The Goblins and Ogres Strike Back

After living together for several days, the two little ones finally stopped being so afraid of Phinia. The herd had grown by a few animals, and the bitter winter had made them appreciate the shelter of the stable. They were also going through more and more fodder, so William and young Alos had to brave the wind and snow to bring the animals fresh hay.

Mishaer cautiously approached the giant woman at the other end of the fireplace. Curiosity mingled with fear as she asked in a small voice:

"Phinia, you're not going to eat Mishaer, are you? I heard Alos and the others say that giants eat children!"

Phinia set down the great axe she had been sharpening and replied shyly, "I no eat you. I no eat children, either. Only evil wild giants do that. I only eat meat."

When Mishaer heard the giant woman wouldn't eat her, she immediately perked up. She sat beside Phinia and boldly peppered her with questions. Though both were equally guileless, they hit it off, and soon they were chatting away.

Winter in the North could turn on a dime. The sky had been clear all day, but by evening, huge snowflakes were falling again. The returning storm kept William from going out, while the monsters in the forest faced the trials of bitter cold and hunger. The snow buried the tracks of their prey, making it even harder to find and catch them, and forcing the monsters to seek another way forward.

At this time of year, monsters often came to cause trouble. Back then, William and his two siblings could only hide in the cellar and wait for them to leave. But this time, William didn't want to sit back and avoid a fight. Even before the first snowfall, he had started preparing the village's defenses.

Recently, William had carved nearly a hundred short javelins, each four or five feet long, from hardwood. He planned to make even more. They would be his main ranged weapon.

Snow and low temperatures were a great boon when building defenses. Along the inside of the wall near the gate, William had poured water to make two zigzagging ice barriers, each four or five feet high. They were meant to limit the monsters' room to maneuver once they broke through the gate. Given that goblins stood less than four feet tall, he was sure they'd have a hard time getting over them.

With beasts in the forest growing harder and harder to hunt, Chen Jinyang had stopped going after large prey, except for the occasional bird to add some variety to their meals. With Phinia by his side to ease the side effects of his training, he had not only returned to his usual routine but even increased its intensity. He practiced tirelessly in the village every day. Once he finished, he would take Phinia, who had also developed a taste for it, somewhere secluded to "plow the fields," much to the bewildered stares of the two siblings. Life was good.

Deep in the Hidden Forest, far from human eyes, monsters were gathering in great numbers, preparing to advance on the human settlements along the edge of the woods. They split into several groups, and one of them headed straight for Gnome Village.

At dawn, William was jolted awake by the clatter of wood being struck. He sat up and listened closely, but the strange sounds were almost impossible to make out over the howling wind. He glanced at the three sleeping figures, added some logs to the dying fire, and pulled a thick blanket around his shoulders. Then he took his iron sword and left the cellar.

The animals in the stable were restless, snorting and stamping. A loud pounding came from the village gate. William immediately realized that someone was trying to break it down. He hurried over and climbed onto the wall to look outside.

Five or six tall figures stood beyond the gate, swinging huge wooden clubs as they battered the iron-reinforced wooden doors. A sea of smaller figures swarmed around them, hopping and chattering without pause.

The monsters had come.

The iron-reinforced gate was sturdy, but it couldn't withstand the Ogres' immense strength. It was already battered and barely holding together. William knew he couldn't let the big monsters break through. If the powerful brutes charged into the village, his preparations would be useless, and even if he killed them all, the damage would be unavoidable.

Fortunately, he had stockpiled short javelins on the wall. William seized one in each hand, swung his arms wide, and hurled them in quick succession at the Ogres battering the gate. The javelins shot through the air. One Ogre was pounding away at the door when a javelin pierced its left cheek and protruded half a foot from the other side.

The Ogre gave a short, muffled groan, stopped battering the gate, and clutched its cheeks as it fell. Another javelin struck a second Ogre in the arm. William kept firing, launching three volleys in quick succession. He had little practice throwing, though, and his aim was poor. Of the six javelins, only four hit Ogres, and two of those knocked their targets down, temporarily disabling them.

The remaining Ogres and goblins finally noticed the rebel on the wall. They weren't helpless fools; they raised a ruckus and fired back, sending javelins, stones, clubs, and bone arrows flying all at once. William didn't dare stand his ground. He rolled off the wall to take cover, then climbed back up once the monsters stopped throwing and hurled more javelins. He managed two more volleys before they drove him down again.

William circled around the ice barriers behind the gate and quietly climbed the wall on the other side. While the monsters were distracted, he quickly threw another two volleys. Without waiting to see the results, he dropped down again to dodge their return fire.

Wooden javelins were limited in how much damage they could do. Unless they hit a vital spot, they could hardly kill a tough, thick-skinned monster like an Ogre outright, especially when the Ogres knew to shield their weak points. It was sheer luck that William had managed to kill three of the six resilient Ogres on the spot. The remaining three were all wounded, but their ferocity was undiminished.

The iron-reinforced gate suddenly cracked with a sharp snap. It could no longer withstand the monsters' assault, and finally gave out. The remaining Ogres shoved it down. William reacted at once, hurling the javelin in his hand with all his strength as the gate fell. One Ogre burst through the opening and charged into the village first. It was about to roar in triumph when the javelin shot into its throat, choking off the sound. It gargled, then crashed to the ground. The two remaining Ogres didn't care that their companion was dead. They fearlessly trampled over its body and charged through the gate.

The five-foot ice walls had been built specifically to keep out goblins. They were no defense against the Ogres among the monster horde. Once the two Ogres burst inside, the entire defensive system was on the verge of collapse.

To stop the Ogres from wrecking the ice barriers on either side, William had to take the initiative and kill them quickly. He gripped his iron sword in a reverse hold and charged. The Ogre's shit-yellow eyes fixed cruelly on William as it swung its huge club down. William's feet moved rapidly, and he dodged the blow. Then the tendons in his legs snapped taut, and he surged forward in a burst of speed, rushing into the Ogre's arms while it was still frozen in the pose of its swing.

William drove off his feet, then stamped down hard with his supporting leg. The frozen earth burst around him as he leaped several feet into the air. His left arm hooked around the Ogre's head while his right hand thrust his iron sword into its eye with a drilling motion, driving it in about a foot. He twisted his wrist, then yanked the sword out. Filthy blood, shattered bits of the eye, and brain matter sprayed out. The Ogre let out a deafening scream of pain, clutched its eye, and crumpled to the ground, twitching helplessly.

William didn't pause after landing the blow. He flipped over, kicked off the fallen Ogre, and pounced on the other one, which had just turned around. This was a tough brute that had already taken several javelins. William kicked the end of the javelin still lodged in its thigh. The immense force drove it almost all the way through, and the Ogre dropped helplessly onto its backside.

Using the force of his kick to propel himself into the air, William braced a hand on the Ogre's forehead and vaulted over its back. He grabbed its huge head with one hand and slashed hard at its neck with his sword, nearly severing it. The Ogre clutched its throat and dropped dead on the spot.

The fight had been over in the blink of an eye. From the moment William climbed onto the wall to the moment he slit the last Ogre's throat, barely five minutes had passed. The fierce, rapid battle had left him almost no time to catch his breath. As soon as the last Ogre died, the breath he had been holding escaped in a sudden rush. He could only thrust out his palm and channel the surging heat into Palm Flame. A several-foot-long blaze slammed into the goblins pouring through the gate and exploded. Six or seven goblins were burned to death, and several times that number were wounded. William, who should have been pressing the advantage, was drenched in sweat, his limbs weak. He almost collapsed onto the ground.

Phinia and Alos had already rushed out of the cellar, roused by the fighting. The giant woman charged over, swinging the Frost Giant Axe. She crouched low and swept it around, intercepting the goblins trying to take advantage of William's exhaustion. Then she attacked with savage ferocity, breaking their morale in just a few blows.

Young Alos clutched his dagger and stood guard in front of William, who had barely managed to retreat behind the ice wall. He watched the battlefield nervously. William took several deep breaths and used the moment to recover. Seeing the frightened look on the boy's face, he smiled and said:

"Alos, don't worry. I'm here. Everything will be fine."

When he turned around, he saw Mishaer climbing out of the cellar. He hurriedly added, "Go watch your sister. Don't let her run around."

Alos glanced at the battlefield. Phinia had driven back the goblins who had already made it inside, but even more were pouring through the gate. He looked lost. "But..."

"Go! Mishaer's too little. She needs you to look after her. Get back to the cellar and protect her." William's voice was stern, and Alos had no choice but to run toward his sister, who had slipped out of the cellar.

Despite Phinia's great strength and height, she couldn't hold out against the goblins' sheer numbers. Once her initial charge ran its course, more and more goblins swarmed her. The ice walls had several gaps where the Ogres had broken through, and the cunning goblins had circled around to attack from behind. Unable to defend herself on all sides, she was soon locked in a hard fight. William had recovered some strength. Gripping his iron sword in one hand and an Ogre's club in the other, he charged back into battle.

William twisted at the waist, powering his arm as he swung the club diagonally upward. A goblin rushing through a gap was smashed into a bloody pulp and sent flying back. He charged through the opening, cutting off the escape route of the seven goblins attacking Phinia from behind. Phinia swept her axe and chopped down two of them. The other five, unaware of William behind them, hurriedly tried to retreat. William sprang forward and kicked in two goblins' skulls. Phinia caught up and cut down the last three.

William sealed the breach. From then on, any goblins who got inside had to squeeze along the ice walls. The passage between the two barriers was wide enough for only four or five goblins to walk abreast. Fighting together and coordinating their attacks, the two of them cut down the goblins that poured through the gate one by one, then fought their way back to the entrance.

William and Phinia took up positions on either side of the gate. The two freakishly strong fighters swung their club and axe like a massive dam holding back a river, smashing and killing every goblin that charged them. The goblins had spent nearly all their ranged weapons early on, so all they could do was pile up goblin bodies one wave at a time. They charged again and again, only to be smashed into bloody fragments. The snow on the ground turned to dark red slush.

Perhaps the dim light of dawn made the monsters bolder. Perhaps hunger and cold left them no choice but to fight. The goblins showed astonishing self-sacrifice, charging forward without pause and hurling themselves at the defenses around the gate. By the time the sun rose, nearly all of the hundred-plus goblins who had come to raid the village were dead or wounded. Only a dozen or so cowards remained, fleeing back into the forest like the walking dead. Among them was their timid leader, carrying a wooden spear and looking vaguely familiar to William.

William and Phinia were covered in blood and filth. They watched the goblins flee into the distance, then sank into the bloody mud. They looked at each other and burst out laughing in unison. If they hadn't been almost completely exhausted, the shameless couple would definitely have started another kind of "battle"—the noisy kind.

Supporting each other, the pair crossed the battlefield and hastily ate something at the cellar entrance for a late breakfast. Then they began clearing away the bodies and filth left behind. They spent nearly the whole morning dragging every monster's corpse into the forest and dumping it there. The smell of blood and the monsters' stench made the two little ones who came out to look throw up repeatedly. Still shaken, Mishaer hid in the cellar and refused to come out, no matter what they said.

In the afternoon, heavy snow came down again, burying the monster corpses and covering up the smell of blood. This time, William had been lucky to spot the invaders in time, and the gate had been sturdy enough to hold until he noticed them. Otherwise, he could only imagine what kind of ordeal they would have faced if they'd been caught by surprise.

William had never thought much of goblins, but after this lesson, he wouldn't dare take them lightly again. No one could underestimate an intelligent group. Braving the storm, William and Phinia cut down a large quantity of logs and completely sealed off the damaged gate. They poured snowmelt over the logs to form an ice wall, leaving only a small side entrance, just wide enough for one person to pass through. Then William widened and thickened the inner ice wall into a five-foot-high, two-foot-wide breastwork, and added several narrow, winding lanes along the outside.

William looked at the defenses, now beginning to take shape, and gazed up at the snowflakes drifting through the night sky. He breathed out a cloud of mist.

What a dangerous and cruel world this was. Yet it was a paradise for warriors like us.