The World's First Dungeon Vs Zane

Chapter 45: Eye Stabber Ha-Rashion


Not too far to the north of Zane's house, where the gums grew thicker and the forest pressed in close, a crude goblin camp sprawled like a scar on the earth. Broken trees were sharpened into jagged spikes, thick black smoke curled from a dozen fire pits, and the stench of unwashed bodies hung heavy in the still air.

At the centre of it all sat Eye Stabber Ha-Rashion, the Goblin Chief.

Ha-Rashion was not a pretty sight. Nearly eight feet tall and grotesquely fat, he looked more like a walking mountain of meat than a warrior. A jagged, rust-colored greatsword was strapped across his massive back, almost as tall as a man. His mottled green-grey skin sagged under his own weight, but his tiny, glinting eyes were sharp and full of menace.

Today, however, those eyes were gleaming with excitement.

Yesterday, they had burned with rage.

Only one goblin had returned from the scout parties he had sent out when they first arrived in this strange forested region—just one pathetic little runt. The little snot had taken so long to explain what he saw, stuttering and rambling, that Ha-Rashion—true to his name—stabbed him in the eye out of sheer frustration. The goblin had turned to smoke with a shriek, disappearing before the chief could get more than one piece of information:

"There's a human fort thing to the south."

That had been enough to stir the chief's blood, but not enough to act on.

Instead of flying into a blind rage, as was tradition, Ha-Rashion had done something unusual. He had chosen to think.

He summoned his two smartest hobgoblins—Snaggletooth and Grarsh the Quiet. Both had survived more battles than most of the tribe and had the rare skill of shutting up long enough to think. After making it very clear that failure would lead to a slow, tooth-pulling death, he sent them south to observe and report.

That had been the smartest thing he'd done all week.

Now, both hobgoblins knelt before him, battered but alive, and speaking in clear, sharp tones.

"The building is well-fortified," Grarsh had said. "Elevated. Traps. Fighting from height."

"Not worth head-on attack," Snaggletooth added. "We lose too many."

Ha-Rashion had nearly crushed their skulls then and there for the insult—he did not like being told he couldn't do something—but then they had added something else.

"The humans have left the fort. Five of them. Armed. Moving in a pattern. Circling the fort."

A cruel smile had spread across the chief's broad face, revealing black, uneven fangs.

"Walking in circles?" he repeated with amusement. "Like they want to be seen?"

Grarsh shrugged "They're hunting? They seemed very Confident."

Ha-Rashion had chuckled, the sound low and wet like gravel in a swamp.

"Well then," he growled. "Let's see how long that confidence lasts."

He stood with surprising speed for his size, grabbing the hilt of his massive sword with one thick, clawed hand.

"Gather the strongest. And any Shadow feet that are left. You follow and watch. No attacks... yet. I want to know how they move. How they fight. Who breaks first."

"And if they see us?" asked Grarsh.

"Then we make sure they wish they hadn't."

Ha-Rashion laughed again as he turned to face the southern forest.

It started with a lack of noise.

One moment, the scrubland was alive with the usual soundtrack of the Aussie bush—cicadas chirping, magpies warbling, and the distant rustle of wind through eucalyptus leaves. The next, it was like someone had hit mute on the whole landscape.

Tarni stopped in his tracks, one hand instinctively going to the hilt of his machete.

"Anyone else notice that?" he said, his voice low but tense.

Zane tilted his head, then cursed under his breath. "Bloody oath… it's too quiet."

Bell raised her spear gun slightly, scanning the trees. Lily adjusted her grip on the baseball bat and glanced over her shoulder. Kai just froze in place, his hand hovering near his sheathed manchette,

"Birds stopped," Tarni said. "No wind. Nothing. That ain't normal."

"Could be because of us," Lily offered, her voice tight. "Or goblins."

"Or both," Zane added grimly. "Let's not hang around to find out."

No one argued. With a wordless nod passed between them, they re-formed—Tarni taking point, eyes sharp and body low, while Zane dropped to the rear, covering their backs with a homemade crossbow slung over his shoulder and a machete in hand.

Bell moved just behind Tarni, her eyes scanning side to side, ready to cover the flanks. Lily hovered near Kai, keeping herself between him and any threat. Everyone moved quickly but carefully, feet landing soft on the dry earth, ears straining for any sound.

They didn't speak. They didn't need to.

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The decision had been unanimous and instinctive: get back to the house.

But they weren't alone.

Unseen to the group, dark shapes moved in the trees parallel to their course—low to the ground, fast, and nearly silent. Hobgoblins, bigger than the goblins they'd fought before, kept a measured pace, watching… testing.

Back at the goblin camp, Eye Stabber Ha-Rashion had sent out his hunters with strict orders: follow, observe, assess.

And now, hidden behind thick scrub and shadows, they did just that.

The humans were faster than expected. More coordinated than any prey the goblins had hunted before. They moved with the smooth assurance of people who had trained together—trusted each other. The big one who had taken point earlier was now guarding the rear, constantly glancing back over their trail.

From the underbrush, one of the hobgoblins twitched, fingers tightening around his crude spear. Before the group's leader could stop him, the impulsive hunter had already hurled the weapon straight at the humans' backs.

Zane heard a low grunt and instinctively turned his head just in time to see the spear flying straight toward him. He ducked and raised his arm—and somehow, against all odds, caught the spear mid-air with his free hand.

He froze.

Everyone behind him stumbled to a halt.

"What the—" Kai started.

Zane turned slowly, holding the spear aloft like a trophy. "I think we should stand and take th—"

Movement rippled across the underbrush. Leaves shook. Shadows lifted.

A dozen goblins and hobgoblins stood up from the ferns and grass around them, eyes glowing, weapons drawn.

"Nope!" Zane bellowed, tossing the spear aside. "We are RUNNING!"

Bell fired first, her spear gun thudding with a satisfying thunk. The bolt drove into the nearest hobgoblin's hip, spinning the creature in a full circle before it collapsed into the dirt with a howl.

Tarni was already pivoting, firing his homemade crossbow. The bolt whizzed past a goblin's head and thunked into a tree trunk. "Bloody thing's pulling left!" he shouted as he slung it back over his shoulder and drew his machete.

They ran.

Brush cracked underfoot. Leaves whipped at their arms and faces. Behind them, angry snarls and guttural commands barked in goblin tongue echoed through the trees.

Zane blocked a spear with his machete, deflecting it to the side as it grazed his shoulder. Another clanged off his reinforced leather jacket. Bell kept to the middle of the group, holding her now-empty spear gun like a club to knock a goblin's blade away.

Lily tripped on a low shrub and went flying forward with a yelp—but Kai was there in an instant, catching her by the backpack strap and yanking her upright before she could faceplant into a jagged rock.

"Thanks!" she gasped, breath ragged.

"Less talking, more running!" Zane barked from behind.

Finally, the stilts of the house came into view—blessedly tall and familiar.

"We're close!" Kai called out, hope rising in his voice.

Tarni skidded to a halt, eyes wide. "We're on the wrong side!"

Ahead of them was a tangled mess of barbed wire, twisted and looped in chaotic rolls. The spiked pit trench yawned just beyond. The safe entry point was on the opposite side of the property.

"Holy elf tits," Tarni swore. "We're gonna have to jump the spike pits and go through the barbed wire!"

Kai stared at the coiled wire, panic creeping into his face. "There's no way through! It's too thick—we'll get torn apart!"

"I've got an idea," Tarni panted, already doing his jacket all the way up to protect his neck. "I'll jump across the pit and lie on the wire—you run over me like a bridge!"

"What?!" Bell shouted. "That's insane!"

"No time!" Tarni roared. He launched himself across the pit, just clearing the stakes below, and landed with a grunt directly into the first coil of barbed wire. His ankles caught immediately, but he dragged himself forward and rolled flat, covering as much of the wire as he could. "GO!"

He tossed his crossbow over the wire and spread his arms. "NOW!"

A trio of hobgoblins burst from the trees just as the last of the group reached the edge of the trench. Zane turned and met them head-on, slashing one across the chest with a fierce arc of his machete. The creature stumbled backward, hissing in pain.

Lily whipped her bat around in a wide swing, smashing a smaller goblin's face with a crack of bone and teeth. Bell used her unloaded spear gun as a makeshift club, catching a hobgoblin in the throat. Kai ducked behind her, activating his healing touch on Lily's bruised knee from her earlier fall.

"GO! GO!" Zane bellowed again.

Kai leapt first, stepping gingerly across Tarni's back as fast as he could. Bell followed next, teeth gritted as she balanced across her friend's outstretched body. Then Lily, light-footed and fast. Zane came last, pausing only to kick a goblin in the chest before vaulting the pit.

"Gotcha," he muttered as he dropped down, grabbing Tarni's arms and pulling hard.

Barbed wire clung to Tarni's pants and boots. Zane yanked and twisted until his mate was free. Blood soaked through Tarni's trousers where the barbs had torn into his legs and hips, but he was laughing breathlessly.

"Well," he wheezed, "that sucked."

Zane clapped him on the back. "Mate, you're mad. But bloody effective."

They scrambled up the ladder as Bell shouted from above, "Get up here! They're regrouping!"

Tarni limped up last, Zane covering him with a bow until they were both safe.

Below them, the goblins and hobgoblins paced just beyond the spikes and barbed wire, snarling, but hesitant. The trap-filled defenses had done their job.

For now.

Bell had managed to reload her spear gun the moment they got inside, but now, as the goblins regrouped just beyond the defensive perimeter, she reached behind her back and unclipped the Basic Bow +1 to agility that was slung over her shoulders. It shimmered faintly in the morning light—agility-enhanced, fast, and deadly.

She took a deep breath, calming her racing heart. Her pulse slowed. Her hands steadied.

Across the yard, the largest remaining hobgoblin barked orders, pushing his underlings forward. Bell's eyes narrowed.

"Power Shot," she whispered.

The skill activated with a subtle hum of energy, her arms momentarily strengthened by the System's blessing. She exhaled slowly, aimed at the hobgoblin's greasy, tusked head—and released.

The arrow cut the air with a sharp thwip, trailing a faint shimmer.

The hobgoblin never saw it coming.

His skull exploded in a mess of blood, brains, and bone fragments, showering the nearby goblins in gore. The sheer violence of the hit made the goblins freeze in place, some even stumbling back in horror.

Zane didn't waste the moment. From behind the window of their stilted house, he grabbed one of the bows they had pre-positioned for emergencies and fired it in one smooth motion. The arrow caught another hobgoblin square in the chest, staggering the brute before it collapsed in a heap.

That was enough.

The rest of the goblins broke rank and scattered, squealing and shrieking as they vanished into the bush like rats fleeing a fire.

"Nice shooting," Zane said, lowering his bow with a satisfied grunt.

"Thanks," Bell muttered, already nocking another arrow just in case.

Down on the floor, Kai was focused on Tarni, his hands glowing softly as he healed the long, shallow cuts crisscrossing his legs from the barbed wire. The wounds closed slowly but surely under the warm green light of his Healing Touch.

Tarni gritted his teeth. "You'd think I'd get some kind of title for throwing myself into razor wire for the team."

"I'll make you a medal," Lily muttered, standing nearby and scanning the horizon. Her bat was gripped tightly, eyes sharp and scanning for anything that might take a cheap shot at Kai while he worked.

"Lily," Zane called out. "Good cover."

She gave him a quick nod, never taking her eyes off the tree line.

Bell lowered her bow once she was sure the goblins had truly gone. "They'll be back."

"Yeah," Zane agreed. "But next time, we'll be ready."

Tarni winced as Kai finished the last of the healing. "Can't believe I let you all walk on me."

"You volunteered," Kai said, his voice teasing but grateful.

"And I'll never let you forget it."

Laughter broke the tension, just for a moment. But all of them knew the truth—they'd just had their first real test as a team.

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