The goblins received Jugem and the others who were fleeing with all their strength. Jugem and the company stumbled through the loose gaps in the formation and the army closed the gaps once they were through. It was like a steel door sliding shut.
Jugem looked around at his comrades, who were collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. There was no one who was unscathed, and many had fainted after reaching safety. Even for Jugem, just looking around caused his vision to blur. The number of goblins, the number of ogres and the number of villagers had all decreased from before the battle.
“Well I suppose I should consider it lucky… that over half of us survived. Konaa!”
He called for the only goblin capable of using healing magic, but Konaa shook his head. He had exhausted all of his mana during combat.
“Then anyone who knows first-aid…”
The moment Jugem tried to shout, a goblin holding a feathered fan, wearing a headscarf and sporting a long beard walked over.
His attitude made Jugem guess that he was someone important in the goblin army.
“Hohoho, so you are part of General Enri’s retinue. I am the one in charge of this army, the Goblin Strategist. No one will be able to harm you any further since we have arrived. Please, rest easy. We will escort you to the medical corps immediately.”
The Goblin Strategist extended his fan and a group of stout-looking goblins ran over with stretchers.
“Now, now, please carry them over as soon as possible. It would bring shame on us if anyone died under our care.”
The injured were swiftly carried off.
“It seems that you are injured as well. It would be best for you to check in with the medical unit and come back…”
“No, sorry. I apologise, since you’ve been so kind to us, but I want to hear something first. I’m not that badly hurt.”
After making sure that Jugem was not putting up a show of bravado, the Goblin Strategist nodded once before speaking.
“Of course, as expected of the leader of General Enri’s retinue. What do you wish to know ―
Hohoho, no, there would be only one thing you would be more interested in than your own safety.
General Enri is in the tent behind us. She would be very happy if you went to see her.”
“Is that so? That’s good.”
Jugem breathed a sigh of relief from the depths of his heart. He was so relieved, he felt all the strength leaving his body and wanted to collapse, but he could not show such an ugly sight to his junior.
“Then I’ll go over there. I don’t think my group will be participating in the upcoming fight either.”
“Hohoho, I thank you for giving us newcomers a chance to show off.”
“Well, it’s ok. It’s the job of seniors to yield opportunities to the juniors.”
“Hohoho, then I shall put on a good show for the seniors. Now then… the only thing left to do is to obtain an absolute victory. Order the heavy infantry to advance.”
“What is that! We were just about to finish them off! Damn it!”
Barbro opened his eyes wide and glared at the intruders who had ruined everything.
Nothing had gone as he had planned. Why was he facing a goblin army at this tiny village? He wanted to tear out his hair in a fit of rage.
If this was the Empire’s army, he would have been delighted and ordered an attack immediately, but his opponents were goblins. Even if he won, who would recognize his achievements?
“My Prince, please grant us permission to retreat.”
He turned his hateful gaze towards the knight who was recommending a course of action. He did not know why such a sizeable goblin army had appeared here, but if he took back useful intelligence, he would be evaluated as having done something useful.
However, if he just turned tail and ran, it was not difficult to imagine that he would gain the nickname of “the prince who ran from goblins”.
If he lost, he would become “the prince who lost to goblins”. The news would spread via the nobles who were hungry for the latest gossip, and there would be no one in the Kingdom who would not know of it. Those who had not been there would not care how strong those goblins had been. The only thing that mattered was how juicy the gossip was.
Barbro silently cursed the nobles who made fun of him from safety.
“…I will not grant such a thing. Fight.”
“My Prince! Look at their immaculate equipment and their flawless formation. They must be elites surpassing the goblins from before. For an army comprised of conscripts like us, the chances of victory are slim. Please order a retreat!”
He knew it only too well, even if he did not want to hear it, but there was no way to protect his honour except by fighting. He could only hope that the goblin army was just for show.
“You fool! Don’t you understand how dangerous it is to just ignore an army like that! Right now, the Kingdom’s army is moving towards the Kattse Plains. What would you do if they attacked E-Rantel while it was undefended!”
“I, I apologize.”
The only course of action was to engage them, then retreat if the goblins were indeed as strong as they appeared. His real objective was to fight with the Empire, and a loss here would be undesirable.
He was calm enough to at least think of that much.
The soldiers had just finished reforming their ranks in front of Barbro when the goblins started advancing.
The enemy took a standard line formation, three ranks deep.
Conversely, the Royal Army was in a crane wing formation. The reason they did not employ a wedge formation was to maximize the mobility of the cavalry and because the enemy was in a formation vulnerable to flanking attacks.
The goblin’s frontline consisted of heavy infantry with shields large enough to cover their entire body. Their steady march forward march gave off an immense pressure as if a wall was closing in at a rapid pace. Barbro felt the unpleasant sensation of his gauntlets filling with sweat as he gripped his reins tighter.
The levies holding spears and the heavy infantry clashed. The infantry’s goal was to stall the enemy’s advance while the cavalry flanked from the sides.
The two sides crashed into each other.
And Barbro could clearly hear the goblins’ shouts.
“We are… Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Heavy Infantry Corps! Don’t think something like this can stop us!”
Before he could even wonder who General Enri might be, the creaking sounds from the Kingdom’s troops grabbed his attention.
The conscripts were being pushed back by the shield wall. Naturally, the men in the front rank were pressed against those standing behind them, and the formation started to break. The cavalry on both wings were surprised and began moving. The right wing was faster to respond, so they tried to flank the goblin army, but seventeen knights ―wreathed in brilliant, silver light and riding on silver wolves instead of horses― raced out to intercept them.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Paladin-Knight Squad! Our loyalty belongs to General Enri!”