Chapter 28: The Goblins' Cave

Once again taking out the bombs from his inventory, Goblin Hunter hurled the explosive devices onto the densely packed goblins below him. When the bombs dropped and landed on their feet, the simple-minded goblins didn't have much of a reaction to it and instead kept screaming and throwing their weapons at the man in vain.

"Burn in hell you brainless bastards." Goblin Hunter said while giving them a thumbs down.

A moment later, the bombs went off and exploded with a 'Boom!', blowing up the entire goblin horde in merely seconds upon detonation. Seeing the gruesome scene splayed before him, Goblin Hunter reacted with extreme laughter while Alec also arrived just in time to witness the grisly event.

"Damn… that was intense." He remarked dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry that I killed all of them and didn't leave some to you. But fret not, for this is only the beginning, boy." Goblin Hunter said from several rocks away.

Alec just absentmindedly nodded his head at his words, as he swept the area ahead of him with his eyes. So far, he couldn't see any goblins that survived the explosion, or spot any new ones that came out from their nest. Meaning, the area was clear for them to carry onward.

He turned around and switched his gaze to Renan as he reported to him: "Yo, it's all good here. You can retract the spell now."

Renan nodded his head to show that he understood him, then he coincidentally met eyes with Ars just as he was about to tell her. He smiled gently at her and said: "If you would please, Miss Ars."

"Mhm. Leave it to me."

After replaying, Ars faced the rock formation and quickly chanted out a nullification spell. "Mold and restore the Earth before me to its original state--Nullify!"

Following her incantation, the large and huge rock formation slowly subsided until the ground finally returned to its former even surface. Amid this occurrence, Alec and Goblin Hunter jumped off the rocks they were stepping on then landed safely on their feet. Now the only thing left to do is to go into the goblin nest and explore their turf, hopefully finding treasure and riches during the expedition.

"Come on boys, and mage girl. Let's move out!" Goblin Hunter beckoned them as he led the way.

Since he already knew about the hideout being under the huge tree stump, Goblin Hunter confidently paced forward and kicked down the wooden net that hid the entrance by putting grass on top of it. The wooden net easily broke and fell down the hole with a loud sound that reverberated through the cave. With that out of the way, there was now nothing blocking his view from seeing the tall ladder that the goblins used to climb in and out of their nest.

"I'm going in first; be prepared young-ins." Goblin Hunter notified them before grabbing the ladder and going down the cavity.

Next to follow him into the cave was Renan then Ars, and lastly Alec. When they finally got down there one after the other, Goblin Hunter was already waiting with a blazing torch in his hand, only his back was turned towards them. Using the torchlight's illumination, he was carefully inspecting the moose-shaped skull, bone necklace, and black feathers hanging on the wooden pole. And upon arriving here, Renan and company also did the same by surveying their surroundings with interest.

"Goblin Shaman…" Goblin Hunter mumbled to himself.

And Ars, who faintly heard him, couldn't help but ask: "Hmm? Did you say something just now, Mr. Goblin Hunter?"

"Yes, and that we need to be careful here." He turned around to face the group, the red fire crackling on his torch lighting up half of his iron visage. "The big goblin boss here is probably a user of the shaman arts. No, that is most definitely the case."

"So basically, a goblin who knows how to use magic, right?" Alec nonchalantly said while taking out his long sword from behind.

"Heh, that's where you're wrong. Shamanic Arts and Magic Arts are two different schools of thought. Shamans usually gather their power or energy through mediums like sacrifices, tattoos, branding, and spiritual entities. As for magic, the user harnesses power onto oneself and doesn't require any sort of external help. But if you were to ask me which is the stronger of the two, then I can't give a definitive answer. But enough of that! We are not here to learn some mystic bullsh*t or whatever; no, we're here strictly to hunt gooooblins!"

And so, without further ado, Goblin Hunter walked into the depths of the cave while remaining completely vigilant to the surrounding darkness. Knowing that it wasn't the time to be playing around anymore, Renan and his party got serious as they cautiously moved forward. The cave was cool and humid, and there were a lot of stalactites hanging on the ceiling like canopies. Fortunately, the cave was big enough on the inside that they could jump without hitting the stones above them, so maneuverability won't pose a problem when they engage in battle.

The whole journey was quiet, almost too quiet for the party's liking. They've been walking for almost ten minutes now, carefully surveying the rocks if possible goblins were hiding behind them, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on their rears. Goblin Hunter was the one leading the group with the sole torch in his hand, and Renan could only trust this man's expertise when it came to these small creatures. Hopefully, though, this insane man would live up to his title as the Goblin Hunter.

"I can feel them. They're coming for us." Goblin Hunter stated out of the blue. "Get ready for battle!"

Then, immediately after his warning, numerous goblins came flooding in from the front like a tsunami. They didn't have any foreseeable tactics or battle formation being employed, but the sheer amount of them would still cause anyone to feel a sense of dread. Well… any normal person at least.

"Hahaha! These tiny punks want to have a direct confrontation against us! Good, good, good--that's real good! It's just the way I like it; come at us then you mongrels!" Goblin Hunter yelled in excitement.

Meanwhile, Ars was already in the midst of chanting a spell: "O most glorious and radiant holy Fire, please grant thee thy powers to slay my foes before me--Firebolt!"

A scorching heatwave was released directly from her staff's orb, igniting into a blazing fire that shot through the darkness like a deadly comet. The result was what anyone would expect--pure destruction and anarchy. A considerable number of goblins died from the blast and others were caught on fire from the aftermath. But just as the old ones were killed, new ones spawned in to take their place.

"Oryaaa!"

Emitting out a manly battle cry, Alec boldly rushed towards the goblin horde with his long sword raised above his shoulder. And as he was nearing them, he activated the only skill in his arsenal and cleaved horizontally with a powerful shout.

"Meteor Slash!"

Instantly, the goblins that were in front of him were cut down and sliced in half, their bodies sliding off while their guts spilled into a bloody mess. But just when Renan was about to join them and show off his own skills, he heard heavy footfalls approaching their backs.

'Another ambush?' He thought and then turned around to face the enemies, but what he saw left him completely speechless. 'G-Giant goblins?'

Madly charging towards them were two large and burly goblins holding spiked wooden clubs in their hands, the four fangs on their mouths protruding outwards similar to blood-sucking vampires. The muscles on their bodies were distinctly bulging and had multiple veins running through them, and it gave Renan an imminent feeling of danger. But he didn't let himself get scared so easily without first checking out their stats.

(Hobgoblin, Lv. 10)

Monster Type: Elite

Health: 9,900/9,900

Mana: 500/500

Armor: 50

Physical Damage: 250-265

Upon seeing the overwhelming difference in stats between him and these monsters, Renan could only offer up two words at that moment: "We're screwed..."