"N-No?" Soundov asked, his lip quivering. "But money is why you're here, right? I can give you 1000 fletchlings."
"Yeah, he can!" Dirx insisted. "Trust me, my group was about to use him for ransom money!"
"OH. HOW MUCH U HAVE THEN?" Gogrin asked, his interest rising.
"W-well if you count all my property holdings and treasury, I'm sure my total wealth numbers larger than 800,000 fletchlings, but that's—
"I WANT THEM ALL," the hobgoblin grinned.
"WHAT!?" Soundov growled, his nervousness dissipating in an instant. "You came here for 1000, why are you demanding it all?"
"BECAUSE I CAN," the monster chuckled. "OR I DESTROY EVERYTHING."
The towering goblin's twisted logic was annoying, where I now felt sympathy for Lyka's dad over the predicament he was in. Looking around at all the scared townsfolk that hadn't yet evacuated, and then to his daughter, the mayor solemnly shook his head.
"If that's what it takes," he sighed. "I'll give you everything. Just don't hurt anyone else."
"OH. I WANT PRETTY LADY TOO," Gogrin added, sniffing deeply as he looked down at Lyka.
"Oh come on, not her too!" Soundov yelled. "I'll give you everything, but my daughter is off limits! What would you even do with her?"
"PLAY WITH HER, THEN EAT HER FOR SNACK?" the hobgoblin shrugged.
I felt true anger for the first time since being reborn upon sensing Lyka's aura change. She felt scared when the goblin gang was trying to rob her the night before, but this fear was true fear. She was horrified at what this monster wanted to do to her, her hand trembling as she held my yellow-kernel body close.
"That's going too far, boss," Dirx said as he walked over to one the discarded spears that the soldiers that had been batted away dropped and picked it up. "I don't mind stealing for you, but now you're just being a shithead."
"Yeah, I like the taste of this girl's vinegar," Krissy added, before winking towards the young woman. "Even if she is a smelly human."
"FOOLS, I'LL CRUSH U!" the hobgoblin roared. "CONSIDER OUR PACT OVER. NOW U DIE!"
"As if we had a choice not to serve you," Dirx spat as he straightened up. "Sis, get ready to launch me at his face."
"You got it, bubby," Krissy replied as she wrapped her thick arms around her brother.
With that, she began to spin around, faster and faster until like a hammer tosser at the Olympics, threw Dirx with tremendous force.
Sailing in the air towards the giant that he'd served, the goblin prepared to stab the brute square between the eyes with the spear that he picked up. We all watched with anticipation as the short green man seemed to fly in slow motion towards Gogrin, extending the spear as he was seconds away from landing the killing blow.
"DUMMY!" the hobgoblin growled as he effortlessly swatted Dirx out of the air like a bug, sending him slamming into one of the nearby buildings and causing the wall to shatter.
"Bro!!" Krissy cried as she rushed to her brother's aid, only to be stopped when Gogrin smashed his bat down in front of her.
"YOU NEXT!"
"Ugh, stupid goblins, I can't watch this," Lyka scoffed. I thought that she was about to flee, only to be proven quite wrong.
"Lyka!!" Soundov cried as his daughter sprinted over to Krissy and stood before the menacing hobgoblin. "Get back here, you'll be killed!"
"Hey, what are you doing?!" I asked telepathically to the girl holding me. "Like your dad just said, this is too dangerous, get out of here!"
"Master, kick this fat monster's ass!" Lyka grinned as she held me up to her face. "You're powerful, I know you are. You can do this! I trust you, I know I can. Don't let this brute hurt anyone else."
"FAT?" Gogrin snarled. "I KILL YOU!!"
With that, the towering goblin raised his bat high above his head, blotting out the noon sun as the young women and I fell within its shadow. The entire spectating crowd held their breath, with Soundov paralyzed in horror while Krissy's eyes widened in shock. I myself was horrified, and it took some resolve not to give into my roach puppet's instincts and flee as it was about to be squashed, though of course I couldn't abandon my corn body either. Then, I felt warm and fuzzy inside. Lyka truly believed in me, and of course. I'd done things that I never thought were possible, solely by using the energy of the world around me as a power source.
Could I do this?
"I can," I thought to myself nervously as the behemoth bat swung down towards us. "I got this."
"Stop. Stop. Stop. Halt. Halt. Halt. Repel. Repel. REPEL!"
Dulling the senses that I was getting from the cockroach, I focused internally with my corn body and felt my kernel energy flow around me like the beautiful, yet powerful force of a raging river. I concentrated on denying the solid tree trunk passage, to protect both myself and the gorgeous young woman holding me. I was confident not to let any harm come to us, and as a raging red aura of kernels engulfed my corn body, I expelled them all at once. The result was a huge shockwave, even bigger than the one that I'd used to knock the goblins back the night before.
Nearby buildings shook as the powerful blast not only stopped the momentum of Gogrin's attack completely, but knocked the bat backwards and sent the towering goblin reeling in the opposite direction, where he lost balance and fell onto his ass. The crowd gasped in amazement, while Lyka smiled confidently and her dad nearly fainted with relief.
Unlike teleporting earlier, this counter hadn't left me feeling drained. I had the strength to continue, and feeling confident in this, I telepathically addressed everyone nearby.
"Hear me, Carverstead!" I announced. "I'm going to defeat this monster. Fear not, because you're all about to be saved!"
The crowd was confused as to who was speaking, while the giant hobgoblin meanwhile returned to his feet.
AAARRGGG! DIE!!" he screamed as he stomped our way.
It was time to fight on the offense for the first time. As a corncob.