Chapter 10: Triple Kill.
' How could I have been stupid enough to leave the sickle in the basket! Now it's completely buried by the herbs'
' There's not enough time for me to get it.'
' If I act scared now and try to get it, I'm sure they'll rush me.'
' They'll think that I'm at a disadvantage.' Adrian cursed his luck but he knew there was no use crying over spilled milk, what happened has happened, the best he could do now was continue with his make shift plan.
With that in mind, he tried his best to maintain a cold expression, even unconsciously puffing out his chest and stretching out his arms for added effect, but.
Instead of backing away, the three goblins shared a chattering, creepy laugh that sent a chill down his spine.
"...?!!"
' W-What?!' Adrian's eyes widened the next moment.
In one synchronized, unsettling movement, they each clenched the hilts of their rusty daggers between their sharp fangs.
Then, with a powerful spring from their clawed feet, they launched themselves into the air, not at him, but onto the thick trunks of the surrounding pine trees.
Adrian's heart sunk as he watched them move like ricocheting bullets, using the trees as springboards to leap in a dizzying, continuous circle around him, their green bodies blurring against the white snow and dark tree barks.
' This can't be happening! Just how fast are these guys, I can't keep up with all of them at all.'
' I can barely keep up with ones movements but together, I'm completely confused–' Adrian's eye's widened when a chilling thought emerged in his mind.
' These guys are planning on blindsiding me aren't they–' he came to a sudden realization and concluded it was the most possible outcome.
It wasn't surprising for them to use such a tactic since they were a group of three.
And yet, Adrian could only stare as they slowly closed in on him from all sides, his mind struggling to catch up with what he was seeing, his earlier smirk completely gone, replaced by a stunned disbelief and a growing apprehension.
He was snapped back to reality by a sudden, sharp sting on his cheek. One of the goblins had blurred past him, her feet barely touching the ground before she launched herself back onto a tree trunk, latching on with her sharp claws.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
She turned her head to look at him, the rusted dagger still held in her teeth, her lips curled upwards into a wide, sadistic smile that was full of cruel amusement and pleasure, her half bitten left ear made her look even more frightening.
A thin line of warm blood welled up from the shallow cut on his face, the stinging pain, enhanced by the cold air, snapped him out of stupor.
It was at this moment that Adrian realized that they weren't just making use of blinding tactics but each and everyone of them possessed the strength to take him on individually.
" That's it! There's no way I'm sticking around for this." Adrian's body shivered, Panic overwhelmed him.
Without hesitation, He let go of the heavy basket of herbs, the precious contents spilling out onto the snow, forgotten without a second thought.
There was no way he was planning on taking them with him, after all, only a fool would risk their lives for herbs.
He turned and ran, his boots sinking deep into the thick snow with every desperate step, each step he took felt slow and heavy as if he were running through water.
At most, he would just beg Mr Miller to treat his mother on credit, even if it meant adding some percentage credit on top, it was still far better than this.
HAHAHAHAHA
The cackling continued from above as the three goblins continued their aerial assault, leaping from tree to tree. They blurred past him again and again, and with each pass, a new, stinging cut appeared on his body.
In less than 3 seconds, they gave him a slice on his arm, a gash on his leg, a tear across his back. Moreover, The cold air didn't skimp and began to burn around the fresh wounds.
Eventually, he couldn't hold back anymore and began to scream in pain as he ran.
"...!!!" Adrian's eyes suddenly spotted one of them landing on a tree trunk, from her position, he realized she was planning on aiming for his face this time.
He stumbled through the snow, holding his hands up in a futile attempt to shield his face.
One of the green blurs shot past, and he felt an explosion of agony as the fingers on his right hand were cleanly severed, the stumps spraying blood onto the pure white snow.
He barely had time to process the loss before another pass took his entire hand at the wrist.
Then, in a whirlwind of pain, both of his arms were severed, falling to the ground with dull, terrible thuds. His body was now drenched in his own warm, sticky blood, the metallic smell filling his nose as he continued to scream, the words.
"It hurts! It hurts!"
Those words soon became a continuous, anguished mantra that grew more desperate and broken with every passing second.
He felt a final, searing pain erupt in the middle of his back, the next second , he felt as if something vital had snapped within him.
The moment his spine was severed, his legs instantly gave way. Adrian fell chin-first into the snow, the wounds in his face stung even more at that moment, but no matter what he did, he couldn't lift a single limb of his, all he could do was grit his teeth, silently enduring the burning pain all over his body.
With his spine being severed, The blood on his face slowly dripped into his eyes, painting his vision in a hazy, red film.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Through the dizziness from rapid blood loss and the crimson film, he heard the cackling sounds stop as the three female goblins dropped down from the trees and began to slowly approach him.