1.39 – Warcamp I

Two goblin warriors latched onto Rika’s shield, prying it out of position. The greater goblin in front of her wound up its hammer, even as she wrenched back control of her shield. She was just an instant too late, and she took a hammer to the ribs. Her breath rushed from her lungs as bones cracked under the blow, and she struggled to draw the next one as the notifications swam in her vision.

Stun: 3 seconds.

Chirurgeon’s Touch I: Wound status effects reduced.

Mend II: Major Regeneration applied. 15 seconds (Enduring Heal I).

Stun: 1 second.

She breathed a silent thanks to Erik as her breath returned and her ribs snapped back into place. Almost as soon as she slammed into the first wave of goblin defenders, she’d gotten bogged down. Now she fought in a chaotic mess of screaming goblins carrying shitty weapons that could barely hurt her. So far, most of them were foragers and skirmishers. A few warriors just to keep things fresh, and the greater goblin that had just broken half her ribs. A short distance back, a second greater goblin shouted directions at the endless wave of goblins pouring in from the rest of the camp.

The greater goblins were both level twenty-one. The foragers and skirmishers were all level fifteen or sixteen, and basically little more than nuisances for her at this point. Dangerous nuisances, to be sure, as they made it hard to focus on the real threats, lest their sheer numbers overwhelm her completely. The warriors were level eighteen or nineteen.

She wound up a Shield Slam, and repaid the favor to the greater goblin in front of her. Following up with a Rend, she hacked away at it while punting goblin foragers whenever she had the chance. Kill notifications streamed up the side of her vision, any distraction they might serve managed by Chryson. The lowest level goblins were basically fodder, and the warriors scant challenge, too. They died swiftly, but their numbers swelled even faster. The line of archers forming up on the far side of the lake was concerning, though.

The greater goblin recovered from the Stun, and she hooked its weapon with her axe as it wound up that big slam attack they used. She smashed her forehead into its nose, then kicked it back into the crowd of foragers behind it. That bought her a few seconds to thin the numbers before it recovered. When it came at her again, she finished it off with a Dark Strike.

Rika advanced as she was able. The tide of foragers and skirmishers seemed to have lessened, and the second greater goblin had fallen back as soon as she killed its companion. By now, she was about twenty feet past the entrance, and several dozen dead goblins littered the ground in her wake. To go further in, she’d have to push between a couple of huts. Judging by the position of the goblin hunters and their bows, she had a pretty good idea of what was waiting for her once she did.

After a few more bloody seconds, she’d opened a path to the huts. Time to spring the trap. Rika surged forward, her Might and Finesse granting her speed that would have seemed inhuman just a week ago. Now, it was as natural as breathing. She burst through the gap between the huts and ran straight into the jaws of a pincer attack.

Goblin foragers and skirmishers fell upon her from either side the moment she cleared the gap between the huts. From the far side of the lake, goblin hunters loosed a rain of arrows. The barrage fell as much on the foragers as it did upon her. Still, she took enough hits on the less protected parts of her arms and legs to get six full stacks of Bleed.

Minor Bleed x6: 6 seconds.

Erik landed a Quick Heal on her, dropping the Bleed to two seconds. His Enduring Heal class feature would take care of the lingering damage from the wound status. Which meant Rika had a small window while the goblin hunters readied the next volley to deliver as much pain as she could.

A goblin forager unleashed a flurry of axe strikes at her. She punched it in the head with the metal-rimmed edge of her shield, then sank her axe into its neck. Once she’d kicked the body away, she swung a backhanded slap with the heater at the forager beating on her back. It crumpled to the ground, and she just stomped on its head rather than waste her time with a proper weapon attack. Her hobnailed boots did the rest.

A swarm of foragers and skirmishers pressed against her. They stabbed at her legs, or tried to find gaps in her brigandine—a task made that much harder by her new chain haubergeon. The press of goblins all around her, all screaming in fury and fear and hate, reminded her of the ambush that had killed Vilmos and Kriztan. But there was one key difference this time. She was much stronger than she’d been then. Now the press of goblin flesh and crude iron weapons just meant each swing of her axe found flesh, and each swipe of her shield cracked bone. The goblins swarmed over each other and the still-warm bodies of their kin as they desperately tried to take her down. And in that attempt, they failed as they died by the dozen.

The greater goblin stood a way off, behind the fray. It shouted and pointed, occasionally striking an unlucky warrior that was too close and too slow to obey. As the foragers and skirmishers died all around Rika, and as she pushed further from the huts, more warriors joined the fray. And all the while, arrows rained down from the far side of the narrow lake.

By now, Rika had basically stopped caring whether any one goblin was dead or not. A good number of them lay on the ground, clinging to life and letting out pitiful cries as she slaughtered her way toward the greater goblin in charge of the defense. That it had a Ferocity buff of its own wasn’t lost on her, but she couldn’t see where the second greater goblin was. Most likely forming up another defensive line somewhere close by.

The coppery tang of blood filled the air, and the dirt beneath Rika’s feet slowly churned to mud as more goblins died at her hands. With each rise and fall of her axe, her own blood sang in her veins. Her heart thundered in her chest as she pushed herself forward, each swing and each step bringing her that much closer to the greater goblin. For a moment, they locked eyes. The goblin shouted something at her in its incomprehensible language, but she was pretty sure it was a challenge.

Greater Goblin (Elite) – Level 21

Wardriver – Grants Ferocity to all goblins and goblin-kin present in combat.

Ferocity – Bolstered by the presence of an elite of their kind. Average increase to damage.

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Keeping her eyes locked on the greater goblin, Rika slammed her axe into a nearby warrior, then spit. Then, she just ignored all the warriors still coming for her and started walking. Her steps were brisk and deliberate, and she had to force herself to keep her breathing under control. The screaming in her veins had reached a fever pitch by now. The thrill of the fight was too much, its siren song too sweet.

This was who she was, what she’d always been meant for. No slinging fire bolts or calling down lightning from a safe distance, no matter how destructive a single spellcaster might become. She needed to be in the thick of it. Needed to feel the shock of a heavy strike on her shield, the give of flesh beneath a blade, and the shattering of bones by her own hand. This was where she belonged, covered in blood and with every muscle in her body screaming with the fatigue of a hard-fought battle. Rika needed to walk the fields of death so she could know she truly lived.

As she drew near, the greater goblin slammed its own axe against its shield. The Taunt took hold, and Rika smiled as the song in her blood crescendoed. She gave herself over to it and rushed the final few feet. She brought her axe down in an overhand swing as she activated Rend just as Erik landed a Bolster Might on her.