8 The Defending Battle

"Are you certain of that decision, your majesty?" I asked, insinuating a sense of hesitancy along with his words. However, the king's blank expression told me everything he said was absolute-including this sudden invitation.

"I have never heard of someone doubt the royal words, let alone a king." He answered with a hint of mockery yet jest to his sentence.

I, who had made a mistake, bow my head and request for him to accept my apology.

With a snicker as his retort, he raises my head and queries me once more. "Will you come to my kingdom?"

His facial characteristics change as he quizzes me. It was not from a king, but a father and a husband repaying for his kind deeds.

"If you would allow, then I cannot refuse as it will also benefit me," I replied with a smile, showing my gratitude for the kind king.

We both shift our gaze at the horizon and stare beautifully at the radiating town from afar. As the night grew older, morrow drew near.

At that same morning, the king announces to the knights to guard us three as they would protect the king's family. He explained to everyone that our presence alone is beneficial for their land, and the people believed. Some had their doubts, questioning the king's decision, but we cannot persuade them for any more. Izz, Grer, and I will show them results than debate with trivial words to prove our worth.

Now, we are on the road, travelling like merchants, but with a grande carriage and soldiers in our vicinity. Fortunately, the king also requests for us to station inside, together with the two prominent women.

"Can I ask you some questions, Lake?" The Queen, Clare Windsor, locks her eyes and studies me with curiosity. Markus Windsor and Therese Windsor, hearing the question itself, shuffle closer to my side and listen to what I have to say.

"How come you are knowledgeable with the human tongue and proper manners." She asks while holding her fan to cover her mouth. I could see her lips curling up for a smile as the three of them waited for my response.

"The language is not far too different from the goblin's," I remarked, confused on what to say. All I know is that the mysterious system, which I can only see, provided me with such prowess to understand the limited languages. Although labelled as multilingual, there are some instances that I need to learn some specific languages unavailable in my status. These might include demonic, dwarves, and mythical creatures to be exact-whether they exist.

Putting that aside, my two goblin companions are all snoring with ease, not minding the world around them. Thankfully, they are not affecting anyone, aside from their excessive amounts of space they take from the carriage. Spacious as it is, Grer and Izz must observe the time and place for their embarrassing actions.

"How about those goblins inside the caves? Are we not going to include them on your journey? Are you also affiliated with them?" The Queen added while retracting her foldable fan. Markus nods his head, showing that the questions asked must have their reasons and answers.

I pause for a moment and think of a plausible reaction. My decision cannot straightforwardly abandon the sprites, for that will make me treacherous and heartless.

"It depends if I have the chance to do so," I gave them the safest answer that I could think of, hoping they will catch the bait. "And they can live their lives without my prior help, I suppose."

The three royalties sit back on their cushion, satisfied by the answer.

Goblins survive by sticking with their pack while taking resources from the nearby camps-whether they are from humans or other species. They also assault women to increase their population, which the King himself should know about. His wife and daughter, a perfect example for the occurrence, were not an exemption.

As we progress at the deeper section of the woods, we spot an unknown nest that I do not know of. Multiple borrows scatter around the field, paired with some awfully large footprints at around every corner.

The knights deployed outside marches to their defence formation and surround the caravan with protective arcane.

"My king, we have unfortunate news." The scout outside knocks at the door and informs us of the news.

Markus wipes out his worried expression and commits to moving outside to witness the scene. The three of us goblins tag along, wanting to guard the vulnerable royalty.

Unsheathing his golden handle blade, Markus strides forth whilst looking around at the mysterious scenery. I also observe the scene, and it is quite peculiar to have so many nests in our surroundings. However, one thing is for certain: that these dug up holes belong to the ant colony.

"I believe they came from ants-forest ants, to be precise." I voice out my concerns and inform everyone about my findings. Some did not bother hearing my words, but their faces tell me that my hunch was correct.

The King, Markus, widened his eyes at how knowledgeable a goblin could be as he listened to my judgement. Trusting my words, he orders his men to siege the ant's base and put it on fire to disrupt their homes.

Formica Rufa, also known as redwood ants, claim gigantic territories. They are famous for their aggressive behaviour and that they happily shoot formic acid at its enemies. The workers are quite hairy. It imbues the head and forehead with obsidian hues, perfect for camouflaging during the night. They also have a red and brownish middle segment with a dark spot on the upper front part of the fragment. Their abdomen has a flat dark brown or black and hazel shade. The legs and the antennas have the same colour as the middle body or a slightly darker shade.

The Queen, however, is a different story. Her normal range stands at relatively nine to eleven millimetres. She does not have fibres on the front of the abdomen, which is something otherwise prevailing in other species of wood ants. The first part of the abdomen is slicker than in other species. Colour-wise, the Queen has quite similar sheeting as the worker. What sets them apart is the gleam of the gut, which is greater in Queens.

The only questionable thing that I notice is that their nests live underground, where they should be on the surface. Their abodes are always protruding at the floor, visible to the naked eye. It also seems like their den is colossal compared to the pocket-sized version back on earth. The happening makes me wonder if there is some sort of abnormal interference going on around these forests.

Ironically, as I speak, a sudden violent quiver alerts the earth. The epicentre lies within our environment, coincidentally from where we are standing. To make matters worse, a shadowy figure emerges from the pit.

"It's the forest ants!" The line of soldiers cried as they stood powerless at the seams.

The description inside my mind was like the ants we discern. With their mammoth-sized mounds and their bloody yet mousy body, everyone present in the room becomes paralysed out of their will; everyone except us goblins, the King, and the Queen.

[Caution! Forest Ants activated {Paralysation}]

-Because of the effect of [Unrivaled] you and your party are immune to this effect.

The familiar clear and blue screen appears in front, telling me a warning. The Forest Ants have their own passive and cast a negative effect [Paralysation] lingering in the domain. Markus and Clare immediately run towards their daughter and cast a healing arcane of some sort to dispel the reactions.

"Thank you, father, mother," Therese utters while embracing the warm hands of her mother.

Markus asked the two ladies to leave the place together with three of the elite guards. Not wasting any more seconds, Markus summons a magic circle wide enough to cater to everyone and release the soldiers from their slumber.

As soon as they awoke, loud cheers filled the total area.

"To arms, men!" The King said while swaying his golden handle blade once more and dash ahead at the worker ant. In a split second, the ant's body cuts into half and creates a fountain of dark and purple blood afterwards.

Noting the tremendous power that Markus holds, the morale of the platoon rises like wildfire, encouraging them to fight some more. However, before they can even take part in the battle, hundreds-no, thousands of the same ants come on the scene, with their heads more cosmic than before.

The confidence of the army slowly withers like the sand as they continue to watch the dreadful scene. Even Markus, who had killed the vicious ants, could not hide his anxiousness from his face.

He grips tighter to his shaft and gradually withdraws to the rest of the group while forming varieties of formation we can use to limit the futuristic casualty.

"Never have I seen such a legion of forest ants." He said with his eyes gazing at the linear direction.

It was the same line of sight that my eyes had followed through. Every cell in my body screams in terror, forcing me to retreat at once.

We all share the same frightful experience, few guards who also perceive what we saw had already run away.

"You have no other choice but to defend the post with our lives on the line," Says the King while projecting an immense amount of arcana from the magic circle before us. "You may escape from this dangerous place, but please, save my daughter and wife once again."

It was a tough decision for his part to lower his head to the mere goblins. However, I refuse to chicken away as I bid the power hidden inside of me.

"Markus, you can count on me."