The Labyrinth Kingdom

Chaptre 05. Pursuit

In the middle of the forest.

The sound of clinking armor rubbing against each other could be heard clearly in a ruin that was originally a goblin village.

There were a lot of soldiers passing by in that place, they looked very busy at the moment.

Some were ransacking wooden huts in search of treasures, some were busy collecting food in storage warehouses and some were even busy herding the livestock that the goblins had kept before.

These soldiers were busy collecting the spoils of war, they took anything that could be exchanged for money.

If the corpses of goblins and Ogres could be sold, they would also definitely take him without a second thought.

The troops that attacked the goblin village previously numbered around 300 people, if coupled with the adventurers they hired and the volunteers, the total would reach around 700 people.

Not to mention the combat power of each soldier was better than the goblins.

So it was only natural that if the goblins lost this battle, the number of enemies they fought was twice as many and the enemy combat power was also superior.

The strategy that the attackers used in this attack was very simple.

The adventurers would attack first, they acted as scouts and diversions.

As the defenses of the goblin village began to weaken, the soldiers would advance and encircle the entire village.

Of course, the volunteers attacked first as a vanguard that can be used as a meat shield to minimize the number of casualties from the soldiers.

After that, they would attack from all directions and kill all the goblin leaders first to mess up their chain of command.

Once successful, the next step would be easier to take, they would only need to slaughter the panicked goblins as their leader had died.

Since the goblin village was in the middle of the forest, the soldiers who came did not consist of Cavalry or heavy infantry.

But the troops with swords and small shields were light infantry and there were also volunteers deployed from agricultural villages around the forest.

Despite being said to be volunteers, the villagers were threatened and forced to take part in the battle under the pretext of securing the forest outskirts.

Then for the adventurers themselves, they numbered 10 teams sent by the Adventurer Guild.

In addition to the volunteers, they were also the ones who suffered the most casualties.

Although they managed to destroy the Goblin village, but because of their role in the mission this time as the vanguard when facing the ogres, the casualties and the injured were quite a lot on their side.

Seeing the goblin village destroyed, General Rick, who was entrusted with the mandate to conquer the goblin village, smiled broadly at the reports of victory from his aide.

He's a man who will be 40 years old, this year, a knight commander from the nearby town of Bacau.

She has light brown hair with neat cuts.

Moreover, he was also wearing a set of old armor that barely maintained his dignity, he did not look like a General capable of commanding 300 soldiers.

To be honest, even though it was actually a battle where they could obtain a full victory with very few casualties.

He made several mistakes in the selection of the time of the attack that made some of his men die in vain.

Of course in order to cover up this mistake, he had thought of the many reasons that would be put into his report for the feudal lord.

“The damage to the soldiers is: 51 dead, 80 minor injuries and 30 people getting serious injuries.

As for the volunteers, nearly 70 percent of them died and the rest sustained minor and serious injuries.

As for adventurers, 60 people died and some got minor injuries.

That's a casualty report for now, sir. ”

Looking disinterested, General Rick only nodded a few times before asking about their true purpose of attacking this village.

"Well, okay. Rather than that, what about the loot?"

“Master, we managed to confiscate the livestock and grain from the warehouse. Combined with gold coins and gems, I think they can all be priced at 27,000 ducats. ”

“Very good. ”

Commander Rick rubbed his beard and nodded in satisfaction.

With 10,000 ducats, 100 farmers can survive the winter without having to starve.

Of course, Commander Rick never intended to split the money into volunteers.

After hearing the results obtained were quite satisfactory, he immediately discussed his part with his adjutant.

"Will it be fine if we write to have gotten about 17,000 ducats to the feudal lord in the report?"

"I, that's a bit ..., If we prioritize handing over gold coins and gems to the feudal lord, then 22,000 ducats, might be fine?"

“Hmm..., although the part I got was a little. alright. ”

It was only natural in this world to hand over all the loot obtained in battle to the feudal lord.

Then, the feudal lord would divide the spoils among his subordinates.

The spoils that are distributed can be various things, ranging from money or gems, it can also be food, livestock, weapons, antiques, or even slaves.

All the spoils were counted in units called ducats, It was the name of the currency that prevailed on this continent.

In other words, after being reduced by operational costs, they obtained around 25,000 ducats as spoils of war this time, it was a considerable amount of nominal.

Of course, if you look at it thoroughly, the losses caused by this attack outweigh the gains.

The men who were supposed to work on the farm and some of the soldiers who were originally in charge of protecting the city had died silly in the battle.

However, Rick did not mind such things.

Right now he was just focused on making more profit for himself.in a way, darkening some of the spoils.

“However, those goblins seem to have saved up a lot. ” Rick said

“Yes, they have become very fat. ”

"Wahahahahhh. Huhahhahh...." Rick laughed out loud.

Meanwhile his adjutant only smiled faintly and continued to deliver his report.

“I have also ordered the remaining adventurer Party to chase after the fleeing goblins. ”

“Good work, it's the right decision. ”

Inwardly, Rick prays for the safety of the goblins pursued by the adventurers.

If the goblins managed to survive, they would definitely rebuild his village, then he could come and plunder them like this again.

The adventurers who were on the chase would naturally not know what Rick was thinking.

But one of them was cursing him right now.

"Damn it, we won't get any benefit from chasing a runaway goblin. The general of the army is also very annoying, I'm sure he must have intentionally done this! From the beginning, he wanted to monopolize the spoils "

"Stop, Tieres. Complaining won't give you any results. ”

"But those soldiers are probably collecting loot in the village right now? we are the ones who killed the Ogres and made sure the place was safe! ” complains Tieres.

"That's true .., but we are hired adventurers. If the client orders us to leave, we must leave.

We have been paid in advance to obey client's orders as long as it does not endanger our lives”

"I know that, but still... "

The one who had continued to complain since earlier was Tieres, he was a man in his mid-twenties.

His entire body was clad in full armor and armed with a sword and shield.

His eyes could be seen through the gaps in the helmet covering his entire face, he was looking around him with fading motivation.

They were one of the group of adventurers who had killed many goblins and Ogres in battle before.

While the one who was trying to appease Tieres was a man wearing Priest clothes.

With a sacred emblem hanging around his neck, he was armed with a metal mace.

He was a short young man with light brown hair, The name of the Priest worshipper of the holy god was Conley.

Upon hearing Conley's words, Tieres' grunts were interrupted by the female voice.

"Shut up! I have found traces of the goblins! "

"Tch..."

Tieres pursed his lips and looked at the woman.

She was a tall and slender girl with black pigtails as well as a cold eye gaze.

He wore a tight leather suit and carried a composite bow on his back as well as two glittering daggers, hanging on his waist.

The girl was named Amara, a Ranger who excelled in tracking and other hand skills.

Previously, he had managed to trace the footprints left by the goblins using his [Humanoid Tracking] skill.

"Based on the footprints left behind, they numbered around 20's, they had also escaped quite a distance away, but we could still catch up with them. ”

“Thank you for your efforts, then you can all go home now! Our Party group will handle the rest now. ”

Agreeing with Tieres' words, the other man who was also wearing armor shouted.

“It's true, it's true”.

"we'll take care of those goblins"

"you can go back to the goblin village"

Conley looked uneasy after seeing the reaction of his friends, he felt guilty at the moment, but he also showed no signs of wanting to help Amara.

Before Amara could say anything, suddenly another woman's voice sounded in a slightly angry tone.

“Tieres! Leaving the bad part to us and enjoying the good part to yourself, you are no different from the General you have cursed before! Are you cursing yourself at this time”