Rise Of The Hoarder

After fighting the Demons who ambushed our squad, a majority of the Subjugation members were exhausted. Many hadn’t exerted themselves to this degree before, so it was only natural.

The adrenaline wore off, and many felt the built-up tension surface. Since we had also been walking for quite some time as well, Daniel made the right call for us to rest.

A select few, including Daniel, went to pick up the Demon Cores that were scattered around. I would have liked to observe one and check the Skills hidden within the cores, but someone of my caliber wasn’t given access to the glowing stones.

‘There’s no need to rush… there are many more at the destination.’ I reasoned.

As we took our break, water was distributed to everyone, but not food. Not only were we to manage our resources, but food would only weigh us down at this point. We would soon be on our way, anyway.

Even as I took my seat away from everyone, I could sense the tension in everyone’s hearts. None of them could shake the bad feeling accompanying the presence of the Demons in such a mighty wave.

Some had hoped that the 50 Hobgoblins were the Horde they were sent out to subjugate. They were wrong, of course.

“Those Hobgoblins are most likely members of the scout teams.” I overheard Daniel say.

He was talking to Tasha and other high-ranking members of the Subjugation team.

‘Hmm, spot-on.’ I reasoned, drawing my attention to their little discussion.

“If that’s how the scout team is, heaven only knows how large their numbers actually are…” Tasha remarked.

“It’s still bothersome as to how they were able to coordinate their attacks that way and ambush us. We didn’t even suspect until they came at us…” Dave, the team leader of the second expedition team added.

Daniel, Dave, Tasha. These were the people with the highest levels currently on the Expedition team. Daniel had leveled up considerably, so his Level was now 35. Impressive.

“We can only prepare for the worst. I’ll observe the Hobgoblins’ Demon Cores later, so we’ll be able to come up with a reasonable explanation.” The Subjugation leader stated.

I smiled after hearing his words. He truly had changed.

We continued progressing after taking a short break, though some did so grudgingly. Trodding our weary feet, we pressed on, looking around us observantly to prevent being caught off guard again.

Even Melissa wasn’t being as talkative as she had been before the ambush. Reality had dawned on everyone, and they knew that if they weren’t careful… they would die!

*******************************************

Evening drew near, and the orange skies were painted with the setting sun. However, just as expected… we had arrived at our destination.

“Oof! I’m so exhausted!” Many let out.

Sitting on the hard ground, they didn’t mind in any way. Heaving and huffing tiredly, our group was relieved that we finally halted.

“According to the scouts, this will be the best position for a base to intercept the Hobgoblin Horde,” Daniel stated.

It was located on high ground, a short end to the right away from the main road where the Hobgoblins would transverse. Since they were large in number, the vast horde would be conspicuous to everyone who saw them.

Looking at the time, it was about 5:38 PM, making it about eight hours and thirty minutes since we left the Camp. If we calculated how much time it took for everyone to kill the Hobgoblin ambushers and rest, the time it took for the actual journey was a bit over seven hours.

‘It’s sooner than expected. They’ve already advanced this far…?!’ My mind rang.

“I’ll be taking a few members to scour the area to make sure it’s safe. We’ll also make sure to get a visual on the Horde’s base.”

Upon saying this, Daniel took Dave and one other high-leveled Gifted with him, alongside two of the Scouts. He left Tasha with everyone else, in case there was a need for her expertise.

I was tempted to see the horde for myself. If I wanted to, I could swiftly leave the rest of our group members to follow Daniel and see the horde for myself.

‘Even if I end up being missing, I’m sure Tasha will understand what I went to do and cover for me…’ I smiled.

However, I restrained myself. Sooner or later, my chance would come.

[Thirty Minutes Later]

“Everyone, gather around. We would like to make an announcement.” Daniel called out to the Subjugation team members who were already enjoying dinner.

Since they would have very little time to cook, most of the food with them was dried. At the moment, they ate dried beef jerky for dinner, downing it with water.

In the morning, they would eat dried potatoes and soda, since they needed a great amount of energy to commence subjugation.

Interrupted by Daniel, everyone turned in his direction, refusing to stop biting the dried meat they held in their hands. Daniel too realized this and decided to just address them while they ate.

“We have spotted the camp of the Hobgoblins… I have good news and bad news.” He said in a serious tone.

Everyone stopped eating that every instant and focused their attention on him. This was a matter of life and death. Only a fool would be distracted in this moment of truth.

“As guards stationed across the area they set up base in, we spotted at least a hundred. This means there are sure to be more enemies within their base. Judging by our strategy of placing guards, it’s estimated that a total of 500-700 Hobgoblins are in the Base.” Daniel revealed.

This was followed up by the shocking cries of many. Their eyes bulged in surprise, and the lingering fears in their hearts began resurfacing.

Panic was written on their faces as they looked at one another, wondering what the next course of action would be. At least 500 troops within, coupled with the 100 guards were already over 6 times our entire squad.

The same question pressed into the minds of everyone who heard Daniel.

‘Can we win?!’