By the time Marcus raised the flashlight, everything was ready.
They had gone back only far enough for the radio to pick up Jason’s voice again. Lin Yan explained the plan, and Jason removed enough of the barricade for the equipment-area door to open. Several passengers were already waiting behind it, ready to pull Marcus inside and block the door again if anything went wrong.
That was the plan.
Whether it would actually work was another matter.
Now they were back above the goblin camp. Lin Yan crouched behind the remains of a concrete wall with the spear beside him, while Marcus stood several meters away.
"HEY!"
A white beam shot across the cavern and landed directly on the Trollblood Goblin Crusher’s face.
Every goblin looked up.
Marcus slammed the chipped axe against the stone wall. The sharp clang echoed through the cavern and bounced between the surrounding tunnels.
"OVER HERE, YOU GREEN BASTARDS!"
The four smaller goblins screeched and rushed toward the sound. The Crusher reacted a moment later, lowering the iron hammer from its shoulder before launching itself forward hard enough to shake the mud beneath its feet.
Marcus turned and ran.
The plan had sounded simple when Lin Yan explained it over the radio. Marcus only needed to run. Lin Yan would kill the four smaller goblins, catch up with him, and then the two of them would attack the Crusher from both sides.
Maybe the plan had been a little too careless.
The creature was almost a full head taller than him, and its long legs carried it several meters with every stride. The pieces of metal hammered across its body looked heavy, but they barely slowed it down. Its iron hammer struck the ground as it ran, scattering mud and broken stone behind it.
The distance between it and Marcus was shrinking.
Faster, Marcus.
If the plan failed, both of them would end up as minced meat beneath that hammer.
The Crusher gained another step.
Faster, you idiot.
As though he had heard Lin Yan’s thoughts, Marcus suddenly looked back.
Then he sped up again. His stride lengthened, his feet struck the stone faster, and within only a few steps, the distance began to widen.
Apparently, the run through the station had not been Marcus’s limit.
The Crusher disappeared into the tunnel after him. The four smaller goblins tried to follow, but their short legs could not match either of them. The group stretched apart almost immediately, leaving wide gaps between each creature.
Lin Yan remained hidden and counted them as they passed.
The first small goblin entered the tunnel. The second followed several meters behind it, then the third. When the last goblin ran past Lin Yan’s hiding place, it suddenly slowed, as though it had sensed something behind it.
It began to turn.
Lin Yan stepped out and brought the iron club down against the side of its skull.
The impact landed with a heavy crack. The goblin’s head snapped sideways, and its knees folded before it could make a sound.
Lin Yan released the club, seized the spear with both hands and rushed after the goblin ahead. The creature heard the body fall and started to turn, but the spearhead was already driving through the back of its neck.
The blade burst out beneath its jaw, cutting off its scream before it could begin.
Lin Yan planted one foot against its back and ripped the spear free.
Two. Just two more.
Then the goblin ahead shrieked.
Both remaining goblins turned around. Farther inside the tunnel, the Crusher also slowed.
Its ugly face twisted over one shoulder, and the moment its red eyes found the two bodies, its lips peeled back from its broken yellow teeth. A furious roar tore from its throat, shaking dust from the tunnel ceiling.
System, tell me honestly. Am I about to die?
[Unless something unexpected happens, yes.]
Wonderful.
The Crusher planted one foot into the mud and began turning toward him.
The two remaining goblins immediately began shrieking at him. With their leader coming back, they grew bold again, yapping like two spoiled little dogs that had spotted their owner.
Lin Yan backed toward the camp and searched the cavern behind him.
There was no side passage and no second exit. Only broken stone, the remains of the goblin camp and a drop into the abandoned platform below.
Once the Crusher returned, the only tunnel out would be sealed.
One of the goblins pointed at Lin Yan and spat out a rapid string of harsh, guttural words. It was the first time he had heard one of them do anything other than scream.
System, what did it say?
[It says it will capture you and then...]
The system paused.
[The remaining meaning is obscene.]
Lin Yan’s expression went still.
I get the picture.
THUNK!
The Crusher lurched forward as an axe clattered across the stone and came to rest near its feet.
It let out a furious roar as it whipped around toward Marcus. As its body turned away, Lin Yan saw a deep cut across its unprotected back.
Farther down the tunnel, Marcus stood with the flashlight in one hand and the other empty.
He aimed the flashlight directly at the creature’s face.
"COME ON!" he shouted. "YOU WERE CHASING ME!"
The roar grew louder. The Crusher charged after Marcus again, its hammer clipping the tunnel wall hard enough to crack the stone.
Marcus ran.
The two smaller goblins turned to watch their leader leave.
Lin Yan moved before either of them could look back.
His spear punched through the nearest goblin from behind and burst out of its chest. Lin Yan tore the weapon free, shoved the body aside and faced the last one before it had fully understood what had happened.
A moment ago, it had been grinning at him.
Now it was alone.
Lin Yan smiled.
"What happened?"
The goblin backed away and raised its stone spear.
"Weren’t you having fun just now?"
Its eyes flicked toward the tunnel, searching for the leader already disappearing after Marcus.
Lin Yan advanced.
"Go on. Say it again."
The goblin screamed and thrust at him. Lin Yan knocked the stone point aside, stepped inside its reach and drove the spear through its chest before it could recover.
The body collapsed beside the others.
Lin Yan pulled the spear free, but before he could catch his breath, a metallic crash rolled through the tunnel. The cavern trembled, and Marcus’s voice echoed from somewhere ahead.
"LIN YAN!"
Lin Yan grabbed the iron club and ran.
"Don’t die before I get there!"
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