[Rex’s POV]

  Being designated as a detached scouting force had its perks. For example, I was not forced to match pace with 200 other men while marching in direct sunlight, my shoulders knocking against my neighbours on both sides.

  The downside was the need to remain alert and silent at all times. Time seemed to crawl by, and that was from my perspective as someone who was fine without social interaction.

  So Lily, who never shut the hell up, must have been practically foaming at the mouth after four days of near silence.

  “So the bronze student had a crush on the guy's younger brother, right? But turns out he had his eye on his math teacher, who in turn is the aunt of the bronze student, crazy, right?”

  No. She was fine. She busied herself having one-sided telepathic conversations with me that entirely revolved around pointless gossip.

  How she derived any enjoyment from this when I never once acknowledged that I was listening was a mystery.

  But the greater mystery was Bubblin. I knew he took knighthood seriously, even if he had many misconceptions, but I never thought he could look so impressive riding Soot without speaking for so long. Honestly, with his jawline, his profile made him look like a true stoic warrior.

  “Stop crushing on the goblin, you weirdo.”

  I looked back in shock at Lily, and her face lit up with glee.

  “Haha! Finally, you looked!”

  Realising she had just made a lucky guess, I quickly looked away and returned to ignoring her.

  But then I came to a halt and signalled for them to do the same.

  Ping! Ping! Ping!

  A high-pitched noise repeatedly rang out in my head. Alarm had been activated.

  We all slowed our pace and proceeded with extra caution. The main army wasn't terribly far behind, but we would still be at a disadvantage if we were caught up in a battle alone.

  As we had practiced, I fused with Tiara to assume the form of a cat, Lily hid inside my shadow, and Bubblin remained put.

  This formation was simple. I scouted the danger, as I had the best chance of going unnoticed and escaping. Lily acted as an extra set of eyes and an emergency hindrance to any pursuers. And Bubblin remained poised to rush back and alert the main force in case we were unable to get out safely.

  I clung to the shadows as if the sun's rays would burn me, and before long, found the source of the disturbance.

  A small group of Solean scouts, likely mirroring the role we were playing. They weren't as specialised as us, clearly, as they moved in a group of eight and made significantly more noise.

  Though, to be fair, our squad were as silent as shadows. Comparing us to most others wasn't exactly fair.

  “We should be nearing them soon.”

  The leader whispered back to his group.

  “Remember, don't engage any goblins. There's always more hiding, and we don't want them reporting our presence.”

  “For the King.”

  The others whispered their response in unison.

  “Nyahaha! They look hilarious, acting all professional with us right here!”

  I ignored Lily and took note of their equipment.

  “What's the plan? The approved approach here would be to disengage and report back, but they look pretty weak…”

  She was right. Judging from how they were outfitted, they were all spellcasters with practically no defence. And using Tiara’s eyes to feel their mana flow, it was clear that the only spells in effect were ones meant to improve their senses.

  In other words, no magic armour would be present to stop us.

  I swished my tail across the ground, and Lily immediately began leaping from shadow to shadow. Only a faint black smoke served to indicate her path of movement, and the only Solean who seemed to notice shrugged it off without a word.

  A moment later, she was back.

  “Bubblin's prepared, we'll go on your signal.”

  The following attack couldn't even be called a fight. It was more of an assassination.

  My claws tore through the throats of the rear two members. Lily restricted the entire group, allowing me to claim another two lives before they could cry for help. And Bubblin's silent charge held enough force to end three lives on impact.

  The survivor, their leader, found himself bound and gagging on physical shadows, and a goblin clinging to his chest with a dagger pushed into his throat.

  “Mmph!”

  The man tried to call for help, and was quickly constricted by the shadows.

  “Don't make a sound.”

  I spoke softly from directly behind him.

  “You don't need to die here. Just answer some questions, and I'll let you go.”

  The man stopped struggling, but remained tense.

  Lily appeared from my shadow and quickly disarmed the man before leaning casually against a tree with a smile.

  “We'll take your weapons to be safe, then you're free to go. Just so long as you cooperate first, understand?”

  I continued only after Lily nodded to affirm she had done her job.

  Slowly, the man's head dipped down, and I signalled for Bubblin to jump off him.

  The shadows retreated as if they were never there, but the bruises on his arms proved otherwise.

  He turned to me, making sure to keep his hands raised and movements slow.

  “...What do you want?”

  His eyes fell to his fallen comrades as all thoughts of resistance fled his body.

  I didn't need to confirm the obvious, such as what they were doing in the forest, so I dove straight into what only they would know.

  “How many men does Harkon have?”

  “50.”

  “What is the goal of his approach?”

  “...I don't know.”

  “What's your name?”

  “Huh? Uh… It's Jamie.”

  I turned to Lily, who nodded with a smirk.

  “What goal does Harkon seek to achieve by approaching Borderton?”

  “I already said, I don't know.”

  I turned again, and Lily shook her head.

  And so I pushed him over.

  It wasn’t particularly violent or intimidating, just a light shove.

  But he still went as white as a sheet as he tripped over the still-warm corpse of his ally and came face to face with their twisted look of terror.

  “That was my only warning. Do not lie again.”

  The man avoided my gaze and clicked his tongue.

  “Fine… He intends to form a forward base in the forest.”

  “Why?”

  “To prepare a pincer attack for any imperials that march on Farrowgate.”

  “Where would this base be?”

  “A ruined chapel situated atop a hill.”

  Lily and I exchanged a knowing glance.

  “What about you?”

  I continued.

  "Our team just needed to make sure there were no Imperial lookouts on the road."

  “How did you plan to navigate this forest safely? Who told you about this fort?”

  The man shrugged.

  “We were given maps. Apparently, some kid offered them up a few days back. ”

  “I see.”

  I stared down at the man blankly. Just like his fallen squadmates, I bore no ill will towards him.

  “Go.”

  He immediately chambered to his feet and began to run.

  “Lily. Make it quick. Don't let him see it coming.”

  That was the greatest mercy I could offer in the situation. If he understood and accepted that his death was coming, his consciousness would last longer after death. It was better for him to be blissfully ignorant from the start.

  I watched as a shadowy tendril rose like a scorpion's tail and struck forth, straight through his back and penetrating the heart.

  He dropped to the ground with a look of confusion frozen on his face.

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  “Let's report back.”

  None of us dwelled on the moment. It was the logical course of action after all.

  Promising to let him go was necessary to make him comfortable enough to talk, but why would I follow through on that when it would lead him to report our presence back?

  Besides, I was more concerned about something else.

  “Here.”

  Lily skipped to my side, her shadow coiling up over us to drop a bundle of papers in my hand.

  “Those are the maps he was talking about. Looks kinda familiar, huh?”

  “Of course they do. I drew them.”

  “Huh?”

  She looked at me in shock.

  “Well, kind of. I drew the ones these are based on. Looks like he wasn't able to recall them perfectly.”

  I noted the small imperfections and misplaced landmarks.

  “He?”

  “Oliver. Looks like he made it out after all.”

  I had asked around and scoured the town in my free time, but had found no sign of where our wayward classmate had gone after we parted ways. Now I knew why.

  ***

  “50? That's it?”

  Klaus looked at me in bewilderment as I finished summarising what we had learned.

  “Apparently so. If their intention was not to attack Borderton, but hide a small force, it would make sense.”

  Klaus grumbled, but Axel, who was in the front line as well, offered a different perspective.

  “Don't take them lightly. Harkon excels in fights like this. He didn't depart with such a small force without thinking it through.”

  “Hmph. You better be right, pup.”

  Klaus remained unconvinced.

  “I could tear through 50 Solean men in my sleep. But fine, we'll see just how ‘hard-headed’ this Harkon can be.”

  He waved me away, and we retreated back out of sight.

  The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful. I had assumed that the enemy force wouldn't be too far behind their scouts, but apparently not.

  And so Klaus eventually ordered for camp to be set up once again, and the army scattered along the beach and among the trees.

  “Makes me nervous every time I see it.”

  I mumbled aloud as Axel's squad joined up with us.

  “I know, right? Spreading out in such awkward terrain is practically begging for an ambush.”

  Leon responded. He remained tense as he scanned the east for signs of movement

  “This'll be the last time.”

  Axel spoke confidently.

  “When those idiots you killed don't report back, Harkon will move at full speed. Expect a fight tonight or tomorrow morning.”

  “...What did you mean before, about Harkon excelling in these situations?”

  I asked.

  “Close quarters, narrow confines, and poor mobility. These are all positive things for him and his men. They're used to fighting underground and in the mountainous regions after all. But more importantly, Harkon's Gift makes him a menace when he's outnumbered.”

  Seeing that we were all eagerly listening, Axel spoke even louder, revelling in the attention.

  “Despair's Defiant… It's classified as a support/buff type Gift, and trust me, this is the kind of Gift that can change the tides of a whole battlefield. The more despair the user and their followers feel, the more powerful they become.”

  “Is that really so useful? It only works if you're already losing, and if you know you'll be saved by it anyway, wouldn’t you, ironically, never feel despair?”

  Leon responded.

  “Ah, but that's the beauty of it. Harkon has no knights. No squires. Nobody who has followed him into more than one battle. He is always given a fresh batch of men, and his Gift is a secret to almost everyone.”

  “But not to royalty and their relatives, right?”

  I asked with a sly smile.

  “Naturally.”

  Axel smirked back.

  “Hold on, why are you just telling us now!? I need to go tell Uncle!”

  Felicia tried to scurry away, but Axel yanked her back by the tail.

  “Idiot. Obviously, I reported this to the leaders before we left.”

  “So then isn't Harkon still screwed?”

  Lily asked, idly playing with some conjured fire.

  “Haha, you'll see.”

  I didn't like leaving things vague, but I knew Axel well enough by that point to know he would keep dodging me if I pressed further.

  “Why no just murder—er, honourably slay him?”

  Bubblin asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  Felicia responded.

  “When enemy tribe have annoying shaman, we ignore fighters and shank shaman first. Then kill rest after.”

  “I agree, let's just kill Harkon first before he can turn the tide on us.”

  I nodded along.

  “Haaa… I forgot that you guys are new to this kind of thing.”

  Axel brushed his hair back in exasperation.

  “I don't think you understand how much the power gap of an individual can mess with the flow of battle. Obviously, it's best to snipe the strongest bastard first, but don't you think someone would have tried that already by now if it were so easy?”

  Seeing that we weren't entirely convinced, Axel made an offer.

  “Here, when he shows up, I'll aim to kill him before he can do anything. You idiots just watch and see how that goes.”

  With that topic closed, we killed time talking nonsense and enjoying one another's company.

  ***

  It was just as Axel predicted. We had barely scouted ahead for five minutes before spotting the enemy approach. With such a sudden appearance, there wasn't even time for a proper headcount or assessment. We just had to turn tail and warn Klaus right away.

  “All ranks! Form up! Enemy approaching straight ahead! Storm team, by me!”

  Axel and a row of five battlemages lined up by Klaus’ side while the rest prepared to fight.

  Those too far back to assist split off and waited in the forest, ready to cut ahead and encircle the foe after the battle started.

  As for my squad, we technically just had to monitor the field and prevent any surprise attacks. However, I considered this a waste of our talents.

  “Bubblin, buff the front row. Lily, let's drop a cluster bomb in their centre ranks.’

  We all set to work.

  Meanwhile, the Solean army spotted Klaus and packed in tightly as they approached with caution.

  “Hard-Head Harkon greets his foe and asks to know your name and intentions!”

  One man stepped out and roared across the gap between forces. His build was imposing, to say the least. Even beneath all that dense armour, I could tell his body was forged through constant battle.

  “Klaus Eisenruf! We come to repay Soleo’s disgrace!”

  He roared back, fur bristling and overtaking his body. He was already employing True Form.

  A tense silence lingered in the air as both sides waited for the other to make a move.

  “Railgun!”

  And to break that tension, Axel let loose a blast of magic that blew away the leaves of the trees and sent ripples through the water of the sea.

  CRACK!

  The attack hit Harkon dead-on and left a hole in his chest plate. The impact pushed him backward, but he maintained his stance and dug his heels in.

  “Axel… So it's true.”

  Harkon spoke too quietly to be heard, but my sensitive ears picked it up.

  “Faelora, forgive me for striking down a brother. Skori, witness our greatness.”

  He continued even as the Imperial battlemages followed up with a volley of spells.

  “For the King!”

  He suddenly faced them, seemingly unharmed by the previous attack, and charged forth alone.

  Fireballs were cut down by his blade. Crossbow bolts were diverted by his sheer aura. And when Axel suddenly burst forward and delivered a strike straight into the opening he created, it did not go unpunished.

  “Hammer of Deliverance!”

  Harkon roared and struck down with the pommel of his sword.

  I had no idea what kind of attack this was. But I was entranced.

  Axel had weaved backward and pulled up his Lightning Armour, but it was evidently futile.

  A large, shining red hammer appeared from thin air above Axel and descended in time with Harkon's arm.

  Axel was forced to his knees, and multiple surrounding soldiers were knocked back by the shock wave.

  Harkon's men then moved as one, capitalising on the opening.

  But they did not attack with the fervour I expected. Rather, they were cautiously covering one another at all times in an extremely defensive manner.

  Klaus rammed against them, easily tearing through the wall before him. And this, too, did not go unpunished.

  “Lance of Righteousness!”

  This time, a shining red lance was conjured, and it forced Klaus back into his own people before he could accomplish anything.

  This back and forth set the tone for most of the encounter.

  “Ah, this is what he meant.”

  I chuckled as I observed how Harkon operated. Axel was right, I wasn't appreciating how different large-scale fights were when powerful individuals were thrown into the mix.

  Harkon had enough firepower to harm large groups of men on his own, but his movements were heavy and predictable. To overcome this, he relied on his sturdy body and his men to bog down the enemy.

  There was no need for the 50 other men to risk death by pushing the attack; they just had to stay on defence while Harkon did the rest.

  “Grr, I wanna ram ‘em!”

  Bubblin was practically frothing at the mouth behind me as he rocked back and forth on Soot.

  “...Lily, how's the bomb?”

  “All ready for you, boss man!”

  She saluted and gestured to the hovering black orb before her.

  I fused with Tiara and began casting and throwing Shadow Spear repeatedly into it, and after the capacity had been filled, Lily sent it soaring.

  Up, up, up into the air…

  And down into the centre of the Solean army.

  “Shield's up! Magical bombardment!”

  Harkon spotted the slow-moving projectile immediately and moved to respond.

  “Shield of the Defiant!”

  Once more, a conjured armament appeared. This time, a massive dome-like shield formed above all his men.

  The dark mass collided with it, and a blanket of black and green shadow engulfed them all.

  “Gaaargh!”

  “I-it burns!”

  “Ice Field! Torrent! Consume Flame!”

  Cries of pain were mixed with the desperate attempts of the spellcasters to put out my ominous flames.

  “Don't just gawk! Shower them with death!”

  Klaus barked back, and yet more ranged attacks showered the Soleans while their formation was in shambles.

  But I did not celebrate.

  “Bubblin. Separate their boss from the rest.”

  “Kehehehe!”

  Bubblin merely cackled in glee before urging Soot into battle.

  “Lily, get another bomb ready. Don't fire until I tell you to.”

  “Okie doke!”

  As expected, with the shadows so deep, nobody was able to intercept Bubblin before he rammed full speed into Harkon and pushed him off the cliff and into the beach.

  Axel wanted us to witness how Harkon's Gift would influence the battlefield, but I had no interest in taking unnecessary losses. Bubblin probably wouldn't win on his own, but so long as Despair's Defiant only triggered on Harkon, we'd be fine.

  I wished I knew the area of effect to guarantee success, but this was the best I could do with a lack of Intel.

  The shadows thinned out enough for both sides to assess the situation.

  “H-huh?”

  The Soleans looked around in shock.

  “Lord Harkon? Where are you!?”

  The attack had taken out far less than I expected, with 30 men still standing. But without their leader, they were just 30 men.

  “Your leader has left you! Throw down your arms now, and you may yet live!”

  I roared down from out of sight, mustering up all the false authority I could.

  “Hm?”

  Klaus looked just as confused as they did, which didn't really help my bluff feel genuine. Luckily, Axel had already understood the situation.

  “Hahaha! Harkon, is this truly all you could muster? How pathetic! Come back and face me, you coward!”

  Trust Axel to make even empty blustering sound like a genuine taunt.

  “Last chance! Surrender or die!”

  I yelled again.

  Immediately, several of them threw their weapons to the ground and fell to their knees.

  Others resisted and looked ready to fight to the death, but they soon became outnumbered by those who had given up and those on the fence.

  Moving quickly with Phase Leap, I quickly scooped up and removed their weapons before they could realise their leader was just busy duelling a lone goblin.

  “Rex, what the hell just—”

  I ran straight past Klaus as he approached me, and dived right down the cliff.

  “Haha… oh, shit!”

  Axel chuckled at my seemingly comical action, but then realised what I was doing and rushed to join me.

  “Asshole! You were gonna take this from me!”

  We landed simultaneously, and he immediately yelled at me.

  “No idea what you're talking about. You should go back and take credit for getting them to surrender.”

  I responded calmly while sprinting full force towards the ocean, where huge bursts of sand and water were periodically shooting into the air.

  “Nobody cares about that! Getting the leader is all anyone will remember!”

  Axel argued back.

  “Tch. Fine, we'll do it together.”

  “Like you even have a chance on your own.”

  “I do. I already understand how to beat those strange weapons of his. It will be easy.”

  “Idiot. You have no idea how much stronger he—”

  Axel was cut off as a small, but heavy flying object knocked him to the ground.

  “Damned goblin! What in the hells are you!?”

  Harkon roared, evidently having tossed Bubblin after suffering multiple heavy strikes.

  Bubblin sprang up off of Axel with a psychotic grin and a broken nose.

  Crack!

  He snapped his long, hooked nose back into place and ran forward without looking at me.

  The way he bounded around should have been impossible for someone so heavily armoured. The way his attacks sent the sturdy Harkon reeling was unbelievable for one so small. And the way the sun's rays seemed to follow him and shine off his armour should have been reserved for a heroic paladin.

  “Sword of—”

  “Kya! Kehehe!”

  Bubblin would not let Harkon use any of his abilities. His style was a mixture of devastating and childish, as he tossed a handful of seawater into Harkon's mouth before jumping to gouge his eyes.

  The two moved deeper into the water. The bubbling, steaming water.

  “Argh!”

  Harkon cried in pain and reflexively ran back towards land, only for Bubblin to burst out from beneath the water and clobber him across the side of the head.

  “Fire pig! Go, go!”

  He then dropped his weapon and began clapping and hopping from foot to foot.

  Enraged by the maniacal disrespect, Harkon blindly rushed to sever Bubblin's head.

  BOOM!

  Only for Soot to explode out of the water, wreathed in golden flames. His massive frame easily carried Harkon away, and with a flick of his head, the Solean knight was sent airborne.

  The landing should have been soft, but…

  “Kyeh! Rock!”

  Bubblin stomped his foot, and a pillar of stone shot up to break the man's spine.

  He crumpled silently in the sand, leaving Axel in stunned silence.

  “H-he won? Seriously?”

  “Nice work.”

  I gave him a fist bump and proudly pet Soot's head.

  “U-unbelievable… How can a mere goblin…”

  But Harkon was still breathing.

  “I lost? To this? This ridiculous, foul creature?”

  It would have been amusing, were it not for one thing.

  “Bubblin. Buff us. Now.”

  “I'll prepare a Railgun. Dodging is pointless, focus on defence.”

  Axel spoke briefly and quickly began gathering electricity.

  “I'm a failure! An embarrassment to my brethren!”

  Harkon continued to wallow in despair until finally…

  His skin hardened and changed, as if assuming the form of iron. His armour was forced off as his body swelled and his muscles bulged.

  His sword and shield had become too small and too brittle compared to his own flesh, and so they were cast aside.

  He balled his hands into fists, and the groan of metal bending resounded from him.

  “This cannot stand.”

  Harkon stood tall and faced us again.

  “Skori. Witness my greatness.”

  Round two began.