Midnight swiped at one of the arrows flying towards our group. I managed to erect a barrier around the group before the other arrows could cause injury. Since our group had mostly recovered from our injuries, we were much better prepared. After all the fantasy stories that I have listened to in the past, I fully expected some kind of bandit attack. This was not quite the kind of bandits I expected. Short green creatures with dangly legs and sparse hair revealed themselves. Their eyes were large and their noses protruded dramatically. I used Analyze Vision as soon as I had the chance.
Name: N/A
Race: Goblin
Occupation: Forest Bandit
Level: 15
I scanned through the group and all the other goblins had the same occupation, "Forest Bandit". Clearly they were intelligent enough to lead an assault. At the same time, this was apparently a less-traveled path to the Dwarven Kingdom. They must have some kind of sensing ability to find us from the forest. Either way, we have been discovered. Most of the goblins were between levels 13 and 16. I counted at least 14 of them. There was one unique goblin near the back of the pack.
Name: Raghar
Race: Goblin
Occupation: Forest Bandit Leader
Level: 23
The goblin leader, Raghar, seemed to be holding some kind of curved sword. I used Analyze Vision on it and it told me it was an "Iron Scimitar". We could use some real weapons. I was not fully confident that throwing rocks and beastkin claws would be the best solution for these bandits. The remaining goblins all seemed to have bows and arrows. They had several piles of arrows laying on the forest floor between them. Immediately, I considered torching the arrows. With my Flame Vision, it would be quite an easy task. At the same time, our group desperately needed weapons or tools we could use to defend ourselves. I fully expected Monte to show up from the shadows to attack us again. Having bows and hundreds of arrows would be an incredible blessing. I decided that I would steal the arrows rather than burn them. Even crudely made arrows would be fine for a person with good bow skills.
I started to consider our options. Bliss seemed ready to use her skills as well. She had leveled up since our battle with Monte. She was now level 5. I was also on the cusp of level 5 and I was excited to see what my next level up would give me.
"Bliss, I want you to try to wrap up as many goblin archers as you can while we take them out. Midnight, can you start by finishing off the entangled goblins? I will try to get closer to the leader and I will keep the barriers active as long as I can. The further I leave the group, the more difficult it will be to hold. If we can get all the goblins with bows, then I won't need to worry about it as much."
"Agreed," responded Midnight. He was a wolfkin of few words but he seemed reliable. The dwarves stayed back in the carriage while the remaining beastkin stayed back as their protection. Although my barrier skill had improved, I could not maintain it around the carriage if I moved too far from the area. Bliss did not need to move much for range.
"Bliss, see if you can put up vines to shield the group after I've left here."
Twiiii!
That was a cheerful affirmative. In the feelings of my bond with her, I could sense a firm determination. Bliss was a strong supporter of justice. If anything, the little flowkra was helping me to make the right decisions. In this case, she did not hesitate to attack the goblins. Tying up legs and arms, Bliss was able to hold up 7 goblin archers. Since she was already setting up a defense around the carriage, this was a great display of her capability. She wasn't just a simple little flower.
I raced towards the goblin leader, dodging and deflecting arrows. I kept a small barrier around my body as I approached the group. I pulled out my stone spear from my storage and held it in my right hand. Holding out my left hand, I launched several more boulders at the remaining archers. I managed to take out 2 of them while I pierced a third one with my spear. The goblin leader was visibly getting angered. We had ticked him off. I used flame vision on another goblin archer. It was effective enough to get the creature to drop its bow and hold out his hand in pain.
By now, the black wolfkin Midnight had already dispatched 3 of the tied-up archers. Bliss had managed to grab and tie up one more of the bandits. The remaining archers circled around their leader, wary of my unexpected skills. It appeared that there were 6 left that were not tied or killed, including their leader. Not only did they have to be wary of the moving vines trying to wrap them up. They had to dodge giant flying boulders. Unfortunately, I only had a couple boulders left. I would have to go around and collect these boulders afterwards to replenish my stock. My barrier seemed to be too strong for the goblin archers. Even a direct hit would not get through. What the goblins did not realize was the amount of mana I was dumping into the skill to make it seem invincible. The more impacts the barrier sustained, the more mana I had to use. I still had around 200 mana remaining. My last boulder managed to scatter the group into two directions. With that, I focused on the leader and two archers on one side. Thrusting my spear, I aimed at the chest of the leader. Unfortunately, the leader was very fast. It almost seemed to disappear, reappearing behind me. My barrier shook as the scimitar slammed against the back of my head. Without my barrier, that would have already cost me my life. My mana tanked it with great sacrifice. My barrier flickered out. Arrows were still being launched at me. The goblin leader jumped towards me with zeal, swinging the scimitar horizontally towards my neck. Was I out of options?