Chapter 301 - Goblin labyrinth (5)

“Do you see it?”

“Yeah. Almost like a town.”

“It’s exactly as that goblin said.”

Jorua and Haksen were shocked by their findings. After five minutes of walking, they found a five-meter-long waterway. And after about two hundred meters along the waterway, they found more goblins.

‘They are fishing!’

There were many goblins doing something by the water. Jorua then pointed in a direction and they saw a small bridge-like structure over the waterway that the goblins were crossing over.

“Huh? Poop?”

Jorua and Haksen frowned. The bridge wasn’t only there for crossing.

“Wow. They catch fish and poop in the river?”

That was how they were using the water.

“We can’t use the water from this waterway.”

“We should go back. We need to report this.”

Haksen nodded. They were not the only group that entered the goblin cave. Thousands of them had entered in the beginning, but they divided up to search the area. They had to be informed that the water was contaminated.

“Damn. But they look fine after drinking it.”

“Yeah. They wouldn’t drink it if they knew it was bad for them. No wonder I felt weird when I didn’t smell any feces anymore.”

Jorua then started to return and Haksen followed. But soon, they stopped as a goblin appeared in front of them.

‘Dammit!’

“Keeeek!”

“Kill it!” Haksen hissed and fired his crossbow. The goblin was killed, but it had already screamed. The cave started filling up with goblin chatter as Jorua and Haksen ran as fast as they could.

“Ugh! Haksen, we’re screwed!”

“Let’s throw it!”

Jorua and Haksen then threw something back and the object exploded. However, the goblins kept following them through the explosion.

“Dammit, run!”

Jorua and Haksen fired their crossbows, but they soon ran out of bolts and began using their guns. The first few goblins were killed by the bullets, but there were just too many. Soon, the goblins that ran with four limbs caught up to them. The goblins’ sharp claws slashed at them.

Jorua’s hand was bitten by a goblin and he screamed in agony. Haksen fired his gun, but another goblin jumped at him.

“Dammit!”

His head snapped back, but he felt a burning sensation over his face. It wasn’t that painful, but the sight in his left eye went dark. He knew what it meant.

“Bastards!”

Haksen then threw a grenade at a group of goblins.

“Jorua! Get back!”

The goblins turned to the grenade and Haksen jumped back as far as he could. Jorua also barely managed to jump back.

“Fire!”

That was when the soldiers came and wiped out the group of goblins.

“Uggh! Captain!”

“Medic! They need help! Kill the goblins!”

Merrick quickly ordered and then attacked the goblins.

“Ugh!”

“We don’t have your eyeball. We can’t heal it back.”

“I know!” Haksen shouted angrily. They had top-grade potions, but Haksen had already lost his eye. There was no way it could grow back.

“What about Jorua?!”

“He lost a lot of blood, but he will live. His left hand will take some time to heal though.”

The medic, Peter, explained and Haksen sighed in relief as he glanced at Jorua who had fainted from the blood loss. The battle was over.

“How are these two?”

“They will live. Jorua passed out from the blood loss, but his wounds have mostly healed. It’s just that his left hand was seriously cut and will need time to heal. He will also need time to adjust.”

The medic then turned to Haksen. Haksen scratched his head as the medic and Merrick looked at him.

“Oh, Captain. I think I will have to retire now. I lost an eye. Haha.”

Everyone became silent for a while but they soon brightened up.

“Haksen! You lucky bastard. You became rich by changing your eyeball!”

“Dammit, how much money was that again?”

Haksen laughed awkwardly as he knew what his fellow soldiers were saying.

“Report, soldier. What happened?”

“Oh, yes. Captain, we cannot drink from that waterway. It’s contaminated.”

“What?”

“They throw feces and trash into that waterway.”

“I see. HQ gave us a heads up on that too.”

Merrick then turned to another soldier who came to him.

“What’s the situation?”

“A few goblins ran away. I think they were scared of our numbers.”

“Will they come back?”

“It will be safer to prepare for the worst, sir.”

Merrick frowned. He didn’t like what he was hearing, but he had to make a choice.

“We should retreat, sir. Regroup with reinforcements and reorganize. It will be dangerous if we move on ahead without support.”

Merrick nodded at his lieutenant’s advice.

“Everyone, get ready to retreat! Higgs, Mike, Zod, Birk, cover the rear. We’ll move slowly.”

They had to return and send Jorua and Haksen back to safety for better treatment. They also needed reinforcements for the empty spots. It was the right choice.

End of Chapter