Clouds of dust rose as the volunteer army from Altigand approached. They numbered roughly 300,000. Yet in the face of that, Gi Zu Ruo only fearlessly laughed.
“Looks like we won’t be running out of enemies!”
“But, Pops… 300,000 is a bit… I mean, there are only 1,000 of us.”
Zu Ved had a large old scar that ran from his shoulder to his chest. He chose his words carefully as he asked that to Gi Zu.
“300,000?”
“Yes.”
“So there’s 300 times more of them than us?”
“That’s true, but…”
“In that case, there’s no need to think so much. Leave that to the smart Prime Minister, Gi-Za, and and the rest. We just have to do our duty.”
Gi Zu clenched his fist and tapped Zu Ved on teh chest.
“Duty?”
“Yeah. I have my role and you have yours. So long as we don’t forget that, our king will definitely lead us.”
“Is that how it is?”
“Yes. In the meantime, we’ve each got 300 foes to take down!”
Gi Zu Ruo smiled a huge smile, and Zu Ved shook his head as he said that he’s no match for him.
Ved started following Gi Zu when the king was still laying his foundations in the Forest of Darkness. To the northwest of the Fortress of the Abyss, past the dense forest, was an area dominated by Mindless Giants(Gigantopitecus) and Giant Hammer Ox(Enboro).
The goblins there lived their lives crawling on the ground, drinking water from the mud, and scavenging the decaying flesh discarded by the gigantopitecus. To such goblins, the sincerity shown by Gi Zu was even more dazzling than the body of the God of Fire, Rodo.
They lived like dogs, yet Gi Zu treated them as warriors. That’s why Ved and the other goblins that lived in the northwest respectfully referred to him as ‘pops’.
When beasts leave their nest, they would forget their parents, and remember neither warmth nor gratitude. They would even kill each other for the sake of survival. It was Gi Zu’s strength and sincerity that saved Ved and the other goblins from such a depressing world.
It was through him that they were led out of the dark mire and brought out into the vast world – to that fortress ruled by the king, to those vast plains beyond the forest, to the world of humans. In their small world, Gi Zu was the greatest goblin, yet that greatest goblin looked up to the great Goblin King.
With a stature too great to be thought of for a goblin and a power that could overwhelm even giant ogres, they saw him less a fellow goblin and more a god.
A king that ruled over not only the powerful among the goblins, but also the elves, the demihumans, and even the humans. To Ved and his people, who knew only how to fight, it was a tale straight out of the myths. Though their common sense was broken everyday, not a day passed where they were not agitated.
Gi Go Amatsuki, the heaven-sent child of the sword. Gi Gu Verbena, the ruler of the southern region. Gi Gi Orudo, the tamer that could move thousands of monster beasts. Ra Gilmi Fishiga, the general that could command soldiers from any race.
Gi Ga Rax, a loyal knight whom Gi Zu Ruo respected from the bottom of his heart.
Ved and his people all trembled in fear when they saw that line up.
They believed that no matter how hard they fought, the only position that awaited them was at the bottom.
The law of the jungle existed everywhere, and for a moment, they thought that Gi Zu saved them only to bring them into an even deeper mire.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to do well at all.”
Ved appeared strong in front of his subordinates, but there was a moment when he was alone with Gi Zu that he showed his weakness. Gi Zu’s response couldn’t be simpler.
“Then be stronger. We’re just getting started! Both you and me!”
Gi Zu’s eyes blazed with radiance, and they were pointed toward that terrifying goblin no less. That goblin with a stature comparable to the Goblin King and a face that could send even demons running.
Rashka of Gaidga.
The Incarnation of Violence, the ‘One-Eyed Demon’. He was a demon of the battlefield known under many names.
A goblin that would treat Gi Zu like a child all the time, yet Gi Zu never hesitated to stick out his chest.
As the saying went, there were no cowardly soldiers under a brave general, and all the goblins under Gi Zu grew to become peerless in their love for combat. Or rather, only such goblins remained.
“We are warriors among warriors! Men among men!”
Gigantopitecus. They were much bigger and more powerful than the goblins, yet Gi Zu dared to challenge them. At that time, Gi Zu rebuked his subordinates, saying,
“When you’re afraid, when you’re about to die, when you’re suffering… Look your enemy in the eye and roar.”
With his canine teeth laid bare, Gi Zu held his spear tightly and revealed a ferocious smile.
“We are warriors among warriors! Men among men!”
Ved was hit lightly on the chest, and from there spread a heat that shook him.
Because those words belonged to a real man.
“Now, say it.”
They said those same words just as he urged them to, but Gi Zu shook his head.
“Weak. Would warriors among warriors speak like that? If you’re a man, stick out your chest and roar!”
At the behest of the strong yet gentle goblin, Ved roared.
We are not beasts. We are warriors among warriors! Men among men!
The moment he said those words, something filled Ved without his knowing.
“Now, come! We’ve got a battle to win!”
Gi Zu brandished the weapon in his hand, and Ved and the others followed.
It was in that moment that a loyalty that would never lose its color bloomed in Ved.
After that they went through many battles, and eventually, Gi Zu was allowed to lead his own soldiers. That was proof that the great Goblin King recognized their ability and loyalty.
Even after being ranked among the great goblins, Gi Zu never stopped striving for greater heights.
But when they were in the last stage of their expedition, when they were about to reach out their claws for the only remaining human nation, Rashka died.
Gi Zu was furious. In his anger, it was only a given that he would ask to be given the most dangerous mission.
But that was exactly why he was Gi Zu Ruo, the commander of the Thousand-Demon Army(Sazanorga). What could they do for that great Goblin King? Ved knew that in the face of such a question, there could have only been one outcome.