When the Goblin King received the flood of information regarding the enemy’s location, he gathered the army. Now that they knew where they were, all that was left was to decide the timing of their surprise attack.
Rashka the Valiant of the Gaidga, Gi Zu Ruo the Mad Lion, Hal of Paradua… These goblins gathered together to form a platoon with powerful penetrating prowess. The Goblin King positioned them at the front, while he positioned Gi Jii Yubu’s army and Gi Gi Orudo’s monster army behind. They were going to be fighting an army of mainly cavalry while having just as many soldiers as they did.
At the rearmost, he positioned the archers of Ganra, the elves, and Gi Za Zakuend’s druids.
The Goblin King knew he needed to strike firmly with the first blow if he were to have any hopes of destroying the formations of the enemy cavalry.
“Rashka, Gi Zu, Hal, I leave the vanguard to you. Hear my words and destroy the enemy in one strike,” the Goblin King said.
“OU!” Rashka replied.
“HA!” Gi Zu Replied.
“As you will!” Hal replied.
After hearing their reply, the Goblin King gave another order.
“Gi Jii, Gi Gi… Once they’ve punctured a hole in the enemy formation, you are to spread it open and cut even deeper into their numbers!”
“It will be as your majesty commands!” Gi Jii and Gi Gi said.
“As for the rearguards, you are to crush the fleeing enemies and watch for an attack on the flanks,” the Goblin King said.
“Leave it to me,” Fei replied.
“Hmph. The back again?” Gi Za replied.
The goblins and the elves nodded, and when dusk fell, the Goblin King departed with them.
He has caught word that the enemies moved in the night and had many scouts out.
Indeed, if they moved like that, then perhaps they might be able to thwart their attempts at a surprise attack.
“Gi Ji Arsil!”
The Goblin King summoned the assassin, Gi Ji, and ordered him to crush the enemy scouts.
“Do you think there we can be bested within the veil of the dark?” The Goblin King asked.
“No, your majesty! We are the denizens of the darkness!” Gi Ji said.
Satisfied with his response, the Goblin King ordered Gi Ji to take his assassins and move ahead.
The Goblin King’s forces departed for the outskirts of Razuel without Gi Gu Verbena’s army.
◆◇◆
When the two armies finally clashed, it was at the outskirts of Razuel, on the grass-covered meadows.
Here, the ground was hard, the lands were covered in tall grasses, and the rain was few. The feudal lord of Razuel had long given up trying to develop these lands.
Because of that the small monster beasts and animals have claimed these lands as their own.
The shrill cry of a nocturnal bird reverberated throughout the land.
It alone sang. The rest of the beasts were quiet.
The silence was deafening.
Though the monster beasts normally moved quietly, the presence of the goblin army sent them fleeing with the animals.
The night skies were clear. Not a single cloud that veiled them could be seen. And the twin moons of Ervi and Navi hung beautifully from them as the stars shone dazzlingly.
The clash of the two armies began with silence.
“The scouts haven’t returned?” The leader of the Blue Knights, Aizas, asked.
Allen nodded, and Aizas continued.
“We sent three horsemen to the north to scout and they haven’t returned. In that case…”
“They were killed?” Allen asked.
“Our elites? You must be joking.”
“Right? Then…”
“OU!”
The both of them only needed to share a glance before coming to an understanding.
“How will the goblins strike?” Aizas asked.
“They will attack from the dark and will want to end us in one strike; therefore… they will want to surround us.”
“Is that what your instincts tell you?” Aizas asked.
“Of course,” Allen smiled like a beast.
The two of them shared a wry smile after that, then Aizas shook his head.
“If our enemies were normal monsters, you’d be right, but they would do more to neutralize our forces by focusing their attacks in a single point.”
“You’re the commander. I’ll believe you.”
Allen didn’t even hesitate to abandon his original suggestion and go with whatever Aizas suggested.
In response to that, Aizas lifted up one cheek, then he issued out a command.
“Vice Knight Commander, Allen, take 5 small platoons with you, separate from the main force, and attack the enemy from the flanks!”
“I accept your orders!
Then the both of them clanged their swords and bid each other farewell.
“Don’t die, partner!” Aizas said, overflowing with the will to fight.
“The fortunes of war be with you!” Aizas replied.
After that Aizas gathered his small platoon commanders and advanced toward the area their scouts were last seen.
“We are the denizens of the eternal hot sands of the great desert!” Aizas proclaimed passionately.
The small platoon commanders speaking in chorus.
“We hold that name high and shall protect even its blue skies!”
Then Aizas drew his sword. Its blade was shone so brilliantly that even Verdna’s wings (the goddess of darkness) could not dull it.
“Onwards! Let us trample over those goblins with the hooves of our cavalry!”
At his behest, the sand horses ran. They did not move as fast as the horses did on grasslands, but they moved quickly enough for a cavalry.
With a thin but slightly longer spear than normal, the small platoon commanders rode on sand-horse-back into the darkness.
No matter how used one was to the darkness, the moons and the stars could not possibly provide enough lighting, yet still, they rode into the darkness, not slowing down even a little. Truly fitting of their titles as elites.
Because of that they were able to dodge the rain of arrows, but only for the first group.
The sound of wind cutting resounded, and the arrows rained behind the vanguard, falling onto the second group of cavalry.
Humans and horses alike cried out in pain.
Yet still the vanguard did not stop.
In fact, they rode even faster.
And when the horseman at the lead of the vanguard, who was carrying a torch saw that, he yelled.
“Found you, goblin—”
“GURUuUuOOoAAa!”
But before he could even finish his sentence, the darkness shook, and suddenly, he was splattered like a bug.
A giant goblin had just mercilessly crushed him and his horse with a club.
The club was brand new. One specifically made for Rashka just for this day. It had a wooden handle for ease of use and the part used to smash was reinforced with iron. It was a brutish club whose weight alone was enough to threaten.
Rashka swung two of that club as he pleased.
“I am violence incarnate! To war!”
