"Come and get it! You green-skinned maggots, your grandpa is right here!" (Spoken in Gnome)
Lorin darted out from the wagon formation. If Pip were surrounded by those goblins, it would be over. He had to lure them away first before looking for an opening. He just didn’t expect that Profanity Proficient would actually have this kind of use...
The eight goblins trying to flank Pip looked as if their eyes were about to shoot out flames upon hearing this. Ignoring the Halfling right in front of them, they bolted toward Lorin.
"You idiots, don’t fall for his trick!" Watching his subordinates act as if they had lost their minds (if they even had any), the Hobgoblin cursed anxiously.
Even Carl, the merchant desperately resisting in the camp, revealed a look of astonishment at this sight. "A taunt?" Carl thought. "Could he be a Professional? We’re saved!"
"How bothersome..." Lorin dodged a thrown wooden club with a sidestep, twisted his waist, and lunged forward, plunging his sword into a goblin’s chest. He then clumsily rolled to the side, yanking the sword out while evading the rest of the incoming attacks. "Only seven left..." he thought.
As he got up, he grabbed a handful of dirt and hurled it at the goblins. Then, he delivered a fierce kick to the nearest goblin. The massive disparity in Power caused its sternum to instantly cave in. Six left.
Taking advantage of the chaos, he moved again, still slashing with all his might. The rusty Longsword cleaved through the dust cloud and struck the head of a green-skinned beast. The tip of the blade let out a groan of overwhelming stress before cleanly shattering into countless iron shards that scattered in all directions. Lorin was nearly hit by the flying shrapnel, but fortunately, it was just a false alarm. Five.
He looked at the Broken Sword in his hand, which was now only half its original length, wanting to weep but finding no tears. "Once I get some money, I absolutely have to buy a good sword first..." he swore to himself.
This couldn’t go on. No matter how weak the goblins were, he couldn’t fight them without a weapon. Lorin furrowed his brows and quickly scanned his surroundings. Pip was already locked in combat with the Hobgoblin. The survivors seemed to have held off the goblins besieging the camp, preventing them from falling back to support their boss. "There’s still time," he thought.
He looked back. The fierce attacks had scattered their formation considerably. Lorin kicked down the one running at the very front, then braced himself and bolted into the woods. Having watched three of their comrades die before their eyes in the blink of an eye, the remaining goblins lost some of the fiery rage in their eyes. The cowardice hidden in their genes was instantly exposed. Without their leader’s command, none of them wanted to rush forward and throw their lives away. Instead, they began squawking and arguing with each other, giving Lorin ample time to maneuver.
He stumbled as he navigated through the woods. The dense canopy almost completely blocked out the moonlight. He could only run forward on intuition, nearly tripping over the rocks beneath his feet several times. Even though he had entered the woods first, he was fast being caught by those green-skinned bastards. Thanks to their diminutive stature and innate Dark Vision, the goblins were completely in their element here.
No one would ever plunge into a nighttime forest while fleeing from Demons with Dark Vision, because doing so was practically suicidal. Lorin naturally wasn’t that much of a fool, so... he paused his steps. Flame instantly erupted from his hands, illuminating the pupils of all the goblins chasing right behind him.
"This should be far enough... You bastards, taste this!"
...
Among all the human species, Halflings belonged to a rather special category. Their short stature gave them a natural affinity, and they were more than happy to assimilate into the societies of various human species. By nature, they were hardworking, capable, eager to share, and unfailingly loyal to their companions. If you didn’t mind that they would sometimes "share" your treasures as well, they were undoubtedly the dream companions for all Adventurers.
This was also why Pip hadn’t asked why he was the one being sent to the front. He acknowledged Lorin as his companion, and his companion needed him. That was enough.
"Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard! Take my hammer!!!" Pip sprinted wildly toward that hulking green-skinned bastard. The muscles on the arm gripping the Long-Handled Warhammer bulged. Sweat seeped from his pores, dispersing into plumes of white mist in the cold night, making him look like some sort of Demon. The Warhammer was raised high and brought down viciously with overwhelming momentum!
Yet, the giant did not dodge or evade. He blocked with his already-drawn Longsword. The hammer head smashed against the blade, producing a heavy, deafening boom. With a flick of his long, slender arm, the giant deflected the hammer to the side along with his Longsword. The force, enough to shatter boulders, was smoothly redirected into the ground. The hammer head smashed a deep crater into the dirt, while Pip nearly tumbled to the ground.
"Is that all?" The Hobgoblin chuckled darkly. "Dwarf bastard?"
Hearing this, Pip’s face flushed crimson. He violently yanked his hammer free and delivered a sweeping strike. The Hobgoblin took a half-step back, avoiding the hammer head. His Longsword thrust out like a venomous snake, aiming straight for Pip’s throat. In a panic, Pip twisted sideways. The tip of the blade grazed his neck, leaving a shallow bloody scratch on his tenacious skin.
"Damn it!" He spat out a curse in Dwarven, swinging his hammer in a full circle to guard his front. This big guy’s sword was too fucking heavy. He was slashing as if his life didn’t matter, and every strike left Pip’s palms completely numb. He was gradually losing ground, taking several hits from the sword in succession. His Leather Armor had been hacked to ribbons, hanging off him like vines.
PANT... PANT...
Pip’s footsteps grew increasingly heavy. He panted violently, feeling as though the massive bastard in front of him was turning crooked and swaying, as if about to collapse.
"Haha! This idiot can’t hold on any longer!" Pip shouted. He excitedly launched another attack, but his left foot tripped over his right, and he rolled on the ground twice before stopping.
Pip struggled to climb up from the ground. In his daze, he seemed to see a person crouching behind a tree, just behind the swaying, giant bastard. Both the person and the tree beside them were wobbling. "So it’s me who’s swaying..." he realized.
Reason briefly triumphed over Frenzy, and Pip regained his mind. He took several heavy breaths and once again squeezed out the strength to roar: "Is this all you fucking got? You dodge your daddy’s hammer like avoiding a plague! Did your mother snip your brain off along with the umbilical cord when she gave birth to you?!"
ROAR—
The Hobgoblin let out a furious bellow, trembling with rage as he raised his Longsword with both hands. The blade instantly turned into a blur, slicing into Pip’s shoulder. Pip clamped his teeth together in pain, but his hands clamped down firmly on the blade. Then, he slowly parted his lips, revealing a somewhat crazed smile.
The Hobgoblin sensed something was wrong. With a forceful kick, he sent the Halfling flying off his sword and hastily spun around. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Lorin’s many days of breaking into houses at night had not been in vain. While the two were locked in combat, he had already quietly sneaked up behind the Hobgoblin, making almost no sound. At this moment, they were extremely close—so close that Lorin could smell the metallic stench of blood coming from the Hobgoblin. He reached out his right hand, and scorching Flame instantly burst from his fingertips.
[Lorin’s Burning Hand]
Under the Hobgoblin’s terrified gaze, the Burning Hand slammed into his chest. Blistering air currents surged out from between Lorin’s fingers, melting through the Leather Armor, searing into the flesh, and frantically flooding toward that beating heart. The Hobgoblin’s body suddenly stiffened. He let out a short, agonized grunt before pitching forward and collapsing. Lorin pulled his hand back just in time and clumsily rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the massive body.
THUD—
The Hobgoblin smashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. He twitched twice, then stopped moving altogether.
Lorin struggled to climb up from the ground. With another thought, he activated Burning Hand again and clamped it onto the creature’s head. Even though consecutively using Magic made his head hurt as if it were going to split open, he forcefully maintained the execution of Burning Hand until he could smell the scent of charred flesh.
[First enemy killed — Hobgoblin]
[Reward obtained: 100 points of Exploration Experience]
[Current balance: 191 points of Exploration Experience]
Lorin stumbled backward on unsteady feet, falling back to lean against a pine tree. He exchanged a glance with Pip, who had long since collapsed on the ground not far away, and broke into a radiant smile. They had survived.