Hello people, and welcome back to Goblin Slayer: The Team. I don't have anything special for this to say other than...get ready for a goblin bloodbath with some of the other OCs getting involved, with a handful of exceptions...
Review response: I don't even know how Lizard Priest becoming a dragon is even a thing, but..maybe he could use his own blood to help improve weapons in a similar way. Obviously he'd have to do so intelligently since he'd die otherwise or at least be crippled, but it could make a huge difference in the end, and I'm sure he'd get all the cheese and ice cream he could eat as a reward eh?
As for Werewolf? Well, I saw a "is it worth it?" video on Youtube that basically says being a werewolf is only worth it if you can control your inner wolf, and Werewolf can, but...he actually embraces it rather than try to keep it in a cage so, he's sort of a grey area.
Abbot only shared Sword Maiden's story with one of the girls, but hey, hope spreads like a virus, and as a Man of Faith, he should know that better than I do, and that is quite a feat. That goes arguably double for Ranger's envy having to be dealt with; I doubt I need to recap how crappy he felt in the 1st couple of chapters, but if that envy in his mind had taken root, it would've been a sequel to that, and...come on, in the official version of Goblin Slayer, the Hero has a tendency to be pretty full of herself, which, if it wasn't for that sword, would've screwed her over countless times. Pride is the number 1 sin for a reason: it leads to other sins, but also encourages you to try things you shouldn't, or cannot do, despite the fact you shouldn't or cannot do in the first place. Plus it makes her just downright annoying to be around...
As for Abbot saying they can surpass Hero? Well, the reasoning for that was already established so I'm not going into that...
I doubt completely erasing the goblins is possible, but it's definitely food for thought if GS and company crippled the goblins "for good" so to speak and became Platinum as a result, especially for Goblin Slayer since...well, he would've lived up to his name in full.
Now, I made the horde roughly ten times it's original size because Engineer, you're right: the Goblin Lord hearing about Goblin Slayer is one thing, but a whole team helping him out must be a nightmare even for him, so getting more help is a must-do, not to mention... come on, if the team only a hundred goblins at their level, it would just be a one-sided massacre. This case actually has a chance to have actual stakes, and gives me more to work with, more of a chance to put all those insane upgrades the team has to use, and of course...more dead goblins, and of course, since Ranger already asked the Sword Maiden to prepare his and Fighter's wedding...now they HAVE to win.
As for telling off the adventurers and especially Spearman when it comes to him and Guild Girl? Daaaamn, someone gives this guy some chill pills...
Last...I asked earlier if I should give Warrior some moments with Wizard or Priestess, but no one answered, so...Wizard it is, especially since...well, Priestess is only 15 for crying out loud, and I don't give a damn if she's considered an adult in-universe; Wizard being 17 now is much easier to swallow, especially since it's safe to say Warrior is about that age himself.
I'm also debating if Fighter's ring should get an enchantment but...as fitting as it would be, it would also be...kinda cheap.
"Hey boss?" Wizard called "We've got company." The team then looked down the road, and saw that Storm Mage was on his way by...standing on what looked to be a flying shield. It must've been due to magnetism.
"Storm mage? What are you doing here?" Fighter asked
"The demon hunters are still setting up their place at the fortress, so I was sent to help you out." Storm Mage said "And I brought some summon stones, just in case."
"Good, we'll need all the help we can get." Ranger said
"Oh! Hey Priestess!" Fighter called as she tossed her the dwarven dagger "You need that more than I do."
"What about you?" Priestess asked as she took the dagger, then Fighter popped the blades on her greaves and bracers.
"How the hell did we forget about those?" Wizard asked.
"I just remembered myself." Fighter said before retracting the blades.
"Badass..." Storm Mage as he crossed his arms. "Although I prefer this." He then took off his metal belt, pulled a sword handle, then ran lightning through the belt which turned it into a sword and put the blade into the handle.
"Yeesh, that looks fancy." Warrior said with an eyebrow raised.
"You've no idea. When these goblins show up, they're in for more than just one shock." Storm Mage said as he looked around then put his lightning sword away. "Alot more than just one shock. How many people do you have on this?"
"As many as the guild had." Ranger said as Storm Mage kept looking around.
"And get this: Guild Girl had to their desire for coin to get them to cooperate." Wizard said which made Storm Mage sigh.
"I still find it amazing how people can overlook how pointless wealth can become when the threat is big enough. What is the point of acquiring gold if no one lives to spend it?" Storm Mage said.
"Still preaching that pessimism?" Spearman said behind him "With how much you worry, I'm amazed anyone wants to be with you."
"You have a pretty interesting way of viewing pessimism." Storm Mage said with annoyance.
"Really? Look around. We've practically made a fortress out of this place. Those goblins might as well stab each other and save us the trouble." Spearman said
"Unlikely." Storm Mage said "But even if they did, you would lose the coin you love so much."
"Hey, I am very concerned about the frontier." Spearman said.
"I find that hard to swallow given what it took to get you and everyone else to come here." Storm Mage said. "The good Wizard here said it took the promise of coin to get all of you to get the lead out."
"So we want to get a reward for saving our home, what's the deal?" Spearman said
"The "deal" is that your home makes your reward worth getting. I'm amazed I need to explain that." Storm Mage said, his temper starting to flare up.
"You boys at it again?" Witch said and Storm Mage calmed down when she showed up "Nice of you to join us. This battle is in our favor now."
"As if it wasn't already." Warrior said to himself.
"That reminds me!" Wizard exclaimed "Do you mind showing me some of your tricks? Maybe not all, but enough to give me a clue."
"You've got some weird timing girl, but oh well. Learn fast, or die trying." Spearman said as he went with Wizard to an open space to give her a spearmanship 101 course.
"Honestly, how do you put up with him...?" Storm Mage grumbled.
"He's strong, handsome, gives a hand to those around him, and he's motivated." Witch said
"There are countless men who share that description." Storm Mage said "He's also interested in that Guild Girl, even though she blows him off every chance she gets."
"People tend to desire what they cannot have." Witch said "Even though what they can have wants them."
"Or who wants them. Right?" Storm Mage said, it was becoming clear that he had a thing for Witch, and was pretty salty towards Spearman, which the team had to admit was at least somewhat justified with Witch being a total fox, and Spearman being pretty short-sighted, at least on the surface, not to mention the questionable logic in his desire for Guild Girl's heart.
"Right. Although, if I were to turn on him over something so petty, I wouldn't deserve my rank, now would I?" Witch asked before inhaling some smoke.
"That's true..." Storm Mage said "Here." He then pulled out some sort of herb and she let him put it in her pipe then sparked it with some lightning. "Usual mix?"
"Of course..." Witch said as she watched Spearman give Wizard a feel for how to use her new spear at various ranges. "Nice to see your friend branching out."
"Yep, she hardly ever gets up close with her foes, but why take a chance." Warrior said.
"The armored robe is new." Storm Mage said while looking at his own. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she's copying me."
"Imitation is the best form of flattery." Witch said
"Which is one of few ways envy can actually help you." Ranger said which earned him some weird looks. "Think about it, if you want what someone else has, and copy it, like in this case with Wizard, you can get more out of it in the long run."
"But if you want what you can't have then you and, Heaven forbid, others pay for it, then you fail." Storm Mage said without missing a beat as Wizard came back.
"O.k...that should do for now." Wizard said
"You think you'll be able to handle a champion up close?" Storm Mage asked
"Hell no!" Wizard exclaimed "But it's still better than nothing." A thought then occurred to her. "Warrior, Priestess, come here!" The 2 then came to her "Give me your weapons, I'll improve them as well."
"We should have time for that, but can you do so here?" Ranger asked seriously
"I should..." Wizard said as she put her spear and Priestess' new dagger down, then moved some demon blood from Warrior's sword to the other 2 weapons, Priestess empowered them to balance the unholy energy out, and Wizard gave them back their weapons, and picked up her own.
"Well, that was quite a display." Witch said as some onlookers were seen with their jaws hitting the floor.
"Display? More like an act of the gods!" Storm Mage exclaimed."
"I dare say you might be one of the most powerful mages in the entire country dear." Witch said
"That isn't as easy as I make it look either." Wizard said as she tested her new spear by craving the ground with the top and noting how easy it was to do, and how clean the cut was. "Your dagger should be the same Priestess."
"O.k." Priestess said as she tested her dagger and got the same result.
"Wait, my sword's not weaker is it?" Warrior said with concern.
"No weaker then Fighter's gauntlets when I put the same force enchantment on your shield from her gauntlets." Wizard said "I did it while you two were sleeping in case you don't know."
"It figures." Fighter said.
"As if your hits weren't hard enough." Ranger whispered to her, which earned him a smirk from her.
"Umm, I'm sensing some sparks between you two..." Storm Mage said
"Some sparks? Man, you don't know the half of it." Warrior said
"Can it boy." Fighter playfully snapped.
"Well, this has been fun, but I must be going now." Witch said as she walked away...and glanced back at Storm Mage who was watching her.
"So am I." Storm Mage said before going another direction.
"Jeez, first Revenant, then Spearman, now Storm Mage...that lady is all over the damn place." Wizard said
"Hey, first off, Revenant is undead so...gross, Spearman isn't interested in her because...reasons, and Storm Mage, well, he's a demon hunter so he may have a few screws loss, just like the others." Warrior noted.
"I don't know, he seemed pretty stable to me." Fighter said "Plus, she said there is such thing as admiring someone but not wanting them."
"Whatever the case may be, she should make up her mind. People might get the wrong idea." Wizard said.
"Either she doesn't care, or she knows something about how people's minds work that we don't." Ranger said
"Well, unless anyone has something else to say, I'm going back to my post." Warrior said as he took his sword back, pulled his crossbow and rushed back to the others.
"So am I." Wizard said before leaving and Priestess stayed put.
"Sir, Goblin Slayer has a plan for me to follow." she said
"Then by all means follow him." Ranger said as she went to see GS.
"You know, I just now remembered that you didn't look Witch over when we met her." Fighter said "At least, not too much."
"You don't sound surprised." Ranger said
"At the time, I was a bit amazed, but also...relieved." Fighter said
"Fighter...you and I were past the point of no return the moment I saw you at the pond under the light of the twin moons smiling at me." Ranger said softly but seriously. "It's a sour irony that those same moons herald bloodshed now."
"Bloodshed that's meant to help remove a stain on this world." Fighter said before the two look at the horizon.
"Dusk is coming..." Ranger said as he looked over the others' faces "We all know what that means."
"Let them come. They'll only get a nightmare..." Fighter said as she readied her bow, and Ranger readied his crossbow as the other adventurers readied the various traps, weapons, and other supplies around the farm. This was going to be tough for both sides, they could feel it in their own guts, and each others, as she held his hand, and he squeezed lightly.
"Here they come!" Wizard called out and the defenders prepared to fight, then...the goblins outdid themselves by raising up several crosses, with a girl tied to each one. They were all buck-naked and some had evidence of being beaten, or cut in various places. The sight made the defenders either horrified, angry, or both, especially when the goblins started laughing.
"Laugh while you can assholes..." Ranger said to himself, then Dwarf Shaman and Witch used their magic to put the goblins to sleep, then several troops rushed in to rescue the captives, then more goblins rushed out of the forest only to be peppered with arrows and bolts, especially from Fighter, Ranger, and Warrior thanks to their multi-shot bows. High Elf Archer even picked off some goblin archers and shamans, even though her bow isn't enchanted; Fighter had to ask her to train her someday. Some armored hobgoblins then reared their heads and charged at the rescue team making several panic.
"Firestorm!" Wizard yelled and several huge fireballs spewed out of her spearhead.
"Are you insane?!" H.E. Archer yelled
"Just watch." Wizard said focusing on the field.
"You're going to torch the whole forest!" someone yelled at her.
"I said watch!" Wizard snapped and several hobs caught fire, and thrashed around trying to put the flames out only for the goblins around them to catch fire, get crushed by the out-of-control hobs, or both. "I finally mastered my flames. Now they'll burn whatever I want them to, and nothing I don't want them to."
"You should've said so beforehand!" H.E. Archer snapped.
"And miss seeing that look on your face?" Wizard said smugly only for H.E. Archer to growl at her and Warrior snickered.
Then when the girls were retrieved, they singled some hidden troops came out of the grass, charged at the remaining goblins and mowed them down in a way that would make Goblin Slayer proud. Witch even reflected some arrows back at their shoots to save Lizard Priest and Spearman.
"Your range improved..." Storm Mage said while crouching next to Witch "Last we met, you could barely cast that spell close to you."
"We all have time and room to grow." Witch said before some goblins were heard at the side. "Oh dear..."
"I'll handle this." Storm Mage said as he clapped his hands "Gods of sky, fertility, and seas. Lend me your blessings and so I may crush my enemies..." With that, a handful of clouds appeared out of nowhere overhead, then he cast some lightning into one of them, it quickly grew stronger and some bolts struck the goblins, and terrified the rest, then Storm Mage unbuckled his whip, attached it to the sword handle, walked out to meet the goblins, then when several rushed him, he was struck by lightning, the goblins were blown to pieces, and the others tried to run only for Storm Mage to lash out with his whip-sword and shredded several more goblins, then whipped around some more after charging his whip-sword with lightning and either shredding or paralyzing any goblin hit.
"Damn! I need what he has..." Wizard said with one eyebrow raised.
When Storm Mage's massacre was done, a whistle was heard: the scouts spotted some goblins riding wolves approaching, then some of the defenders went to raise some stake traps, then Wizard sprung some energy bolt traps that launched out of the ground and paralyzed roughly half the goblin riders, as the other half was skewered on the stakes the troops raised out of the ground, then Lizard Priest jumped in and led several troops to slaughter the goblins and their mounts.
Rookie Warrior was spotted by Ranger and he saw RW put his formal training to use by stabbing a goblin's body that turned out to not be dead and then Apprentice Cleric uses Holy Smite to take out a pair of goblins that tried to sneak up on him, then knelt down praying for another miracle, and RW looked around to watch her back, and lo and behold, he stood against 3 goblins, and beheaded one, blocked a spear thrust from a 2nd with his shield, kicked it down, before getting a knife in his armored stomach, then RW gets mad, bashes the goblin with his shield, jams his sword into the 2nd one's chest, removes the knife in his armor, then rapidly stabs the goblin until it was dead, then grabbed his sword and checked on the cleric who was watching him, but went back to praying when it was over.
"Those 2 rookies got quite a bit from our training." Ranger noted, and he and Fighter took a breather.
"You expected less?" Fighter asked softly with a small smile.
"Not really." Ranger boasted. Then he looked around "Where's Priestess?" A flash of blue light got his attention and he spotted Priestess using Holy Smite on a pack of goblins, and even 2 hobs that managed to sneak past everyone else. "Nevermind then..."
"You getting used to putting some goblins down directly for once?" Fighter asked.
"I'm just glad I can help all of you." Priestess said
"That's not what I asked." Fighter said with an eyebrow raised.
"I got used to goblin blood on my clothes, I can get used to this..." Priestess said "I also noticed those 2 putting our advice to use."
"Here's hoping they live to put it to use in the future." Fighter said softly as Priestess made her way to the people fighting, and cast Holy Smite herself to wipe out an entire group of goblins threatening the 2 rookies, and they looked at her with awe. That's how it was done...
"Head's up!" Wizard yelled as the flames from the frontlines that Wizard cast were actually recalled back to her spear, which scared her teammates a bit but then they gave her weird looks. "Hey, I warned you this time."
"Something's wrong with you..." Warrior teased which earned him a smirk from Wizard.
"You said I might as well be a goddess." Wizard teased back. "Which is it?"
"I have half mind to ask Ranger if we can make it a double wedding. But only half..." Warrior said jokingly, then seriously.
"And I have half a mind to tell you to focus on this siege, but only half." Wizard said completely seriously, but not harshly.
"Looks like Goblin Slayer's plan was nearly fool-proof." Fighter said as she and Ranger kept shooting goblins, not paying attention to the exchange on the ground.
"First the captives, then the side attack, now the riders." Ranger said as he shot another volley, before pausing. "Next should be the champions, but there's none in sight yet." He then jumped down to get some of the extra bolts he made by shooting a hay bale then Fighter helped him climb back up the house, and just as he was on the brink of looking for another target, a terrified scream was heard which got the defender's attention.
"Something's flying this way. Watch your heads!" Dwarf Shaman yelled as a dead body flew right between the 2 rookies and then another pack of hobs...and 2 goblin champions appeared, then a 3rd one wearing armor appeared. Then Heavy Warrior, Female Knight, Spearman, Lizard Priest, and several others rushed at them, divided them into smaller groups and fought them to a stalemate, and Ranger was about to use his power shot enchantment, when he heard a scream, then rapid clapping...Cow Girl and the people she was with were in trouble. Fighter then jumped down, and rushed to help them, and Ranger got there just in time to see his fiance clobbering and shredding every goblin in sight with her gauntlets and armor blades like the master she was. Cow Girl continued clapping regardless, and Ranger bisected 3 goblins who dared jump at her with knives and Warrior shield bashed a 4th one so hard it flew across the room with several bones broken, including it's spine in several places.
"Are you alright?" Fighter asked as she helped Cow Girl up and came down from the adrenaline high.
"Yes..." Cow Girl said before sucking in a breathe. Poor girl must've been scared shitless. "Clapping works like a charm; they were barely paying attention to you."
"Wizard, have an elemental guard these people, and set up as many traps as you can." Ranger said and Wizard went to follow his orders.
"Wait, you're supposed to save this farm, not raze it." A man, Cow Girl's uncle said as Fighter checked on Ranger's horse which warmed up to her when it knew she was there, and she petted it on an unarmored spot, and it neighed a bit at her. It did know that she was Ranger's mate afterall...
"Hey, we, or at least I, can fix things as well as break them." Wizard said "Plus my traps and summons aren't just for blowing things up."
"O.k...if you say so." the man said as Wizard summoned an ice elemental and posted it in the middle of the room then booby trapped the wrecked windows to launch any goblin that tries to get through across the area with enough force to break it's bones; the elemental is a last resort. When they got back out, the troops outside were dealing with a pack of goblins, and Priestess used Empower on them, and they all moved faster, reacted faster, hit harder, and even took knives hits to the neck and were only scratched instead of dead. Then Warrior got involved and punched the inside of his shield and sent the last few flying, and some troops laughed at them, and since Wizard was there to use Life Sight to see if any were left, they could afford a good laugh...until Priestess took off.
"Hey, Priestess where are you going?!" Ranger called out.
"To help Goblin Slayer! He's going after the goblin lord." Priestess said urgently.
"No way, the goblin lord wouldn't retreat unless they were losing, and we've deal with what, about a hundred so far? There has to be more than that." Ranger said as a hob stumbled out from behind a house with a large scythe sticking out of it's back...
"There are. Hundreds more..." Revenant said as he removed the scythe and stood there on the hob's back.
Dun dun duuuuh, look who's here? Anyway, Ranger training those rookies made them actually kick some ass unlike the original show where they barely do a damn thing, and Priestess got to use her Holy Smite power. Also...it just occurred to me that Fighter's arm and leg blades basically make her a female version of Shredder from TMNT, only...she's a heroine. Plus the clapping for goblins strategy makes a triumphant return thanks to Cow Girl, Storm Mage shows more of what his deal is, and what he can do, and I've got tons more to put down later, so make sure you do the usual routine and stay tuned for the next part of the goblin massacre.
