In this battle that would later be called the Battle of Chromstock (Camp), three days after the forces of Germion Kingdom arrived at their camp, the two opposing armies faced each other.
The imperial guards under the crown prince defended well against the goblins that attacked them every night. The crown prince didn’t sleep as he watched over his night duties. Because of that the morale of the two holy knight, Valdor and Jize, as well as the noble army grew even higher. The crown prince himself was doing the dirty job that had little profit. Given this situation, if they still could not perform well, then not only would they not have any face to show the crown prince, they would not even have any face to show their relatives even if they did manage to come back safely.
“We have to defeat these goblin bastards here or we will have no face to show our relatives!”
A battle cry cried out in response to the encouraging words of the elderly officer of the nobles’ army.
“If you want to return even the slightest bit of the crown prince’s favor, which he toiled for so much, wipe out the goblins! If you can’t even do that, then you’re not nobles!”
On the wings of Germion Kingdom’s battle formation were situated the mobile cavalry of the nobles’ army. At the center walked the two holy knight infantry. At the back were the mages of the kingdom, ready to shoot the enemy from afar. The imperial guards of the crown prince were positioned in the third row and were lined up to defend the crown prince.
It was a standard three rows formation, but it was precisely because of that that there were little openings.
After confirming the high morale of the adjacent nobles’ army, Valdor called out to his own army from inside his helmet.
“Expel the monsters and bring peace to the kingdom! For loyalty and pride!”
“For loyalty and pride!”
The infantry lined up at the back cried out in response to Valdor’s manifesto. The infantry led by Valdor did not use spears like the Western Region’s army. Instead, they wielded large oblong shields that could block their whole body and long swords. These soldiers were the elite of the eastern division.
“Both sides are really getting into it.”
Jize glanced at the excited eastern army and nobles’ army as he unsheathed his beloved katana and called out to the forces under him.
“A reward will be given to anyone who can take the head of their leader! A reward will also be given for any heads of high-ranked goblins! If you want merits, then risk your lives!”
Jize had gotten to where he was today thanks to his skill in martial arts. When he spoke of gaining honor and position through achievements made in war, the soldiers could feel that it was true.
“For greatness!”
“For greatness!!”
After each platoon encouraged their soldiers in their own way, they glared at the enemy before them.
“…Are those really the goblins that repelled Sivara-dono?”
Jize the One-Eyed looked at the goblins with his only eye. Jize could easily see their army crushing that disorderly mob of goblins in a single breath.
Meanwhile, the nobles’ army have been continually sending a messenger to Crown Prince Ishtar at the back, asking him to increase their pace.
“We can’t let our guard down, but… Is there any meaning in a formation like that?”
When assuming a battle formation, there are rules that one must never break. If a disorderly formation where to clash against an orderly formation, the orderly one will have the advantage. From Jize’s perspective, the goblins’ formation was basically that of an army that was sent out of camp but stopped.
It was a poorly done formation.
It was not like they didn’t have time, but the goblins simply refused to move from there.
“Are they having communication issues? Or maybe they’re amateurs? Either way…”
Jize himself was anxious, but another reason for his anxiety was because Sivara had told him that the goblins were strong. Even the nobles they rendezvoused with a few days ago that were beaten by the goblins said that the goblins weren’t weak. A formation like this that was basically asking for them to lose was strange no matter how you put it.
As Jize continued to glare at the enemy formation, unable to sweep away his doubts, the goblins eventually moved.
◇◆◆
“The enemy seems to be in high spirits.”
They looked at the enemy’s formation from a distance, and they could see that it had no openings. They were lined up properly and their battle flags swayed in the wind. Moreover, their soldiers were all evidently in high spirits. Seeing that, Ra Gilmi Fishiga’s flag of bow and arrow (Falzen) narrowed their eyes.
“In that case, let’s hit them a little.”
Shumea, who was beside Gilmi, laughed and raised her voice.
“First arrow! Go!”
In contrast to Germion Kingdom, who had an orderly formation, the goblins had merely taken position in front of their camp. For a moment, Jize had considered crushing them in one breath, but as expected, he was still a veteran general who led an army. The formation of Gilmi and the others were so full of holes that they were actually not in formation. The Ganra tribe and the others actually hadn’t assumed any formations. They just stayed behind inside the camp.
At Shumea’s behest, the two chiefs of the fast demihumans ran to both flanks. The Fang Tribe (Werewolf) to the left and the centaurs to the right. They moved quickly like the tip of an arrow. It was a formation that looked just like a crane spreading its wings; hence, it was known as the Crane Wing Formation.
But even that was half-assed. The Crane Wing Formation was originally a formation that sought to surround the enemy, and yet the only ones moving out were the demihumans.
