“Prince, requesting permission to withdraw.”
He turned scornful eyes on the knight and his suggestion.
The reasonable thing to do was withdraw. He didn’t know why such a large goblin army had appeared in this place, but if he reported back with that information, it would probably be counted as a job decently done.
But it wasn’t hard to imagine that if he turned tail and ran without clashing swords at least once, he would be branded as the prince who fled from goblins.
And if he was defeated, he would be the prince who lost to goblins. The nobles were so hungry for gossip that the rumors would spread until everyone had heard them. Anyone who didn’t see the battle wouldn’t care how strong the goblins were. All that mattered to them was if the story was interesting or not.
Barbro mentally cursed the aristocrats ridiculing him from their positions of safety.
“…Permission denied. Fight them.”
“Your Highness! Look at their equipment and their impeccable formation. They’re as skilled or even more so than the goblins we’ve fought so far. Our chances of winning with an army made up of mainly civilians are low. Please order a withdrawal!”
Barbro knew that without being told. But he had no other way to protect his reputation besides fighting. Now they could only pray the goblins weren’t as tough as they looked.
“You fool! Do I really have to spell out how dangerous it would be to leave this army here? The kingdom’s army is headed for the Katze Plain as we speak. What would you do if E-Rantel was attacked while it’s practically empty?!”
“U-understood.”
All they could do was hit them once and withdraw immediately after that if the army was as powerful as it seemed. Their aim was to fight the empire, not suffer a major loss here. He maintained enough composure to keep that in mind.
The soldiers ahead of Barbro tidied their ranks, and almost as if on cue, the goblin army began advancing.
The enemy was in three long columns.
And against them, Barbro’s men were in an inverted wedge. The reason they weren’t in a wedge was that they wanted to make the best use of the cavalry, with their superior combat strength, and because their enemy’s formation was weak against flank attacks.
At the front of the goblin army, facing them, were heavy infantry carrying giant shields that practically hid them. The pressure of their perfectly synchronized march felt more to Barbro like a wall pressing in on him.
Inside his gauntlets, his hands gripping the reins of his horse started to get grossly clammy.
The militiamen with their spears crashed into the heavy infantry and their shields. First, these forces would put a halt to their advance and pin them down, then the idea was to have the cavalry charge their flank.
The militia and the heavy infantry clashed.
And a goblin shout reached Barbro.
“We are the Goblin Heavy Infantry Corps under General Enri! Don’t think this will be enough to stop us!”
Before he could wonder about who General Enri was, Barbro was distracted by groaning movements coming from his formation.
The enemy shields were shoving the conscripts back. Naturally, those who were pushed bumped into the men behind them, and the formation began to crumble.
Alarmed, the cavalry units on either flank leaped into motion. The right moved a little faster and tried to swing around to attack from the side, but seventeen riders sparkling in silver armor atop not horses but shining silver wolves rode out to meet them.
“We are the Goblin Holy Knight Unit under General Enri. Our loyalty lies with her!”
From the left flank sprang magical beasts similar to wolves. On their backs were goblins. The wolf leading the pack had wings. The goblin astride it shouted, and its voice sliced through the conscripts’ screams to make it to Barbro’s ears.
“We are the Mounted Goblin Corps under General Enri. Here we come!”
As the riders entered the fray, Barbro heard the twangs of a great many bowstrings.
When he looked, he saw dozens of arrows raining down on the melee. He focused on the enemy side to find where they were coming from.
In the second formation. Goblins in eye-poppingly red clothes held large bows. Their physiques were strikingly unbalanced, and their bodies swayed with each step. An eye-catching goblin holding a bow even larger than the others opened its mouth wide.
“We are the Goblin Longbow Corps! Know that you cannot escape us.”
And that wasn’t the end of the ranged attacks. From the third formation came a few magic spells that burst inside Barbro’s army, though still quite a ways in front of his position. In a flash of light, crimson flowers bloomed and scattered in a flurry of burning petals. The series of explosions sent soldiers flying.
The casters wore deep hoods that concealed their faces. In one hand, they each held a long staff that radiated a mysterious glow.
The one at the head of the group lifted its hood to reveal its wizened face.
“We are the Goblin Magic Support Corps under General Enri. We use not only buffing spells but debuffs and attack spells as well. Shall we familiarize you with our powers?”
That wasn’t the only unit casting spells. Next to the Goblin Magic Support Corps, there was a similar-looking unit. There were only five of them, but each of their faces looked supremely confident. The goblin out front with the most impudent smile raised its voice.
“We are the Goblin Magic Bombardment Squad under General Enri. Specialized in offensive area-of-effect spells, we are the unit with the most attack power.”
“Your Highness!”
A knight returned to Barbro. It was easy to tell what he was going to say just from the frantic look on his face. The presence of casters meant a significant boost in the enemy army’s strength.
“This is the limit of what we can do! We can’t suppress them! It’s only a matter of time before enemy soldiers reach your position! Please order the withdrawal!”
Barbro had to. Even if he told them to stay and fight, the nobles who followed him here would probably scramble to escape. Even if he forced them, they would only resent him and become his future enemies.
“Do it. And order the baron to go first.”
He would have liked to be the first to escape himself, but it wasn’t hard to imagine getting a bad reputation as the coward who was the first to flee before the goblins or the like. He would have the baron take that inglorious role.
“Understood!”
The moment after the knight relayed the orders to his waiting subordinate—
“You won’t get away!”
—a familiar voice sounded from right next to Barbro, and he felt for the first time that his life was in danger.
As his escorts drew their swords and scanned the area, figures dressed all in black slipped out of the shadows. Their faces were masked, but their sharp eyes glittered.
“We are the Goblin Assassin Squad under General Enri! This will surely be the last time we who lurk in shadows come into the light.”
And there was one more.
He appeared, as if he couldn’t help himself, in a red hat, iron shoes, and a scythe, like a god of death.
“I am one of the Goblin Guards—the Thirteen Redcaps serving under General Enri. Well, I guess there’s not really a reason for me to be here, but…”
“Guard His Highness! Sound the gong for withdrawal!”
“Not so fast!”
A shadow moved. At least, that was all Barbro could make out.
One of the knights vanished from the neck up, and his blood spurted out like a fountain.
When his brain comprehended what he was looking at, Barbro spurred his horse into a gallop. He was no longer at leisure to fret about who would flee first. He was standing on the razor’s edge between life and death.
The drums of the Goblin Military Band under General Enri pounded obnoxiously behind him.
“…Is it okay that we let them get away?”
“That was the st
rategist’s orders. If we took the prince’s head, there would be no hope of finding a middle ground with the kingdom.”
“Hmm. That’s true. If General Enri was killed, I wouldn’t stop until every last enemy was dead, either. The strategist is brilliant. He has his eye on the future. Is that the same reason we didn’t wipe out the soldiers?”
“Indeed it is. We need them to escort the prince back to the city. Mind you, I found it offensive as well. I would have liked to get revenge on them for attacking General Enri’s village… All right, Redcaps. Let’s take care of the corpses.”
“Yeah. We need to recover the bodies of the brave heroes who fought with the leader of the earlier group.”
4
The meadow was bathed in moonlight, and in the middle of it was a camp. Then again, with no tents, wooden fences, or anything, could it really be called a camp? Perhaps the most accurate thing to say was that there was an army in the middle of the meadow.
Most of them were lying on the ground with utter exhaustion written on their faces.
The reason they could sleep with no bedding during a winter so cold their breath came out white must have been because they were dead tired. One man walked among the soldiers lying like discarded rag dolls.
It was the general of the defeated army, Barbro.
Should he have felt lucky that he survived or unlucky that they encountered such a formidable enemy?
The great goblin army that suddenly appeared in Carne was a powerful adversary—no, overpowering. As a result of their clash, Barbro’s forces had been broken in an instant, and they had no choice but to flee in a rout. He had been losing soldiers so fast it was like his forces were melting away.
Where did those goblins come from?
He wanted to know.
One possibility he thought of was that an army of goblins was building a huge kingdom in the Tove Woodlands. A group like that coming south was the most convincing explanation.
The nobles who had fled with him appeared to have arrived at the same conclusion and had consoled him as they fled.
We got unlucky.
Those have to be the most elite goblins.
Just bringing home word of those goblins is a fine deed.
“So stupid…”
Barbro clenched his fists.
Defeat was defeat. Certainly, the goblins had been tough. Anyone who had fought them would know that there wasn’t anything Barbro could have done.
But to someone who wasn’t in the know, Barbro was the prince who had been defeated by goblins. He would surely be ridiculed.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!”
The bile rose in his throat. This was the reason that although he was as exhausted as the soldiers, Barbro alone couldn’t sleep.
When he closed his eyes, he heard the taunts and jeers that would surely be waiting for him in the palace when he returned.
Barbro’s fight was over. His army was in no shape to travel to the Katze Plain and join the battle against the empire.
At that very moment, he sensed a presence. Not those of his men on the ground but from the direction they had run from.
Was it a straggler returning or a unit of goblins coming to attack?
With his heart pounding, Barbro shifted his gaze, but in the next moment, he screwed his face up in confusion.
She must have realized he noticed her because she raised a hand and casually greeted him.
“Hiya.”
Where had she come from in the middle of this meadow? There, a mere twenty yards away, stood a peerless beauty with a smile that seemed best described as innocent. If he had been in a city, she would have turned his head. But this was the middle of a meadow—there wasn’t even a village nearby.
The strangest thing of all was the clothes she wore—something like a maid uniform.
If the woman had been armed, he could have guessed she was an adventurer. But that was impossible.
A monster?
The thought popped into his head. Some monsters had exceedingly beautiful appearances—sprites, for a major example. But he couldn’t grasp why she had a maid uniform.
“Hey there. I came over to play! Do ya have a minute?”
Clearly, she was making fun of him.
“Who are you?” he challenged her, putting a hand on the sword at his hip.
It was an awfully lame question. But he really had no idea who she was. Her existence was so unfathomable, he didn’t know where to begin.
“I’m Lupusregina, one of Lord Ainz’s maids.”
She stuck a hand up again and waved—what a strange woman. Then the meaning of the words she said sank into his brain.
“Wh-what?” Barbro was so surprised he forgot about waking up the nearby soldiers.
“Well, eh, settin’ that aside—what a tough time you guys had, ’ey? But that was pretty low, huh? Having to face that great goblin army was no fair. Seriously, though, I was standin’ behind that human, En, watchin’ and I screeched ’cause I was so surprised! Who knew that many goblins would come out? Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Lupusregina’s laugh was artificial.
It was an obvious provocation, but Barbro couldn’t bear it in his current state.
“What have you come for, then?!”
There was some movement behind him in response to his shout.
If she came intending to attack, she’s acting quite strange. There’s no point in revealing herself to us. Or is this all a plot to draw our attention? Maybe after gathering our eyes and ears on her, someone else will sneak attack from behind?
No, I’m the eldest prince—I’m quite valuable.
If I’m lucky, there will be a negotiation. If I’m not, I’ll be made a hostage.
Well, maybe negotiation would be a little too convenient. Surely, I’ll be taken prisoner.
Barbro felt the throne recede again.
That said, the high-ranking royal aides who sent him out there without any intelligence on the massive number of goblins in that village could be put first in line for the blame.
If I’m captured, I should get the chance to meet Ainz Ooal Gown. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to give him a quarter of the kingdom and then have him cooperate to make me king.
Perhaps there’s a blessing to be found in this curse.
That was the sort of thing on Barbro’s mind.
“Ohh, there’s only one reason I’m here.” She paused for a breath and then declared, “I came to kill you all.”
Barbro blinked several times and then screamed. “Huh?! What are you talking about?! Do you know who I am?! I’m the eldest prince of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Barbro Andréan Yeld Ryle Vaiself!”
Lupusregina sighed. “But you’re just a human, yeah? Am I wrong? To us, that makes ya worthless. Oh, but I do know you’re a prince.”
“Then… Oh, I see. You mean you’ll kill everyone besides me? I can’t really say that’s a good idea, though. Even if you take me hostage, you’ll have to let someone go to tell my father, the king, and it’ll just make your negotiations harder.”
Lupusregina cocked her head, looking puzzled. “No, no. What are you going on about? I’ll say it again. I’m gonna kill you all. ‘I’m gonna kill you all’ means I’m gonna kill all of you. Guess ya don’t have much for brains in there, huh? Ohh, in that sense, you might be kinda rare, but I’m not interested.”
“What are you going on about? Do you still not understand what I’m worth?! I’m the eldest prince, for crying out loud! Where are you getting the idea to kill me?! Most people would take me prisoner and demand a huge ransom! Or land or something! It’s much more beneficial to use me as a tool for negotiation than to kill me!”
“…Hoo boy, you just don’t get it.” Lupusregina put on a creepy grin. Then she continued in a gentle voice one might use to explain something to a child. “The ever-lofty one, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, simply doesn’t need you for his plan. So I’m killing you. Got it?”
Barbro couldn’t find any words—because it was clear that Lupusregina
wasn’t joking around or threatening him in order to manipulate him.
He gulped in spite of himself.
“…Are you serious? Are you really going to kill me…?”
“Ooh, nice. Love that face you’re makin’. You just went up quite a few notches on my list of faves.”
“Then…” Barbro tried to smile with his twitching face, but Lupusregina replied with no expression.
“Lord Ainz ordered me to kill all of you; that’s why I’m not letting any of you leave this place alive.”
Then she suddenly made a goofy face.
“I put a lotta thought into what sort of guys you would have fun with, and I came up with an opponent who’s perfect for you guys, since you had such a rough time with those goblins!”
She spread her arms with a “ta-da!” Behind her, multiple figures appeared, almost as if they had seeped out of thin air.
“I asked for these to be summoned—Redcaps!”
There were thirty in all.
They bore a close resemblance to the ones from before, appearing to be ugly, twisted goblins.
They all wore bright-red pointed hats and iron shoes. They were armed with adzes. In the moonlight, they seemed to glow blue.
“Attack! What do you think you’re doing? Wake up! Hurry! Get your weapons! The enemy is attacking!”
Barbro’s screams roused the soldiers completely, and they jumped up promptly. In the bright moonlight, they squinted at the enemy.
“They’re level forty-three. Honestly, it’s totally overkill, but we didn’t have any goblins weaker than this in the library.”
Someone screamed.
The soldiers who had just come from a hellish battle with goblins couldn’t find the spirit to face more goblins.
Without even taking up their swords, they fled in confusion.
“Don’t run! Fight! Fight! Fight! Aren’t you going to protect me?!”
Not a single soldier followed Barbro’s instructions. The nobles ran for their horses.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha! Fantastic! You think you can get away in the middle of this open field? Ahhh, this is so fun! Just the best! I love this!”
Lupusregina’s taunt was actually exactly what was on Barbro’s mind.
The Caster of Destruction Page 22
