so I can still see the outlines of his body. But, I really have to focus to do so. Hell, I probably wouldn’t even know he was there if I wasn’t already staring right at him.

What happens next is the interesting part though. He starts moving. He takes a few steps to his right, while still maintaining his concealment ability.

Holy crap! I didn’t know you could maintain concealment while moving. When I tried that, I would immediately become visible once more.

I observe the [Rogue] as he makes his way further towards the center of the room where the rest of my goblins are eating dinner in peace. Kain steps fluently from shadow to shadow, closing in on his compatriots in utter silence. I can still see faint traces of him from this distance as he moves, but he is definitely more difficult to see. His features perfectly hugging the shadows.

Kain makes his way up behind a lone [Archer] eating dinner by his lonesome. Unaware of the [Rogue], the archer munches happily on a piece of roasted meat. Not a care in the world.

The [Archer] seems to notice something is odd when Kain is but half a meter behind him. He turns his head in alert, but it’s already too late. Kain throws a hard punch straight into the unsuspecting goblin’s cheek. I can literally see the goblin’s eyes roll up into his head, revealing the white in his eyes as he slumps over. Unconscious.

“Holy green baby jesus!” I exclaim as I watch the event unfold. “That was… AWESOME!”

I watch in awe as Kain makes his way back over towards me. The brilliant part about it all is that none of my other goblins even noticed that something just went down. It’s both incredibly awesome and incredibly scary at the same time! I definitely need to increase my security from enemy [Rogue]s in the future.

“So what do you think?” Kain asks as he retakes his seat in the shadows. A small smirk dancing on his lips.

“What the shit man!? That was fucking awesome! You HAVE to tell me the specifics. Like really!” I shout in glee.

“I’m glad you like it, Chief.” He grins. “I must warn you though, my stealth wouldn’t be nearly as effective if I wasn’t a [Rogue]. As you may have noticed, the [Sneak] skill allows you to use your [Concealment] ability while you are moving. The level of [Sneak] will always function at half the value of your [Concealment] level.”

“I see. So that means since your [Concealment] level is ten, your [Sneak] ability works like a level five [Concealment]?” I ask.

He nods. “Normally, that is the case. But, because of my [Enhanced Stealth] passive, my ratio is slightly better.”

“How much better?”

“I manage to retain about seventy-five percent of the concealment levels when using [Sneak]. It doesn’t do much now, but on the later levels, it will show some deadly effects.”

Wow.

That’s… That’s freaking overpowered. I could hardly see the guy sneaking around unless I focused, and he is only at level ten!? What the hell? I’m afraid to even think about how powerful he will get when he reaches level twenty. That’s not even mentioning what happens at level thirty. One thing is for certain, though. My hunch that skill levels is everything in this game is correct. Thank god I invested all my points into my [Trainer] characteristic!

I kind of wish I went for the [Rogue] class myself when I made my character. Staying hidden is worth its own weight in gold. Ach. It’s not too late though. I can still focus on powerleveling my [Concealment] skill to a level so high, the bonus to sneak [Rogue]s get wouldn’t really matter.

I spend the rest of the night playing hide and seek with Kain.

----------

The next morning I wake with a smile.

I don’t do that too often these days, so I just know today’s gonna be a great day. It’s just that feeling you get sometimes. You know the feeling I’m talking about.

Most of the good feeling is because I managed to level my [Concealment] skill by another level! I’m only one level shy of getting the [Sneak] skill, myself, now. Hell, I should make getting the skill mandatory for all of my goblins. The potential is unlimited.

I take a deep breath and clear my mind.

Today’s not the day to lose focus. There’s a lot of things to do, and there is a huge potential for combat.

I start off by summoning the six new [Warrior] recruits. I quickly arm them all with the [Wooden Buckler]s and [Copper Mace]s I brought with me. Since they lack levels in weapon specializations, I figured they would be most useful acting as a meat shield for my more valuable damage dealing goblins. Every little bonus helps and all that.

My goblins are already up and about, and we’re busy clearing out the campsite. I say clearing out, but the only thing the goblins really do is getting up on their feet and gather around me, waiting to receive my orders for the day. They may be dumb, but they’re at least loyal and obedient.

I look around for the [Scout]s and notice them hanging around the cave entrance, the female [Scout] looking at me with her large doe eyes.

I wave her and my lieutenants over.

“Hey, I’m glad to see you made it back alright.” I smile at the [Scout]. She winces at suddenly being addressed in such a friendly manner, but she soon gathers herself enough to meet my gaze.

“T-thank you, Great Chieftain.” She bows her head.

Huh. She didn’t prostrate herself in front of me. Good. She’s making progress.

“So. Did you guys find anything last night?”

“Y-yes, Great Chieftain. I n-noticed some smoke rising from a clearing to the south. I didn’t go too close, but I think there was a battle there.” She stutters. Twiddling her thumbs as her eyes flicker from side to side.

“Why do you think that?” I ask her.

Her eyes go wide in surprise once more. Really. This one is too weird. I’m kind of glad I didn’t promote her. Or maybe I should have? What’s the worst thing that could have happened? Her personality couldn’t get any quirkier. That’s for sure.

“The smoke, Great Chieftain. The amount of smoke means the fire wasn’t under control, so it couldn’t be from a campsite. A battle is the only thing it could have been.” Her eyes stare at the dirt between my feet.

Hmm.

Her reasoning is good as always. As quirky as she may be, she does a great job. This is also good news. If there was a battle, then there’s a good chance my prey has been sufficiently weakened. A good raid would be perfect right now.

“Great job!” I smile at the scout. She flinches and shies away. I do spot traces of a smile on her face, however, before her face is completely hidden by her leather bracers.

I pay it no more mind and start rounding up the troops.

Our little warband quickly rallies and head out. The [Scout] alongside Wrex and his men take point, while the supporting units led by Kain makes up the rear.

The [Scout] leads us south, and slightly southwest. She estimates the site of battle to be roughly three hours away if we keep a steady pace.

The hours creep by slowly. Far too slowly. The anticipation of battle causes my skin to crawl. The fact that I have next to no information on what I’m supposed to face here gnaws at me. I already know there’s supposed to be a minotaur player down here based on my quest. That fact alone scares me shitless, but I hope the remaining player is something I can more easily handle.

I really hope it’s another tier one race. A tier two race could be okay; but, I absolutely dread the fact that there might be another tier three race here. I’m still shaken at the potential power output of a tier three race after I met the Centaurs. I really need bigger guns for this. And fast.

It doesn’t take long until our party spot some white smoke on the horizon. We slow to a crawl, slowly making our way through the underbrush. I send my two [Rogue]s ahead to scout for any enemies, while Gut organizes a loose perimeter with my most elite warriors.

The [Rogue]s soon arrive back, reporting seeing several dead bodies from two different races. The [Rogue]s played it safe, and were thus too far away to make out which races they were. They did however, tell me that they both looked huge.

Fuck.

I move the troops forwards, and we stop just shy of the clearing. I order the [Archer]s to scale the closest trees overlooking the clearing. The agile goblins easily ascend the trees, their sharp claws and light frame giving them easy purchase on the rough bark of the trees. They move at an unnatural speed, and with such elegance that hardly a leaf is rustled. Their small stature and nimble limbs give them a great ability to position themselves on even the weaker branches, leaving enough room for them to both move their bows and draw their strings.

Clearly, my goblins are in their natural habitat.

Something feels off though. I have Kain and the other [Rogue] patrol around the clearing, trying to spot any potential ambushers. Wrex takes charge and leads a small contingent of our stronger [Warrior]s into the clearing, backed up by the two [Fire Mage]s.

I hold my breath as Wrex advances further into the clearing. I only release it as he reaches the halfway point. He seems to think the area is safe as he turns his head and gives me the all-clear signal. It seems like the battlefield is indeed deserted.

I make my way into the clearing and have a look around. There are eleven dead bodies littering the ground. The rogues weren’t lying when they said they were big. Shit. There is what seems to be three minotaurs laying on the ground. Two of them have been skewered by what seems to be a the front piece of a spear, and the last one has two deep gashes across its torso, forming a bloody X. I shiver at the thought of the weapon that caused those wounds.

Their enemies appear to be hobgoblins. They look pretty similar to my own goblins, except that hobgoblins are much larger. Just about the size of a normal adult human I’d say. They also seem to be more muscular than my own goblins. Whereas goblins have a lean build, built for agile movements, hobgoblins have more meaty muscles indicating that they rely more on brute strength rather than deft movements. They seem like fierce opponents, and it doesn’t really make me feel any better that eight of them lie dead on the ground.

Crap.

If three minotaurs can kill this many hobgoblins, I shiver at the thought of what would happen if they came up against my own goblins. It would be a slaughter.

The minotaur is obviously a tier three race, and the hobgoblins must be tier two. There is no armor or weapons lying around, so I assume the spoils have already gone to the victor.

Going by the number of dead, I can only assume the minotaur won this battle. This is based on the fact that counting summon points alone, the minotaur got more value out of the fight.

Shit.

I don’t think I can fight these guys. At least not yet. I need better gear and units if I’m going to stand a chance against these creatures.

I am about to call for a retreat when I feel Scarfang’s muscles tense. His head snaps to the right, and he bares his teeth.

I immediately turn my head to the side, just in time to see sixteen hobgoblins emerge from the other side of the clearing.

Fuck.