Chereads / Embers in the shadows / Chapter 3 - Chapter 3 - The Goblin Legion

Chapter 3 - Chapter 3 - The Goblin Legion

"Gii, tak gwerk?" (Gii, What are you?)

Alan started to freak out. The hobgoblin king and orcs could see his status along with Iac's above his head. The king looked suspiciously at Iac. Who was looking dumbly at the king not understanding the predicament he's in. Alan stared into the king's eyes as the king stared back into his. It felt the king could see him right through the body he inhabited. A chill ran down Alan's back as he felt overwhelmed by his presence.

"Kag gik, gii!" (Answer me, gii!)

The king shouted to Iac in a demeaning manor. The ground felt like it was shaking and the room was shrouded in an intense and violent aura. The orcs next the king started to tremble in fear. Iac fell to the floor and could only stare in awe as the king overwhelmed the throne room with only his aura. Iac tried to push his body from the floor and speak his truth. But Iac could only groan in pain as his voice felt blocked. Words couldn't describe the amount of fear Alan had at this very moment. All he could do was stare at the wall with Iac's head unable to get up from the floor.

*Step* *Step* *Step*

The hobgoblin king was getting closer to Iac and Alan. The orcs were now on their hands and knees before the king. In the beginning Alan had wondered why this group of goblins was almost ignored to the point of them being able to take on a city. But this threat was much larger than that. This hobgoblin king easily had the power to kill any C-rank slayer with ease and go toe to toe with B-rank slayers on his own. The king stopped in front of Iac and grabbed him by the head. Lifting up his entire body with one arm, the hobgoblin king started speaking.

"Gii kag gik werk gwik gwerk!" (Gii, answer me now or you shall be executed!)

The king's tone was cold. Iac was lost in a panic and couldn't speak. Slowing fading into a darkness, Iac felt like he was going to die. Pain started to strike him from his internal organs. The pain the Iac was receiving was also being transferred to Alan. Iac slowly started to faint out of fear. His body was about to lay to rest when the pressure suddenly stopped and both Alan and Iac were released.

"Are you goblin or are you traitor?!" The hobgoblin king suddenly spoke in words that Alan was familiar with. Iac's face formed a confused expression. He didn't understand anything that just came out of his kings mouth. Alan was also quite confused. 'How was the hobgoblin king able to speak English?' Alan thought. Out of all the stories he's heard about monsters from his father, not one was able to speak a human language. Well there was one but his father told him that it was only considered a myth. A dragon. A monster that's only known in detail by the elite S-rank hunters. But this monster in front of him wasn't a dragon. it was only a hobgoblin king. Alan realized, on top of the fact that he could speak English. The hobgoblin king also exuded a pressure that rivaled Alan's father when extremely angry. This was was not a normal monster by any means. But before Alan had the chance to think, Iac had started to speak.

"Gii gik Iac, gelk goblin." (Gii, Me Iac, I am goblin.) Iac looked at his king with loyalty and pride peering though his eyes.

The hobgoblin king nodded and leaped back onto his throne. Alan was shocked. If he could control Iac's body then his jaw would have hit the floor. The words he said were so simple yet the king accepted it like he completely trusted him. "Gii, gack kii gakrr veldt Iac." (Gii, we have see your status you may leave Iac.) The king looked uncaring as he said this and waved Iac away. Iac left through the same opening he came in as the orc on the king's left side spoke.

"Gwerk, gok keel gin gik king?" (Gwerk, are you sure we can trust him my king?) The king didn't respond to his question. He only smiled as he watched the scrawny goblin leave the room in a hurry. There was only one thought going through the king's mind at this moment. 'Your power will be mine!' Although Iac never knew at this moment what the king thought of him. The king knew that based on his stupidity alone that he would blindly believe anything the king says. But what the king didn't know was at this very moment that the goblin he just deemed stupid, was slowly getting smarter.

Iac speed walked down the long hall. His hands still shaking in fear. Alan felt the same as him as he kept remembering the moment Iac's throat was grabbed. The pain coursing through his entire body. The malice that the hobgoblin king had shown to them. He felt Iac's shaking. But he started to realize. Even if Iac is as dumb as a brick, he still faithfully showed his status before his king. His loyalty was very admirable. It reminded Alan of his brother's work ethic. Always following the rules, listening to his bosses orders, and helping when people needed it. That last one made Finn lose a couple of part-time jobs as a result of his impulsive actions. Finn always has to save someone in trouble even if it harms him as a result. For as long as Alan has known Finn he was never the type to make bad decisions intentionally. But he definitely wasn't the smartest when it comes to the world of adults. Iac felt a bit like Finn in that regard. Alan thought. 'Maybe Iac … isn't so bad?'

[Your synchronization rate has increased by 1.4%]

'Huh? ... synchronization rate increased?' The strange addition to his status when he entered the tower suddenly increased. Alan was unsure if he wanted this percentage rising in the first place. Now that Alan had something that increased the percentage, he now was able to come up with a clearer idea of what synchronization meant. After spending the next couple of minutes theorizing Alan came up with three different ideas on what made it rise. The first idea was that the goblin king did something to him and Iac, increasing the percentage. This one could be highly possibly as Alan really had no idea at this moment what it meant for the percentage to increase. Another was that the king's limits on powers were unknown to him at this point. The second idea was that the percentage increased passively and Alan had no way of stopping it in his current state. Finally the third idea was that his positive feelings towards Iac increased the percentage. He wasn't sure which was the changing factor. But he didn't have time for stuff like that. Alan needed to escape this group of goblins and find a way to separate himself from Iac's body.

Iac took a step into another room in the cave. It reeked of sweat. This time the room was filled with goblins and hobgoblins gearing up. I looked like an army with their weapons ready at their waist. Like he was hypnotized, Iac then rushed forward and started to put on a leather pauldron and weathered cloak. The goblins and hobgoblins all started to line up in an organized formation. A tall and well built hobgoblin warrior at the front started to shout at the group.

"Gii! Goblin gwik gak werk giil~" (Gii! Goblin legion, tonight we raid!)

The goblin legion roared. With Iac in the mix he roared along with them. Seeing the devious grin across the hobgoblin warrior's face. Alan knew exactly what they meant by raid. It was the one thing goblins do the most … Thieve. There wasn't one thing that a goblin loved more than to steal from others. Even if they were to evolve into their strongest ranked form. A goblin's innate desire would still remain as a part of them. Iac's status showed this with almost all his traits being related to stealing and a trait literally being called thievery.

The group of goblins rushed outside the cave like a pack of rats. Iac left along side them and entered the darkness of the night. The outside forest was slightly lit up for both Iac and Alan. The night vision trait that Iac has seems to hold true for the both of them. A few things that Alan noticed as they ran with the rest of the group. The goblins didn't use any type of vehicle where they were going. They ran in pitch black darkness without any light sources and a dozen goblins jumped from tree to tree without any effort. His father had told Alan that if he were to ever enter the tower to not underestimate what he's up against. And although Alan isn't fighting anything and Iac will be doing most of the work. The fear of death still remains from before when meeting the hobgoblin king.

For some strange reason Iac wasn't afraid of anything. He kept running into the night without a worry on his mind. Iac was equipped with a dagger at his waist as his weapon, a leather pauldron as armor, and a cloak for stealth. He reminded Alan of the rouge job that slayers could obtain. Other goblins were equipped with different weapons they've obtained from slayers. Behind each one of these goblins was a slayer. The more Alan thought about it the more he started to feel disgusted. 'How could slayers let a group like this stand without a full on extermination?' But Alans thoughts were cut short when the goblin legion reached their destination. They had reached a gravel road and some of the goblins crossed to the other side. Both groups formed semi circles around the path. All of the goblins were still, waiting for something to appear. 10 minutes passed before a noise was heard.

*VRRROOM*

It sounded like a car on a raceway. Speeding down the road faster than 50 miles per hour, a military truck was seen. The goblin legion prepared themselves. The first act was important. It had to initiate the fight and remove a way of escaping. The Hobgoblin warrior knew the importance of this role. So he placed his best two subordinates on each side of road to complete this task. His care to detail and planning beforehand could rival a human's thinking. Both of his subordinates pushed forward ahead of rest of the legion. For this plan to work they needed to pop the front tires to slow down the truck. Then, while its slowed they sweep through the rest of the tires removing all ways moving, forcing the truck to come to a complete stop.

The truck arrived and in a split second the two hobgoblin subordinates dove strait into the front tires with a trust. Then to create an explosion, overloaded their blades with aura and blew up the tire from the inside. Letting go of their weapons to fall to the back tires. They slashed out the two last back tires on each side. Alan was impressed by the extreme way of removing the tires. It was like watching something out a spy movie or special ops. The act was completed a little late as the truck driver had time to gain momentum and increase the distance between himself and the group.

The goblin legion roared "GIIACK!" (ATTACK!)