The elves running up ahead froze the moment they saw us. Some carried a babe in hand, others were unarmored women, some were elderly. Apparently, most of the noncombatants were fleeing through the north.
There were so many of them I didn’t know what to do.
“…Fei, can the elves take care of these people?” I asked.
“Of course!” He replied.
The gray wolves running up ahead under Cynthia’s lead cut a path through the elven crowd. We had to hurry, lest we wished to find ourselves drowned in this sea of refugees.
The elves probably won’t follow goblin leadership, but if it’s their fellow elves ruling – even if they are their enemies – they should be more compliant.
“Open a path! Don’t block our way!” I commanded.
When the elves heard that, they split into two groups, opening up the middle.
“Thank you, King of Goblins,” Fei said.
I looked at him oddly, not sure why he was being thankful.
Sensing that, he continued. “Though they come from different villages, they are still our brethren. We are much obliged that you have chosen not to harm them.”
“You don’t need to thank me. All I seek is victory, so don’t go start seeing me in some strange light.”
I have no intentions of massacring the elves.
Besides, I actually want to fight with them as allies one day. Needless slaughter is best avoided.
Fei chuckled a bit when I said that, then we continued on our way.
Gradually, we neared the distant torchlight. As we did, more and more burning trees came to view. The wind that blew was already warm. Fortunately, the smoke billowed up above our heads.
The sooner this battle ends the better.
“Mido! Where are you!?” I called out as I searched for the leading actor of this battle under the crimson sky.
It was then that elven warriors stood before me.
There were about 50 of them.
“Surrender! Or die!”
As I said that, I filled my legs with ether and swung Flamberge. With a single stroke, the enemies outfitted in srilana equipment flew to the sky.
“We’re under attack! Enemies are coming from–”
I ran with the black smoke as cover, then I swung Flamberge – and with its great weight – cut down the screaming elf.
When I neared the elves, they looked blankly at me.
I warned you!
“Turn me into a blade!Enchant”
Ether coursed through the blade of Flamberge, giving rise to sonorous black flames.
First stroke.
In an instant, the black burning great sword cut the elves in half.
Second stroke.
Then in the next moment, it claimed their necks.
It didn’t matter how thick their armor were. Before Flamberge, they might as well wear leaves.
“GURUUuUoOoOAaOAaA!”
At the bellowing of the World-Devouring Howl, the elves cowered. I leaped for the elves, sword in hand, and though they tried to defend, Flamberge mercilessly took their lives.
I ran through the now open path.
“Follow the king!”
After I broke through the elves, the army behind me followed. There was no rest for the elven soldiers. In fact, it only got worse. For the shaman, Gi Za Zakuend, followed after me and used his magic to summon blades of wind, ripping the elves into shreds as the druids under Gi Za’s lead casted their own spells.
Srilana armor might have the ability to disperse ether, but that also has its limits. Once that limit was crossed, the srilana armor will no longer be able to protect its wearer. The elves cowered before the might of the druids.
“My fury howls!Slash
Then Rashka came along and sent the elves flying with his burly arms. Like a one-eyed fiend, he swung his club and wreaked havoc on the elves, stirring up a bath of blood and flesh.
“We will expand the opening the Goblin King has made. Three parallel shots! Fire!”
At Fei’s command, the few elves under him shot their arrows toward the enemy elves.
“WoOn!”
I looked up when I heard Cynthia’s cries.
“Mido! Are you alright!?” I asked.
As the light of the fire touched Mido’s body, it revealed his bloodied figure.
“Ah, ahh… If it isn’t the Goblin King! How about it? Wasn’t the result great?” He said.
“Indeed. With this, victory is ours. The only question now is how much further we’ll be able to push this advantage.”
“Today shall be a day of reckoning. Those who’ve sullied their hands with the blood of my brethren will pay!”
“WooOON!” Cynthia barked.
“Y-Young lady! You actually came!”
One moment, Mido’s face was like that of a devil’s, then in the next moment, his face was like that of an excited little boy.
It didn’t last long, however, as he quickly assumed that scary face again.
We were still in the middle of a battle.
Once, the gray wolves Cynthia led meets up with the Fang Tribe, we will be changing our attack patterns.
Gi Ji and Gi Jii are fighting at northeast and northwest respectively. Their battles should be progressing downwards. Naturally, that means the enemy will have to respond accordingly, or they could get caught in the smoke and head north.
We came here to the south to meet up with Mido, but more than that, our real objective was to hit the enemy from behind.
East or west? Which one should we attack from both sides first?
—East, huh.
*THUMP THUMP. For a moment, Verid throbbed.
My warrior’s instincts are telling me to go east, but in any case, the only difference is which one we get to first.
“Eliminate the enemy to the east. Follow!”
◆◆◇
The whole village went into an uproar as it caught fire.
“By the gods… They’re willing to go this far?” Felbi muttered in disbelief.
Pale agreed with him though she didn’t bother to voice it out.
The distant fire seemed like it would cover the whole village in the blink of an eye.
Pale’s face was as cold as ice, but inside, her brain was running as fast as it could to devise a plan. The fire they were seeing was coming from the south.
Pale might have experienced a fire or two herself, but most elves hadn’t. They looked on blankly at the scene before them.
“The village is burning…” They muttered.
Pale had overcome many fires with her adventurer friends in the human world before.
She spoke firmly to stifle the unrest she was feeling. “We can still make it!”
“But the village is…” The elves argued.
“That fire won’t go beyond the south. Remember! What is the geography of the village? There are roads and a plaza in the center, right? The fire from the southern side won’t be able to cross those. The northern side should be safe.”
Pale’s words managed to persuade the elves.
“However, this fire was probably started by someone. We have to make a decision, Felbi,” Pale said.
“W-What?” Felbi asked.
“Are we going to fight? Or are we going to flee? Make a decision.”
Pale’s gaze shot through Felbi. Pale was feeling partly responsible due to her failure to predict this sort of counterattack. In the end, however, the commander was Felbi. He had to be the one to make the decision.
Pale could only watch intently at the male elf commander as she awaited his orders.
The initiative has already been taken by the enemy. Be it momentum or position, the enemy is superior in all fronts.
But they haven’t lost yet.
A fire burned within Pale, though at the same time, reason told her they should flee. That wasn’t a wrong choice, but they could still fight.
Without the chiefs pulling her around, she would be able to fight as she pleased. Of course, they would be fewer than the enemy at the start, but if they could confine the enemy within Sinfall, they might eventually be able to turn the board against them.
Pale refused that tempting voice that sought to convince her to fight. The one calling the shots wasn’t her but Felbi. That was her excuse, at least.
“…Do you think the chiefs have fled already?” Felbi asked.
“With this fire they’re probably still in the process of—” Pale responded, but Felbi spoke again before she could finish.
“In that case, we fight!” He said.
When Felbi said that, Pale closed her eyes for a moment.
This battle was their loss, but she had a duty to make mitigate their losses as much as possible.
“There will be many casualties,” Pale said.
“I know,” Felbi nodded.
Pale began organizing the soldiers. “First Platoon to Sixth Platoon, equip yourselves with swords! Seventh and Eighth, bring your bows! The first and second platoon are to bring their armor as well! Soldiers who can use water magic are to report to me! You will be the keys to our victory.”
Their formation this time around was much more melee-oriented compared to normal.
“May we all live through this. The blessings of Chenzhen (Forest God) to all!”
The soldiers spoke after her.
“With Za Ruga (God of Bows) !”
“Glory to Iren (Water Goddess) and Castor (Wind God)!”
The soldiers under Pale were filled with morale.
They went straight south for the village, picking up other soldiers along the way.
“Gather under the flag of Symphoria!” Felbi said as he led the army.
As he did, he made sure to put the wounded and the able into different groups. Those who couldn’t fight were put on standby at the back. They hurried even more to where the flames were.
By the time they got there, the flames were already walls of flames.
“The demihuman units have rebelled? Felbi! From here on, consider all of the demihumans enemy!”
Though the approaching demihumans were few, Pale still trembled. With the demihumans’ rebellion, 200 soldiers were taken from their forces and added to the enemy’s. All that was left was the 300 soldiers under her and the scattered soldiers.
“Cast water onto the flames! Create a path!”
The water mages forcefully separated the elven warriors from the demihumans and extinguished the flames. After a big enough path was created, Pale and her soldiers left the area.
They made their way toward the village while fighting a hard battle and paying attention to the direction of the wind. From time to time, when the black smokes were low, they would use magic to stir it up, allowing them to make their way with the smoke as cover.
Breaking through the wall of flames, Pale ordered her soldiers through the opened path.
On the other side, the village was still standing.
“It deviated to the west a bit!” Pale muttered to herself.
They could still do this, she told herself.
There were some elves surrounded by goblins.
“Save our allies! First Platoon to Third Platoon, attack!” Pale commanded.
“Alright! Let’s go, boys! Attack!” Felbi said after Pale.
The moment Felbi led the vanguard to fight the goblins, Pale gave orders to the archers at the back.
“Watch our allies. High-angle fire, two shots!”
Pale drew her bow as well.
“Fire!”
At that, the goblin encirclement broke, but before they could finish them off, they retreated.
“They’re getting used to this, but… We can’t lose yet,” Pale said as she confirmed the situation.
The scope of the fire wasn’t that big. They should be able to save several of their brethren.
“Felbi, keep going and push back the goblins! Archer unit cover them! Fourth to Sixth Platoon, you are to rescue our brethren!”
After saving their allies, they asked them were the chiefs were.
When they responded ‘East’, for some reason, Pale’s eyes went dark. That was a long way away, but they had to do it. After collecting herself, Pale started handing out orders again.
“First Platoon, Second Platoon, watch the rear. Third Platoon to Sixth Platoon, you are to rescue our chiefs! Forward!”
The heavy infantry – the First and Second Platoon – were to suppress the goblins, while the light infantry were to save the chiefs.
Like that Pale headed east with the elves they’d saved as their guides.
◆◆◇
After crushing about three elven platoons, the battle demon, Gi Ji Yubu, received a powerful attack, causing their encirclement to break.
“This is…”
The force of these new enemies were clearly much greater than before! They were faster, stronger, and had high morale! But more than anything else was that powerful pressure they exuded!
Gi Ji Yubu knew this pressure well. After all, he had lost the king’s soldiers countless times to it. He couldn’t possibly forget it.
Gi Ji grit his teeth. “I’ve been waiting, Pale Symphoria!!”
He held his spear so tight it seemed like he was about to crush it, then he ordered his men. “Reform battle lines! Gi Ah, Gi Ii, hold position until Gi Ba finishes retreating, then retreat in order!”
The goblin forces that had become panicked because of the raining arrows gradually fixed their formation.
A fire burned within Gi Ji, but despite that, his mind was perfectly clear.
“Gi Ah, Gi Ii, spears at the ready! Take a detour through the left and attack the enemy inside the flames!”
The fire was gradually nearing the back of Pale’s soldiers, but it was also burning the village.
The soldiers at the vanguard were equipped with armor as usual. Neither spear nor sword could really get through them.
If so, then the most they could do now was to attack them inside the flames even if it means incurring damage themselves. That was the only path to victory.
Gi Ji gave those orders after immediately realizing that.
“Nu!?”
But just when he thought the enemy would push toward them, they suddenly retreated. In fact, the light infantry that were suppressing them all this time were actually moving east.
“You intend to go to our lord?”
Gi Ji thought the enemy was aiming for the king.
“I don’t believe our lord will lose, but… As long as I’m still standing, you can forget about touching the king!”
For the sake of the famed name of Gi Gu Verbena, Gi Ji, who had been given authority over the king’s army, could not allow the enemy to run from in front of him.
“Gi Ii, take the vanguard and pursue the enemy! Don’t let them near our lord!” Gi Ji commanded.
The explorer, Gi Ii, led his goblins and pursued the enemy.
“Gi Ah, Gi Ba, you are to take the enemy from their flanks!”
After the three rare-class goblins went their way, Gi Ji ferociously laughed.
“My lord, soon I will be able to offer you Pale Symphoria’s head.”
◆◆◇
I went south according to my warrior’s instinct. I counted the time we had left after glancing at the fire approaching from behind, and then I prompted the soldiers to move faster.
As we passed by the trees the elves used for their dwelling, the enemy elves came to view. They stood close to each other in a tight formation.
“Go! Trample them!” I commanded.
As I swung Flamberge, Rashka ran alongside me.
“I’ll be going ahead!” Rashka said with a fierce smile.
“You wish to go ahead of me? Then go! But don’t ever stop, Rashka!” I said.
“Ridiculous! Who do you think you’re talking to? In front of me, even the mountains will make way!”
A black light filled the two clubs in Rashka’s hands.
“Clad me in violence’s dignity!Ra Gilion”
Black light gathered onto the two clubs, and then it shot towards the tight formation of the elves, scattering them.
“Anyone who stands in my way will be crushed!” Rashka’s bellowing declaration made the elves cower.
As I watched Rashka’s gallant figure create an opening with brute force, I ordered the soldiers. “Follow Rashka! Slaughter the enemy!”
Battle cries resounded from behind at my command.
The srilana armor of the elves were crushed before Rashka’s brutish strength. When his clubs swung down, helms were crushed. When his clubs swung up, elves went flying. Even the heavy infantry wasn’t spared.
One of the elf groups stood out. Heavy infantry surrounded numerous gaudily dressed men. They were probably the bigwigs.
Good! If we get them, we can put an end to all this!
“The enemy’s leaders are there! Take their heads and put an end to this war!”
At my behest, the elves, the Gaidga tribe, the demihumans, the normal goblins, everyone followed after Rashka and wreaked havoc throughout the battlefield.
—255 days until the war with the humans.
