Grey sank into a low stance as the large goblin charged him. He knew from experience that this goblin was a lot stronger than the others, but not by an unmanageable amount.
Caution was the name of the game, but he couldn’t lose his aggression. And he would have to finish this before the ones left on the inside realized what was happening.
The last of the distance was closed, and the large goblin raised one of its axes, cutting down hard and fast.
Grey chose to dodge out of the way instead of meeting it head-on, tracking it with a movement of his eyes, already long ready for the swing of the second.
That unsurprisingly came, slashing toward him with just as much ferocity. The sound of the wind being split ground into his ears with a harsh whistle, enough to make one’s body chill.
However, Grey’s first dodge had been to the goblin’s outside shoulder.
His grandfather’s survival tips weren’t the only things ground into him, but he had spent his fair share of time on a rugby field and in dingy mixed martial arts gyms. He didn’t lack aggression, and his feel for catching opponents off balance was uncanny.
It was the reason he had survived so long the first time at such a disadvantage.
And it would be the reason he took this overgrown goblin’s head.
Grey took a step back, and the large goblin over-swung, its arms crossing as it tried to catch him with the blade of its axe.
To its credit, it was already recovering quickly. Unfortunately for it, while it was taller than most goblins, it still barely reached Grey’s chest. The reach advantage was egregious.
Grey slashed down with his new axe, focusing all the strength he had into this single blow. It was either he take an arm or he smash a hole through the floor.
He couldn’t see his own face right now, but his cheeks tore with a wild grin, his deep brown eyes flashing with menace.
Chi.
The large goblin tried to roll away, but it was a fraction too slow, a large gash gushing from its tricep. It bore down to its bone, chipping into it.
BANG.
Grey’s axe slammed into the ground, the reverberating impact nearly breaking his wrist. But from his expression, one would have never guessed that he was in any pain at all.
He let the axe go, letting it rebound into the air as he cornered the wounded goblin. As far as he was concerned, they had both lost a weapon.
The large goblin screeched, one of its arms hanging limply to its side. It weakly loosened its grip on its axe, one of them falling to the ground along with a stream of dripping blood.
Grey slowly circled it, his body still low to the ground. His knees were crouched, his quads bulging with reserved power.
Just as the large goblin was lulled into a slow cadence, Grey rapidly shifted to one side, the explosive lateral movement leading him to the large goblin’s wounded side.
The latter scrambled, trying to protect itself with its one remaining good arm, but Grey closed in the distance on its weak side. Just when it seemed he would hyper-focus on one half of the goblin, the fur-lined collar that linked his hands took center stage.
He leapt back, tracking the arc of the large goblin’s axe and trapping it within the loop. He pulled back, yanking the goblin off its feet and grabbing control of the axe with his hands.
Grey didn’t hesitate to let go of his own weapon, choosing firm control over the goblin’s instead as he drove a knee right into the creature’s nuts.
The large goblin yelped and screeched even more than when its arm had been gashed, but Grey didn’t show the slightest hint of mercy. The moment he felt its grip on its weapon loosen, he took full control of it.
Raising it high above his head, he swung down with all his might, holding the axe with both arms.
PUCHI.
The creature felt two pains in quick succession, each one blended into a single death.
First, the back of its head rebounded against the ground, and then came the blade from above, splitting its skull in two.
BANG.
Grey swung so hard he cut into the ground again, the reverberating impact causing him to stumble back.
Blood gushed and coated his face and his fur-lined collar, his heaving breath echoing in the undertones of the noise.
"Come on!" Grey roared, his blood pumping through his veins.
He exhaled a heavy breath and looked toward the wiry gate. It was formed of crisscrossing barbed wire and rusted steel. It had definitely seen better days—or maybe not, considering its likely crafters.
The barbed wire was so thickly packed that it looked like someone was trying to recreate steel wool on a large scale. It made it impossible to see what was happening on the inside. But Grey already knew what to find.
He had killed nine goblins until now. The one he had fought was already the strongest one.
That gate didn’t have anything behind it but women and children. They also numbered nine total.
The trouble was that they had smoke bombs and three actual bombs. He was also fairly sure there were other traps.
Luckily for Grey, he had thought the smoke bombs they threw the first time were the actual bombs, so he had run away with all his might. By the time they realized they had made a mistake and threw the actual bombs, he was too far away for it to affect him.
And, because of the way they threw them, they ruined their other traps.
They really weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.
However, now Grey had an extra advantage. He knew how long it took for the smoke bombs and real bombs to blow, and he knew what they looked like.
Reaching forward, he swung the gates open, their violent screeching making his skin crawl.