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Chapter 97 – Part 2

「Oh, Christina, was that you? Hahaha, how brave! Charging all the way to the front is dangerous!」

Aldeath hurriedly got up from the ground and parried away the four Goblins about to devour him like a piece of meat with his spear. The chuckle that erupted from him when he addressed Christina beside him was brimming with genuine joy.

Despite this being a battle against the Goblins on earth, Aldeath maintained a jovial and lighthearted expression on his face. He enjoyed fighting. He did not like victory or defeat. Rather, he derived joy from being in all kinds of battles in the world, hence his love for fighting.

Even so, he did prefer fair and square confrontation.

「My body and heart tremble at the honor of standing shoulder to shoulder with a famous god like you, Aldeath. I’m rousing myself to fight in a way that will not disgrace you.」

「I see, that’s good. Boasting is proof of your spirit. Shall we continue? The Goblins are gearing up to attack.」

「Definitely!」

「Well, the guys behind me are too capable, so I may not have much work to do.」

If Aldeath were to take a swift glance back, he would certainly find an inexhaustible amount of arrows fired with extraordinary precision, prioritizing the elimination of long-range enemy attackers like archers and slingers, followed by calvary soldiers. The source of this cover fire was Amias and Dramina, and it certainly was hard to find such reliable support on a battlefield.

Dran also found that it was time for him to join in the fight. He looked around from atop his beloved horse, Hakkaze, and selected the magic he needed. With that, he started chanting.

The High Goblin camp was in the center of the Goblins’ base, and their rations were stored in the northwest. Dran and his companions took the shortest route to the Goblins’ provisions, bypassing the Goblin formation and speeding straight from north to south.

After charging into the Goblin camp from the northwest and burning all the food supplies, Dran and his companions fled through the camp to the southwest and escaped to Bern village.

The plan was to reduce the Goblin provisions to ashes by maximizing Dran’s wide range destruction magic. The villagers had lamented about the dangers of pitting fifty against five thousand, though the actual number of Goblins they would probably face was no more than a few hundred. Moreover, escape was guaranteed regardless of the success or failure of destroying the Goblins’ rations. Hence, the villagers had agreed to proceed with the current assault.

The Goblins defending at the frontlines were annihilated by Aldeath and Christina, whereas the cavalry encroaching from the left, right, and rear were assailed by the arrows from the villagers, Dramina, and Amias on the periphery.

Dran and his companions were able to grasp their enemy’s formation and location of the enemy provisions thanks to the miniature golems that had taken on the appearance of birds, lizards, spiders, mice, and more. These golems that Dran had created had taken over reconnaissance duties from Magul to gather information. In fact, Dran and Bern village were even in the know of the High Goblins’ discussions, with all sorts of information being leaked to them.

Perhaps the Goblins noticed that they were about to be robbed of their food from the movement of Dran and his party, or they were simply following their instincts, but these Goblins continued gathering in resistance. On the other hand, the Bern village calvary persisted in their attack with unyielding speed.

With Aldeath and Christina in the lead, the calvary pushed forth with extraordinary offensive might. The demon horses Sleipneir, with their inexhaustible physical strength, and the horse golems that knew not fear nor fatigue formed a calvary that unleashed a combat prowess beyond the ordinary.

「Did you see that, Dran? The provisions we’re targeting. Haha, what a mountainous pile. There aren’t any dispels or resists from the mages. They just left it all there.」

Aldeath had discovered piles of sacks and wooden boxes. After confirming that these were in the same spot as the location they had pinpointed beforehand, he hollered to Dran behind him.

Rations for five thousand soldiers were here. Even though a portion of it must have been consumed on the journey here, there was still quite a mountain of provisions stacked up.

Lucky for Dran, the food had not been scattered all over the camp. Rather, they were consolidated in a single spot, saving Dran and his companions the trouble of scampering around the camp.

The piles of provisions could be set ablaze by spilling oil on them. However, Dran, Christina, and Dramina were present today, which meant that more time and effort could be saved.

「Fumu, even the villages of Bern village will be hesitant to consume Goblin food. Set everything on fire.」

Dran first raised his left hand, spreading his palm wide open as he pointed it at the mountain of rations. Five magic formations of various sizes spread out as Dran increased the intensity of his magic.

「Crimson Ray!」

A beam of burning hot heat ray as thick as Dran’s arm shot forth, sweeping left and right, turning all the food it came into contact with into ashes. The heat ray that passed beyond the piles of provisions, fortunately, hit a number of Goblins and calvary beasts, and these victims suffered the same fate as their rations.

Subsequently, Christina cast her magic, though she reckoned that there was no point in exercising further magic on the pile of provisions that had already been burned to smithereens.

「He’s the same as always, but it’s scary how he’s cutting corners. Though, it’s not strange considering his lineage. Well, I guess I’ll pull something too. Tongue of burning flame, Flamebane!」

Flamebane, which Christina had partially cast, conjured a red magic formation on the ground under the remaining provisions. Within it, a huge flame like the tongue of a giant dragon stretched toward the sky and devoured everything within its reach.

The pressure generated from the blaze blasted away the food that had turned into ash and charcoal. In the process, the Goblins wielding large shields trying to protect their rations were also sent flying.

This flaming tongue stretched so high up it seemed to reach the clouds wafting in the blue sky. Its heat swallowed and scorched the Goblins gathering, leaving many of the calvary dashing by from the side visibly astounded.

Truth to be told, Christina was the one most astonished by this result.

The Flamebane that she assumed she could conjure did not possess such great intensity. Rather, this was a force that belonged to a fully awakened superhuman, a power that Christina had yet to comprehend.

Due to the excessive heat, the ground where the supplies had been placed had melted into magma. Dramina, who was responsible for the third blow, reckoned that there was no need for anything more to be done and ceased her magic conjuring.

Naturally, Baran and the other villagers had their eyes wide at the might of Christina’s magic. However, they swiftly noted that their goal had been achieved and issued an order to withdraw.

「All right, the enemy’s provisions have been turned into ashes. Let’s get out of here! Once we’re back at the village, we’re going to slay every last one of them!!」

「You got that right, I still want to swing my spear a little more. I need to fight, fight, and fight before I’m satisfied. Right, Amia?」

Since their real names had to be avoided, Aldeath was going by the simple pseudonym of Alth and Amias by Amia. Mairahl and Caravis were doing the same. Though, the angels Myrmal and Celestel retained their real names since they were not known to the villagers.

「Yeah, well, they were quite a disappointing enemy, but this is best for the people of Bern village.」

「Hahaha, they sure are reliable folks. Perhaps this is also all thanks to you, Dran?」

「We’re just lucky that they happened to be at the village. I shouldn’t be credited for this, Baran.」

「If you say so, Dran. All right, let’s leave at once.」

Even in this situation, Baran chortled heartily at the words of Aldeath and Amias, who had been of immense help on the battlefield. These gods of war surely did live up to their name in such aspects.

The villagers of Bern, excluding Dran, had been plagued by a hopeless pessimism due to their difference in combat abilities during this siege. However, they were slowly starting to see a ray of hope now that they had succeeded.

In addition to the reinforcements from Ente forest, the villagers had witnessed the preposterous combat power of the adventurers Dran had found. Moreover, they had ascertained the true formidability of Christina, a resident of the village who seemed to be closely tied to Dran.

With this attack, Dran and his companions were able to confirm that the Goblins had not established a sturdy supply line.

The High Goblins who were leading this Goblin army were still young and burning with resentment for humans. After this incident, their hearts yearned for vengeance, and they prioritized the raid on Bern village above all else.

Clearly, these Goblins were reluctant to ask for additional provisions from their clan. If they attempted such a request, they would no doubt be regarded as fools who were horrendous at battle. This was just the treatment one would receive in Goblin society. Above all, these Goblins strived to prevent themselves from being humiliated.

In the end, the Bern village calvary achieved their aim of reducing the Goblins’ rations to ashes and succeeded in defeating approximately three hundred Goblins. In addition, there had been no casualties for the Bern village party in this reckless assault.