Inside the Charlon Forest, a green-skin army of about two thousand was moving slowly.
The scene was chaotic. Greenskins are not known for their discipline; their sole purpose is to fight. Typically, greenskins select a warboss through a "big brawl" to lead the tribe. However, this leadership is unstable and temporary. A warboss must constantly suppress challenges from subordinates and satisfy the greenskins' desire for combat, or they will be overthrown.
The green-skin tribe within Charlon Forest is not very strong. Its main component is a large group of Night Goblins, who are somewhat powerful fighters but dislike moving. They prefer to hide in underground tunnels, mining and constantly bickering.
There were orcs in the tribe originally, but after the heads of the first eight warbosses became part of Anglaron's collection, the goblins overthrew the orcs, exterminated them, and took over. However, this presented a problem for Anglaron. He could march from one end of the green-skin tribe to the other with his axe, but he couldn't go underground to play hide and seek with the Night Goblins. Hence, this expedition also included his suggestions.
He was eager for a weapon that suited him.
Unlike the Orcs, who know nothing but fighting head-on, the goblins possess some capability to manufacture weapons, produce goods, and mine. Particularly, the Midnight Goblins have a strong technique for cultivating mushrooms.
"Scouts report that the Night Goblin tribe has somehow acquired a large chunk of orichalcum. Our goal is to seize it," Anglaron whispered from the shadows of the forest, pointing at the two thousand-strong goblin army. "Of course, killing as many goblins as possible is also crucial. The more we kill, the safer the forest, the more we kill, the greater the spoils. Unlike the Orcs, these goblins know how to distinguish shiny things from worthless rocks and the value of gems, gold, and silver."
"You don't need to say more, Lord Anglaron, our dwarf clan, Anglarond, has battled them for a thousand years," interjected Dugan-Ironhand, the dwarf engineer. "If permitted, I might introduce these Night Goblins to you."
"Of course, we need all the information we can get," said the Grail Knight Armand.
"Firstly, those moving at the front are the fanatics among the Midnight Goblins," pointed out Dugan-Ironhand, indicating the advancing goblin army. "These scum are the elite of the goblins, wielding heavy flails. We must keep them away from our infantry at all costs, as these goblin fanatics will spin in place, swinging their flails indiscriminately, causing massive casualties to both sides."
"The middle ranks are filled with the common rabble of goblins, their combat effectiveness negligible."
"Hanging at the back, riding those red spherical monsters, are the Squig riders. Squigs are a kin of the greenskin tribe, their incomplete evolution making them appear half creature, half fungus. These Squig riders are tasked with charging into enemy lines to create chaos, with some goblins using the sturdy bodies of Squigs to their advantage."
The kingdom knights instinctively felt this would be a challenging fight, quietly discussing how to launch their attack.
"This dwarf brother, do you have any good suggestions?" Anglaron asked with interest.
"Night Goblins fear light, especially bright light, and we..." Dugan-Ironhand looked towards Veronica.
"No problem, but I need some time," Veronica nodded.
"That's fine, we need time too," Armand's gaze settled on several mules pulling a massive dwarven cannon through the forest.
"I have a plan then," Anglaron grinned, lifting his axe. "Follow me."
...
In the silent midnight, the Night Goblins were straining to move. They had recently sacked a village in the Duchy of Bastonne, where they accessed a dwarven cache and obtained a chunk of orichalcum. The not-so-bright minds of the Night Goblins recognized it as a valuable treasure, so they hurriedly led their young back to their fortress.
They planned to use the orichalcum to build a sturdy Pompom wagon.
As the goblins carried a hefty loot, shaking as they moved, these timid creatures were known for poor leadership and low combat effectiveness. The only thing they could rely on was their numbers; during battle, swarms of goblins would try to overwhelm the enemy with sheer quantity. These creatures had a terrifying reproductive ability; from spore to mushroom, Orcs take three months, but goblins only need about ten days.
"The boss says he's tired, we need a break!" shouted the leader of the Night Goblins.
"Then we'll take a break!" the goblins responded loudly to the boss.
"The boss says we must reach the fortress before dawn, so no breaks!" the Night Goblin leader then shouted.
"Then no breaks!" the goblins chorused again, their wrinkled, ugly faces filled with servile smiles: "No breaks, let's go, let's go!"
So, the goblins moved on.
"Toot~ Toot~" Just then, deep horn sounds echoed from the forest depths.
"It's the enemy, it's the enemy, to battle!" the Night Goblin boss immediately shouted, and the over two thousand goblins adjusted their formation. The smaller goblins wielded short swords and bows, only the elite goblin fanatics used flails. They struggled to maintain order, but the entire army was in chaos, many goblins fighting and shoving each other, while Squig beasts took the opportunity to eat weaker goblins in the ranks, and even weaker Fartlings, turning the entire goblin army into a mess.
"Ah! You damn bugs! Listen up!" the Night Goblin leader shouted in frustration, as the elite goblin fanatics had to step in to maintain order.
When the army was finally ready to face the enemy, there were no enemies to be found. The goblins checked the source of the horn sounds but found no one. The leader of the Night Goblins cursed and decided to move out again.
The army had to regroup once more, and it took a lot of effort for the goblin leader to get these disorganized creatures into position.
Their chaos gave Veronica enough time to prepare. In the frozen swamp of the forest, a dozen witch apprentices were jointly casting a spell.
Seventh Circle Magic, Banishing Light.
A white light appeared among the ranks of the Night Goblins, a blinding globe of light that made it impossible to look directly at it. Nearly all the Night Goblins screamed in agony almost simultaneously, trying to cover themselves with their robes, but the light was so intense that all the Night Goblins were temporarily blinded.
"Fire the arrows! Fire at those riding the red monsters and those wielding flails!" Almost simultaneously, Armand shouted. Hundreds of crossbowmen quickly reloaded, forest guards drew their longbows, and a barrage of arrows flew from all directions while the goblins were unable to react, hitting the unsuspecting goblin army hard. The Night Goblin leader quickly shouted, "It's the enemy! For Maw Bro!"
"FNNDP! Maw Bro
is the strongest!" What stunned the allied forces happened next: a mysterious iron ball flew from nowhere and smashed directly into the leader's head, splattering his brains, accompanied by a strange phrase in the greenskin language.
There's a traitor! Surely, some goblin fanatic took the opportunity to attack the boss!
"Maw Bro is the strongest!" One of the allied Night Goblins instinctively grabbed a flail, smashing a nearby goblin's head.
"Maw Bro is the strongest!" A small goblin stabbed a goblin fanatic in the chest from behind with a short sword.
"waaaagh!"
"waaaaagh!"
Before the allied forces, the goblin army broke into severe infighting. As the crossbowmen and forest guards continued to harvest goblin lives, a brutal civil war erupted within the goblin ranks. Many Squig riders slaughtered each other, falling in pools of blood, while the goblin fanatics struggled to maintain order, but their numbers were too few.
The dwarf riflemen didn't give them a chance. Dugan-Ironhand, the dwarf engineer, picked up his long rifle, leading over thirty dwarf Thundergunners in a volley that claimed the lives of over twenty goblin fanatics. Bertrand led his archer battalion using projectile magic, with hundreds of sergeants and serf swordsmen striking everywhere, eliminating any goblins trying to approach the allied lines.
"Advance!!!" Kingdom Knight Hex carefully observed the situation on the battlefield. Relying on Veronica and the witch apprentices' combined magic, the battlefield was as bright as day. After confirming that the number of goblin fanatics had significantly reduced, he was the first to raise his shield and sword: "Charge! For the lady!"
"For the lady!" Hundreds of knights and their attendants roared down the slope, completely routing the goblin army.
"The situation is under control, Lord Anglaron," said Armand from beneath a nearby pine tree to Anglaron, who was standing in the tree: "I have to say... Lord Anglaron, your method was truly... unique. How did you come up with it? How did you know the greenskins would turn on each other?"
"When I was dealing with greenskins, you weren't even a ***, Armand," Anglaron held a large iron ball, its surface and his bald head reflecting light under the spell, blindingly bright: "The goblins have collapsed. Go and clean up the battlefield."
"I can't wait to get that orichalcum."
Updated, today's a bit late, but don't mind it, haha.
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