Chapter 524 The Battle of the Valley

Woo——!!!

A long horn blared from the upper reaches of the valley.

“Graah?”

Many of the horde’s members froze in confusion at the sound,

crashing into those behind them who had not stopped.

“Gah!?!”

“Grrruh……”

The entire formation descended into chaos, shoving and jostling.

The Goblin King, who had been lounging lazily on a crudely built palanquin, noticed the dozens of low-rank goblins carrying him had halted.

He lifted his head in annoyance,

only to see the horde in utter disarray.

With an impatient snarl,

he roared: “Gah——!!!”

At his shout, the goblins quickly fell in line.

But the other races paid little heed to the Goblin King, and the chaos persisted.

A flash of fury crossed the Goblin King’s eyes. He slammed his foot down, crushing several of the lead palanquin-bearers beneath his weight.

The palanquin crashed to the ground.

The Goblin King stood, his gaze sweeping the horde, intent on killing a few dissenters to set an example.

Yet just as he prepared to act,

Rumble……

the earth suddenly trembled.

“Graah?”

He stared at the ground in confusion.

Before he could fathom what was happening,

a tsunami-like roar thundered down from the upper valley.

The Goblin King looked up,

and on the far horizon, he saw a line of figures racing toward them at breathtaking speed.

“Gah——!!?”

Panic seized him.

Cavalry! Human Dragoons, mounted on dragons!

“Gah——!!!”

He frantically ordered the Marauder Horde to retreat to the mountain slopes flanking the valley.

But the formation was far too chaotic.

Those who ran fast were blocked by the slow, some were tripped and trampled, and others even began fighting among themselves.

But before most of the Marauder Horde could reach safety,

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from NovelBin. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

the allied cavalry’s hooves crashed down upon their skulls……

The battle in the valley was over in the blink of an eye.

“Strange—why are there only goblins and such here?”

Russell shouted in confusion.

“I fear……” Aralond mused, “these creatures are merely here to delay us.”

“Delay us? Why?”

“It must be to…… wait! They’re trying to escape!”

“Move out! Leave this place—we’ll clean up later! After them, at once——!”

……

“Lord Goruzaan, where shall we retreat now?”

Faced with his subordinate’s question, Goruzaan did not answer immediately.

Instead, he stared silently at the map in his hands.

After a long pause,

he finally rolled it up and fell into thought.

Lord Jaca’s whereabouts had been unknown since he went to hunt down that group……

The best course was to fall back to the fortress in the east—it would make it easier for Lord Jaca to rejoin them.

With that, Goruzaan issued his order:

“Send word—march east at full speed!”

Rumble……

No sooner had the words left his lips

than a distant roar echoed from behind.

The demons paled, spinning around in alarm.

“No—could they have caught up this quickly?!?”

“Those cannon fodder are worthless! They couldn’t hold out even a moment!”

“Lord Goruzaan, what shall we do now?”

“Shall we send another detachment to——”

“Silence all of you——!”

The chaos vanished instantly.

Goruzaan’s cold gaze swept over them; no one dared meet his eyes, and all bowed their heads.

“Hmph!”

Only then did Goruzaan snort and look away,

his mind racing.

Escaping alone would be easy enough for him.

But the problem remained……

If the vanguard legion fell here, their mission to establish a bridgehead would be a total failure.

And if that happened,

even if he escaped the humans’ wrath now, he could never outrun the Demon Lord’s punishment.

……It seemed he had no choice but to repel them here.

But first……

His six faintly glowing red eyes flicked toward the cowering demons around him.

These wretches would never stay and fight such a dangerous battle willingly.

“By my command—prepare for battle.”

He paused, then added in a voice like ice:

“Any demon who flees without leave——”

“Shall be executed on the spot!”

The demons trembled at his words.

Those who had harbored thoughts of desertion dared not show them now.

……

“I see them!”

Russell, leading the charge, shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Up ahead! Charge with me—this is our chance to avenge our defeat——!”

“Oh——!!!”

The Church’s dragoons roared in unison, their speed increasing still further.

The dragons, clad in magic-resistant plate armor, their limbs blurring with motion despite the weight, thundered forward.

“Roar——!”

A deafening growl echoed from ahead.

The monster legion, with High-Rank Monsters at its vanguard, charged straight toward them.

Just as the two forces were about to clash,

“Out of my way——!”

Russell raised his spear with both hands and swept it horizontally.

Boom——!!!

The front ranks of the monster legion were blown away in an instant.

Then,

the two armies slammed into each other with cataclysmic force.

The allied dragoons, surging forward with overwhelming momentum, cut through the monster legion like a blade, splitting it cleanly in two.

“Roar!”

“Roar……”

But from the jungles on either side,

two more detachments suddenly emerged,

surrounding the advancing dragoons.

“For the world! For the gods!”

The Church’s knights showed no fear. They split into two teams at once, turning to face the flanking attacks.

In an instant, the vast river valley and jungle became a battlefield of carnage.

And as more and more reinforcements poured in from both sides, the scope of the battle expanded at a visible pace……

Whoosh!

A whoosh of air sliced toward Russell’s back, targeting his exposed flank.

Boom!

A shield wall erupted from the earth, blocking the attack.

“So you finally show your hand.”

“What?”

Goruzaan’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of Aralond.

When did he get here?

As he pondered,

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh……

figures emerged from every shadow, surrounding him in the blink of an eye.

Goruzaan’s heart jolted—he finally understood where the Heroes had been hiding.

They had concealed their auras among the dragoons all along. And with Russell charging ahead, shouting like a fool just as he had before,

Goruzaan had overlooked the possibility of a trap.

“Hmph!”

Goruzaan snorted coldly.

“Do you truly believe this is enough to defeat me?”

Boom——!

With those words, he soared straight into the sky.

“Don’t let him escape!”

Arthur and Russell chased after him at once.

“Holy Staff, grant us speed!”

“Tome Chapter: Wind IV – Wings of Swiftness.”

As a beam of light and a shimmering aura enveloped all the Heroes,

their speed exploded—matching Goruzaan’s perfectly as they closed in.

“What?!?”

Goruzaan was shocked once more.

His six eyes locked onto Prarlulu below.

“I’ll eliminate you first——!”