The following day.
Dawn of the second day of the war.
Dong- Dong- Dong-
Amidst the sound of drums, a ceremony was being held at the front of the Goblin Legion, arrayed before the forward base.
Seven chosen Goblin Janissaries kneeled before the Goblin God-King, who personally drew special patterns on their faces with red pigment.
"Now, you are ‘Amirs’."
The Goblin God-King declared this after finishing the patterns on the faces of the seven Janissaries.
Then,
Whoosh-!
Intense green light emanated from the bodies of the seven Janissaries. Gradually, their physiques grew larger, and their eyes became more lucid.
The Goblin God-King nodded and approached the five hundred Goblin soldiers lined up behind.
In front of these soldiers lay the armor worn by the Janissaries, stripped from those who had perished.
"Wear it."
Immediately, the Goblin soldiers donned the armor.
Shortly after, the Goblin God-King looked at the five hundred Goblins, now clad in armor, and proclaimed,
"Now, you are ‘Janissaries’."
The pattern engraved on the Janissaries' armor glowed green, and the newly minted Janissaries roared in unison.
This was the power of the Goblin God-King and the special ability of the Goblin Legion, ‘Promotion’.
Given the Legion's nature of trading lives for bullets, the loss of officer units was severe. This ability was what sustained them.
Merely by drawing magic-infused patterns, the Goblin God-King could forcibly promote a Goblin to the next tier unit.
From ordinary soldiers to Janissaries, from Janissaries to Amirs...
Though these forcibly promoted units were definitely weaker in several abilities compared to their counterparts, what did it matter?
They were destined to die on the battlefield anyway, and another one could simply be promoted in their place.
Such was the way of the Goblins.
"Let's go."
After surveying the snow-covered path throughout the night, the Goblin God-King, his breath visible behind his mask, uttered,
"We have a long way to go."
As the God-King mounted his goat and fluttered his cloak, the leading soldier blew a long horn.
Wooo-
Thump- Thump- Thump-
The march of the Goblin Legion resumed.
And now, it would never stop again.
***
"Huu-..."
Watching their advance through a telescope, I let out a long, white breath.
Winter was spewing its last bout of cold, and the snow that fell overnight still scattered white powder in the air.
And through this terrible weather, the Goblin Legion passed calmly, showing no signs of difficulty.
The snow-soaked path was solidly frozen in the sub-zero weather.
If it had been muddy, their advance might have slowed, but unfortunately, it wasn't, and they were disgustingly fast.
'I wish they would just freeze to death...'
The ecology of these monsters is far from that of normal creatures.
They might receive buffs or debuffs depending on the weather, but they won’t freeze to death just because it's snowing.
And since they are not normal creatures, there's another aspect where this war differs from conventional ones, namely,
'Supply.'
Supply is a basic element of war. Replenishing food, equipment, and ammunition is essential.
Soldiers can't fight without sleeping, eating, or drinking. That's why I also pay special attention to logistics.
But the monsters are different.
They are not naturally born creatures but beings conceived in the nightmares beneath the darkness of the Lake Kingdom.
They don't need supplies like food or sleep.
Sure, there are exceptions, like the Blood Clan Legion, which needs to eat meat or drink blood to sustain themselves.
But that's because cannibalism is the most efficient way for them to replenish magic power.
I've said it at length, but in the end, tactics like 'striking the supply line'—one of the most efficient methods in war—don't work well against these monsters.
"But that only means they're relatively ineffective... not completely ineffective."
I smirked to myself, and Lucas and Evangeline, standing beside me, also grinned.
"Pfft!"
Kuilan, rubbing his muscular forearms as if the falling snow was cold, belatedly opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"Huh? What's so funny? Let me in on the joke!"
"Look over there, Kuilan."
I pointed towards the rear of the Goblin Legion.
"Our prey is coming."
In the very back of the winding hordes of greenskins, there were dozens of wagons covered in white cloth, pulled by a unit.
The supply unit.
No matter how much the monster legion doesn't need food or sleep—other elements still require supply.
For instance, equipment.
From arrows to bows, swords, spears, saddles for horses, and even replacement wheels for chariots.
Including the goats ridden by the cavalry and the giant oxen used by the chariot troops...
Previous monster legions fought with their own bodies and abilities.
Therefore, they didn't need to operate a supply unit to carry equipment.
But the Goblin Legion is different.
They overcome the frail bodies of goblins with tools and fight according to the strategies commanded by the God-King. Their strength lies in being an army.
That's why they have a supply unit.
"Fundamentally, guerrilla warfare prioritizes striking the enemy's supply units."
I smirked as I eyed the appetizing Goblin Legion's supply unit.
A supply unit, relatively weak in combat, can cause significant damage if destroyed.
It's possible to achieve maximum effect with minimal firepower. It's the perfect target for our guerrilla concept.
I looked around. Those who had embarked on this mission were the heroes of the vanguard units.
Lucas' party, Evangeline's party, the Penal Squad, and Dusk Bringar's Dragonblood Knights. Four in total.
Only powerful infantry fighters capable of wreaking havoc inside enemy lines and escaping were brought.
And,
"Please, Junior."
Junior was there to cast simple wind buff magic.
Though Junior looked a bit pale from yesterday's exertion, she smiled as if it was nothing and raised her staff.
"This is easy!"
As Junior waved her staff, the blessing of the wind graced our mounts.
This would prevent the horses' hooves from sinking into the snow and increase their speed, making hit-and-run tactics easier.
"Thanks, Junior. You go back first."
"Okay. See you later."
Junior returned first through the teleport gate, and I nodded at the remaining heroes.
"Let's create utter chaos."
The vanguard heroes hadn't been able to fight properly until now.
They were either standing guard at the forward base's defensive line or, like yesterday, used as a decoy unit, again only mobilized for the whole unit's defense.
But today is for attack.
It's time to unleash the anger that has built up on them.
All my heroes, drawing their weapons, smiled viciously.
Leading them, I drew my wand and spurred my mount forward.
"Charge! Smash their supply unit to pieces-!"
***
At the front of the Goblin Legion.
In the bitter cold of midwinter, Kali-Alexander, clutching his burning injured left arm and pretending to be fine, led his goat when a Goblin Amir hurriedly approached.
"Kirik, great Kali-Alexander!"
"What is it?"
"An ambush, Kirik! The humans have appeared!"
A glint of excitement passed through Kali-Alexander's eyes.
"Is that so, they've come."
"Twenty riders on horseback! Kirik, no wizards among them!"
"Twenty, huh..."
"What should we do? Should we immediately redirect our army and surround them?"
Kali-Alexander immediately shook his head.
"No, don't bother."
"Yes?"
Only twenty daring to attack an army of thirty thousand.
Certainly, they must be an elite unit of human heroes.
Comprised only of those confident in hit-and-run tactics. No need to get entangled in their pace.
"Do not slow the march northward. Let the surrounding units counterattack, but do not pursue deeply."
Goblin Amir blinked in confusion.
Kali-Alexander smirked. His kin found it hard to comprehend not immediately slaughtering an enemy in sight.
"Our goal is the human walls. And theirs is also to defend these walls."
Goblins seek destruction.
Humans seek protection.
Different goals, same target.
In the end, it's a battle to either overcome or defend the walls of Crossroad.
"What they fear is us reaching the walls with as many troops as fast as possible."
During the three days towards the walls, it was inevitable for humans to attack.
Kali-Alexander had anticipated this. His answer was simple.
"Let them attack. Humans will keep assaulting us during our march. Accept the losses. Prioritize the advance."
Better to maintain a rapid advance than waste time on guerrilla deception tactics without gain.
No matter how much the human heroes rampage, guerrilla forces are limited in scale.
There's a limit to the damage we can take.
Kali-Alexander was willing to sacrifice thousands of legion lives if it meant reaching the walls on time.
Goblins wage war with lives as their currency.
If maintaining speed costs, there's no reason not to pay.
"Of course, we can't just be sitting ducks... Inform the cavalry. Have them scout around where they appeared. If they find a teleport gate, destroy it and then return."
"Yes!"
Then another Goblin Amir arrived, panting. He reported to Kali-Alexander.
"Kirik, great Kali-Alexander! The human bastards have started attacking our legion's rear!"
"The rear, you say..."
"It's the supply unit, Kirik!"
"Indeed."
From behind his mask, a cunning smile formed on the lips of the old Goblin King.
"Playing by the book, Ash."
***
We annihilated the supply unit at the rear.
Fitting for a legion led by the Goblin King himself, the troops guarding the supply were well-trained. They resisted stubbornly.
It took some time to deal with them all. But eventually, they were crushed under the attack of my elite twenty heroes.
After eliminating the hundreds of guards protecting the supplies.
"..."
I glared discontentedly at the enemy's main force moving away.
The Goblin legion didn't seem to care whether their supply unit was shattered.
They continued moving north, seemingly unaware of their rear.
I was somewhat perplexed, having planned to flee if they engaged us.
'Why?'
Even if advancing was crucial, why would they proceed, abandoning their supply unit...?
"My Lord!"
Then Lucas called me. I quickly turned to him.
Lucas had uncovered one of the carts they were pulling and was peering inside. I, riding beside him, opened my mouth slightly in surprise.
"This is..."
"...Yes."
Wham-!
Lucas, having fully removed the cloth from the cart, gritted his teeth.
"It's an empty cart, my Lord."
"..."
The cart was completely empty.
"Check the other carts too!"
"Yes."
While dealing with the goblin remnants, my heroes frantically searched through all the carts.
All were empty, or if they contained anything, it was just a bit of miscellaneous stuff.
"...It was a decoy?"
I pressed my hand to my throbbing forehead.
"They anticipated our guerrilla tactics? So, they disguised a decoy unit as a supply unit and deliberately placed it at the rear...?"
"..."
All the heroes looked around, bewildered.
The bodies of the hundreds of goblin soldiers we had fought and killed were scattered horribly across the snow.
"Are all these numbers... just expendable?"
Watching the goblins, calm as lizards that tail off and effortlessly escape, I suddenly felt it more acutely.
The opponent in this defensive battle is truly formidable...
--TL Notes--
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