There were twenty-one goblins, including the Hobgoblin. I needed to get to the tent in the center of the camp where the human was being kept. To do that I would need to pass the ring of tents that surrounded the edge of the clearing and were continuing to be set up as the other goblins cooked the deer.
The tent I needed to get to was right next to the hob, meaning that I either needed to enter the tent from the back to avoid detection or take the hob out of the equation.
I took out some food from my spatial ring before eating it quickly and washing it down with some water.
After I took my cross-legged position and breathed for a few minutes, just enough to confirm that my skin was completely saturated with Qi and to try and get rid of any soreness in my muscles by letting them saturate as well.
I finished up my preparations, bringing my body into top shape before I began to stalk around the camp, the sun almost completely setting in the few minutes it took for me to eat and refill my Qi.
The goblins finished setting up the tents and had begun feasting on the deer, the glow from the campfire casting ghastly shadows as they ripped it apart and devoured it, bones in all.
As I circled the camp, I noticed eight goblins finished eating, picked up some wooden spears, and went to the edges of the camp. They just stood there, peering out into the darkness, their backs turned to the rest of their comrades.
'Jackpot,' I thought as I began to make my way over to the nearest one. I kept low to the ground, hiding behind trees and keeping a distance away from the edge of the forest, watching my step to avoid alerting anyone.
I reached the goblin soon enough, it had wandered into the forest, away from the group and fire. Either by mistake or by design as it wanted to patrol this far out, I didn't know but I didn't let that stop me.
I approached from behind, getting into striking distance before waiting for it to stop walking. The moment it stopped, I lunged forward, my hands going around its chin and neck before twisting as hard as I could.
Its head spun around as I broke its neck, leaving me staring at its ugly, lifeless face before the body dropped to the ground. I picked up the disgusting thing and dragged it off deeper into the treeline, putting it behind a rather thick tree. One down, twenty more to go.
I stalked my way through the trees to the next one that was assigned to guard duty. It was behind a tent, crouched down with its back to the forest with no other goblin in line of sight.
I went up behind it and kicked the back of its neck. The sound of it snapping was drowned out by the noise the other goblins were making, leaving me free to grab the body and stuff it under the tent after peaking under and making sure nothing was in there. Nineteen to go.
I moved on to the next. It was by the trees again, too far off into the forest for the others to see it. I reached out and snapped its neck before dragging it deeper into the trees like the first. Eighteen left.
I move on, finding the guards alone and far into the forest, snapping their necks and moving on. Seventeen. A quick twist, and then there were sixteen. A tackle to the ground before wrenching its neck took care of the next, fifteen left.
The last two guards were together surprisingly enough. They stood next to each other, clearly more alert than the others I had taken care of up until this point. Either because they realized something was wrong or they were just smarter than the others, I didn't know, but it didn't matter.
Since they were so close together I was able to reach both of them and grab their necks at the same time. I squeezed as hard as I could, feeling both of their windpipes break underneath my finger as I brought their heads together.
They slumped to the ground, unconscious from the blow. As I twisted their necks to finish them off, I had the morbid realization that I was getting better at breaking it. It was less about the force and more about the angle.
I dragged them off into the forest while trying to plan out my next move. Thirteen left now.
I observed the camp again, the goblins were slowing down. They were less loud and more alert, looking around as their long ears twitched every once in a while as they ate.
It seems I wasn't as stealthy as I thought. It made sense, I was an amateur who didn't have any formal training, and my only experience moving quietly through the forest was a few hunts. I was still hoping to do this quietly, but my chances were getting slimmer by the minute.
I focused on the camp and made my way behind the Hobgoblin from the edge of the clearing. As I watched I noticed that the Hobgoblin was growing anxious as well, it was shifting in its chair, face twisted into a snarl as it looked around the clearing.
I ducked behind a tree and waited. I wasn't going to risk everything because of impatience. I didn't know if the Hobgoblin's vision was better than the other goblins, but it would be a bad time to find out.
I waited for a few seconds before I heard the Hobgoblin let out a roar again. I peeked my eye around the tree I was hiding behind and saw it point to six goblins then gesture toward the forest.
I watched as the six goblins broke into three pairs and left the camp, carrying torches with them as they went into the forest. The Hobgoblin noticed the absence of the eight ones I killed it seems. I'm glad I was smart enough to move the bodies, it bought me just a little more time.
Still, their vigilance had gone up despite my best efforts. The fact that they brought light with them, in addition to being in pairs, made the prospect of picking them off one by one difficult.
A fight was unavoidable, I was sure of it. I just do not see a way to get the human out of the camp undetected, especially since the Hobgoblin is next to the tent. Even if I did get the human out, what then?
The town is about an hour away, and that's if you take a straight path and run like hell, plenty of time for the goblins to notice their captive is gone, organize a hunting party, and catch up to us.
I didn't like it, and I'm worried it's my bloodlust speaking, but I don't see a way to rescue the person, run away, and live without killing all the goblins.
I took a deep breath and held it for a moment. I let all the worries, all the doubts, all the what ifs, and maybe flood my mind for a moment before I exhaled, letting all those thoughts go with the breath.
My mind cleared, and I focused on my goal: rescue the person bound in the tent near the Hobgoblin. To do that I need to get the Hobgoblin away from the tent, as with the rest of the goblins. And based on their behavior so far, if they grew more suspicious of their surroundings, they were more likely to wander around and check it out.
The more I thinned their numbers, the higher the chances I could save whoever was in the tent. I stopped my train of thought there and considered my options.
Either go take care of the six that broke off from the main group and then deal with the remaining seven, or fight the seven that remained and save the person before fighting the six in the woods.
I didn't like either choice, so what if I chose a third option? The problem of the remaining goblins hunting us down as we escaped remained, no matter which option I picked.
So instead, what if I sent the injured person away and fought the remaining ones while they retreated? That's the whole reason why I haven't burst into the camp and started brawling with them already: I wasn't confident in how the goblins would react to it.
If they focused on me, great, if they decided to kill the captive and then kill me, then not so great. But remove the other person from the equation and I was free to let loose. And if I was able to draw the attention of the goblins as the other person retreated then there was no risk was there?
So, draw the main camp out, free the captive, send them off into the woods while staying behind, and kill the rest of the goblins, including the Hobgoblin. Simple.
With a plan in place, I let my feet carry me over to the river where two of the six were currently patrolling.
The one with the torch was looking into the river while the other one watched his back. I needed to pick off as many as possible before drawing the attention of the main group. Meaning I still needed to be stealthy. No need to get every goblin on my ass before I evened the odds a little more.
I approached in a crouch, using the trees to hide behind until I was a few feet away from them and the river. I picked up a pebble from the ground, lightly tossing it up and down in my hand to get a feel for its weight.
After that, I pulled my arm back with the pebble in my grasp as I lined up the shot. I saw my target, visualized myself hitting it, and judged the distance the best I could in the torchlight before swinging my arm and propelling the pebble forward.
It flew in a perfect arc as it landed right where I was aiming, on the other side of the riverbank. The splash caused the attention of both goblins by the river to shift, resulting in them turning their backs to me.
I rushed out of my hiding spot. I ran as fast as I could while still keeping my footsteps quiet, reaching the goblins in the nick of time as both turned to try and face me.
Unfortunately for them, I was already on top of them. My hands lashed out and grasped their throats as my legs kicked the ground and propelled me to the river. The sudden moment caused them to drop their weapons as they were lifted and carried by my momentum.
I reached the edge of the river in a few steps before I dunked the two goblins in my hands head-first into the water. I saw the panic quickly set in on their faces as I held them down and pressed my elbows into their stomachs, causing the air they had left in their lungs to exit in a burst of bubbles.
They started thrashing, arms and legs flailing wildly as they tried and failed to get my hands off their necks. I felt their claws scratch my arms but ignored it and kept their heads underwater.
The seconds slowly went by as the last of the air bubbles stopped escaping from their mouths, and they went limp. I pushed the rest of their bodies in, letting the current do the rest of the work as it took the bodies downstream.
The splashing has attracted some attention, though not from the main group, but from the other two scout parties. The one on my right was the closest while the one on my left was further away, though both were making their way over here.
Good news, I didn't hear either group alert the main camp, at least not yet anyway. Why they hadn't was a mystery to me but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I thought about putting the fallen torch out but decided that the main camp would probably notice if one of the light sources in the pitch-black forest suddenly went out.
Instead, I had another Idea. I picked up the torch and quickly stomped out any fire on the ground before planting the torch in the ground by the river and ducking behind a tree.
I had to maneuver a bit to keep myself from being spotted by the two approaching goblins, but I was successful, and both ended up walking past me.
They eventually arrived at the torch on the ground, each looking around in confusion before they approached the river. I saw that the other group was quickly approaching and realized I didn't have enough time to drown these two. So I switched targets and went over to the left, leaving the two confused goblins standing by the river.
I was able to slip behind the other group with some patience and maneuvering at a distance, before slowly closing that distance as they approached the river bank.
I took a deep breath and held it for a moment as I let my mind calm down. I pushed aside the familiar excitement and anticipation, leaving behind only calm. I won't lose my senses this time, the stakes are too high. I can't afford any mistakes.
I exhaled as I made my way towards the goblins, closing the distance before lunging forward. My hands found their way around the neck of the one on the left with the torch, before lifting it and twisting its neck.
I dropped it as I planted my right foot on the ground, using it as a pivot to swing my left one toward the remaining goblin. Its eyes widened in surprise before my foot made contact with its throat. I felt its windpipe snap as I followed through with the kick, sending it tumbling onto the ground.
I rushed forward, delivering a swift and brutal stomp on its throat. I felt its neck bone snap before I kicked off its corpse to close the distance with the ones I lured to the river.
I rushed there as quickly and quietly as possible, making sure to snatch the torch that the first goblin had dropped on the way. I waved it around a few times to put it out as I ran, discarding it on the ground when it went out.
The two by the river were just turning around to face me when I made it to them. I sent a kick to the one holding the torch, sending them flying into the river and making a loud splash before the light went out.
The one remaining barely got its spear ready before I twisted around and heel-kicked it toward the river as well. It let out a scream as it landed in the river and was dragged away by the current.
I picked up the torch I had planted in the ground before throwing that into the river as well, leaving the area covered in darkness.
An ear-piercing roar echoed through the forest as I put the last light out. I turned and saw the main camp mobilizing with the big Hobgoblin finally getting off its ass and waving its sword around.
I felt a smile make its way to my face as I saw the sight. Looks like my gamble paid off, now the hard part of getting the human out of the tent.
I began circling the clearing as the main group made its way towards the river, each holding a torch to light the way while the big Hobgoblin lumbered its way out of the camp.
I waited a few moments to let them get further away before making my move and rushing towards the tent in the center. I didn't have much time before they got back, I needed to get whoever it was out of here before then. I would hate for them to get caught up in the fight that would ensue.
I burst through the tent flaps, causing the captive to jump and make an audible scream through their gag.
"Sorry if I scared you. The goblins are gone but we don't have much time. Can you run?" I said as I reached down and undid the gag before reaching down to work on the ropes that bound them.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I thought I was going to get eaten alive. They roughed me up pretty good, but I can still walk," The captive tearfully said. Now that I was close enough to see their face, I realized it was a young man about my age.
"Good. Is there a village nearby that you can get to after I untie you?" I questioned as I got the rope that bound them off.
"Yes, there's one just northwest of here, about fifteen minutes away if you hurry. I was going there before I was attacked by those bastards. We have to warn them about the camp here and the Hobgoblin," the man replied as I helped him up to his feet.
'Ha, it was a Hobgoblin. Score for fantasy knowledge,' I mentally cheered as what he said registered.
"You need to go and tell them. I'll stay here and distract them," I said as I got up to leave the tent. I felt a hand grab my arm causing me to turn around and look at the man's face frozen in terror.
"What do you mean by to distract them? Are you crazy? There are at least twenty of them, you'll die from getting dog piled," The man half whispered and half shouted in disbelief.
"We wouldn't make it otherwise. Do you think you can get there in fifteen minutes with your injuries? They'll find us on the way and kill us if I don't buy time," I asked as I pointed to the deep gash on his calf.
"Then we'll fight! We can't ju-," I cut him off.
"You can hardly walk, much less fight. I will fight, and you will run. Otherwise, I'll have to protect you, and I can't do that." My skills weren't at the level where I could worry about someone else in the middle of a fight.
Hell, seven-on-one is probably out of my skill range normally. Throw in an injured person, whose combat prowess I'm assuming isn't all that great, and you have a recipe for disaster.
But I wasn't going to be fighting seven-on-one. If I time it right, and to be honest get lucky, then I'll at most be fighting three on one which I know I can manage. Unfortunately, that plan is predicated on the fact that I can be pretty fast and stealthy, something which the man in front of me is currently not.
I saw his eyes widen at what I said before he looked away and bit his lip. Ah, now I feel bad.
I sighed as I saw it and put a hand on his shoulder, " I understand you want to help, but you can't do that when a stiff breeze could knock you over. Besides, I killed fourteen of them already. I just have the Hobgoblin and six regulars to contend with".
I felt him stiffen at that information, his eyes slowly meeting mine as he said with disbelief in his voice, " Fourteen? How?"
"Stealth and skill. Look, if you get to the village, you can get help. Surely they have some guards there, right?" He nodded. " Then tell them that there are still seven goblins left in the forest and that I need some help. That way, I only need to hold out for a couple of minutes before help arrives," I coaxed him. He looked away and bit his lip again. I could feel his resolve slipping by the second. Time to go in for the kill.
"You'll be able to help me by staying alive. You have someone waiting for you, right? Do you think they want you dying to some goblins?" I smiled gently as I took a bit of a gamble.
Luckily, it paid off, I saw his face twist into a frown before he met my eyes again. There was a fire in them, a burning resolve that I couldn't help but like.
"I understand. Thank you for your trust. I promise I'll get help, just please…please don't do anything stupid in the meantime," He said, the tone of his voice pleading and desperate.
"You care a lot for someone you just met. I thought you'd run as soon as I set you free," I said with surprise. Truthfully, I thought he would try and offer me as a sacrifice to the goblins while he escaped. It's pretty much to be expected in a xianxia world.
That he seemed genuinely upset about leaving me and making a run for it alone was a welcome surprise don't get me wrong. It's just that I wasn't mentally prepared for an emotional farewell and it was throwing me for a loop.
"No! I could never do that! Who could do that? You just saved my life, repaying that by leaving you is just…" He trailed off at the end as he tried to come up with the right word but failed.
"Don't worry I get what you mean. You need to get a move on though, I'm not sure when they will come back," I said before peaking my head outside of the tent.
"The cost is clear. Hurry up before they get close enough to hear," I turned back around and helped him out of the tent and to the edge of the camp. Along the way, I snatched a piece of wood from the camp before setting it on fire to make a torch.
I handed the new light source to my companion just as we reached the edge of the clearing. I heard a roar behind us, which was quickly followed by the sound of running as screams of anger filled the night air.
I looked over my shoulder and confirmed that the goblins had seen us and were currently rushing towards us. Well, the six little ones were rushing towards us. The Hobgoblin was moving at a lumbering pace compared to the others.
"Well, it looks like time's up. Better hurry up and get this party started huh? I'll hold them off, you go as fast as you can hobble." I turned back and faced my companion. His lips were set in a thin line as he nodded his head.
I saw his eyes dart over my shoulder, worry still etched on his face, before I rolled my eyes and grabbed his shoulders. I spun him around and gave him a little push, causing him to stumble before righting himself.
"Go get them, champ. Remember, never look back, and keep pushing forward. As long as you do that, you'll make it," I encouraged him before turning around and facing the incoming goblins. He had a long way to go through the dark forest, especially on that leg. I only hoped he didn't get lost.
"Thank you, savior," I barely heard the whisper behind me over the sound of screaming goblins and footsteps. It was at this point I realized I never got his name nor did I give him mine. Figures I'd forget to introduce myself in the first social interaction I had in months.
I also realized that every human being I've interacted with up until this point has been bloodied and bruised. Damn, I hope that's not a trend that'll continue.
Hopefully, by tomorrow morning, I'll be able to interact with someone else if he convinces people to come help. I'll have to ask his name then. I hope he doesn't have a protagonist name, it would be too suspicious to be a coincidence at that point.
Honestly, why am I like this? I'm about to enter life-or-death combat while outnumbered, and here I am making meta jokes. I'll have to work on that in the future.
Now though? I have some goblins to slay.