Chapter Text
The Stranded Barbarian
4 A Surprise From The Shadows
On a remote desert, a group of bandits was preparing camp to spend the night. They were getting ready to begin a raid on a village at the outskirts of the desert and they wanted to be prepared.
The group was pretty big, over a hundred easily. Many men and women from different backgrounds and cultures all gathered in a single place. All of them wrapped in cloths to protect them from the scorching sun in the sky but now removed due to near nightfall.
Their camp consisted of many tents, with the biggest tent being used for meetings and discussing strategies. Right now, four people, who were the leaders of the group, stood at the table in the center of the tent and were discussing the best plan to raid the village.
"This village should be pretty easy," said a dark-skinned man with medium-length black hair and a goatee as he used his curved dagger to point at the map they had. "From what I got, the defenses of the village are pretty weak, and our forces would have no trouble overpowering them. We could easily go through the front door."
"Nothing is as simple as it seems," said one, and only woman of the group. She sported brown hair that was cut short and was pretty tall, the second tallest there. "Just barging in isn't a good solution. We must prepare for more scenarios."
"Hah, you worry too much," said another, the youngest in the group, sporting slightly spiked black hair. "What's wrong with simple approaches? Those are the most fun."
"She is just being careful," chimed in the tallest of the group. "An example you should follow."
The young man just dismissed the suggestion, seeing it as nothing more than a waste of time.
"You won't need to strategize about this anymore," said a raspy voice that caught the four of them off guard. They didn't expect anyone to come into the tent
When they turned, they saw that at the entrance was a tall, some would say inhumanly tall, and really lean figure covered in green robes with a hood obscuring a view of his head, and his arms and legs wrapped in bandages. In one hand he was carrying a staff which appeared to be just a staff made of wood but considering he wasn't putting any of his weight on they were sure it wasn't used for walking.
The four bandit leaders tensed, not recognizing the man as anyone from their group, and surely they would notice someone that tall, and the fact that they would have been informed if anyone was even nearing the camp yet he was able to walk up to their tent without any commotion caused.
They prepared to take out their weapons. "Who are you? How did you get through the camp?" the Female Bandit asked in a demanding tone.
"I'm someone who comes to you with a special offer. And as for how, I concealed myself using magic so I could come to you undisturbed," the man explained.
"So you are a wizard, then," said the Tall Bandit, his hand near his hammer. "And what is that offer of yours, if I may ask?"
"Quite simple," the wizard began. "All of you," he said while gesturing towards the group with his bandaged hand, which they noticed was really thin, even for a man as lean as him. "are going to serve me. And in my service, I'll make sure you never need to resort to some petty raids on pathetic villages."
The dark-skinned bandit narrowed his eyes. "Sorry, but no, thank you. We aren't going to serve anyone."
"You're not even going to consider my offer?" asked the wizard getting a shake of the head from that bandit. "And what of the rest of you?" he asked while turning his gaze towards the other three.
Before anyone could make a response "I said no! And you are an intruder here! Therefore, you'll be eliminated!" the dark-skinned bandit exclaimed before drawing his blade from his hip and lunging at the wizard.
The wizard then extended an enclosed fist in the air. He then flicked his index finger upward, a strange gesture seemingly aimed towards the attacking bandit leader. As the leader bandit drew near an explosion suddenly appeared where his head was, causing the rest of them to gasp in shock.
The headless body of the bandit fell on the ground with blood leaking from it. The three bandit leaders stared at it seemingly completely frozen in place since their now dead comrade was actually the best fighter in their group and this wizard just took him out with seemingly no effort.
"Now then," the wizard's voice made their heads snap in his direction. "I believe you'll be more inclined to listen to what I have to say."
Conan and the group of adventurers that joined Goblin Slayer were sitting in a carriage that was being driven towards their destination. Conan protested at first since he only agreed for Goblin Slayer to come with him but the others insisted they were just going to accompany them towards the village, only interfering if necessary so they ended accompanying them in the end. Conan at first wanted to go on foot but they decided that paying for a trip with a carriage was the better option.
Conan even got properly introduced to the group. The blond-haired girl was called Priestess, who has the ability to use healing magic and shields, the pointy-eared woman was called High Elf Archer, the short man was Dwarf Shaman, his specialty was also magic though more on the offensive side, the lizardman was Lizard Priest, yet another magic user though he could fight with a weapon, and he was already familiar with Goblin Slayer.
He was also shocked that, despite their appearance, High Elf Archer and Dwarf Shaman weren't humans, but two different species, with elves being distinguished by their pointy ears and dwarves by their short stature. But at least the 'elf' and 'dwarf' words in their titles now had some context. Another thing that shocked Conan was the fact that Archer was two thousand years old, longevity being another trait shared by the elves. Dwarves also lived longer than humans, the Shaman easily being over a hundred years old, but not nearly as elves. The two had to admit that Conan's expressions as he learned of this amused them.
The night was nearing and the group was almost ready to rest, but one of them was still curious about Conan.
"If I may ask," said Lizard Priest, gaining Conan's attention. "Where are you from, sir Conan? You must from some faraway place for you to have never even heard of elves or dwarves."
"Well, as I've said before, I am from a land called Cimmeria, which is located in the northern parts of the continent from which I hail from."
That caught them off guard. They never heard of Cimmeria before, giving it more credibility of being a nation in a different continent altogether.
"You're from a different continent?" asked Elf Archer to which Conan gave a nod. He then proceeded to explain his situation of how he ended up stranded in this land.
Shaman started rubbing his chin with his forefinger and thumb. "That's quite a peculiar situation you found yourself in. I hope you can find a solution."
"Heh, I'll just keep doing this until I have enough money to buy a boat. Then I can try to find a way home."
"That's going to be quite a bummer," said High Elf Archer. "Especially since you don't know where to go exactly."
"I found myself in several seemingly impossible situations and came out alive. I'm sure I'll get out of this one as well."
"Sir Conan," said Lizard Priest, gaining Conan's attention. "Have you thought about settling here? It's a safer bet than trying to voyage without much direction."
"Believe me, even if I wanted to I couldn't. There are things back in my homeland that need to be taken care of. Staying here won't solve them," Conan said despite his mind considering if he should stay here. He wasn't even sure he would be able to get enough money time so perhaps he could just give up and stay here. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside. He wasn't going to give up now.
"I see. I understand."
Conan then cast a look at Goblin Slayer who just sat there, quiet as death. He seemingly didn't even move a muscle though Conan could notice some muscle twitches here and there, though it isn't something a lot of people would notice.
"So, what made you start slaying Goblins?" Conan asked.
"Goblins are monsters that need to be hunted down no matter the cost," Goblin Slayer explained in an emotionless tone.
"Heh, not much for talking, I see." Conan has seen those silent types before. Usually, they held a sort of dark past to them and they put a shell around themselves to hide their true selves from the world. However, that shell eventually takes over their identity, changing their very being. He guessed that his situation had something to do with goblins, but decided not to ask any further, at least not yet.
"Yeah, he is usually like that," the archer said in a somewhat annoyed tone. "You'll hear a lot of 'hmmm' and 'I see' responses from him. Just a heads up."
The dwarf then laughed. "Yeah, sometimes we think that Beard cutter's vocabulary is extremely limited. But then we heard him talk about goblins, then his words are matched by no one." This caused a smile to creep on Shaman's face and Priestess and Archer to laugh a bit.
Conan chuckled at that. They must be some group if they knew each other so well if they make jokes like that. That was a sense of comradery between them that Conan has experienced before and all the great things it had led to.
During their day of riding, which was pretty uneventful except for a few bumps on the road, Conan had been asking more questions about the land. Like if there were any major conflicts, wars, and such. They said that there was currently a Hero who along with her companions is raging a war against the Demon Lord and his forces of Evil. It is also said that she will directly confront him very soon and bring an end to his reign.
All the wars and conflicts of the land were put on hold until the demon threat has been dealt with, though a few minor skirmishes do occur. There were some things that were just unavoidable, even during demon invasions.
Conan mentally scoffed when he heard that but wasn't too surprised. He knew that there were people dumb enough to cause conflict despite the bigger picture being right in front of them. Though he also saw that demon invasions were a lot more frequent here. Sure, he dealt with demons himself before but those were more or less isolated incidents. For this to bring the attention of so many countries must really something.
And he was also interested in this Hero. Apparently, she is the greatest warrior in all of the land and the only one with enough power to take down the evil lord. He would very much like to meet her one day.
The evening came and they stopped to get some rest. When morning came they ate some breakfast and resumed their drive towards the quest for several more hours.
"Alright, we're here," said the carriage driver as the carriage came to a sudden halt.
The group stepped off the carriage and headed into the village. It was a small rural place, nothing too special, made of about twenty buildings.
Lizard Priest turned towards Conan and Goblins Slayer. "We'll find ourselves temporary residence. You two can go and meet the man who ordered the contract."
"Will do," said Goblin Slayer in his usual tone.
"Hey, Conan," called High Elf Archer. "Don't be surprised if Orcbolg suddenly covers you in goblin blood. It's just one of the ways he deals with goblins."
Conan raised an eyebrow before looking over Goblin Slayer. "For hiding the scent, I assume," he suggested as he was familiar with similar ways of preparing for battle.
"Yeah," Goblin Slayer simply answered.
Priestess then walks up to them. "Please be careful. And don't hesitate to retreat if things get dire," she said in a soft tone, her eyes filled with slight worry. She was usually there to provide healing aid if any of them got injured but Conan was adamant that only Goblin Slayer accompanies him.
Conan smiled at the girl. "Don't worry yourself," he assured her. "I'm sure we'll handle ourselves fine. You just go with the others. We won't take long."
Conan's words seemed to put her somewhat at ease. She gave a smile and a nod before following the other three adventurers.
They watched them leave before Conan turned to Goblin Slayer. "Well then, shall we proceed?"
"Yeah," said Goblins Slayer.
Conan mentally sighed. A man of few words indeed.
After talking with the village leader they headed to the cave where the goblins were located. The leader explained that over a week ago they were attacked by goblins and they traced their tracks back to the cave located at the mountain on the east side of the village.
The two were currently in a forest that stood between the mountain and the village. They walked towards the mountain in silence, which was only broken by the sound of fur and steel boots stomping on the grassy ground.
After a few moments, Conan decided to speak up. "I never properly thanked you for getting me this armor. Without it, my situation would probably be harder. I'll make sure to pay you back."
"It's nothing. I could afford it."
"Maybe, but still I owe you," Conan said. He then decided to change the topic to something else. "So tell me," he began. "That Priestess, is she yours?" Conan saw the way the blonde girl acted around Goblin Slayer, specifically the looks of adoration on her face.
Goblin Slayer turned his head to the towering man walking beside him. "What do you mean?"
"What I'm asking is, is she your woman?"
Silence prevailed for a few moments before Goblins Slayer responded. "I don't get it."
Conan resisted an urge to facepalm. This man was a silver-ranked adventurer, which is a pretty high rank, and he also killed so many goblins to get the name Goblins Slayer so he wasn't unfamiliar with death, and yet he still didn't know what Conan meant. Could he really be that naïve?
Regardless, Conan elaborated further. "Is she your lover?"
Once again, silence prevailed for a few moments. "Umm, no," Goblin Slayer answered before looking back at their path.
"No? Why not? I'm sure she wouldn't mind such a thing," said Conan. "Or maybe you have your eye set on another one."
"Not really," said Goblins Slayer.
The raven-haired barbarian couldn't believe his ears. This man wasn't interested in anyone? And it wasn't like he asked if he was in love with someone, just if he found someone attractive. Then another thought came to mind.
"Have you ever had a lover before?"
"No," Goblin Slayer answered. He then once again turned his head towards Conan. "Is there a point to these questions? I doubt they will help us fight goblins."
Conan was now baffled. He thought that in the line of work that Goblin Slayer's a part of he would immediately find a woman and be done with it, at least to experience life to the fullest before you die. It's something that Conan has definitely done before. Was this man really so dead set on killing goblins that he forgoes everything else?
Conan just shook his head. "Forget about it, it isn't important," he said, not wanting to currently continue the topic. He won't be able to start a normal conversation with Goblin Slayer, apparently.
After a few more minutes of walking, the two found themselves at the base of the mountain. They started walking up a path that was located not too far on the right and started walking up. The path wasn't all that wide so they couldn't walk side by side so Conan decided to walk behind Goblin Slayer.
Some time passed and they found themselves at the entrance of the cave. Goblin Slayer took out an unlit torch and looked at his equipment to make sure he had everything. He then looked towards Conan and just saw him stare at the cave, seemingly waiting for Goblin Slayer to be done.
He then cast a look at Conan's own weapon. "That sword, it won't be good for this mission," he said pointing at the blade strapped to Conan's hip.
That caught Conan's attention and he looked at Goblin Slayer with a confused expression. "What do you mean? What's wrong with my sword?"
"It's too big to fight in a cave," said Goblin Slayer. "I should have bought you a shorter one."
Conan chuckled at that. "Look, I'm not an amateur. My sword will work sufficiently as long as I don't overswing. And if I can't swing then I'll use it for thrusting," Conan explained. He then thought about why that was brought up. "And why would you think that, anyway? Did you use a longer sword once and broke it while swinging in a cave?"
"Hmm, yeah, something like that," Goblins Slayer said.
"Then you just weren't careful enough. You shouldn't have given up just because of a rookie mistake. Short swords can be effective but the longer ones give you reach, something good for keeping the enemy away from you and reducing their chances of being hit by a significant amount," lectured Conan. "And don't worry about me. My sword will do just fine."
Goblin Slayer was silent for a moment before replying. "Alright."
"So, tell me, what can I expect from this?" asked Conan.
"Goblins are very fond of sneak attacks due to their small stature, and usually come in larger groups," Goblin Slayer stated, though that was something Conan already knew. "They may lack intelligence but that doesn't mean they are dumb. They can be tricky. You have to make sure they are dead, otherwise one can pretend to be and sneak attack you, and they use poison on their weaponry. Furthermore, there are more species of goblins," Goblin Slayer continued with Conan listening, the last part especially catching his attention. "Hobgoblins are a special breed of goblins that are larger and stronger than a regular goblin. There are also shamans who are capable of wielding magic, those can be especially dangerous."
"I see," said Conan before looking back into the cave. "And what of those can we expect in there?"
"Any of them. Maybe even all three at once," said Goblin Slayer. "Then there are also Goblin Champions. They are an incredibly strong kind of goblin and quite difficult to kill, and they usually carry big weapons with them. Though, they are not as likely to be here."
Conan was actually intrigued by this information. Not to mention that the usually quiet as a rock Goblin Slayer now became pretty chatty when it came to goblins. It appeared that he was really that deep into goblin slaying. No wonder he was ignorant about their previous conversation.
Conan gave a grin "Alright then," he said as he unsheathed his sword. "Let's not waste any more time and clean this cave of vermin."
Goblin Slayer lit up the torch and they walked into the cave. The cave was quiet, their steps echoed throughout its interior as they moved forward, with the torch's light illuminating their way.
They walked for a minute before Goblin Slayer came to a sudden stop. He pulled out his sword and made a sharp turn but then he heard a goblin's scream and steel piercing flesh. When he turned he saw Conan holding his sword which was stabbing through a goblin.
Conan sharply took out his sword and flicked the blood off it. He turned to Goblin Slayer "I've noticed that portion of the cave," he said as he walked to what seemingly seemed like a normal cave wall until he reached for a shadow where his fingers moved through the shadow and wrapping around what seemed to be an edge. "I know that darkness obscures this pathway and makes it seem like a regular shadow, I have been in caves before. Don't worry; it'll take a lot more than that to catch me off guard."
Goblin Slayer was honestly impressed. This man was pretty knowledgeable, more so than he thought.
"Well, that makes one," said Goblin Slayer making Conan look at him in confusion. Goblin Slayer then walked toward the other path and lit it with a torch, finding nothing else. "That's strange."
"What's strange?" asked Conan, looking at the path as well to see if Goblin Slayer found something.
"There are usually more in hiding. There was just one."
Conan's eyes narrowed at that. If that was the case then, what were those goblins planning exactly? Suddenly, Conan's ears detected movement. "Looks like the others are arriving behind us," he said as he turned towards the sounds.
"How can you tell?" asked Goblin Slayer.
"I can hear them," answered Conan. He then sniffed and slightly winced. "Smell them too. Looks like they didn't really develop bathing yet."
Goblin Slayer readied his short sword, ready to fight. Into the light came three goblins, which immediately started attacking the two.
Goblin Slayer didn't give them a chance to strike as he dashed towards one and stabbed him through the head. "Two."
Conan then moved quickly as well, slashing at one's neck and cleaving the head off. "Three," Conan said with a smirk, caught up on Goblin Slayer's game.
The last goblin came to a sudden stop as he watched the two adventurers easily dispatch two of his brothers. His shock didn't last long as a strong boot kicked him at the side of the head, throwing him towards Goblin Slayer who stuck his sword into the creature's head.
"Four," said Goblin Slayer as he took out his sword from the dead goblin.
"Quite the welcoming committee, aren't they?" quipped Conan, but getting no reaction from Goblin Slayer. Figures.
"Let's use the blood to hide our scent," said Goblin Slayer to which Conan nodded. As both of them finished rubbing some of the blood on them, they continued walking into the cave. Conan wasn't unfamiliar with the methods of hiding your scent, he even utilized many of them himself, so he wasn't repulsed by the blood.
Despite walking for at least a minute there were no goblins near, something which didn't sit right with Goblin Slayer. "We should have run into some goblins by now."
"Perhaps those little devils grew some brains and learned to get out of our way," said Conan.
"No, goblins aren't like that. With the number of goblins we were given, there should have at least been one more attack."
From that point, both of the men were cautious, readying themselves even more for a sneak attack.
However, after a few moments of walking, they noticed that the ceiling was getting higher. And the width of the path was getting wider. Soon they found themselves in a pretty spacious area of the cave. There was also a beam of light coming from a hole on the upper part of the cave, giving better illumination.
And thanks to that illumination, four goblins were revealed, pointing their weapons at them. Conan and Goblin Slayer wasted no time in attacking. Conan cleaved two of them in half in with a single swing of his blade, the wider space giving him much more movement for long swings, and Goblin Slayer quickly brought down his sword into one's head and punching the last one that tried to attack him. It wasn't long before the last one had a blade stuck in his neck.
"And that's eight," said Goblin Slayer as he left the dead goblin.
The two of them looked around to see if there were any more goblins. And to their surprise, they found none. Goblin Slayer then saw a wooden crate blocking something. He guessed that's where the rest of the goblins were and where they were keeping the women they kidnapped.
He moved slowly towards the crate with a torch in hand. As he neared he crouched and reached for it. Then he swiftly moved the crate aside and prepared himself for a surprise attack, but was surprised that behind that crate he found… nothing. The hiding place wasn't spacious, only seemingly being able to hold four people at most, but there was nothing there. He saw some blood on the floor, which he assumed were from the women they were violating, but that was it. Nothing else was there.
"This isn't right," said Goblin Slayer with an edge in his voice.
"Were you able to find something?" asked Conan as he approached his companion.
"How many goblins did they say there were?" asked Goblin Slayer.
"Around twenty," answered Conan, remembering the details that were specified in the contract. "With three women kidnapped as well."
"And we only killed eight. Not to mention the women they kidnapped also aren't here."
"Could they have moved already?"
"No, goblins don't leave so quickly after nesting in a single place. This makes no sense."
Conan was about to say something, but his senses picked up something that was quickly approaching them. "Move!" he yelled as he grabbed Goblin Slayer by the arm, catching him off guard and yanking him away from a vicious claw swipe.
The both of them quickly backed away from the creature that attacked. When they got a good look at it they were completely shocked. The creature in front of them wasn't a goblin at all. It was a tall, bipedal creature, taller than even Conan, covered completely in black fur and long wild hair that reached below its waist. It had red eyes, a mouth with sharp teeth and tusks, and claws on its fingers. And it started growling at them.
Goblin Slayer just looked at the unknown creature, his helmet not giving away his look of shock. Conan, on the other hand, thought that he had seen this creature before. Something about its appearance seemed to make him remember.
"What is that thing?" asked Goblin Slayer, never seeing such a creature before, much less in a goblin cave.
Then it came to Conan. "That's a demon," said Conan, remembering the demon he saw when fighting as an army general for princes Yasmela.
"A demon? Seriously?" asked Goblin Slayer, not believing his ears. How did a demon found itself at a mere goblin cave?
The demon then dashed towards them. Both of them reacted by moving at the side, each in a different direction from the other. The demon quickly found itself between them, however, at a sudden burst of speed that caught both men off guard, the creature gave Conan a nasty backhand that hit him straight in the chest and sent him flying. Conan's back crashed into a wall, causing cracks to appear on it and making Conan grunt in pain. If it wasn't for the armor he was wearing he would have ended up with broken bones. The impact made Conan drop his sword on the ground and he followed not too long after.
Goblin Slayer tried to use his opportunity of the demon being focused on Conan and went to strike at the creature, but the creature saw that coming in time and avoided the swipe of the short sword. Goblins Slayer continued swinging at the creature, even trying to incorporate the torch he was holding, but it managed to avoid all of the swipes and thrusts sent its way.
The demon went for a counterattack, avoiding the last swing of the sword before punching at Goblin Slayer's head. The fist made contact with the left side of his head, partly cracking open the helmet with Goblin Slayer's mouth being visible with clenched teeth and blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, with Goblin Slayer also being sent back, skidding across the floor.
Meanwhile, Conan was gaining back his bearings. That demon caught him by surprise with the sudden burst of speed and that strike had a lot of force behind it, but he couldn't ponder on it for too long. He looked and saw Goblin Slayer engaged with the demon, and saw him losing. He narrowed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and sprang up with the grace of a tiger and with impressive speed in his own right, picked up his sword and ran towards the black creature.
The demon stopped attacking Goblin Slayer and looked behind, seeing Conan was now close to it, his blade ready for a downward swing. Conan brought down the weapon, the demon tried to move away but the blade still made contact, leaving a slash mark across its chest as blood flew from the wound. It howled in pain, but Conan didn't leave it time to recover as he slashed upwards. The demon tried to move away once again but the cut was still made, this time an even deeper one. The creature once again howled in pain from another cut etched on its chest.
Conan went for another swing, this one meant to finish off the demon as it wouldn't be able to avoid it. He brought the sword down, but to his surprise, instead of trying to dodge, the demon grabbed Conan by the wrist, stopping his attack. The demon then started twisting, breaking the wrist, and making Conan give a low yell of pain and also making him drop the sword, which landed beneath them.
The demon then went to swipe at Conan's head with its claws, but the barbarian quickly moved his head out of the way, though he did get a few scratches on his cheek. Conan responded by using his still good hand to deliver a powerful punch to the demon's jaw, making it spit out drool and blood. Disarmed or not, he was a Cimmerian, he could still fight.
While that was going on, Goblins Slayer recovered and stood up. He saw Conan and the demon locked in a heated battle and wondered about what he should do. If he got too close he would probably get in the way, knowing he wouldn't be able to do as good as Conan was doing. He didn't bring a bow and arrows, and he couldn't use his oil to douse the demon and set it on fire with the torch as he risked also setting Conan on fire.
Goblin Slayer then decided. He sheathed his sword, readied the throwing daggers he had, and waited for the right moment.
The two combatants were engaged in unarmed combat, Conan not having the time to pick up his sword otherwise risking giving the demon a shot at him. He then avoided an overhead by ducking, seeing an opening, he went for a kick and struck the demon in the abdomen, making it grunt.
Goblin Slayer decided that this was the right moment. He hurled several daggers straight at the demon while it was momentarily stunned. The daggers soon finding themselves plunged into the demon's side causing it to give a scream of pain.
Conan then also capitalized on this, hitting the demon straight in the face, even breaking one of its tusks. However, before he could deliver another blow, in a seeming act of desperation, it started flailing wildly with its arms, actually pushing Conan on the ground.
It then quickly turned to Goblin Slayer and ran at him. Its great speed was making it hard for Goblin Slayer to track. He tried to bring his shield up to block but the demon was too fast and it delivered a devastating punch into Goblin Slayer's chest, the blow caving in his armor and pushing him off the ground for a moment. The blow also causing him to puke a good amount of blood on the ground before he fell on the floor as the demon retracted its fist.
The demon took the daggers out of his side and threw them on the ground. It went for another strike but felt something move beneath its arms and crawl to the back of its head before tightly squeezing him, rendering him partially immobile. He saw that those things were arms and looked back to see it was Conan who holding onto him.
Conan grunted as the demon started to writhe in his grasp. He couldn't put his broken wrist on the back of his head but he was still doing well in holding the demon in place. Though, it seemed he wouldn't be able to hold it for too long.
Conan looked at Goblin Slayer who was now on all fours with blood running down his exposed mouth. But Conan knew that he needed to bite through the pain if they planned on getting rid of this thing. "Hurry, Goblin Slayer! Kill it, NOW!" Conan exclaimed as he held the demon.
Goblin Slayer looked up and saw Conan restraining the demon while giving a wide-open target. Ignoring the pain, he quickly unsheathed his sword, gave out a yell, got up, and attacked the restrained demon. He lunged the blade just below the demon's ribcage and struck through its heart. The demon let out a bellowing screech before choking on its own blood. Its writhing became minimal before standing completely still and its head hung low, blood seeping through its open mouth.
Goblin Slayer then grunted and pulled out the sword causing blood to gush from the wound. Conan then let go of the demon, letting its body fall ungracefully on the ground.
Conan then started panting, the adrenalin wearing off and the fatigue of the fight catching up to him. He looked at the dead demon, still not believing that this could have been of the demons that served under the sorcerer of Kutchemes. He wondered what it was doing here. Did it also wander in this land or did it have demons similar to it?
But that would need answering later. Right now he needed to talk with Goblin Slayer about their situation.
"Well, Goblin Slayer, looks like we-"
He was interrupted when he heard a clanging sound in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw Goblin Slayer lying face-first on the rocky ground.
AN: And a cliffhanger. Sorry for doing this but I felt that this would be the best place to end the chapter. Well, we saw someone seemingly gathering allies, Conan's further interactions with the group, Goblin Slayer especially, and how things went south out of nowhere.
Hope to hear some of your feedback.
See you next time!