Volume 3, Chapter 233 - A Scathing Counterattack (1/3)
“We’ve finally driven them to a corner.”
The humans watched as the goblins scurried from the forest and quickly picked themselves to fix their formation. Valdor the Holy Knight said that line as if he was trying to confirm what he was seeing was real.
Just as Crown Prince Ishtar had planned, they set fire to the forest the goblins ran into. The goblins caught up in the smoke fled from the opposite direction of the burning forest, but they still somehow managed to gather under their flags and assume formation.
If the eastern division army were to attack here they would surely come out victorious. But Valdor did not approve of that. His objective was not the death of these goblins but a meritorious war service for Crown Prince Ishtar. Of course there would be little point in setting fire to the forest if they hadn’t surrounded it first. There was little point in killing the fleeing goblins.
Although it was also their objective to crush the goblin forces of the Western Region, it was only by executing their operation perfectly that they would be able to send off the dead. Valdor surrounded the forest before setting fire to it. If the goblins ran toward them, they would wipe them out.
But when they set fire to the forest, at almost the same time, the goblins seemed to have decided to abandon the forest. The goblins gave up fleeing, and immediately gathered under a flag after exiting the forest. Although crude, they were able to assume formation.
When Valdor saw that, he intentionally allowed them time to complete their formation.
Everything was for Ishtar’s sake.
If Valdor were to break through the goblins with only the eastern division army while they were reassuming formation, naturally, the merit would fall to him. If that were to happen, then there would be no point to chasing the goblins this far.
Unless he allowed Ishtar to wipe out the goblins himself, there was no point to any of this.
“You’re certain there are no ambushes in the forests to the sides?”
Valdor turned away from the formation of the goblins and wondered what the goblins’ purpose here could be. They have been running all this time, so there should be a reason.
It could be an ambush or perhaps a trap.
But the land here was not fit for traps, and the scouts he sent reported that there were no pitfalls or any such obstructions here.
He considered there might be an ambush, so even though they had little time, he sent out scouts to surround the forests. If there were a lot of goblins hiding in the forests, then the scouts should naturally be able to notice them.
From the last battle at the Battle of Cromshtock (Camp), Valdor knew that the goblins specialized in digging holes. As such, it was possible that they might be hiding in a hole somewhere…
“The forests were dense, but we confirmed no goblin presence there.”
“I see. What of traces of the ground being dug?”
“We searched for those too just to be safe, but there weren’t any. Not even a little bit…”
If the goblins had dug out holes, then naturally, there should have been some soil left. Even if he had sent his scouts out in a hurry, there should be no place to hide soil in such a dense forest crawling with vegetation.
“Alright. I understand the situation now.”
If the scouts were saying the same thing after sending them out three times, then there must be no goblins indeed. And even if there were, the holy knight, Jize, was with them too. It shouldn’t be difficult supporting two fronts. Moreover, they also had the elite of the kingdom with them, the Kingdom Magic Corps.
As long as the goblins themselves don’t have a large-scale mage unit, then the kingdom magic corps will gain plenty of merits in this battle.
“The imperial guards are in position.”
After the messenger reported that, Valdor quietly closed his eyes and calmed himself down.
“…This is the end. Bring down the hammer of justice on these monsters that torment us!”
At Valdor’s behest, the eastern army marched, and the rest of the human forces followed suit.
◆◇◆
“Hurry! The third squad is late!”
Shumea commanded as she wiped her cheeks covered in soot.
“Shumea-dono, the demihumans and the Ganra Archers are in position.”
The general of the Bow and Arrow Army (Fanzel), Ra Gilmi Fishiga the Hero of Ganra, called out to Shumea, who was at the center, ordering the human platoons to get into formation.
“Ahh, Gilmi-dono.”
That soot-covered face slackened a little, and she smiled.
“Sorry, I’m not used to battle, so it might take a while.”
“Pale-dono also said that you don’t have to push yourself too much. You originally weren’t a part of the border guards. It can’t be helped.”
When Gilmi said that nonchalantly, Shumea raised her beautiful brows in surprise.
“So goblins can even console people now? This is a new discovery.”
“I was just saying the truth.”
While they were idly talking, the army finished getting into formation. Their formation was a Double-Row Formation. From the start, their objective was defense. Facing the enemy at the front lines, were the orcs, the goblins, and the humans. In the second row were the archers of Ganra and the demihumans.
This was a formation that was meant to stop the enemy and then counterattack. The Ganra Tribe was at the center, while the demihumans were at the flanks.
“It’s precisely because the situation is like this that I’ll say it clearly now. Don’t expect too much from my men.”
“Understood. But that’s precisely why they’ve been split to the flanks. The orcs and Gi Zu-dono’s platoon at the center should be able to stop the enemy somehow.”
What they were scared of was the enemy trying to break through behind the holy knights. So long as they could defend against that, then even the weak border guards should be able to endure.
“I… suppose. Anyway, let’s send the demihumans now. If they can, I’d like for them to disturb the enemy with their mobility. If we just sit here and wait for the holy knights to attack, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch.”
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Just leave it to this oneesan.”
Shumea said as she showed off her biceps. Gilmi nodded and went back to the Ganra Tribe he led.
“Now then, Ms. Pale. Show me this plan working.”
As Shumea fearlessly laughed, she ordered the demihumans to advance.
“You don’t have to force yourselves. Just stop the enemy from moving!”
An order was sent to the demihumans that were running at the flanks through Gilmi, and the chiefs of the centaurs and the werewolves gave their approval.
The eastern division army of Germion Kingdom equipped themselves with half cone-shaped shields that were about as tall as their soldiers were. The demihumans approached them, and the centaurs shot their arrows from a great distance. It was a strategy that made use of their specialty, which was archery on horseback, so they tried to get around the enemy as they shot their bows.
“Second platoon of the left wing! Fish Scales Formation!”
The eastern army changed their formation while running, but under Valdor’s command, they were perfectly coordinated. The arrows of the centaurs could easily penetrate even iron, but because of the half cone shape of the eastern army’s shields, there was little room for the arrows to stick themselves into. The soldiers needed only to tilt their shields a little and they would easily be able to deflect the arrows.
“Send a messenger to the mages! Tell them to cover us!”
While the eastern army were deflecting the attacks of the demihumans, a barrage of fire spells from the mages covered for them.
“KU… Distance yourselves from the enemy!”
Because of the mages’ fire spells, the chief of the centaurs, Tianos, ordered his tribe members to stop attacking and retreat. The same was true for the fangs. In order to avoid the fire bullets of the enemy mages, they had to assume a wide attacking formation, but when they approached the eastern army and spears were thrown at them, they had no choice but to literally run with their tails between their legs.
“We wouldn’t have lost if we were fighting up close! Damn it!”
When the rain of fire bullets were followed with spears, the attack formation of the fangs were sent into disarray. They had originally assumed a wide formation. So when spears were thrown at them after the rain of fire, the spears were not thrown against a pack of werewolves but individuals due to how big the space between them was. As expected, Mido, who has experienced many battles realized that the formation was no good, so he steered the army into a different direction. As such, Mido had to retreat temporarily to fix his army’s formation.
After the national army of Germion Kingdom easily repelled the demihumans, they resumed their advance with the eastern division army at the lead. Behind the eastern division army followed the nobles’ army, the mage army, the imperial guards, and the southern army. They prepared to charge into the goblin forces.
“We’ll break through them in one fell swoop. Cry out, warriors of the east!”
The eastern division army ignored the demihumans that came to suppress them from the sides and ran madly for the enemy’s main force.
“Archers, fire!”
As the national army of Germion Kingdom approached, the archers of Ganra aimed their bows at the sky and shot. Countless dead birds wielding iron beaks fell upon the ground.
“Raise your shields! Cover your heads! Mages!”
Despite that, the eastern division army showed no signs of stopping. The moment they raised their shields above their heads, the support fire of the mages came raining down on the goblins. Their attacks fell from right atop them. It was as if meteorites were raining from the sky.
Many of the human mages excelled at fire magic. Because of that their fire magic developed and they were able to create an environment that allowed them to perfect their mastery of the fire. Naturally, that would allow for a higher average skill regarding fire spells among human mages compared to the mages of the other races. Although these human mages were using only the normal fire spell that shot in a straight line, they were able to make that normal spell curve from the sky toward the orc and the goblins.
Because of this it was possible for them to support the eastern army more effectively. As the fire bullets shot above the eastern army in the lead, they rained down on the goblins and orcs that were holding tightly to their shields.
“Endure! If anyone breaks formation, I’ll kill him myself!”
Thanks to Gi Zu and Ved screaming, they were somehow able to minimize casualties, but now, the eastern army was right in front of them.
“They’re coming!”
The goblins and orcs were prepared for this impact, and now, it came just as they expected. The charging humans raised up their shields as they threw themselves at the goblins. The humans rammed their whole body along with their shields against the horde of monsters, causing the goblins and orcs to be pushed back, their legs leaving a mark on the ground.
Immediately after the two armies clashed, the battle switched to a melee. The eastern army was equipped with long swords that excelled in close combat. They were using a type of double-edged sword that was made shorter than usual. An eastern sword known as Spatha. The spatha excelled in thrusting more than cutting, and the soldiers of the eastern division used them to thrust turns top and bottom as they attacked the goblins.
Such tactics made the goblins and the orcs struggle. They had originally not received much training when fighting up close like this while packed so tightly. They had to clump up so tightly in order to defend against the spells, but now, they couldn’t move as much, and their weapons were also ill-fit, given that they were wielding long spears.
As a result, the line of battle was gradually being pushed back.
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