Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP

For a brief moment, they could do nothing but stare.

The steady stream of enemies pouring into the settlement instantly shattered the hope that the battle could be contained within the Chief’s quarters.

Silence hung over the group for only a heartbeat.

Caius was the first to recover.

His eyes remained fixed on the advancing orcs as his mind rapidly worked through every possible outcome before he spoke.

”I don’t think this is a situation we can solve with numbers,” he said, his voice calm despite the urgency. ”Sending everyone in would only cost us more lives.”

The others turned toward him.

”We should gather only our strongest fighters. They’re the only ones who have a realistic chance of slowing those creatures down.”

Zarah didn’t answer immediately.

She looked from the portals to the orcs still emerging, then toward the quarters where Eli was fighting alone.

”...That makes sense,” she admitted.

”If things continue to worsen,” Caius continued, ”then we’ll commit our warriors. Until then, our priority should be preventing unnecessary casualties.”

Throwing dozens of weaker goblins at opponents far beyond their level wouldn’t strengthen their defense. It would only create more bodies on the battlefield.

”Understood.”

Zarah made her decision without further hesitation.

She turned toward Gobbo.

”You heard him. Gather the clan’s strongest and bring them here. Everyone else is to assist with the evacuation. Get the noncombatants into the shelter and make sure the garnet is activated.”

Gobbo gave a firm nod.

”Understood, Commander.”

Without another word, he hurried off alongside Ziv, one to organize the evacuation and the other to summon the clan’s strongest warriors.

If the orcs broke through...

They would be the first line of defense.

Only Narg, Zarah, and Caius remained.

The three of them stood their ground, their eyes fixed on the portals as more and more orcs continued to emerge.

The creatures didn’t hesitate after crossing over.

The moment they set foot inside the settlement, their savage gazes swept across the clan, taking in the surrounding buildings and goblins with unmistakable hostility.

Their intentions couldn’t have been clearer.

They had come to destroy everything in sight.

Already, roughly a dozen orcs had made it through the portals, and that number continued to climb with every passing second.

None of them could afford to simply stand and watch.

”Even if we can’t bring them down,” Caius said, breaking the silence, ”we should at least keep them occupied.”

Narg immediately turned toward him.

”What’s the plan?”

Caius didn’t answer right away.

His eyes moved from one portal to the next, carefully measuring the battlefield as more towering figures stepped through the tears in space.

Three portals.

At least.

If they remained unchecked, the orcs would quickly spread throughout the settlement. Once they scattered, trying to regroup and stop them would become exponentially more difficult, and the entire clan could be overrun within minutes.

They couldn’t allow that to happen.

”The portals are the key,” Caius finally said. ”As long as we prevent the orcs from spreading out, we can limit the damage until our strongest warriors arrive.”

He paused before giving the order.

”We split up.”

His gaze shifted from one portal to another.

”Each of us takes one portal and delays the orcs coming through it. Don’t try to defeat them outright. Our objective is simply to contain them for as long as possible until reinforcements arrive.”

Only then did he turn to Zarah.

”That’s acceptable to you, isn’t it?”

Zarah gave a silent nod.

She didn’t argue. She didn’t add anything.

The quietness in her expression was enough for Caius to understand what was weighing on her mind.

Narg glanced sideways at her before rolling his shoulders.

Dark wisps of energy began spilling from his hands, gathering around his forearms like living smoke.

”Let’s try not to get in each other’s way,” he said without looking at her. ”I’d rather not have you caught in one of my attacks.”

Zarah shot him a sharp glare.

”Took the words right out of my mouth.”

Despite the exchange, neither of them truly meant it.

It was simply how they spoke to one another.

A deafening crash suddenly echoed through the settlement.

One of the orcs slammed its massive fist into a nearby building, reducing part of it to rubble before turning its head, searching for its next target.

The others quickly followed suit.

Some tore through walls with their bare hands, while others smashed anything standing in their path, all the while scanning the surroundings for prey.

”They’re spreading,” Caius muttered.

There was no more time to stand still.

The three of them burst into motion, each heading toward their assigned portal.

As they ran, Caius spoke without taking his eyes off the battlefield.

”This isn’t the time to burden yourself with guilt, Commander.”

Zarah’s expression stiffened for the briefest moment.

She answered almost immediately.

”I’m... I’m not.”

”Good,” Caius replied. ”Because we need you at your best.”

Without another word, the three of them split apart.

Caius veered to the left.

Narg broke toward the right, dark energy continuing to pour from his hands as it coiled around his body like living mist.

Zarah took the center.

The plan was simple.

If they approached from different angles, the orcs would be forced to divide their attention instead of focusing all their strength on a single target.

The nearest orcs noticed them almost immediately.

Several pairs of crimson eyes locked onto the approaching goblins.

One of the larger orcs bared its tusks before throwing back its head with a savage grin.

”Prey!!”

The others answered with guttural roars.

”Prey?”

The word echoed in Zarah’s ears.

Something inside her snapped.

It wasn’t just anger at being looked down upon.

It was everything that had happened over the past few minutes crashing down on her at once. Caius had been right.

She did feel guilty.

She had believed she was making the right decision by accepting the refugees, believing she could save lives while still protecting the clan. Instead, that decision had opened the gates to an invasion.

Now...her Chief was fighting alone. The settlement was under attack. And innocent goblins might lose their lives because of a choice she had made.

Her guilt didn’t weaken her.

It hardened into something far more dangerous.

She tightened her fist, her eyes turning cold as she stared directly at the advancing orcs.

”You fools...”

Her voice was low, almost devoid of emotion.

”You have no idea what you’ve stepped into.”

Zarah planted her foot and...