Chapter 16 – The First Blood Trap
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Cold mist crept across the cave's mouth. Lila, Mira, and the goblin mothers huddled in fear, clutching their children. Altair stood at the front, eyes sharp, ears twitching.
"I smell iron… they're here again," he muttered.
Footsteps echoed through the dark. Not two or three this time—but more. Seven figures emerged: leather-clad adventurers carrying swords, spears, and bows. At their head strode a hulking man with a greatsword strapped across his back.
Altair narrowed his gaze. Their captain. Strong—Rank C, perhaps. Too strong to fight head-on.
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Altair turned to his ragged pack. "Today we will not fight like beasts. Today we fight like hunters."
He pointed to a cluster of goblins. "Dig a pit along the entrance path."
To another group: "Gather stones, bind them with rope."
Then he turned to his hybrids. Their bodies were still small, fragile—but their eyes glowed with fire.
"Arden, you'll give the signal when they enter. Lyra, you pull the rope. Silas, tighten the snare. Neriah, stalk the shadows—draw their eyes away. Remember—you do not fight. You only assist."
The children nodded, determination flashing in their tiny frames.
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The humans entered the cavern, weapons drawn.
"End this quickly," the captain growled. "Kill the goblins, drag out the bodies, claim the bounty."
When they passed the marked line, a faint clicking sound echoed—Arden tapping stone against stone. The signal.
Altair snapped his claw.
Lyra and Silas pulled with all their strength. Stones dropped from above, smashing into the leading adventurers. Two crumpled instantly, their bones cracking under the impact.
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"Traps! They've set traps!" one of the adventurers shouted.
The archer fired, his arrow piercing the chest of a goblin who broke cover too soon. Blood sprayed as the goblin fell lifeless.
Altair roared, leaping onto another panicked human. His jagged stone blade slashed across the man's throat. Crimson spurted, the body collapsing in twitching spasms.
Neriah darted toward the adventurers' torches. With a push of a loose rock, one torch toppled, smoke and shadow filling the cavern. Their sight faltered.
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The greatsword captain bellowed in rage. With a single swing, he cleaved two goblins apart. His power was monstrous, every strike a storm.
Altair's eyes narrowed. I can't kill him directly. I need to drag him to the trap.
He sent three goblins forward as bait. They were slaughtered instantly, their bodies torn in half—but the captain's charge carried him straight into unstable ground.
The earth collapsed beneath his feet. He plunged waist-deep into the pit, trapped.
"Now!" Altair roared.
Goblin after goblin swarmed him, stabbing with crude spears, bashing with rocks. The captain fought ferociously, cutting them down, but wounds multiplied.
Finally, Altair leapt, driving his jagged stone into the man's throat. Blood burst forth. The giant convulsed, then fell still.
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Silence. Only ragged breathing remained. Of the seven adventurers, two fled into the forest.
The goblins paid dearly: four dead, three more maimed. Bodies littered the cave floor, green mingling with red.
Lila sobbed quietly. Mira clutched Seraphina's arm, her eyes hollow.
Seraphina herself trembled, staring at the hybrids huddled in the corner. Their tiny arms were tired from pulling ropes, yet their eyes glowed with eerie light.
"This… this can't be," she whispered. "They're still infants… but they helped kill humans."
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Altair stood over the captain's corpse. He dipped his claw into human blood, smearing it across his own face.
"We won. But this is only the beginning. They will return—stronger, in greater numbers."
He turned to his pack, voice thundering. "Hear me! Today we were not prey. Today we hunted men—and we triumphed!"
The goblins howled, their cries ragged but fierce.
Altair's gaze fell upon his hybrids. "Remember this. You are not yet ready to fight. But you are already part of our victories. One day… you will be the spears that pierce the world's heart."
The fire crackled. The smell of blood thickened the air.
And in the shadows, the goblin disaster began to take form.
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