Overlord: A Warrior's Return

Chapter 17: Warm up

Valmet sprung to action, getting up and rushing towards the incoming enemies. The manual labor he'd done had drained some energy out of him but he still had some gas left in the tank.

Valmet : "I got this!"

The goblins eagerly switched their attention to Valmet as he closed the distance towards them , adjusting their sight on him.

(Five of them. They look to be rather weak goblin types though. Still, best not to get surrounded.)

Valmet recalled his training with his teacher, Hakon. While some of it had been hands on, a fair bit of the training had been theoretical in nature as well. The younger Valmet was initially reticent in learning these things but Hakon had made some very good points.

Hakon: "Know your enemy. It's strengths and weaknesses. You'll then never be at a disadvantage."

In his years as an adventurer, Hakon compiled a rather comprehensive list of monsters and the best way to deal with them. At the time he'd not considered that it would be passed down but was merely something to help with his adventuring career. Part of Valmet's training had been memorizing said book.

The goblins made a beeline for him, the fastest among them leaving his group behind in it's lust to strike first. Valmet kept at a jog, analyzing the situation.

(So take out that one first then I'll need to move in quickly, taking out two more before they can circle around me. I should be in a pretty good position after that.)

As the distance closed the goblin raised it's club, lunging at Valmet in the process. Nimble on his feet against such a foe, Valmet deftly moved to the side making the goblin miss and shoot past them. With the goblin off balance and over extended, Valmet followed with a kick to it's back, sending it flying forward with the combined momentum from the kick and it's running speed.

(Better take him out of the fight permanently, wouldn't want him to go after the farmers or come back after me when I least expect it.)

Valmet backtracked, reaching the fallen down goblin and focused his ki into his fist, striking it as it laid face down on the ground. The goblin grunted briefly and soon stopped all movement. Valmet turned his attention back on the other group of goblins, 4 of them remaining now, who had slowed down and watched what happened to their comrade. More wary, they spread out and approached at a walk from a distance of 40 feet give or take.

Valmet: "Iron Skin!"

Facing four foes at once, Iron Skin was almost a necessity. While iron Skin was mainly a defensive ability, it did also turn the user's fists and legs harder, providing a damage increase.

The goblins kept a few feet between them, not distancing themselves too much but with enough spread that they would surround him as they got closer. One of them was slightly bigger and carried a handaxe, the most dangerous weapon of the lot. Two of the others had had no weapons but their claws and teeth while the last one held a dagger.

The bigger goblin stood on the far left and Valmet decided to make a rush for him. It was the most dangerous opponent and it'd be best to take care of it first. Valmet ran towards his opponent, dodging a clumsy attack by the far right goblin with the dagger as he cut across their path.

The other two lunged at him, claws extended and grazed his legs as they jumped. Thankfully the Iron Skin held, only superficial scratches resulting from the attack. Closing the distance, Valmet extended his arm into a punch as the goblin lifted the handaxe above its head for a decapitating blow but connected before he could bring it down, piercing through the frail body of the creature.

Losing it's vital blood, it fell to its knees as it died, leaving Valmet to withdraw his iron skin enhanced hand to turn and face the other goblins. While usually not as quick on the uptake as other creatures, goblins still know when to retreat and aren't suicidal unless a fate worse than death awaits them. Which is precisely what made Valmet ponder for a brief moment as the other three goblins continued to charge him with pure blood lust.

He felt Takemikazuchi's eyes on him, watching his every movement. This was his moment to shine, to prove he could be a dependable team member.

The remaining goblins coming at him we're keeping pretty close formation, making picking them off not an option. With only a dagger and their natural weapons, they didn't pose much threat. The only danger was if they clung to him. Valmet started moving, better to dodge or evade when already having some momentum and started strafing them but without trying to lose them.

Trying to use the extra reach provided by his size compared to them, he waited until they came close enough and unleashed a lateral kick at the nearest goblin. It flew backwards, tumbling a few times and with some visible damage but not out of the fight. The other two used the small gap from that attack to lunge at Valmet from both sides, attacking with their claws.

The Iron Skin took the brunt of it, only small nips that would be more akin to a paper cut where the claws struck. As Valmet regained his posture, he backhanded the one on his right with his right hand and raised his left fist to connect an uppercut on the other. The left goblin lost consciousness from the uppercut while the other one painfully got up from the backhanded attack just in time to get reinforced by the other who had gotten kicked.

(They're surprisingly sturdy. Common goblins would get killed instantly by most of these attacks on their own. Are they perhaps hobgoblins or other subspecies of goblinoids?)

Banishing the questions from his mind, he resumed the attack, heading towards the two goblins who were also aiming for him. Deciding to end this without further ado, Valmet focused to unleash his martial art.

Valmet: "Martial Art: Shattering Fist!"

Straining somewhat, Valmet redoubled his efforts in order to keep the martial art active slightly longer, striking both goblins with it as he punched in a sweeping motion. Originally intended as a single target attack, he had trained to try and improve on the technique passed down by his mentor, making it his unique creation.

It took more out of him but less so than if he used it twice. The other advantage was that he could perhaps one day fully master it and create an original area of effect attack, which is something monk lacked. Looking down at his defeated foes and feeling satisfied, Valmet did a a little victory pose, striking upwards with his arm as he looked over to the farmers.

Old Farmer: "I can't believe my eyes! Someone so young yet already so competent, magnificent. Thank you for protecting us adventurers."

Takemikazuchi: "You're welcome. It's not over yet however."

Middle Aged Farmer: "What do you mean?"

Takemikazuchi pointed out to the forest with his finger. All turned their gaze to look, seeing tree's shake and feeling the ground vibrate ever so slightly. Their faces turned from disgust to horror as two ogres stepped out of the forest and into the clearing, shoddy leather armor barely covering them and wielding large wooden clubs.

Valmet wondered why the farmers began to run until he finally smelled what the problem was and turned around to look at his new adversaries.