Chapter 23: 22- The Kobolds Assault (2)

There were many times when Oscar felt a sense of deja-vu, but never had it hit him with such intensity as this before; like he was watching a past memory unfolding right in front of him. In a well-rehearsed play, performed by real Actors as he watched it from the sidelines, or the uplines to be more precise. 

Shifting in his position, getting more comfortable, Oscar watched. As the first little critter dropped, from the 20m ceiling, down the ground, the waiting hob-goblin caught it like a professional baby snatcher. Before quickly skittering away with the still dazed newborn, to make way for the upcoming shower of the over-eager newborn goblins crowd -all stuck- jamming the opening. 

Even if they wouldn't die from falling from this height, courtesy of the one-time immunity from falling, Oscar was sure some would certainly be dead from suffocation by the time they hit the ground. As none of those green runts leaves a single gap un-poked with their squirming limbs, seemingly trying to block others' path and adding their own weight on top of it, the relatively small opening cracked and bursted out, at last, spewing the big mess of entangled goblins all at once.

While the disturbance generated here was too loud to get unnoticed, it paled in comparison to what their neighbors were creating. With one thick wall separating the two adjacent corridors, the kobolds get the thrashing of their life. 

One single poisoned dwarf runs rampant, blasting one kobolds head to stamping the other three belly with his hammer, no one in the kobolds rank had the strength nor the will to fight him as he do: putting his very life on the line, trading one blow to the dozen, overpowering them through his sheer will. 

But he knows, kobold knows, and the unpaid hanging referee knows -somewhat- that he was fighting a losing battle. The thing that stuck the dwarf's back was not some ordinary wooden arrow, but the very stinger of the "poison pioneer" That's still eating Ulvrik from inside out.

Somehow, Ulvriks body felt heavy, his hands felt cold and stiff as he had long lost the sensation of it. Now he couldn't even let off his hammer if he wanted, but he didn't have to...he didn't want to; he still has to live, to mourn for his dead friends, to finish his blacksmith apprenticeship, and to pay that fucking students loan! 

"Arrrrrrhhhhh!"

"Booom!"

Slamming on top of the scared kobold runt, he blasted its skull and cleaved its torso almost half with his sledgehammer. Pulling back his gore-filled bloody weapon, Ulvrik kicked its mutilated corpse that slammed against its brethren, toppling them with it. 

Ulvrik roared, having lost half the sensation of his legs till now, he taunted them to come forward on their own. So he could tear them apart and finally get the fuck outta this dungeon. 

Expectedly, nobody came forward -earning another 10 points for their intelligence, by the unauthorized hanging referee- all stopped at a respectful distance, waiting for the others to take the lead. Making the already dying Ulvrik lose his patience. 

"Fuckers! Come now!" And He forcefully took the step forward, mind clouded by the imminent death, he quickly loses his balance. Falling to the ground, face first. 

He groaned, trying to stand back through clinging on his hammer, he acted tough again... But to the hungry kobolds at the front, he might as well be a sitting duck. Gone were their fear, overcoming with ravenous hunger and furious anger over their dead brothers, whose names they even didn't remember, they all jumped at him at once. 

But learning from their initial mistake, the kobolds only shot the arrows first.

One arrow stuck, but did nothing to Ulvriks will to live, gathering his breath, he swiped his hammer at them but caught no one. 

Slowly, the number of arrows stacked, until he became a crawling hedgehog on the ground and no longer when the kobolds saw him becoming non-responsive... They all attacked him at once: Claws digging and ripping his mass, powerful jaws snapping his limbs and neck apart, he too became a feast to them. 

And all this was witnessed by a single goblin, for whom staring at some random newborn goblins antics seems more interesting than that. But he still felt rather weird, not because of what he witnessed, but because of what it implicated... 

In his view, the two adjacent caverns had just given life while taking someones else. It was a surreal scene to chance upon, causing the goblin to shake his head as he suddenly felt the urge to say some wise words to conclude the scene. But having also failed in literature, he picked the most basic quote 

"The nature is cruel"

But it seems, Oscar had still underestimated the cruelty of that said nature…and the Idiocracy of a newborn goblin, if left unsupervised... 

                                                           

"Crunch!"

Being busy devouring the dwarf alive, one single kobold suddenly yelped as it felt a pang of pain erupted from the end of its tail. Stopping itself to took look behind, and to punch that uncaring brother for stepping on its tail, the kobold found a green chump chewing on its tail, with the same ravenous hunger of its own. 

And it wasn't just one, but two, or three... Maybe four no, five or... Urgh! He doesn't have more fingers to count!

A queue was coming behind the right wall. These green runts keep following the one who discovered the food first, eager to take the first bite. Only to increase the number of victims without knowing it.

It didn't take even a second for all the kobolds to pick on the scent of these hateful goblins, turning the entire tribes' attention to them; like a weighted shadow engulfing the ones in front, deterring the ones at the back, causing them to scramble where they came from without a second thought. Taking the threat for their supposed leader to take care of... 

"Ghe?!" 

"Crunch!" 

Giving that hateful baby-goblin the same medicine of its own. The kobold dug its teeth, covering its small head within its own larger muzzle, and effortlessly tore its head out. Spraying blood, and bits of spine all over. Telling others, it had found a good dessert.

                                                            

"Shit..." Oscar would have facepalmed if he could. But his hands were busy in playing stoney tarzan, gripping both pickaxes within each. He swings them nonstop, digging it and dragging his body along with each swing while stabbing and stabilizing his body with his modified foot for climbing, preventing him from being thrown by the sheer momentum he's traveling from. 

'Some idiots never learned' he thought, as he took notice of some kobolds making their way to their adjacent cavern as quick as they could. Meanwhile, some of them were busy dragging their food -dead adventurers and the bountiful remains of Plethora- with them back to their possibly home, through the opposite cavern. But most of the others were busy scavenging the intact arrows, and any spared weapons they could find for reuse. 

Their organized actions gave Oscar the impression of them being a -somewhat- bandit organization, rather than some savage beasts in a dungeon. Not that Oscar has any say on how a beast should behave in a dungeon. Making a workshop and churning out new weapons and traps alike; it definitely wasn't a behavior a "savage beast" Should have in a dungeon. 

But their fewer numbers at the front meant, he could somehow salvage the situation if he acted fast enough. Saving his "brothers" From the savage kobolds, that had just killed the adventurers, who in turn had killed that Royal Cat he was terrified of at the beginning. Given, that the kobolds had chanced upon the best lucky moment to launch the surprise attack, and the equally unlucky careless adventurers to fall for it. But Oscar can't deny the fact that they're more organized than his side- a bunch of newborns who can only act on instinct, save for that one hob-goblin.

Which was also the reason why he even move his clinging ass now. Even though, he didn't have the obligation to save any random goblin he met, just because he's one of them. 

All things considered, he was just a bystander in this whole scenario, a spectator observing it all from a safe distance. If he wanted, Oscar would have taken his leave discreetly, and not a single soul would know a certain trap master was watching the whole show without buying the ticket, and even further refusing to buy the theaters' overpriced popcorns. 

But after seeing how a hob-goblin -with leather armor, looking rather civilized- suddenly appeared right where a batch of newborn goblins was going to spawn, to say this was suspicious would be an understatement; like that hob-goblin was going out of his way in trying to act as those suspicious NPC guide in Rpg game who follow the players at every spawn location, doesn't matter how far and random the players chooses their next spawn point- they would know and follow them like a creepy stalker. Except, the "guiding hob-goblin" Of his was killed in a matter of seconds. So when met with another guide he would be an idiot to let it go, knowing it was the only friendly Link he had in this world/dungeon.

Still, Despite his efforts to get down as quickly as possible, Oscar might as well be crawling as opposed to those kobolds running on the ground. 

He could only watch as the foremost attacker slashed the two goblins at the entrance first, announcing their presence to that hob-goblin who was busy disciplining some unruly kids, of course by beating them to submission.

                                                           

"Gheeiiiiiii!!!"

A horrified scream rang through the caverns' entrance, overpowering the various goblins Inchorrent gabbles and the painful moanings of the goblins taking beatings in turns for pulling their seniors' pants. A head rolled in an archway through the air, splattering blood in its wake, before impacting against the goblins who are already shaking, cowering at the back. As they're the accomplices of that severed head for disturbing those lizards in between their heartfelt feast. 

There was a moment of silence… where the horned mysterious hob-goblin, pulls his gaze from that severed head to its preparators. His eyes met with a dozen red humanoid lizards with an alligator for a face and a slick-back pair of horns, disguised as ears… 

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And not longer than a second later he saw them, recognized them, the part-time babysitter let out a warcry of its own: Born not out of anger for losing a random minion, but from the deep seethed hatred one would have for its well-known natural enemy. 

"Ghhaaaaaaaaa!"

Pulling out its greatsword with one savage swing to the left, without the care of its minions, the enraged guider-of-the-goblins dashed straight at them. 

Meanwhile, the green critters were running opposite as quick as their small legs could possibly let them while wishing for their leader at the back to stop those walking lizards as much as possible. But it seems like the god was too drunk and misinterpreted their wish: stopping their leader as long as possible and walking lizards at their back as much as possible. 

"Slash!"

As both the metals collided, the sturdy greatsword destroyed the rusty, overused sword upon impact and hacked the terrified but determined Kobold, unimpeded. From shoulder to waist, the greatsword didn't cut elegantly but outright tore its body with a bloody gash. It was then the 155cm tall green leader swings his body along with the greatsword, making a half circle before throwing it, shooting behind at the sneaky archer who also fired the poisonous arrow at him; consequently cutting its arrow down with its chest, pinning them both at the cracked wall beyond. 

As a matter of fact, the high-leveled-beast obviously knows the common tactic one should use against the stronger opponent: distract them and poison them at first hand before whittling down your opponent slowly. 

Being disarmed, the lone-beast savagely grew its long claws and continued to cut those hateful reptiles to bits and pieces; evidently showing a lot more hatred, born from the past memories rather than a fit of spiked anger for interrupting his part-time job. 

But doesn't matter how savagely he fights, he was apparently alone with just two claws. 

Most of them formed a misaligned circle around him, firing and supporting whoever was engaging that beast with one-on-one combat, which never really lasts longer than a few seconds, but the big-goblin still has to dodge any and all the arrows at all cost -as he couldn't tell, which one was poisonous and which wasn't- making it a rather tedious fight than it was supposed to be; Therefore giving the rest of those red-tailed reptiles a free hand over the helpless runts running butt naked. 

Each swipe of their tails and claws harvested a pair of fresh lives. The resistance was futile, running was useless, calling for help was fruitless, begging was ineffective, and outrunning their peers was worthless, what was left for them to do was to wait for their inevitable doom and hope it would be painless. Thought the fastest goblin with a crooked left ear as he felt the thumpings of the Kobolds twice its size coming from behind. It was running with a blind mind, shoving its brothers left and right to their demise as it continued to run for its life. 

Still, it wasn't enough, it couldn't outdo its assailants who chased it with a leisure pace while munching on its brethren. 

And long lost, its legs tripped over a silly rock, as the crooked-ear fell on its face, kissing and swallowing disgusting specks of dirt down its throat; causing a prompt to appear for its upgraded bronze-stomach, which could be captivating and magical given any other time, but not now, not when it needed something to defend itself from the hungry muzzle, something…anything! 

"Booom!"

Just when the crooked-ear felt the deathly jaws closing over itself, and put the full-stop over its running thoughts and dear life… a thunderous noise interrupted its lizardy nightmare to halt in its steps. And let it live a second more to see the interrupter of his death ceremony.

Not far away. The massive fog of dirt, caused by the crash, can be seen hovering over a big portion of the cavern. Obscuring everyones' vision like a curtain, goblins, or Kobolds alike. 

But the crooked-ear could feel some movements coming inside of it, something was walking in its direction. And then came a voice like a hope, answering its desperate prayers.

"Phuuu! I swer I ain't usin yu ever again!" 

Instead, Came the abomination of a voice and language alike. A smaller green-skinned goblin -much like him- but looking rather well built and a little taller, well clothed -much like the leader, except pants- with twin hideous axes poking behind its back. The mysterious goblin raised its one bone-thingy-covered hand, where a sticky tongue-like substance can be seen poking out of it, going onwards and attaching itself to the smashed boulder -the recent portion of the ceiling- against the wall; the cause of the still reverberating noise.

"Urgh! I guess it isn't nice to misuse 'Mr.Escapinator'... Eh?" Stopping its long ramblings with its motion of coiling back that tongue inside its hand. The Hero turned to his left and finally took notice of the crooked-ears current predicament- still in Kobolds' grasp and inches before its untimely death. 

"Shhhaaaa!" 

Like the two-legged alligator was waiting for it to get noticed, it jumped right there at the Hero to finish it before continuing eating the Crooked-ear alive. 

Too bad, the Hero-without-pants is one step ahead. Pointing a disfigured bone to the airborne Kobold -like a magical wizard- the Hero chanted the spell in a foreign language leisurely.

"Fuck off!" 

A red and white swirling vortex projectile blasted squarely inside the kobolds' already stretched-out muzzles, intended to bite the Heros' head, blowing its head and killing it right there and then. 

The crooked-ear falls first, still in the grasp, and the headless kobold on top. 

"Thud!"

Its nose was filled with the delicious scent, that came with the knowledge- the nightmares death; and with that came its bottled-up anger… boiling and bubbling, fueled with its ravenous hunger. The crooked-ear sank its teeth forward, straight into the heart, and tore it with all its might. 

"Crunch!"

"Crunch!"

"Crunch!"

As it continued to devour and to satiate its anger -a disguise of its frustration over the helplessness- with its hunger. It all but ignored its surroundings and the continuous prompts of increasing gene aliments, which it doesn't know what to do with it. 

                                                            

"Ghe?!"

Picking up that idiot goblin, out from the half-devoured body, covered in crimson blood from head to toe. Oscar locked his eyes at it for a long minute as if to observe something, before he suddenly sighed. 

"Sigh… Goblins are indeed ugly and idiots. Except me, of course!" 

Dropping that green runt who can only act on instincts even in this dire situation, as it was evidently filling its tummy rather than running for its life first. Oscar puts his focus back on the topic: the reason why he even risked such a drastic but dashing entrance. 

Completely oblivious of the look of admiration he's receiving from the surrounding goblins, who in turn are in the effects of his [Kin-Devourer]

"Gotta give that big guy a helping hand and earn some friendly points, eh?!" 

Just before he was done with his stretching and was planning to save the day. The late Hero saw the Senior-Goblin was already done, and currently picking back its greatsword while all around it were mutilated corpses of kobolds- probably beaten to death by just fists alone.

But before the hob-goblin or the Late-Hero could communicate in ancient goblinese language, a cacophony of kobolds coming behind the walls caused them to abandon their greetings and run ahead- already estimating their high numbers.

'Hmm, a little spicy but pretty much bland' 

Of course not before he took some kobolds tails as some snacks. As the wise goblin said "you shouldn't run with an empty stomach"

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