Chương 30: The Goblin Shaman

At the outer range of Silverbark Forest, near the southern hilly area. Kyle and his party stopped in front of a small forested hill. The atmosphere had gradually changed during the journey. The sounds of birds had long disappeared, replaced by an eerie silence. Even the air carried a faint rotten smell. Faint traces of bones and rotten carcasses could be glimpsed near the edge of the hill.

"The horses can't go further," Doyle said as he jumped down. Kyle also jumped down from behind Luke, his boots landing softly on the dirt.

"Is there still a lot of distance to the goblin settlement?" Tina looked at the forested series of hills ahead and asked.

"No, their settlement is just beyond this hill, inside a cave," Mark pointed at the hill ahead and said.

"I see." Doyle nodded before reining in his horse near a nearby tree.

"Mark, stay here and watch the horses. We'll continue on foot from here." Doyle walked up the hill, with the rest of the team following behind. It didn't take them long to climb up the hill. Looking down from the hilltop, they saw another smaller hill with a large cave at its base. Two goblins lounged near the cave entrance, gnawing on a bloodstained bone. Kyle silently channeled mana towards his eyes, using [Clairvoyant Eyes]. The scenery ahead immediately changed.

The hideous visage of the two goblins as they cackled and howled became extremely clear under his gaze. They were chewing on a piece of bone with dried blood and a trace of fur on it. Their bloodshot, frog-like eyes twisted as they laughed.

'How disgusting, but at least those aren't human bones they're chewing on.' His expression darkened, his stomach churning slightly. Shifting his eyes from those two goblins, he scanned the area surrounding the cave. Bones and filth littered the cave entrance. Deep scratches covered the stone walls, alongside dark stains from dried, unidentified fluids. Looking further away, Kyle quickly spotted a few goblin sentries hiding in the bushes and trees.

'They're awfully organised and guarded.' Kyle was a bit surprised by their degree of cautiousness. This was very unlike the usual goblins. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Doyle raised his hands and signaled for everyone to crouch. He looked back at Luke from the corner of his eyes and said, "Luke, take out the sentries and quietly investigate the state of the goblins in the cave. Get out immediately if you find something wrong."

Luke nodded and silently disappeared between the trees. Doyle turned his gaze to the others and said,"Try not to make noise for now. Once Luke comes back, we'll go inside." The rest of the team nodded in understanding, then fell silent. Kyle's gaze darted between the hidden goblins near the cave, trying to find traces of Luke, and he quickly found it. One of the goblins hiding behind the trees slowly collapsed to the ground, blood oozing from its neck. The second and third followed behind.

Kyle could only see a faint shadow shuttling between the trees, taking out one goblin after the other.

'Invisibility? Not quite; there's still a visible, faint distortion. So it's [Stealth], the core skill of rogues and assassins. Fortunately, Evan and Denise couldn't use it to such a degree, or I might have been in trouble.' Kyle's expression hid a trace of wariness. This Luke guy was very dangerous. At the apprentice level, [Stealth] can only reduce the user's presence. However, at the professional level, it can make a person mostly invisible, especially in dark and complex environments.

Luke quickly took out the remaining goblins, including the two guarding the cave, and slipped inside.

'This guy is skilled.' Kyle judged. The scene fell silent as they waited for Luke to come back. The wait didn't take long. A few minutes later, Kyle noticed a faint, distorted silhouette rushing out from the cave, and a few moments after that, Luke silently appeared next to them.

"All clear." Luke calmly said, indicating that there's no goblin left outside the cave.

"Hmm, what's the situation inside the cave?" Doyle asked while doing one last check of his equipment.

"The cave has three branches; one leads to food and loot, guarded by 4 goblins, and one has the captives we need to rescue, also guarded by several goblins." Luke paused for a moment, frowning a bit.

"The central branch has the greatest number of goblins, and I also felt a faint sense of danger from there, so I didn't go further inside. Finally…" Luke's expression turned serious as he handed a colorful rag to Doyle.

"A goblin shaman?" Doyle took the colorful rag and seriously examined it, his expression turning serious.

"Most likely." Luke nodded in agreement.

"This is troublesome. It seems that we have to be extra cautious this time. However, this certainly explains the presence of the sentries and the goblins' organized mobility." He muttered under his breath. After a brief moment of thought, Doyle made his decision.

"In that case, here are our arrangements. The first thing we'll do is silently take out the 4 goblins guarding the food and loot section. We don't want them backstabbing us once the battle starts. I'll leave that to you, Luke." Doyle said as he looked at Luke. The latter nodded.

"After Luke takes out those goblins, we'll split into two teams. The first team will go rescue the captives and relocate them to a safe location." Doyle calmly said, his gaze hovering over Luke and Tina. He already had suitable candidates for this mission in mind.

"The second team will face the main goblin horde. They don't need to take them all out at once. We just need to hold out until the first team returns; that's when we'll truly strike." Doyle said with a confident smile on his face, his bald head reflecting the sunlight Pausing for a moment, Doyle looked at the serious expressions on the team's faces.

"The first team will be composed of Luke and Tina. Luke will take out the goblin guards as quickly as possible while Tina heals the captives. You will then take them to safety before joining us as soon as you can." He looked at Luke and Tina and instructed.""Understood!"" Shifting his gaze to Kyle and Aaron, he continued.

"The second team will be composed of Kyle, Aaron, and me. We'll hold back the goblins on the central branch until Luke and Tina come back." Kyle and Aaron nodded, indicating their agreement.

"Let's go." Doyle hurried down the hill. The rest closely followed behind.