End Of World Marriage

Hobgoblins

There was no time to move the rest of the bodies aside, so the goblins defeated from the last wave were still where they'd been dropped. Hopefully they'd serve more as impediments for the next wave than they would for Kenan.

Just like the previous times, the basic goblins spawned first, peeling themselves free from the sludge and taking a few seconds to orient themselves. Kenan already expected this and fell back to his tried and tested method—using the bow and arrows. He pulled back on the string of the bow, and his eyes almost widened in shock. For one, he was pulling it back with far more ease and dexterity than before. It was shocking because all he'd raised was his Perception. But it seemed with it at level two, it was somehow enhancing his Physique stat.

His vision sharpened as he let the first arrow loose. It punched a hole through a basic goblin's throat and traveled with enough force to clip the goblin behind it on the ear, taking a chunk with it. The goblin screeched in pain as it fell back, gurgling from the hole in its throat. That brought its partners' attention to it, and in doing so, bought Kenan a little more time.

He was down to four arrows—the rest had already been used multiple times, and these were what was left. He had to make the best of it before this wave ended. With far more finesse than he'd ever had in his life, Kenan nocked the second arrow and let it loose a second later. Another goblin went down, the arrow's shaft sticking out of its eye. This was enough to get the remaining three to focus on him. But before they could charge, a roar kept them in place.

Kenan felt his heart skip a beat as two new shapes took form out of the sludge. The hobgoblins were taller—around five feet tall as opposed to the other goblins' three feet of height. They quickly arranged themselves into some sort of formation. The hobgoblins were armored, though lightly—all Kenan could see was a set of pauldrons and knee pads. As for clothing, they only had filthy loincloths like the goblins, but they both held axes that seemed to be carved out of stone.

Kenan was not the sort of person to give his enemies time to react. A quick flourish, and another arrow sank into the arm of one of the hobgoblins. It let out a grunt of annoyance, looking at the arrow as if it were nothing more than a minor irritation. Kenan pushed further and fired another arrow, this time into the hobgoblin's knee. He dropped the bow and quiver as the hobgoblin roared out its anger and pain, ordering the goblins to attack while the second hobgoblin hugged the edge of the clearing, trying to circle Kenan and moving in the direction of the tent.

Kenan let out a growl as he marched forward, grabbing Kate's shield and spear. He ran forward a few steps, then pivoted on his heels, twisting his body as he threw the spear right in the path of the other hobgoblin that was trying to slink toward the tent. The hobgoblin roared in shock and brought itself to a halt, barely escaping the spear as it tore a groove across its chest. A single step forward and it would have gone through the hobgoblin's side. The monster roared out in pain, only for a Basic Wind Bullet to punch a hole through its neck.

Kenan ignored the gurgling hobgoblin and pulled out his gladius, angling his shield down a bit. The first of the goblins leaped and hit the shield. Kenan braced himself the moment he felt impact as the gladius bit forward, finding purchase under the goblin's armpit and straight into its heart. Kenan stepped back, sweat already gathering at his brow. The remaining goblins split to both sides, trying to flank him while the hobgoblin he'd shot arrows at rushed toward him with its axe raised high.

Kenan flung the shield out of his hand, a satisfied look on his face as it smashed into the hobgoblin's face. The creature fell over as a crunch-like sound filled the clearing. Kenan quickly made a finger gun as he turned to the left while reversing the grip of his gladius and stabbing toward the right, firing off a Basic Wind Bullet to the left. Of the two remaining goblins, the one on the right pretty much ran itself through on the gladius, while the one on the left fell with a hole right in the middle of its head.

For some reason, the clearing seemed to fall into silence. The two hobgoblins had quickly regrouped. It was becoming obvious to them that this was not as easy as they'd possibly thought it could be. And it wasn't just them. It had been a few years since Kenan had last taken a life or been in a fight that wasn't an argument with Kate. Sure, he was a little rusty, but that didn't matter. His wife was lying unconscious in the tent behind him. There was no time to be rusty or to hold back on what he truly was. She'd almost died!

It was unfortunate, but Kenan knew there was no more hiding the monster within. He flicked his gladius to the side, spraying goblin blood on the ground, then pointed it in the direction of the hobgoblins.

"Let's not waste each other's time. Come and get it!" he taunted as he fell into a stance.

The hobgoblins looked at each other, like they weren't exactly sure what to do with the target in front of them. On that front, Kenan had to admit that the hobgoblins were a lot stronger and smarter than their goblin variants. They weren't charging in blindly, and if they had such advanced ways of thinking, it meant that Kenan had the upper hand. They were scared of him, and since they were scared, they would make mistakes. There was no need to wait for them. He sheathed his gladius, leaving himself completely unarmed. He pointed at them again and curled his finger.

"Come on. I don't have all day."

Whether they could understand his words or not, no one could tell. But one thing was obvious—the act of curling his finger at them and sheathing his sword, the arrogance behind that movement, drove them into a frenzy. Both hobgoblins raised their axes high, even the one that still had arrows sticking out of its body, and rushed at Kenan.

"Ragagara!!"

Kenan sneered. He had four shots left. There was no way to quantify the amount of mana he had, but he could feel it. So without standing on ceremony, he raised both hands in his finger-gun style and pointed each at a hobgoblin.

Basic Wind Bullet

Basic Wind Bullet

Basic Wind Bullet

Basic Wind Bullet

The sounds of impact were wet as they struck the hobgoblins. All four shots made contact, but only one of them fell.

[Slain 1/2 Basic Hobgoblin]

Kenan ignored the system screen above the pylon as he ducked under the hobgoblin's wild swing, stepping into its guard. He hooked the hobgoblin's arm over his right shoulder and wrapped his right arm around its neck, effectively trapping the monster against his body. Kenan heaved, drawing on far more strength than he'd ever had in his life as he lifted the hobgoblin up, utilizing a wrestling move as he slammed it down.

The creature gasped as Kenan felt something snap within its body. He got up and left the hobgoblin gasping on the ground as he walked across the clearing to grab Kate's spear from where it had fallen. He limped a bit as he did so, blood staining the bandages wrapped around his right leg. Say what you would about those goblins—the damn things had really sharp teeth. Hopefully it didn't carry any infections, but if it did, then perhaps that basic antidote would help.

Kenan kept his pace even as he walked back toward the hobgoblin. It was struggling back to its feet, its axe forgotten by its side. "I don't know how, or where you guys come from. In the last few waves, I've fought enough of you to understand that perhaps you're more than just monsters. Perhaps you're only confused and scared and also don't know where you are."

Kenan reached the hobgoblin and stabbed the spear through its gut, twisting the blade as it screeched out in pain.

"I want you to understand that even though all signs point to you being victims just like us"—he twisted the blade and pulled it out, forcing the hobgoblin to its knees—"I don't care."

The hobgoblin let out a pained breath as its green hands tried and failed to keep the blood pouring from its stomach within its body.

"I don't care what your story is. All I know is that you're standing between me and my wife's survival. And I'll do anything to keep her safe. So I will destroy every last one of you. No matter how many of you bastards this damned system, pylon, and world send against me, I'll kill all of you. And when it's all said and done"—Kenan turned his head to the side as his eyes fell on the pylon—"I'm going to fucking destroy you."

He stabbed down, running the spear through the hobgoblin's heart, as the screen above the pylon shifted.

[Wave 2/3 completed!]

[Time Until Next Wave 25 @&#&#&#-#+#+#-#&# cor%=up&+#ted]

[TIME UNTIL NEXT WAVE: 1 MINUTE!!!]