The atmosphere in the village could be said to be rather tense over the last couple of days. Rick and the others had done their best to calm the fears of the Village and reaffirm to everyone that things will be okay, but it wasn’t that easy.

  Although the Goblins weren’t running around, confused and causing widespread panic, everyone was now aware of the danger. Even the Tier 0 ‘normal’ Goblins had a decent understanding of the type of danger they were now in.

  So, while there was no panic, there was instead a high level of focus and determination being spread throughout the Village. Every single Goblin no matter the Tier was extremely busy doing one thing or the other. Whether it was hunting, building, training, or whatever else there were no slackers. While this level of focus wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the tribe.

  Rogu was the first to point out the potential risks that this type of mentality could bring if held for too long. Putting in that level of focus and intensity without a break and proper rest would result in a lot of built-up stress that would never get properly handled. It is the cause of a lot of mistakes and small issues that will slowly build up over time until it causes a much larger problem that would be harder to solve.

  A great example of this is exactly what happened during the showdown between the War Chief and the Serpent. Rogu and the Royal Retrieval team essentially did nothing the entire time but were immensely drained by the end of it all due to just how stressed they were in such a high intensity situation.

  Rick wanted to avoid that.

  ….

  ‘Scan it, Velora.’

  [Understood.]

  {Name - ???}

  {Age - ???}

  {Race – Windleg Stag}

  {Tier 4}

  ‘Another type of deer huh, there’s quite a few of them in this forest. Though this is the first time I’ve seen this one. A Windleg Stag…what do you think Velora? Probably has something to do with speed or something along those lines, right? I mean look at its horns. They grow up then curve backwards. Its legs are long, and its body is sleeker than a typical deer despite its size. It has to mean it’s built for speed.’

  [I believe you answered your own question. But your deductions sound reasonable.]

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  ‘No time for your sass at the moment. Ulgri is working to get a small-scale smithy set up so we smelt the cores of the Golems and hopefully be able to make me a proper spear, but that will be a while…for now all I have are my fists pretty much. So how will I fight this Stag?

  ‘I’m going to assume it’s faster than me considering I’m a massive hunk of a Royal Goblin and it literally has Wind in its name, but I’m willing to bet I’m far stronger than it. I can take a charge…probably.’

  [Are you sure that’s wise?]

  ‘I don’t want to spend a large amount of time chasing after it, if it decides to run, nor do I want to take too long in this fight. I need to get as many fights and kills as possible, then we will feast tonight!’

  [And your positive a feast during this situation with the Serpent and the Orc is a good idea?]

  ‘Ask me again after I kill this Stag.’

  Rick darted out from behind the thick foliage he had been hiding behind and the Stag spotted him instantly. It turned to face Rick’s direction, and its nostrils immediately began flaring, while something seemed to be gathering at its hooves.

  It was wind. Wind was quite literally gathering around its hooves.

  ‘Velora…this might be more dangerous than I planned for. I figured it would be fast just based on its name, but there is ACTUAL wind at its hooves.’

  [It’s coming!]

  ‘I see it!’

  The Stag took off with a powerful kick of its legs, and its large yet slender frame shot forward with immense speed. Faster than anything Rick himself could muster. The wind that was previously gathered was urging it forward even more as it shot towards Rick.

  The distance between them was well over 40 ft, and of course, there were trees, bushes and many things on the forest floor, but none of them was of any true hindrance to the Stag.

  In barely a couple seconds its curved horns that sat atop a now lowered head was heading straight for the chest of Rick who had planted his feet as best as he could and held his arms out to hopefully stop the charge of the Stag.

  The horns of the Stag quickly made contact with Rick.

  BOOM!!

  A loud crash resounded in the area, and a massive amount of dust, dirt, and various debris flew into the air, as Rick was driven backwards around 15 feet, even crashing into and destroying a tree during the process.

  As the dust cleared, only one thing could be heard in the area.

  The loud bucking and wailing of the Windleg Stag.

  Its horns were in the firm grip of the Goblin it believed should’ve been easy to ram through.

  But it did no such thing.

  While it managed to drive Rick back and even caused a few bruises and cuts on his chest that drew blood, that was the extent of the injuries Rick suffered.

  He had failed to clasp onto the horns of the Stag before it reached him, but thankfully his body was far stronger than the average Tier 4 Goblin, and it was able to tank the charge of the Stag long enough for him to grip the horns and hold them firmly in place until the momentum of the charge ended.

  Rick then looked down at the bucking Stag in his grips, and with a grin on his face he roared...

  “HAAAHHHHH!!!”

  Before picking up the massive beast and slamming it down into ground. The Stag was definitely disoriented, and Rick was primed and ready to deliver a finishing blow but just as he was about to do so, he turned around just in time to see the paw of a creature that would quite easily dwarf him in size if it stood up on its hind legs.

  ‘Velora!!’

  [On it!]

  {Name - ??}

  {Age - ??}

  {Race – Heavy Bear}

  {Tier – 4}

  ‘A heavy bear huh?!’

  “COME THEN!”