Chapter 123

What was our country doing in reaction to these invasions?
As far as I could see, the only army that could do anything now, was General Dardaroth’s.

“Rig. I’ll need you to ask the Flying Eagles for more details.”
“Anything in particular?”

“Like the scale of the enemy armies, and what we’ve done so far.”
“Very well.”

In the meantime, I would gather the others together.
There were a hundred in all. That really wasn’t much.

“Well, in the Demon World, it’s more efficient to surround yourself with powerful people, instead of just pushing with superior numbers.”

How could I put this…
Perhaps it was like a single carp who led a group of killifish fighting against a carp and group of crucian carps.

The requirement for victory was simple. Kill the enemy General.
The crucian carp would scatter the killifish. And the two carps would fight.
Numbers were important, but they weren’t everything.

We had been planning on leaving as soon as the Flying Eagles arrived, so we were already prepared.
“We have our supplies, weapons and armor. And morale…seems to be high enough.”

I could see an Ogre swinging around his weapon on the streets. Though, that was a problem that was unrelated to morale.
And so I punched him just hard enough that he bounced on the ground several times.

“Sir Golan. I have heard all the details.”
“Ah, Rig. That was quick.”

“The enemy invasion occurred several days ago. Apparently, the situation is quite bad.”
I had asked Rig to find out the enemy’s scale and our reaction.

Both countries had sent armies led by Generals.

“I’m surprised that they would do such a thing with Miralda’s army so close to the border.”
Her army was supposed to be close to the border with Rous.

With the exception of Kurulu, who did not share any borders with Demon King Tralzard, all of the countries should be able to see Miralda’s army lurking nearby.

One would think that would put tremendous pressure on countries that were so small.

“Perhaps they became sure that Tralzard would not attack. And since we were not watching them closely, it took us some time to realize we were being invaded.”

It had been completely unexpected. Even for me.
And the enemy had also taken advantage of an area that had not been monitored so closely. By the time we noticed, they had already entered the country.

It had taken time for word to reach the castle, and for the counter attack to begin.
You could say we were finally being punished for concentrating on the north and Leninoth so much.

“And what of the attack?”
“General Dardaroth’s army was split into two as they met the enemy.”

He said that the battle had likely started by the time the Flying Eagles arrived.

“He spit his army in half?”
How reckless.

“General Farneze cannot leave the royal castle, and the soldiers once led by Gorgodan are still stationed near Leninoth’s country.”
“…That’s right…”

The plan was for General Dardaroth to go north later on.
When that happened, he would be trading places with General Tulart.

If we were being realistic, General Dardaroth really was the only one who could move.
So that was why he had no choice but to fight against two countries…

“It just doesn’t seem right.”

What if General Farneze left the castle and went to support him?
No, she couldn’t do that.

“Once the enemy finds out that the castle is not tightly guarded, they will send their men and take it.”
We couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Our country’s future is in danger.”
“Aye…I don’t see how things could get any more messed up.”

Was there a way out of it?
In the first place, we didn’t have a fighting force to take on two countries at the same time.

And while we were in an alliance with Demon King Tralzard, it only existed in order to benefit both of us. And our position was growing ever weaker.

If we asked them for any more ‘favours,’ they would quickly decide that we weren’t worth the effort. And then…

“Sir Golan. What is it?”
“We’ll leave at once.”

“Sir?”
“The faster we head to Tralzard’s country, the better chance our country has of surviving.”

“And why do you say that?”
“We need to trade our troops as quickly as possible.”

According to our agreement with Miralda, we could use her men as our fighting force.
In other words, they could be powerful reinforcements. And we had full permission already.

“We’re leaving now. And we’ll be running on the road. We will be able to save two days that way!”
There was no time to waste.

I had Rig gather everyone together.

“While this might be sudden, we’ll be moving a little faster than planned. You might have complaints, but I want you to obey me nonetheless. There will be a lot of running on the way, so be prepared.”

“Arrghh!”
“Yes!”

Replied the Ogres and the non-Ogres. It was always like this.
And so we quickly set out for General Farneze’s town.

After two days of marching.
It was midday, and we were having a short rest, when a Kobold scout hurried back to us.

“There is a battle near the road up ahead. In the field!”

It was news of the clash between the enemy army and General Dardartoh.

“So they’ve come in this far…”
The enemy invasion had been much swifter than I expected.

Next Chapter

Makai Hongi