"I don't understand! I thought they were still marching over from the mountains?" My voice takes a high note, unable to contain all my nervousness as we carry on with the topic. "That horde should invade us in the next two weeks!"
All the people present in the meeting chamber stiffly shake their head, locking horns at what I had announced. The news had been prevalent in our ears, yet things turned out differently, somehow. However, that did not stop me from thinking optimistically and tried debating if we can still find a solution for the engaging problem ahead of us.
"The traps that we were about to set up; how are they?"
"The villagers had to posit them up, unfinished," Arion spoke evenly with a tired sigh.
"How about the weapons? The training sessions of the villagers?"
"As much as I hate to say it, goblin, but the folks aren't ready for war," Bill answered with his eyes gazing right through me, bathed with sadness and regret.
"What about the-,"
"Lake!" Elanor shouts at the top of his lungs, harnessing all the attention locked onto his angered mien. "Can't you see we are all trying our best here?"
The tone behind his words says it all. With that short phrase, I burst into tears, powerless that I couldn't do anything near the relevant wooden board.
Natalia and Miguel see my figure dashing outside, through the meadows, not minding anything in my way. The two of them hastily follow my tail despite the calls back from the tavern reaching out for our names.
"It's alright, your Majesty." Bill pulls the shoulder of Elanor, about to grab the emerald tunic and attempts to chase us back to the safety of the inn. "They can defend themselves."
"But there are wild boars and dire wolves outside the forest!" He cries while surveying the silent woodlands, with only the flock of birds flapping in the distance, making all the sounds.
Elanor's ears beg to differ, as he can hear the silent moans of animals getting gobbled up by the unknown monsters, hunting for their midnight snack.
"I hope you're right about that,"
________________________________________________
"Mr. Lake, what's wrong?"
"You suddenly plunged out from the inn, out of nowhere, with your stomping green feet like a boar!"
The elf and the human kid trace my footsteps and follow me wherever I go. I do not plan on leaving the village, but enough range away from the tavern.
It was suffocating hearing those pessimistic words, having nothing to do against the wild monsters travelling their way here.
"We have brains, and they have none!" I spouted, letting my inner emotions slip.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Natalia, being able to catch up with me, grabs hold of my shoulder and forcefully turns me around. "Running away won't solve things,"
I can see it in her eyes that she has heard everything that the generals have said. Even the tiniest details of the number of monsters and weapons got absorbed in her mind. Despite these data she had gathered, she has this calm face saying that everything will be alright soon.
'I envy her,' my mind mumbles to itself, showing signs of patheticness to my personality.
"I plan on doing nothing," Every cell in my body quakes, disallowing me to accept what I have believed in.
"Then why are you so worked up about this situation that you don't care?"
The beautiful blonde elf has a point. My body freezes on the spot, unsure of what reaction to show upon hearing such savage words, piercing me through my heart like a jack of nails.
"I lost my parents; I don't want to lose this village too,"
At that moment, my emotions gave me away and shared an explicit story that nobody should hear about from this world. Yet I attested to a civilian that I, a goblin, have a family I have cared about.
"No, what I meant was-," I tried changing the subject, but Natalia continued to walk up close to me, studying every bit of my actions.
"You have a family? A goblin?" She asked in a straight tone. I cannot decipher whether her words bring out her curiosity or a sincere quiz that she means to ask.
"No, you misheard me. I don't have a family," I desperately retract my words, hoping that she would, somehow, have faith in my croaking words.
"Lake, you are lying," her hands slowly reach close to my face and wipe the salty tears flowing down my cheeks. "You are terrible at telling lies."
A moment of silence resounds in the air, with the three of us, with Miguel watching close, inside the isolated part of the village. There are a few Elven guards from here and there, but there could not see us from here.
"The truth is, I-,"
"Lake, there's something there,"
Before I can even utter, Natalia and I got distracted by the tugging arm of Miguel. He then points at the dark willow trees as if he had seen an apparition in the uncharted forest.
The large bushes and trees obstruct our vision, but we could perceive the florid globes leering in our direction. My two comrades beside me cannot move an inch as if something had paralysed them out of their boundaries.
[Warning! The dire wolves activated their prowess [Paralysing Scowl] ]
-An intimidating leer that causes a weak-willed to fear the unknown. Paralysis will affect the foe for 5-10 seconds. It is an ability that depends on the steeled heart of an individual. The duration could extend momentarily if the fear consumed the brain.
[Because of your skill [Unrivaled], [Paralysing Scowl] does not affect your mind. You do not fear the dire wolves]
'What an elaborate description, system,' my eyes widened in amazement about the useful passive skill that I got back from the goblin's cave. If I had received this skill, then I would have been lying on the floor right now.
"Do not panic," I deliberately move both of my hands and clasp their body unto mine. By the time I expect the wolves to pounce, I leap back and drag the two of my friends to safety, away from the wild beasts.
With their back hitting against a rough stone, the pain did its job and made them regain their movements. They each received a small scrap from the impact, but we might as well take that rather than getting eaten by them alive.
The dire wolves close in on us with their tranquil paws gripping on the soil. Their eyes glued upon us and bare their fangs, knowing that we cannot defend ourselves easily.
I conjure my water prism and trap three of the wolves closest at our feet. My liquid ball shatters into pieces, breaking free from my powerful spell.
"Tsk, I expected that," I told myself to enforce a positive outlook in front of death.
As soon as the wolf notices I am a threat to their clan, a canine, cladded in silver fur, marches forward and charges directly in my direction.
Luckily, an arrow from metres away hits the ground, distracting the hound from its momentum. The dart looks familiar with its stem coming from the oak of the nearby trees.
"Are you alright, Lake?" A soldier from Elanor's army comes in the rescue with his pair running off back to the inn to call more back up in our location.
"Yes, we are fine."
For now, we need to stay focused and fend these beings off from the forest and regroup ourselves in the inn. We can perceive eight wolves, including their leader. The Alpha wolf has a different colour amongst its group, with its teeth slightly sizable amongst its peers.
We got ourselves outnumbered by a few, with some of our members emotionally wounded after fleeing from an earlier setting. Although we have an armed elf with her bow, our power is not enough to defeat these vicious beasts in an instant.
I know for myself that I exceed most of the people's expectations of me, proving to them I have the knowledge beyond what a goblin is capable of. However, I have never undergone a lethal conflict that places the stakes up towards the roof.
The entire scene exemplifies whichever individual lives or dies. The victor who has more strength and arcane would likely win than those who have less magic. It is like a degree when browsing levels of characters in RPG games. The higher the level of a player, the more chance that person could win the game.
Upon looking at the dire wolves statuses and comparing them to mine, I knew they are formidable enemies. They respectively have ten more levels higher, comparing it to mine, and even a few levels away from Elanor himself. They can uncomplicatedly paralyse anyone who draws near their vicinity, as we have seen before with my friends. And that's not the only skill that they have been hiding beneath their sleeves.