“Second wave ready! ― Don’t panic ― Breathe deep! In ― out! In ― Pull!”
By this time, Shuringan and Gurindai had been healed and took their places by the defence force.
“Loose!”
Once again, fourteen arrows flew forth, followed slightly later by two more. The door creaked louder as the cries from the enemy intensified. The arrows must have gotten them mad — and made them hit harder.
“Back up! Change weapons!”
The defence force moved as a group behind the barricades positioned behind the main gate. Anyone charging in would be stuck on the sturdy bars and spikes of the obstacle. The arrangement was in an L-shape, leading the attackers to where Jugem and the ogres were waiting for them. For the intruders, breaking through the gate would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
“If you see any magic casters, get out of their line of fire!”
“Leader!”
“What’s the matter, Agu?”
“Ani-san gave me some alchemical items and there’s glue in there, where do you want it?”
“Will it be absorbed by the mud?”
“Yes, but he said it would only shorten its effective duration.”
“If it’s like that, then wait for a good opportunity and jam up the entrance.”
After showing they understood, Agu and his tribesmen moved off as one. Kiumei returned after defeating the snakes and immediately headed off to the goblin cleric to receive healing.
There was the sound of wood splintering, and one side of the main gate was down. Enemy ogres surged through the breach.
“Kuku, a bunch of brainless fools.”
Jugem mocked the incoming enemies. They had made a fatal mistake.
The monsters had only broken down one side of the doors. Once that side was down, they ignored the other side and forced their way in, especially since they were afraid of being hit by arrows if they remained outside. However, with only one side of the door down, they could only come in one at a time, which meant a lot of enemies were stuck squeezing through the entrance. In addition, they would be caught in the angle of an L-shaped ambush, where all the defenders could focus their attacks on a small number of attackers at a time.
“Welcome to the kill zone. Time to die.”
The armed ogres on the village’s side would have an advantage in a slugging match against their wild counterparts, and the defence force had their spears to assist. Any ogres who tried to break down the palisades would be taken down by arrow fire, magic and Agu’s alchemical items. The goblins would handle any magical beasts who broke through amidst the chaos.
The tactical situation was overwhelmingly favourable to them and there were still the goblin wolf riders standing by in the rear. If the enemy didn’t have any magic casters, their victory would be assured. However—
“—What’s that?!” Panic crept into Jugem’s voice. “Is that a troll out there?”
It looked different from an ogre, but it was about the same size. It lurched stiffly toward the defenders, emitting an oppressive presence as it came. In its hand, it held a greatsword with an unnatural air about it.
A sticky substance flowed in the middle of the blade. That must be some form of magic.
“The boss took the field? …Could that be… the Giant of the East?”
It certainly looked that way. Its strong body looked like it had been trained until it was as hard as steel and it was completely unlike any of the trolls Jugem knew of. At a glance, he could see how it could be on par with the Beast of the South.
Just one troll would require all of the goblins to handle. It was an enemy that was tougher than any they had ever faced.
“If that’s the case…”
Jugem thought about what to do.
It seemed hopeless. The best way would be to cover Enri’s escape. If she didn’t want to, then even if they had to force her―
“…No, that’s not the best way. That’s the worst way, and our last resort.”
Having given up on that course of action, Jugem spoke to his goblin troops.
“…Oi, you lot. Afterwards, every single one of us is going to die. Don’t even think about childish things like falling back. Make sure you brand your heroic deaths into everyone’s eyes!”
The goblins answered with a roar full of fighting spirit. In an instant, enemies and allies alike seemed to freeze.
“Here we go, lads! Let’s show them the power of Ane-san’s boys!”
♦ ♦ ♦
After a circuit of the village, Enri confirmed that nobody was left behind and breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, the sound of something breaking came from the front. It was followed by battle cries from both sides and the resounding deep bass sound made her shudder.
That was probably the sound of the gate breaking and the goblins joining battle. She nearly threw up from stress, but Enri forced it back down. The bitter taste remained in her mouth, but she ignored it to look at Nfirea.
“Enfi. We should be heading to the gate.”
“Understood. But you need to go to the rendezvous point and calm everyone down, okay?”
Enfi’s words had the subtext of don’t get in everyone else’s way.
Although Enri had been trained in the use of a bow, now that the gate had been broken, the battle would have moved into close quarters. To be honest, even if Enri went there now, there wasn’t much she could do.
“I can’t do that. I chose to lead the goblins and the villagers, and as long as I’m able, I need to do that. Although falling back is the correct thing to do, it’s not the right thing to do.”
She had to stand on the frontlines and see how the battle was fought. After seeing the conviction in Enri’s eyes, Enfi hardened his features and nodded.
“That’s true. I understand. I’ll protect you.”
The serious expression on her childhood friend’s usually placid face made Enri’s heart beat in strange and wondrous ways.
“Mm? What’s wrong, Enri? I know, I’m not as cool as Gown-san, but I won’t let you die.”
“…Don’t say die.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. That… that…”
As she saw her childhood friend struggle for the words to use, like he always did, Enri smiled.
“Let’s go, Enfi!”
“Ah, yes! That’s right, we don’t have time to waste on talking!”