So far, so good. The goblins had lost more than 50,000, and some of their elites were dead. However, now that the goblin knights had started to appear, the situation began to change.
The goblin knights were all clad in iron armor, rendering arrows useless against them. On top of that, they carried shields that absorbed the force of cannon blasts and deflected catapult strikes. Unless they were hit directly, they were unharmed.
“Archers, fall back!” I ordered. “3rd Mage Division, activate the traps!”
At my command, the mage in the red cloak was replaced by mages in orange cloaks. They extended their hands, and magical circles began to form in the air. But instead of releasing fireballs, nothing happened.
The goblins cackled in glee and rushed forward, confident. But as they charged, enormous ditches suddenly opened in the ground, sending countless goblins plummeting into the space below. The pits weren’t large, but they were deep enough to trap any goblin that fell in.
“2nd Mage Division!” I shouted. Mages in blue cloaks stepped forward.
They extended their hands, and more magical circles appeared. This time, jets of water shot out, many of them aimed directly at the ditches. Soon, the pits were flooded.
Blurred screams echoed as the goblins began to drown. Some of the normal goblins, lighter and quicker, managed to scramble free, but the elites and knights, weighed down by their heavy armor, sank helplessly beneath the water.
All around, the same thing was happening. Goblins stepped into the traps and were drowned by the water sent by the mages. However, as this continued, the mages began to grow tired, their mana depleted, and the pits were now too full to be of any use.
“Mages, retreat and recharge your mana. Ballistae, aim at the goblin knights!” I ordered, “Cannon and catapults, aim closer now and laser shooters will kill any goblins that are far away!”
Orders were swiftly relayed, and the soldiers moved in unison, following my commands. Drones provided covering fire as the troops repositioned, and in no time, the battle began to swing back in our favor.
The Goblin Knights had easily deflected normal arrows, but the sheer power and speed of the ballistae bolts pierced through them as if their armor was made of paper. Cannons and catapults continued to rain down their deadly payloads, obliterating the goblins at the front lines. Meanwhile, the goblin mages were picked off before they could even cast a spell.
So far, we haven't suffered a single casualty. However, that could quickly change if the Goblin General or King appeared. Unlike the Goblin Knights, they were the real threat, requiring a constant barrage of attacks just to bring one down.
Still, even without them, the battle was growing more difficult. The goblins were relentlessly pushing forward, nearly reaching the wall. The mages were exhausted, and the piles of corpses were once again accumulating, making the cannon blasts less effective. Even the catapults were losing their impact.
The only ones still holding the line were my soldiers, but after sniping so many elite goblins, their guns were overheating, and the drones were returning to reload their ammunition which was taking a lot of time.
I wanted to save the magical war machines for the Goblin General or King, but I guessed it was time to use them if I wanted to keep the loss to minimum.
“Cannon Corps and Catapult Corps!” I shouted. “Fire the magical ones!”
The soldiers in charge of the magical artillery shouted in unison, and the roar of cannons filled the air along with the whistling sound of catapults as they launched in the air.
The cannonballs exploded with a wider blast radius upon impact. Even after the initial explosion, intense heat lingered, melting goblins when they touched the ground in the slightest.
As for the catapults, their payloads shattered into millions of fragments in midair, but when they hit the ground, they triggered an explosion. More precisely, shards of ice shot out in every direction, freezing goblins on contact. Even a scratch was enough to seal them in frost. Each fragment caused as much, if not more, damage than a regular cannonball, wreaking havoc over a wide area.
Stolen novel; please report.
Even the goblin knights were no exception, blasted into pieces by the attack. The piles of corpses vanished, leaving a clear field in the wake of the destruction.
“Magical cannons and catapults are in cooldown phase!” a soldier shouted. “It’ll take five minutes before they're ready for another round!”
I gritted my teeth at the news. Unlike regular artillery, the magical war machines needed time to recharge after each use. Each cannonball or payload was infused with immense mana, putting a heavy strain on the machines. They could be fired again immediately, but doing so would risk their destruction.
“Cannons and catapults, focus on the normal and elite goblins! Laser shooters, keep targeting the goblin mages! Ballistae, continue firing at the goblin knights!”
Even with the magical artillery, we were being pushed back. The endless numbers of goblins made it impossible to hold the line. One by one, goblins reached the wall, scrambling to climb it. When they couldn’t, the first ones were buried under their comrades as more goblins stepped on them, using the bodies to form a makeshift ladder.
Soldiers on the wall panicked as the pile grew taller.
“Goblins are approaching the wall!”
“We’re doomed!”
“Gods, please save us!”
“Soldiers!” I shouted at the troops who had stopped firing their laser rifles. “Permission granted, activate the mana grenades!”
They nodded in unison, stepping to the front, right as the first goblin reached the top of the wall. A single swipe of a blade from my cybernetic soldier was enough to send it tumbling back down. Without hesitation, my soldiers began throwing mana grenades into the growing pile of goblins below.
As each grenade made contact, they detonated. Not with ordinary explosions, but with a barrage of elemental chaos. Flames spread through the ranks, blades of wind sliced through goblins, lightning surged, killing them in an instant, and torrents of water flooded the mass, drowning everything in its path. The devastation was overwhelming.
Thankfully, the mana grenades were enough to push the goblins back, at least for now. The bad news was, the soldiers were out of them. Each mana grenade was so expensive that only one per soldier was allowed, and we had just used them all. Worse still, many soldiers were shaken by the goblins climbing the wall, and they were having a hard time firing the artillery with confidence.
“My lord!” Arion shouted, his face set with determination. “Please, let me join the battle. I can be of great help.”
“No, not yet,” I replied, scanning the battlefield. “Not until the Goblin General appears.”
The battle raged on. Soldiers had run out of ammunition for the drones, leaving them grounded and useless. Then, the laser rifles overheated, entering a five-minute cooldown phase. Thankfully, the magical war machines had cooled down and were ready to fire again, but that was little comfort.
After an hour of relentless fighting, nothing had changed. Goblins swarmed endlessly, our soldiers grew more exhausted by the second, and ammunition supplies were dwindling. To make matters worse, goblins had begun reaching the top of the walls.
Each time they climbed over, soldiers specialized in close combat were dispatched to deal with them, while the others fired down at the piles of corpses building beneath. But now, so many goblins were scaling the wall that it was becoming harder to hold the line.
I checked the status screen once more.
STAGE 0
———————————————————————————
Enemies:
??? Lv. 60
?
Goblin King Lv. 50
20
Goblin General Lv. 35
1,000
Goblin Knight Lv. 20
13,214
Elite Goblin Lv. 10
16,221
Goblin Lv. 5
242,404
We were only halfway through. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the situation. Normally, a stage like this would take 30 minutes, but this battle had dragged on for over an hour. We had no reinforcements, and with the resources we had left, there was no way we could hold the line much longer. Injured soldiers were starting to appear at the walls, their numbers growing. The goblin mages had begun firing their spells, each impact weakening the wall’s defenses further.
Thankfully, my troops had focused on eliminating the elite goblins, especially their mages, so their numbers were smaller. But even so, it was getting harder to defend.
"I hope my plan is going well..." I murmured to nobody in particular as I looked out at the endless waves of goblins.