"Everyone! Be careful! Something's coming!"
Five minutes after the gnolls resumed their march, the spearman—gifted with the sharpest hearing in the group—furrowed his brow. Footsteps. They weren't stealthy. They were clumsy, deliberately loud, as if whoever was approaching didn't fear being heard.
Even the shield-bearing gnoll, the least sensitive to sound, managed to perceive them.
"They're goblins," someone growled. "Only six! We can handle them!"
The gnoll leader, hardened by years of hunting, didn't hesitate. He grabbed a torch and hurled it forward, illuminating the passage ahead. The green figures were exposed, and a savage smile spread across the leader's face.
As the gnolls prepared for combat, they failed to notice the shadows sliding silently through the tunnel behind them.
"Fufo, keep the spear forward! Sasha, shoot where they're most clustered!"
"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
The orders were carried out immediately.
Fufo's spear shot forward like lightning, piercing a goblin's skull. The body dropped without a sound.
"Yes! Die!" Sasha shouted, trembling. "Take this, bastards!"
"Thwack!"
Her arrow flew a moment late, but still struck with force, killing another goblin instantly.
Panic spread among the visible goblins. Fufo took advantage and charged, impaling a third without hesitation.
Everything suggested the battle was over.
But goblins never hunted alone.
"Huh?"
Sasha barely had time to react. A muffled sound rang out beside her, and something hot splashed across her face. She touched it. Blood.
She slowly turned her head.
The shield-bearing gnoll was clutching his neck, eyes wide, unable to comprehend what had happened. Behind him, a goblin emerged from the shadows with a bloodied knife.
"AAAAH!"
The body fell. The protector who had promised to keep her safe lay dead at her feet.
From the rear darkness, dozens of goblins began to emerge, grinning with sharp teeth.
"Damn it!" the leader shouted. "It was an ambush!"
A whistle cut through the air.
The leader instinctively rolled, but he was too slow. A poisoned arrow buried itself in his calf.
"Ah! You bastards…!"
Sasha was frozen in place. The only one who remained calm was Fufo.
"Boom! Bang!"
The gnoll's spear exploded in a blinding white light. Seizing the moment of confusion, the leader—ignoring the pain—lunged forward and ran his sword through a goblin archer, pinning him to the wall.
The goblin howled, alive but doomed.
"Retreat!" the leader ordered.
Fufo swapped his spear for a dagger, cutting down two goblins and carving a path forward. They ran.
Crossbow bolts whistled from the darkness. Two goblins fell dead without even screaming. Thanks to that brief opening, the gnolls managed to get close to the exit.
"Hold on! We're almost—!"
Dawn appeared.
Then, a rope appeared out of nowhere.
Fufo fell face-first.
A dagger flashed.
He had no time to react.
The blade opened his throat.
As his life slipped away, he saw a goblin slowly advancing from the shadows.
"I'm sorry," he said in a low, clear voice. "No one escapes."
A crossbow was raised.
"You—!"
The leader barely managed to utter a single word before the bolt pierced his neck. He fell with eyes full of horror, unable to comprehend how a goblin could speak like that.
Silence.
The goblins chasing the gnolls stopped, confused. Upon seeing the bodies, they erupted into savage glee. They completely ignored the goblin who had executed the leaders.
When one of them ran toward the female gnoll, an arrow pierced his skull.
César fired without hesitation.
The second goblin died with his throat opened by a dagger.
"She's my trophy," César said coldly. "Anyone who touches her dies."
Blood soaked his body. His eyes did not waver.
The other goblins instinctively retreated.
César was not the strongest, but he was the most dangerous. He had killed more goblins than any other. He knew how to instill fear.
He wouldn't waste time.
He gathered the weapons, bound the gnoll, and slung her over his shoulder.
"The rest are yours," he said, pointing at the corpses.
No one dared stop him.
As the goblins swarmed over the bodies, César vanished into the darkness of the cave, breathing deeply.
He had avoided an unnecessary fight.
This time.