The ones attacking the left flank were mounted on beasts that looked like wolves. On their backs were goblins, and at their head was a winged wolf. The goblin riding on top of the winged wolf shouted, and his voice cut across the infantry’s’ screams and reached Barbro’s ears.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Beast Rider Corps are coming for you!”
Amidst the chaos of cavalry battle was the sound of arrows. When Barbro looked closer, countless arrows were pouring on top of his army and he looked closer at the enemy’s formation to identify who was firing them.
In the enemy’s second rank, there were goblins holding large bows and clad in eye-catching red clothes. The right and left sides of their body was uneven, and they looked to be swaying every time they took a step. The goblin who had caught his attention had an even larger bow than the others, and then he opened his mouth.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Longbowman Corps! Don’t think you can escape from us!”
The enemy’s ranged attack did not end there. Countless magic blasts flew over from their third rank and, while still reasonably far away in front of Barbro, they exploded in the middle of his army’s formation. Flowers of crimson fire bloomed with every flash and explosions snaked through the air like flower petals. The conscript soldiers were being blown up left and right by the continuous magical attacks.
The ones who were responsible for this wore hoods that covered their faces. In their hands were long staves that glowed with mysterious light. The one standing in front of them pulled back his hood to reveal his wrinkled face.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Magic Support Corps. Realize our power with your very body, and know that we can use not just enhancement or weakening magic, but attack magic as well.”
That was not the only squad that was firing off magical strikes. Besides the Magic Support Corps was a similarly-attired squad. They were few in number, at just 5 men, but they had expressions of the utmost confidence on their faces. The goblin who was sneering the most at the front raised his voice.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Magic Bombardment Squad! We specialize in area attack magic and are proud to be the squad with the greatest offensive capabilities!”
“Your Highness!”
The knight returned to Barbro. He could almost predict what the knight was about to say with such a desperate face. If there were magic casters, then the enemy’s capabilities would be several times higher than expected.
“We can’t hold them anymore! It’s impossible! It’ll only be a matter of time before the enemy reaches here as well! Please order a retreat!”
It was not the time to consider whether he wanted to fall back or not. Even if he ordered everyone to stand and fight, the nobles who had followed him until now would turn and run with their tails in between their legs. Making them stay and fight would only be a cause for future grudges and turn those nobles into enemies.
“Fine. Give the retreat order to the Baron first.”
He wanted to be the first to run away, but that would saddle him with the reputation of a coward who was the first to flee against goblins. He would leave that dirty affair to the Baron.
“Understood!”
The moment the knight ordered his subordinate―
“―Where do you think you’re going?”
Barbro first realized the danger to his life when he heard an unfamiliar voice from his side.
The Prince’s retinue drew their swords and looked around to find the source of the voice. What appeared suddenly from the shadow were figures clad in black clothes. Their faces were covered with masks, but their eyes seem to let out a sharp glow.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Assassin Squad. The reason we revealed ourselves from the darkness is because this will be your end.”
And another person.
The one who followed behind them wore a red cap, steel boots, and held a long scythe, like an embodiment of death.
“Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Bodyguard ― a member of the thirteen Redcaps. Well, I guess I won’t even have an opportunity to show off.”
“Protect his highness! Signal for retreat!”
“Too late.”
The shadow moved. For Barbro, that was only thing he could see.
The knight’s head disappeared and blood spurted like a gory fountain from his neck.
The moment his brain registered what he was looking at, Barbro immediately spurred his horse to a gallop. There was no time to think about an orderly retreat because he was standing on the crossroads between life and death.
As he fled, he could hear a sound from behind him: “Her Excellency, General Enri’s Goblin Musician Corps!” followed by a loud beating of goblin drums that chased him as he ran.
“…Is it alright to just let him go?”
“It’s the strategist’s order. He said if we kill the prince, the battle won’t be over until the very end.”
“Hmph, I suppose so. If General Enri died, I wouldn’t stop until every single enemy was dead either.
As expected of the strategist, to see several steps ahead. Is it for the same reason we’re not going to exterminate the soldiers as well?”
“That’s right. They need to make it back to that city with the prince in tow. I can understand your feelings of displeasure. I feel it, too. I want vengeance on them for daring to attack General Enri’s village… Well, Redcap-san, let’s take care of the corpses.”
“I suppose. We need to retrieve the bodies of the brave warriors who fought alongside the seniors’
leader as well.”
Upon the plain dyed with bright moonlight was a camp. There was a question of whether it could truly be considered a camp without any tents of wooden fences. The more accurate description would be there was an army in the plain.
Most of them were ragged and lying down in exhaustion.
The reason they could sleep without any bedding on a winter day that was cold enough to turn breath into white fog was because everyone was absolutely spent. Amidst the group that was collapsed on the ground like puppets with strings cut was one person who was walking around.
It was the general who had lost the battle, Prince Barbro.
Should he consider himself lucky that he had survived, or consider it unlucky to have encountered such a force?
The goblin army that suddenly appeared at Carne Village was strong ― no, it was overwhelming.
Barbro’s forces were smashed the moment they made contact and defeat was inevitable. His soldiers died as if they were melting away.
So who were those goblins?
Barbro wanted to know the answer.
The only thing he could think of was that those goblins had established a huge kingdom in the Great Forest of Tob. If they were marching south, it was an understandable situation. The nobles who managed to escape with him thought the same, and they had shared the exact same conclusion with him while escaping.
Meaning that he was unlucky.