All across the forest laid strewn armour and bloodied corpses of goblins and hobgoblins alike, with already a few scouting insects prodding their mandibles into the fresh flesh, tugging it apart piece by piece. Goblins under Kyle scoured the battlefield, happily capturing any remaining survivors and requisitioning their weapons and gear for themselves.

The battle was over in less than thirty minutes, with the flanking groups attacking from the sides, along with Sasha flanking from the mountain. The armored goblins and hobgoblins sent by Osir were no match for the sneaky archers and tough fighters trained by Sasha and Kyle.

Kyle himself had exhausted all his ammo, though he could easily form new pellets back at the goblin den. The arctech handgun was a simple gadget that accelerated projectiles, so there was no need for any complicated bullet production, though it could only store a limited amount.

He breathed deeply as he calmed himself down, stepping over the drying pools of blood and corpses that laid out in front of him. Kyle had lost count of how many goblins he had killed, simply fighting wildly with all his strength.

Kyle dismissed the holographic system message from his field of view, deciding to deal with it later. Right now, he marched up to the leader of the attacking force, who was tied up and kneeling on the ground along with the rest of the goblins who surrendered, its mouth bleeding profusely as a few of its sharp yellow teeth were scattered on the floor. Sasha grabbed its head, lifting it up to face Kyle.

He motioned for another goblin to perform the interpretation, interrogating the leader. “How many warriors are left in your territory?”

<Pah, afraid are we?> The leader grinned through bloodied gums. <If I don’t return within two cycles, a thousand goblins will be sent here!>

“A thousand warriors…. Interesting.” Kyle contemplated his options. “Sasha, get Gulak here immediately, along with fifty baskets of food. Take them from the storage.”

Kyle spun as he ordered the remaining warriors. “The rest of you, pick up the equipment and wear it. Smear the mud and blood on your faces.”

The warriors glanced at each other before it finally caught on as to what Kyle wanted to do. They quickly spread out across the battlefield, picking apart the broken equipment and wearing them wholesale.

The leader of the attacking force was stunned, watching the wide-scale battlefield salvage operation happening as Sasha sprinted off to fetch Gulak. <Filthy human! What are you planning to do?>

Bresir tapped his crossed arms slowly, silently overlooking the city where remnants of burning houses and huts still sent smoke spiralling through the air like black pillars of heaven. It’s been a full cycle since Osir had delegated Bresir as the head general in charge of the newly formed army.

He was a hobgoblin, much larger and stronger than a normal goblin – closer to the average build of a human. This allowed him to wear the human knight armor stolen years ago, making him look like a proper armored general.

The market square at the very center of the Culado Peaks kingdom that used to trade in food and forage was stripped down to form a large parade square, where thousands of goblins were queuing up for their strictly controlled rations, a stopgap measure to prevent a catastrophic famine.

Bresir felt a slight tremble on his feet, glancing down to notice the goblin merchant that he was stepping out trying to squirm, the merchant’s arms shaking violently as he tried to support himself on all fours.

<Enjoying the view? Your market square has been turned to dust, and the food has been given out to the people.>

<I-I-I’ve worked hard for that food! You have no idea how much I hav->

Bresir stomped on the back of the merchant, breaking his spine and causing the merchant to squirm on the floor in pain. <It is YOU who have no idea how much hurt and grief you have brought to society. I detest the king for introducing currency and the market – food is food, and should be equally distributed to all!>

He bent down to grab the goblin merchant by the neck, lifting him high above and causing his short legs to dangle wildly as the merchant kicked the air in response. <And all you did was sit back and wait for the workers to bring you the money. Pathetic! A warrior’s society has no place for your greedy ilk! Begone!>

He slammed the merchant onto the ground, knocking him out. <Drag him to the caves – let him forage for his own food. Or he can feed the maggot piles with his own flesh.>

Two rebel warriors complied, dragging the merchant off as Bresir continued to observe the area. There were still small pockets of resistance; loyal knights of the former king holed up in caves along the slopes of the valley. Battles were still erupting as some refused to fall under the new system.

What is Osir doing? Bresir wondered. The new Goblin King had taken all his best troops and holed themselves up in the palace. Some rumours among the rebels were saying that Osir was simply taking over to enjoy the luxuries of the palace, forgetting about the people. Bresir did not want to believe it, but he couldn’t help thinking that there was a modicum of truth to it.

Suddenly, a loud clamour erupted from the queue of goblins waiting for their food rations. Two goblins were rolling and tumbling on the ground, embroiled in a scuffle as the maggots in their bowls were thrown high up into the air.

The queue of goblins immediately broke formation as the nearest goblins lunged for the maggots on the ground, stuffing the soil and maggots into their mouth while the fighting spread, encompassing nearly more than a hundred goblins.

Bresir grunted, immediately rushing down with a squad of rebel soldiers to disperse the crowd.

<STOP!> Bresir yelled, moving forward with the rebel soldiers and shoving the brawl’s participants apart. The soldiers grabbed each of them and dragged them out before restraining them with twine and rope.

Bresir forced his way into the middle of the brawl before bellowing out in a roar. <BY THE NAME OF OSIR THE BRAVE – STOP!>

The shout stunned the participants, allowing the soldiers to act quickly. More and more rebel soldiers entered the fray, reducing the number of rioters and fighters punching each other or scrambling for maggots.

Some of the goblins were heavily injured, moaning as they lay on the ground. Bresir laid eyes on the original culprit, who was still fighting and swinging wildly.

With a charge, Bresir immediately charged and tackled the culprit head-on, slamming him into the ground and pinning him with the sheer weight of his well-built body as well as knight armour.

He grabbed the culprit by the neck, keeping a tight grip. <You! I don’t care what reason you have for fighting; you are henceforth conscripted into the army. The rest of you! Arrest every goblin who fought here. If you have enough energy to fight – then fight against Gulak and his tribe, who have betrayed us!>

The goblin onlookers all murmured in agreement. <Indeed. If Gulak had not been greedy, we would not have a famine now…>

<Gulak has taken over yet another tribe; will this area eventually be embroiled in war as well?>

<Fear not, for I will defend this place with my life! No enemy will get past me. You can count on me!> Bresir promised to the people with heartfelt sincerity. He truly believed in Osir’s vision for a new golden age for the goblins, hoping to unify the tribes into a single race that could work for a better future.

Many of the onlookers could truly feel his sincerity, cheering for him. <Round them up and drag them to the camp for training! Beat them if they refuse. No mercy for offenders!>

Bresir waved to the crowd and stayed a bit longer to help those who had suffered collateral damage, though they did not have enough herbs nor poultices to mend and heal wounds. It’s been a cycle since I sent the strike force to attack them… if they were successful, the scouts should have reported back by now…

<General Bresir!> A goblin scout reported by coincidence, bowing deeply. <We have received word that Leader Qatu is successful! He has captured Gulak and brought back fifty baskets worth of food!>

Bresir’s jaw nearly dropped before he shook himself out of his stupor. This… this is unbelievable! A miracle! <Quickly, help them bring in the food to distribute to the people!> Bresir frantically ordered, organizing the remaining soldiers towards the main gate.

A simple wall of wood and stone controlled the entry into the valley, with observers posted along every interval. Bresir rushed to the gate, which was a basic wooden door barred with a rotten decaying wooden beam. The guards gritted their teeth as they lifted the heavy wooden beam, opening the gate for the victorious force returning home with the salvation of the famine.

Bresir squinted his eyes, noticing the visage of the two hundred goblins returning through the tree line. However, his excitement soon turned to dismay as he noticed how badly injured the goblin force was.

Many of them had broken equipment and bloodied limbs, while some were limping, soaked to the bone in mud and blood. Others were wrapped in makeshift bandages from the leaves of Euria Seeds trees, hobbling as they carried the baskets of food.

The guards of the wall quickly rushed forward to carry the basket of food, helping them carry them in. <Call all the shamans well-versed in healing to come over quickly!> Bresir quickly ordered as he went down himself to meet Leader Qatu, whose face had been badly bruised.

<Qatu, what happened? Did you defeat the humans?>

<We did, but at a loss. I managed to capture Gulak at the cost of half of my men.> Qatu motioned to the rest of his pitiful force. There were less than a hundred goblins and hobgoblins left, all injured and shambling in some way or another. <If you don’t mind, I need to take a rest…>

<Of course, of course!> Bresir quickly made way for them, allowing the force to enter through the wide-open wooden gates. Bresir observed the condition of the force as they walked past them.

How terrifying is the human force to inflict this much damage onto our armoured strike force? I must report this to Osir once he exits the palace… Bresir’s train of thought was suddenly stopped as a fairly tall hobgoblin walked past him, completely covered in armour with its face masked by a leaf bandage.

Bresir considered himself one of the tallest hobgoblins around, and he had been managing the army and rebel soldiers under Osir for a long time. Strange, I don’t recall a hobgoblin being an entire head taller than me. 

On the periphery of his vision, he noticed that a few of the hobgoblins were also just as tall, and one was extremely lanky and slim, almost feminine. I also do not remember sending a female hobgoblin off with Qatu…

The more he observed, the stranger he felt. However, most of the suspicion passed as soon as he saw the fifty baskets of food. It does not matter as long as we have enough food to feed the people!

Gulak was tied onto a pole and hoisted by two hobgoblins. Bresir grinned as he marched up to the bound shaman. <Gulak! Finally, karma has caught up to you! Today, before you are executed, you shall see what your selfish actions have caused to our people!>

Gulak scoffed: <You mean your people! The tributes I paid were extortionate! If your people cannot survive without my hunting or forage, perhaps your people are the ones who should not exist! Do not think that just because Osir is king that every goblin will listen to you!>

The arrogance and hostility stemming from Gulak made Bresir even more suspicious. <Soldiers! Put down the baskets of food and check them one by one!>

Bresir himself walked through the rows of baskets placed in order, opening them and checking them. Most of them were human goods and food, with dried meat and nuts being the majority. Bresir could not find any evidence that there was a human or even an enemy goblin hiding among the baskets. If they are not hiding in the baskets…

Just as the realisation hit him, two large human hands grabbed him by the head and twisted it sharply, his vision spinning 180 degrees rapidly as he glanced at Kyle’s face, no longer masked by the leaf bandage. As Bresir’s body slumped onto the floor, he could only see Kyle grab an arctech radio, speaking into it with the calm of a coming storm.

“We’re in. Commence the assault.”