“W-wait─”
He could not finish his request for them to wait.
“─Then, I shall now begin reducing your numbers to an acceptable level. That being the case, do not give your clothes to anyone else.”
Normally speaking, the Quagoa did not wear clothes. After all, they were covered in fur from head to toe.
However, a king needed to show his authority, and thus he needed something to easily differentiate himself from others. That was why he wore clothing and a crown made by Dwarves, with the sigil of the Clan Lord. At the same time, he could let others wear them to serve as doubles for him, in order to deceive enemies from other races.
Had they seen through that plan and thus tried to cut him off halfway?
Taking out the enemy leadership to cripple the enemy army was the most obvious victory condition. However, why had they not done that?
No, that’s not it. There’s another reason for that… Could it be… That must be it. They’re not trying to kill me, they’re trying not to kill me by accident!
The differences between species ran very deep. However, as long as he wore his clothes, they could tell who the Clan Lord was and thus they would spare him. That was the meaning of their haughty declaration.
“Then, isn’t it about time you went back? We will start once your side moves towards us. I would be glad if you picked out the ones you wanted to survive before that.”
“Hurry up and go back.”
They waved him off, indicating that he should return. In other words, there was no need to negotiate any further.
This was far too different from his expectations.
I told them I was willing to bend the knee, but why couldn’t they make even a little concession? If they aren’t even willing to do that… does that really mean they view our lives as worthless…?
In the face of this arrogance, the Clan Lord struggled to suppress the terror overflowing from this heart.
In any case… they can’t possibly cut the 60000 people here down to 100000… Yes. That must be it. They must have lost their minds after seeing our forces!
Under normal circumstances, that sort of thinking would be correct. Even Dragons could not reduce their numbers by such large amounts.
In that moment, realization struck the Clan Lord.
Could it be that they intend to mount flying hit-and-run attacks?
If they fought like Dragons, then things would be very tricky.
Deploying in a wide open area like this would be detrimental instead.
Then, should he pull his forces back to the residential district?
However, that would be very dangerous. If the enemy could destroy buildings, then it would cause great damage to their homes. In the end, this was the only place they could fight.
After returning to his troops, the Clan Lord gathered his aides.
“Was that a Golem?…What happened? You look very uncomfortable.”
His expression must have frightened the other two. The Clan Lord patted his face and gave his orders.
“Ahh… In any case, gather the Blue and the Red Quagoa.”
“Will they be a personal guard?”
“Not just that. Gather all the exceptional individuals of each Clan together.”
Riyuro gave voice to a mighty cry. It was a cry infused with the skill he had obtained when he had ascended to the position of Clan Lord. As he saw his army of over 10’000 charge the enemy in response to the cry, he even felt a little pleased. However, the results of that charge were too horrible to watch. Like a flow of water striking a wall, the charging soldiers struck an invisible barrier and were sent flying.
What splashed everywhere was not frothy water, but Quagoa ─ or what used to be Quagoa. Perhaps a sight like this would be fitting of Dragons or Giants, but their opponents were creatures that were even smaller than Quagoa.
“They’re flying…” one of his aides muttered dumbly to himself.
This was not a metaphor. The charging Quagoa were literally flying through the air. Neither did they do so one by one. Several dozens of them were sent flying all at once.
Their pulverized corpses became a shower of meaty chunks which rained down on their comrades. The gore-caked troops continued their charge, whereupon they become lumps of flesh themselves which fell on yet more of their companions. It was a scene straight out of a nightmare.
For some reason, the fact that they could not see any blood spurting made the sight even more surreal.
“What, what the, what the hell is that?!”
Riyuro did not even have the strength to answer his advisor’s mournful cry. His thoughts merely leaked out through his mouth in the form of words.
“This many…”
“Clan Lord! What is that!? It’s nothing like the Golems we saw before!”
They smashed away every single Quagoa charging them in a single blow. This was no longer a battle. It was not even a massacre. It was simply disposal. The comrades he had gathered to increase their influence were now being mangled up in vast quantities like so much rubbish.
“We, we have to run!”
“Where will you run to?!”
He shouted at his panicked aides.
“Where can you run to in this strange dimension?! These people said they’re going to kill us until there’s only 10000 of us left!”
His aides had nothing to say.
After seeing this overwhelming ─ this monstrous strength, they understood that their threats were not a joke. While it was hard to believe, they had no choice but to believe it. Out of their 80000 citizens, only 10000 would be permitted to survive.
Although he wanted to beg their forgiveness right now, there was no warmth in the eyes of those two. Even that Dragon Lord’s eyes held more compassion.
They have no intention of changing their statement to cut us down to 10000 people.
“That’s impossible! Clan Lord! What the hell are they? What have the Dwarves brought here?!”
“Why are such tiny people so powerful…”
As he heard his advisers, another flash of inspiration struck Riyuro.
“Could it be that red-armored chap is also a Dwarven weapon? They sent something stronger because they knew the Golems were destroyed?”
“…So if we defeat it, they’ll send something even stronger than that?”
The cries of his men echoed all around. Only the region around Riyuro was silent.
“Let’s pull the men back ─”
“Stop! They have to fight! There’s no other way out for us! However strong it is, it’ll get tired eventually! When that happens, we’ll wait until it can’t swing its weapon any more, then force them to negotiate and demand concessions from them!”
“I, I see… But… Will it really get tired?”
He had mentioned something Riyuro had thought of in the corner of his mind. However─
“In any case, as long as it lives, it ought to get tired. It might have more stamina than us, but it’ll definitely get tired. Until then, make it keep swinging its weapon!..Even if it doesn’t get tired, once it gets bored of killing we might be able to discuss something.”
The Clan Lord was reluctant to speak the words which came next, but they had to be said.
“Besides, we can’t win even if we fight it! Not against a monster like that.”
His troops would not be demoralized to the point of flight. The cry Riyuro had used to sound the charge turned his men into warriors that did not know fear. Much like the Berserk state of Berserkers, it increased their attack strength but reduced their defense. More importantly, they were immune to all fear-related effects. However, the fact that they would not refuse the Clan Lord’s orders no matter how dangerous they were could be said to be a double-edged sword.