Ch 1.
They were the last ones standing.
Of their group within the horde, they had been over 50, now they were down to less than five.
They looked nervously down that darken catacomb corridor as they waited for it to come.
"What do you mean the darkness just came to life and slaughtered them?" The leader said to the only survivor that had seen what was hunting them.
"Just that! It came from nowhere, I sensed nothing until the screams began and the bodies started pilling up, then it disapeared once more!" The survivor said of the creature.
"I heard stories of that thing." Scout said, interrupting the two's argument.
"An old one told me that when he was young, barely a day after he grew out of being a child that to the west, there's a land where it lives. It cannot be seen or heard, it can be right next to you, but it does not strike, but waits. It comes when you feel safe, when all lower their guard. Then it strikes, and kills everything. Whole groups just butchered out of nowhere, you don't even know that it happened, until you don't hear anything from other groups. But it does not end there, it then takes the bodies as trophies, desecrating the dead. 'Vanatorul vanatorilor' is what he called him, since where it treated nothing but death remained. Many groups actually went to that land intentionally so as to face that creature, but we never heard from them after that, now only the very desperate or very, very strong go there. And we never heard from them either."
Scout said as the survivors all listened to him in horror.
"Then...then we stopped hearing from other groups in other lands. Just like how it was in the west. And it meant that the 'vanatorul vanatorilor' had killed all life in his old territory and had moved on to new hunting grounds. This only happens after we have our own successful hunt, and we had a very successful hunt recently."
Scout said as he gripped an old trophy, which was tied around his neck.
"Vanatorul vanatorilor' means hunter of hunters in the old ancient tongue of the first civilization."
The Scout said as they waited in fear from their ambush position, made half shaking and a few pissing themselves as they waited for it to come, while hiding behind the fake wall.
The sound of something touching the ground in front of their fake wall was heard and they quickly leaped out of it, screaming their battle cries.
Only to run straight into a trip wire, that detonated an inferno that engulfed them.
As the fire burned the Scout to smithereens, The Scout stole a gaze to the darkness, which was now lighted by the fire of their own burning bodies and saw it!
It was visible in all it's horror.
Head to toe in armor, countless blades on it's person, body covered in blood and guts and it's eyes, those hellish eyes!
It walked forward and bashed them to death, making sure that none survive.
So the last sight that it saw was the image of 'vanatorul vanatorilor' raising goblin Scout's own weapon to kill him with it.
"That's 50..." Goblin Slayer said as he finished of the 5 goblins that had been hiding in the wall.
He got up, found the zone where the goblin children were and quickly finished them as well.
"No women...good! I got here just in time." Goblin Slayer said as he pilfered what could be salvaged from the nest before taking skulls for the round table and then leaving the nest.
He made his way back to camp, which was half a day's march away. His current group were on their way to a mission and they had taken a break in order to split up into smaller groups to spread out and eliminate the nests on the way there.
"Welcome back Goblin Slayer- san. How was the quest?" Priestess asked from around the fire. She was the only one there, the rest had not returned yet.
"Same as the rest. Though this one did not have any captive women." Goblin Slayer said as they sat down.
"That must be from the weapons distribution we did. I heard that it's become fashionable for women to have crossbows on their person now." Priestess said.
After they had butchered the bit overlord horde and the Waaagh, they had scavenged their weapons and armor, it had taken them a while to reforge them for human use, but once done they had distributed them amongst the peasants, while also keeping several hundred of the best sets for Slayer Keep for new rookies and to replace warned weapons of their veterans.
The side effect was that now a great deal of the population was armed to the teeth!
"That may also explain why we are getting less goblin quests in our home region." GS said as they sat down for a meal.
Around Slayer Keep and Guild Town they had distributed almost half of the reforged gear, combined with the 'improvised' gear that the militia had used when helping Slayer Keep, it was no wonder that goblin attacks were getting less and less in their homeland.
But they were not in their homeland any more.
They were on a mission to Water Town and as soon as they entered it's streets the reunited party felt cold, hostile and downright hateful glances in their direction from the townsfolk.
While the peasants in the country and around the land adored Slayer Keep, the same could not be said for the whole country.
The common folk of Water Town hated Slayer Keep that their own common folk could boast war gear while they did not, their hatred extended to the countryside around Water Town, since a few villages received free gear as well.
The merchants and other middle class both in Water Town and Guild town despised Slayer Keep since now the majority of rookies and lower rankers, and a majority of middle rankers and even a few high ranking adventurers stayed in Slayer Keep, instead of spending their money at their inns.
The nobility absolutely despised Slayer Keep because of it's reputation!
They all heard daily how the peasants gossiped with glowing reviews Slayer Keep, and how the bards sang nothing but songs and praises for the Slayer Army and to their leader, the one called 'The Slayer King'. Like all ruling classes, they simply could not accept the reality that someone other then themselves was owed, was worthy, of more praise and glory than themselves.
Even with a demon king returning and the whole world in danger of annihilation, humans will be humans and be more concerned with their own eggo that with survival.
It's no wonder Slayer Keep had grown so fast in less than a year.
But the group from Slayer Keep ignored the glares, they were here to slay goblins, not trade barbs with fools.
They reached the church, where the archbishop Sword Maiden would meet them.
"We have come to kill the goblins." Goblin Slayer said and from behind him Priestess, High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, Lizard Priest, Warrior, Fighter, Wizard, Noble Fighter, Rhea Ranger, Half Elf Wizard, Human Nun all nodded in agreement.
The champions of Slayer Keep had all gathered in one group to kill the goblins!