Within the milky-white fog, the castle gates quietly opened.
At the head of the army was none other than the Goblin King, donned in armor and mounted atop his terrifying carnivorous horse, which he named Sui. On his back was the Titan Dagger, by his waist was Flamberge, and drawn and placed upon his shoulder was Zweihander.
The Goblin King wore leather armor to prioritize mobility. There were scars on it, leftover from the previous battles, and Sui himself was also donned in armor.
Behind the Goblin King was his most loyal retainer, Gi Ga Rax, who rode upon a black tiger steed and was missing an arm. He glared at the enemy encampment with a valiant aura owing to his many years in service.
The noble class goblin, Gi Be Slay, who was chosen to be in the cavalry that was under the king’s direct command was also present. His ability to handle the terrifying horse while only having one arm was truly exceptional.
The iron legs of the black tigers of Paradua tribe followed from behind as well.
Further behind were the rare class goblins, who rode upon hipparions and ferociously exhaled a line of white breath as they passed through the gates one after another. And then in between the hipparions and the terrifying horses (andoryu sarkus) were the gray wolves.
Altogether there were 800 of them that made up the cavalry.
The goblin army’s most elite battalion advanced through the fog. They advanced quietly, not even making the sound of pushing through the grass, as the Goblin King increased the pace. Within the fog, it was as if the body of the god of fire that was rising beyond the land was trying to exterminate the night god.
The one-armed Gi Be Slay kept changing his grip on his steed’s reins as he follow the king and made sure not to lag behind.
“What’s the matter? Excited?”
The one who called out to him was Gi Ga Rax, who was in a whole another league compared to him. With a body scarred from the previous wars and a body bigger than that of a noble class, the aura about Gi Ga rax overpowered the other goblins. Gi Be owed his life to him for saving him when he was attacked by some humans once.
“How can I not? I’m so excited I want to bellow out everything inside!” Gi Be said as he clenched his canine teeth.
“Calm your heart and wait for the king’s orders. The fiery rage is best imbued into one’s technique.”
Gi Be felt like he was being scolded, so he quickly bowed his head and nodded.
To him, Gi Ga was the second ruler of the village. Be it in martial technique or teamwork, everything he knew was taught to him by Gi Ga. The king was great and leads them, but Gi Ga taught them techniques to allow them to live.
Seeing Gi Be slowly breathing, Gi Ga nodded.
“That’s better. Control the fire within you and use it to scorch the enemy. Make sure to never lose sight of the king.”
“HA!”
Gi Ga left Gi Be and called out to Hal.
When Gi Be realized that Gi Ga had merely come to encourage him, he felt ashamed of of his immaturity. Right now, he was still too weak to reach Chief Hal and Gi Ga. But one day… he thought. And then the wind seemed to grow stronger and suddenly silence had covered the area and the scenery was moving past them quickly. War was at hand.
—Don’t lose sight of the king.
Gi Be recalled Gi Ga’s advice and looked for the king.
—The king is always at the lead.
Just as the king said before the battle, his back was always at the head of the army. From that magnificent back stretched out a thick arm that held up a great sword.
—It’s near.
As soon as Gi Be felt that, he bit the reins and drew the spear from his saddle.
He pushed the emotions welling within down into the pits of his stomach as he focused his eyes and followed the king. If not for the white fog that wet his skin and the moisture in the air he inhaled, his throat would have long dried.
The cavalry was moving in full force.
As soon as Gi Be thought that the exit out of the fog was near, his field of vision widened.
And suddenly, the enemies were right in front, looking stupid at them.
“GURUUuuOOOaaAaOOOOO!!”
The next moment, the Goblin King bellowed out a howl, and Gi Be felt as if his entire body had turned into flames as he howled along with the Goblin King.
The goblin army begun their rampage.
◆◇◆
“So, they’ve come.”
Brandika had already expected that the goblins would try a surprise attack, so as he watched the chaos unfolding in the front lines, he gave out his orders.
“Cut off any paths of retreat! Wipe them out!”
It was a simple decision. Theirs was a large army of 50,000 soldiers. There was no way the enemy could win by defending. They only had one of two choices: either run or attack.
And they chose a surprise attack.
Carlion had paved the road for this with the last battle. The reason they showed themselves while pursuing the enemy was to show them how big their army was and drag them out.
Clashing with the enemy was the most efficient plan. So long as they could kill them all, the battle would end.
“About a thousand, huh.”
After ascertaining the target from how much cloud of dust was raised up by the enemy, Brandika immediately ordered his men to intercept them. All the soldiers positioned to surround the fortress changed their target to the incoming enemy. It they could catch the enemy like a net would catch a school of fish, they should be able to easily defeat the enemy.
“Avoid the fiercest part of the enemy formation and attack them from the back.”
Just as the plan Carlion had left suggested and Brandika expected, the enemy launched a surprise attack. No, this was no longer a surprise attack. The moment Brandika saw through it, it stopped being a surprise attack and became an assault. The Red King’s forces that was like a multi-headed beast followed the plan they’d decided beforehand and bared their fangs at the approaching cavalry of the Goblin King.
They came at the Goblin King like a swarm of insects seduced by the scent of a carnivorous flower.
“…”
As Pale watched from atop the walls, she was surprised to see how good Brandika was. He was better than she’d expected.
“Won’t the king be surrounded at this rate?”
It was the magician-class goblin, Gi Za Zakuend, who turned a sharp glance at Pale. The druids were slow, so he and his men were instead placed in defense.
“Yes. The enemy’s movements are much better than expected. They must’ve seen through us.”
“Bastard! Are you saying the king’s trust in you was for naught?”
Gi Za glared furiously at Pale as he extended his staff toward her neck. Not a hint of his usual calmness remained, and his eyes made it clear that one wrong move and he was sure to kill her.
“But even if that were the case… My plans won’t lose a second time!”
But despite that, Pale never moved her eyes away from the battlefield.
For everything… The defeat in the last battle, the sacrifices made, the retreat that led the enemy here… Yes. Everything was done for this one moment.
Reflected on Pale’s eyes was the sight of the enemy troops being sent flying one after another.
