Soldiers were accompanying the carriage on a grimy road flanked by hills, two on horseback and two on foot by the sides, two next to the driver, and another four divided into two wagons with Alon on a horse in front.

  ‘It takes so long; we need a better mode of transportation... How long did it take you to travel to every village on the duchy? It's ridiculous.’ Edmond crossed his arms.

  ‘I don’t understand why you are complaining in this manner, Edmund; only the duchess was visiting the villages while you were standing back in the mansion.’ Eliza jabs Edmund with her elbow.

  ‘I was instructing the brilliant minds, and now, just a month later, they have come a long way. Although Leah is still the best, the other ten helped with the weapons and artisans' tools to make the production faster now.’ Edmund smiled.

  ‘You looked happy, peasant; I’m glad you can now share your knowledge; the phone is amazing; I can talk to all village chiefs back in the mansion.’ Ariadne opened the fan to conceal her smile.

  Edmund's face was serious. He reached for a device on the wall, placed his finger on its side, and brought it closer to his mouth.

  ‘Alon, we will have company on the right side.’ He spoke.

  ‘Understood.’ Alon replied, holding a similar device.

  ‘I can’t feel anyone, peasant; aren’t you wrong?’ Ariadne raised her ears, shut her eyes, and pressed the closed fan against her lips.

  ‘Duchess, trust me, they are coming.’ Edmond grinned.

  ‘So, Edmund, go outside and deal with them. What are you waiting for?’ Eliza attempted to push Edmund out of the door.

  ‘Alon got this; they need combat experience, and I’m a scholar now.’ Edmund straightened his clothes.

  ‘Scholar? What are you talking about, peasant? You will be what I want you to be.’ Ariadne shifted her gaze to the right, looking out the window.

  ‘But I don’t need to fight, and you overestimate both me and your abilities; with organization, I can be killed; your highness would be easier because you are still learning.’ Edmund crossed his arms and looked out the window.

  ‘You were right; here they come.’ Ariadne whispered.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  A large group of shadows appeared on top of a hill. Alon noticed them and spoke into his radio, strapped to his chest near his shoulder.

  ‘Stop the convoy; every soldier on foot takes up position on the right side; we have goblins; the two on the carriage's roof cover our flanks, and the two on horseback keep an eye out for stragglers when it is all over.’ He spoke?.

  All heard the voice of the captain over the radio. The goblins only launched their assault after the convoy came to a stop. Every soldier was already on their knees at the side of the convoy when they rushed down the hill. The beasts ran with assurance, and the hills were green with no visible rocks, making them easy targets.

  ‘Aim…’ Alon observed the soldiers as they aimed.

  The monsters came at full speed like there was no tomorrow; their numbers scared the soldiers a little. With wooden shields and spears, they charged at the convoy with no fear in their eyes, only hunger.

  ‘Fire at will!’ he yelled.

  Right after they all pulled the trigger, six goblins fell. Another volley followed, and more fell. After only twenty seconds, the sight of the massacre took Alon aback. The goblins could not pass halfway down the hill; some attempted to run back up, but they were picked off.

  ‘Well. Instead of wasting time like this, the soldiers should just take a position and begin to fire. It's like defending a village. I’m going there to see these monsters up close, but it was nice, Alon.’ Edmund started to move toward the dead.

  Alon and the soldiers were speechless by what they did; it couldn’t be that only six soldiers had accomplished such a feat. They didn't have these numbers before defending the town or the villages. He looked back, saw the duchess getting out of her carriage, and came to his senses.

  ‘The two horses go to the top of the hill; the others form a perimeter around the carriage as we trained. I don’t want surprises while the duchess is out.’ On the radio, Alon ordered:

  While the two horses passed by him and maneuvered around the corpses to reach the top of the hill, Edmund kneeled next to a goblin corpse with a hole in his chest. The creature, an all-green, small, naked humanoid, used weapons, as evidenced by the shield on its arm; there was nothing about them in the books of the royal library, and his knowledge of them was limited to what soldiers discussed. He was intrigued by the creature.

  ‘Interesting. I don’t recall seeing creatures like this in the hero's time. Where did you come from?’ Edmund used a small spear to poke the creature.

  Eliza didn’t follow Ariadne because she feared the situation; she stayed in the carriage, looking out. Ariadne came forward to look at the massacre more closely; she didn’t get too close to Edmund because the smell from the corpses was already coming out.

  ‘I’m impressed by these results; it will not be long before we gain independence from the kingdom.’ Ariadne used the fan to try to get rid of the odor.

  ‘If you want that, duchess, it is only a matter of time, but these strategies will get them killed for the dungeon.’ He looked at the duchess.

  The two entered the carriage once more. Ariadne was concerned for Eliza, as she didn't handle the ambush well and because ambushes like this did not occur during this month's travels. Monsters rarely attacked roads, but villages were a more frequent target.

  ‘You don’t need to worry; it was nothing for us, but I fear for the village; this close to the edge of the territory, with their backs to the mountains, sure is dangerous.’ Ariadne reached for Eliza’s hand.

  ‘You have me here, aet you are afraid; I find that offensive.’ Edmund looked at the maid with a slight grin.

  ‘You seem to be having fun, huh?’ Eliza struck his arm.

  The two soldiers on horseback atop the hill looked around, trying to find more monsters, and communicated with Alon via radio.

  ‘There is nothing here, captain, but we can see the village.’ The soldier spoke.

  ‘This was a little too close...’ Alon muttered to himself.

  ‘Everything seems to be fine from here.’ The soldier continued.

  ‘All right, get back to your positions.’ Alon replied.

  When the convoy resumed its journey, the soldiers' memories of that encounter were still fresh. They couldn’t believe what had happened, and several smiled while gazing at their rifles.