The tiger and spear army (Aransain) and the twin-headed beast and axe army (Zeilduk) groaned when they saw the sight unfolding before them.
The two armies meant to attack the imperial capital of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom, Rishu, were furious for having been deceived. Several soldiers and a repaired Kushunora castle was blocking their way.
“The king must be informed.”
The flags raised by the enemies before Gi Ga Rax belonged to none other than the Kushunora and Agarmua houses.
The king needed to be informed of this betrayal. Aransain, which moved northward as fast as it could, did not completely trust the Kushunora House.
They moved as fast as they could precisely to prevent the enemy from trying anything funny, but given how prepared the enemy was, it seems they have been preparing for a long time now.
The base of the Kushunora House was surrounded by giant walls, upon which were lined up many giant ballistae and small catapults. They must have spent a fortune on all of these.
“We were had!”
Gi Ga trembled in anger as he glared at the castle walls and sent a messenger to the king.
“We need to make siege weapons before Gi Jii-dono’s army (regiol) arrives.
With a siege battle at hand so suddenly, Aransain couldn’t help but panic.
“Ha ha ha, that’s a lot of disgusting goblins.”
The current head of the Agarmua House, Barad, snorted with his characteristic hook nose as he looked down at the gathering goblins from above in his spire.
“Is this wise, my lord?”
“Hmph. I was the one who asked for help in the first place.”
In response to the question of his servant, Barad puffed up his chest and spoke full of dignity, then smiled.
“And I won’t allow just myself to make a loss. If I have to make a loss, then I’ll drag my friendly neighbors too.”
Barad laughed loudly, and the servant bowed.
“You seem to be having fun.”
The one who said that with a reproachful gaze was the present head of the Kushunora House, Sharnei. Just as Barad had once described him as a pig, the combination of his armor with his abundant stature gave him a commanding face and a powerful physique.
The goblins cried out, but Barad wasn’t agitated in the slightest. In contrast, Sharnei’s face paled as he looked down at the unfolding sight.
“Just as a safe journey necessitates a friend, a journey through life necessitates a piece of hell, right?”
“You lie. I’ve never heard that saying before.”
It was then that the terrifying howls of the goblins reached them.
Barad laughed loudly and enjoyed the goblins’ anger, but Sharnei cowered before their fuming bellows.
“Why are you having so much fun? If the young lady of the Ririnoie were to fall, then we might have found a place among them. No, we definitely would have!”
“She would not be fit to be the current head of the Ririnoie House if she were to fall here. And you might not be aware of this, but that girl is actually quite scary.”
A kind of ferocity surfaced upon Barad’s smiling face. “I know because I experienced it before,” he smiled, and the young man cowered because of his doubts.
“Well, just watch. The noble title that is the War Princess isn’t just for show.”
“How can you trust her so much!?”
Sharnei shrieked and complained but Barad just laughed.
“Come now, I am a great noble unmatched in the world! And yet, look! A young girl not even 20 actually managed to stand as my equal! As someone who was once against her, I know her very well. And you too will know if you just fight with her once.”
“…Are you the one who pulled strings in the back during the succession wars of the War Princess?”
“Ha ha ha, perhaps, but rest assured. Victory is already ours. If we lose, then that just means we never had a chance of winning in the first place.”
His laughter resounded so loudly in the spire it didn’t lose out to the goblins’ cries.
“Now, general. It is time for war.”
Urged by the old man, the stones loaded into the catapults hurled toward the goblins, and the battle at the southern part of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom began.
◆◆◇
The forces led by the Goblin King met with the main force of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom at Gilgimel Plains. The mana guards, who have holed themselves in the fortress near the imperial capital and who made up the main force of the holy army, used the coalition army as their vanguard.
Many coats of arms were held up. And among those was undoubtedly the House of Ririnoie.
“That definitely belongs to the Ririnoie House.”
A soldier confirmed that piece of information by using the Farsighted Skill, and then Pale passed that information to the king.
Blanche has also been sighted among the enemy in armor, so the goblins quickly gathered their strength for a decisive battle.
“Of the enemy’s forces, the mana guards number 2,500, the lance knights number 1,000, and the archer knights number 1,000. Furthermore, the coalition army have 4,000 footmen and 2,000 archers.”
Altogether, they have a large army that’s over 10,000 soldiers strong.
Seeing the Goblin King nod, Pale went ahead and explained the formation of the goblins.
“As for our forces, Gi Gu Verbena-dono’s Felduk numbers 6,000, and Zaurosh-dono’s cavalry numbers 1,000. Other than those, the imperial guards under Gi Be Slay-dono number 500, the elven archers number 600, Rashka’s Gaidga Tribe numbers 500, and Gi Go-dono and Yustia’s snow demons number 400. All in all, we have about 9,000 soldiers.”
They were mostly equal in terms of numbers. What’s more is that most of their soldiers were goblins, which were stronger than humans; hence, it wasn’t wrong to say that their side held the advantage when it came to strength.
