But the situation was by no means optimistic.
Earlier, they were under siege, and now, the enemy was gradually closing in on them. In a sense, the situation hadn’t changed at all. The fortress in the mountains was captured in less than ten days, so they took the battle to the fields, but even that served as no more than a meager resistance in the face of an overwhelmingly large army.
They needed to buy two more months time, yet they’ve already been cornered in the tunnels, their last line of defense. To make things worse, they didn’t have much food.
“The flying warships, huh.”
The thunderous roars from the battle of the flying warships and the ryuus could be heard even in the tunnels down below.
Altigand was trying to break through the mountains in one go through the seven ships. But the ground force of 300,000 soldiers were currently being held back by supply problems and Sazanorga’s guerrilla tactics.
This was still within expectations. But the true value of the flying warships lay in their ability to hold human weapons. By loading them with wyverns knights and deploying them mid air, they could fight much better than even Gawain’s ryuus.
With the support of magic bullets, the wyvern knights would raise up their dragon lance and strike their foes. Not even Gawain’s ryuus could deal with the onslaught of magic bullets from afar, and the only fate that awaited them up close was to be cut apart by the wyvern knights.
Gradually, control over the skies fell to Altigand. In the midst of that, the little supply that came from Alrodena was also blocked.
Yet the fact that Altigand still couldn’t take control of the ground frustrated Altigand to no end, and they believed that the tunnels were to be blamed for that. So they bombarded the land to destroy those passages that the ants have dug.
Dozens were buried alive.
Regardless of if that was many or few, the supply route of the goblins was cut. Powerful magic bullets poured ceaselessly over the mountains, laying bare the rocks and sinking the ground.
A month later, the path between Sazanorga and the main force led by the Goblin King was completely cut off.
“Just 30 days more.”
Their 1,000 soldiers have already been reduced to 700. In the long and fierce war, 30% of them died, while the remaining 70% were wounded.
By this time, the 300,000 soldiers have also started to figure out the tunnels. After all, there were just so many of them. No matter how dark the paths may be, with that many people, they were bound to fill up the tunnels.
Gi Zu grit his teeth and tried to exhaust the enemy as planned, but neither him nor his man were tireless. Showing themselves to the enemy and figuring out where to fight took a greater toll on them than expected.
From the perspective of a Lord Class goblin, the enemy after them were overwhelmingly weak. No matter how crazy they may be, women and children that could at most only accidentally hurt them.
Unfortunately, the weapons they wielded were troublesome. Hence, it felt as though a swarm of tiny winged insects was chasing after them. Each one of them possessing a poison stinger too great for them to handle.
Even without any strength themselves, they could easily penetrate the goblins and leave a fatal wound.
They could even smash their bones if their attacks landed on the right spot. That was all they had to watch out for, but when they had to engage them so many times, wounds were bound to pile up. If anything it was remarkable how they were able to keep their wounds to merely grazes.
“A wound like this is nothing!”
Gi Zu’s flank and right foot had been stabbed, but he still tried to advance. Alas, his body would not listen.
“Damn it… Is this is as far as I go? 20 days… I need to buy that much time… Or what face would I have to show the king?”
Though he had to drag his unmoving body, Gi Zu walked onward through the tunnels. They had taken the enemy’s food and were in the middle of a retreat from a part of the tunnels occupied by the enemy.
En route, Gi Zu lost consciousness while leaning on Ved’s shoulder.
“…Hey.”
Ved picked 200 goblins with stamina remaining and ordered them to retreat with Gi Zu.
“We’ll march on ground in the dark of the night. If Pale-dono is alive and well, she will send help, I’m sure.”
“Uncle, what about you?”
“As for me, well…”
A heroic smile surfaced on Ved, then as he looked over the rest of his subordinates, he laughed in a way that would frighten even demons. The surface of the mountainous region was already controlled by an army of 300,000 soldiers. To break through something like that was no longer merely reckless but impossible.
But Ved wasn’t thinking of coming back alive.
“Consider it our victory as long as pops survives!”
Sazanorga started moving, but there was one problem. When everything was ready and all that was left was to execute, Gi Zu suddenly awoke.
“…Damn it. What is the meaning of this!?” Gi Zu asked.
All of Sazanorga has already appeared on the surface while his consciousness was gone. When Gi Zu saw that, he questioned Ved.
“Ved, what were you thinking!?” Gi Zu said.
“Pops… Give me a break,” Zu Ved said.
“What break? What are you──”
“──Pops, to us, you are the sun.”
“──Ved… You…”
It was then that Gi Zu realized what Ved was trying to do.
“You told us our role before the battle began.”
“It’s my role!”
“And I’ve received it properly. So, pops… Please go to the king and serve him with devotion.”
“Ved, did you think you’d be able to convince me with that!?”
His subordinates held Gi Zu, but he shook them off and he grabbed Ved. But Ved easily got out of that, then landed a blow right in the pit of Gi Zu’s stomach. As Gi Zu keeled, a knifehand strike fell on the back of his head and knocked him out.
“Please excuse my lack of filial piety… Well, I suppose you could consider this payment for that one blow I took in the past.”
Ved joked a little, but he quickly fixed his expression and knelt.
“This is goodbye, Pops. Please live on.”
Ved prostrated himself to Gi Zu deep enough for his head to rub the ground. After giving a heartfelt apology, he commanded his subordinates without turning.
“Go. Protect Gi Zu Ruo of Sazanorga and escape with him.”
Ved watched over them until they completely disappeared from view, then as though to cut off any lingering attachments, Ved yelled.
“Listen up, men! This here is where we’re going to die.”
They were surrounded by countless humans.
“But just dying to allow our pops to escape is too good for low-lives like us! So we need to earn that right first! We’re going to break through here and buy 20 more days, then we can die!”
Ved quietly gathered his forces, then attacked one of the corners of the humans’ encirclement to break through. Indeed, their assault, which took a route the exact opposite Gi Zu fled, was nothing more than a diversion, and after rampaging throughout the battlefield, they returned underground once again. Sazanorga only numbered 500 at the time of their assault, but now they numbered only 300.
