The Monster King's Legacy

Chapter 85 Battle On Homefront

Following such news, there was no panic, only steely resolve. They had prepared themselves to face whatever enemy came their way, there was no running away.

Lance turned his gaze to Kaeli who had spent a while equipping the goblins with weapons and other gears. The enemy were numbered in the thousands from their scouts' estimations, apart from the old and the young, every one was a warrior in the coming battle.

The goblins now stood armed and armoured, gripping spears, axes, and blades.

Kaeli wiped sweat from her brow, her rough hands stained with soot. "Every goblin is armed, Lance. They won't be defenseless."

Lance gave a firm nod. "Then we fight." Kaeli returned the nod, gripping her war-hammer tighter.

The orc leader, Gorvak, let out a deep, guttural laugh, his massive axe resting against his shoulder. "Finally. I was getting tired of all this waiting." His orcs roared in agreement, pounding their chests and sto0mping the ground. For one, these battle loving beings were more enthusiastic about the impending battle than anything.

Ruzak, the beastkin chief, rolled his shoulders, his sharp claws flexing. "We strike hard and fast. Do not let them dictate the pace of the battle."

Lance raised his hand, and silence fell over the assembled warriors. Almost a thousand strong.

"Hold the line," he commanded. "Do not let them push us back. If we lose ground, we die... and that is the last thing we do!"

A single warhorn echoed through the valley following the cheers and chants of the gathered warriors.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, fall back and stick to the plan." She said coldly to the goblin before vanishing into the fray. The goblin she had just saved didn't waste any extra second, doing as he was told immediately. They who had not been trained were supposed to remain behind, more so as a last line of defence than anything else, to catch any enemy that snuck through. Using speed and numbers, they would overwhelm any lone demon that managed to pass through, swarming them and attacking relentlessly. A simple but effective method they were very accustomed to.

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It didn't take long before the battle descended into madness, swords clashing, flesh ripped, bones shattered. As the battle raged on, the demons were not the only ones suffering anymore, even the army of the monsters started seeing casualties, though considerably smaller than the demons.

The leaders were just as involved in the battle as everyone else, taking the forefront with their army behind them as they slaughtered their enemies at every turn. A massive demon, standing almost twice the height of an orc, let out a roar as it swung a spiked club-like weapon, sending three beastkin warriors flying, certainly badly injured from the attack.

Lance watched from a distance, narrowing his eyes. With no hesitation, he rushed forward, running past Gorvak.

The demon saw him coming, and without hesitation raised its club again aiming to strike him down, but Lance dodged left, easily, his sword slicing deep into its exposed side and through its thick ribs.

The demon stumbled, snarling in rage, but before it could retaliate, Gorvak charged it, his axe splitting its head open simultaneously as Lance attacked from behind with a huge war axe he had picked up, perfectly suiting the demon's size as he hacked at its abdomen, chopping into it more than half way through.

Watching as the demon fell, Lance exhaled sharply, with no time to rest. More demons were coming, the wave was endless. He watched as from the treeline, fresh waves of monstrosities pushed forward, their numbers seemingly endless.

Before anything else, he rushed to the downed beastkin warriors that had been hit earlier, healing them before focusing on the battle again.

This was far from over. The real battle had just begun.