Chapter 38: Kiting The Mobs

I continue my silent assault, taking down two more goblins in quick succession. Each time, I use the element of surprise to my advantage, dispatching my foes with precise, lethal strikes. However, as I prepare to take down a fourth goblin, my luck runs out. One of the goblins turns just in time to see me, and its eyes widen in alarm.

"Enemies!!!" the goblin shrieks with its voice piercing through the stillness of the forest. A horn soon blares from deeper within the camp, signaling the alarm.

"Shit, I was hoping to kill a few more before they notice…" I mutter under my breath. Ayame is already at my side with her iron sword drawn and ready.

The camp erupts into chaos. Goblins pour out from their filthy tents made of tree branches and foliage. Their eyes are wild with aggression and they emit a distinct thirst for blood. There are about thirty of them, and amidst the fray, I see three larger figures - hobgoblins, towering over their smaller kin with an air of menacing intelligence and strength. Unlike their green-skinned foot soldiers, the hobgoblins look like monsterized humans with similar height and a bulky build. They have proper weapons and armor, and their skin is ashen brown.

"Ayame, take the hobbos!" I shout. "I'll handle the midgets!"

She nods. "Don't die." After stating her brief good luck wish, her face sets with determination, and she charges towards the trio. I turn my attention to the swarm of goblins rushing at me.

One of them lunges at me with a rusty dagger, but I sidestep and counter with a [Power Strike], driving my spear through its chest. Another goblin comes at me from the side while swinging a club wildly. I dodge the amateur swing easily and thrust my spear into its abdomen. They are weak individually, but their sheer numbers make them dangerous.

I keep moving, kiting the goblins to keep them at a manageable distance. Their short stubby legs allow me to utilize my gamer knowledge as I do my utmost to keep the swarm at bay.

Whenever one gets too close, I turn and spear it, using my Agility to stay just out of their reach. It's a delicate dance, and having a ranged weapon would certainly be very welcome. I could become a proper ADC then…

Despite my best efforts at kiting, I can't avoid every blow. A goblin manages to slash my arm with a jagged blade and I hiss in pain. I quickly retaliate by stabbing it through the throat. After which I jump away before the horde surrounds me while glancing at my status for a brief moment.

[HP 145/170]

Now that I don't have my trusty bodyguard shadowing me I face my first ever real, life-threatening battle. While running I quickly observe her.

Ayame's battle with the hobgoblins is on a different scale from mine. She is a whirlwind of steel and fury. Her iron sword flashes rapidly as she faces off against the three towering figures. The ideal scenario we drew up didn't include her having to fight a one versus three fight with them. She was supposed to speedily kill one before the rest joined in, but we didn't predict them teaming up right away and coming together once they heard the alarm rather than rushing in one by one. Of course, we knew it was a possibility, but this made my armorless samurai's life incredibly difficult and quite endangered.

The first hobgoblin swings a massive axe at her which whistles through the air audibly. Ayame ducks under the swing and counters with a [Vertical Slash]. Her blade slices through the hobgoblin's leg, after which it falters momentarily and roars in pain but doesn't fall quite yet.

The second hobgoblin that's armed with a spear thrusts at her with deadly precision. Ayame twists her body and narrowly avoids the sharp tip, after which she slashes at the spear's shaft, trying to break it. The third hobgoblin who wields a large sword, moves in from her blind side. Ayame's eyes just barely managed to catch the movement before he could take a swing at her.

She suddenly jumps back now that all three of her opponents are standing in front of her at a relatively short distance. In the next moment, Ayame enters a low crouching posture while greedily filling her lungs to the brim with a strong inhale of oxygen. Her right hand rests on the hilt of her sword while the other grabs the sheath, elevating it to be at a parallel angle with the ground. She shouts, "[Iaijutsu]!" and in the next moment, she draws the blade with lightning speed, releasing a horizontal slash that reaches all three hobgoblins despite the sizeable distance between her and her enemies.

Each hobgoblin is left badly damaged from the long-ranged attack, but their armor and strong bodies manage to withstand the strike, save for the axe wielder who was already hit by Ayame's [Vertical Slash]. He now kneels on the ground while struggling mightily to regain his lost strength as he is bleeding profusely.

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