Pale sent the army that was supposed to go north to the southwest of Elrain Kingdom, Pena, instead. Most of Gi Ga’s Aransain that conquered the Labyrinth City was called back and Gi Ji Arsil that was with Gi Gi, who was busy with constructing the supply depots, was also called back.
Pale hesitated to call back Ra Gilmi Fishiga from his position, so instead she called the strongest of the four tribes from the Forest of Darkness, the Gaidga tribe.
On top of those, Pale also recruited Felbi, who was sick of serving as a human escort, as well as some adventurers from the guild. Just the working group alone numbered over 3,000. On top of that, there was still the supply group prepared by the government officials. It took the Goblin King 20 days after deciding to attack Pena before he was able to finish preparations.
“We will attack swiftly.”
Pale told the gathered military leaders.
“Gi Ga Rax’s Aransain will lead the vanguard and attack Pena. You are to force Queen Raksha to surrender.”
No one disputed her ideas, as she has already gotten the king’s approval beforehand.
“We will be departing tomorrow morning.”
After Pale finished explaining, it was the Goblin Kings turn to speak.
“I do not wish for a massacre. But if there are those who continue to defy my rule and resist until the very end, then the story changes. My will is to rule the world; therefore, any and all who stand in my path, only death shall await! Kill them, crush them, end them!”
At the declaration of the king, the gathered soldiers bowed.
On the next day, Gi Ga Rax led Aransain’s flag and departed Elrain Kingdom. The imperial guards that was also the king’s cavalry rode alongside the riders of Paradua and the cavalry of humans, taking over the south with confidence and spirit.
Behind them were the fierce Gaidga goblins that wouldn’t lose out to the cavalry of the Goblin King. Although there weren’t as many of them because a part of them had been transferred to Gi Ga Rax’s forces, Gi Be Slay the One-Armed Goblin led them with perfect order around the Goblin King.
At the rear were the elves led by Felbi, and the druids led by Gi Do Buruga. Normally, Gi Za Zakuend would be the one to lead the druids, but in his absence, Gi Do Buruga took over.
The rear guard was watched over by units specializing in rear support and support fire. But because of Felbi’s temperament, the elven warriors were also sufficiently equipped for close combat. They carried a shield and a bow on their backs.
The resplendent armor of the elves were made of Blue-Silver Steel (Srilana) which they produced at their hometown. These armor were extremely valuable to the human world and are highly sought after by the adventurers. But even without that, the fact that these elves were wearing these polished armor proved that they were all strong warriors who’ve lived through countless battles. It was a platoon full of beauties, be it men or women, so when the humans saw them, they couldn’t help but cheer.
The goblin forces that moved out of Elrain Kingdom were all good walkers and in no time at all they were approaching Pena. The speed of their advance that ignored the towns that had not submitted was shocking, and when the elders and people of Pena saw their great army, they could not help but be struck dumb.
At the same time, the Goblin King sent a messenger to Gi Gu Verbena and ordered him to rendezvous with the Goblin King’s main army.
“…The king has come.”
Gi Gu was ashamed when he heard that the king came, but he still obeyed and abandoned the city he had occupied. He moved his army of Felduk to rendzevous with the Goblin King.
“…I was too slow.”
Gi Za Zakuend wanted to win before the king came, so he was full of regrets when he heard the news of the king’s arrival. Still, he too obeyed. In order to compensate for the king’s gentleness, Gi Za left the role of the cruel overlord to Gi Gu, but now that the king has appeared, he felt that he would no longer be able to assist Gi Gu freely.
For better or worse, the king was soft.
He would never permit the death of the weak and those who’ve surrendered.
“Pena just might be able to live now.”
Gi Za coldly thought of the country of humans that he could not destroy as he moved alongside the army of Felduk to the king.
◆◆◇
Gi Ga Rax, to whom the vanguard had been left, spotted a force lying in ambush after Pena was only a two day’s distance away.
“That should be Pena’s forces.”
Gi Ga Rax’s duty was to attack Pena quickly and force them to surrender.
But since what the king wanted was to pluck the enemy’s desire to fight, Gi Ga figured he would be able to achieve the same result if he could destroy the enemy’s forces here.
“We’re attacking the enemy.”
As Gi Ga handled his horse with one hand, he readied his army to attack. He positioned himself at the head of his unit and ordered his soldiers to assume a wedge formation.
“…Oh?”
From the distance, he could tell that the enemy numbered 2,000. They stirred up dense clouds of dust as they approached Gi Ga. They showed no signs of fear. It was the kind of movement one would expect from a well-trained army. The enemy forces had assumed the same wedge formation but with their wing extended toward the left.
Gi Ga didn’t know what they were planning, but he knew that the person at the head of the army was the enemy commander. In that case, killing him should end the battle. Gi Ga felt that the king wanted to avoid sacrificing his soldiers as much as possible while expanding his territory, so he thought of ways to achieve victory with as little casualty as possible.
Gi Ga’s pondering led him to aim for the enemy commander. If he could just kill the enemy commander, then the enemy forces should fall into chaos, and the battle end.
