Ep. 58 The Chieftain

Kai Pov

A low, rumbling growl from across the clearing finally broke through my paralysis, forcing my attention away from Lilia. There, emerging from between the trees where she had been working, stood a creature that explained everything—a hobgoblin chieftain, nearly twice the size of the goblins we'd slaughtered, its muscular green body adorned with crude armor fashioned from scavenged metal and bone.

In one massive hand, it clutched a club studded with metal spikes, fresh blood—Lilia's blood—dripping from its jagged surface. Its yellow eyes gleamed with savage intelligence as it surveyed our group, lips pulled back in a snarl that revealed rows of sharpened teeth.

"LILIA!" Cecilia's scream tore through the clearing, her voice carrying pure shock and horror. Her eyes darted from Lilia's crumpled form back to the monstrous figure responsible. "What the hell is a chieftain doing out here? This was supposed to be a D-class job—that's a C-class beast at minimum!"

Behind me, Earlston's battle cry rang out, his normally reserved demeanor replaced by urgent command. "Damn it! Form up now—we have to protect Lilia!" His voice carried more passion than I'd ever heard from him in the short time I'd known the stoic warrior.

The young adventurers scrambled into position, their earlier confidence evaporating into wide-eyed terror.

The hobgoblin chieftain raised its massive club overhead and bellowed a guttural command. In response, at least ten more goblins crashed through the underbrush, their eyes gleaming with malice as they flanked their leader.

I scanned the area frantically, my gaze landing on Rowan and Maya. One thought burned through my mind with crystal clarity: I can't let anything happen to them. They were more than just fellow adventurers—they were the closest thing to family I had left in this world.

I gripped Smith's borrowed sword with white-knuckled intensity, its weight both reassuring and inadequate against what we now faced. We pulled back as one, forming a protective semicircle in front of Lilia, who remained motionless against the tree trunk.

Smith stood before her, a statue frozen in grief. His shoulders slumped forward, a single tear tracking down his cheek. The light in his eyes—the confident, sometimes playful gleam that had guided us through the forest—had extinguished completely, replaced by a hollow emptiness that terrified me more than the advancing monsters.

"SMITH, PULL IT TOGETHER! WE NEED YOU!" Earlston's desperate call echoed across the clearing, but it fell upon deaf ears. Smith didn't respond, didn't move, didn't even seem to hear the words.

There was no time to coax him back to awareness. Earlston and Cecilia understood this reality better than any of us—friends or not, the battle wouldn't wait.

Earlston's jaw clenched as he tightened his grip on his massive battle axe, teeth grinding audibly. "GET READY, THEY'RE COMING!" he roared, preparing us all as our attention snapped forward to the advancing horde.

The chieftain led the charge, its thunderous footsteps shaking the very ground beneath our feet. Behind it, the remaining goblins moved with surprising discipline, spreading out to flank us from multiple angles.

Earlston stepped forward to meet this overwhelming force, letting out a war cry that seemed to shake the trees themselves. With practiced precision, he slammed his axe into the earth before him. The impact, partnered earth magic, sent a progressive wall of jagged stone spikes surging toward the chieftain—a devastating attack that would have impaled any normal goblin.

But the chieftain was no ordinary foe. As the wall of deadly spikes hurtled toward it, the creature raised its club high above its misshapen head. With a roar that seemed to split the air itself, it brought the weapon down with earth-shattering force. The impact demolished Earlston's attack, reducing the wall of stone spikes to rubble and dust.

I heard Earlston grunt in frustration, sweat already beading on his brow from the magical exertion. But there was no time to dwell on the failed attack—the battle had begun in earnest.

Cecilia moved next, slamming her palms to the ground with an aggression, the very soil beneath three approaching goblins liquefied into quicksand, pulling them down to their waists in seconds. As they struggled, she closed her fists sharply, and the earth solidified again, trapping them in place. Without hesitation, she launched a barrage of stone projectiles that ended their struggles permanently.

"Maya, Rowan—focus on the flanking goblins!" Earlston commanded. "Kai, stay close to Lilia and Smith! Cecilia and I will handle the chieftain!"

Maya responded immediately, her small hands erupting with flames that far outmatched her size. Two goblins approaching from our right disappeared in a conflagration so intense that nothing remained but ash and scorched earth.

Rowan danced forward, wind magic swirling around his blade in visible currents. A goblin lunged at him with a rusty spear, but Rowan sidestepped with preternatural grace. His counterattack was a blur—a diagonal slash enhanced by wind magic that separated the creature's head from its shoulders.

I maintained my position near Smith and Lilia, sword held in a defensive stance. A goblin broke through our line, charging directly at the vulnerable pair.. As the creature raised its jagged blade, I stepped into its attack, parrying its weapon wide and driving Smith's sword through its throat in a single fluid motion.

Warm blood sprayed across my arms as I wrenched the blade free, but I had no time to dwell on the sensation. Another goblin was already taking its fallen comrade's place.

Meanwhile, Earlston and Cecilia engaged the chieftain directly, their coordinated attacks speaking to years of fighting together. Earlston would force the creature to defend with powerful axe strikes, creating openings for Cecilia's precision magic attacks. But the chieftain was unnaturally fast for its size, deflecting or absorbing most of their efforts.

"Something's wrong," Cecilia shouted between attacks. "It's too strong—too coordinated!"

She was right. When Earlston overextended on a powerful swing, the creature sidestepped with frightening precision and brought its club crashing into the veteran adventurer's side. Only a hastily erected earth barrier prevented the blow from being fatal, but even so, Earlston was sent sliding backward, his face contorted in pain.

"We can't beat it like this," he gasped, clutching his ribs. "Not without—"

His words cut off as the chieftain let out a triumphant roar and charged directly toward our weakened defense.

And still, Smith didn't move.