"We're barely two hours out here and already hunted six Mountain Lizards. Perhaps it is possible to return to the camp with fifteen of them today?" Ashen was smiling from one cheek to another from their successful hunt today.
The happiness was mutually shared between them. Due to how efficient the party was today, there's even time to forage some useful herbs while searching for the lizards.
"Put that smug face of yours away and get serious." Foster poked Ashen's waist using the tip of his scabbard. He was happy about their favorable result today, but not Ashen's silly face when he's smiling.
"Did you forget what the elders in our village always say? Be less overconfident, and remember the danger lurking around us in the wilderness." Foster added. Apparently, the two came from the same village.
"Ouch!" Ashen screamed like a missy. Of course, it was on purpose to lighten everyone's mood. Their party might have been established for less than a week, but their trust is steadily developing.
With Hespar taking note of each member's positive and negative traits, he had a rough idea of mobilizing each person efficiently. Perhaps, he would soon understand them more than themselves does.
From the results of today and yesterday, it was apparent that Foster and Quinn's fighting ability is above Brent and Ashen's. Although their ability, fitness, and skills were on par with one another, the latter two fell in aggressiveness.
During a battle, the advantages are often given to the one who is faster and fiercer. The only unfortunate here was Hespar's inadequate skill in archery. Because of this, he could not provide Stolas with any further help.
Furthermore, Stolas doesn't seem to be in his top condition today. The accuracy and steadiness of his arrows also weren't as satisfactory as yesterday.
**Shh...**
"!!!" the noise from the leaves made everyone tense up suddenly. In response to the noises, the party of six quickly unsheathed their swords and armed the bow with an arrow.
But nothing comes out from the dense foliage to meet them.
"Maybe we're just too sensitive," Stolas said, slowly loosening the arrow between his hands. But he then regretted his choice as more noises surrounded them.
(Giyaji!)
The priest-looking goblin gave its order from afar. And with this order, it mobilized almost all the goblins to attack Hespar and his party.
In the following half a minute, everything changed.
Stolas wanted to put some strength between his hand again but found it hard to do so in such a short time. Meanwhile, some in the group had it easier, while some had it worst.
The most affected ones were Foster and Quinn due to their habit of sheathing their blade whenever it wasn't used. With their hand still stuck in the projected sheathing action, it would be impossible for them to change their minds midway.
After all, everyone here was still a beginner. Unless they're forced or experienced to stay ready in a battle for months, it would be difficult to suddenly achieve the same level of alertness and reaction speed as a veteran.
But amongst the six, two managed to react as soon as the first Mountain Goblin made its entrance.
It was Brent and Hespar.
The two of them were ready to strike when the goblin came into view. Giving it no chance to evade or attack, the first goblin was decapitated into four parts in a flash.
It was unsurprising for Hespar to be ready at all times. Especially since he's been tempered with the famous Fonterra's Military Doctrine since he was young.
Furthermore, Hector has been grooming Hespar to become a leader. He had been taught to maintain the same level of alertness, whether from the start or when it ended.
[A leader shall always be the first to maintain combat-ready and remain combat-ready even after the alert level is reduced]
As for Brent, his cautiousness likely came from his obsession with hunting and killing goblins. Even before everyone noticed, Brent's Aura had been restless from the time goblins surrounded them.
Unfortunately, Brent's control over his Aura was too weak to notice the changes. This left the hint to remaining unnoticed until the goblins made their appearance.
"Engage! Engage! Engage!" Hespar yelled the same word three times to get the party member's attention. If they failed to respond in time, then Hespar would have no choice but to allow them to retire early.
After all, this was part of the doctrine included in the Military Studies. This was repeated over a hundred times throughout their education from five to graduation.
Luckily, everyone was the cream of the crop in their batch of recruits. Their reaction time might be a second or two slower than Hespar or Brent, but their ability to fight was the same when their blade was out of its sheath.
Even Stolas has chosen to fight with a pair of deadly daggers in his hands.
[Fonterra's Sword Style! Crescent Moon!]
Using one of the wide range moves in the Fonterra Household's style, Hespar fiercely swung his sword. It easily decapitates three goblins in a single move. Following that, he swiftly smashed the blade onto a goblin before feeding it with a kick.
The stomp charged up momentum for Hespar to move midair like a flying fish, which allowed him to adjust his position further inside the rank of the Mountain Goblins. For a moment, he was just as agile as a martial artist.
"Take this!" Hespar roared and made a powerful 360-degree spin with both hands around the handle. The barbaric attack was not only effective but deadly as it indiscriminately wounded all the goblins around him.
Still, he was unsure what might come next.
Being very careful in this possibility, Hespar kept his Aura as a trump card until it was required. And with everyone in his team still capable of fighting, it would be foolish to expand the influence of his Aura so early in the battle.
Again, part of the reason wasn't just due to him being cautious. Expanding the influence of his Aura would definitely sap portions of his stamina away, which would be detrimental for a long battle.
But no matter how much he planned ahead, the panning was cut short when a Goblin Elite joined the battle. It wasn't the only one, as the second Elite also tried to target Brent due to his ferocity.
"Not good," Stolas whispered. As the team's archer, he was the best at reading their situation. Seeing two Goblin Elites had joined the battle, he would be forced to abandon his daggers sooner or later.
This wouldn't be a problem if Brent didn't charge ahead. But with only Ashen around here protecting Stolas, it would be a gamble to pick up his bow again.
Soon, ten minutes had passed. But the number of goblins still does not show a hint of stopping. Instead, their number was growing steadily. By now, it has gone to about fifty or so.
**PEW!**
An arrow came from a tricky direction towards Hespar. Having no choice but to dodge with all his might, Hespar was forced to partially activate the Mortal's Authority.
The enhanced sight gave him another life as he barely evaded the poisonous arrow fired by the Goblin Archer. Furthermore, Hespar's Aura allowed him to get the precise location of all the evolved goblins around them.
That includes the priest-looking goblin hiding fifty meters from Stolas and Ashen's position.
"FOSTER!"
"QUINN!"
"GET THE HELL OVER TO STOLAS AND PROTECT THE SHIT OF HIM, NOW!"
The nervousness in Hespar made him spread open the influence of his Mortal's Authority. In an instant, all the members of his party received the clear sight blessing. The screaming then followed and echoed in their ears.
Maybe due to it being activated emotionally, the impression from Hespar's words was stronger than how it was supposed to be. This made all of them catch the emotion in Hespar's words and his worries.
**Ding!**
Foster and Quinn immediately rushed over to where Stolas stood and successfully protected their only archer from the arrow fired by the Goblin Archer. But instead of protected, it is more accurate to say that Quinn took the shot on Stolas's behalf.
"Now, Stolas! Do it while my Aura is still active!" Hespar continued. With the influence of his Aura, he could easily transfer his thoughts to a chosen individual as long he tried.
Under his own influence, Hespar's attack was also sharper and deadlier. In less than a few moves, he easily decapitates three more goblins before focusing his attack on the Goblin Elite that's been bothering him.
[Fonterra's!]
Hespar was in the middle of executing an attack but changed his mind midway. The indecisiveness made the Goblin Elite misunderstand Hespar's thoughts and try to grab the opportunity.
How could it notice that Hespar was doing this on purpose?
It was too late when the Goblin Elite noticed it had been fooled by Hespar. The hand holding a short sword was decapitated by Hespar just inches away before it cut him.
"That's all. You can die now." Hespar casually changes how he's holding the sword and swings the blade across the Goblin Elite's neck. Blood followed as it sprayed elsewhere while Hespar left the spot handsomely.
To his surprise, Brent managed to overcome his opponent too. Perhaps due to his ferocity and Hespar's influence, this allowed Brent to crush the Goblin Elite easily. But in return, he had multiple wounds for this victory.
Only the priest-looking goblin left, along with the Goblin Archer, trying to hide from the party's sight. In between their attempt to try pushing this battle to victory, Stolas finally fired an arrow into a gap between two trees.
The cry of a goblin followed.