Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 18 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! I got another Tier Reward asking for more Goblins! My Original Writing (which sometimes fights me tooth and nail for some reason) still has fans! I’m hoping to make this a semi-long story at around 40-ish chapters, maybe 50, but we’ll see. I’m already almost at the word count of the first Harry Potter book!

The Koh Tribe once more prepares for battle! What tactics will this new Orc Tribe employ? Will the Goblins ever figure out where these metal weapons came from? Winter is going to be here soon enough too. Still have to finish preparing for that.

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-Day 167-

Gobkoh looked out into the forest from atop the lookout tower near the pond. He could see them out there in the forest, the fledgling Orc Tribe led by Murok the Battle Orc. They seemed to be slowly moving forward through the trees, as if they were taking measure of the Koh Tribe’s fortified wall. That proved that this tribe of Orcs was similar in intelligence to the Tarrus Tribe.

“What do you think they’re planning?” Rialin asked, her own eye narrowed as she watched the Orcs in the forest.

“The best way to attack, probably.” Gobkoh hummed as he observed the Orcs actions. “They have large shields too…maybe they’re going to use the forest to try and set up a line and siege us.”

“Siege?” Rialin wasn’t familiar with that term.

“Keep us inside our wall until we run out of food and eventually have no choice but to open the gate or starve.” Gobkoh explained to his female with a grimace.

“We have plenty of stored food though, they’d be out there for more than a month.” Rialin shook her head at the length of time. “That’s crazy.”

“Yeah, it’d be the beginning of winter by the time we starved after depleting our food stores.” Gobkoh agreed, he’d noticed the leaves in the forest slowly starting to change color as the days began to get shorter and the temperature colder. Autumn was beginning and the Koh Tribe still needed to stock up more food for the coming winter. “If we play into their siege, we’ll run out of food before the winter is over. So, we need to end this conflict before we take too much from our stock.”

“Can you do something with your magic?” Rialin looked to Gobkoh with curious eyes.

“Perhaps…there’s still some Spirits that I haven’t tried to use any Magic with yet.” Gobkoh thought about the various little spirits that he’d seen and that his Shaman Staff was attuned to. If these Orcs were smart enough to lay siege to the Koh Tribe’s wall, then they would probably figure out night attacks and the like too, if they didn’t already know them.

“We should tell the rest what we think is going on.” Rialin shot a glare at the Orcs in the forest, still moving around out of direct sight between the trees.

“Yeah, we’ll need to make sure that we’re ready.” Gobkoh nodded while watching the Orcs a bit longer. “We’ll be lobbing arrows and such back and forth if this is going to be a siege. Maybe we have more advantage than they do though?” The Chieftain and his female descended the lookout tower, letting the two goblins currently on watch climb back up, before they started gathering the Tribe together to explain what was going on.

-Day 168-

“Look at them all...” Gobmyr blinked at the wall of shields set up at the edge of the forest.

“Looks like the Chieftain was right; they’re trapping us inside.” Neylin pointed out the wall of shields almost completely encircling the Koh Tribe’s wall.

“They’re staying far enough back that it’ll be difficult to hit them with arrows too.” Gobwren grimaced as he judged the distance with his eye. “The fact that they’re staying under the cover of the trees doesn’t help either.”

“They have the ability to hunt for food, but we’re stuck living off what we have for now.” Gobyog grumbled at the predicted situation.

“We can still fish, but it’ll only add a few days of food if it comes down to the prolonged siege that the Chief was talking about.” Gobtay mentioned, knowing that the fish in the pond would be depleted quickly, even with new fish swimming in from the small stream from time to time.

“You think we can make them attack us?” Neylin wondered as she looked at the wall of shields. “It would be quicker if we could fight them like the last two Orc Tribes and wipe them out in one big battle.”

“How would we do that?” Gobmyr looked at Neylin curiously.

“No idea.” Neylin shrugged at the Axeman.

The first day of the siege started off with nothing really happening. The Orcs were solidifying their formation, while the Koh Tribe maintained their wariness. No attacks were made by either side, but it was only a matter of time. Hostility would break out between the Goblins and the Orcs, and one side would wipe out the other. That was simply the survival of the fittest that prevailed in the Silua Forest.

-Day 169-

“Damn boar!” Gobwren snarled as he let loose an arrow at the rapidly retreating Orc. The Orc took an arrow to the back, but the thick furs it wore helped lessen the penetration a bit. The boar-headed Demi-Human made it back behind the shield wall without further injury.

“The sun is only just setting and they think they can sneak up to our wall?” The Goblin at his side also growled at the Orcs’ attempt at sneaking closer.

“It’s fine.” Gobkoh spoke as he climbed up the ladder to the platforms lining the rim of the wall. “Let them try, it’ll give us a chance to pick off a few of the grunts.” He tapped the end of his Shaman Staff on the wooden walkway.

“Yeah, but still, if they keep trying all night, we won’t be able to get any sleep.” Gobwren brought up his concern about the Orc strategy.

“I thought about that.” Gobkoh assured the Archer. “That’s why I spent last night trying some new Magic out.”

“Oh? New Magic from the Chief!” The other Goblin (whose name Gobkoh wasn’t remembering off the top of his head) looked excited.

“It’ll be time soon.” Gobkoh grinned, showing off his fangs, and watching the sun sink below the trees. The shadows lengthened and the dark of night was beginning to set in.

“What kind of Magic are you gonna do?” Gobwren asked, curiosity practically shining in his eyes.

“Darkness Spirit Magic.” Gobkoh chuckled as the sun continued to set. “I’m pretty sure I can disrupt their formation and make them unable to mess with us tonight.”

“Really?” Gobwren looked impressed before even seeing it.

“Yeah, it shocked me last night.” Rialin popped her head over the platform edge as she climbed up the ladder. “It’ll make them jumpy for sure.”

“This I have to see.” Gobwren also had a fanged grin now.

“It’s about time.” Gobkoh agreed, seeing the last of the sunlight fading away. He raised his Shaman Staff and used all four of his Class Skills in tandem. Spirit Sight to see the massive amounts of Darkness Spirits that now pervaded the air and covered everything. Spirit Guide to call them to him and gather their power. Spirit Unification to borrow their Dark Element Magic. And Spirit Communication to commune with the little dark orbs he could see and ask them for their assistance.

“Whoa…” Gobwren took a step back in shock as the dark of night seemed to wrap around the Shaman. The eyes of the Capra Horn skull atop his staff were glowing with an ethereal purple light a he wove the Magic of the spirits to his aid.

‘Darkness Spirits come to me. Wind Spirits, join with your brethren through me.’ Gobkoh communed with the spirits, his Spirit Sight allowing him to see the specks of gray Wind Spirits mixed in among the near ocean of Darkness Spirits. ‘Darkness, take the form of shades and shapes, pass through the forests along the paths I lead you through. Wind, whisper and rustle that which you pass, follow the shade as I lead you through the forest.’ The Shaman communicated his desires to the tiny spirits.

“There they are.” Rialin once more saw the shifting shapes of darkness as they formed from the blackness of the night. They were indistinct, always wavering as they floated around her male.

“Now, follow my mana through the forest.” Gobkoh spoke, pointing the head of his Shaman Staff forward, the eyes of the Capra Horn Skull still glowing ethereally. The dozens of shades raced over the edge of the wall and in the faint light of the waning moon, the Goblins could see the darker shades moving along the ground. Their movement was followed by the light whistling of the wind and when they reached the forest edge, shrubs and leaves moved in their wake.

It was only a minute later that noises of panic could be heard within the forest. The Orcs saw things moving about in the darkness, heard the sound of the breeze and things rustling. Thinking they were under attack, the boar-headed tribe attacked the shades in a panic. But it quickly became apparent that their weapons didn’t hurt the strange things moving amount their camp. The lights of campfires briefly illuminated shadowed forms that the Orcs were quick to strike at to no avail. The panic grew as more shades began to dart about the Orcs’ camp. Shrieks, snarls, and even roars of rage, fear, and confusion got louder and louder as the Orc Tribe tried to fight off the shades.

“How long can you keep this up?” Rialin asked, seeing that Gobkoh didn’t have to devote all of his attention to the Magic that he was conjuring and maintaining.

“Maybe an hour all at once?” Gobkoh estimated, based on his tests last night. “But I think I’ll stop after about ten minutes to rest.”

“Won’t they recollect themselves once the spell has passed?” Gobwren wondered why his Chief would end the spell after only ten minutes.

“That’s what I’m counting on.” Gobkoh grinned in a rather mischievous manner. “We’ll let them calm down, think it’s over and that they can relax. Then I’ll cast the shades again to send them into panic once more.”

“I get it!” Rialin perked up, her eyes alight with understanding. “After the second or third time, they’ll be expecting the shades to come back again! They won’t sleep the rest of the night!”

“Yep,” Gobkoh loved how quickly Rialin picked up on stuff like this. “A siege can work in the opposite direction too. Either they get so freaked out that they leave, or they lose sleep, become angry, reckless, and eventually attack us outright. A lack of sleep muddles the mind and makes thinking and planning very difficult.”

“Looks like Neylin is going to get her wish then.” Gobwren chuckled as he listened to the continued sounds of panic from the forest. “If we can goad them into an attack, then we have the advantage.”

“We’ll rain poisoned arrows on them, set them on fire, whatever we have to do!” Rialin was the one with a fanged grin now. She knew how important it was that this conflict not be dragged out for too long.

“That’s enough for the first wave.” Gobkoh ended his spell, the ethereal purple lights in the Capra Horn skull dimming before vanishing completely. “Now, just so they think that the shades can indeed hurt them.” He waved his staff around above his head. After a few rotations, a breeze could be felt as the air began to move. A few more rotations and the wind was whistling as it spun above Gobkoh. A strong point forward with his Shaman Staff and the powerful wind launched forward like an arrow. A loud crash was heard as the wind spell slammed into one of the shields making up the wall at the forest edge. The wooden shield shattered into splinters and the sounds of panic and confusion from the Orcs picked up again.

“That makes sense.” Gobwren perked up after seeing what Gobkoh had done. “If they think the shades can’t hurt them, they might ignore them. But if they believe that the shades can shatter a shield like that, they’ll never risk going to sleep and leaving themselves vulnerable.”

“Exactly.” Gobkoh nodded while catching his breath from empowering the wind to reach that far. He was definitely getting stronger with his Magic, but range always made things more difficult.

“How many more times will you do this?” Rialin questioned, always concerned about her male pushing himself too hard.

“I think three more times, maybe four.” Gobkoh pondered on just how often he should mess with the Murok Tribe. “I’ll stop and sleep after the last one. Probably do it just after midnight.”

“I’m glad you’re pacing yourself.” Rialin smiled at him softly.

“In a war of attrition like this, pacing myself is going to be an absolute necessity.” Gobkoh smiled back at her.

-Day 170-

“Still not making any moves?” Rialin looked at Neylin as they stood atop the wooden platform along the wall.

“Not yet, though they keep peeking out of the forest between their shield wall.” Neylin mentioned as they looked along the line of shields. “It’s like they’re expecting something from us.”

“Gobkoh must’ve really spooked them last night.” Rialin remarked with a smirk. “The plan is working, it seems.”

“I hope they come at us soon.” Neylin admitted with a sharp look in her eyes. “I’m hoping that a battle like this, plus the others that we’ve had, will help me hit level one-hundred.”

“You want to become a Hobgoblin too, huh?” Rialin nodded in understanding with her friend. The majority of the Koh Tribe wanted to follow in Gobkoh’s plan of going through their own Growth Phase over the winter. If it worked out, the Koh Tribe would emerge in the following spring as a Tribe of mostly Hobgoblins. That would be a significant boost to their strength and should help them keep their territory from any other challengers in the future.

“Yeah, getting stronger is the best way to ensure our survival.” Neylin replied to the Chieftain’s female. “I know you want to be stronger too. Among other reasons.” She grinned at Rialin with a teasing glint in her eyes.

“Shush.” Rialin playfully swatted her shoulder. Neylin chuckled at her response, having expected it from her friend. “The Tribe won’t grow if we don’t have children.”

“You two are practically Mated already, it’s only a matter of time.” Neylin laughed mirthfully. “Sometime this coming spring, I’m sure.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” Rialin shrugged, her cheeks darkening a little as she thought about it. Surely, she and Gobkoh would have strong and intelligent children. They’d be a wonderful family and strengthen the Tribe even further.

“All the more reason to wipe these damn Orcs out and gain levels then.” Neylin nodded resolutely as she peered into the forest as best as she could.

“That’s true.” Rialin’s sharp eyes narrowed as she also scanned the forest for any activity.

Later that night, Gobkoh once more weaved his Magic, blasting apart another shield making up the Orcs’ wall and conjuring the shades. The cries of panic, fear, and rage rang out through the forest late into the night again. The Orcs couldn’t kill the shades and were confused by the Magic. They knew something was destroying their shields and these things seemed to be the culprits. Not being able to let their guards down and sleep was starting to get to the Orcs. Some slept during the day, when the strange beings didn’t come, but it was restless sleep as they all had to take turns standing watch against the Goblin Tribe.

-Day 171-

“Advance!” Murok bellowed loudly, one of the only Orcs that wasn’t sleep deprived over the last nights. He and his elites slept during the day while the lower tribesmen kept watch. But the lack of sleep was clearly getting to his Tribe. Before they became completely useless for battle, they needed to try and take the Goblin Tribe’s home. The wall they’d somehow made would be a great boon to his Tribe.

“Raaahhh!!!” The Orcs marched forward with their shields raised to block arrows as they advanced on the only gate in the wall.

“Here they come!” Gobtay hollered to the rest of the Tribe. The clacking of the lookout tower alarms rang out to make sure every member of the Koh Tribe was called to arms.

“About time!” Neylin nocked and arrow and took aim, looking for gaps in the formation.

“Release!” Gobyog called out as he and a dozen Goblins launched their arrows at the approaching Orcs.

The Orcs’ shield absorbed the arrows without issue. The larger Demi-Humans marched forward at a good speed, trying to reach the gate. They ended up running to quite the resistance in the form of the Chieftain’s Magic.

“Earth Spikes!” Gobkoh intoned, communing with the Earth Spirits in the ground from the other side of the gate. The spirits heeded his instruction and the ground the Orcs were stomping across shifted into sharp spikes beneath their feet.

“Graaahhh!”

“Mraagh!”

“Aaaggghh!”

The cries of pain from the advancing Orcs let Gobkoh know his spell was working quite well. “Drop the poison!” He ordered while whipping his Shaman Staff around, conjuring up a powerful breeze.

“Dump it!” Gobmyr and six other Goblins dumped out bags of the Asterweed poison over the wall. The strong breeze spreading the cloud across the Orc formation like a cloud.

Hacking and coughing soon began from the poison. The shields of the Orc formation began to show gaps as the Orcs suffered the pain of the earth spikes below their feet. The difficulty breathing was only exacerbating the problem further.

“Now!” Gobwren called out, using both of his new Class Skills in tandem. Multi-Arrow allowed him to fire multiple arrows at the same time with ease. Tracking Shot made sure that those arrows would hit their targets. The Goblin Archer’s targets this time were the exposed heads he could see through the damaged shield formation. Four arrows were released and flew through the air. All four curved unnaturally through the air to hit their mark too. Four Orcs dropped dead with arrows sticking out of their heads, breaking the formation and exposing more of the Orcs withing the shields.

“Release!” Neylin called out and she and a dozen Goblins released poisoned arrows into the now exposed Orcs. The Orcs that didn’t die from a vital shot, cried out in agony as they tried to put their shields between themselves and the incoming arrows. But the poison was already inside them, slowly doing its work to the sleep deprived Orcs.

“YAAAAHHH!!!” Murok bellowed so loudly that many of the Goblin’s flinched from the sound. The Battle Orc and his four elites charged forward with their shield raised and weapons ready. Murok actually looked like he was faintly glowing as the five Orcs literally used the injured and dead Orcs to cross the earth spikes without injury.

“Shit!” Rialin cursed as her arrows were repeatedly blocked by Murok’s shield. “He’s gonna reach the gate!” She warned as several Goblins climbed down from the platforms to defend the gate from the inside with Gobkoh.

“Heavy Blow!” Murok used his skill as he thrust his spear forward at the bamboo and clay gate. The iron spear punched a hole through the gate and Gobkoh felt the wind off the strike. A moment later and four more blows slammed into the gate from the elites as they struck it with their stone weapons.

“Strong bastard, aren’t you?” Gobkoh grimaced even as he began to call upon the Fire Spirits that clung to the red and gold feather attached to his Shaman Staff. “Bring fire!” He called out after realizing he wouldn’t have the time to conjure enough Goblin Flame for a strong spell.

“Goblins!” Murok’s bellow was heard as another part of the gate was punched through by the iron spear. “Surrender or die!” The bamboo gate was being broken and splintered by the five Orcs as their shields kept the arrows off of them.

“Fire, Chief!” Gobflen and a female Goblin had brought over torches, one in each hand. The flames of the four torches flared up and leapt towards the fireball the Shaman was conjuring.

“Heavy Blow!” Murok roared, the words crossed with a hog-like shriek. The iron spear slammed into the gate again, and the bamboo broke away to form a large hole in the middle of the gate. The Battle Orc forced his way through the broken gate only to come face to face with a massive sphere of fire.

“Inferno!” Gobkoh shoved the flames forward with a large amount of his own mana. Murok howled in rage and pain as he was blasted back through the gate in a wave of fire. The four elite Orcs also shrieked and bellowed in pain as their Shellcoon Armor did little to combat the intense heat and their skin began to sting and burn along with the furs they were wearing.

“Gaaahh!” One of the elites had stumbled backwards and impaled his feet on the earth spikes. An arrow straight to the face silenced him.

“Three more!” Rialin called out while nocking another arrow.

“Two more!” Gobwren corrected as he unleashed three arrows and his Tracking Shot Skill made two of them pierce through the elite’s eyes while the third went directly through the skull. The burning Orc collapsed dead atop the pile of already dead Orcs below him.

“Get them!” Gobmyr yelled, leading a charge against the burning, disorientated, and weakened elites. “Cleave!” He hollered and his stone battle axe seemed to briefly glow as he swung it and actually sliced through the Shellcoon Armor of his target. The axe blade was buried deep into the Orc’s side, making the flailing elite shriek in agony.

“Finish him off!” Gobtay took a stance before his Antler Spear seemed to blur into motion. Thrust after thrust hit the injured Orc’s armor, cracking and chipping the Shellcoon shells until one gave way and the spear was lodged deep into the Orc’s chest.

“Guuuh…” The Orc made an odd sound before falling backwards and dying.

“Take this!” Gobyog’s spear flew through the air faster than most would be able to track. The Antler Spear embedded itself into the throat of the last elite Orc, sending the enemy staggering back. The Orc reached up to try and take hold of the spear, but an arrow into the head finished it off. It collapsed dead onto the earth spikes and Gobyog quickly went to retrieve his spear.

“You…damn Goblins…” Murok huffed and growled as he stood up. He was burned, his Shellcoon Armor blackened, but he was still alive. “I’ll kill and eat all of you!” He grabbed his iron spear and rushed forward.

“I guess his Strong Defense Skill means defense against both physical and magical attacks.” Gobkoh grimaced as the Battle Orc charged at him specifically. “Earth Wall!” He struck the butt of his staff on the ground and a hardened wall of dirt rose up to take the spear thrust aimed at him.

“Die!” Murok’s spear punched through the hastily made wall, but stopped short of actually hitting Gobkoh.

“Yaaahhh!” Rialin jumped from the wooden platform above with fury in her eyes and her Stone Sword in both hands. The blade stabbed into the Battle Orc between the neck and shoulder and went deep into Murok’s body. Rialin’s fierce attack didn’t end there as the Goblin girl held onto her sword and tried to move it around while it was stuck inside of the Orc to increase the damage. “Die, damn you!” She snarled at the enemy that dared threaten her Mate.

“Gagk…huuuggghhh…” Murok hacked up a mouthful of blood, the stone sword clearly hitting vital organs with how deep it was buried into his torso.

“Gah!” Rialin cried out as her Stone Sword broke, leaving the majority of the blade stuck inside of Murok. She landed on the ground shakily as the dying Battle Orc turned to glare at her.

“I’ll…kill…gukh!” Murok’s threat was cut off as Gobkoh’s Stone Sword stabbed into his side. A gap in the Shellcoon Armor provided a perfect spot that Gobkoh exploited mercilessly.

“Will you just die already?!” Gobkoh snarled at the Battle Orc. He viciously tore the sword out of Murok’s side causing a fountain of blood to follow. No one threatened Rialin and lived, Gobkoh refused to lose her.

“Uuuhhh…” Murok fell to his knees, blood falling from his snout-like jaws, and then collapsed forward with a thud.

“Is he dead?” Gobmyr moved closer, his axe at the ready just in case.

“One sec…” Gobkoh activated Spirit Sight and looked at the downed Murok. The slowly increasing number of Darkness Spirits that formed over the dead told the Shaman all that he needed to know. “Yeah, he’s dead, finally.” He sat down on the dirt as Rialin moved over to his side, the two hugging each other in relief.

“I broke my spear.” Gobtay grimaced now that the battle was over. “Consecutive Strikes let me punch through, but my spear couldn’t hold up.”

“We can make a new one.” Gobyog assured his friend.

“Gather up their equipment and then start butchering the Orcs.” Neylin called out, seeing that Gobkoh and Rialin were still busy with each other.

“Hey, Saelin, can we eat the poisoned Orcs?” Gobwren questioned the Herbalist curiously.

“As long as we cook the meat thoroughly, then it’s safe.” Saelin informed as the Koh Tribe began to drag the dead Orcs into the wall to take their gear and begin processing them for meat.

“Hey, look at that, more meat for winter.” Gobkoh joked with a light chuckle.

“A good bonus.” Rialin smiled and pecked his lips softly. “But we still have to fix the gate.”

“It might be better to just replace it at this point.” Gobkoh sighed at the large hole in the middle of the gate. “I’ll cover the hole with an earth wall for the night, it’ll take a few days to make a new one. Maybe we should use wood this time?”

“Would that make it too heavy?” Rialin questioned as the battle high began to wear off.

“Maybe? We’ll figure it out.” Gobkoh leaned against her with a tired exhale.

“We will.” Rialin agreed, leaning into her male with a smile. The Koh Tribe wasn’t going anywhere. This was their home.

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Are we done?! Any one else?! Huh?! HUH?!

The Koh Tribe had a tougher battle than ever before against Murok. He busted through the gate! Then survived a powerful Fire Spell point blank! Got stabbed through the neck/shoulder area and into his torso. Then FINALLY went down after getting his guts perforated and leaking out of his side!

Seriously! Give our Gobbos a break! They haven’t even had time to reach their own Growth Phase yet!

Will the Koh Tribe finish stocking up for winter now? Has this last battle enabled some of them to reach closer to Level 100?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I can update this again, later!