Chapter 12 – The First Bloodshed
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Heavy footsteps crushed the leaves outside. The metallic clink of armor echoed through the mist.
"They're here," the scout whispered, crouched low. "Goblin nest. At least a dozen."
"Good," the knight said, unsheathing his blade. Sunlight pierced the fog and flashed along the steel. "Let's cull them."
Inside the cave, Altair stood at the front with six frail goblin males. Behind him, Lila and Mira shielded the newborns, their breaths quick and uneven. Fear thickened the air, but Altair raised his jagged stone high.
"Today," he growled, "we prove we can fight. Do not retreat!"
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The knight charged with a roar. His sword flashed, slicing clean through the neck of the first goblin. Green blood sprayed across the cave walls.
A second fell before an arrow from the archer, the shaft punching through its chest. The shriek rattled the den.
Altair hurled himself forward, stone raised. Steel met stone with a deafening clash. His arms shook violently under the impact.
"The leader?" The knight smirked, eyes glinting. "Perfect. I'll take your head first."
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The mage lifted her staff. A spark of fire burst forth, engulfing another goblin. Its screams filled the cavern as its body burned.
The priest chanted, white light wrapping the knight's blade, making his strikes faster, sharper.
Altair's goblins scrambled. They bit, clawed, swung sticks. But the humans carved through them like scythes through weeds.
One by one, they fell. From ten, only five remained. Blood pooled across the rocky ground.
Lila hurled stones at the mage, desperate, buying only moments. Mira dragged wounded goblins back, tears streaking her cheeks as she shielded the infants.
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Altair parried another strike, driving his stone against the knight's chest. But the armor held. A backhand slash nearly severed his head—he dodged by inches.
"We're outmatched… strength, weapons, magic… everything is against us."
Another goblin howled as an arrow pierced its gut. Another was gutted by the scout's twin blades.
The cave was chaos—blood, screams, the stench of iron. Altair's little pack was being annihilated before his eyes.
The knight laughed. "This is all? Goblins will always be filth."
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Altair staggered, knees buckling. Only three goblins remained at his side, all wounded and barely standing.
His gaze snapped back. Lila trembled, a stone in her grip, but refused to run. Mira crouched low, her body shielding the newborns.
"If I fall here… everything ends. My family. My vow. My future."
His hands shook, but his eyes blazed. "No. I cannot break. Even here, I must fight."
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The knight raised his sword high, ready to cleave Altair in two. The mage's staff flared with the light of another fire spell.
Altair clenched his bloody stone, lips curling into a snarl.
"If I must die," he growled, "I'll drag one of you to hell with me."
The fire's glow lit his face, fury burning in his emerald eyes. The battle was far from over.
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