Goblins screamed as they were cut in half by single swipe from a long arachnid limb. The others ran futilely as far as their short legs could carry them, but in a shuttered mall like this there weren't many areas for them to hide. Another screamed as it felt its belly impaled against a concrete support beam, the overgrown arachnid sliding it into its waiting maw while it was still alive.

"Tar'nak... Uru!" A second goblin cursed before charging in bravely, smashing the spider's carapace with a sharpened stick that snapped futilely, losing its courage abruptly before meeting the same fate within seconds.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick." Matias muttered dramatically, covering up his mouth with a hand.

If I was still normal, I'd feel the same. Ray thought cynically. It wasn't the gruesome deaths of the goblins that bothered them so much as the cruelty inflicted on any human remains they came across. Headless and half-eaten. It was clear that these goblins were doing it on purpose, for whatever reason. These goblins were headcutters.

They removed the heads of their prey and displayed their prizes openly. Some of the goblins seemed to even like carrying them around on the back, wearing it as a trophy. Comparatively speaking, the goblins were extremely strong for their size, such that despite their small stature carrying something like a human head around was no issue for them at all.

"How far is the food court?" Ray asked with a cold tone to his voice. Even if he tried to stay emotionally neutral, there was no stopping the malice he felt for these creatures from seeping through. If he didn't kill them now, the number of casualties would swell exponentially. The existence of the nest, and by extension the boss monster, was intrinsically linked to the continuous flood of goblins in the area. Cut off their head and it should stem the flow of monsters.

"Just up ahead, around this turn."

They followed along closely behind the gore-laden spider, letting it clear a path of carnage through any wayward goblins like an asura incarnate, its beautifully golden legs now stained red at the tips.

Rounding the corner, a barrage of spear-sticks and rubble pelted their spider vanguard. Evidently the goblins were making this as their last stand, and had prepared accordingly. From numbers alone it was undeniable that this was where the boss lived.

Ray's arachnid shielded its face with one limb before charging in, using its other legs to stabilize itself while it swept through the crowd, mowing down goblins left and right while shrugging off blows like a veritable juggernaut. Impervious to most hits and simply ignoring the few hits that had managed to slip through its defenses.

"Are you okay doing this by yourself?" Ray tried asking, trying out the mental communication that his summons used for himself, but his spider was not one for sympathy. Scoffing at his concern.

"If you think a bunch of green rats are capable of harming me, then think again." It replied in a haughty manner. Shrugging off one of its eyes which had been sealed shut in the earlier barrage by the point of a thrown spear.

"Your concern is unneccesary... Teroraxians are notorious killers. They revel in slaughter more than any other race in the Overworld..."

"Teroraxians?"

"A member of the Terorax species... I believe the closest thing you have to them on your planet is called a spider..."

Movement stirred behind the goblin lines, and those of them who had begun cowering away from the fight renewed their attacks with frenzied fervor. The cause was evident to see, their leader was here.

A muscled green beast stepped out from a bashed in food stall, whose contents it had been raiding just a moment earlier. Standing at least seven foot, muscles rippling like well crafted marble, the goblin looked innately strong. It had a long wooden club, so large that it was practically a tree limb, which it easily held in one hand. Human skulls hung from the belt around its waist, some of them evidently fresh, while its upper torso was exposed except for a small bone trinket it kept around its neck.

The only thing he was grateful for was that he wouldn't be the one that needed to fight it.

"Hey, that's the boss, what do you think? Think you can take it out?"

"If I lost to a goblin, I'd deserve to die. Aren't you looking down on me a little bit too much?"

Guess that answers that. If she's that confident about it, I'll just leave it to her.

As if right on cue, the fight into a battle of titans. The abnormally tall goblin versus the even larger spider, with the goblin running in swinging. Smashing its club down and shattering the flooring with a ferocious blow as the Terorax dodged aside, dropping to one of the goblin's exposed flank while setting up for the killing blow. A full stab through the goblin's chest, spearing out the other end as it gasped blood. But even with such a one-sided victory, the goblin held a venomous stare, not at its killer strangely enough, but rather at our group. Why's it looking this way?

"Ray, it knows you're the summoner. It's targeting you." Lucky spoke from his shoulder.

The large goblin wrapped its arms around the gold-colored leg that had impaled it before revealing a toothy grin, gripping as tightly as it could. Roaring with a beastial fervor as it embraced its killer in a fatalistic hold.

Whatever it said, the other goblins got the message and the glinting eyes of every living goblin turned our way.

"They're charging us." Ray said wearily, raising the handgun against the screaming horde headed our way. Firing shots into the incoming swarm which found marks only by through the sheer number of targets Ray could aim at.

James, Levi, and Matias, needed only look at the scene unfolding to judge they needed to assist. It was all of their lives in danger at this point.

Shots rang out from Ray's sides as bullets mowed down the incoming horde within seconds, their rifles far more effective than the simple handgun they had given him as an afterthought. Even at full speed the goblins simply couldn't run as fast a grown man, costing the monsters precious seconds as they tried and failed to overrun the human's positions.

The rustling of motion sounds to his sides and behind alerted him to another incoming attack just a second too late for him to react. Something hit Ray hard in the back, impacting the center of his mass where his kevlar was thickest.

A spear. The feel of the wooden tip snapping off the goblin's crude spears was enough of an indicator for him to place what the projectile was, and another glance towards the side of the second-floor railings was enough to realize where the trouble had come from.

"Uh, we've got an issue!" Ray pointed out worriedly.

Goblins had begun descending the concrete support beams, moving acrobatically like monkeys down from the third floor, even their size matched, if not for their green-skin. Carrying stick spears or clubs on their backs which they were now choosing to throw at Ray's group, seeing as none of their friends were making it close enough to fight hand-to-hand anyways.

"Fuck me, more goblins?" Levi muttered under his breath before another spear whizzed passed his face, missing him but still finding its mark elsewhere.

"Aiiiya." Matias hissed. It had stuck in his arm before breaking off, causing blood to run down to his hand. The spears were basically sharpened sticks thrown by the equivalent children, but even so, it was still a weapon meant for killing.

Levi and James swung their aim from the decimated and failed charge over towards the new front which had opened up, spraying the closest of the goblins first who had just begun climbing over the glass railings.

The glass shattered into a cascade of shards, plunging several of the climbing goblins down a full story to their deaths. The others on the support beams were exposed, trying to climb futilely before a bullet caused they to lose their grip. Leaving only a spray on the walls to indicate their previous positions.

Their numbers were fewer this time, only a dozen or so had managed to attack from the flank, and now the attack was over as soon as it had started.

Still struggling with the carcass of the boss goblin, his Terorax had hacked it to pieces attempting to free itself from creature's death-grip, but despite that a pair of thick green hands clung tightly to the spider's front leg. A reminder of how stubbornly it had fought to create that opportunity for its tribe.

Ray's breath was heavy, letting out one deep relieved sigh as he made his way to a wall for support. Even if he acted with composure when the time came, the stress of it all still got to him. His heart beating so loudly now that he could hear the echo of it through his ears as his blood pounded.

He'd killed goblins before, but it had always been one-on-one, and fighting against a mob of them ended up being more intense than he had imagined. Suddenly having a lot more respect for those he saw below his name on the ranking list.

1. Ray Albright: 126 kills
2. Aadesh Varma: 43 kills
3. Toluwani Saraki: 39 kills
...

Half a day had gone by now since the start of the competition, and all the names he had seen earlier were completely different. Either they had been passed by others, or they were removed from the competition all-together. 40 kills was a lot for a single person to get, especially in such a short amount of time. In a group like Ray's the kills were spread out. If they had split it equitably, even clearing out this entire enclave would net each of them no more than thirty a-piece, but the large packs seemed to all be centered around nests like these. Meaning you would always be facing against a monster with at least some kind of trump card up its sleeve.

This time it was a large goblin with unnatural strength and a thick hide that granted it partial immunity to gunfire, last time it had been a spellcaster with supernatural powers. Ray knew if he had nothing to rely on, that fighting against them would have been the death of him. Even with powerful summons to protect him, Ray was forced to acknowledge that he in fact, did have vulnerabilities. His summons might be powerful, but he himself was not. He was the weak link, and those goblins knew it.

In other words, they'd seen summoners before.

"How is he?" Ray asked, turning his eyes down to Matias who the other two were helping to wrap a shirt-cloth around the wound.

"Stab wound, but he'll live." Finished tying up the make-shift bandage Levi slapped the injured patient on the back playfully, who grimaced before nodding in agreement.

"I'm doing alright, good enough to walk out of here at least. Staying any longer's giving me the creeps."

Certainly, that was something they could all agree on.