I remained sharp, alert, and constantly watched my surroundings, my senses heightened with stress.
I noticed Daigo staring at me intently with a puzzled, questioning expression on his face sometimes, but both of us knew much better than to try and engage in any sort of unnecessary conversation out here, not under Taiko's watchful eyes.
I do not have a watch on me, obviously, but I could instinctively tell we have probably spent a long time already... at least 3 long, tense hours just sitting around here in this one spot.
Some of Taiko's men had already started to openly grumble and nervously pester Taiko about when we could finally get this goddamn mission over and done with.
After some more time had passed, Taiko finally put his finger back onto his earpiece and was clearly focused intently on what the person at the other end was saying to him.
"Okay, understood. We are to head north from this position, and then keep heading directly that way, even if we encounter multiple bogies along the route.
Control says that there now seems to be some kind of small uncharted sort of native settlement located further down North from our current position, and we are hereby ordered to advance and take down every single living Aggressor we find there," Taiko announced grimly to the assembled group.
"Wait, I thought they originally said this wasn't supposed to be a heavily fortified Fort-type Gate?" one of his men immediately complained, his voice laced with anxiety.
"Do you want to go back outside, right now, and personally bitch about it directly to them?" Taiko asked him coldly, his voice dangerously quiet.
The man wisely responded with immediate, cowed silence.
"Good. Then let's move out, now!" Taiko ordered sharply, and we all quickly, if reluctantly, followed him.
We moved back towards the North, but this time we didn't encounter any more of those White-face Zipper-Spines, or even any Goblins, as we cautiously picked our way through the dense, alien jungle.
After about 2 more hours of diligently following Taiko, he suddenly halted us all again.
He then made some quick, complex hand gestures to one of his lead men, apparently instructing him to go and carefully check things out up ahead of our current position.
The designated Guard went ahead, disappearing into the undergrowth, and then came back after a few tense minutes.
He moved in close to Taiko before quietly reporting what he had seen.
"Confirmed an Arrow-nose Goblin settlement up ahead, and there are a hell of a lot of them there, too.
They are at least 150 in number, maybe more, and they seem to be having some kind of large gathering right now," the scout reported quietly, his voice low and urgent.
"Alright then, guys, listen up. We will go for a direct, frontal assault, utilizing a standard C-cover formation.
And you Gutter-Guards," he said, turning to us, "you will effectively cover all the gaps between my men, to avoid any of them from coming in too close to our flanks or rear." Taiko ordered everyone present, his voice now hard and decisive.
"And you Gutter-Guards, don't you get any fuckin' tricky fingers with those rifles.
You do not shoot or attack anything without me personally giving the direct order," he then specifically moved his head around and addressed us - the Mercenary-Guards - his eyes cold and warning, before finally telling all of us to move out.
I don't know what the fuck a 'C-cover formation' is supposed to be, and I sincerely guess that the other mercs here don't know, or particularly care, either.
But he clearly said we were supposed to fill in the gaps between them, and that part of the plan, at least, was crystal fuckin' clear to all of us.
The 13 remaining Tower Guards quickly spread themselves out into a wide, inward-curved offensive formation (which is probably what he meant by a C-cover formation).
I immediately stationed myself in a gap between Taiko himself and another grim-faced Guard from his Tower unit.
We all then hid silently in the dense, concealing bushes and watched the large, noisy gathering of goblins taking place just tens of meters away from our concealed position.
Some of the taller, more imposing-looking ones, their bodies covered in intricate black tribal markings, sat in a prominent circle in the center of the clearing and seemed to be engaged in some kind of intense, animated discussion.
I'd always heard that some specific breeds of goblins were actually intelligent enough to have their own complex language, to make their own crude tools, and even to fashion their own native, often magically imbued, arcane-weapons, along with other, more sophisticated, surprisingly advanced things.
This was my first time actually seeing this particular, more intelligent kind of goblin up close.
I'd also heard that they are mostly found in the more dangerous Fort-Gates, than the ones I'm used to.
And seeing them here, in what was supposed to be a relatively low-level Gate, made me a bit scared, but also, paradoxically, very fuckin' happy at the exact same time.
My 'Elixirs' count seems to increase whenever I personally kill any Aggressors, which meant that successfully killing these advanced, probably tougher goblins will undoubtedly grant me even more Elixirs, allowing me to Level Up again, and hopefully, become even stronger.
Taiko then took something small and dark out from his waist pouch and, with a practiced flick of his wrist, threw it expertly so that it landed very close to where those tattooed goblins currently sat in their circle.
The distinct sound of the block-like material landing on the hard-packed earth immediately drew the sharp attention of all the goblins gathered around it.
Taiko then immediately, without any hesitation, pressed a small remote detonator he held concealed in his palm and…
Boom!
The block-like material, which I now guessed was probably a remotely detonated C4 explosive charge, or something very similar, exploded with a deafening, violent blast.
"Light 'em up, boy!!" Taiko shouted at the top of his lungs, immediately after the powerful explosion ripped through the goblin gathering.
The 13 Tower Guards instantly began shooting at all the surprised, disoriented goblins that were still reeling, or those that were just out of the immediate kill-range of the initial explosion.
Some of the goblins, the tougher or quicker ones, recovered remarkably fast from the initial shock of the blast and retaliated almost immediately, furiously picking up whatever they could find to use as makeshift weapons, or just charging in with their bare fists and teeth.
Even with our devastating surprise attack and the well-coordinated follow-up assault from Taiko's men, we were still going up against at least 100 fuckin' pissed-off goblins, deep in their own damn territory.
Soon, some of them had already found their proper weapons – crude spears, stone clubs, and sharp, obsidian-like daggers – and they violently, suicidally, rushed straight at us.
But Taiko and his men just shot them down with fuckin' incredible speed and deadly accuracy, like well-oiled killin' machines.
As I myself started to shoot at the goblins that got too damn close to our defensive line, I noticed that the thick, acrid smoke from the C4 explosion was finally beginning to clear.
And what I then saw emerging from behind that dissipating smoke was a bit fuckin' intimidating, to say the least.
The tall, heavily tattooed goblins, the ones who had been sitting in that central circle, were somehow still alive.
They clearly had bits of their bodies blown clean off by the blast, yet they were visibly, impossibly, regenerating every missing bit right there in front of my astonished eyes.
Even some of them with entire missing limbs, or with large parts of their heads blown away, were rapidly, grotesquely, regenerating those damaged parts back to wholeness in a matter of seconds.
"Don't be fuckin' dazed by that shit!
They are fuckin' Hobgoblins… a tougher breed! They still die like the rest of the critters!" Taiko yelled loudly, not only to me but also to the other Mercenary-Guards, many of whom were clearly, understandably, taken aback, frozen by what they had just fuckin' witnessed.
One of the regenerating Hobgoblins suddenly had its hands go alight with crackling, bright blue flame.
It then ran with stupendous, blurring speed towards a Mercenary guard standing very close to it, moving with an insane burst of speed that made my own current reaction speed feel far too fuckin' slow to effectively attack or even defend myself, if I had been its intended target.
Just as it reached him, the Hobgoblin suddenly, inexplicably, fell flat on its face beside the terrified Mercenary Guard, a new, smoking hole now clearly visible in the back of its head.
It formed a rapidly spreading pool of dark blood underneath its twitching body.
I quickly looked around to see who had made that incredible, devilish shot.
It was one of Taiko's own men, who still had his arcane-rifle calmly pointed in the direction of the Mercenary-Guard that had almost been diced into pieces by that charging Hobgoblin.
That same Guard then shot some more of the regular goblins, and even managed to hit another one of those tough Hobgoblins.
But this Hobgoblin's heavily muscled shoulder merely took the brunt of that shot, and the enraged Hobgoblin then brutally pulled its already bloodied hand out from the neck of a different Mercenary-Guard it had just fuckin' killed, a savage, guttural roar tearing from its throat.
The Guard's gut and blood styled the floor of the dark grainy soil of the jungle.
The Hobgoblin dashed with blinding speed towards the Guard that had just shot it, I heard someone urgently yell my name, their tone filled with panic.
I instantly turned my face forward, back towards my own designated section of the line, and saw a regular goblin already in mid-air, leaping directly at me, with a crude, sharp, bone-like object clutched tightly in its upraised hand, dead-set to hack me.
I quickly, instinctively, grabbed the goblin by the arm, it held its weapon with.
Then, using its own momentum against it, I turned hard to my back and violently slammed it down onto the hard, unforgiving ground directly behind me with all my augmented strength.
I heard a distinct, sickening crack sound as the goblin's fragile back impacted the rough ground.
It didn't, or perhaps couldn't, even try to stand back up after that.
So, I immediately lifted up my right, heavy boot and then slammed it down with full force into its exposed throat, causing my boot to be instantly soaked with hot, spurting blood, and the goblin's small head to almost get completely detached from its now-limp body.
I then sensed, more than saw, a few more goblins rapidly approaching me from the corners of my eyes.
I squeezed the arcane-rifle's trigger, sending a wild spray of bullets flying somewhat aimlessly towards the ground and into the air around me, mostly as a deterrent.
Then, I quickly swung the hot barrel of the gun with my left hand towards the direction of three other goblins that were currently trying to attack me from behind, and then immediately towards another two that were fast approaching from my right hand side, successfully filling all of them up with a volley of potent, arcane-infused lead bullets.
I then quickly noticed one of those damn Hobgoblins walking calmly, almost arrogantly, towards me, with a freshly severed human head held casually in its left hand, its eyes glinting with malevolent intelligence.
I immediately aimed for its upper body, its torso, and fired off a burst, but the Hobgoblin reacted with surprising speed, quickly raising the open palm of its other, free hand towards me.
A kind of shimmering, water-like pulsating shield instantly formed in front of its raised palm, effectively protecting it from the bullets; ricocheting harmlessly off its surface.
I started walking deliberately towards it, still firing several more short, controlled shots at its shield, trying to find a possible weak spot or something.
Soon, I inevitably ran out of ammo, the rifle clicking empty.
And almost immediately, the Hobgoblin dropped its energy shield and threw its massive, clawed hand out towards me, intending to strike my face.
I quickly, desperately, used the now-empty arcane-rifle like a club to brutally smack its advancing face, the impact forcing the surprised Hobgoblin to stumble back a crucial step.
Then, I flipped the now-useless, empty gun up into the air and expertly caught the muzzle-area with my other hand.
Then returned to relentlessly smacking the living-shit out of that recovering Hobgoblin with the solid bottom-end of the rifle; blow after savage blow, until it finally, groaning, fell flat onto its side, with bloody swollen body and barely conscious.
I stood over the fallen, battered Hobgoblin and began to repeatedly bash its exposed head with the heavy arcane-rifle.
I felt, with a grim certainty, that it would soon start to heal all the deep cuts and rapidly forming swellings from this brutal beating if I didn't finish it off quickly.
I quickly threw the battered assault rifle away, its purpose served, and instantly drew out one of my new axes from its holster with my right hand.
Then, with a savage grunt, I swung the axe down with all my might onto the Hobgoblin's exposed, vulnerable face.
I repeated this, hacking at the Hobgoblin's head again and again, until I suddenly felt something sharp and heavy hit the left side of my belly with jarring force.
I stumbled sideways, gritting my teeth hard against the sudden, searing pain that shot through my belly, and then quickly looked to see what the hell had just attacked me.
It was just a regular goblin, but it was wielding a crude, heavy, rock-club.
The goblin immediately attempted to land another crushing blow on my injured belly again, but this time I managed to parry its clumsy attack with the axe still held in my right hand.
Then, I quickly pulled my other axe from its holster with my now-free other hand and swung it in a vicious, upward arc.
The sharp blade of that second axe entered straight up through the underside of the goblin's chin, almost completely dividing its small head into half from the bottom up.
Then, I drove the axe still in my right hand deep into that same goblin's exposed neck, for good measure.
After that, I dragged its now clearly dead head upwards with both axes still embedded, along with its puny, twitching body, and then, with a grunt of exertion, threw the dead goblin bodily towards some other nearby goblins that were currently engaging other Guards.
The chaotic, bloody battle continued unabated for at least another grueling 25 minutes.
Many of the remaining regular goblins finally broke and ran away in a panic when they noticed their leaders, the powerful Hobgoblins, were being systematically, brutally killed off, one by one.
The battlefield was already becoming scarce of active, fighting goblins.
I then took on top of one of the last remaining Hobgoblins as it desperately, wounded, struggled to crawl away from me.
The moment I drove my heavy axe deep into that Hobgoblin's exposed, regenerating back, my own legs suddenly felt seriously, incredibly weak, and I unexpectedly fell heavily to my knees, the strength draining out of me like water from a sieve.
I tried desperately to get back up onto my feet, but I suddenly felt far too weak to even properly hold my axes anymore, causing me to involuntarily let go of them, their clatter on the rocky ground sounding unnaturally loud in the sudden lull.
I have fought in Gates for many long, exhausting hours before, but after just a few intense minutes fighting in this particular battle, I was now more utterly tired and completely, bone-deeply exhausted than I have ever, ever been in my entire goddamn life.
Soon, I fell completely onto my side, not even having the residual energy left to remain kneeling down.
Then, through my blurring vision, I noticed a severely wounded, but still mobile, goblin painfully crawling its way towards me, a crude, knife-like shard of bone clutched tightly in its trembling hand.
It seemed that this particular goblin had finally given up on trying to escape and now stubbornly planned on taking me down with it, using the very last, desperate inch of its miserable life to do so.
The more that determined, hate-filled goblin got closer to me, the more utterly, helplessly terrified I felt.
'Fuck, I really do not want to die now… Not like this….'
'Not fuckin' now… Not when I finally have the actual ability that can literally change my live a better; different kind of life for once.'
My head was suddenly, overwhelmingly flooded with a torrent of bitter regrets and paralyzing, ice-cold fear, as I laid there completely, pathetically helplessly, just groaning in pain and frustration.
When the relentlessly crawling Goblin finally reached about three short feet away from me, its eyes burning with malice, I just groaned even louder, as I still desperately, futilely struggled to even move a single goddamn finger to defend myself.
A dark shadow suddenly, unexpectedly, appeared over both of us.
Then, a gleaming blade suddenly, silently, pierced down through the determined goblin's unsuspecting head with brutal efficiency.
As I dazedly watched the thick, dark gushing of blood as that rescuing blade was being callously pulled back out, I didn't quite know if I should feel immediate relief, or even more profound fear.
I did not know who had just killed that goblin, and, more importantly, whether it was actually done for my benefit, or if they were just here to casually kill me themselves, now that I was down and felt utterly helpless; in its truest form.
I then felt someone firmly grabbing my shoulder and roughly pulling me up into a sitting position.
When that person finally rested my aching back against a sturdy, splintered wooden pillar, that's when I finally saw who my unlikely savior actually is – it was Daigo.
"Fuck, Shitsubo, are you alright, man?" Daigo asked, his voice filled with genuine concern, as he carefully tried to place my lolling head into a more comfortable position, since I couldn't even hold up my own goddamn head at that moment.
"What the fuck just happened to you, dude?" he then asked, his brow furrowed with worry, as he roughly, quickly, checked my unresponsive body for any obvious new injuries or something.
"Ti-Tired…" That was literally all I could manage to say, to try and explain how utterly, completely exhausted I currently am.
"Tired? Just… tired?" Daigo asked again, his face etched with a deeply confused, almost disbelieving expression.
"Hey, Daigo! We are going, chasing after the ones that managed to escape," Taiko then called out loudly to Daigo from a short distance away.
Then, he finally noticed me slumped against the pillar and asked, his voice devoid of any interest, "What the hell is wrong with him now?"
"I… I think maybe those goblins did something to him, Boss. He's out of it," Daigo answered, a worried glance in my direction.
"Well, if he can't fuckin' move on his own, then just leave his worthless ass here and follow us. We don't have time for stragglers," Taiko said coldly, without a shred of sympathy or any interest whatsoever in my current, pathetic condition.
"I can't just fuckin' abandon him here like this! He's my brother!" Daigo stated firmly, a definite edge of growing raging annoyance now present in his own tone.
"Fine. We will smoke the rest of 'em Aggressors, then leave this Gate, with or without you two. So, good luck to both of you," Taiko said dismissively as he turned and walked away, then sharply told the rest of his men to follow him.
They all immediately ran off after the fleeing goblins without even a single backward glance at us, quickly leaving me and Daigo all alone in the now silent, smoking rumbles of the decimated Arrow-nose goblin settlement.
"Shitsubo, can you even stand up, man?" Daigo then asked me, his voice urgent, but I could not even manage to shake my head, or utter a simple 'no' in response.
"What the fuck did they do to you, Shitsubo?" Daigo couldn't help but ask again, mostly to himself this time, his voice filled with frustration and worry.
Soon, we began to hear the distant, renewed sounds of more gun shots and some muffled explosions echoing through the dense jungle, making Daigo quickly devise the only logical, if risky, solution he probably had left.
"Alright, man, I can't possibly carry your ass out of here right now, not with all that fightin' still goin' on out there.
We will just have to wait here, lay low, until we do not hear any more fightin' and shit.
Then, and only then, I will try to carry you back outside," Daigo informed me grimly.
But I still could not voice any opinion on the matter, or even nod to agree with his desperate, last-ditch decision.