Volume 3, Chapter 234 - A Bitter Reversal (1/2)
Regardless of whether the soldiers simply died out or scattered about, the imperial guards meant to protect the royal family now numbered only 200. After Germion Kingdom was defeated at the Battle of Three Forests (Rakushuto), they headed back to the eight fortresses of the west while cowering from the goblins chasing them from behind.
Half a day after the battle, Jize took his southern army to serve as the shield during the retreat of the crown prince, but that was an act akin to standing in the way of a muddy stream with nothing but the strength of a human. After gaining momentum, the goblin forces swallowed the forces of the holy knight and pursued after the imperial guards.
The crown prince didn’t even have time to contact Valdor the Holy Knight, who was busy fighting at the front lines, before being forced to retreat.
“There is a river ahead. Shall we rest for a bit?” The exhausted officer asked.
The crown prince nodded. “I’ll leave it to you.”
The officer was relieved from the bottom of his heart to hear that. To that, Ishtar could only internally apologize. He was tired too. In fact, everyone was. He imagined it was probably the soldiers exhausted from the battle who rested as he arrived to the riverbank and looked toward the direction of the three forests they fled from.
Even now it felt like he was seeing a bad dream. But the pain from the arrow wound on his left arm made it clear that this was not a dream.
Despite taking two of the proud holy knights of the kingdom, they lost to the goblins’ surprise attack. Even he, the crown prince, just barely escaped with his life. From here on, the country was likely to teeter on the brink of destruction.
When he thought of that, he couldn’t help but feel apologetic to his grandfather.
He had lost. Throughly.
It was a difficult reality to accept, but the moment he arrives at the capital, an even realer taste of reality was sure to bite him. But despite that he had no choice but to come back alive. Even if others might reprimand him or criticize him, Ishtar was the crown prince. He knew precisely how heavy the responsibility of that title was, so he knew that he had to come back alive.
“Lizard men are attacking!”
As the resting soldiers screamed, the crown prince turned to the river.
“Prepare to intercept! Don’t panic! Take your shields and defend against the enemy’s attacks!”
At the crown prince’s behest, the imperial guards obeyed.
“We have to return alive! Return alive to Germion Kingdom!”
The imperial guards responded to the crown prince and orderly fought back against the lizard man attack. When they found themselves before the camp of the goblins they had broken through earlier and saw the flag they should have raised there, they inadvertently groaned.
The flag of Germion Kingdom had been taken away and replaced with the flag of the Soar to Freedom (Elks Clan). When they saw the
minotaurs and the goblins in high spirits, they did not think they could break through at all.
“So it’s come to this…”
No one knew who said those words, but the soldiers began sitting one after another because of them.
Ishtar tried to get them back on their feet, but to these men who had lost all morale, there was no way standing up again.
“We’ll go around and move through the north!”
The crown prince exhaled. He swore in his heart not to die.
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It didn’t take long after they resolved themselves for them to retreat at full speed. The moment the army of Germion Kingdom entered deep into the Western Region and its nobles army and mage army were destroyed, its defeat was guaranteed.
Although the dependable holy knight, Jize, was keeping Rashka at bay and the holy knight, Valdor, was holding on against the fierce attacks of Gi Gu Verbena’s Axe and Sword Army (Felduk), they were already at the end of their ropes.
The bow and arrow army (Fanzel) that forced the crown prince’s imperial guards to retreat and the border defense unit attacked the southern army together. Although the southern army was somehow able to stop Gi Jii Yubu’s regiol and the Gaidga Tribe, they were still being attacked from three directions, and in the end, they couldn’t even flee as their formations crumbled.
Next was the remnants of the mage army.
Their situation was even worse, as the great momentum of the goblins left them with little room to resist, and they had no choice but to be trampled over in the blink of an eye. One by one, starting from the nearest one, the forces of Germion Kingdom’s army were slowly devoured by the goblins.
The elite eastern division army were no exception.
Try as Valdor the Holy Knight to take command of the army, it was not an easy thing to go against the flow once started.
“…Retreat. I will take the rearguard along with the 1st Platoon. All forces retreat to the north.”
Valdor himself stood at the rear, but that order of his was betrayed by the quick defeat of the imperial guards in the hands of the border defense unit. After Gi Jii Yubu’s regiol quickly forced the imperial guards and the southern army to collapse, they turned around and blocked the path of the eastern division army.
Despite being a holy knight, Valdor already had his hands full just defending one front. What more now that he was being attacked from four different directions? Perhaps, if Valdor alone ran, he might have been able to make it, but the soldiers of the eastern division were men he himself had trained. He could not afford to abandon them. In the end, the eastern division army was surrounded.
Gi Gu Verbena’s subordinates surrounded them so tightly that not even ants could escape.
Meanwhile, the archers of Ganra and the centaurs shot at them from afar. They shot their arrows simultaneously to be safe, but the eastern division army still managed to repel them three times.
Still, Gi Gu Verbena’s attacks did not slacken one bit.
His soldiers worked together to suppress the holy knight, Valdor, while select high-ranking goblins from every side wiped everyone else. On the fourth attack, the eastern division army were finally knelt before the goblins.
Valdor fought until the very end, and after receiving 18 spear wounds, he finally died in Gi Gu’s hands.
As for the remaining holy knight, Jize, he was unable to get out of his duel against Rashka, so he ended up watching the collapse of the southern army from the side.
“Damn you… I’ve had enough of this duel.”
With most of the eastern division army destroyed, Jize broke through the goblin horde by himself. He vanished from the battlefield to rendezvous with the crown prince.
In the end, the proud armies of Germion Kingdom: the eastern division army, the southern army, and the mage army and imperial guards directly under the royal family were all destroyed and scattered. The so-called elite soldiers and knights all died in battle. Just like that the military strength of Germion Kingdom was crushed in the Western Region.
◆◇◆
—The main force of Germion Kingdom has been successfully broken through. The centaurs and the fangs are in the middle of pursuing the imperial guards led by the crown prince.
That report came four days after the Goblin King and Pale departed the western capital. With them were the 300 soldiers of the cavalry directly under the king’s command and the 1,000 new goblin soldiers. They kept their pace to match the infantry. To the humans, their pace might still appear to be fast, but to the goblin forces, it was actually a little slower than normal.
“I suppose everything has gone as planned?” The Goblin King asked.
Pale nodded. “Unfortunately, not everything went without a hitch. Still, I would at least like to have the crown prince slain here. That would make everything much easier.”
“You mean for it to train the new soldiers as well, right? Don’t worry about it.”
“As you will.”
Pale had already given out orders to break through Germion Kingdom and how to pursue the remnants. Even reoccupying the camp facing the eight fortresses of the west was also a part of her plans. Especially, having Tanita the chief of the lizard man position his men beside one of the eight flags along the rivers.
Considering the fangs and the centaurs are chasing them from behind, Pale knew that they had no choice but to flee to the north.
Soon the day came to an end and evening took its place. The body of the God of Fire (Rodo) was now hidden by the arm of the Night God (Ya Jansu), painting a picture that made it look as if the northern borders of the western region were dyed in blood.
When the Goblin King spotted the shadow of enemies upon the horizon, he squinted his eyes a little.
“…Gi Be Slay. Take the new soldiers and surround the enemy.”
Gi Be turned to the direction the king had pointed his great sword at, then he bowed to the king from atop his steed and called out to the new soldiers and prompted them to advance.
“…Are you still hesitating?”
“No need to pry into me. I won’t change my decision.”
“As you will.”
The king and Pale spoke a little, then they followed after Gi Be as he went ahead. The enemy must have realized that they would be at a disadvantage were they to fight, as they immediately tried to run, but exhausted, even that wasn’t an option for them. Very quickly, the goblins caught up to them, and they were surrounded.
◆◆◇
To the imperial guards of the crown prince that were surrounded, the enemies were demons that spawned from the black the night. And behind the goblins mounted on their fiendish steeds was a conspicuously giant monster.
The picture of the monster riding upon his steed as his horns stood up as if in defiance against the heavens painted a heroic image. The eyes the monster looked at them with were red like that of blood.
The fangs peeking from the monster’s mouth seemed as if they could easily tear apart the body of a human. It was a terrifying visage, almost as if the hate of the goblins had been given form.
Compared to this monster, even the goblins mounted upon their terrifying steeds looked adorable in comparison. There was an
overwhelming power to the monster that could not help but suppress everything nearby even without doing anything. It was such that they would believe it if they were to be told that this very monster before them was sculpted by the Goddess of the Underworld (Altesia) herself.
“Humans.”
A heavy voice resounded, reverberating from the very pith of one’s stomach.
“All I seek is the head of Crown Prince Ishtar. Name yourself, and I shall send the rest back to the Western Region.”
“Your Majesty—!”
Beside the overwhelming monster was a beautiful elven girl who called out to the monster with a powerful gaze. But the monster silenced her with a stare.
“What will you do?”
As the monster looked at the soldiers, the soldiers turned to each other and exchanged glances.
“I am the crown prince!” An imperial guard named himself.
After him came another, and then another, and another…
“I see. I understand… Kill them… Kill them all!”
Although the king felt that the loyalty of the humans was a sacred thing, he had no choice but to give that order. If he were to let them go here, the plans they have been building until now would all be put to waste. Pale had already told him this beforehand. They had to kill the crown prince here.
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