The center that was supposed to receive the enemy remained in place, unmoving. Only the two wings of demihumans spread, drawing a half-circle on the field, as they approached the forces of Germion Kingdom.
The approaching enemy had to be dealt with. Although the forces of Germion Kingdom were suspicious of the goblins’ actions, they responded exactly as they should. The two ends of the Three Row Formation responded to the interception of the demihumans.
The wings of the two armies approached each other. The core of the horsemen of the forces of Germion were nobles, so their equipment far surpassed the goblins. They wore armor made of high-quality iron and rode upon steeds that could endure its weight. The warhorses for steeds that they rode upon were raised specifically for war and purchased from the the Country of Meadows, the Holy Shushunu Kingdom.
Compared to them, the demihumans only had a hunters’ bow and arrow, while the Fang Tribe (Werewolf) were barehanded.
The arrows of the centaurs were blocked by the round shields of the humans and they rode onwards without stopping as they prepared their spears. Many of the nobles of Germion Kingdom were brave and gallant men. Germion Kingdom is a military nation renowned among their neighbors. Although the holy knights tended to stick out the most, the military powers supporting the country were the nameless soldiers and the nobles that yearned for military service.
It took considerable training and money to be a part of the cavalry. In the past, the feudal lord of the Western Region, Gowen Ranid, had taken a mere commoner as his right-hand man and assigned him to be the leader of the cavalry, but this was an exception. Usually, only those who have received training from childhood and could afford the equipment would be able to throw themselves at the battlefield as part of the cavalry.
The only people who could fit such stern requirements in Germion Kingdom were the nobles.
“Prepare to charge!”
The hooves of the warhorses stepped firmly upon the land. As they scattered dense clouds of dust, the young nobles of Germion Kingdom gathered into a lump and prepared to charge toward the demihumans.
“Turn around! Turn around!!”
When the two armies were on the verge of clashing, the demihumans suddenly turned around. They quickly ran away from the cavalry. The forces of Germion Kingdom were watching the battle with abated breath, so when the enemy suddenly ran away, they couldn’t help but cry out in confusion. Only one thing was clear. Germion Kingdom had taken the advantage.
“Retreat to camp!”
From the perspective of Germion Kingdom, the goblins were retreating after attempting a poor imitation of a formation. When the forces of Germion Kingdom saw the goblins retreating without fighting, some of them were confused while others burned with vengeance.
The former were the veteran holy knights that had a lot of experience, and the latter were the nobles that lost in the last battle. When they saw the goblins running away, they immediately gave the order to pursue without waiting for the crown prince’s orders.
“…Too rash.”
Valdor the Holy Knight bitterly spat, but there was no way they could afford not to move now. Besides, it was true that Germion Kingdom – with its orderly formation – was in position to chase after the retreating goblin army.
“Unu… We have to go.”
As Valdor’s army began to move, Jize the One-Eyed also moved his forces. If two sides were moving, then naturally Jize also had to move his forces and pursue after the goblins. Afterwards, the mages and the imperial guards protecting the crown prince also followed.
Germion Kingdom prepared to purse as they moved.
Meanwhile, the cavalry made up of noble children rode after the backs of the demihumans. Facing the backs of the demihumans that suddenly turned around, they spurred their steeds onward as they sought to bury their spear into the back of the demihumans. To the demihumans’ fortune, the enemy cavalry was mostly made up of young soldiers.
The veterans among their ranks were merely there to support the children, so they were few in number. The young cavalry eager to gain war merits recklessly chased after the demihumans.
Before they knew it, they had separated a good distance from the main force and were right before the entrance to the enemy camp.
“At this rate, we’ll get past their camp! Don’t fall behind!”
In that very instant when the head of the human cavalry was about to hit the back of the demihuman furthest back with his spear, his warhorse screamed, and he fell over.
“NU, AH!?”
Suddenly, the legs of the warhorses were sent into chaos. On the forehead stuck out a lone arrow.
When the warhorse suddenly fell over, the inertia sent the rider flying. As the rider rolled about, he saw a rain of arrows descending.
“Shoot them down! Don’t allow them to kill the descendants of the crystals!”
After Gilmi the Hero of Ganra himself had drawn his bow came the tribal goblins. There were fences placed here and there, and the demihumans and the human cavalry ran immediately after each other as they moved along the one-way road. It was then that Ganra’s archers rained arrows on them, trying to outdo each other.
“Don’t falter!”
But the cavalry of Germion Kingdom that seemed like it was about to fall into chaos, in a display of great recklessness, rode onward despite the arrow rain. One reason behind this was because of the essentially one-way road that the demihumans led them into, which left them with little choice. The veteran members of the cavalry instantly realized that they had no place to retreat to, while the children of the nobles were deadset on chasing after their prey.
The only way for them to survive was to bury their spears into the backs of the demihumans and break through the enemy camp.
“They can’t get away from the cavalry!”
In response to Bui’s shriek, Shumea resolutely commanded.
“Don’t close the gates! Leave them open!”
In order to retrieve the demihumans that had acted as bait to draw out the cavalry, they had to leave the gates of the camp open. They were originally supposed to lure the cavalry with a bigger distance between them.
But with the way things were now, when the demihumans entered through the gate, the human cavalry came pouring in after.
