Chapter 68: Caught in the Frost Goblins’ Fury (3)

At the entrance of the passage, a massive explosion erupted, blasting away everyone who had been trying to get inside.

The Yeti Goblins tumbled down the slope; some had their fur on fire and began rolling around in the snow trying to put out the flames.

Marcus, for his part, went down the hill by rolling his entire body to cushion the fall. Once he reached the bottom, the old man stood up and, looking toward the entrance of the passage, saw it completely sealed by piles of stone rubble.

“Damn girl… You useless idiots, start digging. The rest of you, head outside and circle the mountain in case she tries to escape that way. We can’t let her hide.”

Marcus shouted, splitting his forces in two to corner the blonde if she attempted to flee.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, swallowed by darkness, Ebony lay on the ground. She was unharmed, but now, without the entrance, everything was pitch black; whether her eyes were open or closed made no difference.

“(Shit… I’m glad that worked… In the end, with an amplification staff I can even affect objects like crystals…)”

However, growls from deeper inside the cave caught her attention.

There were still some waiting to finish her off, five disoriented Frost Goblins, navigating only by sound.

Dropping her staff, Ebony grabbed a large, solid rock and stepped into the darkness, determined to reach those chubby little creatures and smash their skulls in.

With the stone in hand, she moved into the absolute blackness, where only sound could guide them, and began striking the goblins.

“(Sorry I have to do this like this… Surrounded by darkness, where no one can interrupt us…

)”

Blow after blow, their numbers dwindled inside the cave. Every noise, whether from the blonde or the goblins, became a welcome clue to land another hit.

Minutes passed filled with roars and constant growls, but gradually the sounds of cracking bones and splintering ribs faded away.

In the end, Ebony kept moving forward, stumbling over the corpses of the small, stocky creatures.

“Bastards!” Ebony muttered as she cast her spell to restore the skin and muscle torn by the youngest one’s bite, while her ribs were still cracked from the club of the most seasoned goblin.

She kept advancing despite being unable to see the blood running down her shoulder from the bite, or the red stains on her face and dress.

“Damn… Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all… Nah… It was this or dying as bargaining currency for that bastard…”

Ebony tried to steady her thoughts and retrace the path through the passage. Moments later, she reached the chest she and Marcus had left along the rocky corridor.

Opening the lid, she searched for small fragments of Fire Crystal. With the few pieces she managed to gather, she blew gently on them until they began to emit heat and, with it, a faint glow.

At that moment, the blonde tried to hold on to hope, but she had to think about her next move, and every scenario seemed impossible to win alone.

“(Where’s that pointy-eared idiot when you need him…?)” Ebony muttered as she sat on the floor in front of the glowing crystal shards.

She clung to hope, but the only way to survive even one more day seemed to be leaving the mountain and seeking refuge in the forest.

However, just as she was about to accept that reality, something caught her attention, distant voices, Lucian and Daniel.

With a relieved smile, Ebony ran toward the exit that led outside the mountain, and beyond the snow blocking the path she could hear her friends’ voices.

“Hey, you damn brat, are you around here? Do something so we know you’re here, anything!” Daniel shouted as Ebony could feel his presence pacing back and forth, searching for her.

With a smile on her face and the faint light from the Fire Crystal debris, the blonde began striking the cave walls.

The sound of bone hitting rock created small booms that immediately caught the attention of the two boys searching for her in worry.

“Ebony, are you here? Damn it… Daniel, start digging, I think it’s right here!” Lucian shouted as he felt the vibrations and heard each strike.

Both of them, the green-haired elf and the brown-haired young man, began digging through the snow with their bare hands, until suddenly a roar drew their attention: Frost Goblins in Yeti form were descending from the top of the mountain.

Seeing the group of five creatures approaching at a steady trot despite the snow, Lucian and Daniel realized that before saving Ebony, they had to save themselves.

“Hey, idiots, those things are dangerous, take them down fast with everything you’ve got!” Ebony shouted in worry, as her Healer passive ability allowed her to sense the presence of life in every living being, even her enemies.

Lucian, with his silver sword stained in blood, started the fight. Daniel, without hesitation, followed on instinct, unwilling to leave his new friend alone.

From inside the cave, Ebony could do nothing but feel her companions’ life forces moving violently. To her, it was like watching flames shaped like humans darting back and forth behind the wall of snow.

After a few moments and three quick deaths, only two life presences remained. She assumed they were her friends, or at least she wanted to believe so.

As minutes passed without knowing the outcome of the battle, Ebony prepared for the worst-case scenario and grabbed rocks in both hands, ready to kill whatever came through.

In the end, the ones who emerged through the snowy passage into the cave were Lucian and Daniel.

“Ebony!” Lucian shouted before pulling the blonde into a hug, grateful she was alive.

But she had too many questions, both of their clothes were torn and stained with blood from wolf bites.

“Hey, what the hell happened to you two? Did you kill the wolf riders?” Ebony asked curiously, hugging Lucian and then Daniel.

“That doesn’t matter… Where’s your backpack?” Lucian asked, worried.

“That doesn’t matter. For now, we need to head deeper into this passage; we can get into the goblins’ citadel from here. I’d like to take our time, but it’s best to move now while we can, so we need to go.”

“Citadel?!” Daniel asked, swallowing hard, those Yetis had been hard enough to defeat, even if they didn’t look critically injured.

“Relax… I prepared something for this, but I’ll need your help, so you have to follow my instructions exactly, got it?” Ebony asked, hands on her hips.

Lucian and Daniel, sighing in relief at seeing their friend just as stubborn as ever, simply nodded.

“Perfect! Now move, idiots, we can’t give their leader any time… Let’s make death rain down on those bastards!” Ebony said with a grin as she headed back into the darkness, but this time she wasn’t alone.

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