Chapter 29 – You Forced My Hand

“Damn savages, why not talk it out first? Discuss our differences. They’d rather fight to the death…” Maximus sighed and stabbed his staff into the ground, casting Entangle, whose roots erupted forward, thicker and longer than before, thanks to the staff’s effects.

As the roots bound half of the hobgoblins, Maximus tested a new skill on the rest and released a dense, almost fog-like cloud of white spores. Even he didn’t expect how vast the cloud would be as it engulfed all ten goblins almost instantly.

Within a few breaths, those not bound by roots collapsed to the ground, twitching, while the others remained standing, wildly stabbing and clawing at empty air.

As the cloud began to disperse, Maximus prepared Lunar Flare just as Felix and Oscar came rushing out.

“Oi! You’re not nicking all the fun for yourself!” Oscar bellowed as he lunged forward, stabbing with a fiery spear at the closest hobgoblin.

Felix moved beside him, releasing rows of sharp, arrow-like icicles with each slash of his blade.

Silex and Embi joined the fray as well, one tearing a hobgoblin in half with brutal force, while the other spat fireballs that engulfed another in flames.

Seeing this, Sprout didn’t hesitate and began lashing out with vines sprouting from his back, striking at the rooted hobgoblins.

“I thank you all for your help, but move back now!” Maximus shouted as he released Lunar Flare.

The moment the skill was activated, high above them a silver magic circle formed, casting down a pillar of pale, cold light, shining brightly in the night sky. Then, with a sudden whoosh, the pillar detonated into a blazing flare of white flame that burst outward in a two-meter radius. The initial impact did moderate damage, but the flames that clung to the hobgoblins began devouring their bodies second by second.

As the pale fire spread like a merciless plague, the surviving hobgoblins screamed as the paralysis faded and hurled their spears at Maximus. He reacted instantly, shifting to the side as bursts of wind exploded beneath his feet, propelling him effortlessly out of harm’s way.

As Maximus dodged, his body morphed into a sabretooth cat, and he lunged forward, his claws glowing crimson.

He slashed at the nearest hobgoblin, tearing off an arm, then bit into its neck and collarbone, ripping it apart in one savage motion.

Oscar activated his new skill, moving fluidly between the frenzied attacks of another hobgoblin, each dodge followed by a precise stab, driving deeper into the creature’s body.

Then, as the hobgoblin lunged wildly, Oscar dashed to the side and unleashed a rapid flurry of strikes, finishing off the already weakened monster.

Silex joined Felix, who froze two hobgoblins in place before Silex tore the leg off one, while Felix followed through with a frost-empowered strike, beheading the other, and with a calculated forward step, driving his blade into the crippled one, connecting his attacks flawlessly.

With only two left standing, Maximus used the power of his feline form to leap high into the air, shifting back into his human body mid-motion, only to unleash a barrage of Wind Spears.

Four spears fell in rapid succession, each detonating in violent bursts of slicing wind as the last monsters were torn apart.

As the final hobgoblins fell, Maximus descended, editing Gale Step mid-fall to release controlled gusts beneath his feet, slowing his fall until he landed gently on the ground.

New Skill Detected:

> Gale Step: Slow Release

Gale Step: Slow Release – Cast winds under your feet that will soften your fall or make you float for a very short period of time.

“Piece of cake,” Oscar said as he yanked his spear free from the hobgoblin’s body.

“Yes, thanks to Max. Don’t think we could take down ten hobgoblins on our own, you fool.” Felix barked, clearly worried that Oscar would attempt something reckless one of these days.

“Too right, I know that! I’m not daft, you bloody frost mule!” Oscar shot back.

“Calm down, boys. While I was in the air, I spotted thick smoke rising from the goblin settlement. Looks like something’s going on over there. You two stay here, I’ve got my stealth, so I can scout ahead and report back.” Maximus said.

“Alright. Be careful.” Felix nodded.

“Let me just recover a bit before I go,” Maximus added as he opened up his notifications and sat on the ground.

You have defeated: [Hobgoblin Hunter Lv. 21] x4

You have defeated: [Hobgoblin Hunter Lv. 23] x3

You have defeated: [Hobgoblin Hunter Lv. 24] x3

Class Leveled Up: [Druid Lv. 21 > Lv. 24]

Talent Points gained: +6

Battle Tokens earned: 1200

Maximus swallowed a Cinder-Seed while gripping his staff to accelerate his spirit recovery. He also noticed two corpses fade away, leaving behind two skill stones, but he left them for the duo for now.

Once he reached around half of his maximum spirit, he morphed again and activated Prowl, his body turning transparent as he dashed silently through the woods toward the goblin settlement, leaving Oscar and Felix behind arguing with Silex over corpses and cores.

***

Maximus ran along the path they had already cleared, and the closer he got, the thicker the smoke became, while the distant screams of goblins echoed through the air.

After sprinting at full speed for a couple of minutes, he finally reached the southern wall of the goblin settlement, which was now charred and partially collapsed.

Maximus leapt over it and was met with piles of dead goblins, their bodies scattered across the ground, and farther in, at the center of the settlement, a group of five women laughing as they slaughtered the remaining goblins, reducing them to ash with waves of fire and piercing them with rows of frozen arrows as they tried to flee.

Mages?! Maximus finally understood what had happened. It looked like a group of mages had burned the entire place down just to level up faster. It is an efficient method, I suppose… But it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. He thought as he moved closer, staying hidden.

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“This was amazing! Good idea, Doris!” one of the women cheered as she tucked away what looked like skill stones.

“A few skill stones and a pile of levels with almost no danger! Didn’t I tell you to listen to me, girls?” the short-haired woman said with a smug laugh.

“Shame there weren’t more. We could’ve gained even more,” a small blonde added.

“Where to next?” one of the others asked.

“We head east, of course. There’s a village there, and if we keep this up, we can definitely push past the Wildlands!” Doris, who clearly led the group, declared confidently.

Fools… If they think burning everything down is the best way forward, they have a rude awakening waiting for them. Children… Maximus thought bitterly as he slipped away and hurried back toward the cavern.

***

Just as Maximus lunged out from the woods, Oscar and Felix flinched, ready to strike.

Maximus let out a low growl as he shifted back into his human form. “It’s me.”

“What did you find?” Felix asked, lowering and storing his weapon.

“A group of five women. From what I gathered, at least three of them are fire mages. They torched the entire settlement, leaving nothing alive,” Maximus explained grimly.

“Bloody hell… Who knew that womenfolk could be so properly vicious, eh?” Oscar said, genuinely taken aback.

“It is a smart way to level up, though,” Felix added thoughtfully.

“Aye, if you’re a proper nutter.” Oscar cut in immediately.

“Are we leaving?” Felix ignored him and pressed.

“No… Let’s stay one more day. We’ll avoid meeting them along the way. I dislike people like those. Vicious just for the sake of it…” Maximus said coldly.

Felix nodded and tossed him the two skill stones. “Can you check these?” he asked.