Chapter 45 : War 3 : The Battle

In an open field close to the Kiro mountains and Blue Mist Salt lake, only two types of sounds could be heard.

"Krawww!"

"Argg!"

The two different armies representing two different races were about to collide. The weird high pitched sound was produced by a horde of green skinned, possibly mammalian, creatures. They had somewhat long noses and huge eyes with sharp razor teeth glued to the top and bottom of their jaws. Their average height peaked at about 3 foot(AN : About 0.9m) with some being even shorter. They were all garbed in roughly made animal skin clothing and wielded weapons sculpted from rocks though there was an occasional appearance of metal type weapons. The creatures streamed from the mountain surface in a single stunning and intimidating wave seeming as if they were a tsunami trying to drown the buildings by the coast.

Their counterparts on the other hand, were are bunch of humans. Though they are described as a bunch, they numbered at least 800 men. However, compared to their adversary, they were indeed a 'bunch'. The human army was made up of both players and NPCs and unlike their goblin counterparts who simply charged in a straight line, they attacked from 3 different directions; left, right and centre. If the occasional spells and arrows fired from behind were to be counted, then it would be from 4 different directions.

As the 2 troops were about to collide, one special unit of about 10 men from the human side charged ahead of the others. This unit were all clad in full black coloured metal armor with the leader's own having red patterns on it. They all released a ferocious bloody aura that made one give up resistance and cower in fear, as if encountering executioners sent by death. This unit was the guard unit specifically lead by Lord Midel, General of the Town Guards.

They charged far faster than the others and easily closed up to the goblin force. Despite so, their momentum didn't take a dive but rather rose even more. They tore through the goblin army like hot knife through butter. Like a bull smashing through a wooden gate, they tossed and slaughtered their foes without sympathy. Wherever they went, they only left behind a trail of blood and the cursed screams of the goblins.

"Midel seems to be enjoying himself." Arman smiled while floating in the sky. His secretary, Alice Zhastris, nowhere to be seen.

A few seconds after Midel's squad had opened the curtains for the show, the player + NPC army clashed with the goblin army. Bodies flew everywhere, limbs scattered all around. It seemed as if all hell had been let loose. The players steadily held their ground, slaying goblins after goblins.

"Die!"

"Arghh!"

"Disgusting maggots, die!"

"Today I shall become a legend."

"My mom will be proud of me."

"For Narnia."

"For Camelot."

"Fuck Camelot. For my waifu, Rem. You deserve better!"

"Emilia squad, prove that asshole he's wrong."

As the players clashed with the goblins, they all released different battle-cries that suited them with some just being idiotic. Even though they knew it was a serious battle, some of them couldn't help but want to crack a joke at times.

The flanks attacked from the sides, effectively forcing the goblin horde to split into 3 and lessening the pressure on the centre line. Spells, swords and daggers flew round the place. With a slash of a blade and a swing of an axe, a scream of pain would be released with limbs and body parts soaring through the sky like confetti in the air.

Despite their small number, thanks to the NPC forces, the players were able to get the upper hand of the battle. This was because the NPCs were much higher levelled than the goblins, who were somewhat roughly the same level as the players.

*clank* *clang*

The clashing of swords and axes were all that could be heard, that is if you were to ignore the continuous screams of pain from both sides. Even though the human side was higher in quality, the goblin army had enough quantity to fill in the gaps in their straight line formation.

Originally having the upper hand and pushing forward with great vigor, the human forces were steadily being grinded[1] down to a halt by the unending waves of green skins. Though they weren't on the losing side, their momentum and vigor had dropped by far and they advanced far slower than they did with their initial charge.

However, the NPCs and players still held their lines with unwavering determination and bravery even as they watched their friends fall.

"Hold the line. This is for Riverdale." An NPC in iron armor screamed from the frontlines.

"1st squad, assist the NPCs at the centre. The rest of you, hold the line. Spell casters, prepare an AOE. We need breathing space." Daichi screamed consistently at the players while holding up against 4 goblin warriors.

Noticing the slowing motion of the main force, some of the players from the flanks dived towards the centre unit and attacked the goblins. Even Midel's squad had made a turn back towards the main force slaughtering the green shorties they encountered.

"Oppai squad coming to reinforce you." A funnily dressed player yelled as he moved through the battlefield smoothly, landing critical hits occasionally at assisting the other players timely.

He wasn't the only one though. Some other players weaved through the battlefield to the best of their abilities, providing assistance to their colleagues. This was one of the strategies discussed by the player union. Since their numbers were lacking when compared the goblins, the players had agreed to aid one another if they are free to do so. Considering that they could still kill goblins and help maintain their numbers, there was no loss in doing so. But that didn't mean that everyone agreed to this. Some players felt that as more of their kind died, their chances of getting the most kills increased and so they ignored the players in need and focused on their battles. No one would blame them however, as you cant force everyone to be noble or altruistic.

Even with all the selfless assists, the players weren't able to get huge advantage over the goblin army.

"I think it's time I made my move. I wonder if you'd still sit back and watch?" Arman smiled while staring at the mountain. After a few seconds, he looked at the goblin horde that was still approaching the human forces without rest and flashed over directly above them. He then lifted his arms up at the goblins and said slowly;

"[Void Collision]"

All of a sudden, soundlessly, the body of a goblin at the direct centre of the wave began to collapse. Rather than collapsing, it seemed more like pixelation, as it's body had broken down into little fragments without a single spillage of blood. Even the blood had perfectly pixelated with the various body parts resulting in an eerie and creepy scene. Just like that, all the goblins close to the first victim in a 50 metre radius began to pixelate, dying weirdly without being able to block or dodge the attack.

"Kraww!"

They screamed in terror and fear, trying to outrun the attack but once their body had shown signs of pixelation, even if they went beyond the 50 metres mark, they would still die.

"So this is the power of the Town Head." Sato stared ahead of the battlefield in awe.

"It's a good thing I didn't get on his nerves that much." Fudo shivered a bit recalling how he was teasing the 'boy' for his short stature.

"Who's that?"

"Is he with us?"

The other players, on the other hand, were wondering who Arman was as they hadn't seen him during the speech.

"The Town Head is with us men. We cannot lose and for we are destined to win. Attack!" Lord Midel used the opprotunity of the Town Head landing a devastating attack to rally the people's morale and courage once more, showing why he was the general.

Most of the players were surprised at the revelation that the Town Head of Riverdale was a small 'boy' nonetheless, that didn't stop them from fighting not did it reduce their evaluation of him, especially after his performance.

As they pushed forward with more momentum than they earlier did, some of the mages soon sensed a huge amount of dark mana, rising steadily beneath them.

"The BOSS is coming!"

"Lord Goku will save us."

Many of the players began their reckless cries though most of the began setting up precautions and barriers, hoping it could save them.

"So you finally can't sit back eh?" Arman smirked.

"You provoke me, oh Child of the Void."

AN :

[1] Apparently, this is wrong. I know the correct form should be ground but for the purpose I'm using the verb, grinded sounded better…

These few chapters were meant to focus more on the battle than the MC.