“Goblins are cowardly monsters by nature. They also tend to panic and scatter once their leader is gone.”
I spoke while looking between the two men. Although I had never fought Goblins before, Ragna’s records had already provided me with the necessary knowledge.
[Record No. 876 - Goblin: Goblins form primitive civilizations and live in small settlements, but under certain circumstances, they may gather into large hordes and become a serious threat. As they are cowardly by nature, they will quickly scatter if the leader commanding the horde disappears.]
In other words, they possessed a clear weakness.
To exploit that weakness effectively, we needed ranged weapons.
“The most efficient way to fight them would be to eliminate their leaders, such as their Chieftain, first. However, we have no cavalry, so breaking directly through hundreds of Goblins to reach their leader would be difficult. That means shooting him from a distance would be our best option.”
“……”
“Of course, Rolf is not entirely wrong. The battle will most likely descend into a chaotic melee. Aside from a small number of our finest marksmen, everyone else should carry close-combat weapons such as swords.”
It was a compromise between Rolf’s and Valens’s opinions.
The two men soon answered in tones suggesting they had accepted my decision.
“We will do as you say, my lord. I will have only two or three of our people carry bows.”
“I will instruct my subordinates as well. All our Crossbowmen carry maces as secondary weapons.”
Valens answered obediently after Rolf.
Although he was a soldier of Zilvergard, I was the supreme commander of the entire force. At least during this subjugation, he was obligated to follow my orders faithfully.
“Good. There do not appear to be any other unusual circumstances, so let us begin. Rolf, select the Scouts and—”
BWOOOOO!
At that moment, a high-pitched sound resembling a horn suddenly echoed through the area.
It had unmistakably come from across the river.
“W-What was that?”
“What kind of sound is that?”
“It is a horn made from a monster’s skull. The Goblins must be nearby.”
While everyone else reacted in alarm, Rolf answered calmly and drew the axe from his waist.
The surrounding indigenous warriors did the same. With composed expressions, they readied their Boar Spears and other weapons.
“Captain Valens, prepare for battle.”
“Yes, my lord! Everyone, assume battle formation! Form ranks!”
After issuing the order to Valens, I stepped in front of the soldiers as they swiftly moved into position.
An astonishing sight had already unfolded before us.
“G-Good heavens! Why are there so many?”
“I heard rumors that hundreds of Goblins lived in the northern forest, but this is….”
Goblins swarmed like ants, covering the entire riverbank on the opposite side.
Where had so many of them suddenly come from?
The soldiers could only stare in shock and confusion.
[Goblin]
[A small monster with a slender, humanoid form. Its skin is the dark color of stone, and its long, pointed ears and nose are particularly prominent. It is armed with primitive stone weapons such as stone axes.]
Just as the Status Window described, each individual Goblin was an insignificant monster belonging to the weakest rank.
However, their numbers appeared to exceed three hundred, making the horde profoundly threatening.
“It appears they intend to stop us at the river. They clearly have no intention of allowing us to take even a single step onto their land.”
“Hmph! Do you believe mere beasts can stop us? No matter how numerous they are, they are still nothing more than a pack of animals.”
Valens snorted after Rolf spoke.
Even with the overwhelming horde before him, he still seemed to regard the Goblins as insignificant.
Regardless, the soldiers were shaken. I could not remain silent.
I turned toward them, drew my mace, and raised it above my head.
“Do not panic! Those creatures are merely a pack of beasts with superior numbers! Remain together, fight calmly, and we will defeat them!”
“His Lordship is right! Do not be afraid!”
“You heard the knight! Do not panic, and follow your training! Assume Defensive Formation!”
Hakon’s voice and Valens’s subsequent orders calmed the soldiers to some extent.
They moved once more and formed a Defensive Formation. The soldiers standing in tightly packed ranks looked exceedingly steadfast.
Rolf and the indigenous warriors took their positions on the soldiers’ right flank, while Hakon and the mercenaries stood on the left.
The moment our deployment was complete, the Goblins charged as one.
“They are coming! Prepare yourselves!”
“They are throwing stones! Lower your heads and protect yourselves with your shields!”
SPLASH! SPLASH!
Countless Goblins charged through the water, splashing as they crossed the river.
At the same time, Javelins and stones filled the air like a black cloud and hurtled toward us.
CLANG! CLINK! THUNK!
The sound of projectiles striking the soldiers’ shields filled my ears.
While everyone crouched behind their raised shields, the Goblins finished crossing the river and charged into the shield wall.
“Ugh, these bastards!”
“Defend your lower bodies! They are short, so they will target your legs! Lower your shields!”
A chaotic melee erupted amid the confused shouting.
The Goblins battered the shield wall while wildly swinging crude weapons such as stone axes and Short Spears.
“Krrk! Kill all humans!”
“Stab them! Bite them!”
“Cut their legs! Krrk!”
The Goblins surrounded our forces in moments and attacked from every direction.
Their roars in broken Common Tongue resembled the howling of a pack of wild animals.
They possessed no remarkable tactics and relied solely upon their numbers. However, their ferocity and sheer quantity left many of our people shaken.
Nevertheless, the soldiers had received proper training, while the indigenous warriors had spent their entire lives hunting monsters.
They would not simply allow themselves to be overwhelmed.
“Maintain the formation! If anyone abandons his position, the entire line will collapse!”
Following Valens’s orders, the soldiers held firm and began counterattacking.
Rolf and the indigenous warriors did the same. They calmly cut down the charging Goblins with axes and thrusting spears.
The left flank under my command also launched a counterattack.
Each time Hakon swung his Greatsword, three or four Goblins fell at once. The mercenaries also fought well, cutting and stabbing the Goblins rushing toward them.
“Krrk!”
“Kyaak!”
“Our kin are dead! No!”
The Goblins’ screams echoed from every direction.
They wore neither armor nor proper clothing. It was only natural that they would suffer devastating casualties after charging into an enemy’s Defensive Formation with their bodies exposed.
‘But this will never end at this rate. We will exhaust ourselves first.’
I thought as I crushed another charging Goblin with my mace.
We had fought for some time and slain dozens of them, yet their numbers did not appear to have diminished in the slightest.
Killing them one at a time would never bring this battle to an end.
Moreover, our people were beginning to tire.
“Damn it! Are there no end to these bastards?”
“Watch the Javelins! Do not lower your shields!”
“Aaargh!”
My concerns soon proved correct.
As more time passed, casualties finally began appearing among our forces.
The thought that we might eventually be defeated if the situation continued made me increasingly anxious.
‘We have to find and eliminate their leader. Where is he?’
I continued swinging my mace and striking down the Goblins that charged toward me while carefully examining the horde.
Before long, I spotted an individual with a distinctive appearance among them.
[Large Goblin]
[A Goblin wearing a mask fashioned from wood and bone, with patterns painted across its body in red pigment. Judging by the guards surrounding it, this is undoubtedly their leader.]
The Goblin was nearly as large as a human and brandished a spear while issuing commands to its subordinates.
Among the other Goblins, which stood no taller than young children, it was an unmistakably superior specimen.
If that creature disappeared, the Goblins would fall into confusion and eventually scatter.
“Rolf! That one! Shoot him!”
I turned and shouted across the soldiers.
Fortunately, my voice reached him. Rolf quickly removed the bow from his back and nocked an arrow.
THWIP!
The arrow cut through the air and flew directly toward the leader’s head.
However, it failed to strike him.
“What is that? A shield?”
“Goblins use shields? I cannot believe it!”
Astonishingly, several Goblins surrounding the leader had raised shields to protect him.
They were nothing more than crude wooden shields made by binding planks together, but they were sufficient to stop an arrow fired from a distance.
‘Goblins possess that level of technology?’
My surprise lasted only a moment.
I quickly turned my thoughts toward another solution.
If shooting him was impossible, we had no choice but to use a different method.
We would have to reach him and kill him directly.
Of course, breaking through the enormous Goblin horde to reach its center would be far from easy.
Nevertheless, it was our only remaining option.
“All mercenaries, follow me! We will break through their ranks and eliminate the leader!”
I advanced as I shouted.
However, instead of following me, the mercenaries hesitated in alarm.
“What? What are you saying?”
“Advance into that? Are you asking us to die?”
“Why are you hesitating? Follow His Lordship’s order and move! Hurry! Do you want to be dismissed for breaching your contracts?!”
Hakon shouted at the unsettled mercenaries when they failed to move.
According to their contracts, disobeying their employer’s commands was grounds for immediate dismissal.
Nevertheless, they continued to hesitate.
“But that is madness, Sir Knight! We cannot die here!”
“He is right! I am staying here!”
“Damn it, then dismiss me! Money is not worth more than my life—”
“You cowardly bastards!”
I shouted over their protests, and everyone turned toward me.
“Did you not all come here to earn money? You have come this far, and now you intend to turn back? Do you wish to return to living penniless?”
“Th-That is….”
“I am going! Follow me and help kill that leader, and I will appoint every one of you as a soldier of the Bricks Territory! I swear it upon the name of Vermont!”
Their eyes widened in shock at my declaration.
Even Hakon stared at me in surprise, as though wondering what I was saying.
The offer had been sudden, but it was no empty promise.
“Therefore, follow me if you wish to change your lives! Otherwise, return and continue living as third-rate mercenaries!”
I turned away once more and advanced with my shield raised before me.
After saying that much, I expected them to be sufficiently provoked to follow.
Fortunately, my expectations were fulfilled.
“To hell with it! Let us go! His Lordship is right. We have come this far, so we cannot return empty-handed!”
“Yes, let us go! We will wipe out every last one of these filthy creatures!”
“Hakon, you should have told me in advance that this job would be so dangerous! Damn you!”
Beginning with Stefan, the mercenaries hurried after me.
Every one of them was desperate in his own way. They could not afford to withdraw now.
As long as that desperation became courage, it was enough.
“Good! Then follow me!”
“My lord! Where are you going?”
Valens shouted from behind, but I continued without looking back.
With Hakon covering me by swinging his Greatsword, I advanced behind my shield and struck down every Goblin that blocked our path.
THWIP! THWIP!
Arrows fired from behind us struck the charging Goblins and dropped them one after another.
When I glanced back, I saw Stefan.
His hands no longer trembled in the slightest. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s as he aimed his Mechanical Crossbow.
He bore little resemblance to the drunken man I had seen at the Guild.
‘Hakon was right. He truly is a Sharpshooter.’
The other mercenaries also fought vigorously as they followed us.
We continued advancing, cutting our way through one Goblin after another.
However, our momentum did not last.
Our advance stopped in the middle of the Goblin horde, and the enemies surrounding us began concentrating their attacks upon our group.
“We cannot advance any farther, my lord!”
“We are surrounded! We will not even be able to retreat! We will all die at this rate!”
“It is fine! Hold out for only a little longer! Everyone, keep fighting!”
I encouraged the panicking mercenaries and stared at the Goblin leader ahead.
Only ten or fifteen paces separated us from the creature surrounded by Shieldbearers.
That was close enough.
I quickly hooked the mace onto my waist, lowered my shield, and removed the object strapped across my back.
It was a long metal tube resembling a flute, fitted with a wooden stock.
Mills’s Hand Cannon.
“My lord, that is….”
“Keep them away from me for a moment! Do not let them approach!”
Following Mills’s instructions, I raised the Barrel upright and rammed a Bullet and Gunpowder into it.
Then I quickly struck a piece of flint and ignited the Fuse.
SSSSSS!
The Fuse burned rapidly, spraying sparks.
At this distance, only a few paces away, the weapon should possess more than enough power.
Even if the shields blocked the shot, it should still inflict a fatal wound upon the Goblin Chieftain.
‘The Barrel will not explode, will it? Please!’
One second passed, then two, and finally three.
“Is it not ready yet?!”
“Now! Move aside, Hakon!”
Before I had even finished speaking, Hakon hurried aside after cutting down the Goblins before him.
The next instant, a thunderous explosion struck my ears.
BOOM!
Flames flashed, and black smoke billowed into the air.
Even I was startled by the noise and smoke, which were far greater than expected.
Had the Hand Cannon always been this powerful?
“Cough! Cough!”
“Damn it, I cannot see anything!”
While everyone reacted in confusion, the smoke gradually cleared and revealed the scene before us.
“Guh… Guaaah….”
The Goblin Chieftain remained standing as it groaned.
Dark red blood poured from the enormous hole in its chest.
‘It hit.’
The Shieldbearer that had stood in front of the Chieftain lay on the ground with an enormous hole through its upper body.
The Bullet had pierced through both the shield and its bearer before striking the Chieftain behind them.
Mills had said that its power could not be compared to a bow or Crossbow, but I had never imagined it would be this devastating.
The Chieftain would die even if left alone, but I needed to break the Goblins’ morale.
I leaped over the stunned Goblins and rushed forward before striking the Chieftain’s head with my mace.
CRUNCH!
Its head snapped sideways with a distinct and sickening sound.
The Chieftain collapsed onto the ground and never moved again.
“Krrk! Human killed Chief!”
“Chief is dead!”
The Goblins that witnessed the scene recoiled in terror.
Among an undisciplined rabble, fear spread swiftly.
Confusion swept through the entire Goblin horde in an instant.
“We lose! Cannot win!”
“Run! Return to village!”
They finally began fleeing in every direction, and the entire horde collapsed almost immediately.
“They are running!”
“Catch them! Kill them all!”
Our forces pursued the fleeing Goblins, stabbing and cutting them down without mercy.
It was a completely one-sided slaughter.
The sudden reversal of the battle was so extraordinary that it could only be called a miracle.
“Do not pursue them! Everyone, stop!”
“All forces, halt! His Lordship has given the order! Do not pursue them! Do not cross the river!”
Only after the orders were repeated did our forces stop.
Not a single Goblin remained standing on our side of the riverbank.
The sight of blood-soaked bodies scattered everywhere was horrifying, but my relief at having won came first.
“My lord, look at this.”
Rolf approached and bent down to retrieve an object hanging from the fallen Chieftain’s waist.
It was a peculiar object that appeared to have been carved from the skull of a large animal.
“This is what produced the horn we heard earlier. They use it to control their warriors and issue orders.”
“I see. Their method of command is not particularly different from that of a human army.”
They used shields and organized signals.
I had assumed they possessed a level of civilization only slightly above that of wild beasts, but they appeared far more advanced than expected.
[Total Forces: 88 / 80]
[Dead: 3]
[Lightly Wounded: 4]
[Severely Wounded: 1]
I used the Status Window to examine our casualties.
Our losses were minor, while seventy or eighty Goblin corpses appeared to be scattered before us even by a rough estimate.
It had been an overwhelming victory.
The difference in equipment truly could not be ignored.
“We should advance directly upon their stronghold, my lord. Their morale has been shattered. This is our opportunity.”
“He is correct. The soldiers’ morale also appears to have risen considerably after that victory.”
Rolf and Hakon spoke in succession.
The situation must have been exceptionally clear for two men who disliked each other to agree.
We had achieved a great victory. There was no reason to hesitate.
We would proceed according to the original plan.
“Good! Reorganize quickly, and then we continue our advance! Today, we will put an end to every last Goblin!”