The Goblin King led an army of approximately 2000 men strong. They did not lose any of their prior momentum even after rendezvousing with the advance forces of Gi Gi Orudo the beast tamer, Gi Ji Arsil and his platoon of assassins, and Gi Zu Ruo and his thugs.
At the very front of the horde were the Paradua goblins, while Gi Ji and his assassins continued to gather information from the surrounding areas, and Gi Zu the Mad Lion joined the lowest stratum of warriors and approached the lands ruled by the small feudal lords, expelling the beasts they came across while taking care not to drive the beasts toward the borderlands.
Despite all that, the goblin army still advanced quickly. It was such that from the perspective of a human, their march looked like a forced march.
After rendezvousing with the others, the Goblin King’s forces was now roughly 2,300 men strong. The great momentum of the goblin army as they followed after a giant goblin was enough to make them mistake the goblins for a demonic army. It was that terrifying.
Even the small feudal lords, who had gathered at Sanktfall, started to have second thoughts upon seeing the giant goblin. Suddenly, they felt as if they might have been too rash.
But when they thought back to the words of the Leon Heart Clan’s vice clan leader, Zaurosh, they calmed down.
“Our intel says that the goblin forces will be moving south soon. If we use that to our advantage…”
They knew that a great army left Cultidian a few days ago and were headed west. They knew because they had to deliver food to make their expedition possible. The small border lords were greatly perplexed, but Zaurosh’s words brought them hope.
The plan was to let the goblin army and the Kushain fanatics fight each other and benefit from their misfortune. Should the monsters weaken, they will fight with the Leon Heart Clan and finish them off. Should the Kushain believers lose, then they would be able to stop sending any further military provisions under the pretense that they themselves have their hands full dealing with the goblins.
They had no choice but to go along with Zaurosh’s proposal.
They have somehow managed despite their financial state, but having to provide provisions to the military on top of everything was just too much. It was no different from telling them to die.
When they caught word that the goblin forces were approaching the army of the Kushain believers, they deepened the moats and shut the gates, hoping that the goblins would simply pass by.
It was also in Shirak that the small feudal lords had gathered. They were there because of Zaurosh’s proposal.
“Please be at ease, our elites are also present. Besides, don’t you need to see the goblin forces once?”
There was such a thing as a degree of threat. The orc madness, the monster outbreaks, the invasion of other countries… There were all sorts of threats, so it was necessary to understand the degree of each threat. And determining that was part of the feudal lords’ responsibility.
Because of that the small feudal lords stayed within the walls of Shirak and watched the plains from a distance, on which could be seen a great cloud of dust moving through the windy meadows.
As the goblin army headed south, a part of it separated from the main force and approached Shirak.
When the feudal lords saw that, they inadvertently took their weapons and braced themselves for war.
But the goblins stopped at a distance about 100 meters away, and then shot a single arrow toward the sky. The arrow hummed a whistle as it flew in the air, drawing a parabola, before finally landing right before their feet. The feudal lords were shocked, but their eyes gathered on the letter attached to the arrow.
But no one touched it as the feudal lords were afraid.
Zaurosh nonchalantly opened the letter and read it out loud.
“They wish to talk, it says,” he said as he looked at the feudal lords with a troubled expression.
“…Let’s do it.”
One of the feudal lords possessed a skill that allowed him to see things from far away. The person who shot that arrow just now was an elf. An elf should be much easier to talk to than some goblin, so they shot an arrow back, accepting their request.
The elf that appeared before them was a sylph commander outfitted with srilana equipment. It was Felbi.
“Thank you for granting me an audience,” he said as he sent a sharp gaze to Zaurosh and the feudal lords.
The bearing of a great warrior that he had about him caused the feudal lords to wince.
“I bring the words of the Goblin King. Surrender now and you will be spared. I can free you from the yoke of the fanatics that make you suffer so.”
Like a drawn sword, Felbi demanded a reply.
“What do we say?” An unsure feudal lord asked.
“We’ll accept, but only after he’s freed us,” Zaurosh brazenly replied.
The feudal lords were shocked, but before they could approach Zaurosh, Felbi’s next words stopped them.
“A wise decision. If you had refused, the goblins may have burned this town down. We’ll meet again once the enemy to the east has been disposed of.”
Felbi turned heel and vanished toward the direction of the goblin forces.
At that, the feudal lords approached Zaurosh.
“Wasn’t that a bit hasty?” A feudal lord asked.
Zaurosh shook his head. “You heard the elf. The goblins’ objective hasn’t changed. If we are to move an army such as that, we need to throw out some bait. Besides, I don’t think the goblins would’ve understood if we said we would provide them supplies instead.”
The sound of someone gulping among the feudal lords could be audibly heard.
“But if we isolated ourselves and fought…”
“If we did that, we would be stuck here. In the first place, our plan is to let the goblins and the fanatics kill each other. Let’s not forget that now.”
The feudal lords had no choice but to agree as they watched the goblins leave.
