Chapter 245

The war horn sounds and echoes across the battlefield as countless soldiers march forward.

Goblins too pour out from their nests, hostile towards humans but hesitant to rush in recklessly.

Having understood the vast numbers of humans and sensing their formidable morale, the goblins know better than to charge carelessly.

In this tense standoff, the elves noiselessly draw their bows.

“Let us claim the glory of the first strike. Let us etch the fear of elven hunters deeply into their minds.”

The distance to the goblins seems impossibly far for even elven arrows. Yet, without hesitation, the elves notch their arrows onto taut bowstrings.

But then…

“Hold on! Our dwarven superweapon will be far more effective! Give us the glory of the first attack!”

It was the dwarves who interrupted the elves’ plans.

“Hah! Dwarven weapons reaching that far? What a laughable joke. Their range is as short as their stature!”

“And yet your feeble arrows won’t do much damage either, will they? Unless you plan to set them alight? From you lot who cry over a broken twig like it’s a shattered bone?”

“Now did you finish talking, you little dung-slinging dwarf?”

“Finished? And what will you do about it, pointy-eared pest?”

As always, elves and dwarves began bickering even with goblins looming as their enemies. Without those goblins, they might have turned their weapons on each other.

It was Knight King Lucius who tried to calm the situation, addressing everyone gathered.

“Both of you, settle down. This is no time for squabbling as we face war.”

Despite his words, neither side ceased glaring daggers at one another.

If only I’d known this would happen, I should’ve summoned just one side… The knight king felt a twinge of regret.

“For the first strike, let the dwarves commence with their new weapon. We ask for the elves’ understanding.”

“What?! Trust the toys of those little runts? Who knows if their contraptions will even work?”

“Ho ho! Unlike you long-ears, others recognize our inventions! Besides, we’ve already demonstrated its power to the king himself – judged by someone who’s seen it firsthand!”

At this, the elf turned to the knight king, who attempted to mediate.

“I’ve heard tales of elven archery skills. Your accuracy and power are unmatched.

However, this is WAR. We face many foes.”

Both elf and dwarf paid attention to the knight king’s words, knowing they couldn’t ignore the ruler of the great kingdom.

“Do you believe elven arrows alone can slay every enemy?

If not, perhaps it would be wise to conserve them.”

“Conserve? What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Elven arrows aren’t infinite. I wish to reserve them for targeting key enemies.

Surely elven marksmanship can pick off threatening foes among the numerous goblins?”

The elf nodded upon hearing the knight king’s reasoning. At such ranges, hitting precisely was second nature.

“The dwarves’ invention, while powerful, lacks such precision.

Thus, I request the elves target commanders like hobgoblins or orcs.”

“Indeed. You’re asking us to aim for their heads.”

“Efficient indeed.”

The elf’s dissatisfied expression softened slightly.

“While it irks me to give the dwarves the first strike, there’s nothing to be done.”

“Thank you.”

With that matter resolved, the knight king surveyed his surroundings.

The dwarf who had argued with the elf had already left to prepare their weapon, while the beastman overseeing the Vistian army watched silently as a small rat-beastman ate rice cakes nonstop.

This rat-beastman, introduced as the commander of Rattkinia’s Shield Legion, carried a shield larger than his own body while munching through an entire pouch of treats.

Seeing this, the knight king briefly worried about their rations.

And then…

“Ohhh… This banner… It’s imbued with divine power…”

“This is the famous Unyielding Flag. Truly remarkable craftsmanship. The interwoven magics are so complex, they defy comprehension. Only a godlike being could create something like this…”

The Great Warrior of the Lizardmen and Procyon’s mage representative were deeply engrossed in examining the knight king’s banner.

The banner, blessed by the Goddess of Life, contained magic so intricate even mages couldn’t fully understand it – naturally drawing their interest.

But why was the lizardman showing such fascination? He had even knelt, hands clasped in prayer!

Even though they would soon be heading into battle, the Great Warrior of the Lizardmen prayed devoutly without concern for others’ gazes.

Perhaps fortunate was that he quickly finished praying and rose.

“All armies shall form up as previously explained. We’ll begin hostilities with the dwarves’ attack. Prepare yourselves.”

Upon hearing this, the rat-beastman swallowed his last rice cake and shouted loudly.

“Yes sir! Leave it to me! On the honor of Greatail, I’ll defend the front lines absolutely!”

The rat-beastman, adorable in appearance yet brimming with fighting spirit, drew approving nods from nearby beastmen.

Thus, the various commanders left the tent to begin the war, leaving only the mage still inspecting the banner until finally dismissed by the knight king, who now took up his helmet.

“Hmph… May the gods guide us.”

Though the ogre threat still loomed, the Priestess of the Goddess of Life had promised divine aid.

The knight king donned his helmet and grasped the banner.

—————————-

“Alright men! This is the moment our inventions shine! Do your best!!! And remember – if you hit the wrong target again, there’ll be consequences!!!”

Numerous dwarves sprang into action.

Their strange wooden contraptions, assembled with practiced ease after countless repetitions, revealed themselves to be primitive trebuchets optimized for launching projectiles.

However, these weren’t ordinary stones.

Wooden frames bound tightly with rope, designed specifically to incinerate the fire-sensitive goblins.

“This time we’ve reinforced the loading mechanism with iron, so the weight’s different! But at least we’ve prevented the catapults catching fire while lighting the projectiles! Now repeat after me: Oil check!!”

“Oil check!!!”

“Load!!”

“Load!!!!”

After loading, oil is applied.

“Ignite!!”

“Ignite!!!!”

“Fire when ready!”

“Catapult One! Fire!”

“Catapult Two! Fire!”

“Catapult Three! Fire!”

“Catapult Four! Fire!”

“Catapult Five! Fire! All catapults fired!”

Five fiery projectiles soared through the air, shattering mid-flight into countless fragments thanks to the oil-soaked ropes, raining fire over a wide area.

A storm of fiery shards descended upon the goblin horde, dealing divine punishment to creatures vulnerable to flames.

Despite this successful barrage, the dwarves didn’t celebrate but immediately prepared for more.

“Commence free-fire! Keep shooting until we run out of ammunition! Burn them all!!!”

Though three of the five catapults eventually caught fire from spilled oil and ammunition ran out, the rain of fire had served its purpose in heralding the start of war.

“Epona Knights, charge! Focus on breaking up their formations!”

Mounted knights and cavalry beastmen charged toward the clustered enemies.

“Vistia, flank the enemy.”

The allied beastman forces moved to encircle the foe.

“Ratkin, maintain your shield wall and advance! Apply pressure to the front line!”

The rat-beastman shield legion marched forward in tight formation.

“Mighty warriors of the dragon! Follow your instincts and rampage!”

The scale-clad lizardmen roared and rushed forward wielding obsidian weapons.

“Tch, quite the commotion up ahead, isn’t it? Am I right, Elf?”

“We merely hunt those worthy of our arrows.”

The emotionless elf’s statement caused the mage to chuckle bitterly before summoning flames, while the elves called forth wind spirits to empower their arrows.

Thus began the war.