Mastery Is Earned

The wave of fire dissipated, leaving only a cloud of thick black smoke. Agonized screams echoed throughout the quarry. Most of the soldiers and mercenaries on the slope had suffered severe burns and lay rolling on the ground in pain. The flames had shown no regard for friend or foe. Several goblins had also been burned and ran about shrieking.

Raymond looked toward the pitch-black tunnel. A tall, lean figure was slowly emerging from the darkness. When it stepped into the light, the glare struck its single remaining eye. It squinted and raised a hand to shield its eye.

Its head was slightly too large for its body. Long pointed ears flared outward, and its lower jaw protruded—all unmistakable goblin features. Yet it had only one eye. The right remained intact, while the left had shriveled and collapsed. Scar tissue had fused the upper and lower eyelids together.

It was neither as tall nor as bulky as a Greater Goblin, but its lean, compact body seemed charged with explosive strength. It stood about five feet seven inches tall and wore nothing above the waist. Black scales covered its cheeks, the sides of its neck, its forearms, and its chest. A faint dark red sheen showed between them. Its entire right arm was encased in scales, and sharp claws extended from its right hand like a dragon’s talons.

The goblin looked very different from Raymond’s memory, but the black scales, draconic claw, and injured left eye all matched the Dragonblood Goblin he had encountered before.

Perhaps because it was accustomed to living in caves and possessed low-light vision, it needed a long moment to adjust. Finally, it lowered the hand shielding its eye and blinked as it surveyed the people near the slope. Its gaze moved across them one by one, then visibly paused on Raymond. A trace of delight immediately appeared on its previously blank face.

Only then was Raymond certain. This was the Dragonblood Goblin whose left eye he had blinded. In his memory, it had been frail and undersized, nowhere near as strong as it was now. Even after breathing fire, it did not seem to struggle as much as before. It appeared that during the time since their last encounter, its injuries had healed well, and the dragonblood within it had made it stronger.

“Grrik-kaka! Cunning... human! Die!” The Dragonblood Goblin recognized Raymond. It barked a string of cries at the goblins around it before glaring at him and shouting.

At its command, the other goblins charged Raymond and his companions again. The Greater Goblin also roared and rushed toward Raymond, brandishing a massive iron club.

Raymond hurriedly looked back at the slope. The scene was even worse than he had imagined.

The fiery breath had engulfed nearly the entire group of eight advancing at the front. Two had died instantly, while three more rolled desperately on the ground with their bodies aflame. Even if the fires were extinguished in time, they would likely be unable to continue fighting.

Dario and two other shield-bearing soldiers had escaped injury, perhaps because their shields protected them or because they had ducked in time. Only the shields themselves had become searing hot. They had thrown them aside and were now beating out the flames on their companions.

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The formation had been thrown into complete disarray. Several goblins had also been caught in the fire, but the rest had no intention of letting Dario and his men rescue their comrades unopposed. They charged straight toward the people on the slope.

With the front line on the verge of collapse, a young mercenary at the rear hesitated again and again, then turned and fled. He had completely lost the courage to continue fighting.

“Hah!”

Henk’s roar snapped Raymond back to the battle. The half-orc had already stepped in front of him. Wielding his hand-and-a-half sword in one hand, Henk cut the nearest goblins apart in a few quick strokes, then met the Greater Goblin’s descending iron club.

The piercing crash of metal against metal rang across the battlefield.

Henk stopped the Greater Goblin’s downward blow through sheer strength, startling even the creature itself. This Greater Goblin was stronger than the one Raymond had previously encountered. It stood almost half a head taller than Henk and was even more heavily built.

Henk felt a pang at the sight of the notch in his hand-and-a-half sword, but his reaction was even faster. While the Greater Goblin remained stunned, he drove his right foot into its belly.

The kick forced it back one step. Henk seized the opening and swung his sword at the back of its right hand. But the Greater Goblin’s hand was broad, with exceptionally thick, hard bones. The strike failed to sever the hand, leaving only a deep gash across the back of it.

The Greater Goblin howled in pain and dropped the iron club.

Before the weapon could hit the ground, Henk kicked it aside and thrust his sword at the Greater Goblin’s chest in the same motion.

Henk’s blade moved too quickly for the creature to dodge. Its only choice was to seize the blade with both hands and keep the point away from its chest. A cruel smile pulled at Henk’s lips. He immediately added his left hand to the hilt and drove forward with both arms, forcing the blade closer little by little.

The Greater Goblin could not hold back Henk’s steadily mounting strength. No matter how hard it tried, the point continued advancing. The blade sliced open its hairless palms, pierced its chest, and finally burst from its back.

Its arms fell limp, followed by its massive body. Henk pulled out his sword but remained cautious. He stabbed it several more times in the throat and did not relax until he was certain it was dead. Raymond had warned him that Greater Goblins possessed remarkable vitality and were adept at playing dead.

Raymond had not been idle during Henk’s fight. He rushed ahead and intercepted the few goblins at the front of the charge, buying Dario and the others time to regroup. The fighters who had been helping extinguish the flames immediately picked up their weapons again and joined Raymond against the oncoming goblins.

With Raymond’s current swordsmanship, ordinary goblins could barely stand against him. Within moments, those leading the charge fell one after another beneath his blade. Once he and the others had driven back the frontal attack, Raymond turned toward Henk. By then, the half-orc had confirmed that the Greater Goblin was dead.

Raymond glanced at the Dragonblood Goblin near the tunnel entrance. It had also noticed Henk’s display of strength and was staring hard at him. Scarlet light shone from its single eye. It opened its mouth, and currents of air began swirling within.

“Henk! Watch out!”

Raymond shouted and ran to the side. Henk immediately turned. The moment he saw dark red fire light up inside the Dragonblood Goblin’s mouth, he threw himself in the opposite direction.

A thunderous roar shook the air.

Dark red flames surged outward, nearly grazing Henk. He hit the ground, rolled once, and seized the massive iron club lying nearby. Springing back to his feet, he took aim at the Dragonblood Goblin and hurled the weapon with all his strength.

The huge iron club spun through the air with a heavy whistle. It barely missed the Dragonblood Goblin’s mouth before slamming into the rock beside the tunnel, making the entire entrance tremble. The creature swallowed hard. When it looked back and saw the club embedded deep in the stone, it immediately turned and fled into the tunnel.