After the goblins successfully caused chaos to the rearguard of Germion Kingdom’s army and retreated into the darkness of the night, the goblins were more exhausted than the Goblin King had expected.
The goblins were so tired that they couldn’t move at all without resting. That was a considerable exhaustion considering how great their stamina was.
After spending a night in the meadows away from the battlefield, they had to start running again to make their way back to the borderlands.
The goblins quietly walked while chewing on food meant for travels. They didn’t even spare the monsters they passed a glance.
The goblins only numbered 3,500 now, but considering how much they lost compared to the enemy, this should have been an overwhelming victory for them. Unfortunately, because they failed to break the encirclement and had to abandon the Kushain believers, this had to be considered as their defeat.
The Goblin King positioned Gi Ji’s assassin platoon, who excelled at finding enemies, and the elves, who had good ears, at the back as they headed back to the border lands.
Although They were never attacked while retreating, when the king arrived at the borderlands, things had progressed far quicker than he expected.
On top of the western region being in a state of tension, the Order of the Blue Knights were also leading 20,000 soldiers from Pena to retake the territory that the Goblin King had taken.
Gi Ba and Zaurosh couldn’t stand a chance against them and had no choice but to withdraw immediately.
To make things even worse, reports say that the Red King was advancing from the east. When the Goblin King heard that, even he couldn’t help but groan out loud.
Before he knew it, they were in danger of the very thing he feared the most: being surrounded.
Without any allies to call upon, the Goblin King could only imagine the great armies approaching from the east and the south. The Goblin King grew anxious.
Should he just abandon the borderlands and retreat?
—Abandon this land after shedding so much blood for it?
“Your Majesty, I have a request,” Gi Ba Hagar said, rousing the king from his thoughts. “Please visit those injured in the battle.”
Oh? The Goblin King thought to himself, as he admired the goblin before him.
Gi Ba was – for better or for worse – a battle goblin. Without any care for allies he thought single-mindedly only of how much suffering he has brought to the enemy humans.
Which is why the Goblin King could only look at the goblin before him oddly as he quietly agreed.
“Is this for the humans too?” The Goblin King asked as he stood up to test Gi Ba.
“…Yes, Your Majesty,” Gi Ba replied.
When he heard Gi Ba’s reply, this time he was so shocked that he couldn’t help but open his eyes a little wider.
He knew from a report that Gi Ba had once worked with Shumea to expel some bandits, but he still couldn’t believe his ears.
Before long, however, something warm filled the Goblin King’s heart.
There was nothing more joyful than to see the goblins grow right before his eyes.
This wasn’t a growth on the lines of levels or evolution. No. At this point, the Goblin King has already started to consider those as trifle things.
This was a growth where his retainers were finally starting to accept the path he has shown them.
Gi Ba, who was so hateful of humans, was now actually asking him to look after those very humans.
Strange things do happen indeed.
The Goblin King acquiesced and did just as requested. He looked after the wounded. Be it goblins, humans, or elves… He looked after them all.
He held the hands of the goblins who called out his name as if they were praying to a god, he promised medicine and treatment to the humans in pain, and he promised victory to the elven warriors who had yet lost their resolve.
Each time the Goblin King consoled them, his shoulders grew heavier.
Like this the Goblin King personally visited all the injured soldiers of his army.
◆◇◆
By the time the clan leader of the Red King, Brandika, had rendezvoused with the army from Fatina at Cultidian, a day had already passed since the goblins had retreated.
Just as the Goblin King had predicted from Gi Ji’s report, the Red King had indeed arrived after three days.
Already more than half of the Kushain believers have been killed. Although their army was already half destroyed, Brandika believed that this was when things would really become scary.
All that hatred that the late patriarch, Benem Nemush, had accumulated from his holy wars were now aimed at the people of Cultidian.
Even Brandika couldn’t help but be disgusted at the sight of living people being sliced into thin pieces and skewered relentlessly.
“What a stupid thing to do,” Brandika muttered.
If they showed the Kushain believers something like that, they would obviously only make them resist even more desperately.
The holy knights were currently trying to extinguish that flame, but it was probably too late.
They may have had a secret agreement, but Germion Kingdom wasn’t planning on participating in the siege.
With this the Kushain believers could no longer move, but the same was true for Germion Kingdom.
From here, Pena would poke the Order of the Blue Knights that was hungry for success and send them toward the goblins, then the Red King could finally set out to rule over the south with the perfect system they came up with.
“…So where’s the guy who thought up all this?” Brandika asked,
But when Cell shook her head, he could only knit his brows.
“Is it bad?” He asked.
“No matter what I say, he won’t listen. It’s as if…” Cell said.
“Where is he?” Brandika asked.
He didn’t want to hear the next words.
After she told him where Carlion was, Brandika brought Vardis over his shoulder and walked.
Carlion seemed feeble even from a distance.
“Hey, Carlion!” Brandika called out.
“You arrived safe, clan leader,” Carlion said as he turned around.
When Brandika saw Carlion’s face, he became speechless.
The shadow of death… There was no mistaking it.
Brandika had seen much death. Be it in the dungeons, in the battlefield, or in the villages they were hired… So there was no doubting it.
This was the face of a man on the verge of death.
“Carlion…” Brandika said.
“Please don’t say anything. I know my body the most, so please… Please just let me accompany you until you become king,” Carlion said with a faint smile as Brandika stood there speechless.
“Don’t say something stupid. Mark my words, you’ll live to see the day I become king… Even if you have to crawl on the ground.”
“Ha ha ha! Then I guess I’ll have to take care of my health, won’t I?”
“You bet. Just leave work to someone else and rest up. This is an order.”
Brandika forced Carlion back into his tent, then he turned to Cell.
“I don’t care how much it costs, find him the best doctor.”
“Alright.”
After seeing Cell off, Brandika looked up at the sky.
“Stupid idiot. A brat shouldn’t be saying he’s going to die before me.”
