Countless Nineteens

Nineteen.

Nineteen rabbits running towards Gunrage.

Jimin ran inside and shouted.

“Wake up! Attack!”

Rei and Derrick’s eyes shot open. Without a word, they leapt off the top bunks, already sprinting out into the open.

Voidborn stared at the rabbits.

They hopped over Teeth, but the traps did not snap shut. Tears’ barrels whirred and locked on to the rabbits, yet no beams fired.

Not hostile.

The rabbits ran past all the traps and hopped inside Gunrage.

“Situation?” Derrick asked, looking at the rabbits with confused eyes. He stopped beside Voidborn, who already had his invisible sword brandished, ready to strike.

“I don't know. All twenty of my noose traps were triggered. All rabbits.”

“Then it's an ambush,” Rei said, standing behind the two with her tome already summoned. “Be ready.”

Jimin rushed out moments later, having hastily changed into fresh clothes. She wore a black a sleek black dress that had subtle floral patterns adorned around her neckline. In her trembling hands was the dagger she had taken from the Yoo Family vault.

The bushes in front of Gunrage rustled.

Every head snapped towards it.

Every single sentry’s barrel aimed at it.

A Teeth trap lay underneath the bush, but it did not trigger.

“Another rabbit?” Jimin whispered.

“I don't think—”

Derrick's reply was cut off.

A hand emerged from the dense bush and clawed at the grass. Pulling itself forward, a bloodied figure slowly crawled out on all fours, moving with weak, trembling motions. Dark crimson blood stained her top that had been ripped and smeared across her arms and chest.

“S-save me…”

Tears streamed out of her eyes as she dragged her body forward, conveying the tortuous pain that was equally flowing out of the deep gashes in her chest. Her shins were bent at unnatural angles, while arrows protruded from the back of her thighs.

Derrick and Voidborn walked forward cautiously, approaching the woman who painted the ground behind her in a trail of red.

“State your identity,” Derrick ordered.

Voidborn pointed the tip of his blade at the woman’s throat.

“E-Empire Suppression Squad C—please—it hurts—”

Derrick examined the insignia on the woman’s chest. Claw marks tore across it, but he could still make the Empire’s seal out.

He nodded to Voidborn.

“Cover us,” he called to Rei.

Voidborn crouched beside the woman while Derrick hooked his arms beneath her shoulders. He stood to the woman’s side, sliding his arms under her waist.

“One, two, three—”

They lifted the woman and carried her back to Gunrage.

“What happened?” Jimin asked, pouring a potion into the woman’s mouth she had taken out.

“G-Goblins—there were—lots of them—” the woman wheezed, breathing in ragged gasps as cold sweat beaded from her forehead.

“Argh—fuck—”

She growled in pain as the potion worked its effect, wounds closing slowly, her twisted legs snapping back into place with a sickening crunch.

“You used a high grade potion?” Derrick asked.

“Yes?” Jimin frowned. “Was I not supposed to? She was dying!”

“Yes, but… never mind.”

He turned his attention back to the woman. Her injuries were no longer life-threatening, but her face was still pale, broken legs still mending.

“What's your name? And where’s the rest of your team?”

“Chaewon,” she said, forcing herself upright. “T-the rest…”

For a moment, she lifted her head and stared at where she came from, eyes wide with terror and desperation.

“Captured or dead. The goblins, they… they move differently… and there's countless of them.”

“Where?”

“B-behind me!”

Right as she said that, Rei’s voice cut through the air.

“Guys. Get ready.”

Their gaze glued to the darkness around.

Turret barrels shifted and whirred.

Pairs of crimson eyes slowly emerged from the darkness.

One.
Then another.
Then dozens.

Some hovered low within the grass. Others lingered high within the trees, unmoving, watching silently.

The forest vanished beneath a sea of red pinpoints.

Rei raised her hand and sent four glowing orbs into the darkness.

“Flash.”

Light exploded across the treeline.

Goblins.

They were revealed crouching amongst the bushes and branches, thin wrinkled bodies wrapped in patchwork leather and scraps of dark cloth. Serrated daggers and curved shortswords glinted beneath the sudden light as greedy grins spread across their sharp faces, strands of saliva hanging between irregularly shaped teeth.

“Scouts,” Voidborn muttered, noticing the struggling rabbits dangling in their hands held by their ears.

He tied the Cloth of Light back to his sword.

“They let you escape.” Derrick’s eyes darkened. “They could have killed you whenever they wanted.”

“Can you still fight?” Rei asked.

“N-no… my mental energy has been expended. It will take some time for it to recover.”

“Then stay inside and don’t come out.”

Chaewon nodded and scrambled into Gunrage.

“So, what now?” Jimin asked. “I don’t suppose we can talk this out?”

“We fight,” Derrick said. “But only focus on defending.”

Voidborn nodded.
Rei hummed in agreement.

“Voidborn, you’re on the front lines. Rei, you’ll take care of ranged. I’ll provide support and control.”

“What about me?” Jimin asked.

“You stay at the back. Only move when something threatens you.”

Jimin nodded, eyes full of worry.

None of the goblins charged.
They only stared.
Smiling.

Snarling and heavy breathing filled the silence. The staredown between the group and the goblins went on for minutes, each one waiting for the other to make the first move.

“They're probing us,” Voidborn muttered.

“Fine.” Derrick’s eyes narrowed. “We start first.”

Then—

A blue beam ripped through the air.

Before their minds could register, a goblin dropped from a branch. The body slammed into the ground with a loud thud, a smoking hole burnt through the skull between its eyes. Thick gooey blood pooled out around its head as the lifeless body lay limp.

Chaos erupted.

Shrill screams exploded from every direction as the goblins rushed forward, their daggers and shortswords drawn, ready to draw blood.

A massacre ensued.

Blue beams unloaded from Tears’ barrels without pause, swerving between targets as it shot down goblin after goblin. The turrets dispatched enemies with terrifying precision, each beam unwasted, punching holes through the same spot of every charging goblin.

Derrick’s Teeths were equally merciless.

They skittered through the enemy’s lines, actively searching for feet to feast on. Chomp after chomp, the mechanical land shark bit off limbs, feeding the ground goblin feet and mutilated beasts that could do nothing but crawl helplessly through the soil.

Taking advantage of the situation, Voidborn rushed forward into the fray, swinging and thrusting his freshly sharpened sword, feeding it blood like it were a newborn baby thirsting for milk.

Slice.
Stab.
Swing.

No wasted movement.

Each attack was accompanied by either by a blade through the heart, or a separation of head from body.

A goblin at the rear screeched in confusion.

The human before them swung at empty air, yet bodies kept falling apart.

A downward swing.
Its companion split cleanly in two.

A horizontal sweep.
Three became six.

A diagonal slash.
Another goblin’s ribs were maimed open.

The goblin watched in terror, the serrated dagger in its hand losing grip from the sweat on its palm.

The human was coming for him next.

It saw the human pull his arm back, readying for a stab.

It could do it.

It could block it.

The goblin screeched and raised its dagger, swinging it down to parry the attack.

But its blade met nothing.

The failure caused it to lose its balance.

The stab coming towards feinted into a slash.

Its view was upturned, and the world around it flipped.

The next thing it knew, the ground appeared horizontally into its sight.

Blue beams continued to punch holes. Jaws continued to claim feet.

A woman far behind was shooting out an incessant number of fireballs.

Its comrades in arms became flaming targets, rolling in the ground as they screeched painfully.

Why did it fail? It had lived its goblin years as the top scout.
This was just another hunt.
Another massacre.
Another victory.

But it was wrong.

They were not the hunters.

They were the hunted.

Then it saw black.

“It’s the last of them!” Derrick hollered. “Clear them up.”

Voidborn nodded and bent his knees, dashing off into the darkness. Enemies were dropping left and right, and the fight will soon be over.

He sliced off the last head and turned around to look at Gunrage.

Goblin parts were littered all around — heads, feet, torso halves. The peaceful campsite had now transformed into a slaughterhouse.

He looked at Jimin.

She stood near the entrance with her bloodied dagger raised, a few goblin corpses lay at her feet.

Then—

Voidborn’s eyes shot upwards.

One goblin remained.

A stray goblin had climbed onto the roof of Gunrage, crouching as it stared down at the group in silence.

A smile was plastered across its face.

Voidborn’s eyes narrowed.

Yellow and red welled outwards from it in a distorted wave.

The goblin reached into the pouch behind it.

“Shit—”

Voidborn lunged forward, snatching a shortsword off a nearby corpse.

He hurled it instantly.

But—

BWAAAHHHH

A deep, booming resonant blast blared through the forest.

The next sound was the clattering of keratin on the roof and a cry of death as the shortsword pierced through its head.

Its body tumbled off the roof and slammed onto the ground behind Jimin with a sickening crack.

Voidborn looked at the rest who were all frozen in shock.

“Prepare for the next wave,” he said, readying his sword once again.

The silence did not last long.

Voidborn’s eyes narrowed as he heard the faintest of footsteps.

A whistle hissed through the air.

Clang.

Voidborn tilted his blade diagonally, deflecting an incoming arrow into the dirt. A metallic clash echoed as a projectile was sent to the side, spinning as it fell to the ground.

“Archers,” Voidborn said, staring at the glowing eyes atop the tree branches. Each goblin held a reinforced wooden bow in its hand, bowstring pulled taut arrows nocked and ready for fire.

“I’ll take care of them,” Derrick said, scattering several Beam orbs. “Focus on those on the ground.”

Right as the floating orbs glowed to life, shrill goblin screams exploded from every direction.

“Tch. What a night,” Rei grumbled, readying her tome.

The wave charged forward, small goblins bursting through the undergrowth with jagged spears and crude clubs raised high.

“Flare Burst.”

Three massive fireballs shot towards them at different angles. At the moment of contact, the fireball exploded, burning entire sections into a crisp.

But more goblins replaced the dead immediately.

They trampled over their dead bodies as if they were nothing, rushing towards the group with frenzy.

Tear and Teeth continued slaughtering enemies one after another, but it was not enough.

The pressure kept stacking.

Right as a Tear unit fired a burst of blue beams, an arrow whizzed through the air and pierced its barrel. The projectile continued straight, crashing into the turret’s core.

Sparks erupted.

It exploded.

“Fuck!” Derrick cursed. “That costs a lot!

With a wave of his hand, he controlled a Beam and shot a red beam through the archer’s head.

Voidborn stayed behind the defensive line, taking down any goblins that breached the defence line.

They were doing well.

But that didn't last for long.

Derrick could stop any archers from firing any arrows with his Beams, but that was the least of their concern.

The goblins didn't stop coming.

Corpses piled the ground as time went by.

Rei continued to rain exploding fireballs down unto the enemies, but she was visibly slowing.

Derrick’s Teeth could no longer work, jammed shut beneath layers of corpses.

Goblins treated bodies as carpets, running over the layer of protection formed through the sacrifice of their own kind.

Blue beams from Tear units fired relentlessly, but the energy reserves within them was gradually dimming.

Voidborn continued to ravage through the enemy lines, but the range of his sword was limited. Spear tips lunged from blind spots, clubs smashed from behind blocked strikes.

The attacks never stopped.

“Fall back!” Derrick shouted.

Right as Voidborn retreated, Derrick closed his eyes. Tear and Teeth dissolved into the ground as Derrick muttered under his breath.

“They're getting close,” Voidborn warned, glancing between Derrick and the incoming tide.

“Are you doing something?” he asked.

“Let me focus.”

“Whatever you're planning, make it quick,” Rei gritted her teeth, launching another massive fireball. “Otherwise I’ll just incinerate them all.”

“No,” Voidborn said. “We are in the forest. We’ll be equally consumed by the fire. There's fuel every.”

“Derrick!?” Rei shouted. “Anytime now!”

As if to answer Rei’s call, Derrick’s eyes flashed open. A silver gleam shimmered across his pupils.

“Slice.”

Instantly, thick, cylindrical metal pillars erupted from the earth.

Derrick pushed his palms forward, sending the pillars into the charging horde. Mid-movement, razor thin wires shot out across the length of the pillars before falling, hanging loosely in the air.

“Shred.”

With a twist of his outstretched palms, the pillars spun.

Whrrrrrrrr.

The battlefield exploded into gore.

Charging goblins were shredded apart instantly.

Limbs flew.

Blood sprayed.

Chunks of flesh spiraled through the air.

The loose wires spun with high velocity as the pillars halted several meters away from Gunrage, forming an unbreachable wall of goblin blenders.

But that was not all.

Derrick clapped his palms together.

Muttering under his breath again, his eyes flashed silver.

“Spark.”

Metal rods launched outwards from Gunrage, embedding themselves randomly, some into trees, some into the ground.

“Shock.”

Derrick swung his palm apart, as if he were ripping the air itself.

Electric wires snapped into existence between the rods.

Blue lightning crackled violently throughout the perimeter, connecting between rods as they formed an extensive web of electricity.

The first goblin that touched the web exploded into convulsions.
The second that tripped turned into charred black.
The third, fourth and fifth had their nerve connections severed by the coursing blue shocks.

“What the fuck are those?!” Jimin exclaimed in shock at the sight before her.

“Meet my two newest beauties. Part of my S-set, and they’re my most valuable asset.”

Derrick grinned weakly despite the sweat running down his face. He pointed to the wire blenders.

“That’s Slice n’ Shred,” he explained, wiping the sweat with the back of his palm. “Like the name suggests, they slice and shred.

“The one further down is Spark n’ Shock. They—”

“Spark and shock. Yeah. Anyone can guess that,” Jimin lamented, but she was visibly impressed by the carnage. “The names you come up with are very literal.”

“Effective and fitting,” Derrick corrected.

“What’s happening exactly?” Rei asked, glancing at Chaewon who stepped out slowly from Gunrage.

“I-I don’t know…” she said. “We took on the request to solve the issue of the missing villagers and the goblin attacks of the nearby village. We arrived there three nights ago and helped them fend off a wave. After that, our squad leader decided we should follow the tracks to wipe out the goblin camp, because if we don’t pull out the roots, the attacks are not going to stop.”

“That makes sense,” Jimin said.

“We entered the forest and came across a few scouting groups, which we easily killed,” Chaewon continued. “But we headed deeper and decided to set up camp for the night.”

Her voice shook.

“R-Right as we settled down, we were suddenly surrounded by countless goblins. They were different.”

“Organised. As if someone was giving them instructions.”

She stared at the massacre that was happening around Gunrage. Goblin bodies were shredded into chunks, blood sprayed and scattered everywhere. Singed and shocked bodies filled the perimeter, and the smell of burnt flesh heavy and flooding the air.

“We were a group of seven. Six Rebirth 2s, and our leader was a Warlord, a Savage Rebirth 3,” she continued. “At first, we could manage them easily, especially with our leader’s One with the Body.”

Her tone changed into admiration.

“It transforms his body into a weapon, allowing him to manifest physical energy and form it into any weapon he can imagine.”

“He was powerful like you,” she said, pointing at Derrick. “Slicing waves of enemies in half with his manifested greatsword aura. He could smash craters into the ground with his giant mace.”

“He was my role model, until—until it appeared.”

“What?” Rei asked.

“A Goblin Shaman.”

“A Shaman?” Derrick frowned. “You sure? A Shaman would be trouble, even for a Rebirth 3.”

“Yes,” Chaewon shook in fear, tears welling up in her eyes. “The moment it joined the battle, everything changed. It summoned vines to tie the rest of us down and solely focused all its attacks on our leader. Miasma, rot, they eventually wore him down. That stupid shaman hid behind the lines, sending waves after waves of those shitty goblins towards him, until it eventually found an opening, driving… driving a bone totem through h—”

“How did you escape?” Jimin interrupted, refusing to let Chaewon speak of her leader’s demise.

“I-I don’t know how. I managed to cut the vines away with a broken goblin blade, running away into the woods during the distraction. I hid nearby, not knowing what to do.”

“Then I watched as the shaman dragged the rest of my squad away, before feeding our leader’s corpse to the rest of the goblins.”

“Then how did they find and catch up to you?”

“I… I don’t know,” she stammered, equally helpless. “I wanted to head back to the village to get help, until I got attacked again.”

“Is this yours?” Voidborn asked, pulling out the good luck charm that he picked up earlier.”

“Yes! Where did you get it? I lost it earlier when the goblins found me.”

Derrick and Rei looked at Voidborn. Both of them frowned.

“We were set up,” Derrick said.

“What?” Jimin asked. “What’s going on?”

“Who’s setting who up?”

“The lady—”

“We have trouble,” Voidborn cut Jimin off, looking into the darkness beyond the pile of corpses.

“Big trouble.”

Right as he said that, loud roars boomed through the forest.

“Bugbears,” Derrick muttered.

“Three.” Voidborn corrected. “And I can see it. The shaman.”

“I hope you’ve rested enough, Miss Naoi Rei,” Derrick smirked tiredly.

“Oh, I can go all night, Mr Derrick Yoo,” Rei said, cracking her knuckles

Then—

Something enormous flew through the air.

“Fuck!” Derrick exclaimed. “They’re throwing boulders at us!”

Three massive rocks launched by three bugbears enlarged into existence, smashing past the electrical web, flying towards the blender wall.

Crash.

One slammed harmlessly into a metal pillar and shattered into pieces.

But the other two boulders slammed directly into Slice n’ Shred, landing right in the middle of the wires.

The spinning wires screeched violently against stone, carving only shallow grooves before losing momentum.

The rotating wall slowed.

Then faltered.

Two breach points opened.

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