Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 20 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! I got another Tier Reward asking for more Goblins! The Original Writing progresses a bit further! We’ll have a completed book eventually! Won’t that be amazing?

As the autumn progresses and winter slowly approaches, the Koh Tribe has their hands full with preparation. Hunting, crafting, stocking up on supplies and materials. Making warm clothing. Everything needs to be accounted for if they want to survive. Rialin still has her new Class Skills to practice with and understand as well. Autumn is a busy time for the new Tribe!

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-Day 178-

“So…you think it’s safe to say that this is what used to live here?” Gobwren asked Gobkoh as they stood overlooking the wall and saw the vast number of glowing yellow eyes reflecting within the forest. Night had fallen a bit ago, and the light of the moon was giving just enough light for the Goblins of the Koh Tribe to see the forms slinking through the darkness.

“Possibly, the cave would be big enough, if only barely, for this many.” Gobkoh replied, his eyes following the movements of the beasts. His Analyze Skill had already told him what they were.

[Gray Wolf – Level 60]

‘And that’s just the smaller ones.’ Gobkoh turned his eyes to the large wolves he could see through the trees.

[Dire Wolf – Level 23]

But the biggest threat was further back, only the glow from its eyes giving away it’s position as it made use of the cover of trees to hide most of its massive form.

[Lunar Wolf – Level 9]

“I’ve only been able to count about forty or so, since they keep hiding among the trees…I can’t get an accurate count.” Gobwren grimaced at seeing so many predators. “Any of them could pose a threat…but the big ones would probably make a snack out of any regular Goblin.”

“I’m glad Rialin’s ‘Conflict Premonition’ warned us about the incoming threat two days ago.” Gobkoh exhaled heavily. “If these things had shown up without us noticing…” He left the sentence unfinished, but it was clear Gobwren had understood if the grimace on his face getting even grimmer was any indication.

“We would’ve been hunted in the forest.” Rialin spoke up from further down the wall, as the new War Priestess of the Koh Tribe approached them. “If we hadn’t gotten the warning, our hunters and gatherers would’ve been eaten by this pack of wolves before we knew they were in the area.” She wasn’t going to dance around the reality of what would’ve happened.

“Yeah.” Gobkoh agreed with her. “That big one, the Lunar Wolf way in the back.” He pointed to the mostly hidden beast. “I’m certain that it could get over our wall if it tried.”

“Think I could hit it from here with the special arrows that Rialin made?” Gobwren placed his hand on a specific arrow in his quiver.

“We only have a few, we shouldn’t waste them.” Gobkoh shook his head at the archer. “Rialin could only enchant so many weapons, since she needs to mix her blood with the thickened berry pulp that we used for the paint.”

“I made sure to enchant every bow in the Tribe at least.” Rialin mentioned the good news that they had. She was still getting used to her new Skills, but she could only lose so much blood before it would start to hurt her. Unfortunately, the more powerful enchantments required equally complex markings to be applied to the weapons to imbue them with the greater effects. She simply didn’t have time to enchant to that level with only two days before the threat reached them.

“The improved power and range will definitely help.” Gobkoh smiled at her, and Gobwren gave her a nod as he looked over the markings on his bow.

“What do you think they’re waiting for?” Gobwren asked a moment later.

“An opening, I’d say.” Gobkoh guessed after a short time to think about it. “We’ve been holed up in here safely for the last two days. They’ve probably never come up against a wall like this before, so they’re being cautious.”

“I doubt they’ll wait for too long.” Rialin looked at the wolves moving through the darkness. “If the leader back there can really get over the wall, then it’ll only be a matter of time before they figure out that the gate is the weakest point.”

“If the Lunar Wolf attacks the gate with a bunch of those Dire Wolves, I doubt it would hold up for very long.” Gobkoh admitted with narrowed eyes.

He knew that this cave that they’d made their home had been used by a powerful predator in the past. But he’d honestly hoped that the predator had died or moved on to a new area entirely. To see this huge wolf pack come to claim the cave as their own for the winter was unfortunate to say the least. He didn’t regret taking the cave for their Tribe. It had been nothing but a blessing for them. But it was prime real estate in the Silua Forest, as the multiple attacks by the fledgling Orc Tribes had attested to.

“With the way that they’re moving right now, I think they’ll attack tonight.” Rialin continued to watch the multitude of wolves slink about in the darkness of the forest.

“Then we should prepare then.” Gobkoh nodded to Rialin. “Gobwren, help gather the Tribe together. We’ll have Rialin use her ‘War Dance’ Skill to give us all a boost for the first few minutes of the battle.”

“Yes, Chief.” Gobwren was quick to rush to the nearest ladder and climb down, calling out to any Goblin in earshot to gather near the center of their enclosed living area.

In mere minutes the entire Koh Tribe was gathered in a circle around Rialin. Torches were lit all round the area to illuminate it in the dead of night. Gobkoh had given her a kiss before she’d strode out into the middle of the gathered tribesmen. With a deep breath, Rialin raised the stone sword in her hands. Gobkoh had given his sword to her, since he’d be using Magic in the coming fight more than anything.

Rialin began to move, spinning the sword around her head once before pointing it towards the gate. She stepped to the right, and slowly spun in a full circle, the sword following behind her motions. Rialin’s movements began to flow smoothly as she let herself fall into her Skill. She hopped to one foot, stabbing the sword forward, then pivoted to bring it around in a wide arc. Rialin’s free arm made a motion, forming a flat palm that she ran along the length of the blade. The war dance was truly beautiful in the eyes of the Goblins. It was primitive, primal, but had a deep and significant meaning. Rialin spun in a full circle, the sword trailing her movement, before she stopped, spun the sword before her, and then pointed it straight up at the star-filled sky.

The entire Tribe glowed with a Magical orange light for a few moments as the boost from the War Dance Skill took effect. The Goblins let out war cries as their battle spirits were roused and their strength, defense, and speed were all boosted. The rallying of the Tribe was powerful and every Goblin looked ready to fight. Feet began to stop on the ground in time, producing a loud noise like a marching army. Louds shouts and yells emerged from the various Goblins. Even Gobkoh was feeling the rush of the boost as he stepped forward to stand beside Rialin.

“To battle!” Gobkoh raised his Shaman Staff high, the eyes of the Capra Horn skull blazing with ethereal green flames as he channeled the abundant Darkness Spirits into it.

“Yaaahhh!!!” The Koh Tribe roared back, rushing to the wall and climbing the ladders. All three watchtowers were quickly manned by two archers each to provide ranged support to the fighters on the wall.

They proved to be right on time. Gobkoh had only just gotten back to the top of the wall when the howl rang out across the forest. A powerful sound that traveled far and filled the area with a sense of impending violence. He only just managed to locate the Lunar Wolf and use Analyze on it before the howl tapered off.

[Lunar Wolf has used Skill ‘Pack Frenzy’]

[Pack Frenzy – All subordinate members of the pack will have their strength and speed increased by 20%. All subordinate members are immune to Fear.]

“Well…shit.” Gobkoh grimaced, having been planning to use the Darkness Spirits to sow panic and confusion amongst the wolves like he’d done to the Orcs.

“AAARRROOOOOO!!!” The Gray Wolves and Dire Wolves howled back to the Lunar Wolf, their fur bristling and their eyes glowing as the boost from their leader’s Skill took effect. The Gray Wolves rushed in first, the weakest of the pack starting off the charge.

“Release!” Gobwren called out, and a hail of arrows were unleashed upon the charging wolves.

The yelps and pained yips of many of the Gray Wolves rang out. But only a few had gone down or even stumbled in the charge. Most had outright evaded the arrows with their buffed speed. Gobkoh gathered Earth Spirits together with Spirit Guide and then linked their Magic with his own through Spirit Unification. The eyes of the Capra Horn skull atop his staff glowed with baleful light as he slammed the bottom onto the earthen wall.

“Yaaaeeeiiippp!” The Gray Wolves suddenly found the ground they were running on filled with sharp spikes of rock. The short spikes pierced the pads of their feet and sent several crashing to the ground, stabbing more of the spikes into them.

“Focus fire!” Neylin yelled out, and dozens of arrows impaled the staggered and injured Gray Wolves, taking down a chunk of the charging pack.

“Come darkness, follow my words, mimic the form of my foe so that they fight shadows.” Gobkoh muttered under his breath, giving specific instructions to the Darkness Spirits. Shadows, darker than the night, began to move along the ground. They rose upwards before taking on the form of wolves. Matching the Gray Wolves in size, but looking like nothing more than silhouettes, the shades rushed forward to meet the charging wolves that hadn’t been caught by his Earth Magic.

“Grrroooaaarrr!” A Gray Wolf leapt towards one of the shades. The shade mimicked the motion and the two wolves clashed. Or they would have, if the Gray Wolf didn’t pass right through the shade and land roughly on the ground.

“There!” Rialin put an arrow, empowered by her enchanted bow, through the wolf’s skull. The beast dropped to the ground and didn’t move.

More and more of the Goblins were able to hit the Gray Wolves with arrows as they tried to fight the shades in the shape of wolves before them. The confusing Magic couldn’t instill fear in the charging wolves because of the Lunar Wolf’s Skill, but it did make the Gray Wolves much easier targets.

“AAAARRRROOOOOOOO!!!” The Lunar Wolf’s howl rang out again. Gobkoh tried to Analyze it for a Skill, but nothing came up. The purpose of the howl became clear quickly though.

“Aaaarrrroooooooo!” The Dire Wolves howled back as they rushed forward. They spread out just as the Gray Wolves had done, avoiding bunching up together and making it harder to hit them with arrows.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Neylin hollered as one of her arrows literally bounced off the fur of a Dire Wolf. The enchantment on her bow to increase range and power hadn’t overcome the defense of the Dire Wolf.

“Using it!” Gobwren pulled one of the special arrows made by Rialin from his quiver. He nocked the arrow (covered in tribal markings) and took aim at the lead Dire Wolf. He released the arrow, sending it flying through the air with his Tracking Shot Skill to ensure it hit its target.

Boom

The arrow struck the Dire Wolf’s face and exploded into flames. The large predator yelped in pain and crashed to the ground, tumbling and bouncing off the dirt from the speed it had been going.

“Shit…they’re only weak to Magic!” Gobkoh realized as more and more arrows bounced off the fur of the Dire Wolves. “Goblin Flame.” He intoned, channeling his own fire. The fireball snapped to life in his left palm and he tapped into the Fire Spirits of the red and gold feather on his Shaman Staff along with the little Darkness Spirits that were rapidly shifting into Fire Spirits from the presence of the flames.

“They’re charging up the wall!” One Goblin cried out as the Dire Wolves leapt from the ground. The beasts were able to take a step or two up the earthen wall to try and snap at the Goblins at the top.

“Bring them on!” Gobmyr, making use of the remaining short time left of the War Dance boost, swung his stone axe into the face of a Dire Wolf that had almost made it to the top of the wall. A small cut was made, nothing remotely life-threatening, but the blow had killed the Dire Wolf’s momentum and sent it back towards the ground.

“Yeah!” Gobtay stabbed another Dire Wolf with his antler spear. The weapon held, barely, but sent the Dire Wolf falling back to the ground with a snarl.

“Come get some!” Gobyog swiped at the next Dire Wolf to make it close to the top of the wall. The wolf snarled and snapped at the weapon, but fell before it could get ahold of it with its jaws.

“Burn, rise, and spread. Consume and grow. Gather and raise your heat to turn what is before me into ashes.” Gobkoh encouraged the Fire Spirits with terms that perfectly described the nature of fire. A steadily growing ball of flames was swirling at the top of his staff. “Rage, rage, rage, until you encompass all.” The fireball flared wildly as more mana was poured into.

“Grrroooaaarrr!” A Dire Wolf leapt towards Gobkoh, it jaws opened wide and fangs shining in the light of the flames.

“Inferno!” Gobkoh pointed his staff at the wolf and the ball of fire slammed into the beast.

“Yaaaeeeiiippp!” The squealing yelp that escaped the Dire Wolf as it was consumed in flames and fell back to the ground brought hope to the Goblins of the Koh Tribe. The fact that it took out a second Dire Wolf that had been leaping up the wall only made it better. Both wolves yelped and struggled to put out the flames that were consuming them.

“Use them!” Rialin called out loudly to all of the Goblins. Every Goblin using a bow quickly pulled out an arrow identical to the one that Gobwren had used earlier. As soon as they were all knocked and aimed at the leaping Dire Wolves, Rialin gave the command. “Release!”

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom

The Fire Arrows exploded as they hit the Dire Wolves, sending the predators back towards the ground amidst flames and pained yelps. Several of the injured wolves landed badly, more pained yelps following. The ones that couldn’t move well were slowly consumed by the flames that burned away at their thick fur. The ones that could move were quick to start rolling along the dirt to snuff out the fires on their coats.

“Earth Spikes!” Gobkoh slammed the bottom of his staff onto the earthen wall. The spell transferred through the material and down into the ground. The injured Dire Wolves were quickly impaled by the large spikes, though to the shock of Gobkoh and several of the other Goblins, many of the spikes broke against the tough fur of the Dire Wolves.

“Die already!” Gobflen tossed one of the oil containers at the burning Dire Wolves. The clay vessel smashed against the Dire Wolf he’d aimed at and the oil quickly ignited.

“Aiiieeee!” The Dire Wolf squealed and yelped as it burned. The beast tried to roll among the dirt, but the oil spread and covered it more. The beast thrashed and rolled, trying to put itself out.

“Toss them! It works!” Neylin chucked her own oil container at the remaining Dire Wolves. She was followed by many more. The crashes of breaking clay vessels were followed by the whooshing roar of flames as the oil continued to ignite.

“Inferno!” Gobkoh had been able to build up the spell again and cast it in a stream of flames that covered the burning battlefield below. With Spirit Guide the now numerous Fire Spirits swirled around, entrapping the remaining Dire Wolves as they yelped and whimpered. There would be no escape for them, Gobkoh would see to it!

“Chief! Look out!” Gobwren’s warning came at the last possible moment.

“GRRROOOAAAWWWRRR!!!” The Lunar Wolf had charged through the forest at a blurring speed. The great beast, with silvery gray fur (reminiscent of moonlight) made an astounding leap from the edge of the forest all the way to the top of the wall were Gobkoh was. It had designated him the biggest threat and moved to kill him in a single strike.

“Shit!” Gobkoh had no choice but to leap to the side. He didn’t have a spell ready to cast at the monstrous wolf. The top of the earthen wall shattered as the Lunar Wolf landed on it, shattering the wooden platform beneath its paws.

“Roooaaawwwrrr!” The Lunar Wolf’s threatening bark sounded more like a howling roar.

“Damn!” Gobkoh was lucky enough to grab onto one of the shattered bamboo supports. The bamboo bent from his weigh and the Goblin Chieftain was able to land safely on the ground, rather than falling the entire way to the dirt and hurting himself.

“AAARRROOOOOOO!!!” The Lunar Wolf howled as it was inside the wall now. The great beast clearly knew it was at the advantage. The Goblin Tribe had few ways to attack it, and if it killed the one before it, then it could reclaim its old den.

“We’re not done, damn it!” Gobwren pulled out another arrow covered in tribal markings. This one had a different pattern though, and when the Goblin Archer released it towards the Lunar Wolf, the magic imbued within the arrow was revealed.

Wind spun around the flying arrow, greatly increasing its speed and power. The single arrow pierced the thick fur of the Lunar Wolf and made the predator turn to snarl at the sudden pain in its flank. It was peppered with another dozen arrows, but all of them broke against its fur as if they’d been fired at stone.

“Darkness, gather together, blacker than night, enshroud my enemy and extinguish all light.” Gobkoh was sure of this spell he was thinking up on the fly would work, but it was better than letting the Lunar Wolf start attacking everyone. “Black Out Cage!”

Inky black shadows writhed on the ground before rising up from every direction around the large silver wolf. The shadows stretched and rose higher and higher into the air before meeting above the Lunar Wolf and forming a dome of pitch blackness that no light could penetrate.

“RRROOOAAAWWWRRR!!!” The Lunar Wolf’s howling bark was heard, the beast clearly uncertain of what had just happened as it was submerged into a lightless space that even its eyes couldn’t see in.

“Gobkoh!” Rialin was quick to rush to his side, her bow in one hand. “Get up! We have to make distance!” She hauled him up to his feet as they hurried away.

“Rrrroooaarr!” The Lunar Wolf burst through the Darkness Spirit Magic without issue. It wasn’t meant to be a physical barrier, just a zone of absolutely no light. Now able to see again, the wolf made a beeline for Gobkoh, its jaws wide open to snap up the Goblin in a single fatal bite.

“No!” Rialin grabbed an arrow, nocked it, drew back her bowstring, and released faster than anyone had ever seen her do. The arrow flew into the gaping jaws of the Lunar Wolf.

Boom

An exploded into fire down its throat.

“Aiiieee!!!” The Lunar Wolf actually let out a pained yelp, followed by a large amount of blood falling from its jaws. Smoke rose from its hacking muzzle along with its nose.

“Take this!” Saelin, from out of nowhere, tossed a leather pouch at the Lunar Wolf. The disorientated beast didn’t see the small pouch coming until it hit its snout and burst open to reveal a thick cloud of Asterweed poison. The toxic cloud went straight up the wolf’s nose and the beast quickly started shaking its head from side to side. The poison took a little bit of time to work, but in such a thick amount and right into the nostrils, it was an instant and painful irritant to the sinuses.

“Hit with everything!” Gobtay and Gobyog yelled at the same time. The two Spearmen rushed forward to stab at the weakened Lunar Wolf’s back legs.

“Right behind you!” Gobmyr followed them both, his stone axe glowing faintly with his ‘Cleave’ Skill active.

While those three were attacking the back legs. The various Goblins wielding bows focused their attention on the head and flank of the wolf. Peppering it with arrows that mostly only served to distract it.

The Lunar Wolf thrashed around, turning to face the ones attacking it from behind. The silvery beast snapped at Gobyog, Gobmyr, and Gobtay. Only luck saved them, and Gobmyr throwing himself into the dirt had prevented him from losing an arm to the snapping jaws of the furious Lunar Wolf. As it was, all three were still knocked aside as the wolf thrashed around. Both Gobyog and Gobtay’s spears were snapped like twigs in the process.

“Got you!” Gobwren used Tracking Shot and his last magic arrow to try and give his friends time to get away from the Lunar Wolf. The arrow flew true, wind spinning around it, and pierced through the Lunar Wolf’s left eye.

“Aiiieee!!!” The pained yelp was heard again. The Lunar Wolf thrashing around at the loss of its eye. Gobmyr was grabbed by Gobyog and Gobtay, both goblins giving a pained grunt as they dragged him away from the beast to avoid getting crushed under its paws.

“Flow, rush forward, fill space. Rapids form, swirling maelstrom, engulf and submerge.” Gobkoh had made it to the pond and was rousing all of the Water Spirits within. The fish and other creatures swam away in droves to get away from the suddenly roiling water. “Water Prison!” He pointed his staff at the thrashing Lunar Wolf and the water of the pond rushed forward like a tidal wave.

“Aiiieeeppp!” The Lunar Wolf was soaked by the water, letting out a startled yelp, before the water wound around it. The wolf bit at the water, but that did nothing to the liquid. The great beast found itself submerged in a swirling sphere of water with all the force of rapids that Gobkoh could put into it.

The Tribe watched on as the Lunar Wolf thrashed around inside the swirling ball of water. The injured predator couldn’t force its way out as it floated and was knocked around by the churning water. Eventually, the damage it had taken had added up. The destroyed throat made it hard to breath, the poisoned sinuses that were slowly swelling up its already injured respiratory system didn’t help, the loss of an eye, and now being submerged in violently moving water. The Lunar Wolf hadn’t had a full breath of air in the last while and now it couldn’t breathe at all. It was no wonder that the great beast drowned, its life taken by the lack of air more than any of the damage that the Koh Tribe had done.

The water spell fell apart, dropping the dead Lunar Wolf onto the ground amidst waves of water that covered the majority of the flat area within the wall. Cheers of victory rose up from the Koh Tribe at not only surviving the powerful beast, but conquering it! This was the first threat that had ever surmounted their wall since it was built. But through their fighting as a tribe, they’d managed to overcome even this great beast!

“Gobkoh?!” Rialin’s scream shattered the jubilation like a rock through a window pane. Every head turned towards were their Chieftain was, only to see him flat on the ground, his staff off to his side.

“Chief?”

“Chief!”

“Saelin! Yualin! Gobflen! The Chief is injured!”

The ruckus made by the Koh Tribe at seeing their Chief on the ground nearly dwarfed the previous sounds of battle. Rialin was nearly panicking by his side as she carefully rolled him onto his back. Yualin, Saelin, and Gobflen were rushing over to them as quickly as possible.

“He unconscious!” Rialin exclaimed to Yualin as the elder Goblin stopped at her Chief’s side.

“Easy, child, let me look at him.” Yualin spoke with authority.

“He’s breathing.” Saelin confirmed, seeing the rise and fall of Gobkoh’s chest.

“I don’t see many injuries on him.” Gobflen shook his head. “Just some small cuts and bruises.”

“Easy, young Chief, don’t go leaving us now.” Yualin mumbled as she gently opened up one of Gobkoh’s eyes and looked at it. Seeing no response from her opening his eyelid, Yualin closed it and them opened the other. Seeing the same thing in the other eye, the old healer closed it and reached into the small pouch she’d brought with her. She took out a small stick of something and broke it. Holding the stick under Gobkoh’s nose saw the Chief jerk awake and reel away from the stick.

“Gobkoh!” Rialin felt the vice on her heart ease up at seeing her mate alive and awake.

“Ugh…” Gobkoh blinked and looked around blearily. “Tired…head hurts…save me…the pelt and meat…” Like that he was asleep again and Rialin leaned forward to gently take him into her arms.

“He’ll be fine, Rialin.” Yualin confirmed after the initial panic had started to settle down. “He used up all of his mana to pull off that last spell. He’ll need a lot of sleep to recover from the drain.”

“But he’s going to be okay, right?” Rialin asked, still worried about Gobkoh.

“Yes. But it may be a while before he wakes up.” Yualin confirmed for the worried girl.

“Well, we did get some orders.” Gobwren smiled to help alleviate the mood. Now that he knew Gobkoh was going to be alright, it would be better for the Tribe to enjoy their victory over the wolves rather than languish in worry. “Save the meat and the pelt! We’ll keep the bones too, of course!”

“Yeah!” The Koh Tribe all looked over at the soaked wolf corpse.

“Let’s start collecting the other wolf corpses too!” Neylin cheered and got calls of agreement from the other tribesmen.

All in total, there were forty-nine Gray Wolf corpses, twenty-five Dire Wolf corpses, and the single Lunar Wolf corpse.

The Koh Tribe would be filled with new furs, meat, and bones from surviving this attack. All the while, Gobkoh was carefully carried to his and Rialin’s bedchamber. Rialin gently removed his armor and clothing and applied medicine and bandages to his injuries. She’d barely leave his side until he awoke.

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Well, that was even more dangerous than an Orc Tribe assault!

Gray Wolves are the normal beasts that hunt in the Silua Forest.

Dire Wolves are their advanced form after they hit Level 100.

A Lunar Wolf is a rarity that occurs when a Dire Wolf hits Level 100.

No wonder the great beast was able to clear the wall, destroy a small portion of it, and get inside the Koh Tribe’s home.

If the Tribe hadn’t all fought as one, they would’ve been wiped out!

How long will Gobkoh need to recover from this?

And was this the push the Koh Tribe needed to start hitting Level 100?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I can update this again, later!