Chapter 54 - Invasion Pt.I

Leveling the ground in their wake, the East's invasion group advanced towards the West. An army filled with three different races in small amounts, all combat ready. In normal circumstances, one would assume they were coming to fight one another, seeing as they were all violent races, but they were all being directed by a very powerful being, so they wouldn't dare.

"OOOHAAA!"

"OOOHAAA!"

Tearing up the once peaceful environment with their war cries, the trolls, numbering in the fifties shook the ground with their powerful steps, led by the troll king Zod. He was a red troll smaller than the others. A mutation of sorts that compressed his muscles, forcing his muscles to pack more punch than the average troll. With a little bit of work, he easily became the top of his species. Some say with more work and he would have been strong enough to fight the ogre tyrant. That was just their opinions though, he himself didn't believe in such nonsense. Lord Krull was in a league of his own and this was literally going to be a waste of time.

All their members were D+ in rank and their king was C+ in rank.

CLANK! KINK! CLANK!

The sounds of their heavy armors hitting the ground resounded powerfully. The orc army numbering two hundred and seventy heavily marched onwards, led by the orc king Dulk. They were most likely the weakest out of the gathered trio, but that was why they possessed the most numbers, a race that was normally D- rank, with their leader being a C+ rank. He was bigger than the rest and carried a black battle axe twice his size with a red orb fixed into its head. He wore practically no armor due to the fact that his armor was actually out of commission after his last fight and the resources needed to build that armor were not easy to recover. He let out a smoke as he marched ahead of his men with a lazy expression.

With flags waving and spears piercing the sky, the ogre army with one hundred and fifty heavily armed soldiers, led by the Ogre Tyrant, Krull charged like cold machines. Their race was C rank alone, meaning they were strong enough to give kings trouble and were feared by a lot of creatures. Their leader, the War Monger Krull, was B+ in rank, approaching the realms of an imperial beast. Truly a being worthy of respect.

The trolls were hand chosen by the troll king as his strongest soldiers. They were all running mightily right after their king while letting out war cries.

"Death to the Weak! Victory for the Strong!"

They kept on chanting and the troll king was pleased at the sight. He looked above and saw a wyvern with mid-night black scales fly ahead. On it, his master sat and observed the lands before him. He was trying to impress his master to show how much the trolls were better than the orcs. It was him just being petty, but no one thought too much of it. Whatever he asked them to do, the trolls would do for none were strong enough to defy him or his master. Trolls definitely weren't social creatures. Before this abnormal, they simply roamed their territories, not interfering with the other. If they met, it would instantly turn to a fight to the death. If a female and male met, it would turn into a fight to determine the rapist and victim were to bear offspring.

Meanwhile, the orc king who was marching in front of all of his soldiers let out a smoke and glanced at his master.

'Sorry master, but I'm stealing that kill from you.'

He silently vowed to himself. An unwise decision as most would call it, but one driven by true passion. Was there any better reason than "true love" for one to defy the being they swore loyalty to? That was the ideology his mother had drilled into them before she died. Dulk would simply follow that, especially since his siblings told him to. Still, he was a bit torn up about that.

From the sky, the ogre tyrant watched as his miniature forces advanced.

They were all summoned by their tyrant and as they would have it, a call to battle was something they had all been itching to hear. They marched happily towards this battlefield they saw as easy pickings. The west wasn't well known for its military might. In fact, it was well known as the most care free of all the sides in Larm. That was why the Tyrant of the East hadn't brought about a serious army. He could barely even call the collection before him an army.

He just didn't want to gain the attention of the Sleeping Emperor. Something as little as the army he had brought would be enough to demolish the West's denizens. He also wanted to hurry up and kill the chicken that had boldly declared that it was fighting against him.

He let out a war cry and his forces sped up.

"To the West! Kill all races you come across! Show them the East's power!"

He waved his huge butcher's knife in the air to rile up his soldiers. They all yelled in response to his orders and he could only smile. That was until he remembered what his daughter told him.

'Stupid. As if I will die at the hands of a chicken.'

Remembering the night's events filled him with even more hate towards the chicken who had dared to come against him. He was preparing to show the West terror, but also in a mild way. He couldn't afford to destroy all those precious resources he was planning on exporting, now could he?

It took about four days for them to arrive at the borders and another four to get close to where the Mad Witch lived. When they got there, the ogre tyrant ordered for them to cease all movement. He felt that it was odd that the creatures had not shown up yet.

He landed his wyvern and the two kings approached him. They currently stood on a hill overlooking the forest.

"What are we waiting for, Lord Krull?"

Dulk asked

"Ya fool, don't go askin' boss man what he is doin'! Just do whatever' darn thin' he tells ya!"

Zod yelled,

"But if you don't ask questions something bad could happen."

"Somethin' bad? Ah! Askin' questions is for the weak!"

"Oh yeah?-"

"Silence! You two are annoying!"

Both of them shut their mouths and straightened up. Krull let out a sigh. Every time those two were together, they ended up complaining. Zod was a muscle-headed moron who believed that the only way out of every situation was by brute forcing his way out of it, whereas Dulk, despite his looks, was a somewhat inquisitive individual who always preferred to think out every situation fully. Both of them didn't agree on almost everything. What they did agree on though was the undeniable fact.

Strong rules, Weak serves.

They had both seen the overbearing might of the ogre tyrant and as such, they were ready to put aside their differences since he ordered it.

The ogre then turned his attention to the forest. What were they getting at? He could feel presences, scattered in weird positions. They looked like they were attempting to ambush them, but Krull had seen through it. Was this actually how they were going to fight back? How laughable.

He then looked at the two beautiful full moons in the night sky.

______________________________

"Gorm! The East's forces have stopped in front of the wolf hills!"

A rat man who had been posted to inform them of any sign of the East said.

"What? They aren't moving in?"

"No!"

"What about their numbers?"

"I couldn't get a proper number, but I estimate over two hundred trolls, orcs and ogres alongside their kings and the ogre tyrant!"

'Hmm, this is just what Hinotori-sama said might happen. Looks like we are going with Plan B then.'

He thought to himself, putting his hand to his chin. How great was Hinotori who had managed to foresee this situation? Hinotori had gone with the assumption that Krull possessed the skill [Overlord] just like Minerva did and wondered why he simply didn't use that to control the creatures. He came to the conclusion that Krull couldn't do that because Minerva was around. But given the function of the skill to instantly scout the entire West, he assumed Krull could do that as well. So he needed to trick him.

That wouldn't be easy so Hinotori took a while and this formation only came up on the last day. So some of the members might have messed it up. It was due to the fact that their positions weren't so well practiced that their imperfectness made them a perfect decoy for the ogre tyrant who simply assumed that they weren't properly formed for an ambush. Now was the best time to confuse his opponents.

Gorm looked at the soldiers he had trained over the past four days.

They didn't have any good armor or actual weapons, however they were well-built and although the time was short, he had drilled in all sorts of survival techniques into their heads. He knew they weren't really going to be a match for the East's forces, but that was what the ambushes and traps were for.

"Look alive men! The East is here, but they have stopped at the wolf hills! Everything is going just as Hinotori-sama had predicted. We are proceeding with the original plan! Remember to be quick and try your utmost best to not be killed. We need as many of you as we get alive to win."

All they needed to do was to lure the enemy into their mine field and they would definitely acquire an advantage over their enemies. That single advantage was all they needed according to Hinotori.

"General Gorm, the rat men are ready!"

General Gorm was on official title Hinotori had assigned to him and all the creatures referred to him by that. The rat man who he had put in charge of the other rat men reported the details of his ward with a salute.

"General Gorm, the goblins are ready!"

Oda, the other hob-goblin from his tribe, who was the representative as well as one of the hob-goblin captains reported.

"General Gorm, the insect ground troops are ready!"

A beetle monster, who was one of the three subordinates the insect king personally selected, reported.

"Very well then! Let's start with the self-defense plan!"

"Yes sir!"

They all ran to their various teams. It didn't take long for all the West's assault force to move out.

Six hundred and ninety goblins, each normally an E rank monster moved forward, led by their 5 hob-goblin captains who were D- ranks. They were the weakest out of all the races in the West's forces.

Five hundred rat men, each an E rank monster, led by one the most trusted subordinates of the leader of rat men.

Four hundred insects with varying strengths of E ranks and D- ranked monsters, led by two of the insect king's most trusted subordinates. The most powerful fighting force the self-defense army could provide.

All of these soldiers were led by Gorm the hob-goblin and leader of all the goblin tribes. However, Gorm had ordered that only a third of the army go with him.

"Falter not men! This is a battle to defend our lands! CHARGE!"

The ground shook mightily under the force of over three hundred creatures running fearlessly towards the battlefield. They let out war cries as they tore up the ground. This alerted the East to their movements!

In no time, the West's forces had emerged from the forest and were facing the East's army. Gorm looked at his opponent and although he had already been informed of their numbers, he was surprised. They were running towards their deaths and he knew this. Still, he did not falter.

"HALT!"

He sent his orders and all the creatures stopped running. Gorm then stepped forward with a yell at the top of his lungs.

"Turn back now and you will not suffer a humiliating defeat!"

He did not know for which reason Hinotori had told him to say such a thing, however, for some reason he completely trusted Hinotori. The actual reason was due to Hinotori's [Charisma] skill taking effect involuntarily. He himself wasn't aware of it. For that reason, every single monster from the West had complete faith in him and his strategies.

"Ok then, men! RETREAT!"

After delivering his message, Gorm ordered for a complete withdrawal.. And the army fled back into the forest, leaving the East confused.