Rise Of The Hoarder

“Gurrriikkkk”

“Garukiikkk”

“Garakukkk”

Daniel and his group watched the nest of monsters, seeing so many Hobs conversing with each other.

It took a little over thirty minutes from the base to where the Hobgoblins were located. They were so many, that it puzzled the mind.

“There should be more inside…” Daniel whispered to the troops with him.

The fortress of the Hobgoblins was a large compound, with a massive house situated within. They had erected wooden fences from the trees in the area, making the compound too high for any of the Gifteds to see, even from their high ground. Surrounding the compound were at least a hundred Hobgoblins keeping watch. They made grunts and snorts, looking around in constant vigilance.

‘Whatever is in there, they certainly don’t want anyone finding out!’ Daniel reasoned, stroking his chin a little.

He had only observed them for some time, but he could clearly see that something major was occurring within. Once in thirty minutes or so, new sets of Hobgoblins would come out of the large compound gates and replace the guards situated outside.

The transition was so organized, that there was barely any room to see within the gate from their location, what was actually occurring within the compound.

After over thirty minutes of observation, Daniel finally decided to abandon his quest to know what the Hobgoblins were up to within their vast compound.

‘Maybe they have resources… if that’s the case, then perhaps this Horde is a blessing in disguise.’ He reasoned.

“Haa, alright then. Are you ready everyone?”

The Gifteds with Daniel nodded as soon as they heard his whisper.

They were a total of thirty people with Daniel, making a total of thirty-one. These were the close-combatants tasked with the most difficult and dangerous role.

“It’s time to lure them here!”

Daniel and his group drew closer to the Hobgoblin guards slowly. In a few minutes, they had gotten to a considerable distance, being cloaked by one of the Gifteds with them.

Since the radius of her ability was very small, everyone was clustered as they advanced.

“Catherine, undo the cloak. Dexter, draw them to us using your [Cry] Gift as soon as she stops using her [Veil].” Daniel sharply instructed.

They nodded obediently, doing what he asked. As soon as Catherine stopped using her Gift, the Goblins sighted Daniel’s group from their small distance. He had ensured they were close enough to be spotted, but far enough to outrun the Demons.

Seeing as it was his queue, Dexter inhaled deeply and gave a loud shout.

“Come over here, you bastards!!!”

The cry echoed across the ears of everyone present, creating an irresistible urge within the Demons present.

The moment they heard this, the Hobgoblins all glared at the targets, abandoning their posts to attack the intruders.

Dexter’s Gift, [Cry], allowed him to instigate reactions from anyone who heard him, depending on what he said.

Since he called the Demons to come at him, they responded to his call. As such, it acted as a form of tank skill to draw the ‘Aggro’ of all the Hobgoblins present.

However, doing this made sure the Goblins couldn’t ignore them now, so Catherine’s [Veil] Gift was useless. The group only had one option left.

“Run!”

The Gifteds quickly ran away the moment the Demons took chase, no, even before. Their hearts were beating uncontrollably as their legs raced as fast as possible.

Still, it looked like the Hobs were gaining ground quickly.

“Keep running, we’re almost there!!!” Daniel yelled, noticing many were already running out of steam.

They would soon rendezvous with the rest of their team members, so all they had to do was keep running.

‘Almost there… Almost… there…’ Daniel’s eyes remained fixated on their goal.

“Guruikkkkk!!!” The Hobgoblins screeched, already nearing the fleeing group.

They had gone a considerably long way away from their base, making them vulnerable to the next step of the Gifteds’ strategy.

“Melissa!!!” Daniel shouted.

Instantly, a pink force field surrounded the Goblin wave. In an instant, the ones who were already gaining the advantage became trapped in a Gifted’s ability.

“Guruikkkkk!!!” The slimy-green creatures burst out in rage, scratching at the barrier.

“It’s no use. I’ve caught you!” Melissa said, appearing from among the cluster of shrubs and trees around, alongside the remaining members of the Subjugation team.

Daniel smiled at his lover, relieved the plan had worked well. A little longer and the Hobgoblins would have caught one of them and torn him to pieces.

‘I’ll have to figure out a way around that for our next round.’ Daniel reasoned.

For now, however, he had to focus on the task at hand. The Hobgoblins were trapped, thanks to the second phase of their strategy.

“First, we lure them from their nest. Secondly, we trap them using Melissa’s barrier. Since they’re isolated from the rest of their kin, we kill them off by releasing the barrier once in a while to allow a few to escape at a time.” Daniel talked to himself.

This greatly reduced the risk of fighting, and more than one Gifted could battle a Hobgoblin. It was foolproof.

“Melissa, release some of them!” Daniel said.

Melissa nodded, closing her eyes to concentrate.

Instantly, an opening appeared from the pink barrier. It was as large as a door, allowing only about two Hobgoblins to rush out at a time.

The Hobgoblins, upon seeing a chance to leave their confinement, rushed at the sign of freedom desperately.

However, not long after she opened the doorway, Melissa closed it back.

“Huu. There!”

She was a little out of breath, as of it had been running for a tremendous amount of time. It was the downside of using her ability, especially since it wasn’t to protect herself.

Daniel smiled at her, beckoning on her to get behind everyone else so they could fight the Hobgoblins.

Melissa didn’t even need to be told anything before she ran off, hiding behind over seventy people to kill the Hobs that were out and raring for blood.

“GURRRIIKKKK!!!”

Daniel smiled, taking a battle stance to spearhead the subjugation of the enemies.

“Twenty managed to escape, uh? That’s good then, let’s start with them!”