―The reason was simple. Its true power was not simply a matter of summoning 19 Goblins.
In YGGDRASIL, this item had been unable to reveal its true value and was discarded as a trash drop.
However, in this New World, this item was about to unleash its true power.
Let us go over the name of the item once more.
"Horn of the Goblin General".
Its true power, revealed only when three conditions were met, was―
-x-X-x-
The powerful, rhythmic sound of drums came from the side of the village, filling the entire battlefield. All the eyes which went to the source of the sound went wide in the next instant. That was because an army of over 5000 people was moving in lockstep formation, advancing in time with the beat of the drums.
At first, both Prince Barbro's forces and the defenders of Carne Village thought that they were reinforcements from Barbro's side, the sole difference being whether or not they had expected such backup. However, the forms of the new troops immediately told them that it was not the case.
The members of that army were all Goblins.
The demihumans known as Goblins were smaller than human beings, only about the size of a child. However, their presence made them seem twice as large as they actually were.
In addition, they were sheathed in gleaming steel. They bore potent, brightly polished weapons and armor, the equipment a warrior ought to have.
These were not peasant levies. This was an army of true warriors.
"Now! Anyone who's still alive, run like hell! They're reinforcements! Reinforcements have come! Run to them!"
Jugemu shouted at the top of his voice.
Their identities were a mystery. He did not know if they were friend, foe, or a completely unrelated third party. Telling the surviving defenders to flee in their direction because they were of the same species was not the right thing to do. He should have told them to run back into the village.
However, Jugemu had a feeling which one might call sympathy. He had the feeling that he shared the same master as those people. He had the feeling that they would take him and his friends in, and protect everyone.
The surviving citizens of Carne Village fled toward the Goblin Army without hesitation.
The encirclement was beginning to crumble. The Royal Army knew that they ought to pursue, but their movements were slow. That was only to be expected. There was a highly regimented army out there. Approaching it carelessly was dangerous.
There were two reasons why they let them flee.
The first was because they felt that it would be better to consolidate and form up rather than mount a pursuit. Their drums were pounding a signal to fall back.
The second was because they were afraid that they would suffer a terrible revenge for killing members of the same species as that army.
The Goblins happily accepted Jugemu and the others as they ran over to them. Jugemu and the rest entered through gaps in their relaxed formation. After everyone had entered, they immediately closed ranks once more, like a door shutting.
Jugemu looked around at his exhausted comrades, who were collapsed on the ground. Nobody had made it out unscathed, and many people had promptly passed out upon reaching safety.
He looked around, and it was tragic. The number of Goblins, Ogres and villagers had decreased.
"Still, more than half of them survived... we're lucky. Cona!"
He called the name of the only person among the Goblins who could use healing magic, the priest Cona. However, Cona shook his head, indicating that he had exhausted his healing magic in that battle.
"Then let's do whatever first aid we can─"
Just as Jugemu was about to shout, he saw a Goblin in a turban, carrying a scarf, and stroking his whiskers.
Given his attitude, he was most likely a central figure in the Goblin Army.
"Ho ho ho ho. You must be General Enri's retinue. I am the Goblin Strategist, responsible for commanding the Goblin Army. Now that we have arrived, nobody will harm you gentlemen any further. Please be at ease. Our medical corps will attend to you forthwith."
The Goblin Strategist waved his fan, and a squad of brawny Goblins ran up with boards in hand.
"Come, come, everyone, please lie on these boards and we will ferry you off. Now that we have come, it would be a shame if any more of you were to lose your lives."
The casualties were carried off one after the other
"You have been hurt too. Come, we shall take you to our chirurgeons for treatment─"
No, I'm sorry. I feel bad about declining your kindness, but can you please tell me what's going on? I'm still alright."
Jugemu's attitude did not look like he was acting tough. After verifying that, the Goblin Strategist nodded, and began speaking.
"I expected nothing less of the leader of General Enri's retinue. What do you wish to ─ ho ho ho. No, I already know. General Enri is in a command tent in the rear. She will surely be glad to see that you are fine."
"Is that so? Then that's good."
Jugemu let out a soul-deep sigh of relief. In fact, he was so relieved that the strength fled his body as well, and his knees nearly buckled under him. However, as a predecessor, he could not let his successors see that unsightly side of himself.
"Right. I'll go see her, then. Besides, I doubt there'll be anything left for us to do in the upcoming battle."
"Ho ho ho ho. Thank you for yielding the field to us newcomers."
"As if. It's nothing much. It's the job of the seniors to pass the torch on to their juniors... thank you."
"Ho ho ho.Then, we must display our prowess to our seniors. That being the case ─ all that remains for us is to achieve victory. Order the heavy infantry forward."
***
"What the hell is that?! Dammit, we were so close!"
Barbro's eyes went wide as he surveyed the interlopers who had ruined everything.
Nothing had gone as he had planned. Why was he deadlocked with a Goblin Army at a tiny village like this? He was so frustrated that he wanted to claw at his hair.
If this were an Imperial Army detachment, he would gladly order his men to fight. However, these were Goblins. Even if he won, who would praise him?
"My Prince! Please allow the men to fall back!"
He glared angrily at the knight addressing him.
Rationally speaking, they ought to fall back now. While he did not know what such a large Goblin host was doing here, as long as he brought the information back, it ought to count as achieving something.
However, running away with his tail between his legs without so much as fighting them would surely lead to him earning the hateful moniker of "the Prince who fled from Goblins".
And if he lost, then he would be the Prince who was beaten by Goblins. The topic-starved nobles would surely spread it all around and make it public knowledge. The people who had not seen the battle with their own eyes would not care how strong the Goblins before him were. They would only be concerned by how amusing it sounded.
WIthin his heart, Barbro cursed those nobles who mocked him from safety.
"...Denied. Keep fighting."
"Your Highness! Please observe their equipment and their regimented formation! They must surely be elite troops who are the equal or superior of the Goblins from just now! Our side is largely composed of peasant levies; our chances of victory are slim. I beg you to order a retreat!"
Barbro knew that as well, even if the other party did not say anything. However, there was no other way to protect his good name than by fighting. All he could do now was pray that those Goblins were just for show.
"You fool! Do I have to tell you how dangerous it is to let those troops be?! Right now, the Royal Army is making their way to the Katze Plains! What do you plan to do if that army attacks E-Rantel while they're undermanned?!"
"Un-understood."
They would cross blades with the enemy once. If they were as tough as their appearances suggested, he would fall back immediately. The battle with the Empire was the truly important thing, and Barbro did not want to be defeated here. He was at least calm enough to think of that.
The soldiers formed up into ranks before Barbro. As though matching their movements, the Goblins began their advance.
The enemy had taken a long snake formation, which was three layers deep.
Barbro's forces had adopted a crane wing formation instead. They had not used the fish-scale formation because they wanted to make effective use of their powerful cavalry, and the enemy formation was poor at handling flanking attacks.
The leading edge of the Goblin formation was composed of their heavy infantry, carrying greatshields that were tall enough to cover themselves. Their immaculate battle line was like a wall bearing down on them, and it placed great pressure on Barbro.
The hand holding the reins of his horse were slippery with sweat under his gauntlets, and it felt disgusting.
When the spear-wielding levies made contact with the shield-bearing heavy infantry, his troops would block the enemy advance, effectively treading on the serpent's head, and then the cavalry would charge from the flanks.
The levies clashed with the heavy infantry.
And then, the loud voices of the Goblins reached Barbro's ears.
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Heavy Infantry! Do not insult us by thinking we will be halted by this much!"
Rather than harboring doubts about this General Enri person, Barbro was focused on how his forces' formation was buckling under the contact.
The levies were being pushed back by the enemy shields. Naturally, when they were pushed back, they collided with their comrades behind them, and their formation began to collapse.
The cavalry on both flanks hurriedly sprang into action. The right wing was slightly quicker to move, and they aimed to attack from the side. However, cavalry in gleaming silver emerged from the enemy flank ─ riding white wolves in place of horses ─ seventeen riders in all, sprinting forth to intercept them.
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Paladin Corps! We pledge our loyalty to her Excellency!"
From the left flank came a horde of magical beasts that looked like wolves, who raced across the land. There were Goblins mounted on them. Leading the way was a winged wolf, and the Goblin mounted on its back shouted loud enough to drown out the wails of the levies and reach Barbro's ears.
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Beast Rider Corps! Here we come!"
As the cavalry were bogged down in melee, Barbro heard the sound of strings twanging, one after the other.
He saw dozens of arrows falling from the sky like rain, peppering the chaotic battlefield. Barbro wanted to see who was shooting, and surveyed the enemy formation.
They were in the enemy's second rank. There he saw a group of Goblin dressed in bright red, wielding huge bows. There was a clear difference between the sizes of the left and right sides of their bodies, and their bodies tilted noticeably with every step they took. One of them was particularly eye-catching and carried an extra-large bow. He opened his mouth:
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Longbowmen Corps! Know that there is no escape for you!"
That was not the end of the enemy's long-ranged attacks. The enemy's third rank discharged several spells, which detonated within the Royal Army's formation, some distance ahead of Barbro. Great flashes of light accompanied the blossoming of crimson flowers, and the petals of scorching flame drove a shockwave before them, the repeated explosions flinging the peasant levies away.
The spellcasters were a group of whose faces were veiled by their lowered hoods. Each of them carried a long staff, which gleamed with a mysterious radiance.
The person at their head pulled back his hood, revealing a face covered in wrinkles.
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Magic Support Corps. Be it strengthening, weakening or attack magic, we wield them all with the same proficiency."
They were not the only unit casting spells. Barbro shifted his eyes to the side of the Magic Support Corps, and he saw a similar-looking unit there. Although they were only a team of five people, each of their faces was filled with an absolute confidence. Before them stood the one with the boldest smile of all, and he shouted with all his might:
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Arcane Artillery Squad! We who specialize in area-attack spells are the most potent attackers of the Goblin Army!"
"Your Highness!"
The knight returned to Barbro's side. He knew what the man was going to say with just a look at the shocked expression on his face. With magic casters in their ranks, the enemy was even more dangerous now.
"We've had it! We can't hold them! It's only a matter of time before the enemy reaches us! We need to retreat!"
He could not deny him now. Even if Barbro ordered everyone to stay and fight, the nobles who came with him would climb over each other to flee. Even if he somehow compelled them all to fight, they would resent him and become future enemies.
"Do it. Also, order the Baron to run first."
Barbro wanted to be the first to flee, but if he did that, it was not hard to imagine how he would be labelled as a coward who was number one at running from Goblins. That being the case, he would let the Baron bear that shame instead.
"Understood!"
Just as the knight began barking orders to his subordinates beside him─
"─There's no escape."
An unfamiliar voice came from right beside him, and for the first time, Barbro felt that his life was actually in danger.
His retinue drew their swords and surveyed their surroundings, and they saw a group of black-clothed people emerge from the shadows. Their faces were covered with cloth, but their eyes gleamed with a keen light.
"We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Assassin Squad. We lurk in the shadows, and this is the last time you will see us."
There was one more person.
He emerged like he had been drawn out; he wore a red cap and steel boots. The way he carried a long scythe made him look like the Grim Reaper.
"I am a subordinate of her Excellency, General Enri ─ one of the thirteen Redcaps who serve as her bodyguard. Well, I guess there's nothing left for me to do."
"Protect his Highness! Sound the retreat!"
"Pathetic."
To Barbro's eyes, it seemed as though the shadows were moving.
Everything above the knight's neck disappeared in an instant, and his blood spurted like a geyser.
Barbro realized what he was looking at, and he immediately spurred his horse into a gallop. There was no longer any time to worry about the order in which to run. Right now, he was treading the edge of life and death.
Behind him, he heard, "We are the subordinates of her Excellency, General Enri ─ the Goblin Musician Squad!" accompanied by the sound of pounding drums, and it grated on his ears.
***
"...Is it really alright to let him run?"
"The Strategist-dono ordered it. If the prince's head is taken, they'll scour the land to find where it fell."
"Hmph, but of course. If General Enri fell to the enemy, I wouldn't stop killing until they were all dead either. Well, that's the Strategist-dono for you. He sees the big picture. Is that why he didn't order us to wipe them all out?"
"Precisely. We need to let them take their prince back to their city. I'm not happy about it either. I want to make them pay for attacking General Enri's village... I guess that's how it is, Redcap-dono. We'll begin cleaning up the corpses, then."
"Indeed. We need to recover the bodies of the brave warriors who fought by our seniors' side too.
-x-X-x-
The plains were brightly lit by the moon, and in their midst was a military field camp. No, there were no tents here or a wooden palisade, so it was doubtful whether it actually qualified as a camp. It would be more accurate to say that there was a military unit on the grass.
Just about everyone was lying on the ground, immobile from fatigue.
The winter air was cold enough to dye their exhaled breath white, but the fact that they could sleep in conditions like these without bedrolls or the like was a sign of how tired they really were. Amidst all these people, who had collapsed like puppets whose strings had been cut, one man was walking.
He was the general of the defeated army, Barbro.
Should he feel lucky that he had survived, or should he complain because he had met such a powerful foe?
The Goblin Army that had appeared at Carne Village had been a powerful foe ─ no, his forces had been no match for them at all. With just a single contact with the enemy, Barbro's forces had been crushed in an instant, and he had no choice but to flee in defeat. His soldiers had been killed so fast it was as though they had melted away.
What exactly were those Goblins?
Barbro wanted to figure that out too.
The possibilities which came to mind were that they were the army of a huge nation of Goblins within the Great Forest of Tob. That was the easiest explanation to accept when one considered that they had encountered them south of the Forest. The other nobles who had survived with him seemed to have reached the same conclusion too, and they had said so several times to console themselves during their flight here.
Some said that their luck had been bad.
Some said that the army they encountered was composed of their elite troops.
Some said that just bringing back news on those Goblins would be a great effort.
"Are they idiots..."
Barbro clenched his fists tightly.
Defeat was defeat. It was true that the Goblins had been strong. Anyone who fought them would have understood why there had been no hope for Barbro.
However, those who knew nothing would simply think that Barbro was the prince who had been beaten by Goblins. He would surely become the butt of many jokes.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
A fire burned in his belly. That was the reason why Barbro could not sleep, despite being as tired as the soldiers.
Once he closed his eyes, he could hear the insults and mocking laughter that would surely await him after he returned to the Royal Palace.
For Barbro, the war was over. In his present state, there was no way he could hustle to the Katze Plains and take part in the battle against the Empire.
Just then ─ he felt a presence. It did not come from the men lying on the ground, but from the direction they had fled from.
Were they fleeing soldiers who had caught up with them, or a Goblin pursuit force?
His heart filled with terror, Barbro shifted his line of sight, and in the next moment, his face filled with puzzlement.
That person had probably noticed Barbro. They raised a hand in a casual greeting.
"Hai~"
He had no idea when they had appeared in the middle of these plains. Not far away ─ 20 meters at the most ─ stood a ravishing beauty, with a smile on her face that could only be described as innocent. If this were a city, Barbro would surely stare at her. However, this was the middle of a plain. There were no villages around.
The strangest thing was the clothes she wore ─ they looked like a maid's outfit.
If she were an armed and armored woman, he might have guessed that she was an adventurer. However, this was not possible.
Is she a monster?
That thought rose through his mind. Certain monsters were very beautiful. Fairies, for example. However, he could not make sense of the maid uniform.
"Hello ~su. I came to play with you ~su. Can I bother you for a bit?"
Judging by her question, she was clearly taking him for a fool.
"Who're you?!"
He reached for the sword at his waist as he questioned her.
That question was utterly meaningless. However, he had nothing else to say. Her existence was so ridiculous that he did not even know where to start asking.
"I"m Lupusregina ~su. One of the maids who work for Ainz-sama ~su."
The peculiar woman waved again as she greeted him. The meaning of what she ─ Lupusregina ─ said gradually began to filter through his mind.
"What... what did you say?"
Barbro was so shocked that he forgot to wake the nearby soldiers.
"No, no, don't worry about that for now ─ that must have been really hard on you ~su. Still, that really was unfair ~su. A huge army of Goblins like that's on the level of cheating ~su. I saw them from behind the humans and En-chan and it made me cry out in surprise ~su. I didn't expect so many Goblins would come out~ hahahaha!"
Lupusregina laughed in an incredibly fake way.
She was clearly trying to pick a fight, but Barbro could no longer hold his feelings back.
"So why are you here?!"
He could hear several people behind him reacting to his shout.
Still, if this woman wanted to attack him, then her actions were far too bizarre. There was no need for her to appear before them. Or was this part of a plan to draw away their attention? Perhaps she intended to launch an ambush while everyone was listening to her.
No ─ as the First Prince, he knew he was very valuable.
If he was lucky, he could negotiate. If he was unlucky, he would be a hostage.
However, negotiating with them might be too much to ask for. He might end up becoming a prisoner of war.
Barbro felt the throne draw further and further away from him.
That said, the people who should have been punished were the higher-ups in the Kingdom who did not know that there were so many Goblins within that village before sending him there.
If he became a prisoner of war, he ought to have a chance to meet Ainz Ooal Gown. Perhaps he could trade him a quarter of the Kingdom in exchange for his help to make himself King.
Perhaps this was actually a blessing in disguise.
Barbro pondered that possibility.
"Well well, there's only one reason I came here ~su."
Lupusregina paused for a single breath, and then announced:
"I came to kill all of you ~su."
Barbro blinked several times, and then he shouted:
"Hahh?! What the hell are you saying? Do you know who I am? I'm the First Prince of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Barbro Andrean Ield Ryle Vaiself!"
"Oh, so you're a human, then ~su. What's the difference ~su? To us, you humans are equally worthless ~su. Ah, but you're a prince ~su."
"In that case... I see! You mean to say you'll kill everyone except me, right? I don't think that's a good idea. You need to take us prisoner and let someone live to bring the news back to Father, otherwise things will be difficult in the upcoming negotiations."
Lupusregina tilted her head in surprise.
"No, no, what are you saying ~su? Shall I repeat myself again ~su? I came to kill all of you ~su. Since I came to kill all of you, I'll kill each and every one of you ~su. Are you particularly stupid ~su? Ah~ well, that does make you a rarity, but it's not like I want that ~su."
"What are you babbling about?! Don't you know how valuable I am? I'm the First Prince! Why are you thinking of killing me?! Normally, you'd take me hostage and demand a ransom, no?! Using me as a negotiation tool holds more merit than killing me, right?!"
"...My my, what a troublesome person you are."
Lupusregina grinned in a discomfiting manner. Then, she spoke gently and kindly, like she was explaining things to a child.
"You are not necessary to the plans of the matchless one, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, and so I will kill you. Do you understand?"
Barbro was speechless.
He understood that Lupusregina was not joking or trying to probe his reaction with a threat.
He swallowed unconsciously.
"...You're serious? You're seriously going to kill me..."
"Ah, that's a nice expression on your face ~su. You've jumped a great deal in my internal ranking ~su."
"Then─"
Barbro was trying to smile with a twitching face, but Lupusregina's face went blank in the next moment as she said:
"Ainz-sama ordered me to exterminate all of you. Therefore I will not let any of you return alive."
She immediately resumed her half-joking expression.
"So's anyway, I was thinking for a long time, about what opponents you'd have fun with. In the end, I found the best playmates for a bunch of people who got their asses kicked by Goblins ~su!"
With a "jajajajan~" she raised a hand. A horde of shadowy shapes emerged from behind her, out of what seemed to be thin air.
"These are the Redcaps that I had summoned for me ~su!"
There were 30 of them.
The Goblins which revealed themselves resembled the army from back then, their bodies twisted and evil.
All of them wore bright red caps and steel boots upon their feet. They carried hatchets which glowed blue in the moonlight.
"Enemy attack! What the hell are you doing! Wake up! Take up your arms! The enemy is upon us!"
Barbro's bellowing woke the soldiers from their slumber. They bolted upright, and then stared at the enemy under the blinding moonlight.
"─They're level 43, so really, they're kind of overkill for you, but the library didn't have any weaker Goblins ~su."
Screams filled the air.
The survivors of that hellish battle with the Goblin Army could not possibly muster up the fighting spirit to stand against more Goblinoids.
They did not draw their swords, but scattered in all directions, running for dear life.
"Don't run! Fight! Fight! Fight! Hurry up and protect me!"
Not a single soldier listened to Barbro's orders. The nobles ran for their horses as well.
"Ahahaha! This is wonderful! You actually think you can escape on a plain like this! Ahh, this is fun! This is the best! I love it!"
Lupusregina's mocking laughter mirrored what Barbro was thinking.
There was only one way to survive. He had to defeat his enemies.
"So there's people who think mounting up is going to help... Would you kindly chop off their legs for me ~su?"
With a shrill cry of delight at the impending slaughter, the Redcaps sprang into action.
They were like wild beasts.
They ran amidst the fleeing masses.
And then ─ there was a scream.
It came from one of the nobles who was trying to escape on horseback.
It was followed by several more screams.
"There's fewer people now, so playtime's been shortened too... well, that can't be helped ~su. On my part, I'm going to have all kinds of fun ~su. I might not have the abilities Sol-chan has, but I can show you a trick or two ~su~"
Lupusregina walked toward Barbro, who had his sword drawn. It was as though she was taking a walk through a field.
The smile which split her beautiful face like a fissure chilled Barbro's heart with fear.
***
It was only after 30 minutes that Barbro received Lupusregina's permission to die.
-x-X-x-