Goblin extermination

Tamashi still had some time before his family woke up, so he decided to take Awayuki and observe the goblins a little. He had climbed a tree about two hundred meters away from their camp and was now sitting atop a thick branch in its crown with Awayuki on his shoulder.

They were supposed to be working on a plan to fight the goblins, but...

“Hey Awayuki, can I ask a weird question?”

“Cheep!” (Ask away, I will be glad to enrich your wisdom.)

“Since I received your beast egg from a reward, and not the usual way it works with the System, where exactly did you come from? Were you just born when the egg hatched, or did you have a life somewhere else before?”

“Cheep!” (To tell you the truth, it is both.)

“Huh?” Tamashi looked at his shoulder, where Awayuki was sitting, confused. “What do you mean, both?”

“Cheep!” (I have already lived many lives, and every time my body perishes, my soul gets transported to a new, unborn embryo. Although I do not possess memories of my previous lives, I do retain things such as habits, personality traits, or vocabulary.)

“Whoa... That’s kinda cool but also disturbing at the same time. Does it work that way with all the beasts?” asked Tamashi curiously, his azure eyes sparkling with wonder.

“Cheep!” (Yes, although ordinary beasts retain nothing after their soul is reincarnated, unlike us angels or other higher forms of souls.)

“I see, I see...” Tamashi mused. “And are you always the same type of beast, or is it different every time?”

“Cheep!” (It is indeed a new body every time my soul reincarnates, although for us angels, who hold our powerful authorities, the vessel needs to suit our specific field.)

“Man... I still can’t believe I managed to hatch you, an actual angel, with my Luck being just fifty-seven at the time. Although I try not to rely on you too much, since it would impede my family’s growth, having you by my side is incredibly reassuring, if something were to go horribly wrong.”

They both just sat there for a while longer, chatting away and observing the goblins’ behavior, before Tamashi decided to check the time in his System menu.

“Oh, it’s this late already? Guess we should head back, huh...”

When the two of them returned to their camp, the others were already preparing breakfast.

“Big brother! Come eat with us—hurry!” Mika called him from afar, prompting Tamashi to quicken his pace with a warm smile.

After they were done eating breakfast, they packed up their things and could finally be on their way to beat up some goblins.

***

A pack of green goblins was loitering around an extinguished campfire, some sticking the tips of their spears and axes in the ground, others just lying on their backs, gazing up at the empty sky.

Suddenly, an arrow flew in their direction from above, hitting one of the resting goblins in its leg, causing it to fall to its knees. Despite the surprise attack, it didn’t take the goblins more than a second to gather themselves and prepare for battle.

But right after they ran in the direction from which the arrow had been shot, another arrow struck a second goblin from behind, this time lodging itself in its neck, killing it almost instantly. Then, a third arrow flitted at the goblin pack from the side, hitting an axe-wielding goblin on its right side, piercing its lungs.

Just like that, two out of the ten goblins were dead, with one injured and unable to join the fight.

However, the largest goblin—presumably the pack’s leader—let out a battle roar, finally noticing an adult woman in the direction from which the first arrow had hit one of its allies. Signaling the others, they rushed forward, enraged by their comrades dying and hellbent on ripping the attacker to shreds.

The woman stood still, seemingly without any intentions of fleeing, and fired another arrow, aiming at the goblin leader’s chest.

To her dismay, the large goblin leader was ready, deflecting the arrow with the giant blade of its stone—yet incredibly sharp—axe, continuing its charge.

Her face now a little pale, the woman braced her stance, shielding a much smaller human girl behind her.

Nocking another arrow, she took a deep breath, closing one eye and aiming carefully, trying to steady her shaking hands. Unfortunately, her arrow missed the leading goblin, embedding itself in the soil behind the pack.

The goblins were now mere meters away from the woman, laughing crazily, excited to sink their weapons into human flesh.

However, before they even had the chance to swing their blades, an arrow drove deep into the back of one goblin’s skull, killing it instantly.

This gave all the other goblins pause, making it possible for another human—this time a muscular young man—to collide with the two-meter-tall goblin leader with incredible force and speed, ramming into it with his shield and sending the two of them tumbling to the ground.

The adult woman, now presented with a new opportunity, fired another arrow, hitting a goblin in the stomach. The four remaining goblins that were still on their feet panicked for a moment, unsure as to what they should focus on first.

The goblin leader finally managed to shake the human man off, but by that time, another human man, this one much skinnier yet seemingly more dangerous, had decapitated another goblin with a spear, then jumped back to evade the other three goblins. That number was quickly reduced to two, though, after another arrow from the woman struck one of them in the neck, killing it on the spot.

Originally, the goblins numbered ten, outnumbering the human attackers quite a bit. Now, only three goblins remained, making it an equal fight.

The goblin leader, now much more livid than ever, decided to ignore his two remaining companions, again rushing at the woman. His charge was impeded, however, by the same young man whom he had clashed with only a few moments prior.

The man was still holding his large shield, standing between the goblin leader and the woman, staring down his grotesque green enemy with fury and determination.

“Go and help Tamashi, I’ll hold it back for now. Mika, enhance my physique before you go.”

The handsome young man said something to his companions, but since the goblin couldn’t understand their language, it ignored it and charged at the man with a loud screech, its large battle axe high above his head, thirsty for the human’s blood.

Bringing its weapon down with incredible force, the goblin leader aimed at the man’s head, intending to take his life by crushing the skull and turning his brain into mush.

Having anticipated the attack, the man simply hid behind his shield, blocking the strike with relative ease. To his surprise, however, the axe managed to split the top of his shield open, sinking into it, as if chopping a log.

The man’s face suddenly showed a hint a fear, but he quickly suppressed that feeling, side-stepping and freeing the goblin’s axe from his massive shield.

Not wasting any time, the goblin charged at the man again, this time swinging his battle axe from the side, wanting to split the young man in half by slicing his torso.

Spit and blood trickled from the goblin leader’s mouth, painting his teeth and chin a sticky red.

The human was unharmed, but torrents of sweat made his skin glisten under the sunlight, proof of just how tired and spent he was from the demanding situation. His brown eyes showed both determination and uncertainty, contradicting each other and signifying both his bravery and dread.

The young man answered the goblin’s reckless charge by moving his shield to his left at the last second, successfully blocking the sharp axe. Immediately after that, he shifted his weight onto the shield and jumped, tilting his body and kicking the goblin’s unprotected stomach with both of his legs with as much strength as he could muster.

The impact sent a bolt of pain throughout his entire body, throwing the man back and causing him to let go of his shield, leaving him vulnerable. Luckily for him, his kick was powerful enough for the goblin leader to lose his balance, as well. The green humanoid monster fell on its back, letting go of its large axe, which was still embedded in the wooden shield.

Now, both of them were left without their weapons—it was about to be a fist fight. Or rather, it would have been, if not for the fact that both fighters carried a small knife at their waist; and judging by their stature and build, it was rather obvious who had the overwhelming advantage right now.

Knowing this, the man thrust out his arm holding the knife and hurled it at the goblin without hesitation.

While the throw had great power, the young man’s aim was off, so the goblin leader dodged it without much effort. When it turned around to focus on its opponent again, it only saw the man’s back, since he was running away.

At that moment, the goblin would have probably said something along the lines of “What the hell?” or “Coward!” But, alas, it hadn’t said anything, since it wasn’t capable of rational thinking and speech, as far as humans were concerned.

Seething with wrath and hatred, the goblin leader gave chase.