Chapter 29: Desperate Battle

"...No, not yet." Renan gritted his teeth and readily charged forth towards the two gigantic goblins as he brandished his claws. "Judging by the size and their acute simple-mindedness, the most they can do is mindlessly swing around their weapon. All I have to do is keep them busy while the others take care of the rest."

When Renan got close enough to the two hobgoblins, one of them roared and slammed down its club towards him. Of course, he expected as much and promptly dodged to the side.

'Wild Power!'

He activated his newly bought skill and berserk energy instantly filled up his system. Pouring strength into his entire right arm, he clawed the hobgoblin's left foot and immediately backed off. What landed on the spot where he was standing previously was another club swung downwards. He felt the ground quake beneath his feet; but nevertheless, he charged forward again.

'Fury Swipes!'

Dodging yet another blow from the former hobgoblin (the one he attacked), he activated his first skill and unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp scratches to its large body. Afterward, he rolled away just in time to avoid the other hobgoblin's furious whack. He repeated the same movements each time, dancing around the hobgoblins like he was performing a nerve-racking live show where a single mistake could lead to fatal consequences.

This was a protracted battle at its finest! And during this event, a red hot firebolt suddenly came flying in and targeted the former hobgoblin's head. The offensive spell landed squarely on its face, making it cry out in anguish as it staggered backward. Renan didn't have to turn around to know who it was that fired a magical attack. Besides, who else could it be if not the only mage in their party--Ars.

Not letting this chance slip while the monster is still stunned, Renan hungrily dashed towards the enemy and delivered another series of claw attacks that struck at its vitals. And when he felt a heavy pressure aimed towards him, he promptly stopped and rolled away to the side.

"Phew… Like I thought. Goblins are just simple creatures that rely mostly on their numbers to bully people. And even their stronger ones are clumsy and slow in their movements." Renan's face broke out into a grin, as he couldn't help himself from feeling complacent.

But, just as he was about to enter the fray once more, the other hobgoblin that remained untouched until now because he ignored it, suddenly charged towards him at breakneck speed. Naturally, he couldn't evade this one on time.

"Gack!"

His whole body was directly plowed through and was sent hurtling across the cave before ultimately crashing into its hard wall. He was made to spit out a huge mouthful of blood then fell to the ground on his front. Subsequently, he could hear heavy footfalls drawing near to him.

'Damn it… is this the end for me…?' He regretfully thought to himself. 'Should I stand up, or… lie down and just give up…?'

A sense of helplessness mixed with hopeless despair came over him, as his body refused to listen and get up from the cave's cold surface. Besides, deep down in his heart, he knew that he couldn't possibly defeat these enemies that surpassed him in strength. And with the cramped space that the cave provided them with, it was even more of a disadvantage for Renan to move around in.

'Maybe… coming down here was not such a good idea…'

He slowly closed his eyes and waited for his fate to be delivered. But then, a clear cry suddenly rang out in the cave, filling Renan's eardrums in its entirety as if that sound was the only thing left in the world.

"Firebolt!"

An explosion echoed throughout the cave walls. The hobgoblin approaching Renan was hit right in the back of its head and was made to lurch and topple down unto the ground. Next, Renan felt someone lifting his gravely wounded body up and then making him sit upright with his back against the cave's wall.

"Hey kid, are you still alive there? If you are, I want you to drink this real quick."

A gravelly voice uttered in the darkness, awakening his flickering consciousness that was about to go out. And the next thing he knew, his mouth was forcefully plugged by something while a warm fluid flowed into his throat. He subconsciously drank the unknown liquid, and as a result, he could feel his body somewhat recovering from its injuries.

"Yes, good, that's it. Drink it all up kiddo; don't leave a single drop remaining."

The gravelly voice tried to hypnotically order him, which weirded him out quite a bit. Nevertheless, he obediently sucked the whole thing clean until there was no longer any residues in it. Eventually, he could feel some vitality returning to him and his eyelids could open at last. And yet, what he saw nearly scared him to death--there was Goblin Hunter, hovering over him with a scary smile revealed from his helmet.

"You okay there?" He asked.

"Umm… Yeah, I'm alright…" Renan eked out a reply. "Could you perhaps get off of me now?"

"Okay, I was just making sure."

Goblin Hunter nodded his head and promptly stood up to create some space between them. With that, Renan breathed out a sigh of relief and also did the same.

"Guys, get out of there!"

An abrupt yell resounded, and Renan's senses sent him clear warning signals to evade immediately. Wasting no time to do so, he jumped out of the way and somersaulted onto the ground. On the other hand, Goblin Hunter looked behind him for a moment and saw a hobgoblin that was injured with blood dripping everywhere on its body. The monster was charging in their direction at breakneck speed, and with him acting too late he was sure to be smashed squarely to the wall of the cave just like Renan.

"Oho! You're approaching me?"

At least, that was supposed to be the obvious thing to happen...