The Goat's Demise

The goat had made significant distance from where Eidiri was, unsteadily stumbling back onto its hooves.

When it charged again, Eidiri merely stepped to the side, letting the goat charge harmlessly pass by him.

This time, the goat didn't have enough time to slow its speed, unable to skid to a halt.

So the goat continued its reckless charge forward, the imposing horns attached to its skull slamming into a boulder with great force, concussing itself from the blow.

The goat stumbled backward, shakily walking circles, tripping over its own feet.

'This goat really isn't that difficult,' Eidiri observed, 'Well, time to get this over with.'

Walking forward, Eidiri ignited his hand with the alluring flames with the Fury FIst, the light of flames excitedly dancing on his skin.

With each step he took, the panic in the eyes of the goat grew more and more visible as it tried to sober itself back up from the self-given concussion.

Transforming his gait from a slow walk to a slow jog, Eidiri sped up his approach to the goat, not wanting to give it time to recover.

However, at the same time, Eidiri was hesitant to break out into a full-blown sprint, as this could very easily be a feint on the goat's part, luring Eidiri into a false sense of security before skewering him with those gnarled horns.

His hand still ignited, when he had crossed into striking distance, Eidiri pulled his hand back, curling it into a fist before rocketing it forwards, sending the goat reeling with the blow, its shaky footsteps growing only even more erratic from the blow.

Desperately it swung its head around, hoping to land a blow on Eidiri in its wild trashing.

With the force the neck of the goat could exert Eidiri would surely, at the very least, be knocked unconscious with a single hit from the horns.

He had no forms of defense after all, no way to block, or at least mitigate the damage he would receive.

Stepping back, he circled around to the goat's unprotected back, hoping that the goat wouldn't be able to have a clear view of him.

However, in its wild trashing, the eyeballs of the goat swiveled around, managing to catch a glimpse of Eidiri as he tried to maneuver to the back.

In response to this, the goat started kicking its hindquarters around, trying to hit Eidiri with repeated mule kicks.

This caught Eidiri off guard, getting caught in the chin by one of the kicks that the goat rapidly launched.

This sent Eidiri flying away and into a tree, Eidiri losing a large portion of his health.

Staggering back to his feet, Eidiri was greeted with the sight of the Demonic Goat's horns barreling down towards him.

Shocked, Eidiri nearly froze at the moment, before realizing the significant danger he was in and falling towards the side.

The horns missed Eidiri by a hair's breadth, plunging deep into the tree that Eidiri had just been leaning against.

With a sharp 'thunk' the goat was stuck in the tree, the horns being its own detriment in this situation as it pinned itself.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Eidiri rained down blows empowered with the Fury Fist, the feeling of the magic flowing through him giving him a great sense of empowerment.

There was a great qualitative leap from the previous Fury Fist compared to the one he was currently using, the increase in damage displaying a visible effect.

If Eidiri were to use the non-empowered version of the Fury Fist, (which was still optional mind you as long as he decided to not burn as much mana) the damage would only be barely enough to leave minor bruises on the goat hide.

But now, with one hand landing Fury Fists, and the other wielding Saxum Gladius, the goat was swiftly killed.

'Unfortunately, the hide was ruined. It's probably for the best if I don't utilize Fury Fist as much,' Eidiri thought as he glanced at the bruised and beaten corpse of the Demonic Goat.

The hide was torn and sliced apart in multiple areas, at best if Eidiri were to try to use this would be as a rag.

At least the meat wasn't too bad, but unfortunately, Eidiri didn't know how to butcher a goat, so he roughly chopped the goat apart, most likely ruining several select cuts of the meat.

Taking note of that, Eidiri decided to ask around later to see if anyone would be able to teach him any skills involving butchering.

'Maybe the meat shop could help me out. And if that doesn't work I'll try the hunter's lodge'.

Eidiri wanted to nab the horns as well, but they were securely locked within the confines of the tree trunk.

No matter how he pulled or tugged at the horns, they stubbornly refused to budge.

After several attempts to loosen the horns from their snug resting place, Eidiri gave up on the task, opting to go out and continue the hunt for more monsters.

If the village would fall, Eidiri would at least do his damned best to make it qualified to be defined as a fight.

His mind set, Eidiri continued to patrol around the forest, looking for more monsters to slay.

After about 20 minutes of exploring or so, Eidiri managed to catch sight of some weird sort of footprints within the dirt.

Oddly enough, these prints didn't resemble anything like an animal, but rather that of a human footprint.

This meant that A) There were creatures that resembled humans, which wouldn't be surprising granted the existence of dwarves, or B) There was at least 1 other human present within the forest.

Hopefully, this entity would prove to be of a friendly nature, not part of the attacking horde.

These tracks led further into the forest, something that Eidiri was incredibly hesitant to delve deeper into.

At the distance he had traveled already, he had judged that he was relatively close to the approaching monsters, going any further would prove significantly dangerous.

But in danger, always lies opportunity, so Eidiri cast his fears aside, going deeper into the forest, footsteps silent, all in hope of securing some intelligence on the enemy.