A Black Market LitRPG

Chapter 22: Mental Fatigue

Three days later…

Kyle had the place mapped out for now. There was indeed a huge amount of Euria Seeds in the region. If he somehow managed to pick everything, he would be able to supply the city of Raktor with up to fifty times its current consumption each year, and that was just his estimate. Not even the plantations he had learnt about from Damian could produce that much in a controlled environment.

The reason why no one harvested much here was due to the constant threat of goblins. While the weaker ones were sent out to forage for food, the stronger ones remained in their dens and protected the nearby areas, which somehow corresponded with a dense concentration of Euria Trees. Kyle had already watched another human harvester get chased out of some of the denser Euria Trees habitats, which seemed to be considered sacred or protected by the goblins.

The stronger goblins had much better gear from former fallen adventurers and failed expeditions. Some goblins were even bigger than Kyle though rare.

Kyle had located one goblin den, nested in an abandoned mining shaft from decades ago, the tunnels leading into the base of the mountain. It was well defended, with close to twenty to thirty goblins patrolling the main entrance at all times.

Working his way around the mountain, he found a secondary entrance to the same mining tunnels, though it was much smaller and subsequently less defended as well. He only saw five goblins on guard duty at any given time, and they were significantly less defended.

Kyle was aware that they were not the only group or tribe of goblins in the area. There might be a dozen tribes or more, but the area was big, spanning tens of kilometres. Even if he attacked a den and the other tribes reacted, it would take too long for them to respond.

However, he had found no sign that the tribes were working together on good terms. On one occasion he had seen five goblin guards immediately kill a stray goblin who seemed to have lost his way.

This consistent observation also triggered a few titles over the three days.

Kyle had also found a small little alcove nearby, a short walk away from the secondary entrance to the goblin’s den. He rested there, planning how he was going to tackle this issue. There was no way of starting a Euria Seeds harvesting business without clearing the goblin tribes.

Theoretically, he should have brought two dozen Seven Snakes members and had them sequentially wipe each tribe. However, that will draw far too many eyes, especially with the enforcers in the town and the city gangs watching his gang’s movements. No doubt Sebastian and Wrent are eyeing my members closely now for any anomalies.

Hiring adventurers to fight the goblins would create unnecessary attention. Other businessmen and merchants were also interested in harvesting the bountiful Euria Seeds, but are currently blocked by the high cost of eliminating the goblins. Kyle would prefer if that natural barrier remained so as for him to quickly develop a monopoly.

However, there was one additional benefit Kyle had over the other merchants and businessmen – it wasn’t the first time he colonized a planet with local natives. If he was right, all the tactics he learnt in the Galactic Era would work here easily as well. If only I had my exosuit, I could have them revere me as a god. But let’s start with the basics first.

The same three goblins headed out to another part of the forest this time. They always sent out two groups, to collect more food for the growing tribe. The tribe was always growing. This was how life was.

They harvested fruits, dug up tubers and sometimes pinched a few fungi, stuffing all of them into the same dirty pouches they had been using for generations.

Suddenly, one of the goblins spotted a rare sight that would make anyone go crazy – a loaf of bread dropped on the ground. Fresh. The goblin pounced on it immediately, quickly eating half of it.

The other two saw it, before immediately tussling and grappling the first goblin, trying to get a bite of the rare bread as well. Loud grunts and squeals echoed through the treeline as the three goblins fought over it.

A silent shadow loomed over them, perched on the tree branches. The moment the three goblins began to tire out from their fight, the shadow dropped, swinging a neon red arctech hammer and crushing a goblin’s head in a single downward swing.

The remaining two goblins yelped, but before they could wield their knives, they were immediately kicked in quick succession, the wind knocked out of their chests. They did not stand a chance.

As night soon fell, a lone goblin guard in the den ran in to report to the shaman, who was the leader of the goblin tribe. Both groups sent out to forage for food did not return home.

The shaman frowned but did not think much of it. The forest was not exactly a safe place, and six goblins were hardly a dent in their numbers. The tribe had more than three hundred goblins. Goblins could already start working after two years of childhood, so the shaman was not bothered, simply sending the guard away.

The next day came and went, but the exact same thing happened. All three groups disappeared as well, never returning. Even search parties sent to find their bodies were unsuccessful. The shaman was now slightly worried.

On the third day, the killings stopped. The forage groups were afraid to venture out but somehow did not encounter anything. The shaman was extremely confused now but decided to put the past two days behind him. He simply doubled the number of guards at the entrance as well as at the secondary entrance.

On the fourth day, the killing resumed. Search parties still failed to find the bodies, with one of the search parties never returning as well. The shaman ordered the forage groups to be beefed up, attaching two goblin warriors to each of them.

The killing didn’t stop on the fifth day, with the addition of the goblin warriors not doing anything. Now, the shaman was in full panic mode, unable to determine what was going on. The guards were still doubled, and the entire tribe was in a high-tension mode. By now, it had already lost more than two dozen goblins, along with a few trained warriors. Scouts were ordered everywhere in the forest, but they could not find anything.

On the sixth day, nothing happened. No killings, no sightings.

The pattern repeated, with the shaman unable to fix or remedy it. He could send out more troops, but that would leave the base more vulnerable. As the ninth day approached, the shaman immediately sent as many foraging groups as he could, following the pattern of no killing.

The doubled-up guards who had been in high tension the entire week and doing continuous patrols finally took a break, knowing that there would be no killing on this day. It was at this very moment of mental fatigue that Kyle began his attack.

The guards at the secondary entrance did not even see it coming, with Kyle activating his Aero Shoes and smashing their heads with professional precision. He quickly entered the mining tunnels, collapsing the structure and closing the entrance before leaving.

He then headed to the main entrance, where the number of guards had dropped significantly. The trained warriors were all taking a rest in the den itself, leaving only rookie goblins to defend the main entrance. It was a simple wooden barricade, with a few abandoned houses that used to store mining equipment or serve as dorms, along with a watch post.

Kyle noted there were a few goblin archers, but he had the crossbow from Orthon, along with twenty bolts loaded into the cartridge.

With pinpoint precision, he sniped the archer at the top of the watch post, who could barely scream with a bolt stuck in its windpipe.

Moving quickly, he attacked the main entrance head-on, causing an alarm to be raised. The rookie goblins valiantly fended off Kyle, but he leapt and danced around their amateur swings, simply kicking them or using his hammer to parry their hits before cracking their limbs or bones.

After dealing with the guards, he could already hear the stronger warriors coming out from inside the den. Kyle immediately ran up to the mine shaft, collapsing only one of the beams in a controlled fashion. The originally large tunnel that could fit seven humans from end to end started to crumble, the rubble now only allowing one goblin to come out at a time.

Kyle did not plan to fight all three hundred goblins at the same time but rather reduce the number of opponents he had to face as much as possible.

The goblin warriors did not think too much, simply charging through the tunnel and running right at Kyle. The skill of the trained warriors was far better than expected, having fought adventurers and other tribes. Kyle had to focus more, practising his combat skills in a continuous series of life-and-death duels.

The Necklace of Healing could not heal a wound fast enough during the battle itself, so Kyle placed more emphasis on avoiding wounds, parrying hits and putting the full range of his former martial arts knowledge to the test.

He fought close to a dozen goblin warriors in a short ten minutes, killing all of them. The system messages of each kill were temporarily ignored by Kyle as he chugged a Stamina Recovery Potion and a Strength Potion to keep him going.

An hour passed, the bodies of goblin warriors piling up next to him. Even the goblin warriors were starting to lose their original fervour, the previous mental fatigue catching up to them. They also realized that this human was the main culprit behind the killings, adding even more fear and intimidation.

Suddenly, a loud roar burst out from the tunnel, with the goblin warriors being shoved out of the way by a much larger goblin. Wielding a rusted battleaxe that was obviously stolen from an adventurer, the goblin was two heads taller than Kyle. Its green skin was adorned with tribal tattoos, and runes carved into its face.

The rest of its body was covered in full metal plate armour like a knight, potentially the only complete heavy armour set that the goblin den had. The arm had a vambrace that was noticeably an arctech equipment, built completely different to the rest of the armour set. It had green arcing lines along the length, making Kyle wary about its effects.

The two stared at each other, as the goblin warriors still cramped in the tunnels watched on in fear. Even some of the forage groups who heard the fighting did not dare to try and backstab Kyle.

“Human!” The goblin champion suddenly yelled, shocking Kyle. “You, die, here!” It spat on the ground, before gripping its battleaxe with both hands, ready to duel.

Kyle did not respond, immediately wielding his crossbow pistol and firing three bolts at the champion’s head. Instead of being afraid, the vambrace began to glow brighter, before three energy bolts suddenly shot out, hitting the crossbow bolts and deflecting them away.

Point Defense?! Kyle was surprised, caught off-guard as the champion charged with the battleaxe, performing a deadly horizontal swing that almost nicked Kyle as he leapt backwards.

With the Aero Shoes, Kyle sprinted forward faster, using his hammer to bash the armour plate of the goblin as he was still swinging. The hammer instead bounced off the armour, unable to do any damage.

Penchant for Violence.

The skill activated, giving him a boost in combat stats. His body suddenly roared with a surging force from deep within, as though he had unlocked some hidden potential in his body.

He flanked the goblin as the momentum carried him around, just as the goblin was about swing downwards for a counterattack. With speed as his advantage, he delivered a kick against the goblin’s shin, causing the goblin to kneel over. Kyle slightly winced in pain from kicking a full metal plate, but he gritted his teeth and continued, narrowly dodging a right hook from the goblin.

Kyle was about to lift his hammer to strike again, but the champion’s vambrace activated again, sending a bolt towards the hammer that sent Kyle slightly off balance. The unexpected use of the vambrace caught him off guard, allowing the goblin to recover and swing the battleaxe again, forcing Kyle to squat and avoid it.

With a final decisive blow, Kyle delivered a straight right uppercut into the groin of the champion, causing its eyes to bulge. Kyle took advantage and punched the goblin’s face three times in rapid succession, toppling it over.

Suddenly, the tribal tattoo on the goblin’s face glowed green, a healing aura working through the body. What?! Kyle was not about to let him heal right in front of him, grabbing his hammer again and pummelling the goblin in the face with as many strikes as he could manage.

Despite the green aura, the goblin’s face soon became a bloodied mess of meat and flesh. The rune was disfigured now, breaking the healing aura and killing the champion.

Kyle heaved as he stood up, his face and arms bloodied from the splatter. He glanced at the remaining goblin warriors, who all were now shivering in fear. Their champion had been killed in less than a few minutes, what hope was there against this human?