Joshua was not someone who would stay still and let a potential threat to his village. The goblins had to be dealt with, and if they did not want to get out of that cave, Joshua would go in.
It was a fact that the cave had a whole tribe of goblins, and fighting against so many enemies being level 1 was not too optimistic. The divine powers were Joshua's secret weapon, and maybe, just maybe, he could wipe the goblins using them.
The trip to the capital was near, and for that reason, Joshua decided to take the risk. He had to reach level 5 before going to the capital with Aurora, and when they leave, the village will be unprotected for some time. Joshua had to eliminate this threat to have a sense of peace inside his mind.
Joshua left the tailor's house and went straight to the goblin's cave. The place was not that far from the village, and now that Joshua knew exactly where it was, he easily arrived there. It looked the same as the other day, with lousy noises inside and possibly a lot of monsters.
It was a rule that everyone who got out to the wilderness should leave prepared, and Joshua followed these rules always. Unfortunately, his divine powers did not give him night-vision, but his Fire Manipulation gave him the means to light up torches easily, and that's what he did.
With a torch in his left hand and a greatsword in his right hand, Joshua stepped inside the cave. Even him who was an overpowered hero was afraid to enter there alone, imagine how a normal person would feel.
At first, no one rushed towards him. Joshua guessed that the goblins did not think he would be brave enough to go there by himself. The torch would make him an easy target to spot, but there was nothing else he could do about it. Goblins had night-vision, and without the torch he would not be able to see, giving him a huge disadvantage while in combat.
Joshua continued walking in a small passageway. Everything around him was pure rock, and water dripped from the ceiling's cracks. Bugs crawled, and Joshua even felt one trying to climb up his leg.
'Damn it. This is why I hate caves,' Joshua murmured to himself, shaking his leg to get the bug out.
The path continued like that, but the more Joshua walked, the more the passageway seemed to get bigger. It meant that the first big space would arrive soon. Joshua guessed that the goblin chieftain would not be there but in another room. Usually, tribes of monsters had a lot of members, and the boss would be inside the most secure room, which was always the last.
Joshua was correct, and the first big room entered his sight. The room had strange things constructed inside of it. It was like the goblins' version of furniture.
A few guards were patrolling the area, but most of the goblins were sleeping on the ground. It was early in the mourning, and humans were only awake because they had to work. Joshua hid his torch so that the patrolling guards would not find him that easily. Joshua liked to test things, and a bold idea formed inside his mind.
'Should I try it?' Joshua pondered, before thinking, 'I'm almost immune to fire so let's do this.'
The Fire Manipulation skill had many uses, and Joshua was now trying to find another one. He concentrated the skill on a specific part of his body, his eyes. Joshua tried his best to only produce a small fire, and that fire would be inside eyes. He was scared of getting blind in the process, but he was sure that with his divine healing he would be okay.
After some time, the spell seemed to work, as everything got brighter. It was not identical to a night-vision. Joshua's pupils were now deep orange, and he was seeing a world in flames. Everything was bright and he could see things clearly, but everything was on fire for him.
'It kind of worked. Now I can see in the dark, but everything seems to be on flames.' Well, it was understandable as he had created a fire inside his pupil.
Now that he did not need the torch, it would be a lot harder for them to find him. Goblins had night-vision but it was not as if they saw everything as clear as the day. For them, it only meant that they could see better than humans for example, but one could still hide from them. That would be impossible if he was carrying a torch.
The best course of action for Joshua was to kill the guards first, and then aim for the goblins that were sleeping. Before taking action, Joshua analyzed the situation from afar. Six goblins were patrolling the perimeter, all in duos. Each duo patrolled one side of the big room, and if Joshua attacked one duo, the others would see that. But Joshua would not back down like that, and a plan formed inside his mind.
Well, it was not a plan, he would simply use his tremendous strength to kill them all. He decided to go for the goblins that were closer to him and dashed towards them at high speed. They were not expecting that, and they reacted too slowly. The goblins were also level 2, which meant that Joshua could kill them with one slash.
[-150]
[-150]
[Critical Hit]
The goblins were cut him half with that slash, and the other guards heard the commotion and were heading to where the fight happened. Joshua grabbed the spear one of the goblins was wielding and used his skill to put the spear in flames.
Maybe it was luck, or Joshua predicted that but two guards were heading his way in a line, so Joshua did not think twice before assuming a throwing stance, using all of his strength to throw the flaming spear at them.
The spear flew at an astonishing speed. Joshua had way more strength than those small goblins, so after using all of his strength, the spear pierced through both of the goblins, impaling them.
It was too far for Joshua to see the damage he dealt, but the goblins did not move, so he was sure that it was a lot.
There were still two more guards for him to face, but when he looked in the direction of the remaining guards, something else got his attention.
'Why is he here?'