This Hero is Too Curious! - 94 This Hero Starts to Fight!

As we charged forward the hobgoblins that we had been watching, four in total, which had been switching out their positions, turned to look towards us. Surprise fluttered across their faces, though I couldn’t tell the exact expressions of this species, this emotion was obvious.

“KID, THE CLOSE ONE ON THE LEFT, I HAVE THE RIGHT! WIZARD, YOU TAKE FAR LEFT AND KILIN TAKES FAR RIGHT!” Jaq shouted out as he charged towards the hobgoblins that were frantically reaching for their weapons. Jaq began to emit a red glow as he ran forwards.

“Style: Attacker!” I activated my newfound power. My body optimized itself like it had before as I ran towards my opponent. I could hear Tael channeling his mana to attack his opponent while I heard nothing come from Kilin. I have no time to worry about them though. The only thing that exists is this obstacle in my path and I intend to clear it.

We arrived at the camp’s edge. It has been 4 seconds since the explosion occurred.

The beast before me fumbled with its weapon, slipping its hand across its grip in a futile attempt to retaliate. Before it could move itself it was already too late. My blade, as if pulled by an invisible string, flew through the neck of my opponent as I continued to run forwards. I could see in the corner of my vision the other two hobgoblins also falling. Jaq had killed his just like I had killed mine while an ethereal blade disappeared from the head of the monster farthest away. In front of me, a rather sharp piece of ice had hit its mark in the forehead of the enemy in front of me. I gave a quick glance backwards only to see Tael with an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face pointing his white wand towards where my opponent had been previously.

I dropped the style and continued to run forwards. The camp center should be within 30 meters of here, so we don’t have much time to spare. It has been 6 seconds since the explosion occurred and we have entered the camp.

To our left and right we saw hobgoblins with their attention focused towards the explosion. They were too busy gawking at the smoke that was billowing to pay attention to us. As a result of their incompetence, we were able to slip further in.

As we neared the center of the camp, we saw two new creatures. They both resembled the lizard men that worked at the bank back at Ruks, but their muscles were far more toned and their skin was notably darker. They wore thick parka’s which covered the majority of their bodies. Even so, they were capable of moving freely.

I activated my style once more. Time is of the essence and we can’t afford to waste time fighting grunts. From what I could see, Jaq did the same as he continued running forward with me.

I grit my teeth as I prepared myself for the clash that would come. I can’t explain why I feel this, but I get the sensation that these creatures are far more adept at combat than hobgoblins. I need to be prepared for their attacks. It has been 9 seconds since the explosion occurred.

As I charged forward to strike, the creature I had chosen bared its claws as it swiped at me. It was only due to the fact that the creature was trying to dodge my own attack that I was able to dodge its strike. It quickly leapt backwards with a dexterity that surpassed my own.

Jaq seemed to have the same amount of trouble with his beast as I was with mine. His lizard creature also dodged backwards to avoid his swipe, deftly landing on its feet as if gravity barely had an effect on it.

Okay… I can’t afford to waste time here, and we need to conserve our resources for the fight with the boss monster so…

I charged forwards, sword high in the air. The lizard creature saw what I was about to do and prepared itself to block my blow.

My blade clashed with its claws, causing sparks to fly. While the creature stared at me with its cold calculating eyes, I smirked. This went precisely as planned.

“Firebolt!” I quickly declared as a thin red streak of flame spewed out of my sword towards the head of the monster. It only narrowly dodged, but it was in this time that I was able to counter by kicking down at its right leg, breaking the bone with a sickening snap.

The creature crumbled slightly. In this moment of hesitation I raised my blade and stabbed into its skull, killing it. Jaq took the fact that I had ended my fight to mean that it was his turn as he charged his opponent. Not wanting to leave Jaq hanging, I rushed towards his enemy as well and assisted him in his battle. Our mixture of blows was too much for the monster as it crumbled before our combined might. Blood slowly seeped into the frost tipped grass beneath us.

I dropped my style and gave a quick glance to Jaq who nodded to me in response. We didn’t need to share words. We simply ran towards our objective once more. It has been 12 seconds since the explosion occurred.

We ran past grey tents, weapon racks, torches that were planted firmly in the ground, enemies that were still gawking at the explosion that had transpired seconds earlier. We met no more resistance as we sprinted towards the center.

Once 15 seconds had transpired since the explosion had occurred, we had arrived at a large tent. Unlike the other tents nearby, this one was green. The entrance was guarded by two hobgoblins that were wearing exquisite armor compared to their grunt counterparts. Their weapons were not swords made of iron, but spears made of steel. If I had to name them, I would call them elites.

They spotted us and readied their weapons, pointing the tips towards the most immediate threats, Jaq and myself.

I crouched down low, ready to pounce at them. From what I remember reading about, spears are incredibly good for keeping distance, but if you can get close then the user won’t be able to use them efficiently. Thanks to that armor, I need to ensure that my first strike is decisive.

As I prepared to pounce, I saw a blur of blonde flash behind the hobgoblins in front of us as they crumbled to the ground. After a moment, a petite blonde girl with childlike features gave us a smirk that seemed to say “I win!”

It has been 18 seconds since the explosion occurred. We have regrouped with Kany.

“Did you see what’s inside the tent?” I quickly shifted towards the entrance, sword at the ready. We don’t have time to dawdle with pleasantries.

“No. I didn’t see any enemies guarding the place other than these two either.” Kany crouched near me while she said this. She could tell the situation by the energy we were giving off.

“That’s good though, right? It means we won’t have to worry about any opposition!” Ron chimed in, his optimism shining through.

“Not exactly. Less guards could mean whatever’s inside doesn’t NEED guards, so we need to be ready.” I explained as I placed my hand upon the entrance of the tent. Everyone got into position as I began to count down.

“3… 2… 1… GO!” I declared as I pulled open the entrance and ran inside along with everyone else.

The interior was exquisite. The floor was not covered in grass but what appeared to be expensively woven rugs. In the center of the tent surrounded by wooden pillars that propped up the roof was a table with a map and an open letter sitting on top of it, a candle burning brightly beside it. The interior is large, big enough to fit over 30 people comfortably.

Standing on the opposite side of the table from us was a creature that was covered in plate armor except for the faceplate. Where one would expect a face, instead there was only a skull with remnants of rotting flesh upon it. Though it had no eyes, the sockets glowed with small red flames.

“A death knight…” Jaq exclaimed. His frustration was palpable as he glowed again with red energy and prepared himself. “Prepare yourselves, this is going to be one tough customer.” He declared.

“We can beat it, right?” Tael quickly took a step backwards as he pointed his wand towards the abomination.

Jaq took a second to assess the situation, examining his environment and his opponent with the gaze of a seasoned adventurer before he exhaled and grinned.

“Hell yeah we can.”