Volume 3, Chapter 203 - Gi Ba Hagar (2/3)
A battle of retreat while carrying the wounded soldiers was bound to be difficult.
The horses of the enemy cavalry were fast, and while the goblins possessed exceptional stamina, they were still on foot.
Perhaps if they were fighting in the forest, it wouldnât be such a big deal, but the thing was that they were currently fighting on the plains.
The handicap of being on foot versus having a mount was simply overwhelming.
The mana guards that seemed to act as scouts would light up the night sky with their flame bullets whenever they spotted the goblins.
Even the Goblin King couldnât avoid suffering losses at the succeeding flood of horsemen whenever they were spotted.
The goblins had to fight while retreating, then when they had opened up some distance, they would reorganize their platoons, then they would retreat again.
Fortunately, it was currently night time. So, the goblins only needed a little distance for the humans to lose sight of them.
Despite that their plans to go north using the shortest route was thoroughly ruined by Allenâs command over the Blue Knights, who kept cutting their route.
Knight-Commander Allen already knew that the goblins wanted to use the shortest route to get to the western region.
And with the Blue Knights of Pena and the horsemen of the Red King attacking the goblins simultaneously, the main force that should be protected instead ended up luring the enemy to it.
Although the Order of the Blue Knights was half-destroyed in the last battle, they were still widely known to be the best of the best.
A knight order such as that that carried the dignity of its country upon its shoulder couldnât possibly have a cowardly soldier among its ranks. Hence, they fearlessly sought out the goblins and attacked them.
Leading the Blue Knights was none other than Allen, whoâd sworn take vengeance for the death of the late Knight-Commander, Aizas. It was a taboo for the commanding officer of the entire army to lead a charge himself, but Allen purposely broke that taboo to raise the morale of his soldiers.
However, Allen wasnât actually naive enough to think just that would be enough to defeat the goblins. After all, he still had the mixed army led by adventurers with him. As such, he prioritized finding the goblins and avoiding a direct confrontation to slowly whittle down on their numbers.
Allen skillfully took advantage of the mobility of their sand horses to execute a hit-and-run strategy repeatedly. Moreover, because he had to lead the missed army platoons as well, Allenâs abilities as a leader steadily improved.
The Blue Knights followed the goblins around like a shadow and kept forcing them to change their retreat path, but the forces of the Red King did not know about that, and they continued to head north.
Because of that, when the main force of the goblins made camp in the night, thinking to themselves that the humans mustâve
exhausted themselves, they ended up clashing with the Red Kingâs forces.
Gi Za Zakuend, the wizard class goblin, was the one in command, for the mounted goblins of Paradua and the stealthy goblins of Gi Ji Arsil were in charge of watching the surrounding area.
When Gi Za Zakuend found out that the humans were approaching them, he immediately ordered for the army to advance north.
âSend a messenger to the king! Lord Hal, Iâll leave it to you!â Gi Za said.
Gi Za asked Hal to deliver the message for he was of the Paradua tribe. And the Paradua tribe were the most mobile of the goblins. At the same time, Gi Za asked Gi Gi to send his monsters out toward the back.
âBuy us some time! We need to endure until the king comes!â
At the same time, Gi Jii asked the assassin platoon to lead the way, while he asked Gi Ba Hagar and Zaurosh to protect the humans and run ahead to the north.
âWe will keep the enemy here!â Gi Za said.
Felbi didnât even have the leisure to ask Gi Za for his orders when his platoon drew their bows and shot at the enemy cavalry seeking to break past Gi Gi Orudoâs monster army.
Gi Za clicked his tongue as he left command of his druids to Gi Do Buruga, while he himself joined the fray. Gi Za knew this would be a hard battle.
Meanwhile, after seeing the monster army appear, Saldinâs head suddenly cooled.
âWhy did they split their army into two?â Saldin wondered.
He was certain the monster army wasnât present previously. It was common sense that having all of oneâs forces in one place was the best way to use them.
Saldin knew that despite never having once studied formally. He knew it from experience. And it was also because of that experience that Saldin thoughot of the possibility of reinforcements.
âSo, these guys are reinforcements?â
Although Saldin had fought the goblins, he did not actually fully comprehend them.
When he ordered for flame bullets to be casted and illuminate the surroundings, he also noticed that the elves were presnet.
âNo. Could it be theyâre trying to run using different paths?â
Normally, Saldin would just attack first and think later, so when the surrounding adventures and soldiers saw him actually use his head, they couldnât help but be puzzled.
It didnât take long before Saldin became frustrated, however.
âDamn it! If it were Carlion, he wouldâve already come up with an answer!â
He had boldly declared he would save Carlion, but Carlion was so far away that he couldnât even see his back.
Saldin glared hatefully at the enemy camp.
âGeneral, what do we do?â A soldier asked.
But Saldin ignored him as he looked at the battlefield illuminated by the flame bullets.
ââŠThey donât seem to have much momentumâŠâ Saldin muttered to himself.
As he did, it finally occurred to him.
âThese guys are running!
A flash of insight from the Goddess of Wisdom.
Saldin smiled a cruel smile just like that of a banditâs as his eyed the scene before him.
âSplit the army in two!â
After receiving reinforcements, his army now numbered 4,000.
Saldin took one half of that to fight the army that was here now, while he took the other half to pursue the rest of the army that was fleeing.
Adventurers knew that goblins were sly. They would always prioritize the survival of their leader. Using their subordinates as shields was but common sense to them.
Thatâs why Saldin believed that the giant goblin he fought before was surely with the fleeing half. The monster army in front of him was nothing more than a way to buy time.
Saldin also divided the mana guard between his two armies before taking 2,000 horsemen with him to go around and pursue the fleeing half of the goblin army.
Saldin relied on his animal-like instincts to grasp the position of the enemyâs platoon in the north as he ordered his men to charge into Goddess of Darknessâ wings.
Although it was currently the darkest period of the day, Saldin rode without slowing down even a bit.
Saldin struck his spear and swung his sword against the shadows that moved.
It didnât matter whether he was cutting down monster or monster beasts.
He would kill the enemy. That was all. And anyone who allied with the enemy was also nothing more than enemy.
âKill everyone! Cut off those goblin heads!â
The spirited attack of the Red King had just begun.