Slayer King ch 6.
It was the end of the first day's march when the column of adventurers, wagons and horse stopped for the night.
Immediately the wagons were brought in a great circle, and locket together with chains and additional shields to plug any gaps between them, turning the convoy into a small fortress.
Tents were pegged, fires started, a latrine with a curtain for privacy was dug in the opposite corner from the water and food supplies, and shifts were chosen.
Four in total, during which one quarter of the group would keep a lookout, while the others rested. That way everyone got some sleep.
"Damn, this bunch is very efficient. Feels more like an army than a big party on a quest!"
"Says you dwarf. Any elven army could march twice as much as this one, all at running speed and fight a battle at the end of it!"
"Aye elf, but would they be able to take land at the end of the fight? Speeds all well and good when your hunting raiders or leading ambushes using arrows, but the fight ahead will not be yer elven poppy cock of hit and run. It'll be a standing shoulder to shoulder against an endless horde, then we besiege their cave. For that we need heavy troops, plenty of supplies and wagons for defense and siege assaults. Which is exactly what we brought. Ye should listen to yer elders more elf, ya might learn a thing or two."
"I'm 2.000 years old, how old are you dwarf?"
"Eh…well… 107."
"O HO HOH HO! Going grey haired at such a young age? You poor thing!"
Lizard Priest and Priestess laughed at the duo's antics, and so did the rest of the camp. It was nice to relax and a bit, even if they were marching to a battle.
"This meal is quite good." Lizard Priest said as he sampled the dish of hardtack and salted fatty pork bacon. It was the most popular dish for Slayer Keep.
Namely because it was cheap, the ingredients could last for years and the fat could also be used as fuel for the flame throwers.
Along with the meal there was cured venison and boar meat, smoked fish, plenty of nuts and berries, wild mushroom baked with cheese. And they also had plenty of flour for special occasions.
And of course there was the staple of Slayer Keep, namely venison soup.
All of it was either salty or with pepper.
To make it palpable, and because the two were the cheapest spices on the market.
"We penny pinch as much as we can, but just because it's cheap, doesn't meant it can't be tasty." Priestess said as Dwarf Shaman handed LP some cheese he baked over the fire that they shared, Lizard Priest tasted it and immediately fell in love with cheese.
"What we save in food, we can use to buy antidotes and stamina potions. That helps more when we kill goblins." Goblin Slayer said and sat down, joining the group.
"You sure yer not a dwarf Bead-cutter? You hate goblins enough to be a dwarf!"
"Yes."
"Ha Ha! Thought I gotta say yer group's bigger than what I expect. Didn't think there'd be this many willing to come with us. Tell me, how'd you manage to gather so many to yer holdfast?"
"They come for free room and food. Take one goblin quest a week; you can stay that week in Slayer Keep. A new rookie means new a goblin slayer. Free room and free food is golden for rookies. Some stay, others go after saving money, but both kill goblins. That is good. Also winter is coming, expect even more of them means more dead goblins, that is also good."
Goblin Slayer replied and started polishing his weapons.
"Well no god can stop a hungry man after all, so no wonder they flocked to ye. And speaking of food, since ye shared some with us, here's my contribution! Dwarf fire wine!"
Dwarf Shaman said and passed the potent beverage around.
High Elf Archer got tipsy after only one drink.
Goblin Slayer took a cup in a single gulp, much to Dwarf Shaman's surprise and newfound respect for his prowess.
"One cup only. Enough to help with sleep. I have the fourth shift and have to wake up then. Tomorrow morning we will face the vanguard, so everyone be rested and ready."
"Why so soon? The forest area where their lair is suspected of being is a days' march away." High Elf Archer asked, tipsy she may be, she still had a few sharp arrow in her quiver.
"The goblin lord put mind spells on his prisoners and send them back to spy on neighboring kingdoms, so he probably knows we're coming. He'll want to hit us just as we're nearing his territory, when he thinks we least expect it, we're tired after a march and his troops are rested."
Goblin Slayer said and then told them their part in tomorrow's plan.
After that he leaned his head forward and started sleeping.
The trio and Priestess gave small chuckle at that and went to bed themselves, all under the watchful eyes of the sentries.
The next day a convoy entered the territory of the goblin lord.
It was lead by a vanguard which consisted of Lizard Priest, High Elf Archer and five other adventurers from Slayer Keep.
And just as it passed through a thick grassy field, one moment it was alone, the next it was surrounded by goblin wolf riders!
They came over the hills galloping at full speed, immediately the mounted adventurers dashed forward to engage the riders before they reached the supply wagons.
Once the adventurers were at a big enough distance from the convoy another ambush of goblins came from the fields, this was a huge horde of goblins on foot with hobgoblins and champions in it, and it was lead by a Minotaur!
They jumped on the wagons ager to pilfer the supplies and kill their cart drivers.
But just as they got near the top of the wagons popped open! The carts were not supply carts, but war wagons disguised with a covering that had fake box and barrel tops on it!
From there the spell casters, lead by Dwarf Shaman chanted a unison spell of 'Stupor', freezing the horde and making them fall down from the spell.
The drivers, who were in fact archers that kept lookout for this ambush and scouted for the location of enemy shamans then took aim and shot with all their skill!
One shot, one kill and with that the nearby Goblin Shamans were cut down before they could cast disperse spell.
What followed after that was the rest of the adventurers that hid inside the fake wagons.
"Fire at will!" Warrior ordered his squadron, who manned the wagon's main weapon. And a wave of flames burst out from each wagon , burning the goblins alive.
"First team fire! Reload!" Noble Fighter ordered her squad, and it hurled their javelins at the Hobgoblins and champions. The javelins had a very long tip, that was almost a third of its total length, it was designed that when it pierced the stronger goblins, the long metal neck of the javelin head would bend from the weight of the wooden shaft.
This prevented the hobgoblins and champions from removing them from their bodies.
"Second squad fire! Reload!"
And the army of Slayer Keep had plenty to spare.
But this did not stop the minotaur leading the horde, it charged forward, ignoring how it's horde was being cut and burned to pieces.
"Fireball!" Wizard and her squad all chanted at once and launched their attacks at the minotaur.
It was not enough to kill it.
But it was enough to make it stumble back from the blast.
"Third team fire at the leader!"
"Second flame volley aim at the minotaur! Fire at will!"
"Allright you gnomes, time to go to work!"
And with that the minotaur fell to the ground from the endless wall of steel, spells and fire."
The horde scattered there and then, after seeing their general hit so bad.
As the goblins that were not burned from the wagons started regrouping along with the remaining champions and hobgoblins.
Their ambush failed, so now they would follow their leader's contingency plan and lure the adventurers into a trap.
As soon as the wolf riders returned, along with the forced that was setup to ambush the riders chasing the mounted adventurers.
That was the thought in the head of the Dhampir, that acted at the second in command of this horde and lead the retreat, they would return for Kichi the Minotaur after they pulled of the second ambush.
He was tough enough and stupid enough to survive those wounds.
The Dhampir could smell the scent of goblin blood and sweat strongly. The riders and the second group must be coming back after dealing with the riders.
She smiled, anticipating the revenge they would inflict on the men and the fate of the women made her almost cackle with glee. And when the arrow struck her straight in the neck she still had a mirthful expression on her face.
She also had a mirthful expression when a great Lizard figure, swollen from magic came after the arrow and smashed her head so hard it cracked and he fell to the ground.
Then came another group of riders that cut down the regrouping horde.
Then HE came!
A figure dressed in shabby, dirty armor, a small round shield strapped to his left arm, a cheap helmet on his head and a single red eye visible, smashed what was left of her skull to pieces with a club.
She saw was how the adventurer riders returned, all covered in blood.
In goblin blood that had masked their scent!
And after the riders came more that were dressed like that adventurer with the red eye that had smashed her skull.
That was the last image Mi saw.
The image of Goblin Slayer, surrounded by a squad of others like him surrounding him, as they made a circle around her and gutted her, to make sure she was dead.
"That's 54. Advance with caution and make sure that each corpse is dead." Goblin Slayer said to the Slayer squad. They nodded and followed him in finishing off the wounded goblins.
Right before dawn Goblin Slayer had enacted the first part of his plan. He, along with those that were equipped similar to him had snuck out of the camp in order to kill the scouts that were spying on them and form a stealthy vanguard in front of the march column.
From the terrain ahead he knew that the goblins would have struck with wolf riders from the front, in order to bait the adventurers on horses away from the wagons so a second ambush party could loot it.
So Goblin Slayer let his squad forward, in front of the column and when the wolf riders came, the squad threw caltrops in front of the rider's path, before running away from the charge.
The wolves all fell from once they ran into that spiked field of caltrops, they along with some of their riders were killed by the amount hat pierced them once they fell.
The horse did not suffer them, since they had a special horseshoes from Slayer Keep that protected them from the caltrops and they had all used rope and cloth to wrap steel beneath their shoes, so the adventures on foot were fine as well.
But the Goblins were not.
Quickly finishing off the survivors they then turned to charge from the rear the horde that was still reeling back from the reverse ambush from their wagon's 'surprise'.
"67….. 98…..120." Now there was not much left to do but to finish of the wounded goblins.
Lizard Priest and High Elf Archer had proven to be invaluable in leading the cavalry.
Killing the leader first was the crucial stroke in goblin slaying and they had done so admirably!
Dwarf Shaman also was a great contributor to today's victory.
His skilful leading of the mass 'Stupefy' spell was why they manage to cut down so many and not allow a single goblin to reach the wagons.
"Still…..something feel wrong." Goblin Slayer said as behind him Fighter led a group in taking a huge sharpened stake and impaling the downed minotaur trough the area between his legs, piercing his stomach and lungs and emerging to the left side of his neck.
The beast was still alive after being downed and it had enough strength to used it's club, but not enough for the legs.
Not wanting to risk any adventurer's lives or waste any spells or ammo, Fighter used this ancient execution method to strike at its weak point.
The Minotaur was not truly berate of power, it was now to wounded to fight back.
But it was still alive.
Impalement wasn't an instant death. Sometimes the victim could survive for hours if not days.
So Fighter lead her group in pulling back the stake from the minotaur.
"HEVE HO!" And then did a second jab trough the monster's anus, guts, stomach, lungs and then straight trough its neck and into its brains.
That was how Kichi died.
"Not enough."
"What is it Goblin Slayer-san?" Priestess asked as she led the healing unit to treat the wounded, thankfully there were no dead on their side.
"There is a total of 120 goblins dead here. From the information he gathered this nest has been dominating the region for over a year now. It also joined several battles and was on the winning side. This…..this is too small for... Also something was weird about…Oh no."Goblin Slayer quickly turned away from Priestess, who followed her straight to were Warrior, Wizard, Fighter, Noble Knight, , Elf Wizard, and Human Nun were gathered along with High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest.
„Circle the wagons, recover the arrows and javelins. We're in for rough night."
„So this wasn't the full horde then." Priestess said, realizing that the real fight was not just far from over, but hadn't even begun yet.
„Not just that but the Minotaur was to brutish to be in charge and the other one was a Dhampir. Goblins don't take orders except from Lord and Overlords. This was raiding party at best and bait to a bigger ambush at worse."
Goblin Slayer said as he looked towards the forest.
Then horns and drums were heard coming from the three line.
From where a goblin horde that was at much bigger then what they killed emerged.
Immediately the forces of Slayer Keep jumped at the new threat and quickly formed the wagons up and linked them into their fort.
They braced themselves for the coming tide of goblins.
Who stopped just short of skirmish range and then withdrew back to the woods.
Time passed during which nothing happened, then a great and loud bang was heard from the woods almost like a fire cracker going off.
A moment later Warrior fell down from his place in the line, clutching his head in pain.
Every single adventurer then quickly ducked behind the wagon's protective wood wall.
Priestess quickly came to him, and started the healing spell as Noble Fighter pulled of his helmet and cradled his bleeding head.
"T-that's! A b-b-b bullet!" Dwarf Shaman said as he inspected the now dented helmet, which had saved Warrior's life.
"T-these wretched filth have dawi weapons!" Dwarf Shaman said in pure hatred and burning anger for the goblins, one that burned even brighter than the know hatred the dawi had for the little green monsters.
Just then another round of musical instrument came from the forests, and another march of goblins came, one that once more withdrew at the last moment.
And so it continued for the rest of the day.
Sometimes the marches came within minutes of each other, other times they were hours apart.
Sometimes instruments played before their coming, other times there was only the goblin drums and horns with no marches.
The musket fire from the woods would also sometimes come after the marches, before, and a few times during it. And sometimes there was just the crackle of gunpowder as it fired without any music or marching out of nowhere.
Night time was falling and they all braced themselves for a night attack.
"They won't come tonight."
"What do you mean boss?" Warrior asked from besides him as they both used the arrow hatches to look at the forest.
With the musket fire it was certain death to go over the top of the wagons.
He had a bandage over his head to help with the wound.
"They'll make noise all night, but they won't attack. They'll then do the same the next day and so on and so forth, so as to tire us out. They want to makes us loose our sense from exhaustion and either charge forward, retreat from lack of supplies or be too weak from exhaustion."
"Tch, it's a tactic we elves are familiar with. They must also have a secondary force as big as this one resting while the first keep us distracted." High Elf Archer said to them.
"Four groups." Lizard Priest said all of a sudden, surprising all those gathered.
"They tried to mask the numbers by keeping the champions, lord hidden and only using goblins. And masked the shift changes by trading weapons between the shifts. But now with the sun down I can see the glistening of their weapons in the darkness. Another shit is happening right now. There's three that are resting and one that is preparing for another march now." Lizard Priest added, peaking ever so slightly trough the arrow hatch in the wagon he was nearest and was suing a spell to improve his night vision and far sight.
"That means between 500 to 600 goblins."
"Yes Lord Goblin Slayer, I can also see who is shooting at us. It appears to be the overlord along with several ogres; they all have those 'muskets' as Dwarf Shaman-san said."
"Good! Then I know who to kill so this new grudge can be fulfilled."
"What should we do Goblin Slayer-san?" We can't fight them in open ground or that forest, and we can't stay here.
Priestess said and this question seem to drain the strength out of all of Slayer Keep's army.
Their situation was hopeless, no advance; no hold the lines, no retreat.
Only death seem to avail them.
"We do what we always do." Goblin Slayer said, his red eye glowing in the darkness. The strength of his voice, his poise, the gaze of that heavy helmet, all grabbed their eyes, ears and souls.
It was like they became one with Goblin Slayer's will, his drive, and his hatred.
Their fears vanished, their will became steel, and though they had not heard the command yet, they knew what he would say and would now follow it with all their strength and all their passion.
"We slay all the goblins!"