The Hero of Vengeance

Chapter 8: Guerilla Warfare

A few hours (and a few dozen goblin corpses) after leaving the huge cistern, I managed to find a much smaller cistern tucked away behind several pipes and supporting pillars.

I made myself a small base camp here and sorted through my inventory.

I had picked up many random items dropped by the dead goblins and decided to make use of them.

Many of them were small stone tools such as shivs and axes. There were a few metal daggers, a couple of spears, the crossbow with bolts, and several scraps of armor with leather.

Among these things were several sinewy strings used for tying things together.

Goblins were dumb. Like really dumb.

But even they had craftsmen, I guess.

A goblin, as stupid as it may be, was still slightly more intelligent than a dog.

As such, they had likely no concept of tactics other than 'rush the enemy and overwhelm them with numbers'.

I wanted to put together several tools and traps for executing goblins even when I'm not around.

And while my traps are in effect, I can be on the move.

While searching around my base, I found an entrance to a maintenance tunnel via a hidden panel on the wall of the small cistern.

Who knows if the goblins were aware of it or not, but it might be useful.

I did a bit of exploring and discovered that the maintenance tunnel was just one of a vast connected network of tunnels.

It seems like they were used a lot more before they could generate water through magic crystals.

Though since not everyone can afford that freshwater system, some people have to make do with the more primitive irrigation of rainwater and the like.

These were some of the things I had learned from my father.

On top of those things was a tactic called Guerilla Warfare.

Troops outmatched on the battlefield would raid enemy supply camps, production facilities, and use hit and run tactics to win a war.

It was a tactic that he never had to employ, but had learned of in his younger days.

Thankfully, he explained it to me.

I spent several hours tinkering with the materials on hand until I realized I would need more to work with.

Before going out to hunt, I thought that it would be a good idea to get some sleep.

I set up a small rigging of several tripwires near the doorway that would skewer approaching enemies on spears and shivs. I decided to test the safety of the maintenance tunnels and picked a spot in the hallway just behind the secret entrance.

The I laid down and slept.

* * *

My sleep was light and dreamless. I woke up and immediately got myself ready for the day ahead.

I figured it was going to be a long one filled with a lot of violence.

In other words, I couldn't wait to get started.

Am I going crazy because I'm enjoying killing stuff?

Probably nothing.

"Alright, first I need more materials. I should kill a few patrols and... Bones. I can use bones for many things. Even ammo for the crossbow if they're sturdy enough. Sharpened bones can be used as weapons. The goblins hung up plenty of them, and if I need more I can always use the ones the goblins have...inside them," I mumbled to myself aloud.

With a brisk nod, I got my things together and set out to get materials.

* * *

A few hours later, I had killed at least thirty goblins and was using their tools and bones to rig up some hastily made traps.

Since the maintenance tunnels spanned the entire sewer, they might be useful for guerilla tactics. It was also worth noting that the stone panels on the walls were hidden well enough to be unnoticed by the goblins.

While waiting to see if my traps were effective, I did more exploring of the tunnels.

In one room, I found a map of the entire system which I began trying to memorize to the best of my ability.

With each step I made towards my goal of painting the sewers red with goblin blood, I felt an evil smile creep over me.

I was enjoying this too much.

"When and why did my goal become to paint the sewer red?" I mumbled.

I shook my head to get my priorities straight.

"The goal should be to earn as much exp as possible in the shortest amount of time while surviving and eradicating the goblin population."

I stopped for a moment.

"So in other words, paint the sewers red with goblin blood," I concluded.

I checked the map.

The maintenance tunnels go over, under, and around the main sewer system. I can go in and out of these passages to appear and disappear at will.

I can exit a tunnel, set or re-arm my traps, and disappear again only to wind up far away.

And while I was away, I could slaughter the vermin personally.

It sounded like a good plan.

I got to work exploring the tunnels and memorizing them.

I would periodically come out to check my surroundings, experiment with traps, and slay any goblins I saw on sight. I also made sure to take their stuff.

Stuff also included the bones they had been using.

I had seen more blood and gore in the past couple of days than in my entire life.

Fortunately, I was actually starting to get used to it at this point.

In this line of work, I needed to get used to my hands being dirty.

I decided to set a few more traps for unsuspecting goblins and then went back to the small cistern.

I exited the tunnel in the cistern to discover that the wires leading inside had been tripped. Two dead goblins were leaning on the spear traps I had set near the doorway.

I carefully removed their bodies, relieved them of their bones, and re-armed the traps.

"I'm going to just sleep in the maintenance rooms then, I guess... It seems like the main tunnels aren't safe at all," I said quietly to myself.

Once again, talking to myself made it seem less lonely...

Am I going crazy down here?

Probably not.

I exited the cistern through the secret passage and moved into a small maintenance room.

It was a tad cramped, but it had just enough space for me to sleep comfortably.

It was also close enough to a wide space to test traps.

I sat in an old chair in the corner of the room next to a desk and got some food out.

Jerky and bread again, it seems.

By the way, I cleaned my hands with the create water spell before taking the food out and eating. As I ate, I thought of more interesting ways to create traps and slay groups of goblins. Things were going very well at this point.

I periodically went back to the small cistern to construct larger traps.

After only a day and a half, it seemed like I was getting pretty good at throwing these together.

While I was carving bones for use in some of my ideas, a goblin wandered into the cistern.

He seemed shocked to see me and tried to run straight for me.

Idiot.

He fell on a tripwire and was skewered by two spears.

Looks like free materials again.

I got to work carving up the corpse and sharpening its bones for more traps.

Then I went back to my new base where I finalized my plans to eradicate the goblins down here.

My eyes were feeling heavy as I worked out the smaller details and...

* * *

My dreams this time were once again of the mines incident.

Of course, nothing changed.

I tried to attack the dragon and was defeated like an ant.

I swear it may have even laughed at me...

I woke up feeling pretty stiff after sleeping in a chair.

As I thought, this room was completely safe.

This was the third day that I had been down here. I had no idea if it was daytime or not, in all honesty.

Regardless, I started with a few stretches, ate the last bit of food from my inventory, and started killing again.

In and out of the passageways, fix a trap here, make one there, kill a goblin or ten anywhere else.

I had begun to notice far fewer patrols towards the end of the first few hours. After checking the outer areas far from the large cistern, I had concluded that the goblins were most likely scared of traveling too far out now.

It could also mean that there were significantly fewer goblins to wander around. I circled through the maintenance tunnels while getting closer and closer to the large cistern.

Soon I arrived at the window that I had seen days prior. I peered down into the cistern and to my present surprise, I saw a group of a hundred or so goblins huddled together in terror.

Good. I'll turn the waters red with your blood!

I did a quick search of the surrounding area and found no stragglers.

The strategy was to attack in an ever-tightening circle to push them further and further in, suffocating them like a serpent.

Finally, I would set up traps and throw spells into the large cistern. This would both kill them while they were sitting still, and cause them to run into the traps.

And once their numbers had been significantly thinned, I would mop up the rest personally.

As much as I wanted to just charge in, I was still only level seventeen...

Wait.

I stopped for a moment.

I didn't seem to recall gaining exp for quite a while, despite killing so many of these vermin.

I moved back to the nearest maintenance tunnel where I'd be safe and pulled up my status screen.

{Enemies killed using unconventional methods and advanced tactics: 236. Collect rewards?}

Had I really killed that many with my traps and tactics?

When I think about it, I stopped gaining exp just before I started using traps.

I selected the 'yes' option.

{Exp gained: 16,520.}

{Level up x15!}

{15 skill points gained!}

My eyes went wide.

Fifteen levels!?

Just like that, I hit level thirty-two and my stats shot up.

I pulled up the skills menu when got another notification.

{Level 20 reached! You may now select a basic class.}

And now finally I could pick a role.

I looked at the four classes: ranger, fighter, mage, and defender.

The most basic of basic classes.

I selected fighter because it was what I was most used to. My father spent a lot of time teaching me how to use a sword and I wasn't about to walk away from it yet. Besides, it was what I was most comfortable with.

When I selected my class, I gained stat bonuses in my physical abilities.

{P.attack +100}

{P.defense +100}

{Acc +50}

Those bonuses were amazing, to say the least! My damage output had more than doubled.

My accuracy also shot up significantly. I didn't have much trouble hitting goblins, as they were usually too stupid to dodge and I only fired spells at point-blank range, but every little bit helped.

Now to actually select my skills.

I carefully went through and searched for anything useful. With some tinkering, I realized that I could upgrade my skills to a better version by spending skill points on them.

It would cost two skill points to upgrade a skill.

I made my selection.

I chose to upgrade Crescent Slash, Magic dart, Darkvision, and Heal while purchasing other skills.

{Skill(s) upgraded: Darkvision LV.7 > Nightvision LV.1, Crescent Slash LV.5 > Lunar Slash LV.1, Magic Dart LV.5 > Magic Arrow LV.1, Heal LV.2 > Greater Heal LV.1}

{Skill(s) gained: Ranged Weapon Proficiency LV.1, Fireball LV.1, Lightning Bolt LV1, Light Armor Proficiency LV.1, Critical Slash LV.1, Assault Slash LV.1, Enemy Detection LV.1}

Despite being a fighter class, I had a lot of options still open to me for diversity.

Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing if it was like this for everyone.

Regardless, I thought it would be useful to include a mixture of spells and physical attacks to switch up my fighting style. If I was going to fight alone, I would try to cover as many roles as possible by myself.

Yes...diversity was my greatest weapon.

Would it be possible to charge the goblins head-on like this?

I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind.

Stronger adventurers than myself fought and died down here. I have to be especially careful.

I couldn't get careless just because I could see the finish line.

Then I realized that I had been looking at my status menu for almost an hour.

With a smile, I closed it and mentally prepared myself.

It was time to start killing again.

* * *

I made my final preparations and began the assault.

I started by eliminating any goblins that were posted as guards outside of the main entrances. The Magic Arrow skill and my new Critical Slash made quick work of them.

I was quiet. They didn't even notice that their guards were dead. I threw the bodies into the water and quickly set up several traps.

On more than one occasion, others came out to check on the guards. I eliminated them without issue.

The large cistern had two entrances. The maintenance tunnels ran right through it with two secret entryways.

A while ago when I had learned of this fact, I felt genuinely impressed with how stupid these goblins were.

I had no idea how long they had been down here, but they apparently never noticed the switches on the walls.

I checked the inside of both entryways and found this to be the case.

Then I moved back to the upper window and stuck my hand down through the bars.

"Fireball!" I shouted aloud for all of the goblins to hear.

A ball of flame manifested in my hand and shot down towards the most tightly packed group of goblins.

There was a small explosion and chunks of goblin were flung outwards as well as into the water streaming through the cistern.

Immediately, there was mass panic among the goblins. They started screaming and running around before sprinting towards both exits. I shot another fireball into the room to thin the numbers more and bolted back into the maintenance tunnels.

I made my way towards the exit where most of the goblins were fleeing. I emerged from the tunnels to find the goblins being skewered and eviscerated in the numerous traps I had set.

I smiled and almost laughed as they fell over one another in confusion while screaming for their lives. These vermin needed to be exterminated.

"Lightning bolt!" I shouted.

A bolt of lightning arced out of my outstretched hand and fried three goblins at once.

It appears as though all of the traps had now been set off.

Several goblins noticed me and screamed in rage.

"HUMAN! HERE! DIE DIE DIE!"

Not very eloquent, are they?

They charged at me and I readied my sword.

"Lunar slash!" My blade made two half circles in a cross and diced a group of goblins headed towards me.

I moved closer and closer to the doorway and saw a huge number of them headed my way.

"Assault slash!" I shouted and dashed forward with a downward slash. I cleaved two goblins in half and jumped back.

That skill seemed more efficient for small numbers of enemies. I would stick to lunar slash for groups.

The bastards started pouring out of the cistern.

Some of them tripped on the corpses of their dead comrades and a few even managed to injure or even kill themselves on the already sprung traps.

Either way, I had already escaped around the corner and into the maintenance tunnels.

I ran around to the other entrance to find the goblins in panic as they desperately tried to free their dead and still living comrades from my traps.

"Fireball!" I shot a ball of explosive flame at the group. The explosion blew up a few traps and the splintered remains wounded a few goblins.

"Lunar slash!" I charged forward and diced the remaining stragglers. The group on the other side of the cistern had now noticed my presence.

They charged through the cistern straight at me.

Maybe I've been a bit over cautious?

I thought to myself a bit as a perfect opportunity arose to kill a significant number of them.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" I shot three flaming bombs at the group and utterly decimated them.

By this time, there were only about fifteen left.

Now I can win this!

I ran into the room with my sword readied and unleashed a skill at the remaining and terrified goblins.

"Lunar slash!!!" I sliced and diced several goblins and watched the blood and meat fly.

The remaining goblins tried to surround me. They didn't look like they believed they could win.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the goblin leader raise his bone scepter and start channeling magic.

As if I'd let you?

"Rage of Iratus!" I shouted my skill and felt a wave of roaring anger well up within.

I was cloaked in a menacing green aura and smiled.

The remaining goblins stopped dead in their tracks as my free hand shot out and grabbed a goblin by its head. I squeezed with almost no effort and crushed it in my hand.

Now we're talking!

I finally turned my attention to the goblin leader and saw him trembling in fear.

He couldn't focus on his magic anymore, and was completely defenseless.

"Assault slash!" I yelled as I shot forward and cleaved the goblin leader in two.

His bloody remains crumpled to the ground and I watched the other goblins drop to their knees.

They bowed down in surrender.

Adorable.

They had been kind enough to group up for me as well.

Still full of searing rage, I approached them slowly. Once I was in position, I let loose one final skill.

"Lunar slash!" I diced the remaining goblins to pieces.

I did a quick look around before bolting back into the maintenance tunnels.

The skill wore off after the door shut behind me and I rested for a while.

Finally! I'm done! I can leave this place!

I smiled as I felt my eyes heat up a bit.

I wanted to celebrate! I took on an army of goblins and won!

"I hope you're proud of me, Dad! I did it! I survived!"

I felt myself tear up upon imagining him praising me.

'Good work, Mizik! You're one hell of a survivor!'

I couldn't stop my tears from flowing.

I thought of what I would do when I got back to the sleeping dragon inn.

First I'll get cleaned up, then I'll eat the most expensive thing on the menu! And I'll buy it too!

I realized for a moment that the request I took would probably have a reward attached to it.

I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of that! I stopped myself before pulling out the request paper due to being covered in goblin blood.

"Right. I bet I look like hell..." I mumbled to myself.

After sorting myself out, I stood up and went back into the cistern.

I was going to find out if the goblins had any treasure.

I couldn't wait to get out of here!