Of course, the moments we took to search for the largest threat inside the grotto all came to the same conclusion; that lake a hundred feet away from us surrounded by emerald skinned Goblins and their evolutions was the priority of this grotto, with the monsters that were roaming around being nowhere near as dangerous as the Goblins.
Jahi gave Anput and I a nod, signaling for us to lead the group forwards through the grotto and into battle; we would cut our way through the giant verdant cavern and take on the Goblins first, before clearing out the rest of the monsters and securing this area as our own.
With my Khopesh in my right hand and a blade of jagged ice sprouting from my left wrist, I looked towards my mate and nodded, the Jackalkin shifting the metal rod in her hand into a long, thin Estoc that would give her the reach and agility she needed to keep up with me.
I shot forwards after casting a swift spell on my legs, shrouding them in a gale and rushing forwards as I led the charge into the clearing, no longer silent as I whistled through the air, my strides echoing throughout the cavern and alerting the monsters to our presence.
A long and limber feline monster snarled in surprise at our appearance, only to yowl in agony as I chopped its front leg off, the thin patches of frost gracing the metal blade spreading onto its deep, almost black fur coat as my skills got to work.
Blood gushed from the wound, and the feline dropped to the ground at the sudden loss of one of its limbs, only to fall silent as the Demons behind me took care of it.
I continued forwards unbothered by the damage I had just dealt, my body remaining balanced and steady as I maintained my pace, heading straight for the collection of Goblins in the distance.
A darker green then normal, the difference between these Goblins and the Goblins I was used to was clear with just a single look; two twigs sprouted from their brows like horns, whilst leaves grew out of their shoulders and wrists, both of which were fading from green into brown as they took on a bark like appearance.
In fact, as they turned to inspect the disturbance, that bark began to shift and sprout out of their skin, growing and covering their flesh and turning them from a rich emerald green into a dark, whorl covered brown.
Roughly five feet tall and thin, but not emaciated like their distant cousins, these Goblins were tough and wiry, the various wooden clubs and sticks they wielded far more dangerous looking then they sounded; that deep green Nature Mana coiled around the wooden weapons and glimmered with power, gnarling and knotting the wood into stronger weapons with each passing second.
A long stick suddenly was adorned with what looked like a pinecone, which only grew sharper and more pointed as the Goblin raised it and grunted at us, its wooden armor hiding its features but not its eyes, which shone with malice.
Some were taller and far more muscular, others were a tad shorter and more spindly, but one thing they all had in common was the Nature Mana that seeped from their Cores, which only made the air around us grow thicker as we got closer.
Grunting and growling at one another, they began to move from their lake and march forwards, with the spindly Goblins wielding small daggers, swords and clubs rushing forwards to meet us, allowing the larger, slower Goblins time to march forwards undisturbed.
I cleared that hundred feet in a single beat of my heart, meeting the Goblins far quicker than they could anticipate as they rushed to meet me, giving me the edge as I slashed my Khopesh forwards, catching them off guard.
The ice laden blade created a pale arc in front of me that they stepped into, the smaller, faster Goblins widening their eyes in surprise as their wooden armor was splintered with a single slash, revealing their flesh beneath as I attacked first.
That slash cracked open their armor and sliced into their bodies, eliciting squeals of pain as the smooth, sharp edge of my Khopesh cleanly cut through armor, flesh and bone, the icy blade severing their arms and cutting deep into their torsos, drawing the first blood of this battle.
Three dropped to the ground, dead, whilst two more stumbled past me, clutching at their stumps and coughing out blood, only to be cut down by Anput, who was a breath behind me.
Multiple dozens of Goblins remained, and they marched into the fray right as the others joined me, all of us surging forwards to press this advantage as best we could as we selected our targets and got to work.
A towering Goblin with thick arms that ended in gigantic wooden spheres roared at me, its height just above my own whilst its mass was easily double mine, making the raised arms that acted as clubs a severe threat to me; something that was made pressing by the two normal Goblins on either side that stabbed at me with swift thrusts, trying to skewer me and keep me in place.
However, despite their speed, the two weren't as quick as I was, and I stepped back and allowed their spears to cross where I once was, meaning the meteoric impact of the two wooden clubs splintered their weapons as the giant Goblin slammed the ground.
As soon as those twin orbs were buried into the rock and gravel ground, I jumped forwards and used the Goblin's arms to get close, stabbing the sharp Tonfa into its skull before leaping over its head, landing behind the other two Goblins who had stumbled forwards thanks to their companions attack.
Anput pierced one with her Estoc, leaving the other to me as I turned and stabbed the Tonfa through its neck, the jagged ice severing its spinal cord and dropping it to the ground as it lost control of its body.
Spinning back around, I pressed on without hesitation, leaping into the next group of Goblins and continuing the fight, targeting those that were lingering near the back as I allowed the Demons to take the brunt of the battle, which they desired heavily if the sounds of bodies hitting the floor and shouts of amusement were anything to go by.
That sound was joined with the howls, barks, hisses and caws of the other monsters, though those sounds were swiftly tinged with pain as the mages worked on the monsters that poured into the grotto from the various entrances, leaving the Goblins to us.