By single-handedly taking charge of the right flank, Aransain was able to buy the king time to fight the hero by himself.
Unfortunately, the war on the left flank did not develop conveniently for Alrodena.
Despite the valiant efforts of Felduk, Zeilduk, and the allied forces, the color of their flag gradually turned for the worse. Felduk, which had originally thinned its formation to take on the overwhelming majority of the enemy front, had already started to exhaust their reserve forces.
The archers led by Pale and Gi Do Buruga’s druids continued to frustrate the enemy’s offensive with their precise attacks, but while Alrodena’s advantage remained, the scales would tilt wildly to Altigand’s favor once they lost the initiative.
That’s why they deployed the special unit in key locations to minimize the losses of the southern goblins and the monster beasts, but they too would eventually be pushed back. There was no way to overturn their fatigue, yet the high-ranking goblins leaped to the front lines and somehow managed to keep the lines and their morale alive.
By this point, there was little that Pale could do.
In the first place, their victory rested solely on the Goblin King’s victory over the hero. They could not retreat. The moment they did, the enemy forces would flood the Goblin King, so they could only attack.
Attack, attack, attack, even when they were down to the last soldier, attack.
“Don’t give the enemy a chance to fight back!”
It was as though they were marching straight for death, but Gi Gu Verbena stood in the front lines and encouraged them. Logically, it was a poor idea to place the commander in charge of the biggest army in the front lines. But Gi Gu insisted on standing in the front lines, and he continued to encourage his subordinates to try and influence them with his unbreakable will.
The goblins were said to be as foolish as beasts. They were the weakest creatures of the forest, but after all the rigorous training, all the love poured into them, and all the countless battles they have experienced, they were able to evolve into battle-hardened elites. Their spiritual pillar, who had all of their respect, was none other than the Great Gi Gu Verbena the Ruler of the South.
That Gi Gu stood in the front lines, inspiring them with his valiant figure to believe in that which lay beyond death, the song of victory(Hekaterina). Being elites, they would of course follow that back, and so, Felduk stood united to support Alrodena’s offensive.
As Felduk continued their attacks, so did Zeilduk step up.
“I too shall go to the front.”
Gi Gi Orudo’s words roused the surrounding beast tamers.
Even the monster beasts, which usually behaved like spoiled children before Gi Gi, raised their fur and pounded the ground in a display of their resolve to fight. Boisterous roars bellowed out as Zeilduk deployed their large monster beasts, leaving only a few to protect Gi Gi’s vicinity.
When Gi Gi realized that he’d reached the limits of what he could accomplish by taking control, he brought his main force forward and joined the melee. On his three-headed bird steed did he wield his axe and ride onward. The monster beasts around them also began to run, causing the monster beasts from the nearby areas to be caught up in their charge, resulting in a tsunami of monster beasts that headed for Altigand.
The allied forces too put up a valiant fight.
Under the leadership of Vilan Do Zul, they took advantage of their leftmost flank’s strength to suppress the enemy.
“As expected, the orcs can’t be taken lightly.”
In the process of humans gaining hegemony and reaching out to the frontier, it actually not the goblins but the orcs that suffered the most. The sight of before seemed to reiterate just that, causing Vilan to quietly mutter to himself.
Though they were not as overwhelmingly numerous as the goblins, an orc was equivalent to three goblins by himself, and their bare flesh could also act as armor by itself.
Bui the Great Chief led the orcs to lay waste to the enemy lines, the valor they displayed, no less than that of goblins. For the old gods, this would have been a scene reminiscent of the old days during Deetna’s invasion.
“BURUUuuAAAA!!”
Just awhile ago, Bui was calmly talking, but now, he was fighting on the front lines like the Savage King that all orcs admired. His ripped body was clad in muscular armor, and he swung club mercilessly crush his enemies’ heads. His loud roars would inspire his orcs so much so that they would forget even the fear of death.
As all the roars bellowing overlapped, the monster beasts watching could not help but falter, and even those from the distant mountains quivered.
There were neither enemies nor foes that could stop the rampage of the orcs led by the Savage King. At the very least, even if these humans were being manipulated, and even if they were equipped with high-quality armor, they could not resist the orcs’ frenzied momentum. Though these orcs were subordinated to the kingdom led by the Goblin King, the power displayed proved themselves worthy of playing a part in the Forest of Darkness ruled by the monsters.
But all of this was for the Goblin King.
Be it the goblins or the orcs or the monsters or the elves or the demihumans or the humans, no one, not one doubted the victory of the Goblin King. That’s why they could fight so desperately to maintain the battle lines.
The sagacious Goblin King.
The mighty Goblin King.
He was a great emperor who overturned the dominion of the humans, saved countless species from death, and won the favor of the fallen gods.
The High King of Rebellion who devoured half of the world and defeated all the mighty adversaries that dared stand in his way.
But even for that Goblin King, the enemy that now obstructed his path was just too strong.
The Goblin King unleashed a storm of blades, but gradually, that too waned. He called forth the power of the underworld, staking even his own life to unleash this sword, yet still, the hero went beyond him. As one of the gods who determined the principle of the world, the vessel of the mad ancestor god, this hero, who was essentially the voice of the world, was simply too strong for monsters to defeat.
The Goblin King used every sword he could think of and poured all of his overwhelming power behind his attacks, but even then, a monster could simply not defeat a god.
“Seven Strokes of Heaven’s Might.”
The sword-turned-three unleashed seven strokes with three times as much power.
The attacks displayed by the king until now couldn’t even compare. A raging storm of blades attacked the Goblin King. They tore apart the Goblin King so quickly that it was impossible to find a spot on him that was unwounded.
The flames of the underworld covered the Goblin King, but then four more streaks reached for him. 12 consecutive attacks overlapped. Already, there was no other way to describe this than despair.
Despite that the Goblin King pushed onward, only for him to fall. He hadn’t realized it, but his legs have already been blown off; hence, the Goblin King finally knelt.
“It’s over.”
When even one of his arms was blown away, the king’s entire body was covered in black flames. The Goblin King leaned onto Aldia and glared at the hero.
“──!”
“Behold! The fate of those that followed you!”
The hero laughed as he turned to the sky.
The ryuus were being pushed back.
The various battle lines were beginning to come apart.
The Goblin King himself had been pushed into a corner.
There was no chance for victory. Not in the past, not in the future, and not in the horizon.
