Chương 31: The Heretical Ritual

At the cave entrance, looking at the goblins' corpses before him, Kyle's nose scrunched up.

'I can't get used to their foul smell, no matter how many times I face them.' Kyle restrained his rising disgust and looked at the others nearby. Tina had a frown on her face, and Aaron looked as if he were barely tolerating the smell. Doyle and Luke's expressions, however, didn't change in the face of the horrid smell or the disgusting remains at all. Doyle raised his hand to stop Tina from using the [Flash] spell.

"Conserve your mana. You not only have to heal the injured and traumatized captives, but you'll also have to support us later. For now…" He pulled out a pre-prepared wooden torch from his bag.

"This will suffice." He lit it and took the lead to walk into the cave. As they walked through the dark cave, the smell got worse and worse. Traces of filth and waste were scattered across the ground. Kyle paid careful attention not to step on it.

"Ugh!" A muffled cry of disgust sounded. Following the source of the sound, Kyle saw that Aaron was anxiously rubbing his boots against the wall, his face tinted a shade of green. He had stepped on goblin shit. Kyle's lips twitched slightly before his expression turned serious again, wary of any ambush. Water dripped somewhere deeper within the cave, each echo blending with the distant goblin chatter. The torch's light could barely illuminate a few meters around them; beyond that lay complete darkness.

While normal goblins might be weak creatures that could be driven away by a farmer holding a pitchfork, their treachery and cunning nature made them quite dangerous in large numbers. Moreover, they could be even more dangerous in the dark, as they possess Darkvision and humans do not.

'Fortunately, Luke had already scouted ahead and cleared any trap we might face. A party is indeed convenient. Things would have been much more complicated if it were just me.' Kyle mused. After a minute of walking, they soon reached a curved path. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Kyle could faintly hear the harsh cries and laughter of goblins ahead.

"There's a large chamber ahead with the three branching tunnels. There are a few goblins lying there," Luke whispered.

"Deal with them." Doyle didn't mince words. Luke nodded and disappeared into the darkness. Kyle leaned against the wall and waited. It didn't take long for the closest goblin sounds to disappear. A few moments later, Luke reappeared beside them.

"Done. I've also taken care of the ones in the branch leading to their food and supplies." Luke coolly said, wiping off the blood on his daggers with a rag before sheathing them.

"Good, now follow the plan." Doyle nodded before walking forward. Aaron and Kyle followed behind. Luke and Tina also followed behind but headed towards the branch on the right upon entering the open space. Kyle walked into the tunnel in the center with Doyle and Aaron. He noticed a bright light appearing ahead. As they approached it, the sound of goblins moving, shrieking, and laughing gradually became louder. The surrounding walls gradually widened, and finally, a huge open space appeared in front of them.

It was filled with rowdy goblins. Torches lined up the walls, illuminating the dark cave and casting an ominous shadow on the ground. Kyle immediately noticed a high platform on the other end of the open space, on which a human-sized goblin was lying. Standing next to him was a hunched goblin wearing a long, dirty robe and holding a long wooden staff. It was a goblin warrior and a goblin shaman.

The goblin shaman was muttering something as it waved its staff and poured a green liquid from a glass into the goblin warrior's mouth. A crimson hexagram pulsed beneath the platform, its dim light crawling across the goblin warrior's skin alongside the shaman's chanting. Doyle's pupils shrank as this scene came into his sight.

"Aaron, can you tell me what that goblin shaman is doing?" Doyle's voice rang out, tinged with solemnity like never before.

"This… I'm not sure, but I think it's some sort of ritual. But goblins shouldn't have any relation whatsoever with such complex rituals, not even shamans." Aaron replied with an astonished expression on his face. He looked as if his worldview had been shattered.

"Whatever they're doing, all we need is to stop them," Kyle said as he drew his sword.

"You're right. Prepare for battle!" Doyle said as he placed his shield in front of him and stepped forward. The appearance of Kyle's group quickly drew the goblins' attention.

"Gah!"

"Wo Gah!" The goblins' cries quickly intensified, drawing the goblin shaman's attention. His eyes immediately fell on the three humans that suddenly appeared.

"Hu…mans…" Its dry voice drifted across the cave, silencing the noisy goblins.

"Kill…Them…"

"Wagh!!!" The goblins fell into an even greater frenzy as they swarmed them.

"Ha!!" Doyle shouted as he swung his shield forward, sending several goblins flying away, bones broken and organs ruptured.

"Bang!" He slammed his shield onto the ground, stopping the advance of the goblin horde before splitting the skulls of a few that tried to sneak around it.

"Aaron! Kyle! Stop whatever that goblin shaman is doing!" Doyle shouted, his voice resounding like an explosion throughout the enclosed space.

"Understood!" Aaron quickly took out a purple crystal powder and scattered it as he chanted,"Spirits of the Sky, smite my enemies, [Lightning Bolt]." Lightning flashed from the tip of his staff before flashing towards the goblin shaman. Facing the incoming strike, the goblin shaman raised its staff and screeched, creating a green, half-spherical energy shield in front of it.

"Boom!" The lightning collided with the energy shield, creating a small shockwave and cracking the shield. However, in the end, it couldn't go through. Kyle burst through the goblin horde, beheading several goblins on his path. He instantly appeared next to the goblin shaman, swinging his sword towards the back of its neck, a place not protected by its shield.