VOLUME 3: CHAPTER 163 – THE CLASH AT PIENA PLAINS II (1/2)
GURUuuuOOOOAOOAOAAaa!!
When the goblin army howled as one, most of the new recruits in the human army faltered.
The earth trembled as that grotesque horde of monsters approached.
Though their shields obstructed their sight and though their hands held firmly to their spears, they could not shake off the fear they felt from the trembling earth. That fear grasped their heart, and they found themselves unable to move.
“Persevere! The holy knight, Gowen Ranid, is with you! So claim the glory of victory with your spears!” Gowen said to encourage the soldiers.
Thanks to Gowen’s encouragement, the human army was somehow able to endure the pressure of the goblin army, and their formation did not break.
But while the humans could be pacified with a few words, the animals were different.
The cavalry was fine as they’ve already left, but the horses of the chariot platoon that was currently on standby were greatly affected by that earlier howl, causing them to fall into panic before they could even clash with the enemy.
“Calm those horses down!”
The coachmen eventually managed to calm the horses down, but by that time, the demihumans had already reached them.
“Stand down!” The leader of the fang tribe, Mido the Tyrant, yelled as he attacked the chariots. Behind him were the rest of the fang tribe and the centaurs.
“Don’t fall behind the fangs! This day we shall redeem ourselves!” The current leader of the centaurs and successor to Daizos, Tianos, raised his spear and attacked the chariots.
“The chariots were attacked before they could move… Magic platoon! Prioritize supporting the chariots!” Gowen said.
The greater physical abilities of the werewolves allowed them to send the horses flying and drag the coachmen to the ground. While the fangs fought, Cynthia led the gray wolves and spread chaos in the battlefield.
“Enemy approaching!”
When Gowen received that report, he looked up ahead.
“Archers, provide cover. Your target will be the enemy in front!”
Gowen figured that the sylph magic protecting the goblins would eventually stop, so he ordered the archers to keep on shooting.
“Remember yesterday! These monsters can never hope to go past our shields!” An infantry platoon commander said.
If they could endure the charge of the goblins back at the cliffs, then they should be able to endure their charge here on the plains.
As the soldiers calmed down, they fixed their grip on their spears.
But what the humans misunderstood was that the forces they fought that day were by no means the strongest of the goblins. Today, however, they would be facing the greatest of the goblins’ warriors.
“Ra Gilion!” One of the strongest goblins, Rashka the Chief of the Gaidga, invoked his ability, causing a black light to slam into the line of human soldiers.
“Warriors of Gaidga! Stomp the humans dead!” Rashka swung his club and crushed the iron helmet of a soldier.
“Die, hUmaN fiLThsSs!! Gi Ba howled and tore through the human ranks as he lost himself in the Man-Eater Skill.
“Now, fire!”
Until now Gi Za and the rest of the druids have been leaving the defense to the elves, but the moment Gi Za said that, the druids simultaneously cast their spells.
“…We’re being pushed back,” Gowen muttered.
As he watched the battlefield, he calculated in his mind when to give the next order.
From the humans’ perspective, they were currently being pushed at the center and right wing.
From the goblins’ perspective, Gi Jii, who fought at the center, and the demihumans, who fought at the leftmost wing[1], were currently in the best position.
“The cavalry aren’t doing too bad, though.”
From the humans’ perspective, their cavalry direct clashed with the goblin cavalry. The battle between the two cavalry was leaning toward the humans thanks to their greater numbers.
“Rear guard, provide cover for the 3rd chariot platoon!”
When Gowen took a closer look at the battlefield, he noted that the goblins fighting around the left wing and the center were no different from the goblins they defeated yesterday; they could still tolerate their attacks to some extent. Because of that he decided to have the rear guard support the chariots first, as they still haven’t gotten back up on their feet.
On the other side, the Goblin King watched as the Paradua fought a hard battle against the human cavalry.
“Your Majesty, if the need arises, we can go anytime to help the Paradua,” Gi Ji Arsil said.
His platoon of a.s.sa.s.sins did not even number a hundred, but Gi Ji offered to help nevertheless. He seemed impatient.
“A needless worry, Gi Ji. The man leading the Paradua is none other than their chief, Hal. He is a proud man,” the Goblin King said.
“If that is your will,” Gi Ji said as he bowed his head.
The king turned his eyes away from Gi Ji and quietly oversaw the battlefield.
“Onwards! Let the humans know the proud name of Paradua’s riders!” Hal said.
He spun his spear over his head once, and as he let go of the reins, he wielded his spear with both hands.
As the beast cavalry of Paradua clashed with the human cavalry, Hal urged his black tiger onwards in an attempt to settle yesterday’s duel.
The formation of the Paradua cavalry gradually formed a wedge-shape with Hal at the center, the human cavalry formed a similar shape.
“GURUuuOOAA!”
“DIiEEeeE!! Goblin!”
As Hal pa.s.sed the commander of the human cavalry, sparks erupted between their spears.
“It didn’t work!?”
“d.a.m.n it!”
One was a monster, one was a human, but both clicked their tongues in the same way as they swept away the next enemy before them.
The downside to the cavalry was that the moment they stopped, they would have to ride some distance again to rebuild their momentum. Unfortunately, no matter how much they hated it, the unending wave of enemies caused their speed to dwindle, and the battle gradually became chaotic.
After the short exchange when they briefly stopped moving, the two cavalry commanders begun to ponder how to fight without stopping.
If they were to show their back by mistake, they would be giving their enemy a big opening. That earlier clash was indeed a mistake on both sides.
◆◆◇
One hour later, the two armies were in a deadlock. Even if one side managed to take a step forward, they would only end up being pushed back, leaving the situation the same as it was at the start.
The once chaotic chariots have already recovered thanks to the influx of infantry and mages.
On the goblin side, they were finally starting to encroach the center with the Gaidga tribe and Gi Ji’s army as the leading players.
“Spears are useless against the demihumans! Use your swords!”
As the battle grew violent, the various commanders found themselves too busy to ask Gowen for instructions. They had to fight while relying only on their own judgment.
The infantry supporting the chariots switched their weapons for long swords as they stood against the agile werewolves.
“Chariots, attack! Go for the back!”
After the chariots had stabilized, Gowen ordered them to attack the enemies’ back. He was hoping to plant the threat of being surrounded into the goblins’ heads to slow down their push on the center.
“Dispatch the chariots! Trample those goblins underfoot!” A company commander said.
The chariots have been pushed back by the goblins until now, but their morale was high. They were neither scared nor hesitant, if anything, they were glad that they could finally vent out the anger they’ve been keeping all this time.
“Don’t let them do as they please! Lord Mido, I’ll leave this here to you!” Chief of the centaurs, Tianos, said.
At that, he took approximately 100 centaurs and galloped toward the chariots.
“Suppress them! We’ll attack as we pa.s.s them!”
The centaurs were planning to strike the chariots with their spears, but the humans did something unexpected.
“Throw the spears!”
The chariots were less mobile compared to the cavalry, but in exchange, they had a mountain of weapons at their disposal.
The centaurs that tried to approach them were met with flying spears.
“At this rate…”
Tianos led his centaurs away from the chariots, and as a result, the chariots rode faster for the back of the army.
“What’s the matter, Tianos!? At that rate, the proud name of the centaurs will be ran through the mud!”
Mido’s whole body was covered in blood, his eyes were bloodshot, and he wore a fierce smile on his face.
He teased Tianos as he rendezvoused with him.
“The battle’s just starting!” Tianos retorted.
Mido bellowed out a battle cry, then as he calculated the gap between each throw, he led the fang tribe toward the chariots.
“Ku… The human infantry… Wait, this isn’t the time for this! Don’t let the fangs get a lead over us!” Tianos said.
“UuoOOON!” Cynthia howled as she led the gray wolves, then she brought her pack before the fang tribe. Short red wolves and brown wolves ran by the legs of the giant gray wolves.
“Wolves!? Bows!”
After the spears the chariots brought out bows next. They were originally specialized in spears, but a few months ago, they also started training in bows. Their experience in archery was by no means deep, but it was much easier to shoot arrows from a chariot than on horseback.
Arrows were pulled to the bowstring’s limit as the fangs and the gray wolves approached them, then they released them.
Most of the arrows headed for the giant gray wolves, so the smaller wolves were able to slip in and attack the humans riding the chariots.
“Oh s.h.i.t! Gya!”
The soldiers cried out as the wolves tore apart their throats. As soldiers fell off the chariots and as the gray wolves pa.s.sed by them, Cynthia howled once more.
As the gray wolves leaped at the chariots, the fangs pa.s.sed them by.
“Thank you, young lady! Let’s go!” Mido said as he led the fangs to attack another chariot.
“Show them the spirit of the centaurs! Trample them!”
“Shoot your bows and run away from them!”
The coachmen whipped the horses as archers shot volleys of arrows toward their approaching enemies. They ended up losing half their numbers, but in the end, they managed to shake off the centaurs and fangs and make their way to the back.
Clouds of dust rose as the chariots and the demihumans ran through the battlefield.
The Goblin King, who had been watching their battle, turned his gaze to another part of the battlefield.
“Show them Gaidga’s valor!”
Rashka’s fierce attacks tore through the enemy ranks easily. The humans had no answer to his brutish strength.
The Gaidga tribe gathered around Rashka as they forced themselves into the human lines. By this time, they were already half way in.
Unfortunately, the Man-Eating Snake, Gi Ba, could not attack as fiercely as the Gaidga. Try as he might to push on, a rare cla.s.s could not compare to a duke cla.s.s.
“Grr, d.a.m.n you, d.a.m.n you!” Gi Ba tried to move further, but Gi Jii Yubu stopped him.
“Gi Ba, return to your line and take command! Front row, advance! Ready your spears!”
Gi Jii Yubu moved his army up to where Gi Ba was, then they clashed with the humans.
Gi Ba took ragged breaths as he went back to his line.
Gritting his teeth, Gi Ba yelled at the normal goblins. “Kill them! Kill them all!”
The normal goblins fought fiercely at Gi Ba’s appeal.
Gi Jii advanced his forces to line up with the Gaidga. By doing so, he managed to push the enemy back a line.
As the infantry were pushed back by the Gaidga, their lines eventually collapsed.
“Just one more push,” the Goblin King muttered as he held his great sword tight.
Gaidga and Gi Jii were the leading players pushing the humans back, but everyone else was an even match.
To whom victory would fall was yet up in the air, so the Goblin King had Gi Ga Rax move the imperial guards.
“Your Majesty, the enemies are coming from behind!” Gi Ji yelled.
The Goblin King clicked his tongue as he turned around.
“Chariots!”
The Goblin King could not just leave them be, so he ordered Gi Ji to intercept them.
Gi Ji faced the chariots with high spirits, but the chariots seemed only to mock Gi Ji, as they ignored him and took a large detour, then they approached the back of the various platoons.
The Goblin King wanted to attack more, but the annoying chariots kept buzzing behind them like an annoying fly, keeping them from committing to a big attack.
The possibility of being attacked by chariots from behind was too great a threat.
“Have the fangs and the centaurs crush those things!”
Gi Ji’s platoon could not catch up to the chariots. Perhaps he might be able to suppress them from behind, but he wouldn’t be able to wipe them out.
“Have the chariots come back! Tell the center to pull back too!”
Gowen narrowed his eyes as he watched the goblins push them back and as he tried to restore the disordered formation.
The right wing had managed to drive away the demihumans. They had to sacrifice half of the chariots to achieve it, but with it, they were able to buy some much needed time.
The human cavalry was currently fighting the goblin cavalry in the left wing.
“3rd platoon support the right wing!”
Since the cavalry was already in a melee, Gowen decided to send the third platoon.
“Yes, my lord!” The platoon commander said.
After driving away the demihumans from the right wing, the battle moved to surround the Gaidga tribe.
Gowen moved the soldiers from the lines they had an advantage in to support the flanks. The right wing no longer had the demihumans and the left wing had Gi Gu’s goblins, which were still weak from yesterday’s battle.
With the center being pushed back and the flanks being pushed forward, the battle naturally progressed to surround the center.
When the chariots came back, Gowen had the mages ride with them. The mages numbered 200 all in all, so it was not possible to have the remaining 50 chariots accommodate them all.
Gowen picked out 50 mages to ride the chariots, then he ordered the rest to provide cover from the back.
“Archers, don’t let the enemy mages approach! Keep shooting at them!”
The archers formed rows as they retreated while shooting at the enemy.
The supply platoon at the back coordinated with them and supplied them with more quivers every time they ran out of arrows.
The orchestra-like coordination that allowed the archers to shoot volley after volley of arrows was a testament to Gowen’s abilities.
Gowen had his soldiers retreat while they surrounded the enemy.
“Chief! There are enemies behind us!” Dashka of Gaidga said.
When Rashka heard that he hesitated. If it was before he might have continued attacking with no hesitation, but Rashka has already learned his lesson from the elven war. Unfortunately, Gowen did not miss that slight hesitation.
“Magic platoon, focus fire on the center!”
The mages at the back simultaneously casted their magic. Fire and water bullets rained from above, dulling the Gaidga’s movements.
Afterwards, Gowen ordered the magic platoon to attack Gi Jii next.
“…Stubborn,” Gowen muttered to himself as he looked up at the body of the fire G.o.d shining brilliantly up in the sky.
The battle that began early this morning has been raging on for several hours already.
If this were a battle between humans, the enemy would be running out of steam soon.
Unfortunately, Gowen failed to take into account the stamina of the goblins.
Gowen has never really fought the goblins in a proper war. After all, monsters lining up in formation to wage war on humans was a strange sight never before seen.
Gowen hoped to exhaust the goblins and then attack, but at the rate they were going, their formations would collapse first before he could ever hope to.
The humans were bound to run out of steam before the goblins. They could no longer rely on the potions either, for most of it has already been distributed by the supply platoon.
The rest of their supplies were also running thin.
Gowen looked over the battlefield once more, searching for the enemy’s weak point. The enemy must have a weak point somewhere.
“We’ve gotten this far, we can’t retreat.”
Gowen had sent the chariots with the mages to the left wing in hopes of expelling the enemy cavalry while recovering their own.
“Order the cavalry to retreat!”
“d.a.m.n it! We’re retreating!”
At the cavalry commander’s behest, the cavalry began to break away. When Hal saw that, he spun his blood-stained spear and yelled, “After them! Don’t let them run!”
But the chariots Gowen had sent kept them from pursuing the human cavalry.
The chariots’ long range attacks left the goblin cavalry with no choice but to retreat.
“Curse them! Retreat!”
After crushing the two wings, Gowen’s army finally managed to begin surrounding the goblin army. It was a thin surround, however. Regardless, it was here that Gowen decided to gamble.
“Now, attack! Infantry, endure it!”
At Gowen’s behest, the commanders of the infantry platoons yelled, “Spears out! Attack!”
The human soldiers mustered every bit of courage they had as they thrust out their spear toward the goblins’ own. Many goblins and humans fell as they struck each other dead.
Meanwhile, the chariots and the cavalry came back to attack the goblins from the flanks.
“Great Brother! They’re attacking from the right and from the back!”
Gi Gu, who was still wounded from yesterday’s battle, ordered his reserves to expand to the back.
“Do as Gi Jii does! Just stop the enemy’s attack!”
The goblin’s right wing has taken to defense, but Gaidga, who was fighting at the left wing, yelled with fury, “Push them back!”
Instead of defending, Gaidga pushed back even harder, causing the humans that were spread thin to falter.
“Teach those goblins their place!”
The human cavalry tried to attack from the left wing, but this time, their allies were trampled over by the giant goblins right in front of them. Immediately, they decided to charge toward the goblins.
At that, even the Gaidga found it difficult to maintain their lines.
Unable to stop the fierce attack of the human cavalry, the Gaidga, who continued to push onwards, was cut off from the back.
When the Goblin King saw that the enemy forces’ momentum had reached peak levels, he raised his voice, “Gi Za, support the Gaidga! Gi Ga, take the reserves and move out! After me!”
Deciding that this would be the end, the Goblin King led the reserves and moved out.
“Order Rashka to withdraw!”
“Unu!?”
Though unwilling, Rashka ordered the Gaidga to withdraw. Even a battle junkie like him could see that they were suffering too many casualties.
“We’re retreating anyway, so we might as well get a piece of those human cavalry along the way!”
Rashka was fuming as he ordered his men to retreat. He frowned in regret as he defended the back of his horde from the attack of the infantry.
As the Gaidga retreated, they focused their attacks on the human cavalry that had forced its way in.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
As Rashka yelled retreat with much frustration and deflected spear after spear, he withdrew with the Gaidga while sending humans flying.
The human cavalry that had forced themselves in from the back ended up clashing with Dashka. Dashka stopped the horse with his own body.
“Fire! Send the humans off with the winds of the forest!” Gi Za yelled.
At those words, the cavalry that had attacked the Gaidga stopped.
The Gaidga used that opening to withdraw altogether.
“Attack! This is our chance to surround them!”
When Gowen saw the Gaidga withdraw, he ordered his men to attack. At that, the infantry Rashka had been keeping in check came gushing forth.
No matter how powerful Rashka might have been among the goblins, even he would get weaker after fighting for so long.
All the more so when the human spearmen were relying on their numbers.
“Annoying!” Rashka spat as he swung his club from the back of the Gaidga Horde, but exhausted, Rashka slipped on the blood stained ground.
“Nu!?” Rashka cried out.
Seeing that, the soldiers immediately thrust out their spears.
So this is were the one-eyed demon dies. For a moment, Rashka closed his eyes.
“Turn me into a blade!Enchant
As the king’s voice echoed, the soldiers that sought to kill Rashka were all cleaved in half. They quietly sank into the pool of blood beneath them.