After being scolded by Jugem, Agu’s face was filled with regret and some of the defence force members went to comfort him.
Enri sighed in relief as she saw this. For one, the villagers didn’t see him as the one who had brought the monsters in. For another, it was proof that Agu was accepted by the villagers.
They were the last outsiders to arrive in the village. Although they weren’t shunned or treated badly, there was still a distance between them. However, from the look of things, that gap would vanish if they won today. It was ironic that the battlefield was the best place to build the bonds of camaraderie.
And it was because he felt that gap that Agu fought so fiercely. His objective was to contribute to the village and raise the standing of himself and his people. In human society, they would show respect to people who shed blood for them. Agu and his people had the welfare of his people in mind, so his passion was only natural.
“Enfi, I have something to ask of you.”
Enri stood beside Enfi, and whispered into his ear.
“Oh, no, further a little — ah. Mm. Got it. Then — Agu, I have something to entrust to you. Take these alchemical items and use them well.”
Enfi opened his satchel. Inside were many bottles and papers.
“Use these and throw them at the enemy. You’ll miss if you’re too far away, so try to use them at medium range. You ready?”
“Leave it to me! Watch me accomplish my mission perfectly!”
Agu accepted the satchel, and as they were waiting, one of the goblins shouted down to them.
“They’re on the move! They’re heading this way!”
If one were to listen, they could hear the sounds of the monsters rending the night.
“Defense force to your positions! Ane-san, watch out! Ani-san too!”
“Yes yes, I got it! Don’t any of you die, please!”
“Of course!”
“Now then, Enri, shall we?”
Nfirea ran up to Enri as her escort. Their job was to patrol the houses to see if anyone hadn’t noticed the emergency.
As they watched Enri leave, the goblins stood to battle stations.
“Self-defense force, to your places ― and done. The enemy is entering the target area.”
There was no direct line of fire to the monsters on the other side of the wall. Shooting an unseen target would require firing in an arc, but that wasn’t something any amateur could do, and training to be able to do that would take too long. As a result, the goblins had decided to try something else.
They trained the defence force to land arrows on the other side of the wall. That meant learning how much force to use, and practicing the right angle to shoot at in order to accurately hit a specific area.
It was training that was completely useless outside of very specific circumstances. However, since the enemy’s aim was to break down the gate and they were massed in front of it, single-mindedly attacking the gate, the training was very effective.
The main gate trembled under the fearsome cries of the monsters, and the nearby walls shuddered as well.
“Very good! Enemies are at the target area! Suppressive fire ― begin!”
“Begin!”
In response to Jugem’s shout, the goblin archers on the watchtowers ― Shuringan and Gurindai ―
began shooting. As long as their target was within their line of fire, the marksmen of the goblins would not miss. Screams of agony rose up from the other side of the door.
The defense force shuddered in fear and tension, as though they would be swallowed up by the air which was filled by the awful din of the battlefield. Amidst all this, Jugem shouted once more.
“Defence force ― hold! Do not raise your bows until ordered!”
They were told not to shoot when the enemy had reached the place they had spent countless hours learning to shoot. However, in the next instant, everyone who looked at the towers understood why.
The monsters had started hurling rocks from the other side of the wall. Each one was about the size of a human head.
Although many went astray, even a lucky hit on the watchtowers made them shudder.
“Rock throwers confirmed! Enemy rock throwers have multiple rounds remaining!”
“Each one has about 3 rocks, and roughly 21 rocks in total ― whoa!”
Another thrown rock struck a watchtower and the wood splintered.
If they began shooting, the defense force would become targets too.
It was true that the defense force was out of sight of the enemy, and their accuracy would be low.
However, if they were unlucky, a single hit could kill people. Even a weakly-thrown rock could severely injure someone.
The order for the defense force not to attack could be said to be a safe strategy, because it showed that Jugem did not want anyone to die before the extended battle could commence.
“Don’t think we can’t hit you just because you’re throwing rocks at us!”
Gurindai shouted angrily, and began shooting again while weaving through the hail of flung rocks.
The defence force burned his courageous form into their eyes, watching the way he fearlessly returned fire, knowing that he would be severely hurt if he was hit. However, Jugem was not watching him. He quickly scanned his surroundings and found new enemies in an instant.
“Kiumei! Climbing snakes on the left flank! You’ll be alright by yourself?”
“No problems, Leader! Leave it to me!”
Kiumei, who had been standing by in the rear, spurred his wolf forward. Ahead of him were the giant snakes climbing the wall.
“Fifteen, sixteen! You two hang on a bit more!”
There was no need for Jugem’s words. Not a hint of fear could be seen in the shooting stances of the two archers atop the listing watchtower. Not caring whether the tower would collapse under them, they continued targeting the monsters and baiting the rock attacks. On the left flank, Kiumei seemed to be doing well against the snakes.
Finally, the watchtower bent and broke under the barrage of thrown rocks. Shuringan and Gurindai jumped down to the ground, rolling several times to disperse the impact of their fall.
“Defense force archers ready!”
In response to the call, the archers prepared their bows.
“Breathe deep! In ― out! In ― Pull!”
This voice was just like their training, and for a moment, the defense force archers forgot they were on the battlefield. Ignoring the sound of the timbers creaking, they performed the same movements like they did during practice.
“Loose!”
Fourteen arrows traced beautiful arcs through the sky and vanished behind the wall, drawing more screams of pain from the monsters.
“Amazing,” Agu muttered to himself, but Jugem had no intention of giving anyone else the time to watch further.
“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.