VOLUME 3: CHAPTER 204 – RETREATING BATTLE 4 (4/4)

“What!?” Gi Jii and Allen exclaimed in shock.

Allen was so focused in his pursuit of the goblins that he had completely forgotten to watch his surroundings, but it would be too harsh to criticize him for that. After all, they were just one attack away from finishing off the goblins. And there was no way that the knight-commander of the Blue Knights, who was also the supreme commander of the entire army, could sit out that deciding battle.

The Blue Knights have been pursuing the goblins all this time and were actually quite exhausted. Only, they had forgotten all the fatigue they had built up due to the excitement of a victory. It was also out of consideration for their stamina that Allen didn’t commence this attack until the last moment.

Allen knew that he could make his soldiers forget their fatigue by standing at the head of the army, which is why he took the position that he did, but it was also because of that that he could not react fast enough to the attack coming from the north.

“Slip past them and stop their movements! Don’t let a single knight approach the king!”

The riders led by Hal of Paradua rode south from the north, seeking to slip past the flanks of the Blue Knights. At the same time, a great number of arrows descended before the mixed army.

A look at the source showed that it was the elves and the Ganra tribe who shot them.

“Don’t fall behind, boys!” Mido the Tyrant of the Fangs said with an assertive voice as he led the gray wolves running across the plains. Allen could see that they had taken a long way around the battlefield and was now in position to isolate the rear.

“Let your roars bellow and strike fear into the heart of the enemy! We’re not handing our home to these humans!” The chief of the centaurs, Tianos, said as he led the centaurs out of the forest.

“Could it be? Was this all… a trap? No, but…”

“Commander, there’s smoke coming from the back!”

While the enemy was surrounding them, for a moment, Allen was confused. This setup was simply too good. One moment they were driving the goblins into a corner, then in the next moment, they had fallen into a trap.

Allen was finally starting to mature as a general, so he couldn’t shake off that odd feeling. If he were still the old Allen, who only knew to charge onward recklessly, he would have surely ignored the surround and attacked the goblins. Or perhaps, if Aizas were around, then he might have given the order for Allen to continue the charge.

Unfortunately, his late friend was no longer around and the burden of 10,000 soldiers of the mixed army and the Blue Knights rested solely upon his shoulders.

When Allen turned around to look at what his subordinate was talking about, he saw a black smoke rising.

“…That’s the direction of the supply unit!”

The supply unit was a platoon with the sole purpose of replenishing their supplies. They were currently positioned at the rear alongside the wounded. There was half a day’s distance between them and Allen. That’s not very far as far as battles are concerned, but if they were being attacked now, then it was too late.

It was simply impossible for them to encroach into the western region without any supplies. In fact, without any supplies, even retreating would be dangerous. After all, Allen needed to feed his army of over 10,000 men. Having to procure food while retreating was bound to be a disaster.

When the mixed army saw the Blue Knights unmoving, they couldn’t help but waver themselves. The black smoke billowing from the back had severely weakened the pressure of Pena’s forces just like that. Most of the wounded were from the mixed army and were positioned at the back with the supply unit. Although the army had healers among their ranks, they didn’t have that many, so they couldn’t instantly heal every wounded soldier.

“The rear guard is under attack!”

When the mixed army heard that, they stopped moving altogether.

“Commander, an army is coming from the north! Their number… Approximately 15,000!”

Allen found himself unconsciously turning toward the north. There, a great army with the flag of the Elks Clan was approaching them.

“So it was a trap… All of it!”

Not only did the Blue Knights stop moving, even their spirits were dampened when they saw the approaching army from the north. Seeing how low morale was now, Allen could only bitterly grit his teeth as he was forced to order a humiliating retreat.

“We’re retreating. Forget the pursuit of the goblins. We’ll recover our allies and retreat to the borderlands!”

As Allen reprimanded the Blue Knights, who were frowning in regret, Allen had his orders passed to the mixed army.

They had expected the goblins to attack them, but the goblins never pursued them as they retreated to the south.

◆◇◆

The forces of the Goblin King were wide eyed at the sudden arrival of a giant army. Even the Goblin King himself was shocked. But since the army that appeared before them wasn’t an enemy, for the mean time, they decided to continue along their retreat.

When the forces of the Goblin King neared the army of nearly 15,000, they were once again shocked.

“This is…”

That ‘army’ was made up by the borderland people and the slaves that lived in the western region. It was an army of noncombatants that were nothing more than the women and the elderly. It was an army equipped with nothing else but wooden spears and a flag. A paper tiger, so to speak. If the enemy had continued fighting then, this army would have surely been wiped out.

“Who’s idea was this?” The Goblin King asked.

“It’s been a while, Goblin King,” a voice replied.

While the Goblin King was being shocked, a certain sylph warrior appeared before him.

“Pale Symphoria…” The Goblin King muttered.

Pale Symphoria knelt on one knee as she spoke to the king, “The greetings and the scolding can wait for later, as we’re in the middle of a battle right now. A fortress has been prepared up ahead. I propose we go there first.”

Seeing the Goblin King nod, Pale immediately ordered for the fake army to move. There were no hesitations in her movements. At the same time, a calm will was reflected on her two eyes that should’ve been closed.

Pale still looked just as she did before, but the atmosphere around her was completely different. It was almost as if she were a different person.

The Goblin King was inwardly shocked, but he didn’t openly show that shock, as he focused on leading the army to the forest.

Gi Ba Hagar and some of the borderland people died along the way, but in the end, the goblins managed to put a successful end to this retreat.

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