"How are there so many of these bastards?" Kase shouted.
"They're goblins that were gathering herbs nearby," Colin yelled, gasping for breath. "We just have the worst luck!"
WHOOSH!
Another Arrow flew past his ear.
Goosebumps erupted all over Colin's skin.
Goblins had short arms and legs, so on flat ground, they'd never be able to outrun them. But on this rough, rocky terrain, it was a different story.
It was a no-brainer.
Neither he, a human who'd spent most of his life struggling in a city, nor Kase, a Half-Orc who'd spent years battling the snowy wilderness, could possibly outrun goblins born and raised in these lands. It was only a matter of time before they were caught.
Would this horde of goblins let them go?
'Of course not,' Colin thought, recalling his body's original memories.
The goblins of this world were a lot like the ones he'd seen in movies and TV shows.
They were a race of malformed, evil creatures. For them, nothing was more enjoyable than torturing other living beings.
Kase's decision to strike first had been absolutely the right one. Even if they had calmly tried to negotiate with the goblins, the end result would have been the same: they'd be tortured to death and then served up as dinner.
As he was lost in thought, Colin suddenly felt an impact on his shoulder, as if someone had punched him hard.
'Did I just get hit by an Arrow?'
He glanced back.
The shaft of an Arrow was sticking out of his shoulder, bobbing up and down with his movements.
Two seconds passed before the searing pain finally arrived, feeling as if he'd been stabbed with a red-hot dagger.
"Look out!"
Kase's roar came from beside him.
Colin quickly jumped aside. Kase swung his Axe backward, sending a goblin that had snuck up to ambush Colin flying.
"Don't let them bog us down!"
While shouting, Colin clutched the bag and herbs with his injured arm and drew his weapon with his other hand.
He looked at another goblin that had caught up and thrust his weapon forward.
The goblin couldn't stop in time, and the crude Orc Short Sword plunged into its throat without resistance. Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain.
Colin pulled out the Short Sword, turned, and kept running, leaving the critically wounded enemy behind.
"Kid, you alright?!"
"I hope the Antidote works, or I'm finished," Colin answered through gritted teeth.
He could hear his own voice trembling uncontrollably.
The words had barely left his mouth when five goblins shot out from some godforsaken corner and blocked their escape route.
The leather armor on these goblins was noticeably thicker, and they were adorned with numerous beast fangs and bones. They clearly held a higher status than the ones behind them.
Footsteps sounded from behind as the other goblins closed in, surrounding them.
This group wasn't shooting Arrows, but the blackened tips of their spears were now just inches away. The air was filled with the chattering gibberish of the goblins.
Kase said in a low voice, "We're screwed if they catch us. We have to run!"
Time seemed to freeze.
Colin gripped his weapon so tightly he could almost hear the creak of his palm against the hilt.
A spreading warmth crept down his back; the blood from his wound had already soaked through to his lower back.
His mind went blank. For a moment, Colin had no idea what to do or what would happen next.
「A few seconds later.」
The goblins' chatter stopped. It seemed they had reached a consensus: take them alive.
The goblins in front raised their Short Spears and began to close in, hideous grins plastered on their ugly faces.
"ROAR!" Kase let out a beast-like bellow and charged forward.
The goblins in front lunged with their spears, but the Half-Orc, simply relying on his superior reach, swung his Axe from a safe distance and smashed one of the goblins' heads, leaving it a bloody mess.
The goblins in the back started shrieking again, and the whistling sound of flying Arrows once more filled the air.
Colin gritted his teeth.
All his problems were cast to the back of his mind.
Right now, he just wanted to live. He wanted to get back to his tiny attic in Thousand Masts City and drink that disgusting oatmeal porridge!
His eyes focused, and with a trembling voice, Colin uttered the Spell.
A flash of fire erupted as he swung the Short Sword in his hand with all his might.
The goblins were completely caught off guard. Two Short Spears missed their mark, and the flaming Orc Short Sword struck one of them.
The Flame burst outward, coalescing in mid-air into a fireball that sent another goblin flying. That one writhed on the ground, wailing in agony.
[Emerald Flame Sword]!
Three out of the five were taken down in an instant.
Even a human Warrior would be terrified by this sight, let alone these selfish, cowardly goblins.
The two seized the opening and immediately broke out of the goblins' encirclement.
"Which way do we run? They'll catch up to us again!" Kase's roar reached his ears.
Colin's vision started to go dark.
His already dizzy head throbbed, making it impossible for him to speak.
After running for an unknown distance, the sunlight overhead dimmed. Colin realized they had run down a small path and into a cave. The passage inside wasn't narrow; it was wide enough for nearly eight people to walk side-by-side.
They hadn't taken two steps before a four-meter-high wall of cold rock blocked their path.
There was space above the rock wall, and they could clearly see sunlight, meaning there had to be a way out up there.
The goblins' voices echoed through the tunnel, growing closer and closer.
'Who could climb a four-meter rock wall right under the noses of thirty goblins?' Colin thought. 'We certainly can't.'
Salvation was so close, yet so far.
Leaning against the rock wall, Colin gasped for air.
A CLANGING and BANGING sound came from beside him.
He turned his head to see Kase silently tossing two small bags and their other belongings up onto the ledge.
Just as Colin was catching his breath, he suddenly felt a pull on his right arm, and the world spun around him. By the time his vision cleared, he found himself next to the luggage Kase had thrown onto the ledge.
Colin instantly understood: Kase had thrown him up here too.
He turned back and reached his hand down. "Quick, I'll pull you up."
"Not enough time." Kase clutched his Axe, his entire body trembling. "You go on ahead. If I don't make it back to the cave tonight, head back to the village. I'll find you there."
"How do you plan on taking on more than thirty goblins?!" Colin shouted.
"What makes you think I can't?"
"Let me think of something!"
Colin looked around frantically, searching for a way to save him.
'The Torch in the bag, the herbs...' he screamed internally. 'None of this is any use!'
Suddenly, a few clusters of purple mushrooms growing by the side of the tunnel caught his eye.
The memory of the apothecary owner making a Smoke Bomb flashed into his mind.
Just then, the goblins caught up. Kase's battle cry and the goblins' gibbering shrieks echoed through the cave.
Colin took out the Torch and, gritting his teeth, cast [Flaming Arrow].
The tar-soaked Torch instantly caught fire.
"Get ready! Hold your breath!"
"You're still not leaving?"
"Shut up! Do what I say and you'll live!" Colin tore off the mushrooms, lit them with the Torch, and a thick cloud of white smoke instantly billowed out.
'It worked!'
"Hold your breath and grab my hand!"
Colin shouted as he turned and threw the mushrooms one by one toward the goblins. The entire cave was instantly filled with smoke. He threw himself down on the edge of the ledge, stretching out his uninjured arm with all his strength.
The Half-Orc took a long, hard look at his companion.
Before the smoke completely engulfed him, he kicked off the wall, leaped up, grabbed Colin's arm, and scrambled desperately upward.
A chorus of coughing echoed through the cave. The goblins were choking on the smoke; forget shooting Arrows, they couldn't even figure out where their enemies were.
Colin used every last ounce of his strength to haul Kase up.
He felt like he was about to be dragged down by the Half-Orc's weight, but thankfully, he succeeded in the end.
The two grabbed their packs and gear and bolted from the cave, running for an unknown distance until the cave was completely out of sight.
"Kid, your courage has earned the respect of a Totem Warrior," Kase said, panting. "If you didn't look the way you do, I'd almost think you were a fearless Orc Warrior yourself."
"Don't say that. I was so scared just now I couldn't even speak."
The Power from the adrenaline rush receded like a tide, and a pain that pierced to the bone washed over him.
Colin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Help me with this wound, will you, Kase, my boy?"
Kase, who had been about to move, let his face fall at those words.
"I'm the older one!" he muttered.