Chapter 16: Sacred Duel
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: Sacred Duel
With our preparations complete, we began our slow advance. As if they knew this would be the last battle here, the warriors who’d brought charcoal from the fire started painting strange symbols on their faces. My clan was no different.
I watched as a goblin with nimble hands went from one warrior to the next, drawing a large dagger on their foreheads, arms, and even their torsos.
“Do mine as well.”
“Kki…reuk. It is an honor.”
Soon, the dexterous goblin began to paint a large dagger on my face. It wasn’t the first time I’d worn camouflage, but it was the first time I’d had my face painted as part of a ritual. To my surprise, my heart began to race with anticipation.
“This is the final battle.”
“The final battle!”
The massive horde marched onward to seize the final northern fortress. We saw human footprints along the way, so it seemed they, too, knew we were heading for their settlement.
But they would never retreat. What did it matter if the enemy knew our position? What did it matter if they knew we were coming to attack?
If anyone suggested turning this marching horde around, they’d probably be mobbed by the other Green Skins.
As we continued forward, we could clearly see several humans standing atop a wall of ice.
They didn’t run.
Instead, they were waiting, welcoming us as if to say, “Come on in.” Of course, it was only natural they wouldn’t flee. Considering what I’d heard of the “Queen of the North’s” personality, their decision made perfect sense.
By now, every Green Skin facing this wall of ice must have realized it.
They want this, too. A fight.
“Kwoooooooar!”
War cries erupted from all sides as we faced the wall.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The beating of drums began to echo, swallowing the fierce winter wind.
“Victory, or death!” someone roared, a voice that seemed to burst from the very depths of his gut. The others began to shout similar slogans, until a colossal roar washed over the Green Skins.
“Victory!! Or death!”
“Let’s go!!”
And then,
for a brief moment, the white landscape was swallowed by a green tide.
“Wooooooah!”
“Kkireuk… Kkireuk! Kkireuk!”
Why did they charge together like this? The Green Skins’ method of fighting was truly full of flaws. If they couldn’t see the enemy, they sought them out. If they saw the enemy, they charged. The problem was that they charged without a single thought for the consequences. No matter how much they loved battle and war, as a former human, I naturally couldn’t understand their way of fighting, like moths diving into a flame.
However,
now that I was part of this horde, rushing onto the battlefield, I felt like I could begin to understand their hearts, just a little.
There was no formation, but the green tide pressing in from my left, right, front, and back amplified the excitement of the battlefield. The screams from somewhere in the distance made my heart pound, my pulse quickening. My eyes glowed a deeper red, and before I knew it, an unidentifiable sound escaped my lips.
“Krrrrrrrrk!”
“Warriors, raise your shields!”
We were closing in on the wall. At this range, we were within reach of human archers who had completed their first class advancement. As if on cue, the Hobgoblin warriors raised their shields. Judging by the rain of arrows that flew toward us, it seemed the humans had a much higher proportion of archers than the Green Skins. It appeared the people of the “Northern Forest” had no desire to cross swords with blood-crazed monsters either.
Shwiiiiiiik!
Thud… Thud… Thud!
“Aaaaaargh! Kkireuk…”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Kkireuk… Kkireuk!”
In an instant, dozens of goblins were struck down. A few managed to calmly deflect the arrows with their swords or daggers, but they were a minority. The archers would already be nocking their second arrows. We had to close the distance before the next volley rained down.
“Krrrrk. Faster!” “Faster!”
Suddenly, I felt a flow of mana from the ground up ahead.
Fucking bastards.
It was a ploy to freeze the ground and slow our approach to the wall. It was simple, but given the enemy’s composition of mostly archers, it was incredibly effective. Still, this was a scenario I had anticipated.
And then,
“Entangle!”
A magic spell burst from Jung Hayeon’s lips. Wooden roots spread across the ground and began to crawl up the wall. It wasn’t a wide area, but the wall itself wasn’t that wide either. She had preemptively blocked the enemy mages’ spell that would have made the ground slick. A few of our warriors were caught in the magic, stumbling to the ground or having their bodies frozen by the cold, but the green legion pressing forward did not stop.
“Charge! Don’t fall so meaninglessly here! Die with honor!”
“Kkireuk… Kkireuk!! Kkireuk!”
Hobgoblins began to appear, encouraging the goblins who were dying along the way. Of course, it was questionable whether that was the right way to offer encouragement, but the goblins who heard the hobgoblins’ words grit their teeth and pushed forward once more.
“Climb! Kkireuk! Climb! This is war! This is war!”
The vanguard had already reached the base of the wall. From directly above, crude spearmen with swords tied to wooden poles thrust their weapons down, only to have their spears grabbed, pulling them down from the wall.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
“Fuck… you dog-like monster bastards!! Fucking bastards!!”
“Stop them from climbing! Don’t let them up!”
Naturally, I too had reached the wall. While Hobgoblins and Goblins couldn’t get over the awkwardly high wall, the massive Orcs could. I immediately charged at the men and swung my sword.
The clumsy spearmen collapsed, their bodies and heads crushed. Thanks to that, the goblins on our side began to climb up the roots one by one. There were humans not only on the wall but also waiting below, but they seemed unsure of what to do. Still, the arrows kept flying. As goblins continued to pour over the wall—which was more like a fence—and the situation devolved into a free-for-all, we became the archers’ primary targets.
I lifted the body of a dead human to use as a shield and heard an unpleasant sound by my ear.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack.
Arrows rained down, embedding themselves in the dead man’s body. The corpse twitched incessantly, perhaps from rigor mortis. The Hobgoblins who saw my method began to use human corpses to defend against the incoming arrows as well. While they were busy reloading, I slowly surveyed my surroundings.
Where is the Queen of the North?
She was undoubtedly making a name for herself somewhere on this battlefield. There was a high chance she was defending a section of the wall where the goblins were failing to break through.
Suddenly, a sword flew at me. I immediately parried it with my own brutish blade and smashed the man’s head.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
“Krrrrrk.”
A scream rang out as blood and brain matter splattered across my face, and my eyes began to glow red once more. My breathing grew heavier. By now, the five loyal goblin siblings had climbed up and were protecting my flank. As expected, they were fighting exceptionally well.
Every now and then, they would shout things like,
“This is the Blood Dagger Clan!” but there was no way the humans could understand them. Mev, too, was steadily putting arrows into the enemy’s faces with the help of the eldest goblin.
Good.
We had made it up here with fewer losses than I’d expected. Since our forces weren’t that different in number, it was no exaggeration to say the battle was just beginning, but at least we had neutralized a major nuisance. From now on, it was the real fight we wanted. With their high proportion of archers, we naturally had the advantage in close combat.
“Death to the enemy!”
I looked toward the source of the unusually loud roar. It was Goff, of course. At this point, he looked less like an Orc and more like a Half-Ogre. I hadn’t realized it since I was always with him, but compared to the humans, his massive frame alone was enough to overwhelm his opponents. His characteristically tough skin was so resilient it could simply deflect the arrows of first-advancement archers.
That meant they had to get close and try to shove their barely effective swords into him, but there was no one brave enough to charge Goff as he rampaged like a lion released among deer.
“This is fun! So much fun!”
Goff, however, looked like he was having the time of his life. Enemies who were willing to fight. He must have felt like he was finally being compensated for all the lukewarm battles in the Tutorial.
The soldiers on our side were undoubtedly just as afraid as the humans of the south. But the look in their eyes was different.
Just like Jung Hayeon. The will to survive, the pride of having survived until now—though only ninety days had passed, these veterans of many battles already had the eyes of warriors.
“Stop the big one!”
“Stab him with spears!”
The humans standing before me had the eyes of warriors, too.
They were afraid, but they did not back down. They could have run away like I did in the past, but they absolutely refused to flee.
I respect them.
I respected the fact that ordinary modern people had survived in such a harsh environment. I respected the look in their eyes even as they were surrounded by blood-crazed monsters. As I felt the humans’ will to survive no matter what,
for the first time in my life, I started to feel that war was enjoyable.
“Die! You crazy monster bastard!”
“Krrrrrrrrk!”
I quickly closed the distance on a man thrusting a spear at me and lopped off his right arm. They had grown strong through many fierce battles, but our experience and levels were on different planes. Besides me and Goff, the chieftains of the other clans were also beginning to distinguish themselves. The tide of battle was finally starting to turn. Our allies were decisively swallowing them whole. Considering the human screams coming from all directions, it was the only conclusion to draw.
It was then.
A spear flew toward me in an instant. This was no cheap spear made by tying a sword to a crude wooden stick. Though it was just as crude, it wasn’t a makeshift weapon, but something that could truly be called a “spear.”
It was too late to block. I threw my body backward with all my might. The sight of a large Orc dodging a spear thrown by a woman was comical no matter how you looked at it, but this was no time to be picky.
If that hits, I’m dead.
As I leaned back, the spear flew toward the space between my eyes. I could dodge this. I ducked my head to the side, evading the second attack as well.
I didn’t rush to throw my sword or charge in. First, I had to get a good look at my opponent. She was clad in kobold leather—perhaps there were kobolds in the north. Her hair was short, just as I remembered. Unlike the voluptuous Jung Hayeon, her slim frame was striking. She was a bit small, but her gaze was incredibly fierce.
The opponent glaring at me was, without a doubt, the “Queen of the North.”