Chapter 163.2

VOLUME 3: CHAPTER 163 – THE CLASH AT PIENA PLAINS II (2/2)

“Have the chariots come back! Tell the center to pull back too!”

Gowen narrowed his eyes as he watched the goblins push them back and as he tried to restore the disordered formation.

The right wing had managed to drive away the demihumans. They had to sacrifice half of the chariots to achieve it, but with it, they were able to buy some much needed time.

The human cavalry was currently fighting the goblin cavalry in the left wing.

“3rd platoon support the right wing!”

Since the cavalry was already in a melee, Gowen decided to send the third platoon.

“Yes, my lord!” The platoon commander said.

After driving away the demihumans from the right wing, the battle moved to surround the Gaidga tribe.

Gowen moved the soldiers from the lines they had an advantage in to support the flanks. The right wing no longer had the demihumans and the left wing had Gi Gu’s goblins, which were still weak from yesterday’s battle.

With the center being pushed back and the flanks being pushed forward, the battle naturally progressed to surround the center.

When the chariots came back, Gowen had the mages ride with them. The mages numbered 200 all in all, so it was not possible to have the remaining 50 chariots accommodate them all.

Gowen picked out 50 mages to ride the chariots, then he ordered the rest to provide cover from the back.

“Archers, don’t let the enemy mages approach! Keep shooting at them!”

The archers formed rows as they retreated while shooting at the enemy.

The supply platoon at the back coordinated with them and supplied them with more quivers every time they ran out of arrows.

The orchestra-like coordination that allowed the archers to shoot volley after volley of arrows was a testament to Gowen’s abilities.

Gowen had his soldiers retreat while they surrounded the enemy.

“Chief! There are enemies behind us!” Dashka of Gaidga said.

When Rashka heard that he hesitated. If it was before he might have continued attacking with no hesitation, but Rashka has already learned his lesson from the elven war. Unfortunately, Gowen did not miss that slight hesitation.

“Magic platoon, focus fire on the center!”

The mages at the back simultaneously casted their magic. Fire and water bullets rained from above, dulling the Gaidga’s movements.

Afterwards, Gowen ordered the magic platoon to attack Gi Jii next.

“…Stubborn,” Gowen muttered to himself as he looked up at the body of the fire god shining brilliantly up in the sky.

The battle that began early this morning has been raging on for several hours already.

If this were a battle between humans, the enemy would be running out of steam soon.

Unfortunately, Gowen failed to take into account the stamina of the goblins.

Gowen has never really fought the goblins in a proper war. After all, monsters lining up in formation to wage war on humans was a strange sight never before seen.

Gowen hoped to exhaust the goblins and then attack, but at the rate they were going, their formations would collapse first before he could ever hope to.

The humans were bound to run out of steam before the goblins. They could no longer rely on the potions either, for most of it has already been distributed by the supply platoon.

The rest of their supplies were also running thin.

Gowen looked over the battlefield once more, searching for the enemy’s weak point. The enemy must have a weak point somewhere.

“We’ve gotten this far, we can’t retreat.”

Gowen had sent the chariots with the mages to the left wing in hopes of expelling the enemy cavalry while recovering their own.

“Order the cavalry to retreat!”

“Damn it! We’re retreating!”

At the cavalry commander’s behest, the cavalry began to break away. When Hal saw that, he spun his blood-stained spear and yelled, “After them! Don’t let them run!”

But the chariots Gowen had sent kept them from pursuing the human cavalry.

The chariots’ long range attacks left the goblin cavalry with no choice but to retreat.

“Curse them! Retreat!”

After crushing the two wings, Gowen’s army finally managed to begin surrounding the goblin army. It was a thin surround, however. Regardless, it was here that Gowen decided to gamble.

“Now, attack! Infantry, endure it!”

At Gowen’s behest, the commanders of the infantry platoons yelled, “Spears out! Attack!”

The human soldiers mustered every bit of courage they had as they thrust out their spear toward the goblins’ own. Many goblins and humans fell as they struck each other dead.

Meanwhile, the chariots and the cavalry came back to attack the goblins from the flanks.

“Great Brother! They’re attacking from the right and from the back!”

Gi Gu, who was still wounded from yesterday’s battle, ordered his reserves to expand to the back.

“Do as Gi Jii does! Just stop the enemy’s attack!”

The goblin’s right wing has taken to defense, but Gaidga, who was fighting at the left wing, yelled with fury, “Push them back!”

Instead of defending, Gaidga pushed back even harder, causing the humans that were spread thin to falter.

“Teach those goblins their place!”

The human cavalry tried to attack from the left wing, but this time, their allies were trampled over by the giant goblins right in front of them. Immediately, they decided to charge toward the goblins.

At that, even the Gaidga found it difficult to maintain their lines.

Unable to stop the fierce attack of the human cavalry, the Gaidga, who continued to push onwards, was cut off from the back.

When the Goblin King saw that the enemy forces’ momentum had reached peak levels, he raised his voice, “Gi Za, support the Gaidga! Gi Ga, take the reserves and move out! After me!”

Deciding that this would be the end, the Goblin King led the reserves and moved out.

“Order Rashka to withdraw!”

“Unu!?”

Though unwilling, Rashka ordered the Gaidga to withdraw. Even a battle junkie like him could see that they were suffering too many casualties.

“We’re retreating anyway, so we might as well get a piece of those human cavalry along the way!”

Rashka was fuming as he ordered his men to retreat. He frowned in regret as he defended the back of his horde from the attack of the infantry.

As the Gaidga retreated, they focused their attacks on the human cavalry that had forced its way in.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

As Rashka yelled retreat with much frustration and deflected spear after spear, he withdrew with the Gaidga while sending humans flying.

The human cavalry that had forced themselves in from the back ended up clashing with Dashka. Dashka stopped the horse with his own body.

“Fire! Send the humans off with the winds of the forest!” Gi Za yelled.

At those words, the cavalry that had attacked the Gaidga stopped.

The Gaidga used that opening to withdraw altogether.

“Attack! This is our chance to surround them!”

When Gowen saw the Gaidga withdraw, he ordered his men to attack. At that, the infantry Rashka had been keeping in check came gushing forth.

No matter how powerful Rashka might have been among the goblins, even he would get weaker after fighting for so long.

All the more so when the human spearmen were relying on their numbers.

“Annoying!” Rashka spat as he swung his club from the back of the Gaidga Horde, but exhausted, Rashka slipped on the blood stained ground.

“Nu!?” Rashka cried out.

Seeing that, the soldiers immediately thrust out their spears.

So this is were the one-eyed demon dies. For a moment, Rashka closed his eyes.

“Turn me into a blade!Enchant

As the king’s voice echoed, the soldiers that sought to kill Rashka were all cleaved in half. They quietly sank into the pool of blood beneath them.