Volume 3, Chapter 203 - Gi Ba Hagar (3/3)
The forces of the Red King approached with great momentum from behind. By the time Ra Gilmi Fishiga had noticed them, they were already close.
Ra Gilmi Fishiga had left his platoon at the back and only had the bare minimum needed to escort the humans, so his platoon couldn’t watch their surroundings as well as they could’ve.
Moreover, Hal and his Paradua goblins were originally in charge of watching their surroundings, but Hal had to deliver a message to the king, so his platoon was broken up and redistributed to the other platoons.
As for Gi Ji Arsil, he had his hands full just spotting and clearing the monsters up ahead.
“Send the humans ahead!”
Ra Gilmi Fishiga left the escort of the humans to Zaurosh and his Leon Heart Clan, while he and Gi Ba Hagar moved to the back to defend
The Ganra tribe excelled in the use of bows, so they didn’t stand a chance in a close-up fight. As such, they instead focused on defending along with Gi Ba’s platoon.
Unfortunately, the Red King’s forces slipped past them and attacked the humans instead.
Saldin couldn’t see well in the dark, so he just attacked where there were more shadows. Unfortunately, that ended up being where the people of the borderlands were.
And try as the goblins might to catch up, it was not such a simple task when they were chasing after mounted soldiers, so they had no
choice but to watch the rearmost part of the line of the people of the borderlands be crushed.
“You dare!” Gi Ba Hagar held a throwing axe in one hand and a long sword in another as he jumped straight for the enemy without even bothering to consult Gilmi.
The goblins under him also followed him as soon as he bolted off.
“What? These aren’t goblins!?”
Saldin was shocked to realize that what he’d cut wasn’t a goblin but a normal human. Unfortunately, there was no stopping the momentum of his soldiers.
“Stop them! On the name of the king, kill those bastards!”
The first charge had hit the citizens of the borderlands, and now, the forces of the Red King were going around to begin a second charge.
But in the next moment, Gi Ba’s throwing axe hit a horseman at the lead, causing the horse to tumble and cause chaos for the rest of the platoon.
“Attack!”
Gi Ba boldly charged in to prolong that chaos as long as possible.
He swung his long sword as he pleased. And when it broke, he simply took the spear of the enemy.
“Go after the goblins! Who cares about some worthless human heads!?”
At Saldin’s words, focus shifted onto Gi Ba’s platoon.
As Gi Ba fought valiantly, the people of the borderlands fled the battlefield.
Gilmi’s platoon shot arrows at the enemy, but despite the rain of arrows, Gi Ba did not stop fighting once.
If the goblins were to retreat now, the enemy cavalry would attack again, and the people of the borderlands would surely get hurt.
“Lord Gi Ba! We must retreat!” Gilmi said.
But Gi Ba ignored him as he bellowed out a howl. “GURUuoAA!”
Gi Ba mustered all of his strength and skewered an enemy soldier along with the horse, then he flung them away.
“If you want to leave, then leave! I will stay behind and stop the enemy!” Gi Ba told Gilmi.
It was only a moment, but Gilmi clearly felt Gi Ba’s resolve, so he simply nodded and turned heel.
Before returning to escort the humans, Gilmi’s platoon shot three volleys of arrows toward the enemy humans that sought to surround Gi Ba.
Now that Gi Ba and his platoon were few in numbers, they took full advantage of the night’s darkness. They went wild in the cramped battlefield and attacked any enemy whenever they met one.
Saldin and his soldiers were too many, so they had difficulties catching Gi Ba and his men. Whenever they tried to surround him, Gi Ba and his men would target the weakest part of their encirclement and break through.
Saldin’s promise of a reward only served to worsen their current situation. After all, everyone here on Saldin’s side was fighting to get that reward, so everyone just kept attacking the goblins. There weren’t any sense of teamwork at all.
It was as if a mountain of gold had been piled before their eyes. They all selfishly pushed everyone around them away as they desperately ran to claim a portion for themselves.
Gi Ba broke through Saldin’s attempted surround 4 times. And each time, although it was hard to see because of how dark it was, Saldin’s face would twist in anger.
“What the fuck are you guys doing!? There’s no more than 200 soldiers on the enemy’s side!” Saldin was throughly enraged, but when he saw enemy reinforcement coming, his eyes became sharp.
“…I’ve seen this guy before. Fine. I’ll take him down myself!” Saldin said
“Lord Gi Ba!” Zaurosh cried out.
Gi Ba had resolved to stay behind to stop the enemy here, but Zaurosh the Lord Commander of the Leon Heart Clan came back to save him.
Zaurosh swung his sickle spear and cut down an enemy horseman to ensure the goblins’ safe retreat.
“Secure a path of retreat! Just hold on a little!” Zaurosh said to his platoon, then he went to where Gi Ba was and said, “Lord Gi Ba! Please retreat!”
“You shouldn’t have come! I will fulfill my duty!” Gi Ba replied as he continued to cut down enemy after enemy on the spot.
Zaurosh could clearly feel Gi Ba’s resolve, but he couldn’t understand why.
“Look. My legs can no longer move,” Gi Ba said.
Zaurosh looked down at Gi Ba’s legs, and what he saw was a convulsing leg that was full of wounds. It must’ve been bleeding all this time.
When Zaurosh looked back up at Gi Ba, the goblin’s face was full of emotions. This was despite Gi Ba glaring hatefully at the enemy ahead.
Zaurosh could only twist his face, unable to say anything.
But then Gi Ba spoke.
“…You’re human, but… You’re a good friend,” Gi Ba said.
It hasn’t been long since they were deployed in the south, but Gi Ba and Zaurosh were no doubt comrade-in-arms who’ve fought side-by- side.
Because of the divine protection he received, Gi Ba had always hated humans, but Shumea caused a change in him. And now, there was a human willing to risk his life to save him.
After meeting these two humans, Gi Ba had changed his view on humans.
Gi Ba watched death as it came for him.
“It is a pity that I will no longer be able to fight with you.”
Curiously, within the fierce battlefield, where metal clashed against metal and life against life, on the verge of death, Gi Ba spoke peacefully.
“Fulfill your duty, my friend. As for I, Gi Ba Hagar, this battle is my duty!”
Gi Ba bellowed that out as he deflected a spear and lopped off the arm that had thrust it toward him.
“…The fortunes of war be with you!” Zaurosh said as he turned around.
Gi Ba glanced at him as he left, then smiled a ferocious smile as he resumed the killing.
“Come, humans! See if you can get this head of mine!”
Long swords came swinging for Gi Ba from both sides, then as the humans were shocked, he swung his own long sword and slammed it into their heads.
Gi Ba forced his unmoving leg to to take another step, then he pierced through the neck of the human, and then lopped of the head.
The goblins under Gi Ba also knew that they were going to die, so they fought without restraint.
With only 100 goblins left, the encirclement of the Red King’s force was simply too great to overcome.
“Get out of the way, fools!” Saldin said angrily as he hastily appeared before Gi Ba while covered in blood.
“Hey, Goblin… We meet again,” Saldin said.
Saldin’s eyes had a fierce glint to it that seemed sharp enough to cut.
“…This would be our third time meeting, human! But, this is good. Now, you can accompany me to hell!”
“Way to exaggerate.”
Saldin’s vigorous attack bore out Gi Ba’s arm, but Gi Ba didn’t seem to mind the wound at all as he raised up his sword.
When Gi Ba’s long sword descended, Saldin met it with his.
With Gi Ba pinned down by Saldin, the forces of the Red King started taking down Gi Ba’s platoon one by one.
The goblins that have fought with Gi Ba all this time fell one after another.
“GURUuoOOOOAA!”
“UOouuOOOAA!”
Saldin and Gi Ba put everything on the line as they clashed in spirit.
The sound of battle cries and swords clashing resounded together throughout the battlefield like music.
It was a music produced from the battle between a goblin and a human, but before long, the cries ended, and only the clash of swords remained.
Sparks erupted and the sounds of iron crushing resounded.
Saldin managed to cut off one of Gi Ba’s arm, while Gi Ba managed to deeply wound Saldin’s leg.
They were both heavily wounded, but neither side was willing to step back.
The clash between a human and a goblin burned fierce like a great blaze, but the time to conclude had already come.
Gi Ba’s body was covered in holes from Saldin’s sword. And with the last of his strength used, Gi Ba fell to his knees.
“You sure are persistent for a goblin,” Saldin said.
“For the sake of my friend and the king! I won’t lose!” Gi Ba said, then he mustered the last of his strength and attacked one last time.
But Saldin calmly dodged it and cut Gi Ba powerfully from the shoulder to the chest.
“My friend… Take care of… the king…”
As blood spurted out from the wound extending from his clavicle to his heart, the last of Gi Ba’s strength left him.
Like that the life of Gi Ba Hagar the Fierce Arms came to an end.
“Friend? Take care of the king? …Fool. why would a goblin say the same things as…”
Saldin looked down at the goblin he cut and remained frozen on the spot for a while.
When some of his subordinates tried to cut off the goblin’s head, he hit them and told them off.
In the end, he took Gi Ba’s long sword and struck it into the ground before Gi Ba’s body.
“…We’re pursuing the enemy,” Saldin said.
As Saldin turned his back, a messenger from Brandika - who had found out about the pursuit - arrived to tell them to withdraw.
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