Sid POV

  Sid circled to the other side of the tree so its trunk could give their team some cover. It was not wide enough to shield everyone, but it created a narrow pocket of safety, which was better than none.

  Varun slipped behind the trunk with him, though a part of his arm still stuck out, likely visible from the direction of the approaching footsteps. “Are they goblins?” His voice stayed low.

  “Yeah. Four of them. One riding a spider, another a boar.” Sid bent slightly and shifted his attention to Rohan, ready to explain the plan. Rohan interrupted before he could.

  “What do you mean, riding a spider?” asked Rohan, eyebrows raised, head tilted back. Pallavi nodded as if he had given voice to her own question.

  Sid rested a hand on Rohan’s shoulder and nudged him sideways, adjusting his position behind the trunk. The movement brought Rohan closer to Varun, their shoulders brushing.

  “It probably tamed the spider. Same idea as people riding horses or elephants.” Varun’s voice stayed soft, but there was a hint of urgency in it. His posture straightened, and his jaw tightened as if settling into a no-nonsense mode.

  “You can shoot magic balls of white goo. Taming monsters should also be possible with a skill.” Sid hoped the graphic description would deter any more questions from Rohan or Pallavi.

  Rohan grimaced, and Pallavi pressed her lips together, both clearly uncomfortable but quiet.

  “We can’t encircle them since they are already here and would spot any movement.” Sid turned his head and peeked from behind the tree to check the enemy’s progress. They continued their march at a steady pace and would soon be visible to his team, whose vision was not enhanced by skills or equipment.

  “What’s the plan, Sid?” asked Pallavi. She leaned in. A speck of nervousness colored her tone, but her voice stayed at a normal level.

  Sid pointed to his mouth and then spread his fingers with his palm facing down, moving his hand lower to signal her to reduce her volume.

  He met Rohan’s gaze. “Target the beasts or the riders first. Then the goblins wearing leather armor. They’re stronger.” He pointed to a tree farther away from the goblins, its approach hidden from sight. “Go hide behind that tree before they get close. It’s better if none of us are near you since you can use Iceglass Shatter if the goblins come close to attack.”

  Rohan let out a slow breath, his lips tightening and his eyes flicking toward the clearing before he nodded. A faint tremor ran through the muscles near his jaw. Then he rushed to his hiding spot.

  Sid turned to check on the goblins. They had stopped for a brief second, the beastcaller on top of the spider speaking to a new goblin that had appeared. This one also wore leather armor and a headdress. It was a goblin shaman.

  He smothered the seed of thought that the shaman might drop Minor Heal and forced his attention back to the team. They were about to enter a battle, and he needed his mind focused on that instead of entertaining stray concerns.

  “Our plan is simple. Hit hard and fast.” Sid kept his voice low and his eyes fixed on his teammates’ faces. Varun’s expression twitched, as if the plan fell short of what he expected. Pallavi gave a small nod.

  “Once they reach the clearing, target the goblins closest to us and go for the kill,” Sid said, straightening his back and keeping his stance steady. “Our aim is to reduce their numbers as fast as possible.”

  “What about the one riding the spider?” Varun asked, shifting his weight and narrowing his eyes. A hint of caution flickered across his face.

  “They’re a big target and easy for Rohan to hit. I’ll finish it once they’re trapped.” Sid glanced toward the approaching goblins. They should now be visible to the rest of the team, and he was proven right when Pallavi’s eyes widened at the sight, likely because of the beastcaller riding the giant spider.

  He would focus on the spider rider. Once the beastcaller was taken out, its pet would be an easy kill as it entered a standby state. He knew spiders had evolutionary benefits to resist webbing, so it likely would not be stuck for long, and he had to finish it quickly.

  “What if the spider doesn’t get trapped by the Mana Web?” Varun asked, his eyes tightening with curiosity.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I don’t have all the answers, Varun. We will find out soon.” Sid noticed Varun’s shoulders sink slightly at the response, disappointment creeping into his features. “Besides, no plan survives contact with the enemy.”

  “They should reach the clearing soon,” Pallavi said. Her voice stayed low, barely hiding the nervousness beneath it.

  Sid peeked from behind the trunk to check the goblins again. They should have reached them by now. A faint itch of unease pressed at the back of his mind. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

  The three of them were huddled close behind the trunk. “Charge when they are distracted checking the bait.” Sid spoke without turning around.

  When he first spotted the hostile party, the boar rider had been leading, with the spider rider and the two slingers following. But when he checked again, the spider rider was in front, even though its mount was slower than the boar.

  The spider rider did not slow as it neared the trap. It kept moving straight toward Sid’s position, and he realized they had been discovered. Their element of surprise was gone.

  The details he had missed earlier surfaced together now. The goblins’ slight pause, their delay in reaching the clearing, and the shift in their approach. They had changed their path and would likely have someone flanking as well.

  Sid looked to the side, searching the trees for movement. Sure enough, he spotted a slinger to his left, weapon drawn and ready to release. “They know we’re here. Attack!” he shouted as he ducked and covered his head.

  His warning came too late. Rohan’s cry sounded from behind him. He had likely been struck by the other slinger. Slingers usually aimed for the head since humans could shrug off hits elsewhere, except the groin.

  Sid understood now why the spider rider had taken the lead despite being slower. It had hidden the slinger’s movement, making the team assume both slingers were still in the rear.

  Varun and Pallavi burst from behind the trunk. Varun took the front, his eyes locked on the spider rider.

  The spider created a ball of white light beside its head. Mana Web. As soon as Varun noticed it forming, he charged using Dash, aiming for the boar rider approaching behind the leader.

  Sid surveyed the battlefield to determine his next steps. The goblins had drawn first blood by taking out Rohan, their ranged support. It would be an uphill battle now. Rohan lay on the ground, likely knocked out and in need of protection. The slinger targeting Sid was already preparing another shot.

  Sid shuffled to the other side of the tree to gain cover from the slinger. “Pallavi, protect Rohan. He’s knocked out.”

  He had called out “attack” expecting all three of his teammates to charge, but with one of them down, they were now forced into a defensive fight to keep Rohan safe.

  At that moment, Varun dashed forward to avoid the Mana Web. Pallavi, distracted by Sid’s voice, fell victim to the spell instead and was trapped in place.

  Sid’s stomach flipped. Two of their strongest members, their Tier 1’s were down. It was up to the two Tier 0 Novices to hold off the enemies until they recovered.

  He needed to take out the goblin slingers fast or they would slowly wear them down, like death by a thousand cuts.

  A loud scream tore out of Pallavi, filled with fury that sounded almost elemental. Sid turned toward her despite knowing he should focus on the slingers.

  The surrounding webbing was paler than normal, and she had somehow taken a step forward while the threads clung to her limbs. Her eyes were locked on the spider rider, which had stopped its charge and stared back with still, dark eyes. As Pallavi took a second step, the webbing crumbled into thin strands of light.

  She had been trapped for only three seconds. Mana Web’s strength scales with the user’s intelligence and weakens against the target’s strength. If the target’s strength doubled the caster’s intelligence, the web failed outright. Pallavi had somehow raised her skills and pushed her strength above the threshold.

  Hope stirred in Sid’s chest. Things were not as dire as they had seemed moments ago. Pallavi and Varun could retake the front while he handled the straggler and protected Rohan. For a heartbeat, things looked better.

  Until a horn blew behind the goblins.

  Sid moved sideways to get a clearer view of the goblin shaman blowing an ivory horn. It was easily the most exquisite item he had ever seen on a goblin, even before considering his future memories. The shaman climbed onto the stationary spider beside the beastcaller, both now staring at Pallavi. They had likely decided she was stronger than she appeared.

  Sid looked around and saw the boar rider turning tail and fleeing in the direction they had come from. The slinger who attacked him also ran. Though he couldn’t see the one that hit Rohan, it was safe to assume that the attacker had fled at the sound of the horn as well.

  “Don’t let them flee!” Varun charged toward the spider. Pallavi rushed after him. Sid, however, stayed rooted in place. The goblins fleeing didn’t ease the unease growing inside him. If anything, it made it worse.

  This had not been a losing battle for the goblins. Seeing them retreat, especially after hearing that ornate horn, could mean only one thing. An army was nearby, and the shaman didn’t want a Pyrrhic victory. It wanted to return with trackers for complete annihilation.

  Varun and Pallavi flanked the beastcaller and the shaman riding the spider, trapping them between the two. Sid knew they wouldn’t be able to stop the spider from escaping, and his teammates realized it a minute later. The spider lunged toward a tree and began climbing.

  With their ranged support taken out, they could only watch the spider climb, or so Sid thought.

  His teammates, however, refused to give up. Pallavi struck the tree repeatedly, hitting it like a punching bag, hoping to shake the spider loose. Varun tried running up the trunk using Dash to catch it. But even with his talent, he couldn’t pull new skill upgrades out of nowhere.

  Sid extended his hand, intending to call them back. The spider was already walking along a branch and moving to the next tree when another horn sounded in the distance. This one was deeper.

  It felt like a response to the shaman’s earlier call, confirming Sid’s feared conclusion. They had beaten back the underlings, and now the boss was coming.