1085

“…Gather, my iron-legged cavalry! We are the spear that will tear through the enemy!”

But what was more surprising was the commander of the cavalry, Gi Ga.

In a display of amazing leadership, despite being scattered, Aransain was able to regroup and prepare another charge.

Gi Ga stood at the head of his cavalry and bellowed out a howl, then charged straight through for the footmen obstructing their way.

Iron clashed with iron. Armor shattered and cavalries were stabbed to death. Blood spurt and flesh tore. The strongest cavalry of the continent was on par with the footmen standing in their way, yet it was Gi Ga’s victory for being on par, because the encirclement that locked the hero and the king together broke and parted like a flood.

“Save the king!!”

As he left command of a squad with the Great Chief of Paradua, Haroo, he charged into the footmen that tried to form an encirclement once again.

But as expected, this was as far as their momentum could take them.

Just minimizing the losses from the bombardment of the flying warship and regrouping to unleash a charge was already on the level of a master leader. To ask any more was just too greedy, and indeed, Aransain gradually started losing their momentum.

“Gi Be!”

“To battle! Follow the flag!!”

──But then, the imperial guards appeared from behind to pass through the hole opened by Aransain and rush straight at the hero.

“Ha, ku ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

The hero laughed loudly, but his eyes were no longer amused.

“You did it, you really did it. To think that you would actually exceed my expectations! Indeed, even the smallest bugs will defend themselves!”

As he put his finger on his temple, he stopped laughing and turned to the Goblin King and his Imperial Guards.

“As a reward, I offer you death delivered personally by yours truly!” The hero said.

“Damn it, don’t interfere!” The Goblin King said.

“Your Majesty! It is most regrettable, but we must retreat now!” Gi Ga said.

Gi Ga got off his black tiger and knelt before the king.

“Are you telling me to retreat, Gi Ga!? My sworn enemy stands before me, and you want me to let him off without killing him!?”

The king was furious, but Gi Ga insisted.

“At this rate, we will be wiped out! We need to do something about that ship up in the sky!”

Gi Ga prostrated himself, but corpses were already starting to pile up in front of the hero. The imperial guards that shook the continent alongside the king were dying; hence, even as the king remained furious before him, Gi Ga was pressed to make a decision. If they didn’t hurry, the imperial guards would be wiped out.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty! Bring the king to the back!”

“Gi Ga! Stop it! I have to fight!”

Gi Ga restrained the king, but his subordinates were at a loss who to obey.

If the Goblin King could just reach him, he would break that hero’s neck… But as he extended his arm, the black flames on his right arm suddenly stirred.

『Little brother, you should retreat here.』

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, the Goblin King’s brows moved. But the way that voice referred to him as a younger brother, moreover, that tone…There was no doubting it──

──In that moment, the black flames undid the seal 400 years ago and blazed once more on the ground,

Like a maiden of war, a Valkyrie, she stood there with arms folded as she glared at the enemy with a presence befitting that of a god. Her long black hair that fluttered in the wind radiated a dark light as though to compress the black flames she wielded. Her skin was of a color no different from that of men, but on them could be found many scars befitting a God of War. On her right eye was an eyepatch, while her left was closed, but with her well-defined nose, there was a sense of wondrous harmony that could only be described as beauty.

“…Are you… Verid?”

With the goddess fully manifested before him, the Goblin King asked her that question.

“Indeed, but need you really ask my name, little brother?”

Her eye opened to reveal a color of gold. That was a color that would not lose its brilliance no matter how many times struck, a color that thirsted for victory in battles and beyond.

“What did you come here f──”

“I could not possibly ignore my adorable little brother’s plight, now, could I?”

“What!?”

The Goblin King grew angry, but Verid the War God turned her back to him and faced the hero. Nay, that was not a hero, but the ancestor god, Ativ, their arch-enemy for some 400 years ago for condemning their master into the abyss.

“Leave this place to me. Now, go!” Verid commanded.

The Goblin King resisted, but he couldn’t put any strength into his body, and Gi Ga easily carried him away.

“…You’ve really put a lot of effort into this,” Ativ said.

Ativ slaughtered the imperial guards as though he were dealing with a swarm of insects, but even when he saw Verid, the fearless smile on him did not fade.

“To exact vengeance on you, no price is too great to pay.”

Both gods smiled fearlessly.

“Ha ha ha, how long can you even remain in this world? A day perhaps? Or perhaps not even a few hours? You intend to exact vengeance on me with such a sorry state of affairs? You sure like to make jokes,” Ativ sneered.

“It has been 400 years since I fell into the underworld… At long last, this time has come. If this isn’t a joyous occasion, then what is!?” Verid said.

Until now, the soldiers have only been watching Ativ fight, but now, they pointed their spears at Verid.

“I have to save the world after this, so I don’t have time to be bothered with you.”

With a snap of his fingers, light burst out of the soldiers.

“Let There Be No Darkness in Our Kingdom(Over Enchant)!”

“Saints, I see. That’s a nostalgic technique.”

Verid smiled, and Ativ pointed at her.

“She is one of the underworld goddesses’ servants, slay her.”

In the next moment, the sainted soldiers rushed at her from every direction at the speed of sound, but Verid just laughed.

“──Stand down!”

The roar that bellowed out shook the air and covered the sainted soldiers in sight in black flames.

“──I am the servant of the Goddess of the Underworld, the Harbinger of War! The Black Flames of Misfortune!”

With every word that left Verid’s lips, so did the sainted soldiers in sight burst into flames. From out of the depths of the abyss did the flames of black gush forth and scatter through the air.

“Fear me and be gone! I am the God of War, I am the enemy of the world!”

The words of gods were themselves magic, and the sainted soldiers that attacked from every direction could only be burst into flames, leaving behind not even a trace.

“Let it be known, Ativ, the hour of vengeance is now.”

Sinister and joyful, the voice of the War God filled the battlefield.

“…Gather, my iron-legged cavalry! We are the spear that will tear through the enemy!”

But what was more surprising was the commander of the cavalry, Gi Ga.

In a display of amazing leadership, despite being scattered, Aransain was able to regroup and prepare another charge.

Gi Ga stood at the head of his cavalry and bellowed out a howl, then charged straight through for the footmen obstructing their way.

Iron clashed with iron. Armor shattered and cavalries were stabbed to death. Blood spurt and flesh tore. The strongest cavalry of the continent was on par with the footmen standing in their way, yet it was Gi Ga’s victory for being on par, because the encirclement that locked the hero and the king together broke and parted like a flood.

“Save the king!!”

As he left command of a squad with the Great Chief of Paradua, Haroo, he charged into the footmen that tried to form an encirclement once again.

But as expected, this was as far as their momentum could take them.

Just minimizing the losses from the bombardment of the flying warship and regrouping to unleash a charge was already on the level of a master leader. To ask any more was just too greedy, and indeed, Aransain gradually started losing their momentum.

“Gi Be!”

“To battle! Follow the flag!!”

──But then, the imperial guards appeared from behind to pass through the hole opened by Aransain and rush straight at the hero.

“Ha, ku ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

The hero laughed loudly, but his eyes were no longer amused.

“You did it, you really did it. To think that you would actually exceed my expectations! Indeed, even the smallest bugs will defend themselves!”

As he put his finger on his temple, he stopped laughing and turned to the Goblin King and his Imperial Guards.

“As a reward, I offer you death delivered personally by yours truly!” The hero said.

“Damn it, don’t interfere!” The Goblin King said.

“Your Majesty! It is most regrettable, but we must retreat now!” Gi Ga said.

Gi Ga got off his black tiger and knelt before the king.

“Are you telling me to retreat, Gi Ga!? My sworn enemy stands before me, and you want me to let him off without killing him!?”

The king was furious, but Gi Ga insisted.

“At this rate, we will be wiped out! We need to do something about that ship up in the sky!”

Gi Ga prostrated himself, but corpses were already starting to pile up in front of the hero. The imperial guards that shook the continent alongside the king were dying; hence, even as the king remained furious before him, Gi Ga was pressed to make a decision. If they didn’t hurry, the imperial guards would be wiped out.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty! Bring the king to the back!”

“Gi Ga! Stop it! I have to fight!”

Gi Ga restrained the king, but his subordinates were at a loss who to obey.

If the Goblin King could just reach him, he would break that hero’s neck… But as he extended his arm, the black flames on his right arm suddenly stirred.

『Little brother, you should retreat here.』

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, the Goblin King’s brows moved. But the way that voice referred to him as a younger brother, moreover, that tone…There was no doubting it──

──In that moment, the black flames undid the seal 400 years ago and blazed once more on the ground,

Like a maiden of war, a Valkyrie, she stood there with arms folded as she glared at the enemy with a presence befitting that of a god. Her long black hair that fluttered in the wind radiated a dark light as though to compress the black flames she wielded. Her skin was of a color no different from that of men, but on them could be found many scars befitting a God of War. On her right eye was an eyepatch, while her left was closed, but with her well-defined nose, there was a sense of wondrous harmony that could only be described as beauty.

“…Are you… Verid?”

With the goddess fully manifested before him, the Goblin King asked her that question.

“Indeed, but need you really ask my name, little brother?”

Her eye opened to reveal a color of gold. That was a color that would not lose its brilliance no matter how many times struck, a color that thirsted for victory in battles and beyond.

“What did you come here f──”

“I could not possibly ignore my adorable little brother’s plight, now, could I?”

“What!?”

The Goblin King grew angry, but Verid the War God turned her back to him and faced the hero. Nay, that was not a hero, but the ancestor god, Ativ, their arch-enemy for some 400 years ago for condemning their master into the abyss.

“Leave this place to me. Now, go!” Verid commanded.

The Goblin King resisted, but he couldn’t put any strength into his body, and Gi Ga easily carried him away.

“…You’ve really put a lot of effort into this,” Ativ said.

Ativ slaughtered the imperial guards as though he were dealing with a swarm of insects, but even when he saw Verid, the fearless smile on him did not fade.

“To exact vengeance on you, no price is too great to pay.”

Both gods smiled fearlessly.

“Ha ha ha, how long can you even remain in this world? A day perhaps? Or perhaps not even a few hours? You intend to exact vengeance on me with such a sorry state of affairs? You sure like to make jokes,” Ativ sneered.

“It has been 400 years since I fell into the underworld… At long last, this time has come. If this isn’t a joyous occasion, then what is!?” Verid said.

Until now, the soldiers have only been watching Ativ fight, but now, they pointed their spears at Verid.

“I have to save the world after this, so I don’t have time to be bothered with you.”

With a snap of his fingers, light burst out of the soldiers.

“Let There Be No Darkness in Our Kingdom(Over Enchant)!”

“Saints, I see. That’s a nostalgic technique.”

Verid smiled, and Ativ pointed at her.

“She is one of the underworld goddesses’ servants, slay her.”

In the next moment, the sainted soldiers rushed at her from every direction at the speed of sound, but Verid just laughed.

“──Stand down!”

The roar that bellowed out shook the air and covered the sainted soldiers in sight in black flames.

“──I am the servant of the Goddess of the Underworld, the Harbinger of War! The Black Flames of Misfortune!”

With every word that left Verid’s lips, so did the sainted soldiers in sight burst into flames. From out of the depths of the abyss did the flames of black gush forth and scatter through the air.

“Fear me and be gone! I am the God of War, I am the enemy of the world!”

The words of gods were themselves magic, and the sainted soldiers that attacked from every direction could only be burst into flames, leaving behind not even a trace.

“Let it be known, Ativ, the hour of vengeance is now.”

Sinister and joyful, the voice of the War God filled the battlefield.