Chapter 49: Iron And Fire
It’s the calm before the storm, but there is no place for peace in our hearts. Our eyes are strained, darting this way and that along the horizon, trying to spot anything approaching the very moment it’s physically possible. The goblins might not come for another half hour, another ten minutes, this very minute, or – hoping against all probability – not at all.
I know instinctively we have only one shot. Not with repelling the goblins, but with calling reinforcements from the front. If we were to try to bring them now, and they come only to find no enemies – that would be it. To the orcs, our credibility would be gone, and they won’t heed a second call. There needs to be enemies approaching before we bring them over.
But if we miss them, if we call reinforcements too late… The hell can the four of us do against an army? It would be like trying to split a boulder with an egg.
Theoretically, with the land speed of goblins, particularly in a host, we should have enough forewarning to work with. The city walls are long, but the ends are still roughly within eyesight. Utak should be able to run the length, round up some reinforcements and make it back before the goblins could reach the wall.
But what if they use camouflage, and we aren’t able to notice them with enough time to spare? What if they use mounts? On one hand I recognise such a thing is ridiculous – a whole army, or portion of it, shouldn’t be able to be camouflaged with much effectiveness, and similarly the number of animals required would be unrealistic – but I can’t help but fear that they somehow make it work. We’d be toast. And not the appetising kind either; burnt toast. Thoroughly carbonised.
Still, there’s no use to worrying about such things. Recognise the possibility, keep it in mind, focus on what needs to be done.
Time passes. The distant clamour of battle at the main gates doesn’t seem to have grown louder, so at the very least we should not be losing in the short term. But it tells me little. At the very least, there has been no sight of boats or rafts on the river, and no sounds of screams from behind us that could indicate that the east wall has been breached, or that the walls have been tunnelled under.
Really wishing I had a telescope right now. Definitely going to buy one from the gnomes next time.
A smudge emerges on the horizon.
“You guys seeing this too?” I call out.
“I don’t see a thing.” Jakin replies.
Ah, right, forgot they’re a bit short sighted.
“Utak?”
His voice is tense. “Maybe…”
“We’ll give it another half minute or so, then.” I decide, my eyes still firmly on the smudge. “If it turned out to be a herd of beasts passing by, I’d kick my ass too, if I were an orc.”
After a short time passes, I can start making out vague details. It’s a horde of green figures moving directly towards us – unmistakeably a goblin army.
“It’s them, I’m sure of it!” I shout. “Utak, go, now! Do whatever you need to get them to come, yell at them, knock heads together, just make sure you bring a portion of the orcs here to fight!”
Utak sets off running down the wall.
“Think I can see ‘em now.” Jakin notes, walking over to me. “Can you make out weapons?”
“Not yet, but I don’t see any siege engines or mounts, so there’s that.” I reply, squinting. “Could have ladders hidden in that mass, I guess?”
Jakin looks at me oddly for a moment before looking back at the horizon. “I’d call yeh paranoid, but nobody heard of a goblin city before. Hard teh say what they’re capable of. But I doubt they brought ladders - They got no history of war. A house teh protect from the elements, a wall teh keep out the monsters, they’re easy enough teh think of. But ways of war take time and experience.”
“True enough. They did pull of this manoeuvre, though. Then again, flanking and ambush are goblin’s bread and butter. Guess this is just the same thing, just bigger scale.” I reply.
“Aye, but ain’t that simple. Hiding one or two people in the bushes is different from hiding an entire army. They bet on the orcs grouping to the visible threat, and that needs understanding of the orc’s nature, even better than we do. Mark my words, somewhere behind these armies, whether at the rear or at their city, there’s a brain no lesser than the generals back in the kingdoms.” Jakin narrows his eyes. “If they can do this in their first battle, how much more could they do after a dozen? We’re lucky these’re just goblins, ‘n not something more powerful.”
I give a wry smile. “If that were the case, what would be left of our races? Perhaps we would be directly sent back thousands of years, scattered to the hills in small groups and scavenging for food, not daring to confront but the weakest of monsters…”
Jakin grunts in reply. “Reckon the orcs’ll be in front of the wall again. What a waste of a perfectly fine fortification… Our crossbows should have range enough to fire over allied troops, should we stay here or join the fray in a bit?”
Loading and cocking my crossbow, I fire a shot to get a gauge of my range from this position. “Yeah, range is fine. No reason to give up an advantage, I reckon. Keep firing until we run out of bolts or the melee gets too mixed, then we regroup and join the fray.”
A dull roar starts to come from the direction of the front wall, and I look over to see a crowd of orcs thumping towards us.
“Utak did it.” I grin. “Thank god.”
Then the crowd starts to peel away from the wall.
“Wait, what are they doing?” I can’t help but voice my confusion.
The orcs proceed to charge directly at the goblin army.
“Oh, fer fek’s sake.” Jakin swears, cradling his head. “I don’t think they could be better at ruining our plans if they tried.”
He hollers down the wall to Boaz, “Looks like we’re hopping down the wall!”
Receiving a thumbs up in reply, I climb over the parapet, carefully lower myself to the full extension of my arms then drop the remaining distance, rolling as I hit the ground to dissipate the impact. A thud nearby notifies me of Jakin following suit, and we join up with Boaz just down the wall before heading towards the goblin army at a brisk jog.
Naturally, we could go faster, but then we’d arrive out of breath and perhaps tired, and we have our work cut out for us as it is without that additional handicap.
“I’ll take the front. Guard my sides.” I say seriously. “Remember, for all the danger today, they’re goblins. Don’t waste your energy with large attacks.” Maybe I should get a sword for situations like these. My hammer is frankly overkill, but my dagger has uncomfortably short reach.
As we grow closer to the goblin army, we join up with the charging orcs, their continuous roaring making some oddly unconcerned part of my mind wonder whether I would suffer damage to my hearing.
Then the frontlines smash together.
Immediately, the first wave of goblins is obliterated, some literally being sent flying by the orcs’ overbearing strength. However, more are hot on their heels, crowding at the orcs, jumping on them, biting, stabbing, scratching.
The scene is analogous to the phrase quantity against quality.
Like water against the shore, the waves of goblins spread out around the orc battlefront and into any cracks that appear, trying to wear away at anything and everything they can. Despite this, the orcs do not fall so easily. The tough skins of the orc cause any biting and scratching to be little more than an irritation, rarely able to penetrate. Every time it seems one is about to fall from injury or exhaustion, they roar all the louder and charge forwards with fury in their eyes.
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I glance down as what is scarcely recognisable as a goblin head squishes beneath my boot. The advance of the orcs hardly paused with the meeting of the two forces, and despite our group not being near the front of the orcs we are already past where the front ranks of the goblins once were.
The smell of death only grows stronger as time passes. Not just that of blood, but spilled organs, stomachs and intestines burst open to expose acids and half-digested food to open air. The eyes of the orcs around us are half crazed, and their faces are twisted like demons… Uh, mythological demons, not Xiltroth’s kin. The sights, smells and sounds seem to be spurring them into a battle frenzy.
Meanwhile, Jakin and Boaz’s faces are locked into a stony grimace. It’s immediately clear that this is their first large-scale conflict, and that they aren’t enjoying the experience.
Yet, my mind is clear and unshaken. Worries and concerns have faded away, leaving in their wake only an unbreaking focus.
As the goblins spread out to surround the orcs, the orcs in turn spread out to face them. Eventually, this might leave us with a comparatively thin frontline, which could be vulnerable to being broken through. Do I care? Not particularly. Nothing I can do about it. We just have to fight as best we can and hope we win.
We, too, eventually arrive at one of the flanks of the battle. Before us, like a grassy blanket, is the goblin army. Screaming and shrieking at us in their pint-sized rage. I hate doing this, despite it being so easy. But I won’t hesitate against an enemy that wouldn’t give me any mercy, either.
Raising my left hand, I shout a word of caution to anyone with enough presence of mind to understand it. Then, taking a breath laden with massacre, I let forth hellfire.
The goblins have no defence against the conflagration and wither like grass in a blaze. A few attempt to duck in from the sides to attack me, but are swiftly dispatched by casual blows from the twins. After that, none of them try again, and they try to give the flames a wide berth. Naturally, some are more successful than others, and a host can’t all dodge a wide-area attack.
It does mean we have to chase them down to some degree, while being careful not to split off from the main group – trying to attack or defend ourselves from all directions would burn through my mana like no tomorrow. The effectiveness of just me acting like a human flamethrower makes me realise just how dangerous mages are in a war if left unchecked. Just a troop of fire mages with an accompanying shield wall and shield… Roof? What did they call that, testudo formation? Just that could cleave through an army of mundane troops.
But, not unlike the flamethrower, I have limited fuel – mana. After some time I’m forced to cut off the stream of fire, leaving myself with just a small portion of my mana pool in reserve. I lower my hand and grasp the haft of my warhammer.
The goblins are hesitant to approach for a moment, fearful of the fire resuming and them joining the blackened corpses of their brethren behind us. But only for a moment. The shrieking and pushing masses behind them drive them ever forwards, and soon the first of them throw themselves at us.
A swing of my hammer intimately introduces the head of one with the head of my hammer, and the head of the goblin next to them as a direct consequence. Another goblin darts in as its kin are tossed aside, only to meet the steel of my boot. Bone gives way. The return swing of my weapon greets the next.
My earlier concerns are immediately realised. I’m simply not able to swing my weapon fast enough. Shortly I’m forced to take a hand off my warhammer to smash one the face with my fist. It’s lethal, and my arms are much longer than theirs.
Ah. I had just mentioned it to the twins earlier, but I ended up being the one needing to hear it. Most of the time with monsters, it’s best if they don’t hit you. Many of them are large and can punch through armour if given leverage and opportunity.
But goblins are small, weak, and squishy. Let alone outranging me, they can only get through my armour by slipping daggers or spears into cracks, joints, eye holes. I can manage that.
With a sweeping blow, I momentarily drive back the goblins in front of me and make use of the opportunity to holster my warhammer. With my left hand, protected only by the leather glove, I draw my dagger, and my gauntleted right I simply clench into a fist.
One punch kill… It would be a more satisfying accomplishment if they weren’t mere goblins. And unlike the hammer, the dagger moves as quickly as my hand can, and so long as I hit the chest or head, it’s almost guaranteed to be lethal. I generally use things as if I’m right-handed - after all, most tools and items are made to be used right-handed, both in the last world and this – but being ambidextrous, I have no particular difficulty using the dagger in my left hand, besides some unfamiliarity.
Unlike my usual fighting style, I strike swiftly and nimbly with light attacks. One punch to kill, one cut to end a life.
The twins on either side of me aren’t hugely pressured either. Their military picks puncture the goblins with ease, and their shields are like walls slamming at the enemies. That isn’t to say it’s easy. There are an ungodly number of goblins, easily into the thousands. For us, it’s a question of stamina. Concentration to a lesser degree, but the goblins don’t have the means to capitalise on any mistakes we may make. Even if one manages to duck in and try to stab one of us, their flint knives will shatter on our armour, or their wooden spears splinter.
Unfortunately, the orcs don’t have the benefit of that protection. Their skin is tough, yes, so the damage is lessened, but they still take damage, cuts and nicks that weep blood and slowly add up over the combat. Enough ant bites can topple an elephant, and goblins aren’t the only corpses that litter the battlefield.
But all we can do is kill the enemies in front of us. We have no secret weapon or hidden power that can turn the tide single-handedly. Perhaps us being here or not is only a small contribution to the result of the battle.
Regardless, nothing unexpected or new occurs in the battle. The goblins do not gain any reinforcements or reveal new weapons, neither mundane nor magical. There is no complex manoeuvring or formations.
The tide finally changes when we receive reinforcements, evidently the battle at the front of the city already having been won.
The last remaining goblins, maybe a couple hundred at most, are routed and flee in all directions. Some orcs give chase to kill the remnants, but others, like us, just sit down to tend to their wounds and rest. A few head back to the city, or carry the bodies of fallen orcs away. Frankly, it’s a mess without a single semblance of order.
After a few minutes of catching our breath, I stand up. “Let’s head to the east wall, see what the situation is there, let them know we’ve won if there’s not another army on that side.”
As it turns out, there was no third force (thankfully), and the three of them were just tensely waiting.
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Some time later, we are sitting on the grass outside the main gates along with a host of orcs, all looking towards the top of the wall where the chief stands.
“Orcs,” He begins, with surprising volume for his age, “Warriors, brothers and sisters. Today we live! Today our enemies lie dead, as many as grass in a field. A great victory!”
Roaring cheers start, but the chief raises a hand, and the voices quickly die down. “But so do many of our brothers and sisters lie dead today. Many brave warrior spirits join our ancestors. My heart bleeds to say that the battle was worse than it could have been, that many of our brothers and sisters did not have to die today. Had everyone stayed on the walls and thrown the rocks at the enemies as I commanded, goblin bodies would have piled up high at the foot of the walls!”
Most every orc hangs their heads in shame at the words.
“Every want of you wanted to fight, to defend those in the city who is too young or old to defend themselves – I understand, and you are not wrong to want this.” He continues. “However, you all know now that after everyone went to fight here, the very bloodied ground you sit on, there was another attack from the goblins at another wall. Every one of you, think what would have happened if that attack came and you were all fighting here.”
Orcs blinked, scratched heads, looked to each other for answers.
“The goblins would have climbed the walls.” He answers his own question. “They would have slaughtered everyone in the city who could not fight for themselves, and then they would have come here and attacked from behind. Our warriors would have been surrounded by enemies, and we might even have been defeated.”
His voice grows even louder. “Remember today not as the day we defeated a great many enemies, but as the day we were nearly destroyed by our own foolishness. Remember well, and never make these mistakes again. Remember, and make the spirits of our fallen warriors proud!”
This time, he doesn’t stop the roaring. Their lung capacity and energy are commendable, and it goes on for a few minutes.
The chief eventually quiets down the orcs. “That being said, I have some people to thank – no, that we all have to thank. When everyone else had left the other walls to come fight here, they stayed behind to watch and guard against another attack, and when it happened, they called for aid and brought many warriors from here to fight the new enemies. What they did today saved many lives, maybe the lives of the entire city! Even though they are not of our blood, today they have proven themselves worthy of being our true brothers and sisters! They are the outsider warriors, and our own brother, Utak!”
The cheers are once again deafening, and I notice Xiltroth covering his ears. Orcs surrounding us clap us heavily on the backs and grin at us menacingly (joyfully).
“From today, they will no longer be outsiders, but our brothers and sisters, warriors worthy of respect. And Utak, you will be welcomed back as a guard of Ra’tlub!” The chief announces. “But now, we must think of the days to come. The goblins suffered many deaths, but their city and those there are still untouched. Our new brothers and sisters, what do you think of this?”
The orcs around us instantly turn to look at us, and I’m floored for a short moment by the sudden attention. Then I realise that maybe this is the chief’s way of giving us an opportunity to improve the orcs’ opinions of us. “If we leave them alone, they will only attack us again.” I shout. “We must destroy them!”
“Well said!” The chief exclaims. “We will make the goblins realise just how stupid they were to attack us! On the second dawn from now, we march to slaughter their forces and flatten their city! Prepare what food and equipment you need, rest and heal your wounds so that every one of us may be at our strongest for the battle!”
The ground trembles from the roars. “WAR!!!”