Chapter 108: art 3)

  The vanguard of the allied forces moved into the hilly terrain before the Trier Valley.

  "Damn it, where are the enemies?"

  The knight on horseback sed the distance, seeing no trace of the creatures, but the valley was filled with traps—pits, poisoned arrows, snares, and tripwires. Though only causing a few dozen casualties, these had reduced their progress to a cautious crawl.

  After all, their primary task wasn’t bat; before the war, these scripts had been timid peasants or even ensved serfs with no personal freedom.

  The "Hion’s" ander, a baron named Joseph, led them.

  However, he didn’t even possess his own nd, and his title was more honorary than real. Ohe low-born son of a carpenter, Joseph had been chosen by the La family, received knightly training, and achieved a social ast to bee an honorary noble and ander of the so-called "Hion."

  He was deeply grateful to the La family, often envisioning his heroic death in battle, repaying his family’s kindness in the manner befitting a knight.

  Watg the c soldiers, Joseph felt an untrolble surge of anger.

  "These is are unworthy to march with me!"

  "I am a knight!"

  "Aed noble!"

  With that, he rode to the front of the ranks.

  "Crack!"

  He shed the hesitant soldiers, the whip leaving bloody marks and elig cries of pain.

  Joseph roared,

  "March forward!"

  "No one hides at the rear!"

  "The Duke, in his mercy, gave you wretches food and even a pension. Are you here to waste time?"

  "If these petty traps stop you, where is your ce? How dare you disgrace the honor of the Hioowed by the Duke?"

  Under Joseph’s fierce orders, over a hundred overseers also pushed the soldiers forward by force, finally enabling the "Hion" to march steadily.

  Though ofteing in trampling is, they were at least no longer halted by every small trap.

  At st, they reached a broad, open expanse, officially entering Trier Valley.

  "Finally here."

  Joseph breathed a sigh of relief.

  The traps in the hilly terrain had been a nightmare.

  Already, they’d lost over a hundred men before seeing any real battle, and the rest were growing anxious due to their fallen rades. Only after exeg several deserters did Joseph mao keep them in line.

  "These lowly animals—they don’t deserve the title of 'Hion.'"

  "These creatures have no uanding of noble honor…they should starve to death!"

  Joseph muttered angrily from atop his horse.

  "Sir…"

  The messenger spoke with a trembling voice.

  "What is it?"

  "Is it more deserters, arampling act, or yet arap? Don’t bring every little matter to me. I am here for honor, not to be your nanny!"

  Joseph, irritated, replied impatiently.

  "No…it’s her."

  "Then what is it?"

  "Sir…please…e see for yourself."

  The messenger’s voice shook more with each word.

  Spurring his horse forward, Joseph looked ahead—and was left speechless.

  Across the ft, open wastend, an army of goblins and kobolds advanced, a chaotic wave of creatures stretg to the horizon.

  Their march raised clouds of dust.

  The horde was endless, surging from all dires, numbering iens of thousands, their eyes glinting in the distance as they growled in low, menag tones.

  Many of the creatures bore scattered scales, the gift of the red dragon’s blood imbuing them with an insatiable lust for destru.

  Dozens of winged kobolds fluttered through the air.

  "This…this…"

  Joseph’s hands trembled as he gripped the reins.

  He’d often dreamed of galloping heroically across the battlefield, cutting down foes and sacrifig himself for his family with nobility and dignity.

  It moved him to tears every time, firming his resolve to meet such a glorious end if given the ce.

  But he’d never imagihe battlefield would look like this.

  To charge into this monstrous flood would mean being torn to shreds—without honor, without dignity.

  "It…it shouldn’t be like this."

  Joseph muttered to himself.

  For a moment, he wao turn his horse and flee bap.

  But the creatures had already surrouhem, g with the vanguard.

  Snapping from his daze, Joseph shouted with trembling voice, "Fight back! Kill them!"

  In fact, the strategies of the anders at Ember and the allied forces were eerily simir—both inteo use their disposable troops as a vanguard and have elite units follow.

  This monster army of over twenty thousand kobolds and goblins had been summoned from every er of Storm Highnds, with only a third infused with diluted dragon blood.

  Despite their small size, goblins and kobolds were weaker in bat than human peasants, but exposure to the dragon’s aura had made them vicious and eager to fight, far more willing than the serf-filled "Hion."

  "For Ember !"

  "For the Great Red Dragon!"

  Waves of shouts rose from the monster army, while the Hion’s horns sounded for an attack at Joseph’s and.

  And so, two massive armies cshed, marking the true beginning of the war.

  Goblins and kobolds attacked wildly, throwing themselves at the enemy withard for their lives, even if they only faced mere peasants.

  Several kobolds surrounded one human, ging to his rough leather armor, bashing his head with stones, aedly stabbing his body with crude daggers.

  "For Ember !"

  A draic-blooded goblin hurled a spear that pierced a soldier’s body, the him when it had no other on, eveing to biting his face, drawing blood and elig screams.

  The winged kobolds spewed fming arrows from above, setting soldiers’ clothes afme and turning them into bzing "human torches."

  Fmes, blood, and dust.

  There was ny here, just raw, primal sughter, the battle a se of utter chaos.

  In mere minutes of e, the "Hion" had already lost hundreds, their screams, cries, and panicked shouts ringing out. This on fodder army was iably colpsing into disarray.

  AnnouA big thank you to [Billy Fauve] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.

  FAL