The tight line of golems faced the scattering of goblins. With no apparent tactics, the fighters charged in disorder while the archers fired at will. The priest barked an order to hold the position.
Tolir gloated that the enemy was playing in the palm of his hand. It was no great feat in this case, but the satisfaction he derived from it swept away all his doubts. When the fighters reached the golems, the other four groups emerged from their hiding places.
Surrounded, the priest realized his mistake. In a panic, he ordered the golems in the second line to form a new front, without much success. The goblins were too fast and had swarmed over the group. The scattered guards faced the goblins one on three. Only those remaining in the initial line held their ground, killing a few opponents along the way.
Soon, despite their discipline, the goblins overwhelmed them as their comrades fell without inflicting significant damage. The priest knew the battle was lost and called two golems to clear a path for him to escape.
The goblins, without Tolir's orders, were not suspicious, treating them as a mere target. As Tolir was about to intervene, the goblin archers targeted them, killing the golems and forcing the priest to take cover behind a stump.
Noting his crushing victory and with no need to hide any longer, Tolir, accompanied by Alyn, joined his troops as they slaughtered the last remaining golems. With a quick glance, he estimated his losses at seven fighters, most of them in the first group. He silently thanked them for their sacrifice.
With that assessment, he turned his attention to the item of interest hidden behind the stump. He approached the frightened priest, who saw other human beings and regained a glimmer of hope, which the goblins surrounding Tolir and Alyn immediately extinguished. Tolir knelt down beside his hostage:
"Good morning, Father."
Feeling doomed, the priest reached into his cloak before Alyn's hand stopped him. No matter how hard he struggled, the girl's superior strength prevented him from freeing himself. The vision of a frail fifteen-year-old girl holding a man in his thirties amused Tolir. Then, he resumed his seriousness remembering the goal of his interrogation:
"Stay with us a little longer, Father, we have things to say."
At the same time, Alyn retrieved the vial filled with poison before throwing it to the ground, breaking it and scattering its contents. Seeing his exit door destroyed, the man gritted his teeth:
"I have nothing to say to a traitor like you! Kill me! Torture me! But I wouldn't say anything to someone like you."
"Someone like me?" Tolir feigned indignation.
"Yes, scoundrels like you who revere ancient deities in search of power!"
"How is it a crime to seek power? Is that not what the Cult desires?"
The priest's eyes widened and he exploded in anger:
"Don't compare us! You don't have the common good at heart! On the contrary, your kind only wishes to destroy it! Everything about you is heresy! We cherish power so that vile beings like you do not seize it!"
Tolir sighed. If his strategy was working, he was getting little useful information. He calmed down:
"But aren't you the one hunting my kind, forcing us to defend ourselves?"
"Pests must be regulated!"
"Yet until now, I have the impression that it is you who are trying to regulate yourselves with your vials..."
The priest ignored the provocation, preferring to take refuge in silence, much to Tolir's displeasure. Frustrated, he exclaimed:
"Tie him up and make sure he doesn't run away."
The creatures obeyed him and with a rope that Alyn had, they tied him to a tree that they were watching. Tolir realized that for the time being he could not get anything out of him, so he turned his attention to the next step.
Night was falling, which made it unlikely that there would be any attempt from the town, which gave him enough time to reinforce his position. He knew that going through the forest was not recommended, but as it was, he had little choice if he was to prepare for a new battle the next day, this time much closer than the previous one.
He placed his bowmen at the edge of the forest and ordered them to shoot anyone who came near. He loathed the idea of leaving them alone, but it was necessary to make a round trip to bring in reinforcements.
With Alyn at his side, they took the path they had taken earlier to reach the camp. They had anticipated the walk by having the goblin workers prepare torches, which Alyn easily lit with a lighter she carried in her bag.
After a strenuous walk, longer than Tolir had hoped, they returned to their base as the night wore on. Annoyed, because he knew that it was his slowness which slowed them down, he approached the aetheric core from which he displayed the menu:
>>>>> Aethereal Core III <<<<<
Aether: 11/200
Improvements: 65 aethers
Knowledge Points: 5/5
Aetheric Bond: 40/40
Summoning: [Goblin Recruit] (1 aether), [Goblin Bowman] (3 aethers), [Goblin Worker] (5 aethers)
He transferred much of his aether into the core so that it would increase to rank IV. Then he added the aetheric knowledge of the goblin fighter.
>>>>> Aethereal Core IV <<<<<
Aether: 0/500
Knowledge Points: 7/10
Aetheric Bond: 40/80
Summoning: [Goblin Recruit] (1 aether), [Goblin Fighter] (2 aethers), [Goblin Bowman] (3 aethers), [Goblin Worker] (5 aethers)
He had only about seventy points of aether left, which he spent in full, keeping only a cushion of ten points, to summon fifteen fighters and ten archers. He took his reinforcements and the workers in the direction of the main force.
Beginning to tire from the back and forth, he asked Alyn to lead them without waiting for him. He ordered his creatures to obey the girl who knew the necessary preparations. Panting, he resumed his progression at his own pace, falling behind in a few minutes.
He hoped that the time lost would not be detrimental to them. At the same time, he was angry with himself. To make up for his mistake of the previous days, he had hastily launched the attack instead of progressing at the rate of one step per day.
He continued his walk, lighting himself with the torches that Alyn had left him. It seemed to him to last an eternity while the darkness prevented him from recognizing the places. At dawn, finally, he approached a known portion of the forest. He was not very far.
It was only at sunrise that he finally arrived at his destination. Fearing that an assault would take place in his absence, it was with relief that he saw the camp quiet except for the bustle of the goblin workers who were reinforcing the place.
He looked around for Alyn, who was supervising the workers, mimicking her facial expressions. When he pointed this out to her, she blushed with embarrassment, unaware of her actions. His reaction amused Tolir, who however resumed a more serious discussion:
"They haven't tried to attack since dawn?"
"No, in any case, no one noticed... There was no movement from the city to the outside on this side..."
Although he was pleased with the news, it did not reassure him. A new attack in the morning seemed to him the most logical move under the present circumstances, but if they applied another strategy, he feared that his forces would be insufficient to counter it.
Alyn offered an attempt at an explanation:
"Perhaps this detachment was important to them... And not seeing it return, they would prefer to lock themselves in the city safely while waiting for reinforcements..."
This explanation stunned Tolir, he was so convinced that he was at a disadvantage against the city's Cult that he had not considered this possibility. An anxiety seized him. He exclaimed:
"Follow me! And you five," he said, addressing some goblins, "come with us!"
With this escort, he rushed towards the northern exit of the city, trying to forget his fatigue and his irrepressible desire to sleep. In the distance, he saw the city gates closing. This could only mean one thing: the exit of a messenger!
Going up the road, there was a man on a horse. He estimated the distance at two hundred meters. Alyn understood the reasons for his concern and notched an arrow. As she was about to shoot, Tolir shouted, "Don't shoot!", stopping her. One arrow would not be enough and if she missed, he would know that a human was among the attackers, which he did not want to happen given their already complicated situation.
Seeing their failure, he gave up all hope of catching the rider, preferring to concentrate on how to make up for his mistake. He would have to change his priorities.