Before the deployment, the greatest obstacle facing the Goblin Legion was none other than Nameless.
This faded warrior, proclaiming herself the guardian of the Lake Kingdom, was a disaster to the monsters.
For the light of her sword was inherently anathema to the creatures.
She was the monster slayer who had single-handedly thwarted the creatures' invasion of humanity for the last five hundred years.
Ordinarily, other monster legions would throw their lesser creatures as bait to her, allowing only the elite forces, including their legion chiefs, to march out.
But the Goblin Legion couldn't use such tactics.
Being a legion that pushed with sheer numbers rather than having any substantial elites, and being too vast in scale.
To safely deploy, they would need a bait legion nearly the same size. If 50,000 were to march, half would be slaughtered by Nameless.
Hence, the Orc Legion was instead assigned the task to hold off Nameless, but they betrayed the Goblin Legion, and in the end, all were beheaded.
Kali-Alexander had to come up with a plan.
And so, this was the strategy devised.
"...Hm."
As the Goblin Legion set off, a flicker of interest passed through Nameless's eyes, who had stepped forward to stop them.
"Do you intend to face me directly, Greenskin?"
"It has come to that, 'Nameless One.'"
Before her stood the Goblin God-King, perched upon a mountain goat.
A unique helm that combined a crown and a mask. Leather armor and a golden cape.
Without a single escort, Kali-Alexander calmly pulled the reins of the mountain goat before the natural enemy of monsters.
"I've wanted to cross swords with you for some time."
"It seems I have become rusty to believe a mere goblin could cross swords with me..."
"You're not scared of a goblin, are you?"
"What?"
"Follow if you dare. Then, let's go!"
The mountain goat carrying Kali-Alexander bolted into the deep darkness of the Lake Kingdom.
"..."
Nameless hesitated for a moment.
The direction Kali-Alexander was fleeing was the opposite of where the Goblin Legion's main force lay.
'Is he luring me away? To separate me from his legion?'
But Nameless knew well.
The strength of the Goblin Legion was wholly reliant on the leadership of the God-King, Kali-Alexander.
Removing him would be tantamount to destroying the legion's core.
'The Nightmare Legion chief I killed will be revived by the Demon King, but in the meantime, the Goblin Legion won't be able to fight properly. If the deployment is delayed, I can eradicate the legion in the interlude...!'
The dilemma was brief, and Nameless's action was swift.
With a surge, she kicked off the ground and flew after the Goblin God-King.
Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
Kali-Alexander easily drove the goat deeper into the Lake Kingdom.
Flash!
Nameless, reading the path of the goat, fired a beam of light from her sword's tip,
But, keeeing!
Just before it could strike the Goblin God-King, the beam of light bizarrely twisted, veering off to the side.
It was the effect of the armor worn by Kali-Alexander. Nameless clicked her tongue.
"Truly, it's no empty boast to say it blocks all ranged attacks."
"Ha, if you want to kill me, you'll have to thrust your sword directly into my neck...!"
"That was precisely my intent!"
Nameless closely pursued the Goblin God-King, who continued deeper into the darkness.
Her speed rivaled that of a warhorse, and she quickly closed in on the Goblin God-King.
'Just one more step-!'
The Goblin God-King came within striking distance. Nameless swiftly thrust her sword to strike.
But at that moment,
Click!
Crack!
Goblin soldiers poured out of the surrounding darkness.
It was an ambush. From the start, the Goblin God-King had hidden his soldiers here to lure Nameless.
However,
"Pathetic!"
Thwack! Swoosh!
Nameless effortlessly sliced through the goblin soldiers' necks with her light swordplay.
From the outset, it was impossible for mere goblins to stop her. Any attempt at stalling was over in an instant.
After finishing off dozens of goblins, Nameless hastily lifted her head.
'Where's the Goblin God-King?'
Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
"Krik, krik!"
She caught a glimpse of the Goblin God-King scurrying away into the imminent darkness. Nameless once again kicked off the ground.
There were a few more ambushes, but Nameless breezed through them all, and finally.
"Got you!"
She successfully pounced on the Goblin God-King's back.
Sshhkt!
The goat that was slashed by Nameless's sword spilled blood and collapsed, and the body of the Goblin God-King riding it rolled powerlessly to the ground.
Approaching the pitifully sprawled Goblin God-King, Nameless sensed something was off.
"...No way."
Ripping off the goblin's helmet in haste, perplexity flitted across Nameless's face.
"Krik, krik!"
The goblin face, sporting a taunting smirk, bore a unique tattoo.
Goblin Amir.
Ten elite monsters who shadowed the God-King like a specter, marked by a tattoo granted only to them.
Somehow, this Goblin Amir had been switched in place of the God-King.
"When did they...!"
Nameless clenched her teeth.
It had definitely been the Goblin God-King at first. But in the midst of ambushes and escapes in the darkness, the God-King had slipped away, and a substituted minion had lured her into the shadows.
"Krik, krik, you've been properly fooled, stupid human..."
Pfft!
The head of the Goblin Amir, about to spew some gibberish, dropped along with a spurt of green blood.
Flicking the blood from her sword, Nameless abruptly turned around. She was now far away from the central plaza where the initial confrontation took place.
Moreover, the place where this goblin had lured her was the base of another monstrous legion.
The maritime monster legion, sensing the intrusion of 'Nameless,' began to rise from their places, emitting ominous groans.
Nameless clenched her teeth.
"To fall for such a basic trap...!"
***
"Phew, that was chilling."
Driving the goats back to the central plaza, Kali-Alexander brushed his chest as he spoke.
It had been Kali-Alexander himself who had first faced Nameless, switching with a subordinate midway. Otherwise, Nameless would not have been deceived.
Using subordinates dressed just like himself to trick the enemy was a deception tactic he'd enjoyed even in his living days.
His Goblin Amirs, who could be considered his direct subordinates and field commanders, were all equipped identically.
They were capable of mimicking him on command.
It had worked splendidly this time, and it would take Nameless a significant amount of time to return here after being lured so far away.
It had been somewhat risky, but the outcome was successful.
'Even so, we won't be able to buy a lot of time... We must finish the deployment to the surface quickly during this interval.'
With that thought, Kali-Alexander returned to the central plaza, where his legion was in the process of emerging from the lake.
The goblin legion, divided into vanguards, main force, and rearguards, had just finished deploying the vanguard, and now the main force was about to leave the lake.
"...?"
Kali-Alexander sensed something was amiss.
He urgently shouted.
"All troops, halt-!"
Thud!
The legion's soldiers stopped their march and stood at attention.
A Goblin Amir, commanding the main force, hurriedly approached Kali-Alexander.
"Krik, great Kali-Alexander. What is the matter?"
"...Something feels off."
Kali-Alexander furrowed his brow beneath his mask, surveying his legion.
He tried to locate the source of his unease, and eventually, he found it.
"Any word from the vanguard?"
"Kirik? Yes?"
"Shouldn't the vanguard report the safety of the path to the rearguard? Was there any contact?"
"Kirik, ah, there wasn't... But perhaps it's simply because we're too close. We must regroup at the entrance to the lake..."
"It's not a matter of distance. We should have received reports at regular intervals."
Goblins are low in intelligence.
Yet they carry out well-trained tasks with thoroughness.
Kali-Alexander had applied strict military discipline to his army, and the goblins were proficient at functioning like machines.
Included in this was the basic wartime protocol.
The vanguard must report the safety of the path to the rearguard at regular intervals. Unless they were annihilated, it was mandatory...
"...Could it be."
Kali-Alexander drove his mountain goat towards the front of the main force.
A transparent path connected from the gates of the Lake Kingdom to the lake's surface.
Kali-Alexander, stopping the mountain goat just below the surface, gestured to a goblin soldier in front.
"You there, go up onto the surface."
"Kirik!"
The goblin soldier climbed onto the surface without a moment's hesitation and then,
Flash!
He vanished as if sucked in.
A shocked Kali-Alexander hastily retreated his mountain goat.
"...This isn't the lake's surface."
Beyond the sunlit, rippling water, a swirling light of magic overlapped.
Realizing what it was, Kali-Alexander muttered in disbelief.
"This is, the entrance to a teleport gate...!"
***
"The goblins have finally caught on, it seems."
Atop the forward base's walls.
I peered through my telescope towards the black lake and clicked my tongue, stepping back.
The number of enemies listed in the information window was rapidly decreasing, and simultaneously, the kill count had abruptly stopped rising.
It seemed the creatures had noticed.
My secret trap installed on the surface of the black lake.
A teleport gate of exceptional size.
Groaning!
Consuming dozens of magic cores and several carts' worth of magic stones, the teleport gate installed level with the surface of the black lake was functioning well.
The vanguard of the goblin legion was entirely sucked into this teleport gate and disappeared.
'Coco the Severer definitely said this before.'
- For this reason, beings that originate from nightmares cannot use teleport magic. If they enter a teleport gate, they'll be swept away to the far side of 'the beyond'.
That's right.
Monsters are sent flying to 'the beyond' if they use teleport magic. Hence, they cannot use teleport gates.
And upon hearing this, I thought to myself.
'If I could somehow get these bastards inside a teleport gate, wouldn't I be handing them a one-way ticket to hell?'
I might not know exactly what 'the beyond' refers to, but isn't it something akin to the afterlife?
Rules are all about how you interpret them.
That's how this trap was planned.
The black lake's surface itself ripples with magical energy, brimming and shining.
In a place where the concentration of magic power is suffocatingly dense, placing a teleport gate doesn't even make it noticeable.
Moreover, the surface seen from beneath the lake teems with light.
Even if the unique magical light of a teleport gate flickers a bit more, it's not easy to catch on.
- I need a very, very large teleport gate. Granny Coco.
That's why I ordered this last time. A teleport gate of exceptional size.
Several gates, many times larger than the standard ones, were manufactured and installed parallel to the lake's surface.
Of course, the black lake is vast, and covering the entire thing with gates is impossible.
But the points from which the monsters emerged were fixed, so there was no lack in covering just those areas.
And so, the result.
[Enemy Information - STAGE 15]
- Lv.?? Goblin God-King: 1
- Lv.?? Elite Goblin Amir: 5 (Kill Counts: 1)
- Lv.35 Elite Goblin Janissaries: 1,710 (Kill Counts: 300)
- Lv.15 Goblin: 30,360 (Kill Counts: 15,520)
Amir and the Janissaries were somewhat reduced from what the initial enemy information suggested, due to some incident underground, but no matter. What's important is the kill count for the regular goblins.
15,000!
One third of the enemy goblins hadn't even seen the light of day above ground before they were cleanly melted away.
It was quite a splendid start to the defense.
"It's just the beginning, you fucks."
I gritted my teeth and cracked my knuckles.
"Not a single one will be left untouched, I'll devour you all...!"