Volume 4, Chapter 274 - Dragon King Grimoa (1/3)
The goblins hadn’t just been standing around either.
Gi Ga Rax set out to conquer the neighboring nations that sent reinforcements to the Iron Country of Elfa. Gi Ga’s Tiger and Spear Army (Aransain) had extended their path of conquest toward the northern reaches of the mountain range, but now, they’ve turned their spear at the south, literally trampling underfoot the armies of the neighboring countries. The sight of their advance could only be described as ‘terrifying’.
Meanwhile, it was Gi Gu Verbena who was put in charge of conquering the Iron Country of Elfa.
The fierce assault of the Axe and Sword Army (Felduk) led by Gi Gu fanned the flames at the border between Elfa and the three-country alliance. In just one battle, a heavy knight unit and their supporting light knight unit were destroyed, and the goblins encroached deeper into Elfa’s borders.
“No mercy to any and all who resist! The fear of our axe shall be imprinted into them so deeply that they will not even think of resisting!”
After proclaiming that to the entire Felduk army, Gi Gu himself took the lead and easily advanced into Elfa.
The Wyvern Knights had been sent as reinforcements to Elfa, but they did not know how to use them properly. The heavy knights of Elfa were renowned for their military prowess…
The reason for this was the full armor that they could forge thanks to the abundant natural resources of their land. Through their unique methods, they were able to combine rock iron and water iron, enabling the birth of heavy knights that could move easily even while wearing full armor.
They were confident of the strength of their heavy knights, and that was also true for Misha, who led the Wyvern Knights. But Felduk crushed their confidence with their lives.
They had believed that a head-on fight would end in the victory of Elfa’s heavy knights, but in the face of Felduk’s overwhelming aggression, not only were the heavy knights destroyed, even the supporting light knights couldn’t run away.
The leader of the medium-sized company of wyvern knights, Misha, had been doing her best scouting. She immediately reported the results of the battle to Elfa and her home country, Altigand. She said that the private soldiers of the nobles would surely be wiped out if they fought the goblins head-on.
Altigand still sent their private soldiers despite her report, but Elfa made sweeping changes to their strategy.
Now they would be employing guerrilla warfare in the mountain region. The terrain of Elfa had an inclination for mountains in the first place, and they were also being supported with supplies through the sea. Moreover, they’ve already dug plenty of tunnels throughout the mountains to mine resources, so with all of that, there was already plenty of support for their new strategy.
As one might expect, it was indeed Rasdir, the young knight commander, who ordered the retreat from the borders that was a humiliation to the heavy knight order, as well as the one who firmly recommended the construction of a fortress right in front the imperial capital. He convinced the other commanders, then gathered the remaining 3 heavy knight units and one light knight unit to temporarily gather in the vicinity of the imperial capital to prepare for a desperate struggle.
At the same time, two light knight units were mobilized to attack Alrodena’s supply lines.
At this point, Felduk’s advance had no choice but to slow down.
Elfa had a tunnel that brought in supplies through the mountainous region from the south, so it did not seem feasible that their supply support from Altigand could be cut.
There were countless tunnels in the mountainous regions, so it was simply impossible for the goblins to cover all of them. Moreover, with the tunnels being just wide enough for a person to pass through, even the goblins would find the losses they would incur too great to risk it.
The strength of the Felduk goblins lay in their excellent coordination when led by a high-ranked goblins, as well as the excellent skills of Gi Gu Verbena as a commander. Their enemies were humans clad in iron armor. However light the light knights may be, they still had iron armor covering the important places. Moreover, as soldiers of Elfa, a nation surrounded by enemies in every direction, they were used to fighting.
Though the goblins might have physical abilities above that of a human, it was still bound to be a bitter struggle. Above all, the location was terrible. Elfa has always been considering an invasion from one of their neighbors, so they’ve trained their knights thoroughly on how to use the tunnels. Compared to them, the goblins knew nothing at all.
The headquarters of the goblins, the Fortress, was indeed underground, but it covered a vast area. It was their home, and to the goblins born after the birth of the Goblin King, the world underground was a world removed from violence, only the surface was ever considered to be a battlefield.
That’s why a battle underground was bound to perplex them.
Torches burning dazzlingly.
A narrow space without room to swing one’s weapon at full power.
So narrow in fact that even goblins could only fit two to stand beside each other, making it difficult for them to display their excellent coordination.
All of that made the goblins, who had the biggest army in the continent, suffer.
It’s true that their eyes that could see in the dark were effective, and that they had sharp claws and fangs, so even underground their odds of winning were still half half. Realizing their disadvantage, Gi Gu decided to thoroughly block the tunnels, but the light knights would always appear at some point after they left to reopen the tunnels, so it wasn’t a good solution.
By this point, Gi Gu had no choice but to judge Felduk’s battlefield to be in a deadlock.
Meanwhile, the Twin-Headed Beast and Axe Army (Zeilduk), who has been advancing south, made their way with the mixed army for the southern minor nations. It was the tactician of their ally, Vilan Do Zul, who realized that the reason behind Gi Gu Verbena’s Felduk’s struggles lay here.
The young prodigy of the Holy Matriarchy of Vladinia was widely appraised for his tenacity and presence of mind, and his talent has also been acknowledged by the goblins.
Gi Zu Ruo, who led The Thousand-Demon Army (Sazanorga), and Gi Jii Yubu, who led the army (Regiol), were also all praises for the youth. They deeply trusted his opinion, so they attacked the minor nations in the south believed to be supporting the Iron Country of Elfa.
“Let’s cut their throat.”
With the soldiers of pagan origin called Akazone in tow, Vilan’s leadership was geared more for defense rather than offense. When applied as a diversion, he found himself in the middle of enemy fire.
His army was always present in the turning points of a battle. He would sidestep the relentless attacks of the enemy, while supporting the assault of the mixed army. The soldiers of the vassal country, the Kingdom of Shirad, had to fight desperately too.
With Alrodena surrounding them from every direction, they knew that the goblins could eat them at the Goblin King’s whim. If they were to allow their assault to weaken now and allow their country to be destroyed, then for what reason did they even surrender in the first place?
In order to allow the continued existence of their country, they had no choice but to desperately fight.
It was around that time when the Goblin King decide to move out himself.
In the first summer of the fifth year of the King’s Calendar were the imperial guard cavalry and 3,000 new soldiers brought all the way from the Fortress of the Abyss. Before the soldiers equipped with new armor and shields, the Goblin King mounted his beloved steed, Sui, then he raised up his great sword and declared.
“My subjects. Today we stand on a crossroad. Are we worthy to be conquerors of the continent or not!”
The Goblin King swung down with his great sword, and the resulting powerful wind made the goblins falter.
“My subjects. The step we take shall itself be the proof!” We will not retreat! Together we will show the enemy that we our conquerors!”
In the next moment, cheers exploded from the new soldiers.
They were seeing their king for the first time, and indeed, he was great without equal. Pride filled their chest as they cheered out for the Goblin King.
“King! King! Our king!”
The sounds of spears raising and shields knocking mixed together to form a symphony that filled the place. Every time their king called them ‘my subjects’, pride would overflow from their chest.
Like that the Goblin King led 3,500 soldiers to make their way east.
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