There was no fear on Subutai's face.
Instead, he stared straight at the goblins, took a deep breath, and charged forward with a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
He thrust his spear into the first goblin's abdomen, then pulled it back in one smooth motion, slicing the neck of the goblin beside it.
Seizing the opening, another goblin warrior swung its rusted sword at Subutai. Exhausted, he barely managed to dodge, but the blade grazed his arm, leaving a shallow cut.
Subutai gave the goblin no chance to strike again.
He swung his spear in a wide arc, carving a long, deep gash from its shoulder down to its stomach.
The goblin warrior screamed and collapsed to the ground.
The remaining goblins hesitated upon seeing this.
[You have killed a "Goblin Warrior."]
Without lowering his guard, Subutai stared them down, leaning on his spear as he tried to steal even a moment of rest.
But that brief pause only seemed to enrage the other goblin warriors.
Shrieking like madmen, they charged him all at once.
Watching six goblin warriors rush toward him, Subutai held his ground, hoping they would come closer.
When the first goblin reached him, Subutai raised his spear and drove it into the goblin's chest, barely cracking through bone.
Gritting his teeth, he forced the spear deeper, killing it.
Seeing the next two goblins close in, Subutai tightened his grip and swung his spear at their necks with full force.
The blade sliced through both throats. Blood sprayed as their mouths fell open and their bodies crashed to the ground.
Not stopping there, Subutai hurled his spear forward.
It pierced through the chest of one goblin and continued on, impaling the one behind it as well.
At last, Subutai staggered back, gasping for breath, completely spent.
All he wanted was to rest.
But one goblin warrior still stood before him.
That goblin seemed to sense Subutai's weakness. The fear vanished from its eyes, replaced by a twisted grin as it charged forward like a lunatic.
Subutai smiled in response.
He raised his arms to guard his face, spread his legs slightly, and never took his eyes off the goblin.
"Never thought I'd take a boxing stance against a goblin in my lifetime," he thought.
The goblin swung its rusted sword.
Subutai dodged and drove a powerful punch straight into its jaw.
The impact dazed the goblin, sending it stumbling to the ground. Even its weapon slipped from its grasp and clattered away.
Clenching his teeth, Subutai mounted the goblin, grabbed the fallen sword beside him, and slit its throat.
[You have killed a "Goblin Warrior."]
At last, it was over.
Subutai rose from the corpse, moved away from the blood-soaked ground reeking of iron, picked up his spear, and leaned against a tree.
If I stay here too long, more goblins might show up…
Thinking this, he climbed another tall tree, sat on a thick branch, and closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep without falling.
Morning came.
Sunlight pierced his eyelids, and Subutai jolted awake in surprise.
His sudden movement threw off his balance, and he fell heavily from the branch to the ground.
"Damn it… I never felt safe for a second. Didn't sleep well at all.
Still, at least I got one day's worth of rest."
Holding the back of his head, he let out a bitter smile.
He quickly stood and continued walking in the direction he had been heading.
When he passed the site where he had slaughtered the goblins the night before, he noticed something strange.
The goblin corpses should have been piled up here like trash.
But there wasn't a single body in sight.
The area was completely empty only sticky green bloodstains and traces of battle remained.
Looking closer, the bloodstains seemed to trail off in one direction.
When Subutai bent down, he saw shallow drag marks, as if something had been forcibly pulled away.
"Did someone take the goblin corpses?"
Puzzled, he followed the trail.
After walking for more than ten minutes, the bloodstains disappeared, making it difficult to continue tracking.
Even stranger.
Despite wandering through the forest for quite some time, he hadn't encountered a single goblin.
The situation felt suspicious.
Subutai climbed a tree and surveyed his surroundings.
The vast forest and towering trees looked strangely beautiful, calming his mind for a brief moment.
Then he saw it.
Deep within the forest stood an enormous cave.
Curious, Subutai descended from the tree and slowly approached it.
As he drew closer, he saw several goblin warriors standing guard outside the cave.
"So they dragged the corpses here…"
Clenching the shaft of his spear, he carefully observed the deep drag marks on the ground.
He quietly approached the cave entrance, lured the guarding goblins out one by one by throwing stones, and silently eliminated them.
Standing before the cave, Subutai felt as though he was facing the gaping mouth of a colossal beast.
A cold wind blew from within, carrying the stench of rotting flesh.
Inside, flickering torchlight illuminated old wooden torches fixed to the walls, rusted and broken weapons scattered across the floor, and bones strewn everywhere.
Gripping his spear tightly, Subutai advanced step by step, ready to fight at any moment.
Soon, a bright light shone at the end of the cave.
As he approached, he saw torches lighting up the cave's central chamber.
The moment he laid eyes on the goblins gathered there, a single thought flashed through his mind.
"I need to leave. Now."
Without hesitation, he slowly backed away from the center, then quickened his pace and exited the cave.
Subutai knew he couldn't win a fight against all the goblins inside on his own.
That left him with two choices:
Return later with other people or level up and face the danger alone.
He didn't even need to think about it.
Rather than relying on others, risking everything in a solo fight appealed to him far more.
Besides, he didn't trust strangers easily.
In the end, Subutai decided to level up.
He vanished back into the forest, searching for goblin warriors and goblin archers.