Another three days had passed, officially making it a week since Ethan arrived in this world.
The Cats had been hard at work to improve the living conditions of their cave.
They managed to make a door out of twigs, leaves, vines, and plants fibers. It was difficult for the Cats to harvest plant fibers from wild plants since they didn't have arms, but they eventually managed to harvest enough to create a door.
The reason that they even knew about plant fibers was thanks to Ethan who had a little knowledge about outdoor survival, though he mainly learned it from video games.
It didn't look the best, but it was definitely an improvement. With the door blocking the cave's entrance, not nearly as much cold air could get in at night. It didn't have a doorknob so all they had to do was nudge the door open using their bodies.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Ethan's and Milo's wounds were healing just fine with no signs of infection.
Maya and Nina were currently working on creating a basket out of leaves and fibers so they could have a more efficient way to bring berries and fruits to the base. Walking with food on their heads and moving slowly to stay balanced took way too long.
Next, Milo was working on improving the comfort of his bed.
Burt and the newest member, Kuro, were scavenging the surroundings of the cave's entrance outside to see what they could find.
Lastly, Ethan was in the cat base, looking at his Coins. He now had 170 Coins which he could use to buy 3 more Cats, but he decided to save them for now. He would keep them until he could afford to raise his Cats to level 2.
"I wonder when I'll unlock more Cats like Tank Cat… I've asked the system but it doesn't respond to me nowadays. It only pops up when it has something to tell me related to a function of the system."
Ethan pondered on how he could unlock new units, but his thoughts were interrupted as Burt and Kuro busted through the new door, almost breaking it.
"There's three goblins near the cave! They're looking for us!"
———————-
The canopy of the forest stopped most of the sun from shining down on the three, but it was a hot day nevertheless.
Three goblins roamed the forest in search of their new enemy.
After their leader Duros told them to find their enemy, they immediately got to work.
The goblins first searched the river where their friend was killed before heading into the forest.
They weren't very smart to be honest, they just searched aimlessly. But with a stroke of luck, or possibly misfortune, they were closing in on the base of their enemy without even realizing.
They were about five minutes away from it.
"Hopefully the master will reward us for slaughtering this new enemy of ours!" The first goblin spoke. He was the leader of the group and carried a spear.
The second goblin scratched his head nervously while looking at his dagger. "I'm just hoping he'll spare our lives for a successful mission…"
"Same here…" The third goblin mumbled while rubbing his own dagger.
The three kept walking, searching for any signs of their mysterious enemy.
Crunch
"Huh?"
"Was that an animal?"
"Doesn't matter, go check it out."
The sound of a snapped branch came from a nearby patch of bushes, gaining the attention of the goblins. The first goblin ordered the third goblin to go check it out.
"Alright…"
The third goblin slowly approached the bushes and poked them a little with his dagger before sticking his head in.
The area was starting to feel a little too quiet.
"Ahhhh!!"
The goblin suddenly screeched in pain as something within the bushes bit his nose, not letting go.
The pain only got worse as something else bit down on his right arm, making him drop his dagger.
"Help! Help meeee!"
The first two goblins looked at their companion in shock before getting themselves together. The first goblin charged ahead to help first, but right before the second goblin could run, he felt a searing pain in his calf.
"Graaaah!!"
The second goblin fell back onto the ground in pain. Before he could even register what was going on, two strange white creatures jumped on top of him.
Those two creatures were Kuro and Nina!
"Get off!"
The second goblin screamed. Just as he was about to lift his dagger, the arm holding it was bitten into by Nina.
The second goblin screamed even more which caught the attention of the group leader, the first goblin.
The leader looked between his two companions, trying to decide which he should help. Unfortunately for the second goblin, his leader took too long and quickly died as Kuro bit down on his neck.
"Bastards!"
The leader roared in fury and charged at the two Cats. He held onto his spear tightly and thrusted it at Kuro, who narrowly dodged in time.
Just as the leader prepared for another thrust, he was knocked off balance thanks to something attempting to tackle him.
It was Ethan!
Ethan put all his strength into throwing the goblin leader off balance, creating an opportunity that allowed Nina to come in and also tackle the goblin leader.
"Stupid creatures!"
Unfortunately for the Cats, this goblin seemed to be stronger than the others. The leader quickly kicked Nina off of him and shoved Ethan away before swinging his spear wildly, leaving a cut right above Nina's left eye.
"Step back!"
Ethan shouted and the other two obeyed. All three backed away far enough from the goblin. They were now surrounding him in a semi-circle but also stayed far enough that the goblin's spear couldn't reach the opponents.
"You weak creatures! Cowards! Get closer and fight!" He yelled at the Cats in rage, fuming from the death of his companion and the audacity of these weaker enemies.
Ethan simply smirked and chuckled, "we may be weaker, but you're outnumbered and surrounded."
The leader laughed, spit spewing from his dirty mouth. "You only surrounded half of me you idiots!"
Crunch
A twig cracked behind the goblin leader.
He turned around and froze as he saw three more strange white creatures surrounding him.
In the distance, the third goblin laid dead with his feet sticking out of the bush.
Even worse, the third goblin only managed to leave a bruise on one of his attackers, Burt, while his other two attackers, Milo and Maya, were unscathed.
The goblin leader was now alone and surrounded from every side by six Cats!
"Dammit!" The goblin stomped in rage while keeping his spear in front of him.
He kept spinning in circles in worry, waiting for one of the enemy to charge in.
But they didn't move.
Sweat dripped down the goblin's neck. Anxiety and dread were looming over him.
The hunters of this part of the forest had become the prey.
Pressure gripped around the goblin's heart.
"S-stay back!"
The goblin started to swing his spear wildly, but the six Cats didn't act any different as they kept staring at him and kept their distance.
"Stop it! Stop it!"
The goblin stopped swinging. The tip of his spear now rested against the grass as he tried catching his breath.
This was the moment the Cats had been waiting for. Ethan had planned for this exact moment ahead of time just in case they couldn't knock their enemy to the ground, and made sure everyone else knew of this plan.
Suddenly, all six of the Cats charged at the goblin.
The goblin raised his spear back up in panic and looked around frantically.
He took a desperate swing which caused Nina and Milo to step back and halt their advance, but the other four kept going and all lept onto the goblin at once.
"ARRRGHH!!"
Burt bit his arm holding the spear.
Maya and Kuro bit his calves.
Lastly, Ethan jumped onto Kuro before jumping up again and bit down on the goblin's shoulder.
The goblin dropped its spear in pain which allowed Nina and Milo to tackle his chest and bring him down to the ground.
The goblin's last moments in this world were spent in agony with six Cats all biting into his body, covering him in wounds and blood.
After almost an entire minute of torture with the group purposely avoiding vital areas, the goblin finally perished.