“Yeah, do that. But wargs and barghests are quick. If we leave them be, they’ll cause a lot of damage, so aim for them first. And if there’s a druid, can ya all pull back?”
“I have no objections, but will you have enough manpower if the self-defense squad withdraws?”
“…If we’re lucky, it’ll work out somehow.”
“I see… I’ll make sure everyone is ready. Can you prioritize taking out the druids or whatever has a ranged attack so we don’t get hit in the rear? Man, I used to be an adventurer, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen villagers this brave… Well, I’ve been thinking that ever since I came here and saw them doing archery drills…”
“It’s because they were attacked once… They hated how powerless they were.” Enri had been listening in silence, but now she chimed in to speak for all the members of the self-defense squad.
And in reality, no one ran away, even if they were pale in the face. They had to make a stand. They had to defend their village. Most importantly, their loved ones were behind them.
“By the way, do we think that, since there are so many of them, it might be some creature who can muster a force, like the Giant of the East or the Magical Serpent of the West?”
“We can’t say for sure that it’s not.” Jugemu answered Brita’s question in a low voice.
If that was the case, then it was possible that it was Arg and his tribe who drew in the monsters. Maybe that’s why he had answered so quietly—so the self-defense squad didn’t get upset at Arg and his tribe.
They had already told the villagers that the Giant of the East and the Magical Serpent of the West existed and that those two were each as strong as the Wise King of the Forest.
They only saw it once the Dark Warrior had captured it, but the immensely powerful magical beast made quite an impression on the villagers. If they thought they might have to confront a monster equally strong, against which they had no chance of winning, they might get frightened.
“The Magical Serpent of the West uses some kind of magic, right? That could be hairy,” Brita grumbled and Nfirea agreed with her.
“Monsters have less than ten kinds of magic they can use racially, but it can get tricky when you’re dealing with the type that can acquire spells, because of how diverse their repertoire gets. There might be something they can use to get over the wall…”
“I’m glad you and the goblins can use magic, but when the enemy can, it feels like they’re cheating,” Enri whined and the villagers winced.
“…Don’t tell Sir Gown I said that.”
At that, many of the villagers cracked a smile.
Maybe they’re a little calmer now, thought Enri. Too relaxed was no good, but being too nervous would prevent them from fighting with their usual strength. The current atmosphere seemed just right.
“Don’t worry, guys. All ya have to do is shoot yer bows from the rear. We’ll be the front line.”
The goblins had trained the self-defense squad with that purpose in mind, so that was the most appropriate position for them.
It was extremely difficult for such a small village to procure enough swords and shields for everyone, so they didn’t have enough gear to properly equip the self-defense squad for fighting on the front line. In the first place, they may have been called the self-defense squad, but they were still just volunteers from the village. Their members had some degree of muscle from their habitual use of hoes and spades, but that didn’t make them skilled with a weapon. Only people with ludicrous potential could become strong enough to defeat monsters while training only during their spare time between farming tasks.
Having concluded for the above reasons that they couldn’t train the villagers up to the level necessary to fight on the front line, the goblins taught them how to use bows and arrows so they could act as the rear guard.
Although their skills had improved and they could hit a target with decent accuracy, they didn’t have the strength to draw powerful bows that conveyed superior penetrating ability, so they probably wouldn’t be able to deal damage to monsters with thick hides. Still, if they were lucky, an arrow from a volley might strike a weak point.
“All right, line up so that ya can aim for the area right on the other side of the gate, just like we practiced. Arg, yer guys’ job starts after the gate gets broken down. We’ll have ya line up with the self-defense squad members and use spears. Consider anything Brita says an order from the boss lady herself and obey!”
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
“That’s the spirit. No running away, ya hear me? Fight for yer life!”
“Of course! I owe her my life! I don’t even mind taking the farthest position out front with the ogres!”
“Stupid kid! If we left it all to ya, the enemy would break through right away! Save the heroics for when yer stronger!”
Getting snapped at by Jugemu seemed to frustrate Arg, but the self-defense squad comforted him.
Enri was relieved—first, that the villagers didn’t think Arg drew the monsters, and second, that they seemed to be accepting him and the others in his tribe.
They were the most recent outsiders to come to the village. They weren’t treated cruelly or avoided, but neither had the wall between them completely disappeared. But seeing them like this, it seemed like in the near future—perhaps once they got through this battle together—there would be no chasm between them. Ironically, combat was the best way to strengthen their bonds.
It was precisely because Arg felt that wall directly that his passion to fight was so strong. He was aiming to improve his group’s standing by contributing to the village. Even in human society, the ones who took initiative and shed blood were respected. Considering that the position in that society of all their tribe mates hinged on their performance in this battle, the determination of Arg and his comrades was understandable.
“Nfi, I have a favor to ask you.” Enri moved next to him and whispered in his ear.
“Ooh—er, could you back up a bit for a second? Mm-hmm, okay. Got it. In that case… There’s something I want your group to do, Arg. I’m going to give you these alchemical items, so I want you to put them to good use.”
Nfirea opened his bag and showed them a bunch of bottles and paper packages.
“Throw them at the enemy. You won’t be able to hit them from too far away, so it’ll only be useful in medium-range combat, but… Can you do that?”
“Leave it to us! We got this!”
As if he had been waiting for Arg to take the bag, the voice of a goblin in the watchtower sounded. “Those guys out there are on the move! No doubt about it. They’re headed for the village!”
If they strained their ears, they could hear the savage growls of various monsters on the wind.
“Okay, self-defense squad, get ready! Be careful, boss lady! You, too, boss man!”
“Yep! Got it. Please don’t let anyone die!”
“You can count on me! Let’s go, Enri.”
Enri ran off with Nfirea as an escort. They were going to make a round of all the houses to make sure there were no villagers who hadn’t been warned about the situation.
After seeing off Enri, the goblins transitioned into battle mode.
“First, self-defense squad members, ple— Get into position. Make sure the enemy is in range!”
Naturally, they couldn’t aim directly through the wall at the monsters on the other side. To hit a target they couldn’t see would require an indirect shot, but these novices couldn’t manage something so complicated. It would have taken too long to train them to that level, so the goblin instructors decided to have them specialize in one thing—mastering a sense for how to land arrows right on the other side of the gate. In other words, the goblins had the volunteers practice figuring out how much strength to use at a specific angle to draw their bows in a way that would drop arrows in the correct spot. It was an exercise that wouldn’t be useful anywhere but that one location, but it was probably fairly efficient training, s
ince it allowed them to conduct one-sided attacks if they could expect enemies to come to break down the gate.
The cries of the monsters drew nearer, and a booming shock echoed through the gate. The adjacent walls vibrated.
“Okay! Targets are in range! Suppress them!”
“Loose!”
In response to Jugemu’s shout, two goblin archers up in the watchtower—Shuuringan and Guurindai—began loosing their shots. As long as they had a clear shot, the goblins with “archer” in their name wouldn’t miss. Screams of pain went up from the other side of the gate.
The self-defense squad, engulfed in the virtually rumbling combat atmosphere, trembled in fear and anxiety.
Then Jugemu shouted, “Self-defense squad members shouldn’t be loosing their arrows yet! Bows down till I give the order!”
The reason they weren’t attacking even though enemies were in the range they had practiced for could be understood by anyone who saw the watchtower in the next instant.
Someone was lobbing rocks at it from over the wall. Each one was larger than a human head.
Most of them missed, but bad luck had it that one did hit, and the whole tower swayed.
“We’ve got stone lobbers! They seem to have more shots!”
“Each one has about three stones, so we can expect around twenty-one— Whoa!”
Another stone connected and broke a plank in the upper part of the watchtower.
If the self-defense squad attacked, the stones would probably go flying at them, too. Granted, the chance of receiving a direct hit was extremely slim, since they were in a position that shielded them from the enemy’s line of sight. But if they were unlucky, one impact would definitely be enough to kill any one of them. Even a stone retaining its momentum and rolling through their lines could cause serious injuries.
The battle looked like it would be a long one. Choosing not to have the self-defense squad fight was the safe, conservative strategy, but it was also a sign of Jugemu’s determination to not let anyone die.
“You thought if you threw stones we’d get scared and stop shooting? You thought wrong!” Guurindai shouted and bravely aimed his bow again amid the flying stones. All the self-defense squad members’ eyes were pinned on him as he fearlessly retaliated despite the serious risk of injury he faced.
But Jugemu wasn’t watching that. He scanned the battlefield and spotted a new enemy. “Kyuumei! Get the snake that’s climbin’ up the left-hand wall! You can take him on yer own, right?”
“No problem, Leader. Leave it to me!”
Kyuumei, who had been on standby in the rear, raced on his wolf over to where the snake was now visible coming over the wall.
“Fifteen! Sixteen! Hang in there a little longer, you two!” shouted Jugemu.
They didn’t even need to be told. The prowess of the pair of archers standing in the now-leaning watchtower remained as sharp as ever. If they had abandoned the tower, the position would have crumbled sooner, but their hard work drew the lobbed stones in its direction, rendering them pointless. When Jugemu looked left, Kyuumei was prevailing in his fight with the snake.
Once the half-destroyed watchtower began leaning so badly that Shuuringan and Guurindai couldn’t hold out any longer, they jumped down. The pair didn’t stop on impact but rolled across the ground.
“Self-defense squad, prepare to loose!”
The squad raised their bows.
“Deep breaths! In! Out! In! Draw!”
The same shouts as usual gave the self-defense squad the illusion, for just a moment, that this was a drill. They could forget the screaming creaks of the wood and move almost identically to the way they did during practice.
“Loose!”
Fourteen arrows flew neatly through the air, curving in identical arcs. They disappeared over the wall, and the screams of monsters could be heard.
Arg whispered an impressed “Amazing,” but Jugemu didn’t have time to pay attention to him.
“Prepare yer second shot! Don’t rush! Deep breaths! In! Out! In! Draw!”
Shuuringan and Guurindai, who had received healing magic, lined up alongside the self-defense squad.
“Loose!”
Another fourteen arrows flew. And two more a beat later. A howl of rage went up again, and the shrieking of the gate grew even louder. It seemed the enemies’ anger and pain were being converted into power.
“Fall back! Change gear!”
All at once the self-defense squad moved behind the fence located inside the main gate. The sturdy barrier would block the path of anyone who penetrated the first defense. It was set up in an L shape, and it funneled the enemies straight toward the waiting ogres and the goblins under Jugemu. For the invaders, it was after they broke through the gate that things would become truly deadly.
“Any casters should get out of the direct line of fire!”
“Leader!”
“What is it, Arg?”
“In the items from boss man, there’s an adhesive. Where should I spread it?”
“Won’t it get sucked up by the dirt?!”
“He said it will but that ya can just assume it’ll last for a short amount of time!”
“I see. Then find an opening to throw it at the base of the blocked gate!”
Arg took his tribe mates and moved out with a curt “Understood.” As they prepared, the rider returned from defeating the snake. The cleric rushed over and healed his wounds.
With a ker-blam, one side of the gate burst open. The first to surge in were the enemy ogres.
“Heh-heh, ya brainless morons.” Jugemu sneered. Ya made a big mistake.
The way that only one door broke was actually part of the village’s plan. If one side broke, the enemy would probably just charge in rather than try to break the other side, especially if they were being shot at. But the opening was narrow, so they couldn’t all enter at once, leaving quite a few stuck with nowhere to go. Meanwhile the village had soldiers stationed along the L fence and could attack all at once.
“Stay hi to our deadly battle formation!”
The ally ogres had an advantage in their fistfights with the enemy ogres due to their slightly better gear, and the self-defense squad supported them with spears. Volleys from the archers and the mage, as well as alchemical items from Arg, flew toward the ogres who were trying to break down the inner fence. Other beasts were looking for gaps to jump into the fray, but the goblins held them at bay.
The villagers had a definite advantage. The riders were on reserve in the rear. If the enemy didn’t have any casters, victory was certain. But then—
“What’s that?!” There was dread in Jugemu’s stifled shout. “Is that a troll?”
A giant, clearly different from an ogre but just as big, was approaching with peculiar, awkward movements. In its hands it clutched a huge sword with a strange aura about it.
Did the slimy liquid running from the groove down the center of the blade to its edge have magical power?
“Is this their boss…? Could it be…the Giant of the East?”
Once it crossed his mind, it made sense. Its tough flesh was trained like steel, and while it resembled trolls Jugemu had seen, it also looked like something completely different. He could understand how it would be on par with the magical beast he’d once seen.
Even one troll was formidable enough that they would have to throw everyone they had at it. How hard of a fight would they have against a monster that seemed even stronger?
“Then…”
Jugemu wondered what to do.
They had no chance of winning. The best move would be to protect Enri and run. She would be completely opposed to it, but they would have to use force if it came down to that.
“…No, that’s not our best move. It’s our worst move and our last resort,” he spat. “…Men, we’re going to die. Abandon any comfy ideas like falling back. We’re going to sear our bravery into the eyes of everyone here!”
A battle cry full of the goblins’ fight
ing spirit went up, and for a moment, the enemies in the area seemed overwhelmed and froze.
“Let’s go! Show them yer power as one of boss lady Enri’s followers!”
Enri breathed a sigh of relief; she and Nfirea had been around the village once but found no one. Just then she could make out the sound of something breaking from the direction of the main gate. Then she heard a chorus of screams and a heavy bass sound that made her guts vibrate.
The monsters must have broken down the gate. The battle must have started. Enri swallowed the bile that threatened to come up. A bitter taste spread from her throat through her mouth, but she ignored it and looked at Nfirea.
“Nfi. We should be at the gate, too.”
“I understand, but don’t you think it would be better for you to go reassure the people in the meeting hall?” His words contained the nuance so you won’t be in the way.
Enri had trained with a bow, but at the point the gate was broken down, they should have already transitioned to fighting with spears. Even if she went now, there honestly wasn’t much she could do.
“I can’t do that. I was chosen as headwoman because I can command the goblins, because I’m powerful. It’s probably the right move to withdraw, but at least this time, I just can’t.”
She had to show them, at least once, that she could fight out in front.
Perhaps acknowledging the strength in her eyes, Nfirea parted his bangs to reveal a serious expression and agreed. “Yeah, you’re right. Got it. I’ll protect you.”
At the sight of the brave, earnest look on his face, not at all characteristic of her longtime friend, Enri felt her heart do something unfamiliar.
“Hmm? What is it, Enri? I may not be as magnificent as Sir Gown, but I won’t die before you.”
“…Don’t say ‘die.’”
“Oh, sorry… Umm…umm…”
Recognizing his usual inability to come up with something to say, Enri smiled.
“Let’s go, Nfi!”
“Oh, uh, yeah! Let’s. We don’t have time to stand around talking.”
The Two Leaders Page 13
