Both me and Melody crept as quickly but quietly as possible to the nearest goblin, silencing it forever with a stab to its neck. I make sure to hold the mouth of the goblin to make sure there was no sound coming from it. The crazed monsters were pushing, climbing on top of one another, grunting, yelling and shouting at each other to get higher. Noah had seen us move towards him quietly and slowly eliminating threats and without us telling him he already knew his role.
"COME HERE, YOU UGLY BASTARDS! DO YOU THINK YOU SCARE ME?"
At the top of his lungs, he screams at the monsters and starts to be more aggressive in his assault. He slams the pickax down on the orcs' hands and pushes off goblins with his feet. Beads of sweat roll down the side of his face and each time he sees a monster about to turn around he screams at him, trying his best to get their attention.
Melody was trying her best as well. Although, unskilled with the knife against unsuspecting goblins even she can kill them. After watching me kill goblins from behind she did her best to replicate the result. Stabbing as hard as she can in the neck and then slicing it forward. Grasping the head of the goblin before it can make any noise and then stabbing it again in the eye or cheek. The green blood splatter across her face, body and arms but that didn't stop her from moving onto the next target and killing them as swiftly as possible.
We can collectively kill 10 goblins and 2 orcs but there were still about 8 orcs and 10 goblins left but all good things must come to an end. With screaming, yelling and swinging the pickax over and over again, eventually, Noah slipped up. He did not notice a goblin had climbed up the ledge from behind him as he was busy focusing on the enemies in front. The goblin approached him with a wide grin and thrust forward with its knife. Without much time to think or react, I called out to him after slicing the neck of a goblin.
"NOAH! Jump towards us. NOW!"
The moment my words flowed out of my mouth and reached Noah's ears he started to move. Without even knowing that an enemy was so close to hurting him, he stepped forward and leaped forward. Stepping off a grinning orc's face and propelling himself over the crowd before landing on the ground and rolling forward.
The jigs up and all the monsters turned around to see not 1, not 2 but 3 humans. Noah quickly picked himself up and stood beside me and Melody. He whispered to me from the side.
"What's the plan?"
I gulp nervously and glanced towards both of them.
"RUN! FOLLOW ME!"
I turn to the side as quickly as possible and started to sprint towards the bend. Noah reacted as fast as he could and followed behind me. Melody was a split second late but since she was closer to the bend she was running beside Noah.
Not long after I could hear the stampede of monsters rushing behind me. Like a tsunami of crazed beasts rushing at us with no intention of stopping. Any unlucky goblins that tripped or slipped got swallowed under the stampede coming out as a pile of mush. I felt the hair's on the back of my neck stand tall.
"Across the river, as quickly as possible."
I got to the river bank and jumped as far as I could into the river, pushing off the riverbed and wading through the rest of the river. Seeing my stunt, Noah and Melody copied me. Their success surprised me, they were both very fit and athletic people and that made me want to keep them alive more. The stronger my NPCs are the more chances I will survive.
Once we made it across the river I glanced behind us. It was a mess of green flesh piling on top of one another. Their eyes were full of hunger and greed, desperate for human flesh. So desperate I could see orcs pushing each other down, drowning them and stepping over their kin's body. I shook my head at the scene from hell and kept running away with Noah and Melody.
Melody started to slow down and her breath become more haggard. I slow down and look at her. Surprisingly, I was not tired even though I had lower stats than other NPCs. Does that mean all the jogging I had done in real life has affected the virtual game a bit?
I see Melody grip her chest while leaning forward and holding onto my shoulder.
"Are you ok Melody?"
I kneel a bit in order to get to the same eye level as Melody.
"I...hah hah...Fine."
She licks the bottom of her lips and smiles at me, giving a thumbs up with the hand that was on her chest.
"How much further do we need to go? Umm sorry, I don't even know your name."
Noah placed a hand on my shoulder as he looked down at me a little embarrassed. His other hand brushes the top of his head as he gives me a nervous smile.
"My name is Ian and the initial journey was about half a day walking slowly. I think it would take us about a quarter of the day and looking at where the sun is, we might just make it as it sets."
Both of their expressions brighten at the good news but it was short-lived happiness. I could see the monsters catching up but there are significantly fewer. Only about 3 orcs and 2 goblins remain. Which meant the rest had died to each other rushing forward not caring about the other's life. If Howard and David were here it would have been possible to fight them and kill them or if I had brought the Hobgoblin club with me it would have been an easier fight but alas it was just us three with 2 knives and a pickax. Not the best situation and gritting our teeth we kept running.
We were going at a slower pace since Melody was having difficulty running. She was desperately gasping for air and each step took a lot out of her. I urge her to keep going up we go around a bend. That way if we were to fight we can ambush them and take them by surprise.
The monsters were screaming and yelling more energetically as if they can smell and taste the victory within their hands. They weren't too far away now with the goblin taking the lead and the fatter, heavier orc slowly stomping behind them. Their wide grins and eyes seem to show little exhaustion as if they were running on energy drinks. Quickly, we pass the bend and I could see the waterfall in the distance.
"Almost there. That waterfall, right next to it is our home."
I put on a brave face but even I was tired and exhausted. My legs were wobbly and it burns every time I took a step. I was breathing heavily and sweat was dripping from all over my body but still, I keep going. I look forward and see David in the distance, a smile grew on my face and I push myself to the limit until...
"AHHHHHH!"
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