“Clean up the guards.” Kyle motioned with his hands, the trojan force under him immediately lashing out in a surprise attack, each of his soldiers lunging out with hidden weapons. Whatever feigned injuries or bandages they had were now thrown aside as they charged.

The guards were caught unaware, the prior excitement of victory and finally having enough food to eat was replaced with horror and confusion as they tried to retreat from the two hundred strong force that now rushed towards them.

“Sasha, don’t let any of them escape!” Kyle ordered, planning to secure the gate without the rest of Osir’s forces finding out.

Sasha nodded, swinging a longsword with both arms as she hacked with abandoned at goblin after goblin. The longsword cleaved through the dense muscles and bone of the guards, lodging itself halfway as she kicked the bleeding victim away, pulling her longsword out with frightening brutality. The retreating guards soon saw through the disguise, some of them recognizing her just from the movements alone.

<It’s the female human monster! Run!>

<No, we need to regroup and fight back! If we lose the->

The guard’s head was grabbed from behind as Sasha’s right fist glowed bright, the force of the longsword’s swing boosted. The cold edge of the blade seared through the vocal cords and windpipes of the unfortunate guard, Sasha continuously tugging and sawing away like a butcher. With a final lurch, the guard’s head came cleanly off, tendrils of flesh and meat dripping from what was his neck.

Instead of reveling in the violence, Sasha did this with a clear intention: to get the guards to surrender. Moving quickly to her next target, she was instantly grouped up on by a few courageous souls. She parried a hit from a brave fighter before pushing back, taking advantage of the confusion and disorganization among the guards to slaughter her way through the fearful guards more than a dozen in ten minutes.

Kyle focused on securing the gate, flushing the remaining guards stationed on the walls. Javelins were thrown at them, while Kyle easily dodged them and sprinted up the stone steps to reach the top. The paltry metal shields of the guards were dented and smashed in easily by Kyle’s kicks and neon-red hammer strikes, with others felled by the pellets shot from his handgun.

<Quick! Light the signal fire!> One of the guards yelled to a wooden watchtower, but what replied to him instead was a loud bang followed by the falling body of the observer stationed above, shot in the chest.

Kyle aimed his handgun at the watchtowers, ensuring no goblin observer could send back any signal to the main rebel army. If the rebel army caught wind of the attack, he could not guarantee that his forces would be able to fight head-on against a thousand goblin warriors. Even if I could, it would be such a waste of manpower.

As the battle was concluded, a secondary attack force under Kyle’s command entered through the gates, trailing behind the initial trojan force. In total, Kyle now had two hundred and fifty warriors under him, ready to strike.

The warriors gathered the bodies of the guards and piled them up, along with the corpse of Bresir. Gulak was untied, grinning widely as he danced in front of the corpses of the guards. “Arrogant hobgoblin, I spit on your body!”

A few guards were kept alive and interrogated by Kyle and Gulak. This allowed them to understand the overall situation in the area now while Kyle pondered his next move.

[We should rally with the other local pockets of resistance fighting for the former king.] Sasha pointed out. [We can tap into their manpower and gain some legitimacy, otherwise, we will be fighting against both sides who want to resist human control.]

“Where is the former king now?” Kyle asked Gulak.

“Sahusa the Great’s palace.” Gulak pointed to a large section of the valley’s slope above the treeline, where it seems that a few significant structures have been built, embedded into the wall directly overlooking the valley. “Guards say he last seen with Osir inside, has been one cycle.”

“Not all the six tribes are here, correct?”

“Yes, this is home of Steel Song Tribe. Osir’s main tribe is Howling Wind, far away.”

Kyle frowned. “This means that there’s a chance that there will be additional forces trying to enter the valley from this direction.” With the other tribes having their own armies beyond the valley, it was even more important to hold the gate to ensure fewer variables.

“Sasha, you will remain here in charge. Hold the gate until I have saved the former king.”

[Yes, sir.]

Kyle grabbed a few health potions from a supply crate, stuffing the small vials into his belt alongside his magazines before he sprinted off towards the palace alone.

He used the dense forest as cover, keeping off the crude gravel roads and instead running towards the slope of the valley up towards the embedded buildings. Surprisingly, there were nearly no guards outside the palace, with every available rebel soldier fighting against the loyal knights elsewhere all along the entire length of the valley. Makes it easier for me.

Silently striding into the vicinity of the palace, he was amazed by the seemingly man-made formation that the palace was carved into. It seemed to be a perfect square that was tunnelled out of the side of the mountain, leading deeper into the formation. Large stone pillars supported the weight of the ceiling to prevent it from collapsing, with centuries of immaculate drawings lined on the surface.

Kyle gave the drawings a cursory glance, noting the long history of the goblins and how long they had been here. Based on the drawings, it seems like they have been here for a good five hundred years or so, but I’m not an expert. If anything, he was only an expert at selling such archaeological finds on the black market, having dug up countless alien ruins in the Galactic Era. He focused on finding the former king for now – there would be time to solve all of it.

He soon reached the palace’s entrance plaza, finally noticing two hobgoblin guards patrolling the large archway that led further into the foyer. Kyle hid himself behind a stone pillar, taking out his arctech handgun and checking his ammo. Fifty rounds total.

Kyle peeked his head out, examining the guards who carried a sword and a round shield. He noticed that their armor was far more elaborate and intricate than the guards and strike force that he found. He could even see signs of arctech engravings on the surface of their vambrace, though it was too far for him to determine what effects they would have.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle stepped out from the pillar, immediately firing his handgun at the two guards.

The vambraces of the two guards flared to life, firing out point defense projectiles to cancel out the incoming shots while they yelped as they were caught off-guard. <Human?!>

They lifted the round shield and entered a fighting stance as Kyle sprinted towards them, closing the gap. The guards rushed forward bravely, with the first guard taking point and slashing downwards at Kyle in an aggressive attempt.

He dodged to the side before using his left free hand to grab the wrist of the guard, pivoting and delivering a knee to the back of the guard, denting the armour in and cracking the guard’s spine. Kyle immediately retreated backwards, creating distance as the second guard stabbed towards him with ferocity. With deft movements, Kyle swiftly aimed the handgun and fired two more shots at the second guard.

To his surprise, the arctech vambrace blocked the shots again, while the first guard’s breastplate activated to produce a healing effect, allowing him to recover back into a fighting posture. “Fine, let’s do it the hard way.” Kyle sheathed his handgun and brandished his neon red hammer, charging straight at them.

The two guards were synchronised, each covering for their own openings while blocking attacks with the shields. However, they were still no match for the brute force strength of Kyle’s hammer strike, slamming down right onto the shield and causing the first guard’s knees to buckle to the floor, losing balance as he toppled.

With a backhand swing as a follow-up, Kyle parried the second guard’s sword and sent it flying out of its grip before continuing with a devastating combo that saw Kyle brutally target each of their vitals, their skulls crushed in. The delayed activation of the second impact further squashed their brains in, a sickening squish echoing in the now silent palace’s entrance plaza

Improved Hobgoblin? Kyle was a bit taken aback, having never seen an improved hobgoblin before. None of the hobgoblins he killed from Leader Qatu had such a title for them.

He entered the palace, which was a complete mess. Dozens of goblin and hobgoblin corpses were strewn over smashed furniture and cracked marble floor tiles, the blood already dried over a day. Kyle stepped warily into the entrance lobby, keeping an eye for any ambushers.

To his surprise, there were no guards anywhere in the lobby; only the ambience of death and silence accompanied Kyle as he watched his step. As he approached the grand staircase, he could hear footsteps walking down the marble tiles, prompting him to hide behind one of the pillars nearby.

A lone hobgoblin guard was patrolling the palace, equipped with the same equipment as the guards Kyle killed. Kyle stealthily crept around, waiting until the guard passed the pillar before jumping out and grappling him to the ground, quickly forcing the guard to drop his sword and shield.

<Talk-Where King?> Kyle spoke in a broken goblin language, unable to fully imitate the guttural sounds as he pinned the guard down.

<The human speaks?!> The hobgoblin was surprised, earning a smack to the back of the head.

<Talk!>

The hobgoblin tried to flip Kyle over, but to no avail, as Kyle expertly restricted all of his limbs’ movement. <No, you filthy human! I am a proud warrior of the Howling Win-> Another smack.

Smack.

Kyle smacked him a few more times before he finally relented.

<Wait, stop smacking! I’ll tell you, just let me go!>

<No I won’t. You come with me.> Kyle used his hammer and broke the limbs of the hobgoblin at the joints, the screams muffled as Kyle forced its head into the ground. <You don’t need this.> Kyle grabbed the breastplate and destroyed the engraving on it, preventing the hobgoblin from healing.

The hobgoblin whimpered as Kyle lifted him up, grabbing him like a hostage shield in front of his body, except for the clearly twisted and broken limbs of the hobgoblin dangling. <Bring me to enemy – you die. Slowly. Understand?>

The hobgoblin nodded vigorously through teary eyes.

Just like this, Kyle used the crippled hobgoblin as a guide who was unable to fight back thanks to the broken limbs. He navigated the myriad of hallways and rooms filled with dead servants and other family members of the king, quickly moving.

Soon, he was led to a hallway where there were two more guards protecting a jail door. In a split instant, Kyle flung the crippled guide towards the two guards, the body smacking into the first guard while Kyle sprinted along the side, lunging at the second with a strong hammer strike uppercut right into the chin.

He made quick work of the other guard as well, keeping the crippled guide alive, who was agonising from the impact of the throw. Kyle aimed his hammer at the hinges of the prison door, smacking it repeatedly till it was damaged and fell to the ground with a loud clanging thud, revealing a badly bruised goblin who was stark naked.

It was clear he had been repeatedly tortured, though a sense of determination still held strong in his posture.

<You. King?>

Sahusa the Great could barely see through his swollen eyelids, but he made out the outline of the human. <No, I am no longer king… the King is Osir…>

<Good.> Kyle grabbed the crippled guide and dragged him into the prison cell, tossing him into a corner. Retrieving a health potion vial from his belt, he fed it to Sahusa, healing him slightly just enough to talk.

“Who… who are you?” Sahusa spoke as he tried to sit up, wincing at the bruises sending jolts of pain through his nerves. “Are you with Gulak?”

“A smart king. I need you to get your people back under control. I will help you squash the rebellion.”

Sahusa was nearly overjoyed to hear it, but he soon calmed himself down, thinking quickly about why Kyle was offering such a deal. It wouldn’t be the first time that he was offered something too good to be true, and remained quiet as he contemplated. “You want me to serve as your puppet.”

“Your society is unable to support your population without agricultural development. I assume this is not the first time such a rebellion has happened.”

Sahusa didn’t reply immediately, but internally he knew Kyle was right. The growth of the population was always limited by the ecosystem as they could only hunt and forage, with no knowledge of large-scale farming. There had been a few attempts, but the scale was just not big enough to sustain such a centralization development as his forefathers had attempted.

“Do you not want to see a golden era of goblins? One living in prosperity and happiness? I can make it happen – as long as you help me as well.” Kyle pressed his offer.

Sahusa sighed, knowing the only other option he had was to let Osir take control, beginning the cycle anew into a never-ending spiral of continuous coups and revolts. Perhaps Kyle represented a way out of this never-ending loop, a pathway to a better kingdom. However, what would he have to sacrifice? Was he trading one enemy for another?

Yet he had no choice if he wanted to live. He certainly did not trust Osir to lead his people into greatness, and so he had to settle for the lesser unknown evil for now.

“Fine, I agree. However, I am not a king anymore – it is Osir.”

“I know. Where is he? They told me he would be in the palace.”

“No, he is not. He is currently trying to brute force his way into getting an audience with the Oracle.”

“The Oracle?”