Battle of Attrition
"You'll see," Elric said.
"But before we make any kind of assault on them, we need to cut their supplies of armor and weapons, that's why we need to cover the two entrances inside that cave and make it thick enough for them to have a hard time breaking through."
"That's why we'll leave one entrance open in the mining cave so they won't focus on breaking it but rather keep diverting them to us." He added.
"But what about the traps?" Klein asked again, showing a bit more interest in the traps that Elric mentioned.
"I'll tell you how to make them when we get there, but basically we're going to make something like this, and this, on all the entrances just in case. We have to make them first before we cover up the passages." Elric explained while he drew on the cave walls with a sharp stone that he 'Altered' to use as a writing tool.
"Do we start now?" Alice asked.
"That would be correct. So we need to make all the necessary preparations before we move. Let's go." Elric said as he moved and collected all his items and share of provisions.
After making their preparations, they all moved down into the large cave, with their usual formation, carefully with their senses alert for any incoming surprise attacks.
Nothing seemed to have changed in the large cave which Elric found to be a bit unusual since nothing seemed to have alerted them after a handful of the goblins have met their ends at the hands of the trio.
Elric shrugged the idea quickly thinking that maybe it was all too normal for them to lose their comrades.
'There must be another passage that leads to the surface since they don't even bother using or even coming over to this space.' He thought.
"Let's start setting up the traps," Klein said with an obvious grin on his face.
It took them a couple of hours setting up all the traps on all three entrances since they had to keep the noise to the bare minimum for them to remain undiscovered.
They started to cover the middle passageway next. With three of them using the [Alter] Skill, things went smoothly and without a hitch.
After making sure that the material was thick enough, they moved to the inner part of the armory to seal the entrance there.
They had to be quick since they know that a goblin will come and stash the finished armors and weapons. However, they needed to make sure that this seal was as strong as it could be, to prevent them from using any of the items inside and would be forced to fight bare-handed.
*TIP-TAP!*
A sound that came from the other side of the wall they had made was approaching slowly.
This alerted the three and quickly moved on to the outside entrance that connected the armory to the large cave and started to seal the passage as fast as they can.
*SNARL!!!*
The creature started to snarl and pound on the stone wall that they've sealed the entrance with. They have been discovered.
"Let's finish this quick!" Klein said as they hastened the process to prepare for the inevitable battle they'll face.
The loud thuds and banging on the stone wall multiplied but suddenly stopped as they heard them rushing to the mining cave to check the entrance if it were sealed as well.
"Here we go! Klein! Alice!" Elric yelled out as he breathed in and out heavily.
Klein kneeled to place his hands on the hard ground to activate his skill [Twin Shields]. As craters formed below his hand to absorb the material, stone shields quickly formed on his forearms.
Alice prepared as well with her [Twin daggers]. A sharp and pointed edge made out of pure stone was formed on both of her hands. She positioned herself behind Klein, their usual defensive strategic formation.
Elric had already unsheathed his now sharpened metal sword using his [Alter] skill. He also coated his hand and the hilt fusing them to prevent the possibility of being disarmed.
"Be ready! There's at least more than thirty of them by the sound of it." Elric warned the two as they braced themselves from the incoming assault.
They all faced the mining cave's entrance to prepare for the attack and as the wave of green monsters came rushing out of the passageway...
*SMACK!*
*SMACK!*
*SPLITCH!!!*
*SPLITCH!!!*
*SPLITCH!!!*
Loud noises followed by sounds of flesh being stabbed as the goblins that rush forward were all caught by the traps that they've set, instantly killing them.
The traps they created were deep pits with spikes at the bottom covered by a thin layer of stone to hide the hole but will break once a certain amount of weight was put on top of it.
Another trap was a huge stone slab diagonally lifted by a thin pillar of stone which will easily break upon small impact pulverizing anything beneath it.
With almost half of them already caught by the traps, they were confident in dealing with the remaining unarmed creatures who were scared and wary of traps that they might be caught in.
However, this fight is fundamentally different than dealing with Onyx wolves or a single giant bear. Their numbers are a threat and can overwhelm them by attacking their blind spots.
"Here they come!" Klein yelled out as he raised his shields into the air and slammed them down in the ground burying them once more, creating a wall of stone to protect themselves in the front as the goblins rushed forward and slammed right into it.
Klein broke the connections of the shield to his forearms and coated his hands once more with a thick layer of stone on his left forearm and a sword-like weapon on his right hand.
Alice took care of the ones that came from the left side of the stone shields that Klein had firmly buried in the ground and he took care of the right side.
Alice was swiftly slashing at the goblins that were jumping right at her, with their dirty looking faces and sharp fingernails. Their necks, hands, feet were constantly being dismembered from their bodies as she hacked through the endless waves of these green creatures.
On the other hand, Klein who's slower but equally contributing with piling dead goblin bodies. Bashing through them with pure strength using his shield and piercing through flesh after pushing them back.
They both efficiently slashed and hacked their opponents while Elric took care of the ones that were climbing the shields that planned to attack his friends from above.
*BOOOM!!!* *BOOOM!!!* *BOOOM!!!*
[Caster Skill Activated]
[Energy Propulsion]
[Caster Skill Activated]
[Energy Propulsion]
[Caster Skill Activated]
[Energy Propulsion]
He blasted one after another, supporting both of them while they fight. With minimal injuries, the surge of the goblins finally stopped after almost an hour of intense battle.
Elric quickly rushed to both of them and healed their minor wounds.
[Caster Skill Activated]
[Mend]
Green smoke glowed from their wounds and just like that, their wounds disappeared as they were never there in the first place. However, Elric's healing abilities could not bring back their lost stamina, so their fatigue from the battle are still present.
"What do we do now?" Klein asked while panting from exhaustion.
"Do we keep doing this until they're all dead?" Alice asked while catching her breath as well.
"No, this will eat up our strength and as soon as we get overwhelmed by their numbers, we'll end up dead," Elric said.
"They'll also breach the armory soon and after that happens, we'll be facing them fully equipped. So we retreat for now and seal the entrance to our cave again and come back again tomorrow." He added.
Elric helped both of them stand up and quickly cover their traps. They needed to retreat to their cave and seal the entrance while no goblins were coming out.
This is the tactic that Elric came up with. A battle of attrition will shave the numbers of the enemy over time using traps and strategic battles using their defensive formation.
Also, retreating to their cave and sealing the entrance, will confuse the enemy, and will have no idea where the attacks are coming from.
Although it will take time to make a significant dent in their enemies' numbers since goblins are notoriously known for their fast breeding, it's the best strategy to ensure their own survival. Elric has resolved himself to eradicate the goblin horde, even if it will take years for them to do so.
And so, after going back the next day and the day after that and the day after that. Soon, weeks turned to months and months turned to years, the goblin horde was on the brink of extinction and the creature who hid inside the wooden walls finally came and showed itself.
"Let's finish this once and for all! Let's go!"