That war, without a doubt, was a war that was never before seen.
-Nyahaha! Attack! Rip apart everyone who comes into horse feed!
-Uooh! Follow General Sword Princess!
Before the touch of dawn could reach them, the oni ran across the cold ground.
The oni didn't need cavalry. Their bodies were their only force. Just rushing forward recklessly with the horns on their heads pointed forward was no different from a cavalry charge.
-Charge! Charge!
-Chop off the fat of all those arrogant pig bastards!
The oni rushed over, covering the horizon in dust.
They were like a train as they raced across the battlefield where Uburka had planted a mountain peak like a decoration.
On the other side.
-…
The goblins were still.
Like moles hiding in the ground, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
-…
-…
-…
The goblins remained infinitely calm even as thousands of oni charged towards them. Occasionally, the young warriors' fingers would twitch as if they were nervous, but no one criticized their immaturity.
-Everyone, get ready.
The Chairman of the Fire River Council of this era spoke.
There was as much anticipation in his eyes as in the molars that could be seen through his beard from time to time.
-We are.
-Everyone is ready, Chairman.
Even as they chatted, the thousands of charging oni, who grew closer by the minute, shouted.
-Today is the day the hegemony on the continent changes!
-The goblin race! Ignorant people who only waste their lives away dancing! Today is the day that our oni race, who breathe the air of the sky and feel the rhythm of the earth, will gain hegemony!
-Long live the oni race!
As much as 9000.
A race full of people with capable bodies charged forward as they roared. Their momentum was as fierce as a ferocious storm like a blizzard or tsunami.
-Their guardian pulled out a mountain!
At the head of the group, the 7 Oni Heroes were running together like the tip of the spear.
-Then we'll pierce that mountain!
At the same time, aura shot forth from a pair of twin swords, a scythe, a spear, a single sword, and an iron rod that was too long to be a staff.
And exploded.
Boom…!
The mountain peak in the middle of the battlefield split in two. In this way, a railway was formed. The oni ran as one long train. Of course, it was the 7 Heroes that formed the head.
The huge train of 9000 troops crashed into the goblins' frontline.
2.
The goblin's formation was as hard as a turtle shell. But the oni's penetrating power was even more so.
Boom…!
A roar that would never have been imagined to be a collision between two groups of people resounded. What happened next was closer to the collapse of a geographical feature than a formation.
"Ah."
"Mm."
"Ugo."
At that moment, my family members, who were looking down at the battlefield, expressed surprise in their own ways.
"They… I think you said they were the oni race and Chun Mu-mun Master. They're penetrating power is higher than I expected."
My advisor, Estelle, who had led the Devil King Army, said.
"The mountain peak that Warrior Commander Uburka threw had already become a component of the battlefield, so the goblins camped on both sides. But the oni directly broke through the mountain peak to reach the center and catch the goblins off guard."
That was right. Like a beast whose heart had been pierced from the first strike, the goblin's formation was struggling.
However.
"It's fine."
I had taught the goblin kids about fire for thousands of years. I taught them knowledge. I taught them how to emblaze, and I taught them how to play with it.
Cave Fire.
Even at the bottom of the dark cavern of the snails, the goblins never let go of fire, blessing the living with fire and honoring the dead with fire.
And I taught them how to dance.
By spreading fire with the body by dancing, I easily changed the minds of the fire loving goblins to that of dance loving goblins.
[getid]
The dance was fire, and all those who danced were one fire.
-Tapak.
As a result.
-Tuk.
The goblin's formation collapsed, it was torn down, but that was not the end.
Instead, it was the beginning, more like 'blossom' than 'collapse'.
-Tapak.
-Tuk.
-Tapak.
-Tuk!
The goblins didn't resist the oni's charge. If they pushed, they stepped back, and if they tried to strike, they tore apart.
However, in the process, they shook their waists up and down and kicked the ground. Tapak, tapak, tapak. The warriors lined up on either side of a person stomped and kicked the ground. Tapak, tapak, tapak! Like a burning flame, the tuk sound of their footsteps spread from one unit to the unit next to them, then to the unit above, and even to the units far away, quickly spreading to the entire camp.
Tapak, tapak tapak, tuk, tapak, tapak, tapak, tuk!
The battlefield was filled with the footsteps of thousands of troops. As they stomped their feet, the goblins wrapped themselves in aura. As a result, their footsteps were not stopped by the boulders of the mountain peak, nor bounced off the maple trees, and instead became flames that flowed to the bottom of the world.
-Wha-, what's going on?!
The oni were confused.
-Shit! What the hell are they doing?!
-Why aren't they collapsing!?
Like a tough leather bag, the goblins accepted all of the oni's charges, accepted the vibrations from the impact— and digested them.
I couldn't help but admire.
'Ah.'
Then, I was consumed by a strange happiness.
'They completed it… the Infernal Heavens Formation.'
An idea that had miraculously come to me one day.
If not just one person used the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, but several hundreds, or even thousands of people used it at once— I had a feeling that there would be new unexplored possibilities.
So I created a skill for the first time.
+
[Infernal Heavens Formation]
Rank: Undetermined
Effect: This is a formation made based on the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. This formation embodies an image shared by the casters. The more casters that participate in the formation, and the more proficient the casters are in the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, the clearer the image shared, and the stronger the power of the formation.
This formation has not been proven to be effective!
You are the one that created this skill. It is up to you to showcase the potential of the Infernal Heavens Formation. When enough data has been collected, the rank and description of the skill will be revised.
※Currently, the skill level is undetermined.
+
The Infernal Heavens Demonic Art had no lack of defeating the great forces in the world.
Since that was the case, if the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art were to be improved and utilized by a group… how formidable of a power would they be able to exert?
'That's why I taught Uburka the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.'
My thoughts wandered.
Those wandering thoughts reached my heart and subsided after becoming happiness.
'Uburka spread the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art to the warriors of that era. The Infernal Heavens Demonic Art became an orthodox sword technique of the goblin race. And I… spread [using aura to perform a play or dance] to the kids.'
For the warriors of the goblin race, aura was the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. All the plays that unfolded on the stage were intermingled with the Infernal Heaves Demonic Art, and as the number of actors increased to 3, 6, 18, and so on, an increasing number of Infernal Heavens Demonic Arts were embroidered on the stage.
'It's natural.'
The audience were mesmerized by the Cave Fire Plays.
Their hearts pounded.
On the stage, they were quiet guests, but off the stage, they were powerful warriors like their fellow compatriots. The warriors, the goblin race, considered the fire plays to be the most beautiful when they were unfolded in the world instead of on the stage.
'Although I provided the opportunity, I let those kids have fun and discover it for themselves.'
The goblin warriors had incorporated the cave fire plays into the army.
Adjust the beat, fine tune the melody. With just that, the aura is amplified. However, the important thing was for all the warriors to paint the same picture in their heads.
They filled the picture of the [Story of the White Lion] which Uburka had passed down like a legend. The White Lion. Our god. Our friend. The one who watches over us. The one who showed us the sights he saw while wandering the world— the burning mansion, the destroyed snowfield, the broken heart in the mirror— had all been stuck in the minds of the goblins since childhood.
-U.
Therefore, they sang.
-U.
-U.
-Ugo.
The footsteps hadn't stopped. Carried by aura, the footsteps filled the plains, and the sharp cries of the goblins echoed above it. Raising their heads to the sky, the goblins howled like wolves. And so. The resounding footsteps blocked the ground, and the echoing cries blocked the sky.
U, u, u, ugo! U, u, u, ugo! U, ugo!
Tapak, tapak tapak, tuk, tapak, tapak, tapak, tuk!
The ground and sky of the battlefield had been blocked.
The light of the sun at dawn bounced off the rough curtain of aura and it could no longer cast its cool light. The plains that the oni had rushed into was enveloped in pure darkness.
A fluttering shadow descended upon the oni.
3.
-Nyaah!?
The Sword Princess, who was at the front, was the first to notice the anomaly.
-What is this? Magic… no, aura!?
-Bastard, did thousands of people raise a tent at the same time?
-What a pointless waste of aura… If you thought this would be enough to surprise us then you're wrong!
The 7 Heroes urged their subordinates.
-Don't panic! It's just a bit of darkness in front of your eyes!
-There is no damage! They're just trying to scare by pretending to be cool!
-We killed at least 20% with this charge! Just keep attacking like this! We are at an advantage!
-If they struggle to not be torn apart, scratch the inside!
The oni tried to answer to the voice of the 7 Heroes. However, thud, thud, the footsteps steadily grew, and the widening shadow enveloped them.
-This is like…
Feeling the ominous energy, an oni warrior muttered.
-It feels like being in a cave rather than on a plain…
The momentum of the charge dwindled to a halt. The roars were no longer those of attack and slaughter, but instead became reflexive cries to counteract the ominous feeling.
Tubuk.
Suddenly, the warrior realized that the feeling of the ground they stepped on had changed.
-…wood?
A little while ago, the oni had been stepping on the bare ground. It was rough and there were stones rolling around which would make them fall if they were not careful.
But now, the feeling of the ground that they were stepping on in the dark place had changed.
-It's like wood.
-I can't see it well.
-No, it's wood. Wood floor. It's the wood floor of a very old mansion.
-Then you're saying that those pig bastards used their aura to cover the area and create a wood like texture?
-Why the hell would they do that…?
The oni warriors muttered.
U, u, u, ugo! U, u, u, ugo! U, ugo!
Tapak, tapak tapak, tuk, tapak, tapak, tapak, tuk!
In the meantime, the singing and dancing around them gradually increased.
When the world was bright, the song seemed to be nothing more than a moral boosting warcry. However, the battlefield had become dark. The sunlight at dawn was too weak to dilute the darkness.
U, u, u, ugo! U, u, u, ugo! U, ugo!
Tapak, tapak tapak, tuk, tapak, tapak, tapak, tuk!
In the darkness, the voices of the goblins sounded like they were summoning something, something like a ritual or a curse. This made the oni warriors anxious and cold sweat covered the back of their necks.
It didn't end there.
The oni, who had skillfully trained auras, looked around, realizing that they were surrounded by something. Something without form, and without hostility… something faint, that wrapped around their ankles.
"Smoke…?"
It was aura that flowed like smoke.
(Random person: How did you win the war?
Gobbos: We danced and sang.)