Chapter 1132: Full-Fledged Goblins
Chapter 1132: Full-Fledged Goblins
According to Avenger, Raydoss’s operation diverted a great deal from their initial invasion plan. The West Conquest Duke’s portion failed spectacularly, and almost all of his schemes had been completely ruined. Because of that, the other dukes could no longer expect any further support.
After hearing the details, it turned out to be about 80% our fault.
We were only doing whatever we could to protect everyone from Raydoss, so I had no clue the West Conquest Duke was that involved… I didn’t even know “curse reversal” was a thing.
As a result, the South Conquest Duke adjusted the plan. This involved luring Kranzel’s army deep into the country before striking back.
As the Kranzel army progressed, all the villages along the path surrendered without opposition. Meanwhile, the villagers secretly gathered information on their forces and passed it on to South Conquest Duke.
The strategy allowed them to analyze all of Kranzel’s forces beforehand. Then, the Southern Knights, the Black Skeleton Corps, and the Knights of Carmine Flame join forces and annihilate them. Naturally, executives from the Black Skeleton Corps would be participating.
In fact, Avenger and his ghouls were scheduled to be summoned and join the fray too.
「Well, they no longer have any way to control us, so they will never be able to summon us again.」
The Black Skeleton Corps had developed a ritual spell to summon or dismiss an entire horde of undead, which allowed them to set up ambushes at will. This spell was apparently a recent invention still in the experimental stages, but it worked perfectly fine.
The undead horde at Alessa was also a result of such experiments.
「Regardless of how powerful Kranzel’s forces may be, I believe their loss is assured. They will be forced to split their army between three fronts, each isolated from the support of the others.」
「…I’ll go save them!」
『Okay, but what about everyone here? Are you leaving your squad behind?』
Abandoning our squad will almost definitely disqualify us from the rank-up exam. Especially since dumping them in enemy territory may result in their deaths.
I considered leaving the ghouls behind to protect them, but I don’t know if we can maintain control over them remotely. Maybe Maleficent can protect them instead? However, it seems he wasn’t going to be cooperative there.
「Watching over the entire squad for you doesn’t count as a chore, just so you know.」
「Mrgh.」
Though Maleficent replied as casually as ever, his words carried a sort of power behind them. We won’t be able to rely on him.
Then, I suddenly realized something. We now had a total of about 70 members if we count the ghouls. In other words, we only need 30 more to reach March of the Valkyrie’s activation condition.
「Hey, Avenger.」
「What is it, my priestess!」
「Can you summon some fast undead?」
A few hours passed, as we underwent one of our hardest marches ever.
We forced our way through the roadless wilderness, at times weaving through brush, and at others, climbing up steep slopes that were practically cliffs. All at max speed without any breaks.
The struggle was made apparent by the squad’s constant labored breathing and scarred limbs. Despite their screaming muscles, the only words that ever left their mouths were agonized gasps of the word “curry”.
Well, I guess that only applies to the soldiers rather than us.
Fran, Maleficent, and the ghouls were completely fine.
「Just a little longer. Everyone, keep at it.」
「Cur…ry!」
「Urah! Curry!」
「We got this! CURRY!」
Honestly, is there any reason they still need to say “curry”? I guess both Fran and the soldiers have gotten so used to it that they don’t find it weird anymore.
There was the occasional monster attack, but those weren’t much of a problem. Some soldiers got picked up by their friends, and others got picked up by the ghouls. Everyone made it through to the end.
We had succeeded in sprinting up an almost 3000 meter tall mountain ridge.
According to the layout of Raydoss we heard from Avenger, the southern half of the country was covered with hills and mountains. We would have to take a huge detour in order to avoid them.
But since we wanted the fastest route to the battlefield, we had no choice but to brute force our way up a mountain.
Clearly a reckless plan, but none of the soldiers complained. Fran’s orders were met with the same “Yes, Captain! Curry!” as usual. I wouldn’t have been able to imagine the scene only a few days ago.
The battlefield wasn’t visible from the ridge we were on, since the rough terrain still stretched a bit further. We’re done with climbing and only need to go downhill from here. That said, descending a mountain comes with its own problems like unstable footing and rock slides.
All the soldiers continued marching forward with Fran in the lead. Following behind was a pack of 50 undead.
The Genocide Ghouls had created Skeleton Dogs to join our ranks. Not to mention the horses. Apparently, even non-humans are considered part of Fran’s squad if they are willing to follow her.
March of the Valkyrie visibly befitted both the undead and the horses. As a result, the horses became capable of crossing terrain that would normally be impassable.
Our squad descended the mountain in almost a straight line, with healing spells to fix up anyone who injured their legs. The Raydoss fort was somewhere in the hilly area expanding before us.
（The fighting’s already started.）
『Yeah, we couldn’t make it fast enough. Still, it’s not too late.』
（Nn!）
From the raging shouts echoing through the air, everyone could imagine the fierce battle even if we couldn’t see the clashing armies. Fran turned back to her squad before taking the first step into the battlefield.
「Line up.」
「「「 Yes, Captain! Curry! 」」」
「You’re not the useless worse-than-goblins you were when we first met. You’re now full-fledged goblins, capable of doing your duty.」
『Can you at least call them adventurers or something instead of goblins?!』
「Nn. You’re full-fledged adventurers. You can do your job even without adding curry to your sentences.」
「「「 Yes, Captain! 」」」
「We’re about to enter a battlefield. You can survive if you all work together.」
「「「 Yes, Captain! 」」」
「Okay, let’s go! Time to save our friends!」
「「「 Yeah! 」」」
And so, the mixed unit of humans and undead led by Fran charged to war.