The Goblins could barely see Juuda and his friendly greeting. The light for


    them must have indicated aggression, so while one of them stood in defense, the


    other yelled a war cry and charged toward Juuda. Bara immediately took out his


    pistol and shot the Goblin almost without thought. The Goblin was about three meters


    away from Bara, but the lack of a wound made Bara think he missed. The loud noise,


    which in a closed space, sounded like it could take down a wall, was enough to make


    both Goblins cower in fear. The lights were shone on the wall on the side so the


    Goblins were no longer in the direct beam.


    “Move slowly back and leave,” said Bara.


    “But we might have the chance to communicate now,” answered Juuda.


    “They are scared,” added Konoya. “It’s not the right time to communicate.”


    “Leave slowly,” said Alex.


    The group started moving backward without words, and when they reached


    the stairs, they started climbing them silently and slowly until they had reached


    outside.


    They began walking toward Argos and discussing the appearance and


    attitude of the Goblins. Anais, with Draco always on her shoulder, stopped before


    reaching the edge of the city. “I think I will be staying,” she said seriously.


    “What do you mean you will be staying?” asked Bara.


    “I want permission to stay here and scout the city. I am sure it has a lot more


    to offer than what we have seen.”


    Bara looked skeptical. “I am not so sure that staying here is a smart idea.


    Aren’t you worried or scared to be alone here?”


    “I am exhilarated. We are on an alien world surrounded by mystery, and I


    worry that until we decide on the next missions, I will drive myself crazy. I can’t stay


    idle while there is so much to see and learn. If I stay here, I will be able to scout this


    city for a library and hone my skills. I have everything I need with me.”


    Bara smiled. “Alex! What do you think?” he asked into the communicator.


    “If you are not worried, then I see more benefits than risks. Anais, you have to


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.be careful of any contact you might have with them. If you detect that they are near,


    you will need to contact immediately for the right way to approach them.”


    “Understood. I will make sure to steer away from them.”


    Anais left the group to find an appropriate place to set up camp while the rest


    of the group continued their trip toward Argos. The next day, the group had returned,


    and a few hours later, Bara and the leaders gathered to speak.


    “You should have not shot at them!” said Alex, looking at Bara.


    “It was instinct, but I missed either way,” said Bara apologetically. “Although I


    shouldn’t have. I don’t easily miss. Something must have been wrong with the gun.”


    “Well, apparently you did not miss. Jain, can you show us?”


    Jain replayed the feed from the incident. “The Goblin attacked, and its shield


    went on its side, exposing its chest. You shot right at it. As you can see from this


    small spark, the bullet deflected off its chest. “


    “But how is that possible?” asked Bara.


    “We are still trying to figure out the details, but for now we know that they are


    tough. Their skin might be harder than ours, even with our nanobots in,” said Gakuto.


    “It’s hard to explain how they evolved like that, but now we know that an attack from


    them could be lethal.”


    “Lethal? You mean their spears could penetrate us? How did you deduce


    this?” asked Juuda.


    Jain explained, “We made some rather worrisome assumptions while you


    were coming. The inhabitants of this planet do not seem to mix. It is very rare to see


    some visiting other species. We also see the results of a devastating war


    everywhere. Steve’s spy planes have detected areas where very destructive


    weapons must have been detonated in the distant past. We believe that they all have


    traits similar to the exceptional skin of the Goblins. We also have to consider the


    probability that their weapons combined with their strength are capable of killing each


    other. That would mean that a blow from them could mean death to us.”


    Juuda’s eyes opened wide. “I was not worrying at all when he attacked me. It


    looked so small.”


    “Looks can be very deceiving,” said Gakuto with a smirk


    .


    “In other news,” interrupted Helen, “we have an idea as to why the biggest


    city is not occupied while all the rest seem to be the centers of the species that


    control them. As Anais’s scouting showed us, the basement of the big building was


    flooded. We suspect that there is a lot of water under the main city which once was


    vital for its growth. The Goblins, which seem to have it under their control, live


    underground, and therefore the city is almost useless to them.”


    “I see,” said Juuda.


    “It also seems possible that the main Goblin city, which is four kilometers


    away from Alpha, is linked to it. The ones you met seemed like scouts.”


    “We need to speed up contact with them,” Alex said. “We need to learn of


    their intentions and begin properly exploring the past of this world. We will put


    research of the history of this place as our top priority. As far as we know, the


    survivors on Earth might be few and dying out. We might be the last humans, and we


    can’t risk whatever destroyed this world to be the end of us. Argos needs to finish


    faster.”