Chapter 23: Goblin Shaman
Arthur fell silent. His eyes tracked the trio of level 5 Spear-Guards as they stepped forward in perfect unison, while the shaman lingered a few paces behind them, its staff planted firmly into the dirt.
The guards didn’t waste time. They stepped forward together, their armored feet pounding the ground as they lunged at the two humans.
Arthur didn’t even look at John. He hurriedly moved to the left to draw one of the imps off, while John met the other two head-on, his log sweeping horizontally in a brutal arc.
No exchanges were needed.
Arthur knew that if John could keep those two busy for a bit, he could probably deal with the one in front of him and then flank the others. It wasn’t an easy task, but it was definitely doable.
But this time, John’s strike didn’t land. The two goblins stopped mid-sprint and let the log graze past their chests, dodging the attack like they’d practiced it a hundred times before.
Arthur caught the scene from the corner of his eye and could barely believe it.
But there was no time to mull over it since his own opponent was already in front of him.
So Arthur stepped forward, thrusting for the gap between the incoming Spear-Guard’s chestplate and arm, only for the goblin to twist away at the very last second and dodge it. Its counter came so fast that Arthur had to throw himself back and roll on the ground, dodging the incoming spear by the skin of his teeth.
From the first exchange, both he and John were on the back foot.
It didn’t make sense!
Sure, level 5s were stronger and faster, but the two of them together should have been able to crush three Spear-Guards, even if it took some time. Instead, every swing they threw met nothing but dirt.
It was as if the goblins knew exactly what they were going to do and moved in perfect unison to shut the two of them down.
Even worse, the shaman did nothing. It didn’t even move. It just stood there at the edge of Arthur’s vision, its beady yellow eyes fixed on them from beneath its ragged beard while holding its staff.
And worse of all... Arthur couldn’t spare any attention for the boss.
His hands were already full with just the guards. Every now and then he’d get close to landing a hit, only for one of the guards pressing John to move back and block his strike.
Arthur ducked under another spear and caught a glimpse of John taking a shallow spear jab to the shoulder before shoving the attacking imp off.
They were being pushed back.
"Why?" Arthur thought to himself.
Another thrust came for his ribs, but he batted it aside and stepped in, only for the goblin to flow away from him again.
Arthur winced.
He already thought he knew everything about the goblins. But the way these Spear-Guards moved was just too damn different!
And then... it hit him.
His gaze moved past the guards to the red-robed imp standing behind them.
The perfect timing. The seamless dodges. The way they moved as if they had eyes in the backs of their heads.
"It’s the shaman!" Arthur called out loud as he turned to John. "It’s guiding them!"
John spat out a curse, barely knocking aside a spear before it skewered his thigh. "Fucking hell! So we kill it first?"
Arthur stared at the rare monster, eyes narrowed, and nodded. "Yeah. We kill it first!"
Without another word, Arthur and John rushed forward together, looking to break through the attacking imps and get to the shaman. If that thing was really controlling the Spear-Guards, fighting them off one by one was pointless. There was no way they’d win.
As expected, the Spear-Guards moved instantly. Two of them stepped in to block John’s sweep with their spears while the third one dropped back to keep Arthur in check. Every angle towards the shaman was instantly blocked!
Arthur ducked under a spear thrust and tried to slip between the three defending imps, only for a spear haft to slam into his ribs at the last second and force him back a step.
They were forming a perfect wall.
"Tch! Damn it!" John growled after parrying two jabs in quick succession. His eyes flicked to Arthur, and his voice turned serious. "Alright... let’s do this."
Arthur noticed the change in John’s stance right before the burly man exploded forward.
John seemed to have thrown all caution to the wind as he attacked, his log smashing into the two crossed spears hard enough to send one of the goblins flying. The other one stumbled, their formation cracking just enough for a gap to appear.
Arthur’s opponent immediately fell back, looking to cover the crack in their formation.
But Arthur didn’t hesitate. He sprinted through the gap, kicking up dust, as his eyes locked on the robed figure behind them.
The shaman’s beady eyes widened the moment Arthur broke through. It let out a piercing shriek that cut across the camp like a blade, and behind him Arthur heard the guards break off from John, scrambling to reach their leader.
But it was too late.
Arthur was already there.
His arm moved in one clean motion, his [Goblin’s Fang] flashing once before it buried itself deep in the shaman’s skull.
The shaman didn’t dodge. It couldn’t.
Its eyes just went glassy, its body crumpling, before hitting the ground with a lifeless thud. Then, like every goblin before it, it began to dissolve into drifting motes of light.
[Goblin Shaman defeated. +40 EXP]
