A cold, biting wind cut across the white landscape. Hasib picked his way down the snow-covered mountain path, cautious, until a sudden gust sent a shiver straight through him.
"Damn it. Keep going like this and my limbs are going to freeze solid." He stopped, rubbing his palms together. "Wait, I can try that."
He drew on his Zhoa energy, and warmth spread through his veins almost instantly, driving the chill back. He blinked, a little pleased with himself. Maybe I’m a bit of a genius after all. He broke into a run toward the flames rising ahead.
A wildfire. Green Goblins were driving Gray Goblins out of their homes, setting the stone huts alight.
He was still taking it in when running footsteps closed in behind him. "Karon! Is that really you?"
He turned. "Oh, you. Java!"
Java’s eyes lit up, and he threw his arms around Hasib. "It really is you!"
"Hey, easy." Hasib pushed him back gently, catching his breath. "What’s going on?"
"Save us," Java pleaded, voice trembling.
A screen flickered into view.
[SYSTEM: SAVE THE COLONY PEOPLE]
"I can see it. Tell me everything," Hasib said, expression hardening as he let go of Java.
Java gasped out, "Green Goblins are taking over every colony..." He didn’t get to finish. A spear whistled through the air, flying straight at them.
Hasib reacted before he’d even decided to, batting it aside with the hilt of his sheathed sword. He stared down at his own hands. "My reflexes."
"That almost hit me. Thank you, Karon." Java’s face had gone pale.
"Stay behind me."
Java gripped the back of his coat. "Why is your body glowing? Why are you so warm?"
"Just watch our surroundings."
Hasib stepped further into the colony. Stone houses lay smashed to rubble, black smoke pouring into the sky. An elderly Gray Goblin woman was trying desperately to save her burning home.
A brute of a Green Goblin stepped forward, a heavy iron rod in hand, a gang of thugs behind him.
"Get out of the way, hag!" one of them shouted, raising a weapon at the old woman.
"Hey!"
The whole clearing turned at the sound.
The thug leader sneered. "Who the hell are you? You’re no Goblin I’ve ever seen."
The others burst into mocking laughter. "What, did you drop in from Mars? Some upgraded Gray Goblin?"
Then one of the older goblins near the back went rigid, eyes going wide. "W-What? Karon?"
The laughter died at once. The leader’s smirk vanished.
"You know this guy?" someone whispered. "Did you say Karon?"
Hasib caught the shift in every face. They recognized the name.
"So you’re really that Karon," the leader said, tightening his grip on the rod.
Hasib stayed quiet, sizing him up.
Java whispered from behind him, frantic. "How do they know you?"
The leader stepped closer. "My name is Goban. Eight centuries ago, you came to this kingdom."
Hasib let out a short laugh. "Eight hundred years? We don’t even live a hundred."
The chain-wearing thug beside Goban snapped, patience gone. "Enough talk. Back to work. Lord Gobalata needs word that this sector’s cleared, no matter what."
Hasib guided the old woman toward Java, making sure she reached safety. She thanked him through tears, begging him to save her home.
Java glanced back before leading her off. "Karon, be careful."
"Get everyone out of here," Hasib told him.
"What about you?"
"I’ll handle them."
Java’s stomach dropped as he spotted another wave of Green Goblins marching in behind the first. "There’s too many of them."
Hasib had already noticed. This wasn’t a raid. It was a coordinated takeover. His brow creased.
Something heavy dropped out of the sky and slammed into the snow in front of him.
SWWWWWISH. BOOM.
Smoke exploded outward, swallowing the whole clearing.
"What the hell is this?" the Green Goblins shouted, swinging blindly.
Through the haze came the click of metal, handcuffs snapping shut around several of them before they could react. As the smoke thinned, a Goblin woman stepped out of it, pink-haired,only a ribbon wrapped across her chest.
"I, Goboby, will personally wipe out anyone who oppresses our people!"
She called for the Gray Goblins to pick up the weapons scattered around them, and, shaking off their fear, the villagers grabbed whatever blades they could and started fighting back.
Before Hasib could process any of it, a hand closed around his wrist. "Karon, come with me."
Goboby hauled him along. "H-Hey! Where are you taking me?"
"You shameless woman, let him go!" Java shouted after them. "Where?"
"Inside," Goboby called back without stopping.
Java’s face twisted in frustration. "Wait, what? Right now?" Hasib managed, half-dragged into a still-standing stone house, Java sprinting in right behind him.
Inside, two elderly Gray Goblins sat at a table.
"I’m Goboby," she said quickly. "These are our Elders, Gogo and Gobolo."
Java took a spot beside Hasib.
One of the Elders unrolled a map across the table. "The Goblin Kingdom. Four territories, East, West, North, South. Not a large land."
Hasib leaned over it. "Who rules here? Where’s the King?"
"These Green Goblins aren’t a royal army," Elder Gogo said, sighing. "They belong to an Organisation."
"Then why call it a Kingdom?"
"The King was overthrown nearly two centuries ago. Different Organisations have run things since."
"I see." Hasib nodded slowly.
Elder Gobolo pointed to marked zones on the map. "Several Green Goblin Organisations operate through this region. Each one controls smaller squads underneath it."
"I want them pulled out by the roots," Hasib said after a moment.
"A wise choice. We’re moved by your resolve."
"So this attack. One of these Organisations did this?"
"Yes."
"Why now? What do they want?"
The Elders exchanged an uncertain look. "Their true motive is unknown to us."
Hasib went quiet.
Goboby stepped closer. "We know plenty about how they fight, though."
She caught him off guard, and he looked away quickly, a little flustered. "T-Tell me, then."
Java noticed and elbowed him.
Goboby put on a dead-serious face. "Their biggest weakness is that they’re extremely ticklish on the stomach."
Hasib’s jaw dropped. "What am I supposed to do with that?"
Elder Gogo groaned, slapping his own forehead. "Ignore her." He pointed at symbols on the map. "Some rely on heavy weapons. Some strike with speed. Some fight at range. Others command from the back."
"So each unit’s got a different weakness," Hasib said.
"Exactly. Which is why fighting them with brute force alone is foolish."
Hasib fell quiet, thinking back to his brief clash with the brute earlier. He hadn’t been stronger. He clenched his fists slowly. *Maybe strength isn’t everything. Understanding the enemy is its own kind of power.*
Elder Gogo tapped the northern edge of the map. "The Organisation attacking this colony is led by a dangerous commander."
"Who?"
"His name is Gobok."
Java’s face drained of color. "The... the ’Copy Master’ Gobok?"
The Elder nodded.
A horn split the air outside.
BOOOOM.
Everyone froze. It sounded again. Then a third time.
Java rushed to the window and went ghost-white. "K-Karon."
Hasib joined him, followed his shaking finger toward the mountain pass. Through the drifting snow, a battalion of Green Goblins advanced, led by a towering figure carrying a massive iron weapon, soldiers scrambling to clear his path.
"Gobok’s arrived," Elder Gogo said, voice shaking. "Remember, Karon, he relies heavily on psychological attacks in battle."
Hasib rested his hand on his sword hilt. "So that’s the commander. The strongest of them." He paused. "But who’s Lord Gobalata?"
"Gobalata raised him," Gogo said quietly. "Gobok’s loyalty to him is absolute. That’s where the arrogance comes from."
The system flared in front of him.
[WARNING]
[HIGH-LEVEL ENEMY DETECTED]
[CURRENT OBJECTIVE: PROTECT THE COLONY]
Hasib took a long breath. He couldn’t fight this blind. He needed to analyze, adapt, and exploit.
Goboby straightened. "Alright, boy. We move now."
Java whispered a warning to her, and she puffed out her chest. "I don’t have to listen to you." Java crossed his arms, glaring.
Hasib fed Zhoa energy into his sword, a sharp aura flickering along the blade as he stepped out into the snow.
Goboby hopped onto his back without warning. "Let me ride, I’ll hop off once we’re close."
Hasib went rigid, too startled to argue.
Java pulled a face from a distance. "Shameless."
"No time for that," Elder Gobolo snapped from the doorway.
Hasib gathered himself and carried her forward across the snow.
As the enemy lines came into view, Goboby asked, "Scared, looking at that?"
"S-Scared of what?" Hasib stammered.
"Of what’s coming."
They reached the field and she slid off his back.
"Scared?" Hasib pumped his fist. "I have to get past every fear I’ve got. I’m going to be a Legendary Warrior."
Goboby studied him for a moment, then wove a quick hand seal. A massive claw sprouted over one hand, a spiked iron ball forming in the other.
Hasib’s eyes went wide. "Whoa. That’s something, Goboby."
"Focus," he told himself, turning back toward the enemy line, gripping his sword.
Goboby leaped, clearing an enormous distance in one bound and landing far out in the snow.
Hasib stared after her. If she can jump that far on her own, why did she ride on my back at all?
The two forces stood face to face.
The giant Goblin sneered down at them. "Insects. I’ll crush you under my foot."
Back near the stone houses, the Elders rallied the villagers. "A warrior from another world is fighting for us. We won’t just stand by." Weapons in hand, the Gray Goblins cast off their fear and charged the Green Goblin foot soldiers.