“What scale…”
Berganda could not help but whisper in awe.
As he gazed down at the Hero’s army from the hilltop, his instincts caused him to declare his honest feelings. Komos chuckled next to him. As for Sheto, he looked shocked.
“Who would look at that and not be afraid? Did you think I was some kind of mad warrior who does not know fear?”
“…No. But, never saw you, make that face before. A little surprised.”
“In any case, I hate looking at that formation more each time.”
Tercio. The formation was made up of spears and shields that he had encountered when running away with Sheto, stirred a deep sense of dread within him.
However, what spread out in front of him now did not compare.
There were too many people.
The wall of humans seemed to continue on forever.
The power of sixty thousand. On top of that, there was a mass of knights in front of the shield wall, and they were ready to attack at any moment.
“So they are going to attack head on.”
“A formation for open battle. They are telling us to attack from anywhere.”
“In that case, one tactic would be to go around them and quickly make our way to Gai Straum.”
Komos’s words were steeped in weariness. Unlike the Hero’s army, it took time for them to replace lost soldiers. And so his concern was perfectly reasonable.
“Do you understand what you’re saying? They took position there because they are able to reach the capital faster than we can.”
“Yes. I am aware of that. And so I am angry. That things ended up this way…”
Komos glared at Sheto with hatred. Sheto’s fur stood up on end nervously.
“But listen, Komos. The fact that they’ve chosen open battle like this… Isn’t it the perfect opportunity for us as well? If we let this slip by, the Hero will likely never show himself on the field again.”
“It is because we have hardly fought any major battles up to this point. Even if they have made a name for themselves on the central continent, the Hero’s army has achieved nothing noteworthy here. And so they intend to crush us with one blow and use that fame to bring the other three kingdoms to their knees.”
In other words, this battle was the result of both sides seeing it as beneficial.
Even if outside factors had played a role, a clash like this had been bound to happen eventually.
“That being said, charging in blindly would only result in us getting crushed by that wall of shields.”
“I already knew that brute force would not work. Komos, gather everyone together. Sheto, you are going to lay out every last plan that you have been holding onto.”
The two subordinates nodded, and then they glanced at each other.
Sheto looked on his guard, while Komos said nothing and turned away.
Not long after, the rest of the subordinates were gathered in front of the minotaur.
“Sheto, these are my subordinates, or the people who will fight alongside us. You probably know, but I will explain them to you anyway.”
Of course, this wasn’t directed at Sheto, but the gods who were watching. Though, he did not mention it.
“First, Komos. He will take command of the second unit, which has the most troops after the first unit. Both are mainly composed of goblins, but there are also orcs and hobgoblins mixed in.”
“…Many of them have learned sorcery. Perhaps not on the same level as the Hero’s army, but we can provide magical support.”
There was no hesitation on Komos’s face now. He would use Sheto as much as he can and find a way to win.
“Next it Kuna Nakra. You fought him once before coming here, didn’t you?”
“I, didn’t stand a chance. Don’t like, swords.”
“That being said, you did good for a kobold. You can be proud about that. After all, he had to strike at you twice.”
“Kuna Nakra will lead the third army, which is one thousand and five hundred strong. It is made up of five hundred Kuna warriors and a thousand newly joined Largan warriors under Largan Kar.”
The red-scaled man standing behind the green lizardman nodded at the command without showing a hint of discontent. The Kuna and Largan clans had once been enemies, but the threat posed by the Hero had caused them to unite.
“Zebine, how are the throwing and archery units?”
“Aye, they have improved. As have the quality of the bows. And that is thanks to that dog of yours.”
Hob goblins were said to be masters of ranged weapons, and they had praised Sheto’s ability.
After Sheto was let into the fortress, they had asked him to teach them to make bows, alongside his sword training. While Sheto did not like doing it, their impression of him improved greatly because of this.
“Zebine commands the fourth unit of archers. Fortunately, the enemy infantry seems to prioritize mobility over defense. And so our stone-throwing and archery should prove quite effective.”
“You can count on us. We’ll be poking holes in them.”
“Speaking of poking holes, how are your subordinates, Udik?”
“They finally quieted down. That being said, they want to head out and attack the enemy immediately.”
The ogre shaman, decorated with a beast’s skull and garish tattoos, effortlessly lived a log with his massive arms.