"Why are there many dead goblins here? " Alice, who was walking in front of them, asked.
" I feel like something's not right here-," just when Kaguya said it, some goblins were seen eating a dead body. It was the dead body of a human. It was damaged in many places with limbs missing and the face unrecognisable.
" I hate these creatures… " Litia remarked with a blank expression and unseated her sword, ready for battle.
"Let's go! " Ordering them, she launched herself with a jump of high velocity, taking her first kill by beheading a feasting goblin.
"Skreech! "
"LETS FRIGGING KILL THEM!" Alice raised her sword and followed Litia, while Ren and Kaguya ran beside Alice.
Slash! Clank! Swoosh!
A battle commenced between goblins and the four of them. With the ratio being 24:4.
…Which wasn't even a challenge for them, since they had succeeded in killing a powerful monster, and their confidence was reaching the third peak.
Without any fear they bravely sliced their fleshes and showed their sword dance, absolutely eradicating the small squad of goblins, one-sidedly.
As the battle ended everyone except Litia was huffing, Litia being a beast girl had greater stamina and this small battle wasn't enough to tire her.
" Are these people from the second team? " Looking at the dead bodies, everyone confirmed that they were definitely people from the second team.
" We have to hurry up and help them if there are some survivors," Everyone was alerted, with clarity of the situation, enough firepower, and everything checked.
___
At the hilltop, Darren and his team were hiding, taking a high spot. Close to them, on a big tree, Elaine and her team were hiding. Below them were many goblins running amok, creating a scene of an apocalypse.
At some distance, almost a kilometre apart, Litia, who was team leader, was leading her team of three.
" Stop! Ren said, as his eyes went to some goblins at a distance. "
" I sense there are many goblins at some distance! " Litia reported.
Nodding all four of them ducked down, making no sounds they slowly walked to the closest goblin and assassinated it. Ren pulled its body and hid it in bushes.
" We can't go against this many goblins. " When all four of them peeked in their surroundings they saw this scene of gopocalypse, to which Litia commented.
" What should we do? Are others still alive? "
" We have to hurry up, I hope they are alive and safe. " There was no confirmation in her voice and she was just assuming that they were alive; she had some hopes.
"Let's leave and take another route. " Ren said solemnly.
Nodding silently, everyone walked while ducking and left the goblins behind by taking a long route afar from them, circling to their destination.
Whistle!
"Did you hear it? "Litia asked, hearing a whistling sound they became alerted.
"*Whistle* Here! "
They heard a human female voice. They started searching for the source and saw a female teammate waving her hand from above a tall tree.
"Isn't she the team leader of the second team?! "
Saying this they all waved their hands in response and decided on a safe place to meet.
___
A few minutes later…
Not finding any other safe place than the top of a huge tree, they decided to climb and now were sitting, holding the tree for support.
" Everyone died… " Elaine, who was the team leader, said. Sadness was visible in her eyes.
Kaguya had healing magic, so she decided to heal the injuries of the other three people.
" Thanks! "×4
Now that all were healed, their lifeless eyes regained their light. Now they could speak properly and their hearts were calmed down, from the things that happened a few hours ago. Elaine reported that they were running in search of Darren's team when they were confronted by goblins. Elaine also talked about Alex's death. How he gave a false report to them saying, " All his team members are dead, and how he barely survived from the huge snake. "Hearing this Litia and others were enraged due to him. He could have called for back up but he decided to lie and run away. If Ren wasn't there then they would not have survived. They thanked Ren again.
Even though everyone was aware of Alex's betrayal they still felt a little sad but not to a high extent on his death. Everyone from the team was safe and there was no loss of life, so they didn't hold a long grudge and let bygones be bygones. At the present moment, they had to keep in mind that this thing should not happen again. For that, they have to trust each other. And also… To recruit the other four in their team.
"We were just going for training and now…, " Pausing Skyla looked down and tears poured out of her eyes, " … and now we are on death's door, I shouldn't have come here. "
Looking at the teary eyes, Natasha tried comforting her. All these days they struggled and still, they are alive, safe, and fine, isn't it a miracle? No…
They survived due to their power, they ran, they fought, they hid, and they did what it takes to make it to safety. But still many failed to do so and were bestowed death, making way to eternal slumber!?
___
As time was passing, the situation was getting worse, goblins were flocking into their surroundings and it would not take much time for them to notice them, and if they did then there was very little chance to bail out of the battle.
This did not only mean one or two people but all eight of them. All survived and no one died needlessly. No sacrifice should be made and become a tyrant. These were the things they kept reminding themselves of.
" Let's hurry up, it would be idiotic to stay here for too long… " Ren confirmed the situation and presented his words.
"Alright, we will leave, but before that, we have to know what skills you all possess. " Litia asked, looking at four of them. It was of utmost importance to know your teammates and utilise their skills efficiently.
Among them, Elaine was an assassin, Vincent was swordsman, Skyla was an archer, and Natasha was a Fire magician. They weren't high level so their strengths were limited and they got exhausted after some time, using their skills. A disadvantage of not taking high-ranked similar classes!
Now the team of 8 - 5 were swordsmen including Ren and Kaguya. Kaguya, who is a healer, can use swords efficiently. Ren has Swordsman as a sub-skill and thus he could handle swords efficiently even without much practice. Litia was born a swordsman and Alice was not below Litia in sword skills. Vincent was a so-so newbie.