Chapter 197 - 169: Forward, Forward, Forward
Cyan Hide took a step forward, puffed out his chest, and looked directly at the Earth Goblin holding the scimitar.
Although he had shouted, "We won’t drink the Holy Water," his legs were still trembling slightly. The Earth Goblin’s gaze was frigid, looking at him as if he were already a corpse.
"What did you just say?" The Earth Goblin rolled its shoulders and walked over, scimitar in hand.
"I said," Cyan Hide’s voice grew a little quieter, but he immediately raised it again, shouting to all the goblins around him, "We won’t drink it."
"We will not drink that so-called Holy Water again. It’s just a cup of poison," Cyan Hide said rapidly, completely ignoring the Earth Goblin’s murderous glare. "We have the right to choose, too."
"We’re the ones who find food to feed you Earth Goblins."
"We’re the ones who drink the Holy Water, charge at the front, and defeat the enemy."
"But we goblins still live in holes in the ground, huddled together just so we don’t freeze to death in winter. We fight each other just for a bite of rat meat."
"We just want to live! We don’t want to become slaves of your Evil Throat Army! We don’t want to be told one day, out of the blue, that it’s our turn to die."
"If you Earth Goblins were truly strong, you wouldn’t need to threaten us and make us go to our deaths. You only look tough. Without us goblins, you’re nothing."
Cyan Hide shouted emotionally, his whole body trembling from the agitation, but he still held his head high, staring fixedly at the Earth Goblin opposite him, his gaze never wavering for a moment.
"This battle is just for your own selfish desires, yet you make us goblins pay with our lives, only for you to reap the fruits of victory!"
"I’m no longer afraid of your cruel rule! Don’t think that killing us and sticking our heads on pikes will let you enslave us forever."
"We goblins can also say no! We can also scatter and run! If none of these goblins drink the ’Holy Water’, you won’t be able to defeat the enemy."
He clenched his fists, shouting, and even took another step toward the Earth Goblin.
"You noisy fly." The Earth Goblin sneered, raising its scimitar. It had let Cyan Hide say far too much. The battle was still raging, and if it wasted any more time, the opportunity would be lost in an instant.
It wasn’t the first time a goblin had resisted the Earth Goblins, but without exception, they had all been beheaded and put on display. It had to execute this audacious goblin as quickly as possible to ensure victory in this battle. After all, Earth Goblins also had a hierarchy in the Evil Throat Army. If it messed up, the General would surely punish it.
SHLIIICK! The scimitar slashed down diagonally, but two cries of pain rang out. One was from Cyan Hide; though he dodged backward to avoid the scimitar, it still sliced a huge gash across him. The other cry was from the Earth Goblin. A goblin in strange attire now stood behind it, having plunged two black daggers into its lower back. The intense pain made it roar, and then a kick sent it sprawling to the ground.
"You... are very brave." The goblin glanced at the fallen Cyan Hide. Instead of pursuing the Earth Goblin, it bent down, grabbed Cyan Hide, and immediately vanished into the shadows.
At almost the same instant, a loud explosion erupted where they had just been. The green light and violent shockwave were a testament to the power of this "Magic Energy Burst." Although two more Magic Energy Bursts went off nearby, the two goblins were already gone.
This discordant interlude ended quickly. Evil Throat lowered his spellcasting hand. There was no time to worry about such things. The wailing Earth Goblin on the ground could be ignored. He had to make these goblins drink the Holy Water and crush the enemy’s formation immediately.
He raised his hand and ordered a nearby Earth Goblin to sound the horn again.
Unfortunately, the goblins were all staring at the wailing Earth Goblin on the ground. It seemed to be the first time they had ever witnessed a goblin openly defy their masters, the first time they had seen a goblin strike and injure an Earth Goblin. They clutched the "Holy Water" in their hands, hesitating. Even with the WOO-WOO of the horn in their ears, they didn’t immediately drink.
"Do you all want to die right now?" an Earth Goblin Military Leader snarled at the goblins, drawing the scimitar from his waist.
But this time, the goblins only took a fearful step back. They didn’t drink what was in their hands.
Finally, as several Earth Goblin Military Leaders advanced on the goblins, blades in hand, one of Cyan Hide’s former hole-mates shouted, threw down his "Holy Water," and fled, scattering in a random direction.
With him leading the way, the other several hundred goblins scattered like a disturbed hornets’ nest, crying out as they ran. Even as the Earth Goblins swung their scimitars, chasing and cutting them down, not a single goblin stopped running.
"Get back here!" General Evil Throat roared in exasperation. The battle’s development had completely exceeded his expectations. He wiped his red nose with the back of his hand, forced to consider his next move.
Unfortunately, Shire’s people weren’t about to give him that time. Evil Throat watched in shock as a large, red banner in the distance began charging rapidly toward him.
...
Shire watched the Evil Throat Army break apart and immediately understood that this was the perfect opportunity to attack. The Evil Throat Army was like a flock of chickens with a fox in its midst—utter chaos. A charge now would be decisive.
When the mutated Slave Soldiers had crashed into the Long Spears earlier, he had watched them with a furrowed brow. These red goblins paid no mind to pain. Even with several Long Spears piercing their bodies, they still swung their clubs, pressing the attack, letting the spear shafts slide through them with soft, wet thuds.
But then, a faint, ethereal song reached his ears, spreading through the air. All the surrounding Centaurs and goblins clearly heard it.
’A song?’ Shire narrowed his eyes. This development was unexpected. It wasn’t in his battle plan. He had only planned for everyone to brace for the impact of the second wave of mutated Slave Soldiers. He was even prepared for many of his people to sacrifice their lives in this forest clearing today.
But the change wrought by the song astounded him. The mutated goblins all vomited an unknown liquid and then completely snapped out of their frenzied, painless state of mindlessly charging forward. Their seemingly tenacious life force instantly returned to normal, leaving them incredibly weak. Soon, their heads lolled to the side, and they died slumped over the spear shafts.
’Where is that song coming from?’ Shire scanned his surroundings, trying to locate the source of this strange battlefield phenomenon. He soon saw the Skeleton Warrior, Elton, and a few others looking back at him.
’Looking at me?’ He sized up the Skeleton Warriors but immediately understood. Their gazes weren’t on him, but focused on the large banner behind him.
[Item: Seventh Field Army’s Black Dragon Battle Banner]
[Quality: Epic]
[Use: Charge]
[Own State: Divine Immortal Blessing (Permanent)]
[Special Effect: Unite your comrades within the banner’s range, and it will shatter all falsehoods and illusions.]
[Note: Forward, forward, forward.]
’So it’s the Black Dragon Battle Banner.’ Shire glanced back at the large banner held by Caocao. Seeing him turn, Caocao quickly put one hand behind his back, obviously hiding something.
"Unite your comrades within the banner’s range, and it will shatter all falsehoods and illusions," Shire repeated the banner’s description. ’The enhancement effect on these Slave Soldiers is just a falsehood. As long as I unite my people and allies around me, and as long as everyone remains fearless and maintains morale, we can shatter these falsehoods.’
TSING! He drew the Longsword from his waist. ’Then, just as the banner’s note says: forward, forward.’
"Everyone," he roared, "Charge!"
Following Shire’s continuous shouts, the spear-wielding goblins in front of him began to charge forward at a run. A Long Spear over two meters long isn’t the best choice for a charge, but with the Evil Throat Army on the verge of collapse, the battlefield still looked completely one-sided.
Meanwhile, the Centaurs, led by Evita and Oreco respectively, rushed into the two white Stone Rings on either side of the formation. A few goblins were continuously operating controllers, teleporting them into the forest. These Centaurs, wielding Lances, moved swiftly through the woods, striking directly at the Evil Throat Army’s rear flank like the two black daggers of Broken Tooth, plunging into the enemy’s kidneys.
...
"Evil Throat!" Evita roared, her Lance tucked under her arm. She paid no attention to the goblins scattering for their lives, her gaze locked firmly on the Earth Goblins.
From her position in the formation earlier, she had spotted the leader of the opposing Evil Throat Army—General Evil Throat, the Earth Goblin with the red cape.
But the battlefield was now a chaotic mess. The stubbornly resisting Earth Goblins, the Ogres swinging their great hammers, and the goblins who were running everywhere—or simply dropping to the ground, trembling and surrendering when they couldn’t escape—all made it harder for her to find her target.
"Where are you?!" Evita screamed, kicking a goblin aside with a hoof. The sound of "Magic Energy Burst" explosions repeatedly erupted ahead. The Earth Goblins and a few Ogres were casting Magic. Each flash of green light and rolling shockwave sent a group of goblins flying. Curses, wails, and pleas for mercy intertwined above the battlefield, composing a symphony that would make the Death God himself turn his head.
Finally, amidst a crowd of goblins, Evita saw him: the one tearing the red cape from his back. He was using the cape to wrap something up, something he had likely taken from a toppled wooden barrel beside him.
"Evil Throat." Evita tucked her Lance under her arm, reared up on all four hooves, and charged straight for him. She would avenge her father’s soul with his life.
But Evil Throat had spotted her, too. He just gave her a cold glance and raised a hand.
"Powerful Magic Energy Burst."