Chapter 52: Battle Between the Two Armies!

On the battlefield, the Goblin side quickly made their move as well.

The fortress gate opened, and tens of thousands of Goblins surged out, wielding spears and swords, forming their own formation by mimicking the enemy.

They were a race that loved to reproduce.

Even with their main force absent from the fortress, more than twenty thousand still poured out.

In terms of numbers, they had never lost.

At the front of the army stood a Goblin Mage holding a staff, acting as the commander.

The fortress was their last line of defense.

Unless absolutely necessary, they were unwilling to risk their newly built stronghold against the enemy.

A long horn sounded from the city wall.

The Goblin at the front raised its staff and waved forward.

The army behind immediately launched an attack.

On one side stood heavily armored Forest Elf infantry; on the other, short Goblins with crude weapons.

Seeing the enemy charge, General Vian immediately ordered the Elves to form ranks, then shouted,

“Fire!”

The Elves at the rear quickly stowed their weapons, drew longbows from their waists in unison, pulled feathered arrows from their quivers, drew the bowstrings, and aimed at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky.

“Release!”

The captain within the formation gave the order.

In an instant, a rain of arrows poured down.

Each arrow traced a beautiful arc in the sky, landing precisely among the charging Goblin army.

Countless Goblins were easily pierced by sharp arrows, blood spraying as they fell, becoming corpses under the feet of their kin.

But the Goblins quickly adapted.

Those at the front raised their shields to block the arrows, but the missiles still pierced through effortlessly, rendering the defense useless.

Only when the second wave of Arrow Rain struck did the fortress finally respond.

They lacked the innate abilities of Elves—arrows couldn’t reach such distances.

Nor did they possess the wisdom of humans to build powerful siege weapons like ballistas.

Their only reliance was the faint magic in the hands of Goblin Mages.

One after another, slow-moving fireballs flew forth, exploding before the Elven army and raising clouds of dust and dirt.

The Elves easily blocked the attack with giant shields.

They had calculated the distance beforehand; this position was out of the enemy mage’s range and posed no threat.

Still, the attack was not entirely useless.

The rising smoke provided cover for the Goblins, allowing them to close in more quickly.

Soon, the real clash between the two armies began.

But it was clear—the Elves had studied this enemy well.

With their small bodies, crude weapons, and chaotic formations, the Goblins fell into disadvantage from the very first contact.

A massive shield thrust forward; countless sharp spears pierced through, slaying the Goblins before them with ease.

Even those Goblins who managed to break into the formation found no advantage in their thin frames—only the waiting swords of the Elves behind.

The soldiers of both races fought fiercely, their cries echoing to the heavens.

Spears and swords gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

One by one, enemies fell, becoming lifeless corpses.

Blades clashed, sparks flew, and blood soon stained the earth, the stench of death filling the air.

All fought for their own glory and victory.

—

On the other side, Qilin observed the battlefield, waiting for the right moment to act.

Here, she couldn’t help but regard the Elves more highly.

Their tactics were nearly identical to those of humans—intelligent, strategic, and coordinated.

Not like these brainless Goblins charging forward.

Even with only ten thousand on their side, the Elves had pressed over twenty thousand Goblins without giving them a chance to fight back.

This was the difference between races.

If humans faced such an opponent, it would be a bitter struggle.

But unfortunately, the ones behind Qilin were not humans.

If my troops cannot be killed, then how will you respond?

Goblins were naturally flawed as a race, with a low ceiling, but as the dominant species on this island, they would not be defeated by a mere ten-thousand-strong force.

Even the weak had their own ways to survive.

Soon, the fortress gates opened again, and countless Goblins poured out.

They were Variant Goblins!

With the arrival of these Variants, the battle quickly balanced, and the Elves instantly lost their advantage.

Massive Goblins wielding heavy hammers stormed into the fray, sweeping aside enemies before them.

Each blow easily crushed armored Elves into pulp, shattering the formation the Elves had worked to maintain.

The army lost all coordination, and a brutal melee began.

Some humanoid Goblins moved nimbly like Assassins, weaving through the chaos.

Elderly Goblins, hunched and slow, exploded with poison sacs on their backs when slain, spreading toxic clouds.

This was a poison unique to Goblins—harmless to their own kind.

In the brief moments since the Variant Goblins entered the fray, the Elves’ casualties multiplied.

General Vian’s face darkened.

They had deployed thirty thousand troops, thinking they had already overestimated the enemy, but had still underestimated them.

The mixed abilities of these monsters were truly nightmarish.

He had never experienced such a battle before.

Even as a general, Vian felt overwhelmed.

His Elven soldiers were utterly bewildered.

He knew that it would be hard to win against such a force, even with his army—victory, if possible, would be pyrrhic.

He could not accept such an outcome.

General Vian furrowed his brows, a trace of anxiety in his expression.

His gaze swept beyond his army, looking behind for reinforcements.

But with a single glance, his pupils contracted.

He did not see his Elven reinforcements.

Instead, dense waves of Goblin troops appeared all around.

The Goblin reinforcements had arrived first.

They had vastly underestimated the enemy’s numbers.

The supporting Goblins alone numbered at least fifty thousand!

Some had come from afar; others crawled from nearby caves.

Now, all were surging toward this battlefield.

“Dammit, why aren’t the reinforcements here yet!”