Goblin Chapter 487: Soldier vs Soldier, General vs General (Patreon)

The dark city wall was soon lit by newly kindled torches.

To prevent monsters from sneaking close under cover of darkness, brilliant tracer rounds occasionally streaked forward through the sky, illuminating large stretches of land in front of the wall.

Adventurers and soldiers alike stood ready in strict formation.

It was clear that tonight, the number of soldiers on and around the wall was obviously lower than usual.

High in the sky, the bright moon hung overhead, scattering silvery moonlight.

This might have been one of the few pieces of good news tonight. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse; the moonlight was especially clear.

“Help me check my armor.”

“All right.”

“I tightened it for you.”

On the wall, David, Isa, and their companions were nervously and excitedly speaking with one another.

They had not expected that on their very first day at the front line, after only finishing their adventurer registration during the day, they would have to participate in a war that very night.

And judging by what they had heard from other adventurers, as well as the public speech the Adventurers’ Guild president had just given, this battle seemed far from ordinary. It was different from any previous battle that had broken out here.

The still-young David looked through the crenel in front of him toward the battlefield plain ahead.

Just then, another tracer round crossed the sky.

By the light of that beam, he was once again able to clearly see the battlefield before him.

Those pitted scars seemed to tell of how brutal the fighting on this land had been during this period.

So this is a battlefield?

As an adventurer who had come from an inland province, he and his companions were already professionals, but the highest-level battles they usually faced were only monster-suppression commissions around towns and villages. Occasionally, they would take on high-difficulty hunts for elite monsters. As for a large-scale punitive war like this, this was his first time participating.

He turned to look at the girl from the same village beside him, and suddenly felt a little regret. Had he perhaps been wrong to suggest that his teammates come here?

But it was too late for regret now.

They were already in the middle of war. The only thing they needed to think about now was how to kill enemies and survive.

Don’t worry. I’ll protect all of you, David secretly swore in his heart, tightening his grip on the steel sword in his hand.

Above the many human defenders standing in strict readiness, Monroe and several other generals floated in the air, gazing ahead.

At the farthest edge of their vision, a dark tide had already surged forward.

At the very front were the Green Dragon Army’s land cavalry.

Judging by their ferocious charging speed, in less than twenty minutes, the humans would have to face the first wave of enemies.

“Where is that famous Gauss?”

The one who spoke was Kevin Brennan, commander of Barry’s Green Shade Defense Corps.

If there was any military commander here who was the coldest toward Gauss, it was undoubtedly this local commander.

First, he had heard the rumor that the Zevier family of Falrim had failed to recruit Gauss. Naturally, he did not believe that the Brennan viscount family he belonged to would have any hope of recruiting someone even the border count’s family could not.

Second, he had some hidden friction with Winston Zevier, commander of the Iron Guard Knights.

Clearly, both he and Winston were level 15 professionals, standing on the same level, yet the latter could use his identity as the border count’s younger brother to suppress him. Winston’s words, openly and covertly, were rather arrogant, which made Kevin resentful.

Especially in recent meetings, Winston had often used Gauss’s battle achievements to contrast and belittle him, the local commander.

Although Kevin knew that Winston was deliberately trying to create an implicit public-opinion opposition between him and Gauss, he still subconsciously held little goodwill toward Gauss.

“Brother Gauss is still cultivating. He sent someone from the Red Dragon Company to report the situation,” Monroe replied.

“Could it be that he saw the situation was bad and is preparing to flee before the battle?” Kevin Brennan said lightly.

He was somewhat doubtful of this reason. The reason he mentioned Gauss was not out of that indescribable jealousy in his heart, but because Gauss’s strength was indeed extremely important to the front-line battlefield.

But what decent person would bury themselves in cultivation with so little time left before a great battle?

Even if Gauss was a genius, such a small amount of time was not enough for some qualitative change, right?

Winston Zevier, standing to the side, said nothing. He merely glanced at Kevin.

He had always looked down on this military representative of the viscount family because of his personality. If Kevin could show this jealousy in front of Gauss, Winston might even think a little more highly of him.

Although Monroe did not know what Gauss was busy with, he was full of trust toward him.

He even trusted Gauss more than the two noble-born friends beside him.

The families behind them would not allow them to sacrifice themselves here lightly. If the situation turned bad, they would absolutely issue retreat orders and try to preserve their own lives and forces.

Even though the Brennan family was a viscount family rooted in the Forest Capital and owned many properties in and around the city, for noble families, the most precious wealth was always talent and a small portion of high-end inheritance.

When necessary, they could abandon other material wealth.

That said, he also did not want anything to happen to Gauss.

Unlike an old geezer like himself, a gifted young man like Gauss surviving was what benefited humanity most.

If the situation truly reached its worst, he would still have to send him…

Monroe pondered in his heart.

He would not discuss these words with anyone else.

At that moment, inside the Red Dragon Company’s camp, the large camp was nearly empty.

The members of the Red Dragon Company had already received their deployment orders and had reached their assigned defensive area to await commands.

Aside from noncombatants such as cooks, the only people left were members waiting outside Gauss’s tent for news.

“Could something have happened to the captain?”

“Should we go in and check?”

“Lady Luna said we mustn’t disturb him.”

“But the war is about to begin.”

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

Just as they were worrying about Gauss’s condition inside the tent, the curtain was suddenly lifted.

Their gazes followed the movement.

Finally, they saw the captain they had been worrying about for so long step out.

He looked the same as usual, full of energy. His entire aura was like an unsheathed sword, filled with a fierce fighting spirit and sharpness.

So much so that the people waiting to receive him subconsciously looked away.

The current captain had changed from his usual gentle image and was instead radiating a powerful sense of pressure.

“C-Captain, the others have already received orders and gone to defend this position.”

They handed a deployment order and map to Gauss.

“I understand.”

Gauss accepted them and opened them for a few glances, quickly understanding where the Red Dragon Company’s defensive location was.

“You go gather there first.”

A pair of platinum-white dragon wings unfolded behind Gauss. The moment his words fell, his figure vanished from where he stood.

A majestic aura like that of a giant dragon was released without the slightest restraint.

He flew through the night.

When the many humans below raised their heads and saw the bright trail like a meteor cutting through the night sky, a sense of reassurance naturally rose in their hearts.

This was one of humanity’s strong.

Even powerful monster lords would fall before the strength of civilization.

…

“You’ve come, Brother Gauss.”

Before Gauss even arrived, Monroe had already spoken.

The moment Gauss’s powerful aura appeared, it was as bright as a torch in the depths of night.

He was doing it deliberately. Not only did he not restrain it, he further strengthened the oppressive effect of his pressure.

By now, his use of aura had reached an extremely refined level.

Nearby allies who sensed his true-dragon-like aura would have their fighting spirit raised, while enemies would suffer corresponding suppression.

In other words, even if he appeared on the front battlefield and did nothing, he would still be enough to change a battle that had originally been evenly matched, tilting it completely toward the human side.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, President Monroe, and both commanders.”

The next moment, the meteor trail crossing the sky came to an abrupt halt. Gauss’s figure instantly stopped beside the three men standing in midair.

His dazzling dragon wings, both in appearance and aura, completely overwhelmed the three level 15 professionals.

If someone completely unfamiliar with the front-line situation were asked to judge which of the four was the weakest purely by appearance, they probably would not choose Gauss. On the contrary, the probability that they would misjudge him as the strongest might be very high.

Winston silently glanced at Kevin Brennan, who had suddenly fallen silent.

Just as he had thought, once Gauss appeared, this man shut his mouth.

If his guess was correct, the Brennan family must have ordered Kevin to build a good relationship with Gauss. But at their level, they could already ignore family requests and act according to their own will.

And in Winston’s eyes, Kevin Brennan was exactly that kind of petty man.

This fellow was jealous of any genius whose talent surpassed his own.

So it was no surprise that he did not have much goodwill toward Gauss.

“No, no. You arrived exactly on time.” Monroe waved his hand.

From Gauss, he smelled a stronger aura than before, as well as an indescribable sense of danger.

Could it be that Brother Gauss really made a breakthrough just before the battle?

Monroe thought of this possibility and was astonished.

However, now was not the time for friendly concern, so he did not ask further. He simply turned his gaze forward.

The Green Dragon Army’s cavalry was already drawing near, but they did not launch the first charge directly at the wall of the pass. Instead, like a tide, they split into several streams and attacked the surrounding mountain fortresses.

Behind the cavalry, the dark mass of the monster army was still advancing.

Four giant beasts were arranged in a line, spaced apart before several legions, releasing powerful lordly Domains.

The Rot-Wing Dragon Bat Alex, the Wyvern Vexa, the transcendent troll Morga, and the goblin lord Snazzy.

For the first time, the four great generals of the Green Dragon Army appeared together on the battlefield in full formation. In previous battles, at most two or three great generals had participated.

At this moment, supported by the momentum of their respective legions, their strength had reached a certain peak.

They looked even more terrifying than when they usually appeared.

Their gazes seemed to materialize and solidify in the air. Judging by where they were looking, they were aimed precisely at Monroe and the others, as if the two sides were staring at each other across space, firmly locking onto one another’s aura.

Behind them were many transcendent monster lords.

Gnolls, ogres, goblins, harpies, lizardmen…

Their presence together formed a violent and ferocious cloud of aura.

Although this was only a local defense battle in the Barry region, it involved the diverse forces of several cities.

It was not often one could see such a gathering of transcendent powers.

If not for this war, many low-level adventurers might go their entire lives without seeing transcendent professionals more than a few times.

“I’ll go to the Red Dragon Company’s defense zone first.”

“Contact me at any time if something happens.”

Gauss mentioned this to Monroe.

His Red Dragon Company, Monroe’s main battlefield, and the defensive zones of the Iron Guard Knights and the Green Shade Defense Corps were not randomly assigned. They were placed at different parts of the battlefield, not too far from one another, with many other groups possessing transcendent combat power inserted between them. Together, they formed an airtight network.

Each side needed to decide based on the battle situation whether to support others or request aid.

As the defenders, their greatest advantage was using terrain and condensed momentum to respond to all changes by remaining stable.

“You’re here.”

When Gauss returned to the air above the Red Dragon Company, Alia and the others let out a breath of relief.

The backbone had returned.

Several nearby adventuring group leaders also greeted him from far away.

Gauss was the strongest combatant in this area. Strictly speaking, their safety was tied to this young man.

“Two large units of gnoll cavalry are approaching this area.”

Gauss shared the intelligence he had observed along the way.

This was already the western side of the battlefield.

The gnoll cavalry legions had split toward both flanks earlier. One large force was rushing toward this place, which was why Gauss had hurried back to the Red Dragon Company after appearing on the main battlefield.

He looked at Hephaestus, who was crouched above the bunker on the city wall.

Hephaestus’s gaze was fixed tightly on the battlefield ahead. From his constantly rising and falling chest, it was clear that his fighting spirit was currently intense.

Red dragons were naturally warlike by blood.

This warlike factor would continuously strengthen as the body developed, ultimately reaching a peak. That was why, among the chromatic evil dragons, red dragon lords launched wars most often and brought the most grievous harm to human nations.

However, the current red dragon Hephaestus was on the human side. His infamous nature naturally transformed into unparalleled reassurance.

This could be seen from the high-spirited expressions of the defenders around them.

They had also been influenced by the red dragon Hephaestus.

Of course, after Gauss appeared, this fighting spirit was further strengthened.

Gauss floated in the sky, his dragon wings gently flapping.

His torch-like gaze stared at the distant battlefield. He could guarantee that with his hatred value and battle record, the monster lord coming to attack the area he defended this time would absolutely be one of the four great generals.

They would not send ordinary transcendent lords to their deaths, or those lords would likely follow in the footsteps of the transcendent centaur.

So, which Green Dragon Army great general would it be?

Gauss had already prepared himself mentally to face an enemy general one-on-one.

But even if he was no match, it would not matter. Nearby allied forces would judge the situation and support him.

For example, if two great generals attacked him together, Monroe and the others would aid him at any time.

However, that situation most likely would not occur. The momentum of monster legions would also influence one another. This was the reason why the four monster generals were lined up, each leading their own legion.

Gauss took a deep breath. All of the results he had accumulated over the past two years would be displayed tonight.

Deep within his will, aside from the spell model of Mental Prison, the model of the Level 6 spell Prismatic Orb, which integrated offense and defense, also lay quietly there.

After checking his own methods, he raised his head and looked at the bright moon. A premonition rose in his heart.

This was going to be an extremely long night.