A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

He skidded to a halt suddenly, sending mud flying as he went. He noted a patch of green blood on the floor. He crouched to look at it, seeing if he could follow where it led. He didn't have the tracking skills of Nila, but for this, he didn't need them. A short distance away, he saw even larger volumes of blood, with dots of red human blood (or animal) mixed in with them.
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At the moment, he had just barely reached the slope that separated the upper forest from the lower forest, and already he was seeing signs of conflict – and recent conflict too. He put it down to a soldiers' patrol, for he was certain such blood was not caused by him. But even knowing that, it still took a minute to compose his thoughts.

He'd known this would happen already, but it still shook him to see that the monsters had bridged the gap between the upper and the lower forest. He shuddered to think what would have happened had Lombard not closed it off when he did. These monsters were no mere goblins, after all. They were that which crushed goblins.

And for villagers whom goblins nearly always spelt a death sentence, the creatures that were above them were practically executioners. They stood no chance.

Beam rose to his feet again with a sigh, even more determined than before. "I've got to figure out just what's causing this," he told himself with a murmur.

As he went, he realized that his spot for stashing monster corpses was nearby. He figured he'd check on it, to see just how many Judas had managed to take before the forest was closed, so that he might better know his funds when he was gathering information.

The spot was a fair distance off the trail, where a hill grew so steep that it turned into a small cliff, where dirt couldn't cling to it and its rocky walls were exposed. By that cliff, there was a natural opening that had at one point almost certainly served as some animal's burrow.

He caught sight of it from a distance away, and noted that the rocks that he used to cover the entrance had all been rolled out of the way.

He gave a sigh. "Good thing I came by," he murmured. "I keep telling Judas to make sure it's well covered before he leaves, in case someone stumbles upon it… If the soldiers find it, they'd almost certainly station a lookout and then snatch up whichever one of us got here first."

But as he approached the opening, a sound caught his attention – a sound that made him aware that he was not alone. His hand went to his sword and he cautiously drew it, as he continued to approach.

The sound of bones cracking and meat being torn, as something heartily chewed upon whatever was inside.

He noted their green flesh, upon his mountain of assorted monsters, with spiders, Gorebreakers and Konbreakers all inside.

The goblins noticed him as soon as he drew close, as soon as his body blocked out the light, their eyes turned to him, even as their hands were still full of meat that they were feasting upon.

Beam took a backwards step as the first one flew out. It threw a fist and he just barely managed to get his sword up to block the attack, only to be sent tumbling a short distance backwards, losing his footing on the steep hill.

"Woah!" Beam said, dodging its follow-up attack and landing a slashing attack down its back on instinct. Only then was he allowed to pause for a moment and note that which had just attacked him.

It looked as though this goblin had spent the past several months doing nothing but press-ups and squats, for its arms were near triple the size of a normal goblin, as were its legs, and its bare back rippled with an abundance of muscle. It had all the physique of a hobgoblin without its height.

Five more goblins in the same state came pouring out of the burrow, their mouths green and red with monster and animal blood, all of them rippling with muscle. These ones were armed as well, with spears and with bows, as the horns on their heads told tales of their rank.

Beam didn't have time to try to spend on deliberating the reason for their odd state of being, halfway between horned goblin and halfway between hobgoblin, for they were already upon him.

Three came rushing towards him with their spears held low, a crippling charge, whilst the two horned goblins behind them went scarpering up the hill with their bows, securing the higher ground and then notching an arrow to send his way.

All the while the unarmed brute that Beam had managed to wound swung its fists again and again, even as blood dripped down the wound that Beam had put on his back.

Every blow that the creature landed made Beam's body ache. Whilst it wasn't as strong as a hobgoblin, he was definitely getting there and trying to nullify the strength of the strikes took far more effort than he would have liked.

With the three spear-wielding horned goblins rushing in from his right, the fist-swinging horned goblin in front of him, and two arrows tracing arcs through the air as they rushed towards him, Beam's eyes were opened wide in alarm, as he attempted to find an opening in their attack.

He tutted in irritation, being forced to take a step back. It would have been fine had he been able to flow straight into a counterattack, but just as he dodged the spear charge, the arrows were bearing down upon him, and he had to dodge those as well.

But even as he stepped free of their arc, a giant green fist was closing in on him, forcing his back up against a tree. He ducked, just barely dodging the attack. But that said nothing about the tree behind him. There was a crack, as a fissure ran a distance up its trunk and then there was a groan, as it threatened to fall.

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