'Tsch, really nothing ever goes as planned.'
Ivan thought as he saw the green giant approaching, accompanied by 4 larger goblins riding war boars, all carrying iron weapons and armor that was a mixture of worn, boiled leather and metal that had already begun to deteriorate, probably looted from travelers.
But the one in the center was nothing like any goblin Ivan had ever seen or heard of, he was not only large by goblin standards he was immense even by human standards, both in height and width. After all, a person over 1.90 could already be considered tall, add that there is a stomach that would not be inferior to that of a pig ready for slaughter, the result is a mini-behemoth, and this mini-behemoth is riding on a boar corrupted by Corruption has become a macabre and dangerous mix between boar, wolf and bear, you have a real calamity coming your way, forget a small village this would be a catastrophe even for a city.
'But then why would he be leading a band of goblins, and goblins at that that looked subpar.'
Ivan thought, momentarily reminded of how the fight had gone up to that point, how hard they had tried to make the fight so easy.
(A few hours before)
"So how are they doing?" Gerard asked his friend.
"Who? The inexperienced and frightened young men that Barton is forcing to learn an almost extinct form of fighting or the inexperienced and frightened ones that I've been making walk barefoot through the forest on dry leaves?" He responded by looking at several young men and women banging wooden sticks against bales of hay a little ahead, as well as monitoring how his 5 new "apprentices" moved through the trees further back and how they went from the trees to the ground.
"If you can give an unbiased assessment, both." The old chief added.
"Ha! And when I'm not?" He replied, which ended up earning disdainful looks from both of them.
"Okay, okay, well looking at it objectively, the Barton boys are pretty decent, not that I can say I'm an authority on conventional warriors. My apprentices aren't bad either but still no ideas, just yesterday they went out in the east forest and managed to catch two hares."
"After two days and a group of 5 people only managed to catch 2 hares? Are you sure about that?" Gerard asked.
"A group of 5 people who only picked up a bow and arrow for the first time two days ago and who had never entered a forest, without knowing how to track or hide. So yes, it's quite impressive." Ivan said it short and thick. "Although in terms of aiming and firing speed they are actually quite... common."
Gerard and the chief decided not to comment, after all they knew nothing about warriors or archer hunters. They just asked Ivan about his vision, both literal and figurative, a good vision could see the strengths and weaknesses in posture and the way they used weapons, if Ivan didn't say anything bad about it they could have some peace of mind knowing that at least in that sense his young warriors were fine.
"By the way, any news about the young man you sent to the village?" The boss asked.
"He left yesterday, how do you expect him to get there, investigate the situation and return the next morning?" He asked slightly irritated.
"I know but you never know..." He left the thought suspended, but everyone already knew what he meant. Which was a good sign, after all, if he had already returned it would mean that the defenders had already lost.
"I think by dusk or, at the latest tomorrow morning."
"The problem now is whether we can survive until then." The chief said.
"Don't be a foreboding old man. Even the pessimistic Ivan said that these boys are doing well in training, so our chances must be slim at best." Gerard said smiling to try to reduce the tension.
"I'm not a pessimist, I just prefer to consider the worst possibility as the most likely and prepare accordingly." Ivan said grumpily.
"..... I'm pretty sure that's the definition of a pessimist." Gerard said.
"No, that's being a cautious pessimist, there's a big difference." Ivan said at once.
"What would it be?" The chief joined the conversation.
"The forewarned lives longer." Ivan said with a slightly sarcastic and slightly cruel smile.
After this brief conversation that unbelievably even managed to lift the men's spirits, they headed towards the field to see how the preparations were going.
A group had finished harvesting the vegetables and removing the plants from the ground, making more space for the construction of traps (mostly holes) and obstacles made of wooden logs and sawn boards, the idea was for the goblins to get around them and end up falling into the holes, but if they climbed the logs and stood on the boards, they would give way, sending them headfirst onto an iron spike hidden behind some of them, while others would only fall face down on the ground, which would disorient them.
And in some of the traps, instead of an iron spike, there were some bags filled with herbal powder, herbs that according to Sofi, the goblins hated the smell of, as much as a human hates the smell of rotten eggs. In addition to the bags in the traps, another group spreads this powder along the wall making a specific path that they want the goblins to follow.
However, unlike the powder in the bags, this being spread had been dried with alcohol to make it flammable, thus having double protection, the smoke with the smell that the goblins hated fire more than most animals and monsters (even the humanoids) were afraid. As soon as the first goblins were spotted, the fastest members would use torches to ignite this trail of dust, ensuring a specific path and more control over the battle.
Both this idea and the herbs and the recipe for how to make this powder came from Sofi through Constance, as she had locked herself in her cabin for the last three days and no one except her knew why.
"We are far from being experts or exemplars in combat, but I think it's safe to say we have made good preparation." Gerald said looking at how the uprooted plants were used as cover for the holes and spread further to make it difficult for the goblins to advance.
"Although it is still regrettable that we have to uproot the plants." The village chief said looking at the literal fruits of everyone's labor being ripped out and crushed on the ground.
"Well there's not much we can do about that. You know it's common to do this in case of a big goblin attack, so at least we guarantee a good portion of food for ourselves and deny it to them... Even if the worst will happen." In a dark and bitter tone Ivan said.
Everyone looked at the field getting its finishing touches and mere moments after they finished making their way, Matt came running from the forest to the southwest weaving through the trees as fast as a deer. As soon as he got close to the wall, he climbed a tree with three well-trained jumps and then passed the wall, waving his arms and shouting as loud as he could.
"THEY ARE COMING, GET EVERYTHING PREPARED, THEY ARE COMING!!"
For a moment everyone was paralyzed by his arrival, some even had the sweet illusion that these goblins wouldn't really care about a small village and all these measures were unnecessary and a waste of time. But reality is never that sweet.
"Well..." Ivan said, nibbling on a piece of dried meat that he had taken from who knows where. "I think now we're going to have our boys' test by fire, huh, let's pray that things don't go too far as planned."
What would normally be a mere sinic comment, this time it was taken very seriously and all those who were going to fight made a brief stop in front of the stone altar and then went to their positions.
It was time to see how a group of young people with 3 days of training would fare, forming a phalanx and a wall of improvised shields against a horde of hungry goblins.