First Alliance War (2)
The overall battle situation was overwhelmingly in their favor. The dwarves' new weapon—a catapult—unleashed a preemptive strike. Flames rained down from the sky, igniting a wide area and setting the goblins ablaze. Panicked goblins fled the fire at first, but soon charged straight ahead, convinced it had come from the enemies before them.
The soldiers moved to meet the oncoming goblins. Infantry slowly pressed the front line, while the knight order charged at breakneck speed, smashing through clustered goblin groups and splitting them apart. The beastkin, faster than humans though not quite as swift as mounted knights, flanked the line and struck from the sides. Goblins suddenly surrounded on all sides collapsed helplessly.
In the center, where the enemy was most concentrated, small rat beastkin hefted shields larger than themselves, forming a tight phalanx and pushing forward. These rat beastkin, with their solid formation, methodically dispatched goblins using spears that thrust out from between short swords and shields.
Lizardmen rampaged on instinct, hacking goblins apart with obsidian weapons. That was more than enough for them. Above their heads, elven arrows flew guided by wind spirits, targeting goblins and orcs with special abilities. Goblins hurling ice or raising dead corpses were sniped down helplessly.
Mages conjured walls of flame where goblins clustered, turning them into piles of ash in an instant. The goblins began to fall back across the board. A few special goblins and orcs tried to rally, but elven arrows soon found them. Arrows deadly enough to claim lives in a flash. An orc blocked one with its club and roared, charging the humans and baring its savage fury.
The orc swung its club at spear-wielding humans, aiming to crush them. But its action was interrupted.
“Kyaaa!! Die!!”
A beast-like shout echoed from behind. Instinctively raising its club, the orc met a lizardman's weapon studded with dense obsidian blades that bit deep into the wood.
“You! You're pretty strong! Fight me!!”
“Grrr...”
“I'll take that as a yes! Humans! Back off!! I won't forgive any interference!”
The humans quickly distanced themselves. A few clueless goblins charged the lizardman and were reduced to goblin paste by both it and the orc. The orc wouldn't tolerate interruptions either, it seemed. The two eyed only each other.
Thus, in the middle of the battlefield, a small arena had formed.
“Things are going smoothly so far.”
“Probably thanks to the reinforcements being stronger than we expected.”
Ratkinia's shield legion held the front pressure steadily, while Bystia's allied forces exploited weak points with their mobility. Elven hunters sniped goblin commanders or those using special powers, mages ignited magical flames across the field. The dwarven catapult test unit had showered goblins with fire at the battle's start, and lizardmen rampaged seeking worthy foes. Everyone shone brilliantly.
“Good thing casualties are low.”
These soldiers were their own people, after all—fewer losses were always better. Seriously wounded were evacuated to the rear for treatment by Life Church priests. As long as it wasn't instant death... most injuries wouldn't prove fatal. If things continued like this, victory without heavy losses seemed assured.
If things continued like this.
Boom!
The battlefield's air grew heavy. An immense presence crushed the field. From the far side, something enormous rose. From a crude throne of piled rocks, the goblin king stood.
“It's coming.”
The Knight King gazed at the rising giant across the field. Green-skinned behemoth. A monster that could wrestle drakes. The endpoint of goblin evolution.
An ogre.
“Hm...?”
A different thought crossed the Knight King's mind.
Is that ogre... really the endpoint? Truly? What if—just suppose—an ogre evolved further...? If that happened, what kind of monster would be born?
A chill ran down the Knight King's spine. If that imagination became reality...
Kaboom!!!
The thought scattered with a sudden explosion. A crater formed where goblins faced Ratkin's shield legion. The ogre stood within. The shockwave shattered the rat beastkin's formation despite their shields; goblins scattered like leaves.
The ogre surveyed its surroundings with arrogant eyes.
“Unbelievable.”
It was a monster in the truest sense.
“Should've brought a giant somehow...”
No one on the field could match it now. Just its entry had crumbled Ratkin's vaunted shield legion. Elven arrows rained on the ogre, mages summoned flames. Futile. Despite its massive bulk, the ogre moved nimbly, rampaging like a wolf among sheep.
Lizardmen, recognizing the threat, charged it—but even they flew back from a single blow. Surviving that strike highlighted their unnatural toughness, but still.
“How do we handle that monster...?”
Lizardmen kept getting knocked away yet charged again. More precisely, no one else could even hold the ogre's attention. Their scales tore, tails severed, yet they bought time, stabbing obsidian spears into it, biting with teeth when weapons broke, clinging desperately.
Even such mighty lizardmen could only delay against the ogre. They struggled endlessly. Against any other monster—something mindless like a drake—lizardmen might have hunted it.
But.
“Kraaa!!”
Unlike mere beasts, the ogre was clever. It could turn the situation to its advantage.
“Block its movements!!!”
“Jam spears in!!!”
“We can't let it reach the others!!!”
The lizardmen fought desperately. But they couldn't stop it. They failed to grab the ogre as it leaped toward other humans. It distanced itself from the pesky lizardmen and targeted fresh prey—leaping high to the rear. Toward those sparking flames and loosing branch-like arrows. Toward the one commanding it all, flag in hand.
Toward the one called the Knight King.
He urgently wheeled his horse back, but it couldn't withstand the impact. He tumbled from the saddle, rolling across the ground.
“Kraaa!!”
“Urk!”
The Knight King's horse shattered; the surroundings lay in ruins. No attack—just a leap and landing—had caused this devastation.
“M-monster...!”
“Grrr...”
The ogre smirked. This must be the one directing those annoyances. Mana threads from the pests linked to this human, to his flag. Kill him, and the pests scatter.
That was the ogre's thinking.
“Urk...”
The Knight King tossed aside his battered helmet and scanned around. Subordinates lay scattered from the impact; some seemed dead. Mages were ready with fire spells but hesitated—the King was too close. Elves nocked arrows, but theirs couldn't fatally wound the ogre—merely pierce vital spots' hides.
Lizardmen pursuing it were blocked by soldiers. By the time they arrived, the King's life would be gone.
So the Knight King gripped his flag tightly. Death held no fear. He'd lived long enough, ruled well, overcome crises through repeated wars. Near-death experiences aplenty, yet he'd survived. He'd groomed his eldest prince as heir; Romania wouldn't fall without him.
In that brief moment, the Knight King reflected on his life.
And faced his death.
A massive green monster loomed. He aimed the flag's tip at its heart. At least one strike. He wanted that much.
In that instant.
Something fell from the sky.
