“Throwing squad! Fourth formation, ready!”
Berganda roared while staring at the towering wooden wall before them.
And as if to challenge the formidable defense stood the broad, thick back of an ogre. In one hand, it held something resembling a giant ladle, while several orcs worked together to load a round object onto it.
It was a mountain urchin. Though it had been exposed to a potion that dulled its movements, its natural resistance to toxins was still evident, and its thorns had already begun to twitch restlessly.
“Fire!”
Dozens of ogres swung at once, sending the mountain urchins flying into the air. They went over the wall and into the burning village.
“Lord Berganda! We have finished launching all two-hundred of the mountain urchins!”
“Good! Equip the ogre squad with battering rams! And what news from the imp scouts?”
“Attacks from enemy archers have lessened. We have likely neutralized most of them! And the Hero of Lindle appears to be leading the evacuation!”
He closed his eyes to take in the situation, and then the minotaur issued his next command.
“Continue aerial surveillance! Have the ogre squad attack the village gate at once! And when it’s destroyed, deploy a hundred spears to the front and position twenty archers in the rear as we advance! And stay alert for the Hero’s grand magic!”
“You are not sending the ogre squad forward?”
“Have them bypass the breastwork the moment the gate falls and move to the northern entrance! Are our troops already stationed in the mountains behind the village?”
“We have stationed fifty goblin skirmishers. But what of the ones positioned along the road?”
“Keep them there for now. And report immediately if anything unusual happens.”
The subordinate ran off as if tripping over himself. Comos watched while stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“They have improved tremendously.”
“We are still short on flying demons. Imps cannot fly high enough to evade arrows… That is something we need to consider in the future.”
“Still, it seems that kobold is not here.”
“I do not know what happened, but it is fine. This is good practice.”
Berganda watched the scene unfold and then turned his gaze to the mountains.
With the highway blocked and multiple forces deployed around Lindle, if the kobold were to appear, it would most likely be from those mountains.
“Do you…think it will come?”
“If it were just an ordinary kobold, it would never show itself.”
“An ordinary kobold…”
He glanced at the large axe beside him. He seemed to be contemplating something.
“Lord Berganda! All units are ready!”
The ogres were carrying logs cut from the mountains, and they were now lined up in formation. Behind them followed the goblins and orcs with their spears.
“…Battering rams! Ready!”
As the giants stood in formation, the robed goblins quickly moved to their side.
“Mel-dena-efe-mol. ‘Let the spearheads be sharp.’”
As the spell was spoken, the ogres’ back muscles bulged in response.
Berganda raised one hand and shouted loudly.
“Ogres… Charge!”
And with that, the ground shook and their thundering footsteps rang out through the dark night.
—
The sound was so loud that it echoed in the pit of his stomach. As the village burned around him, Poro turned to look back.
“The ogres are charging towards the gate!”
“Everyone, hurry! To the north gate!”
Men were shouting and leading the villagers, who were now filling the streets while holding their valuables and trying to keep their families together.
“Poro! Don’t just stand there!”
“Aye…”
“What are you staring at! Hurry up and run!”
But even as the wave of people rushed past him, Poro could not take his eyes off of the gate.
And then, the last strike. And the gate exploded into splinters.
“Ah! Ahhh!”
“The gate has been destroyed! The monsters are coming inside!”
Figures could be seen entering from the splintered remains of the gate.
“Ah…ah…”
The familiar sight of spear-wielding goblins.
Just like the time when his own village had fallen.
“Ah…”
He turned on his heels and started to run.
From behind, he could hear footsteps. They were so precise that it was hard to believe they were from monsters.
Fear was all that he knew now.
That was all that was in his head as he ran.
“N-no! Don’t come…! Ahhh!”
Between the houses, a man held a plow for a weapon. He froze for a second and then fell to the ground. Behind him, there were numerous mountain urchins.
“Ah…”
They swarmed around the corpse and began to feast upon it.
“It’s no use! There are urchins here as well!”
“They sent such creatures inside… Ahhh!”
The poison needles shot out, and the tentacles extended towards their prey.
“Damn it!”
Poro wailed as he ran.
“What is this! This place was supposed to be protected by a Hero!”
As if to laugh at him, the invading goblins roared.
“Go! Kill them all!”
And then a rain of arrows descended.