Chapter 22: Battle (end)

"Chase them!"

Dudududu

The ground shook as numerous feet were running at the same time.

Swish.

The leaves leave their trees after being swayed by the harsh wind brought by the goblins.

"Didi! You go first and tell Hig to commence the plan!"

"Yes king!"

As the king gave his orders to Didi, he looked back at the pursuing enemies. He knew that he wouldn't be able to escape after cutting it close so he decided to let Didi go first. It wasn't an act based on kindness.

He did that because he believed that with Didi going first, the chances of winning will be better.

"Guahh!"

He bellowed out a roar to get the goblin's attention on him.

Boom!

He crossed his arms to try to look as imposing as possible. He looked for the chieftain that he met earlier.

"You! Fight me!"

The chieftain's face paled when he realized that he was talking to him. His color is almost the same as the king's but of course, he wasn't a fool. He replied.

"Attack him! He's alone!"

A smirk formed on his face. He looked down at the goblin in front of him.

'Is he stupid? Why should I fight him alone!'

Indeed, there is no reason why he should comply with his demands. He could just order his goblins to attack him and wait for the demon to lose his strength.

"You won't be spared."

The king replied in a matter of fact tone. The goblins who were preparing to attack him flinched at that statement.

Hearing that kind of reply, the chieftain couldn't help but tilt his head.

"Spared? What are you talking about?"

"When Raen dies, I'll be taking all of you."

The king said as if it was already decided. He smiled.

"You rejected a fight with me. A goblin's honor is to live and to die on the battlefield. You have no honor."

"W-what did you say!"

The chieftain talked back with a harsh tone on it. A vein popped both on his forehead and his neck. He gritted his teeth.

Goblins who have been blessed value honor more than anything else. Being blessed by the battlefield is an honor and they do anything to protect that honor.

Being told that he doesn't have honor, he snapped.

"I have honor! I have been blessed by the battlefield!"

Instead of replying, the king looked around.

"I won't attack those who don't."

"chwee!"

The tense atmosphere was immediately changed to a forgiving one. A goblin let out a happy cry at that statement and soon, a large number of goblins gave a happy cry too.

Seeing that, the chieftain became flustered.

"You guys! Argh! Enough!"

After saying that, he stormed out towards the king and he raised his fist.

"Even if you're a baron, I can buy time! Soon, goblins will flood in here!"

"And so? It doesn't change the fact that you will die."

After finishing his sentence, the king prepared himself for the oncoming clash. He clenched his fist and planted his feet firmly on the ground.

---I have no intention of dragging this out. I'll finish this in one blow!

"You arrogant bastard!"

The chieftain screamed and as he neared, he threw his right fist forward.

The king also got ready to throw his counter but soon, the left fist of the chieftain came swinging in from below.

'He fell for it! Fool!'

The chieftain smiled at the thought of this goblin falling down on his knees. Even if one is a baron, if he took a direct hit he won't be standing up.

He was sure of it but things didn't go as he expected. The king moved forward and slammed his body against the chieftain's. It was the same move that he used on his battle with the wolf.

Boom!

The chieftain couldn't react in time. The king pulled his fist and directed his punch at the jaws of his opponent to disrupt the brain.

Crack.

The breaking of bones and...

"AHHH!"

The last scream of a dying man was heard.

The chieftain then fell on his back as blood gushes out from his mouth.

That happened in a single instant. Dominating is the only word to describe that exchange!

---Fool.

With his victory as the signal, he turned around and ran towards the direction of his comrades.

---The other chieftains caught up during the duel huh.

With his heightened senses, he noticed some goblins that were blessed by the battlefield. They were moving fast unlike the one from before.

"Go!"

Swisshh! Boom!

With a punch coming in from his blind spot, the king couldn't avoid.

After being hit with the punch, he was sent away due to his speed and was tumbling down on the ground after colliding with a tree.

"Guh."

A groan came out from the king's mouth. As he stood up, he looked for the one who attacked him.

One after another, shadows came down from the trees and they filled up his view. Eight goblins that have been blessed were standing in front of him.

Each of them looked strong and imposing however not one of them moved after that one attack. Instead a goblin that's as big as Didi spoke.

"You. Why don't you serve Raen? I'm sure he will treasure a Goblin Baron."

"..."

"Tsk, just because you are a Baron doesn't mean you can win against us!"

The Goblin High that spoke got irritated after hearing no response. Despite that, no one moved. That scene was strange for the king who was cornered with their numbers.

---So they intend to keep me here and wait for their men and Raen...

The king, whether his thoughts was correct or not, decided to just run. He wouldn't fight eight strong goblins and then fight Raen later on. He was sure that if he did that, he will die in the battle with Raen.

"Can you win against me?"

The king prepared himself and unconsciously let out his aura, the aura that he gained with no knowledge whatsoever.

The goblins who were facing him all took on fighting poses to intercept the king, seeing the aura that was coming out of him.

'T-this bastard!!'

"Go get him!"

The Goblin High was scared but...

'He is only a single goblin! As long as we can exhaust him, we will win!'

That was his thought.

The goblins that were in a formation of a semi-circle all went in at once however what greeted them was dust that formed after a tree fell on the ground.

Boom!

The king punched a nearby tree with all his might. He even went in as far as breaking his flesh around his fist.

"Stay back!"

The goblins were wary of the strength of the king. They all knew how strong he was just from the previous exchange and more so when they watched the scene of him destroying goblins. They thought that with his strength, he'll try to take them on.

And that was their mistake. The dust subsided after some time and the king was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?!"

"He's not here!"

The other Goblin High that was keeping quiet shouted with all his strength.

"Go find him! He can't have gone that far yet!"

They didn't give him a response. Instead, they, at the same time, disappeared with the sound of leaves being disturbed. They knew what would happen if that goblin were to survive.

'This was our chance with his underlings not here! Damn it!

They can only lament it. The god sent chance that came, they couldn't take it.

Meanwhile, the king that was the target of their fear and hatred was escaping through the woods.

He smiled.

He laughed.

He could only be happy at the fact that he escaped with his limbs intact after being cornered with eight goblins blessed by the battlefield. Even if their rank was only a High with no former name that doesn't mean that he can fight all of them at once.

---That was close…I could have died there if not for the tree that was on the verge of falling.

Indeed, the only reason why he was able to escape was thanks to the fact that the tree would fall on his direction. Luck or not, he had to take it.

As he ran, he heard the noises of his pursuers coming from behind and in a far away distance, he saw a silhouette spread out like a thin line.

"So they're in position. I just have to make it."

The king reaffirmed his resolve and ran faster than before.

****

Raen whose mind was broken was desperately looking for the king that vanished. He ran through the woods and there he saw his subordinates that had clashed with the king.

"Oi, where's that bastard."

This Raen spoke with a tone full of composure and calmness. It was as if he was not Raen. His subordinates would not recognize him if not for his characteristic black skin.

"K-king, he escaped. He went through there. We're chasing him but we can only find his trail."

"Good. Let's go."

With that, Raen vanished in the forest once more.

The goblins were confused about his actions and attitude. They followed him while thinking about it.

'T-this is Raen...What happened to him?'

'I thought for sure he would go on a rampage after knowing that we let him escape.

'It's almost as if he was entranced...'

Indeed, the Raen of now was very different to the Raen of before. His subordinates could only pray that he would stay like that. They didn't even thought to investigate what had changed him.

Soon after, they came across a strange land. The strange land that they came upon was an open land that housed almost all of the goblins on their side. Even if many of them died, they still numbered many.

The strange land only had three sides. No, it only looked like that… The goblins that were running away from them spread out like a wall in front of them and the king was standing in front.

Raen who saw that was delighted that he could finally tear apart his opponent. He gave his order.

"All goblins, charge through the walls of fools."

The goblins who heard his order looked at him with doubtful eyes. They recognized the voice but not the tone. Raen didn't notice their gaze as he was focused only on the king.

After confirming that it was Raen who spoke, they charged through all at once.

Their enemy was standing still. They didn't even move when the goblins were nearing them.

The Goblin High who tried to recruit the king was confused. There's no way that he could be calm when their enemy was showing strange behavior. He had a bad feeling about it.

Tok!

The sky, which was clear all day long, suddenly darkened. The goblins that were charging looked up. Raen and the other chieftains looked up.

"…"

Tok!

Tok!

Tok!

The silence that was prevalent was broken by a sound of something dropping to the ground.

As if to reaffirm what was happening, the goblin high shouted.

"Rocks!!!"