Chapter 111: Crushing Defeat

The Goblin Don, wiht its massive body looming over Nathan, moved it head back and forth as it looked about the room.The pollen from the flowers had reached here, the proof was the goblin adjacent from the Don was still asleep.

Nathan: “(Pry)”

*Ding*

Goblin Don Level: 70 Type: Fiend

A variation of goblin evolution, with or without support it is a force to be reckoned with. Boasting unparalleled strength and defense amongst Goblin variants, its mere present raises the strength of most variants of goblins under his command and its roars send them into a berserk state, simultaneously inflicting dread on enemies. Contrary to its size, surprisingly fast when attacking and aims for quick decisive blows.

ATK: 395

DEF: 300

Ability (Bellowing Shock, Smackdown, Big Order).

Resistant: Sleep, Paralysis

Nathan: “(Nope.)”

There was no way he could take that thing as he was now. If Ena was with him and if he had ‘Origin’ it might have been able to hold their own, at least until all the other goblins showed up then they would be in trouble. The “Bellowing Shock’ ability not only did it summon more goblins it sent them into a frenzy state, in which they would ignore any mental status effect. Not only that, by fighting under the Don's command the goblins all get an attack boost.

This was an impossible feat as of now, with Iris out of commission, he had to avoid fighting this monster at all cost, but it might be too late for that. As Nathan stared at the monster for a while, he noticed that the Dons seemed to be searching for something. His head moved ever so slightly back in forth, staring the goblins off in the distance, and then up to the ceiling. Nathan followed the eyesight of the beast and came to a scary realization.

The flowers and vines that Nathan had grown around the room were not invisible and the Don was silently watching them sprout around the room and move about. It was only curious about the sudden flora, at least until they began to poke and prod at its subordinates. The latest vine coming too close for the Don’s comfort, the one that was currently holding Nathan.

The Don had realized something was wrong, plants it had never seen before appearing. Nathan was glad he didn’t grab the chain, if he had, he wasn’t sure how it would react.

Right now, it was eyeing the bundle of vines hanging high on the ceiling, the bundle of vines that held on to the Iris. It was the first to appear and the most abundant, so to the Don most likely the source of all the others.

Nathan was worried that thing would stand up, but the Don had no intention of removing itself from the hole in the wall that hid its lower body from sight. What Jasmine said earlier must extend to the Don as well, never leaving th mating chamber, must apply to it as well.

Though Nathan did wonder how such a large creature was able to move about. The rooms were large enough, but the tunnels and entrances to the various caves would not be able to accommodate such a large body. Even the entrance to this room was so small for such a large body, its was impossible for him to leave.

Nathan: “(Wait, what am I doing, I need to get this necklace, before that monster becomes curious enough to investigate.)”

Nathan turned back to the still sleeping goblin. He needed to grab the necklace without making contact with the goblin or his invisibility would come undone. Nathan took another look back to the Don; its attention had turned back to Nathan as his movement cause the vines to move. He needed a distraction and that was a simple as getting several snyare to move slowly toward the Don. Just as he believed the Don attention were immediately taken by the approaching vines.

They dance around him, inching slowly toward the Don, but not to close, Nathan didn't want him to get to agitated, just distracted. With its attention taken, Nathan went for the necklace, but he had misjudged the Don Goblin. The Don wasn’t just going to let the unfamiliar flora encroach on his space, so with the vines growing ever closer, the Don picked up a boulder.

*Swoosh* *Boooom*

With great force, the Don Goblin launch a boulder right at the vines, ripping them to shreds before the rock smashed into the wall alongside the boulder.

Such an action didn’t go unnoticed, as the Goblin, closes to the Don had woken from his slumber. Standing up, it quickly grabbed for its necklace that was sliding off, but Nathan was having none of that. Nathan quickly had his vines snatch the chief into the air, just as it reconnected its chain.

Nathan: "To bad for you now i have to do this the hard way.

Nathan moved to crush the Goblin with his vines, which proved difficult. Surprisingly the Goblin Chief was fighting back, preventing himself from being crushed, until the snyare plants secretion began to eat through its skin. However, the moment the Don saw what the vines was doing to its subordinate, he reached for another rock and launched it at his subordinate.

Nathan: "What the hell?"

Nathan didn't understand what the Don was thinking when launch the boulder at his subordinate. He succeeded in destroying Nathans vines, however he inadvertently smashed the Goblin Chief as well. The boulder shredded the vines and took the chief along with it as each smashed into the wall on the other side of the room, crushing the goblin and burying Nathan’s prize in a pile of rubble.

Nathan: “Are you fricking kidding me, I was this close you stupid, fucking...............What!?"

Nathan suddenly had an overbearing since of danger. His 'Threat Detection' was going off, but he couldn’t tell which direction the danger was coming from. According to his ability the threat was coming from every direction at once. Nathan didn’t understand how something like that was possible, except for the goblin Don, their didn’t appear to be anything dangerous.

Nathan: “(What the hell, how could the entire cave be a threat?)”

Nathan knew that Threat Detection didn’t activate without reason, so if it was active, then there was danger somewhere around him. So, if it said the entire area is dangerous, then it was.

*Smaaaaaash*

The Goblin Don’s lobbing boulders around brought Nathan to his senses. On the far side of the room, piles of rock and dirt, crash to the floor below. However, the sight that was hit was not so far off from where Iris was resting. It was like the Don was aiming for Iris and missed by a hair.

*C-Crack*

The Don picked up a much larger boulder than what he had thrown before, determined to take out the invading flora, even while refusing to get up.

Nathan: “Iris!”

Without thinking, Nathan launched himself at the Don, throwing his body into the don’s arm just as he flung the rock.

*Smaaaaash*

The large rock smashed into the wall, barely missing Iris again. Nathan had smashed into the goblin Don’s arm with enough force to throw off the trajectory, but in doing so made contact with the Don. Coming in contact with another, undid the invisibility and with it gone, the Dons sight fell right on to Nathan.

The Don looked down at Nathan, a look of surprise seeing him just suddenly appear from nowhere.

Goblin Don: “*Growl*”

Nathan: “N-No need to get up, I was just lea-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Nathan quickly jumped back as the Don swung his arm trying to crush him into the ground.

*Booooooom*

Nathan was able to dodge, but the attack shook the ground from the sheer power of the blow.

Nathan: “Aw come on.”

As soon as Nathan landed, he quickly jumped to the right as a large rock passed by. Several more rocks were thrown at Nathan, with Nathan narrowly avoiding them. The Don toss the rocks with reckless abandonment, the smashing into walls and causing more rocks to fall down, with yet another chief along with the female monster to be buried under the rubble.

Nathan: “Stop it you idiot, your killing your own people.”

Nathan words fell on death ears, as the Don continued to lob rocks at him. Unsurprising several of the room’s inhabitants had woken up and were trying to avoid the debris, unfortunate was the ones bound by chain. But more than that, the cave was beginning to fall, as the massive boulder smashed all around.

Nathan: “No choice than.”

As he said that Nathan had several snyare plant shoot out of the ground, they coiled around the Don arms and ensnared him.

*Tsshh*

The Goblin Dons skin began to burn as the snyare secrete its acid like digestive fluids that cause flesh to melt or so they should have.

*Snap**Snap**Snap*

Nathan: “What!?”

Nathan watched as the don snapped the vines, ripping them apart with greatest of ease. Nathan was seriously surprise by that, several of his vines while wind together was able to support several fully packed carriages and yet thy were uprooted without much of an effort. With its hand loose the goblin began its assault once again, Nathan was tried to use his plants as a makeshift shield, but the rocks tore through the vines like tissue. But as luck would have it, the Don had run out of things to throw, as the area around it was void of rocks.

Nathan: "Looks like you’re out of ammo, well than I’ll just be going. Don’t get up I’ll let myself out.”

Since the Don seemed adamant on not getting up, Nathan took the opportunity to vacate the area.

*scratch**scratch*

Nathan: “Huh, Whoa!?”

Nathan jumped out of the way as a clump of dirt flew pass him. Having run out of rocks, the Don opted to hands full of dirt, literally digging up clops of dirt and hurling it.

Nathan: “Seriously.”

Nathan grew some more vines, this time blocking the dirt was a lot easier. The vines were successfully able to block the much softer dirt but just barely, the Don throwing strength was that great.

Nathan had several of his Uzy grow out of the ground alongside snyare, to impede the Dons throwing and try to cause any damage to it if they could. for as much as possible. Using the vines to mask his movements, Nathan made his way back up to the vines where Iris lay to find her awake from all the noise and holding her head.

Nathan: “Iris, your awake.”

Iris: “M-Master, Threat Detection, i don't understand?”

Just like Nathan, 'Threat Detection' was also affecting her. If that was the case, there could only be one thing that could cause all of them to activate at once.

Nathan: “That idiot chucking boulders is going to cause a cave-in. We gotta go.”

Turning back to the Don, Nathan found the Don ready to throw the contents of its hand at him.

Quickly scooping up Iris Nathan leapt away, using the vines from the wall to stop the dirt from hitting them. He made a beeline for the exit, with everything that has happened, he would have to try to get the accessory some other way. However, currently standing in the entry way, the goblin Elite after hearing all the noise, poured into the room, eyes set on Nathan.

Nathan: “Shit.”

Nathan was currently holding on to Iris and with his 'Threat Detection' still ringing in his mind, he was in no position to fight with his hands.

Two of the goblins charged at him, while another shot arrows from the entrance. Nathan had his vines swat away the arrows aimed at him and then dealt with the Goblin charging him. They attacked simultaneously, slashing from either side. Nathan simply leapt into the air and using the goblins head as a steppingstone quickly got behind them where another was waiting stab at him as he landed, or a should have.

An Uzy plant Nathan had grown had begun to fill the area with bullet seed. The Goblin Elite attention was successfully stolen, Nathan planted his foot into its face, knocking it back and allowing the Uzy to assault freely

Iris: “M-Master, ugghh this feeling.”

Nathan: “Ah, sorry Iris.”

Nathan aerial dodge had not set well with Iris in her current condition. With the Uzy, now that several more had sprouted up, now sent a storm of bullet seeds down the narrow tunnel, causing most of the elites to retreat, except for the few that were dawning shields and armor who tried to withstand the bombardment, to no avail. Though it was cutting a path through and any moment Nathan would be able to get through. However, that hope was cut short as hundreds of goblins came running down the tunnel. The sheer number of them was enough to block any attempts at an escape.

Nathan: "Dammit, there no way to get through."

Every goblin the Uzy shot down three more would take its place, it was never ending. End with the plants behind him slowly but surely give into the weight of the Dons bombardment, he was rightfully stuck.

Iris: “Uggh, Master.”

Nathan: “Hold on just a bit, I’ll have the way clear in a second.”

Iris: “No master there's something wrong...........can’t hold it any.......................longer.”

Iris felt a pressure building inside her, she had never felt anything like it before. It wasn’t painful as much as it was unpleasant, a bubbling unpleasant feeling. Without anyway to resist, the pressure came to its peak.

Like a cork, the pressure burst to the surface and dispersed. It was only for a moment where she lost control, but after each release, the pressure became tolerable if barely and she was able to regain control. In fact she felt great, better than she did for the past few days, like a weight had been lifted, she felt her strength returning. She wasn't fully recovered, and the headache was still there, but she could at least move better than previously.

Nathan: “.....................Iris?”

Iris: "Master I feel.........what’s wrong?"

Iris turned to Nathan, to find him staring ahead with a stunned expression. Looking ahead she found that the tunnel vanish, like a chunk of it was ripped away. And the Goblin Elites that were attacking had mostly vanished, the little that remained, stared at them in horror.

Iris: “Master, what happened?”

Nathan: “What happened, you don’t remember?”

Iris: “Remember?”

Nathan looked at her in confusion, she really didn’t remember what had happened. The cave being widen along with the vaporizing of the Goblins, was done by her.

Nathan: “Iris, you just-”

*Rumble*

Nathan: “(Oh, no.)”

The room began to shake violently, the walls and ceiling crumbling around them. Nathan leapt out of the way as a particularly large rock crumbled out of the wall and down into the pit below. He knew it, the boulder tossing triggered a cave-in and what Iris had done might had been the final straw. The stability of the cave has been destroyed and it was coming down.

The goblins began to panic, screaming and stumbling over each other as the tunnel leading into the chamber collapsed and buried them alive. Nathan hopped backward as the tunnel disappeared along with its occupants.

Nathan: "Really glad, I didn’t just run down there, but now there’s no way out."

Iris: “Master, I’ll-”

Nathan: “Stop don’t do anything!”

Iris: “But-”

Nathan: “No buts.”

Nathan was half worried, half scared, he definitely did not want Iris to do what she did a second ago. He leapt around, avoiding fallen debris, as he tries to find a secure spot amongst the crumbling cavern. With the exit blocked there was no way for him to get out and digging could cause more trouble than not.

Nathan turned back to the Don and to his utter surprise, had come out of the hole in the wall. Or more so forced out of its spot, from the constant shaking causing the floor to collapsed beneath him where he had dug up the ground, it looked desperate, searching for something while tossing around debris, but Nathan couldn’t tell what is was. Completely ignoring the rocks falling around it, it frantically searched the floor for whatever it lost.

*Crash**Boom*

The cave-in had reached its apex, the ceiling was coming down and there was nowhere left to run.

Iris: “M-Master.”

Nathan: "Hold on"

Plant shot up around Nathan and Iris, covering them as much as possible, but it didn’t matter. Nathan, Iris, the Don and the rest of the occupants of the room, could do nothing as the ceiling finally gave and came crashing down, burying all occupants of the chamber and stone and dirt. Once the rumbling had ceased, everything fell silent as the mating room was no more.