◈ 372. [STAGE 15] Conference (2)
For the next three days, 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 that evades the heat-seeking missiles launched by this side by spraying them with thermal deceptive bodies, advancing forward with only abrasions no matter how hard you try to make them crash in the sky.
And even in the midst of that, we always destroyed our teleport gate.
We traced back to our point of appearance, dispatched cavalry, searched for and destroyed the teleport gate, and we had to retreat further to the other gate and return to the crossroads.
In addition to this, the cavalry corps was preceded to find the hidden teleport gate first and destroy it preemptively.
Our attacks and retreats gradually slowed as the gates were destroyed one after another, and they continued to advance.
“… … .”
The last days of guerrilla fighting.
Standing on a field of decoy goblin corpses, I had to admit. I had no choice but to admit it.
The Goblin God King, that enemy commander who is said to have once burned down a third of the world, is superior to me as a commander.
As for me, an ordinary human who only fought within the rules of the game and only managed to reach the ending after hundreds of trials… … the rank is wrong
On the actual battlefield, he destroyed countless kingdoms, built his own great empire, 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 brushed and 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 a god of war- I have a chance.
“Let’s go back.”
I spoke to the heroes around me.
Everyone had tired faces from the forced marches 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.”
***
next day.
Above the walls of the Crossroads.
All the heroes and soldiers of the monster front lined up at the edge of the castle wall after completing their battle preparations.
In front of our eyes, we saw an army of green monsters lined up after finishing their battle preparations as well.
thump- 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 turned around.
On top of the reinforced walls, there are various cannons, ballistas, artifacts, and elite soldiers with strong mental powers 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?
It was helpful if they came in the first place, but 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 of declaring an independent line, this war belonged exclusively to Crossroads.
Because it was an independent route that I declared despite all the disadvantages.
‘To save people, not to be swayed by the will of a particular country, only to save people… … .’
but, however.
If the front line collapses because of the independent line declared to save people, without receiving reinforcements. So if you can’t save someone… … .
Is there any meaning left in all of this?
Bewitched by a good cause, by a banner, if you fail to clear… … No matter what kind of rhetoric you put on it, isn’t it just a failure in the end?
“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… … .”
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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-Alexander.
“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-Alexandre!”
As if my voice had reached it, 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, I saw Carly-Alexandre nodding her head.
flutter!
Closing my coat, I went down the wall. My eyes met one after another with the waiting heroes and soldiers.
“While I’m gone, you just have to move as instructed in advance.”
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 exhaled and stood in front of the gate.
coo goong-
I rode out through the slightly open gates. 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 got off our respective mounts, bowed to each other in silence, and sat down in our chairs.
《Thank you for requesting the meeting, Ash.》
Carly-Alexandre was the first to speak. I frowned.
“Thank you?”
“Actually, you are the first enemy commander to sit down and talk to me.”
Carly-Alexandre replied shyly.
《When fighting orcs, there was no option to talk, and when fighting humans… … They didn’t try to talk to goblins or anything like that.”
“… … .”
“Among my enemies, you are, in fact, the first to acknowledge me as a person and someone you can talk to. How can I not be grateful?”
The Goblin King put his right hand on the table.
“So, is there a reason you applied for the meeting? Or is it simply to earn time?”
“It’s 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 commander, Carly-Alexandr, 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 that matter, our troops suffered a lot from your attack.”
“Didn’t he suffer only the damage he could afford? In the end, all the troops to be used for the siege arrived here intact,”
Carly-Alexandre didn’t deny it. I laughed bitterly.
“For this battle, you must have already thought of all the tactics to break down my castle walls… … .”
“haha. Surely you’re not asking me to tell you the tactic, Ash?”
“Will you tell me if I ask?”
“Of course I can’t tell you about specific tactics. but… … .》
Carly-Alexandre, who hesitated for a moment, 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.”
“Willing to listen.”
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 a way of giving away the lives of allies without hesitation and achieving the goal in the end, even if the exchange rate is terrible.”
“It’s a goblin-like way.”
“On the other hand, Ash, aren’t you the complete opposite?”
Inside the mask, the Goblin God King’s eyes flashed heavily.
“I cherish every single life of my allies. Excluding sacrifices due to force majeure, we do not want to waste a single life.”
“… … .”
《Even at the forward base, didn’t they give up Mercury early and retreat in order not to be harmed somehow? He even dispatched a rescue team to rescue fallen allies.”
“Is that wrong?”
“I’m not talking about value judgments, Ash. It is about efficiency.”
Is it 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 are too nice for a commander, Ash.”
It was the goblin’s way of treating the lives of his people as a single bullet.
《A prince is a person who can calmly sit on top of the blood, tears, and corpses of his subordinates.》
It was also the attitude of the rulers.
“Are you going to win without losing any chess pieces while playing chess?”
“If it’s not an essential exchange, there’s no need to throw it away, right?”
《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 shed tears in front of his grave, but can ruthlessly calculate the losses and damages of his allies while observing the situation. But you seem to be in pain even in the middle of the 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.”
“A real war? How do you do that?”
《Cross the line》
The Goblin God King whispered softly as he leaned close to the table.
《Become a monster who is willing to lay down the lives of his subordinates, who can sit on the throne of power built by death without guilt.》
“… … .”
“The real war starts there. The road to a true prince opens from there.”
A distantly senior commander, the king of monsters that emerged from ancient legends. he 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 here to protect all life in the world above the front line?”
is this theorem?
“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 that I will face at the end of the road I have advanced 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?》
