The Chieftain Enters the Fray
Yeonhee was once again just farming experience from the rear. Her judgment in these matters was as poor as ever. It wasn't just a lack of experience—back in her past life, she had always preferred straightforward fights over anything complicated. In short, she hated anything that gave her a headache. That was why no one ever expected her to handle the strategic side of things. Controlling and maintaining dozens of summons was already an astonishing feat on its own.
While I stared at her as she agonized over what to do, Yeonhee glanced at me and whispered, "Sh-should we follow them too?"
I paused for a moment before nodding. Maybe my agreement helped her decide.
"Hmm... I don't really want to join up with those people, but if we just clean up the small fry from behind while being careful..."
In the end, we headed back toward the village as well.
I wonder how far I can move away from Yeonhee now.
After reaching level 3, it seemed I could walk around freely within the range of my senses. That distance was roughly ten meters. It was far too short for any real plans. Following Yeonhee's suggestion, we decided to focus on the goblins spilling out from the rear.
"I've got plenty of arrows, and also... uh..."
Once we arrived near the village and found a decent spot, Yeonhee looked completely out of it. This was her first large-scale battle, so she seemed extremely nervous.
Honestly, we're not the problem here. Can thirty people really beat a hundred goblins including the chieftain?
Thinking that each person only had to handle three or four goblins was a huge mistake. Goblins grew stronger the more they gathered. Still, I believed they must have some kind of trump card. No matter how low their rank, humans were intelligent creatures, after all.
But moments later, a chill ran down my spine as I watched the hunters form an encirclement from all directions. They were splitting into groups of three or five, charging in from multiple angles. It seemed the hastily assembled team of thirty couldn't maintain proper formation or coordinate effectively, so they'd decided to just let everyone fend for themselves. That also prevented the goblins from gathering and growing stronger.
But that was an incredibly foolish decision.
Doesn't this come up in the hunter exam?
Was this the result of the hunter exam being even more carelessly run than a driver's license test?
"Uh... Th-they shouldn't spread out like that..." Yeonhee muttered worriedly.
Yeah... That's the normal reaction. With the chieftain present, the goblins' buff range expands. Spreading out like that is suicide. The standard tactic is to break through in one spot and take out the chieftain first... Maybe they think they can just try a bit and retreat if things go wrong.
Even if the outer goblins didn't receive it, at least fifty goblins would be buffed simultaneously. I couldn't say whether anyone would die, but the subjugation was highly likely to fail.
I quickly squeezed Yeonhee's hand.
"Huh?! Run away?"
I shook my head and mimed shooting an arrow.
"Right, let's take out a few from range and then run. Can you watch the timing, Ilwol?"
Nod—
We climbed the tree next to the bushes where we'd hidden and perched on a branch.
I didn't expect to use Adhesion so soon.
Being nothing but bones made me light, so I didn't have to worry about branches breaking even when I climbed up. Skeletons had their advantages too. Comforting myself with that thought, I surveyed the battlefield from above.
The group that had said they'd take down the chieftain numbered nine—the largest. They seemed to be from the same guild, judging by their similar marks. Their equipment was decent for this level range, and their builds were solid, which gave me some hope.
Fwoosh—fwoosh—fwoosh—!
Oh? They're even using fire arrows? So they're not complete idiots after all.
When the fire arrows flew toward the huts in the village, flames erupted instantly, engulfing everything in smoke. The goblins inside began pouring out in confusion, and among them was the chieftain.
—Uwaaaah!
—Kill them! Take out the chieftain first!
The start was successful. Teams attacking from various directions were already clashing with the outer goblins.
"Hoo..."
Thwack—! Thwack—!
Yeonhee's arrows also flew in sharp arcs, steadily dealing damage to the confused goblins. However—
Too far. Not enough to one-shot them.
Still, even just chipping away at their health would yield decent experience.
Kieeek—!
Whenever a goblin slipped past the assault teams toward us, I leaped down from the tree and split its head open with [Strike].
Crack—!
Khek—?!
You have defeated a Goblin!
Thud! Thud—!
The area near the village entrance had turned into a chaotic melee. Even if Yeonhee's arrows landed hits, the archers' positions couldn't be pinpointed.
Good spot.
I climbed back up the tree to observe the situation. Because the fight had started by throwing the goblins into massive confusion, the hunters were overwhelmingly pushing forward in the early stages. In reality, except for the area around the goblin chieftain, the hunters had broken through the defensive lines and were advancing into the village.
But—
They can't even get near the chieftain, so why... Was their confidence because they'd fought before?
The only reason we'd had any chance of victory was the assumption that the nine hunters rushing the chieftain would successfully execute their pre-planned coordinated attacks. But what I was seeing now was the typical rookie approach—relying solely on equipment and skills. It was fortunate that there were five warrior-types in the vanguard; otherwise, they would have already been surrounded and turned to pulp.
Some people only learn after getting burned once.
Clicking my nonexistent tongue, I climbed down from the tree, positioned myself in front of Yeonhee, and continued eliminating the goblins that spilled out from the perimeter.
[Strike]
Crack! Thud thud thud!
Hand over that club, you bastard!
Now that I could easily handle one goblin alone, Yeonhee trusted me and kept drawing her bow toward the entrance.
—Huh? Where are these arrows coming from?
—Th-there! It's a skeleton soldier! There's an archer behind it!
—Skeletons don't spawn in this dungeon, you idiot!
—No, that's the new class, the Summoner. That person.
—Shut your mouth and help over here!
—A class that actually controls monsters? That's ominous... really ominous.
It was a familiar assessment of her, but what about Yeonhee herself?
"Hoo— Focus..."
She tried to ignore the voices and concentrate on shooting her bow.
Good. Well, she did spend nearly half a year clearing dungeons alone. She should be able to handle this much. More importantly, does she have enough arrows?
Even though the world had turned into a game, equipment-related aspects retained unnecessary realism—including arrow supply. She probably hadn't anticipated firing arrows so freely. It seemed fine for now, but I needed to keep a close eye on her remaining stock.
The people who had been wary of us earlier seemed to relax once they saw I was only targeting goblins and not attacking them, and they refocused on their battle with the chieftain.
Whoosh—!
The burly man who had been most insistent on taking down the chieftain swung his massive axe and cleanly severed the head of a goblin guarding the chieftain. Even so, the defensive wall around the chieftain remained solid.
But whether the front line succeeded or not, I was in high spirits.
Crack! Crack!
Before I knew it, I'd defeated three goblins and obtained three clubs with full durability.
One at a time is no problem at all.
My stats weren't that different anymore, and more importantly, my reach completely outclassed theirs. After keeping them in check with kicks, a downward strike to the head with the club would send them staggering and dancing before they collapsed.
Five minutes into the battle, the atmosphere on the field began to shift subtly.
Uwooooooooh—!
The goblin chieftain, who had been standing and watching its subordinates fight, finally picked up a club twice as thick and long as a regular goblin's and began participating in earnest. Around fifty goblins remained alive. More than half their kin had died in just a few minutes, so the fury on its face was only natural.
That cunning chieftain always waits until the hunters' stamina is drained.
Most of the hunters were already breathing heavily, so its strategy had worked.
—Haa, haah... These things won't die easily because of their trait!
—Damn it... Can we actually kill them for sure, Hwang Cheol?!
—Shut up and push forward! We can definitely take them! There are less than fifty left, and we've still got all thirty people! Forget runes—there's an achievement on the line!
If you only counted numbers, it was a fight where each person just had to take down roughly two goblins. Even the lowest-ranked hunters could handle goblins, tired or not.
That big guy's name is Hwang Cheol... Feels familiar, but I can't quite place it.
My memory had been pretty good when I was human, but after becoming a skeleton, everything scattered like faint smoke.
Thwack— Clack—!
—Grr!
The only other archer besides Yeonhee among the hunters shot at the chieftain, but it casually blocked the arrow with its club.
Whoosh—! Whirr—!
Being a chieftain didn't mean it had better technique than regular goblins. It just swung its club wildly in all directions. The problem was that feeling its power up close made you hesitate to step forward and fight it.