Volume 3, Chapter 204 - Retreating Battle IV (1/2)
Under the black of the night that veiled even the brilliance of the twin sister red moons was a fleeing army. It was just like a wounded beast. But wounded and battered as that army may be, it kept pushing on, not breaking, all because of the presence of the Goblin King.
When there was a battle, the Goblin King would rush to the vanguard. When they were to retreat, he would rush to the rearguard. The goblins followed such a king, and it was at his back that they threw their very lives. But though their king was such a king, he had yet to get used to the great number of deaths brought about by war.
The Blue Knights were persistent in their pursuit. They stuck to the trails of the goblins and attacked whenever they let their guard down, even if only for a moment. As Allen came to know when to strike and when to endure, his qualities as a general gradually blossomed.
If the goblins took too much time to shake off the pursuit of the Blue Knights, the mixed army that was far behind would eventually catch up.
Which is why even though the goblin’s still had some leeway fighting against the Blue Knights, they acted as if they were at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, despite all their efforts, the Blue Knights still managed to keep up with them.
Opportunities are a thing in battle. They are what one might refer to as the cross-roads or the turning points.
The Blue Knights continued their pursuit of the goblins, but as the goblins changed their routes intermittently, they gradually managed to run northward.
The goblins advanced in an almost zigzag-like pattern, while the Blue Knights followed them around to try and impede their advance.
The turning point in this battle came when the mixed army of Pena caught up.
“Have they caught up!?” Allen asked.
They had pursued the goblins day and night without rest. As a result, Allen had ended up growing a stubble and was quite exhausted. But when he heard that the mixed army had caught up, his eyes shone a sharp glint like that of a predator.
“10,000 soldiers from the mixed army has arrived!”
When Allen received that report, he felt as if he could already see the conclusion of the battle, and he laughed ferociously.
“We will attack the goblins tomorrow morning. Take turns resting!”
The world beneath the wings of the Goddess of Darkness and under the dark reign of the Night God belonged to the monsters. Though they may have had horses that boasted of great mobility, this relentless pursuit that the Blue Knights have been keeping up has still taken a toll on them. Allen brought the mixed army that had just arrived to the front, then he told the Blue Knights to rest.
Allen continued to manage the army as he sensed the conclusion of this battle drawing near.
Meanwhile, perhaps merely due to coincidence or perhaps due to the guidance of the dead warriors’ chagrin, the Goblin King found
himself drawn to a certain place. It was none other than the battlefield where Gi Ba Hagar perished in battle.
“This is…”
Before the eyes of the goblins that cared not for the dark of the night were the corpses of the borderland people that they could not protect and the corpses of their brethren that were cruelly killed.
“Gi Ba…”
The Goblin King knelt beside the warrior’s corpse that was half- eaten, probably by a passing monster.
“My lord, the corpses are too few. It seems likely that the people of the borderlands were able to escape to the western reg—” Gi Jii Yubu reported, only to stop midway as he noticed Gi Ba’s corpse.
There was a long sword sticking out of the ground before Gi Ba’s corpse. It was as if it was meant to serve as a grave marker.
“How many of our brethren were killed?” The Goblin King asked as he knelt beside Gi Ba’s corpse and gazed at it.
Gi Jii blanked for a moment before answering. “200 normal goblins, my lord. There were no elves or Ganra goblins among the corpses.”
“…I see.”
The king fell silent once more as he offered a silent prayer to a faithful retainer who fulfilled his duty.
“We shall meet again one day… In the realm of the dead,” the Goblin King said.
As the Goblin King stood up energetically, he no longer looked back.
Normally, they would have taken their time to bury Gi Ba and mourn for him, but they didn’t have the time to spare.
“Gi Jii, we’re going. Don’t stop!”
“—HA!”
Gi Jii bowed his head and gathered his subordinates to retreat.
“…You will pay greatly for this, humans.”
The Goblin King did not bother to stop the grating sound from his teeth as he led his forces north.
Within the Goblin King’s heart burned the resolve to fight once more as he glared at the south.
As soon as the night ended, the mixed army chased after the goblins. It was remarkable how even though the enemy has been chasing the goblins on sand horses for the past few days, the goblins have still yet to collapse, but the fatigue had already started to slow them down.
“Make those goblins pay for attacking our southern lands! Take back the people they kidnapped!” Allen said.
Allen stood frozen and speechless for a moment when he saw the traces left on the battlefield where Gi Ba had died. Although monsters had already come and eaten the corpses, Allen could still see remnants of the unarmed women and children, as well as the large number of goblins and human soldiers. When Allen saw that, he assumed that the goblins had kidnapped the people and that the forces of the Red King had failed to recover them.
Allen was concerned about the movements of the Red King, but he didn’t have the time to check on them. A passionate fury welled up from deep inside his cest, lifting the corner of his eyes and dyeing his exhaustion in anger.
“Unforgivable! Let these goblins know the price of killing our people! Onwards!” Allen said.
Having a just cause has always made it easier to rule regardless of the era. Although the truth that Allen believed was actually far from the real truth, there wasn’t a single soldier from the forces of Pena who would dare believe that the goblins were protecting the humans. As such, the forces of Pena burned in righteous indignation as they chased after the goblins.
Even the adventurers who only thought of money sympathized with Allen’s anger after seeing the devoured traces of the corpses of the young and the old.
“We may be good-for-nothing scums who throw their lives away for money, but… We would never lay a hands on women and children! Those monsters are scum!” Said a young clan leader of a medium- sized clan as he followed Allen’s command and upped the pace.
“Kill the monsters! Make them pay in blood!”
As the furious adventurers raised their sword, several clans sympathized and raised their speed.
Upon the grass-covered plains that stretched out as far as they eyes could see, patches of forests could be seen here and there. This was the northernmost part of the borderlands. Just a little further up, and they would be entering the regions known as the Western Region, but the forces of Pena were pursuing the goblins.
The pursuing forces of Pena could finally see back of the goblins. It seems they had at long last been exhausted. With the body of the god of fire still high up in the sky and army morale being at an all- time high, Allen decided to rush straight into the fray.
The mixed army didn’t even bother to fix their formation as they jumped straight for the monsters, but the clans that made up the mixed army were originally created for the sole purpose of hunting monsters.
They specialized at hunting monsters independently. Under the command of their clan leader, their vanguard kept the enemy at bay, while the rear guard supported them. Allen’s job was just to regulate the distance between the clans.
It was a chaotic battle for goblins. It was almost as if they were fighting a hydra, a snake with a hundred heads. The clans attacked as they pleased, and the Goblin King had to deal with them. The enemy’s left flank would focus on long-ranged attack. The enemy’s right flank would focus on suppressing them. The enemy’s center would push with their vanguards. The clans that were also differently sized fought against the goblins in their own ways.
Even the Goblin King could at most only deal with three fronts. Having to deal with so many clans was too great a burden for the Goblin King, who himself was unable to think well due to exhaustion. The other goblins were also exhausted and had difficulty moving. SOme of those even ended up falling prey to the humans’ fierce attacks.
One goblin would try to cover a hole, but then another goblin would fall to a human’s sword.
The Goblin King himself was full of wounds and was already at his wits’ end trying to drive away the humans. The Goblin King stifled whatever thoughts he had of fatigue and focused solely on responding to the threat before him. But even as the Goblin King cut down a human before him with his zweihander, another spear would thrust toward him from the side.
The Goblin King bellowed out, but even with his powerful voice, the humans surely wouldn’t withdraw. But be that as it may, just dulling their movements was good enough. When the Goblin King saw their movements dull, he immediately used that as an opportunity to order another retreat.
To the goblins, having to turn their backs and flee was a thing of humiliation. In fact, there was both fear and humiliation to it, and the more evolved a goblin was, the greater the scales swung toward humilation.
“Damn you, humans! Damn you all!”
“…Regretful.”
Even the bellows of Gaidga’s Rashka vanished before the Goblin King’s rodes, while Gi Go Amatsuki the Sword King could only powerlessly regret his weakness.
Though the Goblin King, Gi Jii Yubu, and Gu Verbena tried to stop the enemy from the rearmost part of their forces, the enemy was gradually devouring them.
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