A poor retreat would only leave him open to an attack. That was not something exclusive to battles between armies. Even in duels, it was better to advance. Especially in this situation where the enemy possessed an abundance of long-range abilities.
Gi Gu took the ice blade on his shoulder and staggered a little. Blood spurt out, but he brushed it aside, and caught Judith within his range.
Without saying anything else, Gi Gu unleashed his sword with a bloodthirsty yell, but Judith had already acquired power beyond that of humans and was easily able to block his attack with her sword of ice.
“Let the lakes flow(Cascade)!”
Flowing water scattered on the ground, and in the next moment, a spear of ice pierced Gi Gu. He had gotten too close, and because of the power of the ice sword, that long sword that have been pushing this whole time was caught. With Gi Gu no longer able to move, Judith chanted another spell.
“Do you really think your lowly human wit would work on me!?”
It was in that moment that the axe in Gi Gu’s left hand swung for Judith.
“KU!?”
An unexpected attack from an unexpected direction with an unexpected strength cut short her chant──
“Now!”
──Then Gi Gu yelled, and in the next moment, goblins appeared from all around to surround Judith. As special an existence as Judith was because of the power the hero bestowed upon her, there was no way she would be able to remain uninjured if she were to allow those goblins to run into her with their short spears, so she had no choice but to kick Gi Gu away and jump back.
“Retreat!”
But as soon as shed did, Gi Gu immediately turned around and retreated with his subordinates.
Before she knew it, Felduk had completed their retreat, and there was no reason left for Gi Gu to duel her.
“…Fine, but know that you did nothing more than extend your suffering.”
The way Judith narrowed her eyes and smiled coldly was just like that of a ghost.
◆◇◆
As Felduk retreated, so did Gi Jii Yubu’s Regiol and Gi Zu Ruo’s Sazanorga. Because of that a gap was opened between their forces and the hero’s forces, a gap that they were more than happy to fill.
“We’ll just keep retreating like this.”
But Alrodena just kept retreating, so Altigand kept on advancing, and as a result, their formation became longer. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t extend themselves too much because Gi Gi Orudo’s Zeilduk kept getting in the way.
The monster beasts could do little more than stall the divine beasts, but in a desperate act to at least get back at the enemy, Gi Gi scattered the monster beasts at the flanks of the hero’s army that was pushing Felduk into a corner.
He didn’t order them to attack, nay, he just made them move.
As a result, monster beasts of all sizes made their way in between the hero’s forces, and with some attacking in random places and some fleeing, the hero’s army quickly fell into chaos. Pale never even considered it, but as it turns out, the hero’s army was actually really inflexible. They fought like monsters when taking down an enemy right in front of them, but when unexpected things started happening, their movements remarkably dulled.
As unexpected as this stroke of fortune was, there was no way they would not take advantage of it.
Pale immediately ordered Aransain to rescue the Goblin King and had the imperial guards go around a long way to the left. With the clouds of dust raised up by the allied forces keeping their movements shrouded, they would stab a spear into the enemy’s drawn out battle lines.
Or at least, that was the strategy that Pale conceived, but the hero responded.
“Ha ha ha, I see… I’m surprised you can see so well amidst this chaos. However, I would be troubled if you looked down on me so much.”
Then as though in response to the hero’s words, the cavalry that has been keeping quiet this whole time suddenly became lively. Of course, this was not a normal cavalry.
Their giant steeds boasted physiques equal to those of the Three-Eyed Wild Horses(Hipparion) and were donned in armor specifically meant for cavalry battles. Riding such combat-ready steeds were soldiers equipped in light armor that utilized dragon scales and wielded a dragon lance for their weapon. Though they numbered just 2,000, they possessed enough power to change the very concepts of cavalry battles.
That was the sort of cavalry that responded to Aransain’s movements.
They rode swift as though free of burden and their spears brimmed with killing power. It was as though their speed could even match Alrodena’s swiftest, Aransain.
Short Sword Battle Maiden(Valkyria)‘s clan leader, Far, beheld that from a distance and approached Gi Ga to advise him to change formation.
“We shouldn’t underestimate their strength. Let’s avoid the head of their charge even if we have to delay.”
If it were just up to Gi Ga, he would just keep charging like this. After all, the Goblin King’s life was at stake. But he could consider even those feelings objectively.
“I might have been hasty. Fine, round the formation!”
Just as the War Princess once parried the charge of the king’s cavalry, they assumed a Deep Battle Formation and rode as swiftly as they could; a formation akin to a snake zigzagging at a high speed for its prey. The enemy rushed toward them in a straight line, and it was curious if they would actually collide with them, but then they suddenly changed directions and passed by the enemy to dodge their Arrow-Point Formation.
Of course, spears were still thrust out toward the enemies close enough, but they managed to get past the cavalry with barely any damage.
Now all that was standing in their way were the footmen surrounding the hero and the Goblin King. From their long spears and the weight of their armor, however, they might as well be the hero’s imperial guards instead, but regardless, Gi Ga commanded his cavalry.
They would have no choice but to brace themselves for sacrifices here.
“Lay down your life to rescue the king! There can be no greater honor than this!”
With Gi Ga leading the charge himself, the Goblin King’s cavalry charged straight through for the Goblin King and the hero.
“Hmph, nimble, aren’t we?”
While engaging in a fierce battle with the Goblin King, the hero glanced beside him to see Aransain charging.
“But I’ll be troubled if you think you can escape from heaven’s judgment.”
He turned to the Goblin King.
“You think so too, right?”
“Shut up!”
The Goblin King yelled angrily, but the hero just sneered and used his long sword to deal with the Goblin King’s attacks. At the same time, he raised his free hand above him.
“Fire.”
In the next moment, the earth shook, and the flying warship above tilted its hull to turn its side toward the ground. On the ship’s side was a line of magic guns. In the next moment, magic bullets bombarded the ground.
The target was none other than Aransain that was charging at full speed for the Goblin King.
“Spread out!”
As a disquieting sound resounded from above, Gi Ga could do nothing more than spread out his soldiers. The soldiers with a background in the Mana Guards could shoot a spell of their own to cancel out the bullets, but such soldiers were rare. Bullets of magic rained down onto the ground without pause, scattering Aransain and changing the terrain.
“Too bad.”
The Goblin King was desperate, but the hero just sneered again.
The sight of the Flying Warship returning to its previous position as soon as it finished its attack was truly stunning.
It was just like a flying fortress. Moreover, the sort were the word ‘impregnable’ was befitting.
