◈ 372. [STAGE 15]
For three days after the meeting (2), we relentlessly bit the advancing goblins from all sides.
Even with a fireteam that had been resting for a day, I poured attacks into what I judged were their weaknesses.
In fact, to some extent, the attack was valid. The long road from the Black Lake to the Cross Road was littered with goblin corpses.
But- that wasn’t their core force.
The goblin legion always deployed decoy units as if they had predicted where I would attack.
Our guerrilla forces steadily reduced the number of goblins, but it never resulted in a fatal blow.
It was like an aircraft flying with flares.
A gigantic aircraft advancing forward, enduring with abrasions no matter how hard it tries to crash it in the sky that evades the heat-seeking missiles launched by it by spraying them with heat deception.
And even in the midst of that, we always destroyed our teleport gate.
We traced back to our spawn point, dispatched cavalry to search for and destroy the teleport gate, and we had to retreat further to the other gate and return to the crossroads.
Not only this, but the cavalry preceded the hidden teleport gate to find it and destroyed it preemptively.
As the gates were destroyed one after another, our attacks and retreats became more and more dull, and they bravely advanced.
“… .”
The last day of guerrilla fighting.
Standing over the corpses of the decoy bag goblins, I had to admit it. I had no choice but to admit it.
The Goblin God King is said to have once burned down a third of the world, and that enemy commander is superior to me as a commander.
Unlike me, an ordinary human who barely reached the ending after hundreds of trials, fighting only battles within the game rules… … the rank is wrong
A person who destroyed countless kingdoms on the actual battlefield, built a great empire of his own kind, and finally earned the title of God King.
Carly-Alexandre and I were as heavenly and earthly apart in our tactical capabilities.
As if my movements were in the palm of my hand… … He deceived me and succeeded in achieving his goal of ‘advancing’.
“… but.”
I grinded my teeth.
“But it’s not over yet.”
No, it wasn’t even the beginning, let alone the end.
Because this battlefield is still within the rules of the game.
And in this game, even if the opponent is the god of war- I have a chance.
“Let’s go back.”
I spoke to the heroes around me.
Everyone’s face was tired from the forced march of the past few days, but their eyes were fiercely sharp.
Grinding my teeth, I turned around toward the gate.
“Because I still have the means to feed him.”
***
the next day.
Above the walls of the Crossroads.
All the heroes and soldiers of the Monster Front lined up at the end of the wall after completing their battle preparations.
In front of us like that, we saw an army of green monsters lined up after finishing their battle preparations.
Thum- thump- thump-
25,000 goblins.
For three days, the guerrillas succeeded in reducing the number of thousands, but the tsunami of green monsters finally arrived here.
“… .”
After glaring at the formidable numbers endlessly filling the horizon, I slowly looked around.
On top of the fortress wall, which has been reinforced as it is to be reinforced, there are various cannons, ballista artifacts, and elite soldiers with strong mental power who do not run away from the showdown with the monsters.
2,500 people.
The military difference is exactly 10 times.
In the end, no reinforcements came from other cities or countries until the day of the defense battle.
“You’re a jerk… .”
But what can I do?
In the first place, it was said that it would be helpful if they came, but it was not necessarily necessary. From the strategy establishment stage, auxiliary forces were not considered.
If he had considered reinforcements, he would not have declared his own line in the first place. They must have borrowed plenty of troops from the imperial family.
From the moment the independent line was declared, this war belonged solely to the Crossroads.
Because it was an independent route that I declared despite all the disadvantages.
‘In order to save people, not to be swayed by the will of a specific country… … .’
but however.
If the frontline collapses because of the failure to receive reinforcements due to the self-declared line to save people. So if you can’t save someone… … .
Does all of this have any meaning?
If you fail to clear because you are possessed by the banner of a good cause… … Isn’t that just a failure no matter what kind of rhetoric you put on it?
“majesty.”
“hmm. thank you.”
Then Junior approached and handed over the cup.
It was a healthy juice she prepared herself. I gratefully accepted.
“Juice made by Jupiter Junior… Jujuju for short. I will drink well.”
“Looks like you still have time to play around… ?”
Standing next to me, Junior also drank juice together.
I already have three cups this morning alone. There are plenty of ingredients that are good for magic potion and magic recovery.
I let out a long sigh as I felt the magical energy recovering.
“Are you okay? You look tired.”
“I can still hold on… .”
Returning the cup, I lightly patted my tired face with both hands! knocked
At that time, I saw a goblin wearing a familiar helmet and armor riding a mountain goat at the head of the goblin army.
It was the Goblin God King Kali-Alexandre.
“Wait… .”
Taking a deep breath, I glanced at Junior. Junior applied wind magic and made my voice reach farther.
I shouted with all my might.
“Carly-Alexander!”
As if my voice had reached him, I saw the Goblin God King slowly look up at me. I shouted at him
“Sign up for the [commanders’ meeting]!”
《… .》
Commander’s Talks.
The thing I shared with him in the dungeon the other day.
A special gimmick exclusive to the boss stage. Commander characters cannot be used for 10 turns. 100% success rate.
When this gimmick is activated, he and I have to be alone for 30 minutes.
And, like a 100 percent success rate, Carly-Alexander nodded.
flutter!
Closing my coat, I went down the wall. My eyes met one after another with the waiting heroes and soldiers.
“You just have to move as instructed in advance while I’m gone.”
Detailed operational instructions have been shared with everyone over the past few days.
Even if I don’t control it myself, everyone will take care of it and fight well.
“I wish everyone good luck.”
Believing that, I simply spit it out and stood in front of the gate.
Kugung-
I rode a horse through the gate that was slightly open. On the other side, Carly-Alexandre was also approaching on her mountain goat.
At the central point between the goblins’ military camp and the Crossroads, there was a conference hall from the beginning.
Gray tables and gray chairs. And a white flag fluttering beside it.
We each got off our vehicles, bowed to each other silently, and sat down.
“Thanks for signing up for the meeting, Ash,”
Carly-Alexandre was the first to speak. I frowned.
“Thank you?”
“Actually, you are the first enemy to sit down and talk to me,”
Carly-Alexandre replied shyly.
《When fighting the orcs, there was no option to talk, and when fighting the humans… … They didn’t try to talk to goblins or anything like that.》
“… .”
“Among my enemies, you are actually the first to acknowledge me as a person with whom you can talk. How can I not thank you?”
The Goblin King put his right hand on the table.
“So, why did you apply for the meeting? Or is it simply to earn time
? … It’s not wrong.”
10 turns.
30 minutes.
After this time, the war begins. It can be said that it is the last peaceful time that Crossroads can enjoy.
So let’s shake our mouths hard for 30 minutes.
“I want to admit it first.”
《What?》
“As a commander, Carly-Alexander, you are superior to me.”
I spit it out honestly.
“I felt it while attacking your troops for the past three days. You seemed to have a good idea of how I would move.”
《For something like that, our army suffered a lot from your attack.
》 In the end, all the troops to be used for the siege came all the way here,”
Kali-Alexandre did not deny. I laughed bitterly.
“For this battle, you must have already thought of all the tactics to break down my walls… .”
“haha. Surely you’re not asking me to tell you the tactic, Ash?]
“Would you tell me if I asked?”
“Of course I can’t tell you about specific tactics. but… .》
Carly-Alexandre hesitated for a moment and looked at me intently.
“I think I can tell you about my basic thoughts as a commander. I hate to say this with my own mouth, but as a senior commander who fought hundreds of years before you.
”
I nodded, and Carly-Alexander nodded back.
《First of all, I want to make it clear that all of my tactics are goblins, so they can be used. It’s the kind of thing where you give up the lives of your allies and achieve your goal in the end, even if the exchange rate is terrible
.”
《On the other hand, Ash, you are the complete opposite.》
The eyes of the Goblin God King flashed heavily behind the mask.
“I cherish every single life of my allies. Excluding sacrifices due to force majeure, I will not waste a single life in vain.》
“… .”
《Didn’t you give up on Mercury early and retreat to avoid being damaged somehow even if it was only at the forward base? He even dispatched a rescue team to rescue fallen allies.》
“Is that what went wrong?”
“I am not talking about value judgments, Ash. It is about efficiency.”
Value or efficiency?
Is it a person or an attack… … .
《Yes, of course, the goods and time required to make a human soldier are significantly different from that of a goblin. Whatever I say, a human life is more ‘expensive’ than a goblin’s.》
“… .”
“But even taking that into consideration, you seem too reluctant to sacrifice your soldiers… You’re too nice for a commander, Ash.”
It was the goblin’s way of treating the lives of his people as just one bullet.
《A prince is a person who can calmly sit on top of the blood and tears and corpses of his subordinates.》 It
was also the mindset of the rulers.
《Are you going to win without losing any chess pieces while playing chess?
》
“Yeah, that’s right. But sometimes you have to be bold enough to throw a chess piece into your opponent’s mouth. And it seems to me that you do not have the courage to do so.》
“… .”
“A commander must be someone who can ruthlessly calculate the losses and damages of his allies while observing the war situation, even if he sheds tears in front of his grave. But you seem to be heartbroken even in the middle of a battlefield.”
Carly-Alexandre shook her head.
《That’s why we can’t fight long, Ash.》
“… .”
“You must become an iron man to the depths of your heart. If you truly want victory, you must wage a real war.”
“Real war? How do you do that?”
“Cross the line,”
whispered the Goblin God King, who was pressed close to the table.
《Become a monster who can sit on the throne of power built by death willing to risk the lives of his subordinates without guilt.》
“… .”
“The real war starts there. The road to a true prince opens from there.” A
distantly senior commander and the king of monsters from ancient legends. Said so.
If you want to be a king, be a monster first.
Become a being willing to lay down a human life.
“If you want to be a human until the end… You will not win in the end.》
“… .”
“Aren’t you trying to protect more people? Isn’t the purpose to protect all lives in the world above the front lines here?》
Is this the right theory?
“For that noble purpose, someone must die. So who will decide who will die? Who will order death? Who will bear the weight?”
Is this the final answer I will face at the end of the road I have taken with the flag?
《If it is to protect the world.》
The Goblin God King slowly raised his hand and pointed at me.
《Shouldn’t someone wear the skin of a monster?》
