Volume 3, Chapter 198 - A Blow to Turn the Tides (1/3)
The Goblin King’s decision to rush into the north in one fell swoop was not made out of recklessness or ignorance. It was a decision made after gathering as much information he could and comparing his army’s strength with the enemy’s, where he then realized that the only path to victory was a powerful attack.
The army of 15,000 from Fatina has surrounded the Kushain believers and has kept the situation in a half deadlock state. The army from Fatina then built up walls toward both the Kushain believers and the goblins. They seemed to be wary of the goblins attack. But what really forced the king to make a decision was when he received a report that the army from Elrain Kingdom was approaching from behind.
They too numbered 15,000.
They were led by the archduke, Brandika; the last authority of the kingdom, Kanash; the guest general from the Flying Swallow clan, Wyatt; and Saldin, who had been freed from his house arrest and was now in search of vengeance for his previous defeat. It was a force consisting of the Red King clan’s full strength. On top of that, they showed no signs of trying to hide their presence. It was almost as if they wanted everyone to know that they were chasing after the goblins.
When the goblin king received that information, he immediately felt that the odds of winning were low. The enemy altogether was a colossal army of 30,000 men. Right now, the Goblin King had barely more than 4,000 soldiers. On top of that the enemy was the Red King, who could be considered exceptional among the humans. His ability to lead his people should be as terrifying as the rumors.
If they were to clash against that head on, they would surely be wiped out.
Should he retreat?
If he did that, then the Kushain Believers were sure to fall, and the Red King would soon extend its hands for the border lands. Alternatively, if those 15,000 soldiers were to go for the border lands right now, then the odds of winning would become even lower.
They had no choice but to fight.
The Goblin King believed that the Red King was after Cultidian. At the same time, he also understood that this war was essentially a battle to allow the Kushain Believers to survive.
Hence, there was no reason to clash with the Red King directly.
If he could just attack the forces from Fatina, and drive them far enough so that they can’t keep up their encirclement, then he should be able to leave without any future problems.
The Goblin King has been preparing with that plan in mind. Although the forces from Fatina have managed to secure a powerful defensive position, it had one weakness: the Kushain Believers and the goblins could attack it from both sides.
Try as they might to fortify their defenses, after trying to cover the holy city of Cultidian, which once was home to over 300,000 people, they would undoubtedly have a place of weakness.
And just as the Goblin King thought, the encirclement toward the north was weak. Of course, it was only weak relative to the other sides of the encirclement. It’s probably because they’re too anxious over the goblins that the defense in the north became weaker, the Goblin King believed.
On top of that, the Goblin King also had no choice but to believe that Saint Mira understood that.
It was simply not possible for the Goblin King to gather all information, so he had no choice but to gamble on the calibre of the new Kushain matriarch who decided to ally with them.
“Hide beneath the shadowed veil of the night and break free the northern encirclement!” The Goblin King commanded.
The goblins nodded in response as they drew their weapons and ran.
Fortune seemed to favor the goblins, for the twin moons of Navi and Ervi that ever dazzled in the sacred night, were hidden behind heavy clouds.
“The night is our hour. Gi Ji, Gi Gu, make the most of it!” The Goblin King said.
“HA!” Gi Ji replied.
“As you command!” Gi Gu replied.
As the goblin king gave his orders, they passed by the enemy’s trap. The way they dodged the trap laid by the enemy was truly nothing short of marvellous, and it was all thanks to these two goblins, who excelled in scouting and trap-making.
To the goblins who could see in the night, traps like pitfalls were meaningless. Gi Ji and Gi Gu led their respective hordes as the goblins approached the enemy.
Under the cover of the night, the attack of the goblins went unnoticed until they touched the fences and Gi Ji had lopped off the head of a patrolling soldier.
That soldier cried out to alert his allies with the last of his strength, revealing the intrusion of the goblins, but it was already too late, for the goblins had already broken through.
“Kill all who resist!” Gi Gu Verbena commanded.
His subordinates took his words to heart as they attacked the human forces.
Within the wings of the night goddess, Verdna, who was under the rule of the night god, Ya Jansu, the curtains over a struggle of life and death were drawn.
Carlion woke up in the dead of the night after hearing something.
“…”
He felt chills coming down his spine and the weight of the air seemed to stick to his skin. He strained his eyes toward the unexpected darkness.
“This feeling… It’s war.” [Carlion]
According to Carlion’s predictions, the goblins won’t be coming for another 2 days. They shouldn’t be here just yet. They may have formed an alliance, but the goblins should still be fighting in the south. And while they might appear to be clever for goblins, someone smart was probably leading them.
Carlion got off his bed and was shocked to find how cold the floor was.
“Carlion!” A voice called out.
Just as Carlion had finished dressing himself, Cell came barging in.
“Are we under attack?” Carlion asked.
“It’s the goblins. They came a lot faster than expected,” Cell said.
Cell seemed to calm down as they talked, for by the time she said that last sentence, she was no longer so hurried.
Carlion nodded and asked her to escort him.
“It seems the goblins are pretty good. No, it would be problematic if I were to think of them as the same as your usual goblins.”
Carlion walked as he received the various reports coming from every direction. At the same time, he also gave orders.
“You can abandon up to the 3rd section to the north. We’ll defend the 4th section, so buy some time. Lord Glenn shall take command.”
Three sections to the north have already fallen to the goblins.
Carlion had divided this excessively long formation into 24 sections, starting at 1 from the north all the way back to the north at 24. The fact that the goblins were easily able to take out three sections meant that their threat level needed to be increased by one.
“You can fight back as soon as you see them. We have the advantage in numbers, so please use that to form a defensive wall. Cell can defend the main formation with just her platoon. Lord Cassadora please bring your platoon to defend the fourth district too.”
Carlion climbed a tall watchtower and surveyed section 4 as the watch fires illuminated it.
“Are you planning to break the common sense of human warfare, goblins? But regardless, I’m not about to lose here.
Send a messenger to every direction… Let them know that in 2 days, this battle shall end.”
Cell nodded and asked.
“Should the soldiers fight to the last?”
“No. Tell them to come back alive.”
As Cell’s presence vanished in the darkness, Carlion coughed and wryly smiled.
“Did she notice?”
As Carlion’s cough became more intense, he covered his mouth with his hand.
When he looked at his shaking hand, blood could be seen on it.
“…But we’re at the critical point right now, so please… For the sake of the king’s dominion, for the sake of my dream, please… Just wait a little bit more.”
As he felt his own death looming, the tactician fearlessly smiled.
◆◇◆
In response to the surprise attack in the dead of the night, Carlion immediately led his soldiers to fortify their defenses. The quickness of their response was just as one would expect from the self-selected platoon of the genius tactician. Despite that, however, the momentum of the goblins was terrifying.
The Goblin King, Rashka the very embodiment of violence, and Gi Zu Ruo the mad dragon. The ability of these goblins to break through was nothing short of terrifying as wrecked everything in their path.
The goblins continued their surprise attack from evening until morning, and by the end, of the 15,000 soldiers, 1,000 have already been sent to the underworld, and that number continued to increase.
Compared to them, the losses on the goblins’ side could be counted with one’s hands.
Hence, there was no doubting that the victor of the night attack was the goblins.
Half a day passed since the goblins initiated their surprise attack.
Around the time when the sun was climbing up the sky, dull clouds covered the azure sky, and it seemed as if the heavens could cry at any time. It was at such a time that the Kushain believers could finally see the fierce battle unfolding.
It was here that the Saint Mira gave a command.
“Coordinate with the goblins and break through the enemies.”
At her behest, almost all of the soldiers of the Kushain believers left to attack, leaving behind only 3,000 soldiers to defend. It was a strategy one wouldn’t expect from someone who has been hiding behind her walls all this time. Her resolve could clearly be felt from this attack.
“We must break the enemy formation before the Red King arrives with reinforcements from Elrain Kingdom. If they get here with this formation in tact, we will lose!”
According to a captured soldier she interrogated, the reinforcements would be arriving in 2 days. They had to break the formation by then or the battle would quickly turn for the worse. That was true for the Kushain believers too.
Because of Saint Mira’s resolve, the Kushain believers fought fiercely, and the battlefield was enlivened once more.
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