With the Goblin King in his arms, Gi Ga, the imperial guards, and Aransain broke through the encirclement of the hero and returned to the main army of the Kingdom of the Black Sun(Alrodena Kingdom).
The losses were staggering, but the fact that they were even able to return with just half of them injured or dead was a testament to Gi Ga’s leadership.
The Goblin King was unconscious.
The grand battle and the pain might have kept him tense, but the moment it left, his consciousness too left with it.
“…Your Majesty, scold me as much as you wish later, but… For now, please forgive me.”
Pale prostrated herself before the unconscious Goblin King and immediately began the retreat.
“This will be a battle of time. Send word to the allied forces, we are retreating at once!”
The Axe and Sword Army(Felduk), that has been retreating this whole time, would take the rear, while the Gaidga Tribe and Gi Go’s swordsmen would be sent as a commando unit to supplement aid them. At the same time, Pale had the whole army turn around to retreat. Word had it that one of the servants of the Goddess of the Underworld had manifested. If so, then they should be able to get some time.
“Are we retreating all the way to Bandigam?”
After confirming the king’s well-being, Gi Za Zakuend heaved a sigh of relief and asked that question. Pale shook her head.
“No, we’ll leave some soldiers in Bandigam, but the main force will retreat all the way to Elfa.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“…Frankly, even if we reconstructed our forces, we need to think of a solution against that. To that end, we need time. For the army’s sake, and for the king’s as well.”
Pale glared at the fleet of flying warships that continued to wage a great battle of magic with the ryuu. There were five ships from what they could confirm. There was one giant warship that was most likely the flagship, then there were three warships escorting that ship, and then there was one more behind.
Such a fleet was not something that Alrodena could contest with given that they had nothing beyond a ground force. They didn’t have a way to attack; hence, Pale couldn’t help but fear being one-sidedly attacked without being able to fight back.
“Have the supply units dump their supplies and cover them in oil.”
Vilan the Young Tactician of the allied forces ordered that only the minimum food needed would be carried while the rest of the supplies be abandoned. They would abandon even their weapons and armor as they focused solely on the retreat.
“Are you certain?”
Vilan’s subordinate asked, and Vilan answered without averting his attention from the enemy.
“As vexing as it is, we’re slow. Hopefully, this will at least distract them for a bit…”
Upon distancing themselves from the dumped supplies, they shot fire arrows to light them on fire. A thick black smoke covered the battlefield as the grass and trees of the plains burned.
“Mira… Don’t worry, I’ll come back no matter what.”
Vilan grit his teeth as he turned his back on the enemy. This was the defeat of the young hero that was indeed yet too young.
◆◇◆
So much light clad around his long sword that it seemed as though the sword itself was light.
That was a technique that collected the mana from the air and gathered them onto the sword. That was a technique in a realm that even a talented human could never hope to reach his whole life, yet the hero used it as though he were breathing, then without even bothering to close the distance, he swung his sword.
With the anchoring of space and the explosion of mana that covered his blade, the stroke drawn turned into a fatal sword strike.
In other words, the hero didn’t even need to close the distance. Just a swing from his sword was enough to attack the enemy before him. Moreover, the sword strikes he shot out were not limited to just one.
They precisely targeted the 9 fatal points of a human’s body. As he swung his sword in a speed that surpassed human intellect, his sword strokes appeared as nothing more than a flash of silver.
“Nine Slash, One Stroke.”
Moreover, the attribute that clad his long sword also had an enchantment effect.
That was one of the oaths forced onto the world because of his victory in the great battle once upon a time. Light would expel darkness. In other words, this was a problem of compatibility.
The elements of fire, water, earth, wind, and so on might not have much differences with each other, but the element the hero utilized that could be called light or divine was strong against all elements.
It was especially effective against darkness or death where it had a nearly absolute advantage. Not even the gods were exempt from that rule, and indeed, his element was one of the weaknesses of the gods of the underworld.
Indeed, that was one of the truths decided since the beginning of the world.
Yet despite that and despite knowing that, the God of War, Vaishura, challenged the ancestor god to a battle.
With a single stroke, nine sword strikes lashed out at Vaishura; however, her body turned into a black flame, and those attacks could only pass through her. Her arms remained crossed with leisure as she stared at the hero amidst fury and ecstasy.
“What’s the matter? Not attacking?”
Seeing the enemy before him unmoved by his attack, the hero tried provoking her.
“Or maybe, you can’t? …You don’t want to?”
She was like a phantom. Even when the hero’s sword hit her, a black flame would gush out to fill her wounds immediately. It was as though the hero was swinging his sword against a giant flame.
But the hero did not falter. He was convinced that every swing of his blade was whittling Vaishura down. That’s why his composure refused to break.
“Blood is the Blade of Retribution(Enchant).”
But when the hero was about to release another attack, Vaishura’s words stopped him.
“I am merely calculating for the sake of victory.”
Unlike the fury she displayed earlier, this time, the God of War spoke with a calm voice.
“In the name of the God of War, I tell you the truth, your defeat is at hand, as well as your path to the underworld.”
“Such drivel.”
Then a sword made of black flames appeared in Vaishura’s hands. The body of its blade burned, and its handle too was covered in flames. She swung it once to confirm the feeling of holding it, then laughed ferociously.
“Now, no one will get in our way!”
In the next moment, a wall of flames appeared around her and the hero.
The soldiers that tried to touch it burst into flames, leaving behind not even the slightest trace.
Tl Note: It wasn’t clear before, so the warships have been translated as singular this whole time, but apparently, there’s indeed more than one of them.