The riots within the territory of the Goblin King spread like buried coals set aflame. Elrain Kingdom hadn’t broken out into riots yet, but there was a sense of unrest in the air.
Prime Minister Elbert Noen was one of the more brilliant minds under the Goblin King, but no matter how brilliant one was, the people were bound to accumulate displeasure when they couldn’t eat. They’ve opened the storehouses and distributed food, but the public order needed to be restored as soon as possible.
The elven soldier, Felbi, brought a report to him with his daughter.
“Oh?”
Elbert narrowed his eyes when he read that report. As he nodded, he immediately commanded that the report be announced.
“Was it good news, father?”
His daughter, Rishan, took a peek at his countenance from behind Felbi. Elbert took off his ever cold mask and nodded with a smile.
“Yes, the Goblin King has sent the army back to maintain order. This should lessen the damage.”
“I could have just led my own soldiers, though.”
Felbi, who had Rishan clinging tightly onto his arms, said unhappily with a pout, but he said no more and just sighed as he glanced at Elbert as if in appeal.
“Felbi-dono, do you know where the food is stored?”
“The biggest storehouse of the country should be the imperial castle.”
Elbert nodded as he laid out a map. It was the map of Elrain Kingdom. Such a map could be categorized under classified information, but that just showed how much trust Elbert put in the warrior known as Felbi.
“The problem lies in the westward route from the kingdom. Faydan, Karak, and…”
“Pena,” Felbi finished.
Elbert nodded. When he’d confirmed that Felbi understood, he continued.
“Faydan and Karak both have a population of about 5,000, but they are deeply entangled with Pena when it comes to trade.”
They didn’t openly rebel, but the anti-goblin faction was deeply rooted in it.
The grandiose death of the Hero of Pena, Allen, and the Order of the Blue Knights had shaken the very souls of the people of Pena. The Goblin King was in good health and the ferocity of Gi Gu Verbena and his Axe and Sword Army (Felduk) was yet fresh on their minds, so they were still being suppressed, but it wouldn’t be strange if the flames were to be lit once more at some point.
“It is likely that the Dark Hands will hide among them.”
The grain-producing region in Fatina passed from the east to the west through Elrain Kingdom to reach the Western Capital. The path that extended to the northern end of the Jewel Road connected the various countries like a string of connected beads.
“That does seem difficult.”
Felbi muttered and Elbert nodded, while Rishan heaved a sigh of relief.
Felbi only had a few elven warriors with which to maintain order. If Pena were to break out into a riot, he would surely be unable to protect the goods they are protecting.
Pena was currently maintaining an eerie silence.
It wasn’t at all strange for it to turn insurgent and yet it was merely keeping quiet without any incidents of rioting. That being said, the atmosphere about it was by no means good. It had the same air of unrest that Elrain Kingdom had, but there was a sense of anticipation mixed in.
Felbi’s beautiful face went glum as he became thoughtful.
“I suppose we really do have to wait for the army to clean things up.”
After calmly analyzing the situation, Felbi arrived at the same conclusion as Elbert.
“I’ll go clean the streets.”
Felbi said peevishly as he turned around and left. Felbi took his elven warriors and focused his efforts in maintaining order within the city.
◇◆◆
While Gi Gi Orudo’s Zailduk and Gi Ga Rax’s Aransain suffered defeat, it was Gi Gu Verbena’s Felduk who made contact with the eastern border of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom.
As the general with an army of 6,000, Gi Ga held the biggest army under the king. In a short period of time, he has distinguished himself in the military enough to claim himself a veteran. As a general and warrior who has experienced many victories and defeats, he has grown to be a cut above the rest.
He was originally unsuited for defense, but by imitating the camp built by the king once and leading his great army well, he was able to solidify the defenses along the borders of their kingdom.
The king had informed him that the enemy relied on the speed and handling of their mounts to win their battles, so Gi Ga took it upon himself to find a way around that. In his pondering, he decided to build many anti-cavalry palisades and traps around the area.
Gi Gu was an adherent of goblin supremacy; hence, he was exceedingly zealous about the cultivation and strengthening of his goblin subordinates.
He scolded the noble goblins, saying that the goblins are superior to the other races, so they had to work harder than anyone else, and built long and large anti-cavalry palisades.
When Blanche the War Princess went out to scout and saw that, she wryly smiled and turned around.
“The gods are gratingly impartial. Even the goblins have been blessed by the Goddess of Wisdom. But why is it that my colleagues seem to be beneath them? How deplorable.”
She spat curses like flowing silk as she thought of how difficult it would be to break through those anti-cavalry palisades with her cavalry. Still, it was a relief to see that the goblins were planning on a drawn-out battle. She ended her reconnaissance there and went back to her country without turning back.
