Wondrous goblin of magic

Chapter 6: The Isolated Goblin

Bull’s death was met with a stunned silence. The entire square seemed to freeze, the raiders frozen in disbelief, their eyes locked on Alex—the goblin who had appeared out of nowhere and killed the largest of them with a single punch.

A hushed murmur rippled through the crowd. No one had ever seen a goblin do that before.

Shanna, sitting on the ground, her voice trembling with a mix of relief and unease, cried out, “Sir Goblin!”

But Alex, ever the mystery, ignored her. His attention was fixed on the remaining raiders, each one brandishing swords or knives. He scanned the group for anyone with serious weaponry and quickly deduced that Bull had been the only real threat here—apparently, the rest of the g**g had skipped their arm day at the gym.

“Light as a feather,” Alex muttered to himself, grabbing Bull’s broadsword and testing its weight. “No wonder you didn’t use this properly.”

With a quick twist, he snapped the blade in two, tossing it aside with a disgusted grunt. “Are these raiders allergic to quality gear or something?”

Before he could dispose of the broken sword, an arrow shot toward him from the back. Without even flinching, Alex snatched it mid-air, turning his gaze to the archer. The would-be assailant froze, panic setting in as he scrambled to notch another arrow—his hands shaking like a leaf in the wind.

In an instant, Alex hurled the arrow back with deadly precision. It flew through the air and embedded itself between the archer's eyes, pinning him to the doorframe with a sickening thud.

The remaining raiders froze. This wasn’t your average goblin. This one was... a force of nature.

“This... this isn’t a goblin!” one of them stammered. “It’s some kind of green-skinned demon!”

Alex didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. Within seconds, he was in the middle of the group, fists flying faster than anyone could react. Raiders crumpled to the ground, one after another, as if they'd been hit by a freight train. Each punch was a symphony of bone-crunching finality. Blood sprayed the air as the square quickly turned into a slaughterhouse.

In mere moments, all the raiders were either dead or incapacitated, lying in twisted heaps across the cobbled streets.

The villagers, now freed from their tormentors, stared in shock and awe at the goblin before them. But that awe quickly morphed into something else—something far less comfortable. They had been rescued, yes, but by a goblin who wasn’t just powerful; he was terrifying. They had been at the mercy of raiders before. But this? This was a whole new level of fear.

Alex stood still, casting a glance over the fallen raiders. As he rifled through their belongings, the villagers whispered among themselves. They could barely comprehend what had just happened. Some of them feared he might be worse than the raiders.

Alex, meanwhile, found a small bag of coins—always useful—stuffed it into his cloak, and turned to leave without a word. No thanks, no goodbye. Just a goblin in the wind.

Meanwhile, in the small, isolated town of Godry, life was predictably mundane—until, of course, it wasn't. The town, nestled in the mountains and rarely visited, had sent out an urgent request for help when goblins started terrorizing nearby villages. Their tiny garrison of soldiers could handle petty thieves, but goblins? That was another story.

And today, help had arrived.

But it wasn’t what anyone expected.

A group of teenagers, not a day older than sixteen, marched into town, faces serious but betraying hints of youthful eagerness. They wore dark green uniforms trimmed with black—the official garb of cadets from the Border Military Academy. Each wore a short sword, almost as if to say, We’re ready, sort of.

Accompanying them were two instructors. One was a tall, strikingly handsome man in his early twenties, wearing a pristine white uniform. His nickname among the kids? “Instructor Hawk.” The other was a hulking figure, rugged and unkempt, with a man-bun and a rough beard—an intimidating giant with a black-handled broadsword that looked like it could chop through a mountain. His nickname? “Instructor Bear.”

The town guards, relieved to see some muscle, quickly briefed them on the goblin sightings.

Instructor Bear took charge. “Alright, kids,” he said gruffly, adjusting the massive sword on his back. “This is your first real combat mission. Your performance will count toward your end-of-year assessments.”

The students exchanged nervous glances, their bravado faltering under the weight of the moment. Instructor Hawk, sensing the tension, gave them a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, kids. Goblins are weak, group-dependent creatures. Stick to what you learned at the academy, and you’ll handle this just fine.”

“And if you do run into any goblin tougher than you can handle,” he added with a grin, “Instructor Bear and I are here to protect you.”

This seemed to ease the students’ nerves. For a moment, they were back to feeling like heroes in a school play, ready to battle evil goblins and impress their teachers. But then, one student, a little more anxious than the rest, spoke up.

“Instructor Hawk, are there any really strong goblins?”

Hawk chuckled. “The leader of a goblin group might be tougher, but don’t worry—even the strongest goblin is no match for Instructor Bear.”

A student hesitated. “What if... what if there’s a goblin even Instructor Bear can’t beat?”

Hawk’s expression didn’t change. “That’s not possible.”

Instructor Bear was a veteran of the Royal Vanguard, a towering figure with a reputation as big as his sword. Goblins? They were nothing to him. He could handle a whole army of them with one hand tied behind his back—though, for the sake of training, he'd leave the sword unsheathed.

The group marched on, confidence brimming, until they encountered something unexpected on the road.

A lone goblin, small and unarmed, trudged along the path. It was wearing what could only be described as human clothes—tattered, ill-fitting, and almost pitiful.

The instructors exchanged glances, sizing up the creature.

“Go ahead and surround it,” Instructor Bear instructed with a grin. “This’ll be a good warm-up.”

The students, eager to prove themselves, closed in on the goblin with enthusiasm. Their faces were bright with the thrill of battle. Hawk, however, cast a sympathetic glance toward the little goblin, but knew there was no harm in letting the students have their fun.

But what they didn’t know was that the “warm-up” they expected was about to be anything but.