Chương 24

I got up and quickly moved inside the longhouse. As soon as I was within the hallway and out of sight from the entrance, I activated Concealed Presence and felt the shift, immediately backtracking and leaving the longhouse again. I quickly made my way to the area I had seen the goblin disappear to, speeding past the tree line and going into the forest. I moved as fast as I dared while still being mindful of not accidentally bumping into a wayward branch or brushing up against one of the numerous bushes.

Soon, I could see the little goblin up ahead. It moved sleekly. Naturally fast without seeming to put in the tiniest of efforts. Even though I tried my best, I couldn't quite keep up as well as I had hoped, having to rely on quick step a couple times in order to not lose sight of it. Thankfully, about 20 minutes of hasty travel later, it slowed down. I immediately became a bit alert, trying to control my ragged breathing and looking around.

I also checked my mana, which was at 22/115, giving me a bit over 5 minutes before I ran out. Actually, now that I think about it, I would need about 25 to 30 minutes just to go back to the square at my normal pace. I looked around, and realized another problem. I have no idea where I am. I looked ahead and saw the goblin looking up, moving its ears in a strange way. I followed its gaze, and saw a goblin holding a bow perched high up in a tree.

I looked about and spotted 3 more goblin archers spread out amongst the trees. The goblin I had been following continued on, but I turned around. With just about 5 minutes of mana left, I couldn't risk going in there at the moment. Instead, I carefully made a small mark high up on a tree, being careful to make the mark on the side away from where the goblins were perched so they wouldn't spot it.

I moved further in the direction from where I had come from, adding similar marks along the way till I was confident I was quite far away. My mana was also running out, and there was a headache slowly building up as my mana kept dipping. I had to find a hiding spot soon. There were a few promising bushes that looked thick enough to conceal me, but it was too risky. Goblins might keep coming in this direction and I didn't want to be hiding at their eye-level.

Choice made, I started climbing the highest tree that I could see. I moved much higher than I normally did, and once I was confident that I was sufficiently covered up by the canopy, I stilled and deactivated the skill. My head was now properly throbbing, and I could only hope that I hadn't made any mistakes due to a mind distracted by pain. A minute later, immediate relief spread in my head as my headache suddenly decreased by a noticeable degree. A couple minutes later it was all but gone.

Well, at least I have another way of knowing when I'm running low on mana. Can't always have my status open. When my mana was full again, I activated the skill and climbed back down, being mindful of looking carefully at my surroundings while I descended. Once I reached the ground, I started heading back to the square, making marks along the way.

Even though I wanted to see what the goblins base looked like, I knew there was a possibility that I could get turned around and finding my way back in this endless forest would then become a serious challenge. Thus, I kept making my way back. It took me a while, having to stop for mana again, becoming sidetracked, and having to backtrack a couple times, but I finally made it back.

Once I was safely back inside the longhouse and was sure there was no one around, I deactivated the skill and heaved a sigh of relief, finally relaxing after what felt like hours. Sneaking around sure is tough. I rested a bit while waiting for my mana to regenerate, all the while wondering on a question that had been circling in my mind for the past hour. I have had to stop and wait for my mana often, so how have the goblins managed to stay hidden for so long?

Even yesterday, the goblin that was following me had no trouble while I had to stop multiple times for mana. Do they just have that much more mana than me? I didn't think that was likely. Sure, they might have more mana than me, but so much more? That seemed improbable, at best. But then, what else could it be? Their race? Could it be something to do with their race? Animals back on earth did have amazing abilities, some of them being borderline miraculous or weird.

An octopus could camouflage itself amazingly, and it didn't need to worry about an energy reserve like mana running out. Or maybe their energy reserve did run out, that's why they had to eat and sleep…? I wasn't sure, having never looked up octopuses or their biology, but I did think I was on the right track. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Didn't I think that these 'scouts' were variants earlier?

I was now sure these goblin scouts were marginally different than the other goblins. So perhaps this 'variant' race allowed them to remain hidden for so long. It could also be possible that they could regenerate mana while under their version of stealth, allowing them unlimited hiding prowess. Taking a quick glance at my mana, I found it full once again. Leaving behind the mystery of the goblin's skills, I got up, switched on Concealed Presence again, and stepped out.

With the way toward the goblin base marked, I could now more confidently go and study it. Going at my normal speed and repeatedly having to stop for mana meant it took me almost an hour to reach the point where the goblin archers were perched at. Looking up and trying to commit where they were to memory, I continued past, moving as carefully as I could. I knew I was in extreme danger right now, and all alone. My heart reminding me of those facts with each loud beat. I noticed signs of civilization as I moved.

Small paths had been cleared, goblin footsteps evident on them even to my untrained eyes. A number of tree stumps could be seen, and on many of the trees remaining I could see more of the goblin archers. I had to stop and duck behind a tree when a group of goblins came up ahead of me. There were five of them and they looked to be moving on a set pattern on one of the paths cleared, like they were patrolling. This is much bigger than I thought. I continued, being mindful of mana.

There was almost no cover here, and I couldn't risk stopping to regenerate mana and being seen. If nothing else, I still had 7 free stat points remaining, so I could potentially raise my mana a bit, though I wanted to avoid going past the threshold surrounded by enemies on all sides. Instead of trying to observe everything, I hastened my pace forward. Soon, a crude wooden wall about eight or nine feet high came to sight, with a gate flanked by four goblins, two on each side.

I could also spy a couple of goblin heads peeking over the wall, presumably standing on watchtowers. Goblins were frequently moving to and from the gate, and there was absolutely no way I was going to go inside the gate. Taking a peek at my mana, I spotted it to be at a healthy 81/115, giving me about 20 minutes of scouting time. The pause right before I reached the goblin archers to regenerate mana paying dividends now. Heh… dividends. Seems like ages ago I was agonizing over tax and dividend double-entries…

Giving my mind a metaphorical shake to clear the idling thoughts, I focused on the task at hand. Looking around, I spotted an area that was a bit higher than the surroundings, sort of like a hillock. It looked like it could offer a raised position for me to see within the wall without having to climb any trees or go through the gate. I made my way towards it and started the very short climb. The rise was a few feet at most, but it was enough for me to get a view within the goblin's base.

My expectations of what I would find had been raised having seen the wall and the organization that the goblins had displayed, but looking inside, I was forced to realize how naive I had been. It was everything that we were wanting for back in our own base. There were different kinds of goblins running around small huts made of wood and mud. There were goblins making arrows, designing weapons, preparing food, and looking after cow-like animals.

Another area a bit further back housed canine creatures, probably hounds. The variety of the goblins was astounding as well. There were different shapes and sizes, and I could spot a couple of them walking with staves, indicating they had magical prowess. I had a harrowing realization. The earlier attack was nothing but a probe. They are preparing to finish us in one go. Another astounding thing was the sheer size of the base.

It was spread out across a large swathe of cleared land, and I couldn't even see the ends of it. What I could see, was that they easily outnumbered us at least 10 to 1, numbering in the hundreds easily, probably crossing well over a thousand. Moving my eyes from the wall towards the center, I noticed the huts seemed to become better in quality. And the further in I saw, the larger the goblins became.

Close to the center, the goblins were no longer at a size disadvantage to us, and some even looked to be taller than the average human. Bulkier as well, their muscles evident from here. I knew what they were at a glance. Hobgoblins. The evolved form of goblins, better in every way than their smaller kind. The hobgoblins were better dressed than the goblins. In fact, they had proper armour and weapons, though the majority of their weapons were still massive clubs.

The even more worrying thing was that the hobgoblins weren't even the largest beings roaming around. No, that honour went to the guards posted at the largest hut by far situated right at the center of their camp. The guards standing outside the entrance were massive, easily ten feet of pure brute muscle. They had small horns on their head, and tusks jutting out of their jaw.

Perhaps the unfortunate side-effect of having invested in perception was the detail that I could see from so far away; I could clearly make out that these guards weren't beasts any longer. Intelligence was evident from their eyes even from this distance. I wasn't sure exactly what they were, but they looked like ogres. And they were just serving as guards. We are screwed.