Chương 14: Chapter 13

Corin stared at the text, feeling the weight of it but still unable to truly comprehend it. Aldford goblin invasion rescheduled. Time remaining: 2 days, 7 hours, 3-or-30-something seconds. Corin looked around the bustling city, taking in the sights and sounds. Goblins didn't like sights and sounds. They liked looting, and pillaging, and something else he didn't care to say at all. And killing. They were awfully fond of killing. I have to warn everyone.

But if I warn everyone, then they'll know about my Foresight ability. I'm part of the city. If goblins invade, they invade me, too. You don't have to be in the city. But I like the city. Do you like being alive?... That was a long pause. I don't like it, but it's definitely preferable to not-alive, right? Right. So we warn everyone? I didn't say that. So we run away? I didn't say that, either. Corin stood, unsure if his mental dialogue had been in any way fruitful.

That did not really matter, however, as he had a far greater quandary ahead of him: what the hell should he do? He had his massive debt repayment looming, he couldn't afford to worry about the invasion too. He was dead either way, come debt repayment day, whether the goblins showed up or not. It was with this comforting thought that he began walking towards the Guild hall, running through every possibility in his head. I had a vision that goblins are coming! Crazy person. Arrested. I saw goblins coming!

Nobody else did. Crazy person. Arrested. I think goblins are coming? Ok? Arrested anyway, because why the hell not. The last one seemed a little too far-fetched, but it's not like Aldford had a shortage of arrests. Prison labor was free labor, after all. No, he'd need to be smart about it, whatever that meant. He stepped into the Guild, the morning-rush just starting, as some early birds jostled for first position by the bounty boards.

He spied Lionel, who gave him an ominous smirk, and the wide back of Bran, who stood front-center at the main board. Perrin sat down by himself further ahead, waiting for the rush to finish, as just like Corin of old, he'd be picking up the scraps. All of these people could be dead in a few days. Corin shook his head, trying to remove the thought, but it wouldn't budge. Not if I can do anything about it. Corin looked around, then walked up to the first adventurer he could see. Namier, Namo?

He couldn't remember his name.

"You hear what they're saying about that goblin encampment?" he idly asked him, trying to seem vaguely disinterested.

"Goblin encampment?" Namiero repeated, curious.

"Whereabouts?"

"Just uh, just outside city walls," Corin replied.

"Apparently there's been some rumors of invasion or something."

"Bullshit," Namiero said.

"The goblins haven't attacked for over a year."

"Sounds overdue then, no?" Namiero briefly thought for a moment, scratching his ample stubble.

"Perhaps. Who'd you hear this from?"

"You know, they," Corin said vaguely.

"I don't know this 'they', no," Namiero replied. Corin was quickly realizing that he wasn't very good at this at all.

"Well, best to make sure everyone else is informed too," Corin continued.

"Apparently they're planning on attacking in a few days." Namiero stared at him for some time, then just simply shrugged and walked away. Corin attempted this tactic with a few more adventurers, each to equal effect - remarkably little. He realized that idly spreading rumors was not the tactic most likely to succeed, and thus had to devise a much more effective, if not dangerous, plan.

Corin's plan was simple, if not also a little insane: go outside the city walls, far enough and long enough not to arouse suspicion, then come running back screaming bloody murder, bruised and bloodied, and claim he'd run into a goblin scout group, letting the city draw its own conclusions about an invasion. A decent plan, he felt, though he'd need to actually injure himself to sell it.

He glanced down at the cuts and burns still fresh from Emberreach, and realized that most of that particular problem had already solved itself. Leaving through the city gates, Corin made sure to hail the guards on his way out. From there he entered the nearby forest, settling just at its edge. Hidden enough from the guards' sight, but shallow enough to keep the odds of attracting any monsters low.

He didn't want any injuries he hadn't intended, and doubted any rabid beast he encountered would be accommodating of that preference. Figuring he'd need to wait at least a half hour before he could head back, he sat down against a tree and considered his options. With any luck, the Guild would accept the threat and prepare for it, and be able to successfully repel the attack while he could spend the remaining time desperately trying to repay his debt.

Without any luck, they wouldn't believe him, or they'd imprison him for suspected craziness - a sentence that goblins might end up commuting early, one way or another. Failing that, debtor's prison would come afterwards, or he'd simply be 'taken care of' by Lionel; his debtors did have a troubling tendency of disappearing, after all. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Looking at the two potential outcomes, he reminded himself that he was generally without any luck.

After around 25 minutes, Corin stood up, brushed himself off, and readied himself for his plan. He took out his hammer, now thoroughly deformed after the sentinel fight, then held the now-not-really-sharp end against the back of his shoulder. He'd need to cut himself up a bit more at the back, not the front, since it had to look like he'd been running away. He gritted his teeth, preparing for the incision. The blunted edge pushed against his skin, doing little to actually break it.

Shit, this might be too blunt to work- Corin felt a "thunk" of insertion in his shoulder - his right shoulder - which was certainly strange, since he was currently attempting an incision on his left shoulder. There weren't many instances where you felt a thunk, and even fewer good ones. This was not one of the good ones. Corin turned to see an arrow deeply embedded in his shoulder, the pain registering only after the sight did.

He turned further to see four goblin scouts just meters away: two charging, one of the two absolutely massive, with two archers behind them, one nocking a second arrow, and the other already loosing her string. Thunk Again - not a 'good' thunk. The arrow pierced clean through the other side of his shoulder before he could process what happened. Though he'd need to start processing quickly, or there'd be nothing left of him to process thereafter.

Corin tried to throw his right arm forward to cast Tether in a desperate attempt at an escape, and found the arrow had lodged too deep in his shoulder for the arm to move much at all. The nearest goblin leapt at him, scimitar glinting in the dappled light, the massive one behind it readying a spear throw. Corin's life proceeded to flash before his eyes. It was unfortunately not a very good highlight reel, all things considered.

More like an absurdist painting, drafted by someone with some serious issues to work through. A desperate and impossible idea flashed through his mind, likely due to his rapidly-imposing doom overlaid with a life-flashing kaleidoscope of regret, his left hand already rising as the thought took embodied shape: [{???} Tether cast!] A tether snapped instantly between the leaping goblin and the massive one behind it - something that never should have been possible - and went taut at once, sending the rear one stumbling a step forward forward, the front one jerking mid-air as its swipe came up short, missing him by enough margin to slash clean through his leather chestpiece instead. [Rare {Spatial} Affinity Discovered!] [Tether has evolved into Empowered Tether {Rare}] -What?

Almost instinctively, Corin clenched his hand shut, pouring as much mana as he could into the motion, and the tether wrenched them together. The front goblin yanked backward onto the second one's held spear, the point punching clean through it from torso to waist. [Goblin Scout (Lv. 6) slain!] Whatever had just happened - whatever Empowered Tether or Rare Affinity meant - would have to wait, as there was currently a third arrow flying towards him.

He dodged to the right, then found out that he was not particularly adept at dodging arrows, noting the now-hat trick of arrows protruding from him, the third tearing directly into his left bicep and sending his HP below half. Corin shot another Tether at a nearby tree, dragging himself forward toward the city, nearly losing his balance in the process. He glanced back to see the massive goblin standing over its fallen companion, utterly still.

Then, it let out a sound unlike anything he'd heard a goblin make before, something closer to a scream than a roar, before ripping the spear free of the body with a violence that promised more. [Goblin Brute - Lv. 32 {Uncommon}] HP:??? Threat: Immense Oh, fuck. He watched as the Brute gripped the spear, its eyes narrowing to deadly points. They're trying to kill me before I can alert the guards.

Another arrow whizzed past his head as he turned and sprinted, each step sending shudders of agony through his shoulder and arm, bone grinding against the shaft still lodged inside. He cast Minor Heal, his wounds closing around the arrows instead of expelling them, driving them in even firmer with every step. I just need to reach the wal- The spear shot clean through his stomach, missing his spine by inches, blood and worse spattering the grass where it buried itself ahead.

He looked down at the hole in his stomach in shock, his HP already below 15% and rapidly ticking downward, and tried to take a few more steps forward, agony shuddering through his body like wildfire. He fell to one knee, the goblin Brute's cries growing closer behind him, and looked at the spear in desperate realization. [Tether cast!] He shot out the Tether, connecting to the spear's shaft and pulling, ripping it free of the ground and twisting with the motion, the arc flinging it through the air and hurtling it toward the Brute. It flew true, the tip punching clean through the Brute's breastplate and into its chest, half-shattering on impact, the force staggering it backward a full step. For one hopeful second, Corin thought that might actually be it.

The Brute looked down at the broken shaft still jutting from its ribs, grabbed what remained of it, and tore it free without so much as a flinch. A spray of blood following it out, the wound already closing around the edges. Then, it started sprinting again, bounding at him, each stride shaking the ground hard enough that Corin felt it through his knees. Corin staggered upright and ran, letting out a hopeless, guttural scream as he finally saw the edge of the forest.

Glancing back, he saw the Brute rapidly gaining on him, an arrow from somewhere behind it hissing past to nick Corin's side and draw fresh blood. He held up a trembling hand. [Empowered Tether cast!] The Tether latched between two trees, stretched taut right across the Brute's charging path at roughly leg height. The Brute simply plowed straight through the line, snapping it clean, stumbling for half a step before righting itself and closing the distance again.

Corin looked to the clearing, mere meters away, yet also simultaneously forever away. The two archer goblins broke through the treeline, each readying another shot as the Brute bore down on him. He only had one option left. His hand found the hilt inside his Bag, and for a moment he just held it there, feeling that same hungry warmth stir beneath his fingers. The same thing that had whispered to him in the cave, hungry and waiting." STAY BACK!"

he shouted, brandishing the Blade of Eternal Fury with both hands, its flames lapping up all around him, already feeling it exert its control over him. The Brute slowed, something calculating flickering behind its eyes. Both archers hesitated, bows half-lowered, uncertain whether the threat was real or desperate theater. A tense silence held. Corin took a few faltering steps backward, maintaining eye contact.

He felt the Fury growing inside him, manipulating him, pulling at the edges of his control - and something forced him forward, half a step he hadn't chosen to take. Something clicked behind the Brute's eyes at that, as if it had recognized exactly what it was seeing: not a man wielding a weapon, but a weapon wielding a man. It roared, charging again in massive strides, the archers scrambling to raise their bows in confused response.

Corin turned and sprinted, forcing the sword back into his bag with the last of his will just as he felt himself on the edge of losing control entirely. He ran for the clearing with whatever strength he had left, until he finally burst from the treeline, clear sunlight hitting his face.

"Goblin scouts!" he cried, the guards on the wall snapping to attention, a nearby ballista swinging toward the treeline. Corin glanced back, and saw the Brute looking directly at him. The Brute stared into his eyes, brought its thumb to its throat, then dragged it slowly across, leaving a trail of slick blood across it. The meaning was clear. Then it flicked a hand backward, a clear signal to retreat, and the three of them fled just as the guards raced down from the walls.

Corin saw the guards approach, the world tunneling at the edges, sound going distant and strange - and then, mercifully, nothing else mattered for a while. Corin awoke in the infirmary, two guards, two medics, and a senior officer all surrounding him. The officer noticed he'd woken and stepped straight toward him.

"What did you see?"

"Goblin scouts, four of them," Corin spluttered out, his mind fighting through the pain flashing through him, trying to get a grip back on reality.

"They had a Brute with them." One of the guards went pale. The officer glanced sternly at the medics, who took the hint and left at once. He waited until they were fully out of earshot, then leaned in closer.

"How far did they pursue you?" he asked, and Corin knew exactly what he meant.

"They didn't. They were at the edge of the forest," Corin replied.

"They hadn't tracked me. They were just there." The officer glanced at both guards. Everyone in the room understood what that meant. Corin's plan, at the least, had worked after all.