ARCEUS'S POV
During the night, while most of the goblins rested in their false security, I slipped through the shadows of the camp's perimeter like a ghost. My red eyes scrutinized every detail: the position of each sentry, the repetitive patterns of their patrols, the routes they followed with that predictability characteristic of inferior creatures.
The goblins, though superior in number, were exactly as I expected: predictable. Their overconfidence in the safety of their hideout constituted their first and most exploitable weakness. A cold smile drew across my lips as I completed my mental reconnaissance of their defenses.
My golden hair with reddish hues stirred slightly as I withdrew to a safe distance to finalize my preparations. The intelligence I had inherited from my previous existence allowed me to calculate every variable, every probability of success. It was time to execute my plan.
At the spot I reached, I had previously arranged a pile of dry brush, herbs, withered leaves, and large branches soaked with abundant resin. On the ground, two flint stones waited to fulfill their purpose. Preparing the resin had been the most laborious task, as it could only be extracted from the bark, trunk, and branches of specific trees.
I took my time to strategically distribute the flammable materials in carefully selected zones. This ignition point was the closest to the enemy camp, the first of three that would turn the forest into a deadly trap.
The first step of my strategy consisted of setting the forest ablaze, a decision that weighed like a slab on my conscience.
I had never been an advocate of indiscriminate destruction, especially when it involved an ecosystem as alive and fragile as a forest, but circumstances had cornered me, leaving me with no viable alternatives. It was a lesson life had drilled into me with harshness: pragmatism often demands sacrifices that idealism refuses to accept.
The irony wasn't lost on me. At that moment, I yearned fervently to possess magical aptitudes that would allow me to conjure fire with a simple gesture, effortlessly. I hadn't anticipated that the mission would reach such a level of complexity, and unfortunately, the merchant didn't offer items capable of generating flames. The available spells were exclusive skills for mages, accessible only through their specific skill trees. But even if that had been an option, I harbored no doubt that the goblins, far from being as clumsy as believed, would do everything in their power to hunt down whoever dared to orchestrate a plan as bold as the one I was devising.
I crouched and picked up the two flint stones. After several minutes of methodical friction, I finally managed to create the necessary spark and ignite the pile of combustible materials.
Red flames erupted greedily, transforming into a fiery storm that devoured the prepared materials, reducing them to ashes while generating a fierce fire that spread rapidly toward the surrounding trees. The air filled with the crackling of burning wood and the hiss of evaporating sap.
The goblins perceived the threat of the relentlessly approaching fire. Their roars of anger and terror echoed throughout the forest, confirming that my strategy had begun to take effect. The nearest guards reacted exactly as I had foreseen: with howls of confusion and completely uncoordinated movements.
By then, I had already started running while activating: The Man Who Overcame Adversity. My plan crucially depended on speed, so I couldn't afford to waste a single second as I ran fervently through the forest with my enhanced body toward the second strategic point I needed to ignite.
The main advantage of my private attribute lay in its ability to be activated and deactivated at will, offering exceptional flexibility. In summary, there was no limit to the number of times it could be used throughout the day. However, those usage intervals accumulated, and if the activation time exceeded the established threshold—ten minutes—set by the ability itself, the physical consequences were devastating.
While the goblins desperately tried to extinguish the first fire, I was already igniting the second with efficiency. I needed to create three combustion foci to completely reduce the forest to rubble and ashes, so every moment was crucial.
I set fire to the second strategic point and continued running without stopping. During my run, I observed how some goblins with severe burns frantically beat their hands, futilely trying to extinguish the flames consuming their flesh. However, aside from illuminating more areas of the forest, their efforts produced no effect.
All of them attempted to escape in desperation, but the very creatures surrounding them prevented free movement. The flames grew exponentially. The trees and tall vegetation ignited instantly. The fire burned uncontrollably across that space while deafening screams resounded from every direction.
The goblins, trapped in a desperate situation, went completely berserk. To survive, they began to savagely attack their own comrades, trying to create enough space to step over the corpses of their fallen companions and escape that infernal grill.
I contemplated the destruction I was orchestrating. To be honest, I felt no satisfaction, but I knew there were no other viable options. Life had always been this way in my experience. Reality remained unchangeable, no matter how many noble ideals one might hold. It was the eternal dilemma: kill or be killed.
After igniting the third control point, I ran as if fleeing the materialization of my own sins. My lips were parched, my throat burned intensely, and I was out of breath while my heart pounded rapidly.
During the process, I watched as the fire dyed the night sky crimson while the forest's temperature rose by dozens of degrees. The air carried a nauseating smell of burning mixed with the aroma of charred flesh; the flames showed no signs of diminishing as dozens of trees gradually turned to ashes.
The howls of the countless goblins who still clung to life continued to resound, though increasingly faintly. The flames had consumed all available oxygen in the area. Many of those who didn't perish incinerated died asphyxiated by the toxic smoke.