They were standing, but precariously.
Mav's wounds weren't bleeding, but they hadn't closed either; Max still seemed a bit dizzy and slightly weak, and Anna didn't seem to have recovered her strength much.
But still, the three got up and went towards the goblin chief.
Max was the first to arrive, probably with the help of the [shield charge] skill.
Like a raging bull, he struck the goblin with everything he had, pushing it back with his shield. He even tried to attack again with his short sword, but the chief was already responding with a downward slash.
That single blow was enough to cut what was still intact on Max's shield.
'And he did it using only one hand to hold that enormous thing.'
I must have said it many times already, but as much as I may detest that thing, I can't deny its strength and tenacity.
Without his shield, Max retreated slightly and let his brother take over. Mav's longsword wasn't in good condition either, but it would still be one of the most effective means against the goblin chief's sword, despite not being as thick as his.
Mav came with a series of thrusts, not as fast as before but still fast, however, to the goblin chief his blows seemed slow; he managed to parry, dodge, and counterattack. His only difficulty seemed to be the effort he had to make to hold the sword with one hand; other than that, he didn't seem very impressed.
When he was about to make a cut that I imagined would be fatal for Mav, Anna came and stopped him. With a longsword on one side and a spear on the other, things were now becoming more complicated for the goblin chief.
The blows landed, wounds began to accumulate, cuts on his arms, torso, face, and legs. Deep, some serious, but like the blow to my head, none were fatal.
(Kaio: Just wait a little, his HP is already at 10%, not that you can hear me.)
–GGREREEUUUUAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!
With a new roar, the goblin chief formed a foot and made a side circular strike that forced Mav and Anna back. However, before he could go after anyone, Max appeared with a new small shield.
It was slightly larger than a plate, basic, made of wood with some iron details, but still a shield. Using the [shield charge] again, he managed to make the chief lower his guard, giving him a chance to make 3 cuts with his Raptor machete.
The goblin chief responded by headbutting him and pushing him away. Mav came from the side and didn't let it go easily, and Anna from the other.
With the exchange of blows between the 3, well… technically 4, they didn't see Cali approaching. Until she appeared crouching in front of the goblin and delivered an uppercut with her strong right hand.
The goblin was launched a few inches into the air, landed on his feet, and immediately resumed attacking them with the sword in his right hand.
'Even so wounded, how can he still withstand the attacks of the four?!'
If it were any other human, or even one of the beasts of the dark forest, they would have fallen by now. The problem wasn't just that the goblin chief was strong, but the prolonged fight weakened my friends; simply none of them are in any condition to deliver a final blow in this state.
How can we fix this?
Perhaps if we wait a little longer he'll eventually collapse from exhaustion, but I don't think that will happen before the four of us. Besides, even now, from a distance, I can still hear some 'gigigi' from the other goblins and a great commotion coming from the side where Mr. Andreas said he would find Miss Yaou.
Could we hold out before reinforcements for the goblin chief arrive?
I don't like that idea.
A little more, just a little more, one last decisive blow. But where, where could it be?
Like a flash, inspiration appeared to me: the arrow that had stuck in the ground when it hit the barrage formed by the goblin's roar earlier. Taking my bow from my back, I stood up, slightly unsteady, and went to the arrow.
–Pheeeeppp!!!
That was the first time they heard me whistle, but as if we were one mind, they understood almost immediately what I wanted to do. Mav and Anna buried their blades in the goblin's feet, pinning him to the ground.
–Gyyyyyaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!
With his left hand, the goblin was about to strike Anna, but Max appeared, blocking with his shield and thrusting his short sword into the elbow from the inside of the arm. On the other side, Cali pinned the stump of the arm, even though it was useless, she and I agreed that the goblin could still do something with just that.
To be honest, I even felt a pang of guilt seeing the goblin chieftain like that.
Even though he had killed many people, wounded many others, including my master, devoured others, and even used the corpses of others as weapons. He always fought us "equally," so using this strategy leaves a certain bitter taste in my mouth.
However, considering that if we didn't do this, my friends could die, I decided to harden my heart again. With the arrow drawn to my eye, I looked into the goblin chieftain's red eyes, managed to see a remnant of his initial mind, and concentrating on it, I said:
–Until next time.
And I released the arrow.
It flew fast and slow at the same time, silent and extremely noisy simultaneously. Soon it lodged itself in the goblin chief's heart, all the way to the shaft.
He looked down, not quite understanding what had happened. He dropped his sword, and with a wave of my hand I signaled for the others to release him.
The goblin chief touched the shaft with his remaining hand, circling the shaft with his fingers, the area around it slowly beginning to redden. Raising his bloodied fingers, he looked with a mixture of surprise, confusion, disbelief, and... happiness, pride?
'Why would he feel this?'
Perhaps it was a hallucination from my own injuries, wanting him to acknowledge the effort I made alongside my friends or something like that. Whatever it was, the main thing I could see in his eyes was surprise.
He looked at the wound again, then at me. He looked at everyone else who were slowly moving away from him and closer to me, ready to continue the fight despite their exhaustion if necessary.
He looked at me again, and at that moment I was sure that for some reason he was proud of what had happened.
Because he smiled.
A satisfied smile, of a duty fulfilled, similar to the one my master gave the first time I managed to catch a big prize. I couldn't understand why, and the others seemed not to understand either.
But before any of us could say anything, he rolled his eyes and fell. Moments before touching the ground, he shone intensely, much more intensely than any of the creatures before, almost like a flash of lightning directly in front of us, and then vanished.
And so my months-long nightmare was over, for now, and we finally found our way to the supposed portal to the second floor of the Trial. The only thing I could think now was...
'I'm exhausted.'
The others weren't much better off. As soon as the goblin chief unleashed that flash and disappeared, the sounds of fighting around us stopped abruptly, and soon came the sound of goblins screaming and stomping their feet, presumably fleeing.
But even the sound of several fleeing goblins was nothing compared to the sound that came from the direction where Mr. Andreas and Miss Yaou were. It was as deafening as the flash in which the goblin disappeared was blinding. The sound literally made the ground tremble and the trees tremble.
Normally this might even make us stumble and fall, but that made no difference since we were all already on the ground.
With the main source of danger eliminated and the sound of the remaining goblins fleeing in droves, the strength that had kept us standing gave way, and almost simultaneously we collapsed to the ground.
I don't know where our weapons had gone, nor do I know if I was still holding my bow. The only thing my mind felt was the hard, cold ground, with a faint, fetid smell of iron and burnt things.
The warmth of my friends' bodies nearby and the sound of their slow but continuous breaths, which to me sounded louder than the roar that still shook the trees.
'This is good.'
That was the last thing I thought before darkness took over.