Chapter 23 The Goblin Army is Too Powerful!

Location: Orwick City

In the fields outside the city, all kinds of fortifications have been fully reinforced, and the soldiers are training day and night. No one knows why the city lord attaches so much importance to the exercise.

Even Duke Ekado, who was in charge of the area, specially transferred elite cavalry from his family.

With only ten days left until the Harvest Festival, news seemed to have arrived from the front lines about the goblin army's movements.

Parker walked through the city, eating a pancake as he looked around at the defenses.

“I asked, and Count Ledo’s party will return from the North Gate.” Trisna bit her bandage and slowly tied her single ponytail back.

“Really?” Parker exclaimed in surprise. “We’re even one step ahead of them.”

“Maybe it’s because we took different routes?” Trisna said.

However, although the direction of the conjecture is correct, it still does not conform to the facts.

Because Parker and Trisna took the main road, which was safe, crowded, and led directly to Orwick City.

So doesn't this mean that Count Ledo chose a side road that no one had ever taken before?

“Shall we go take a look?” Parker suggested.

“Hmm.” Trisna agreed, but she still felt something was off.

The streets were filled with welcoming crowds, and because of Ledo's triumphant return, no one saw the goblins as a threat.

The north gate was slowly raised by the guards, and the streets were already crowded with people holding flowers.

Parker and Trisna couldn't squeeze in, so they had to pay to stay in a hotel and watch from afar by the window.

There were constant sounds coming from the hotel stairs, and judging from the conversations, quite a few people wanted to stay at the hotel.

"Luckily we arrived early!" Parker exclaimed.

If we had come any later, we wouldn't have had such a good vantage point.

“Not too lucky either.” Trisna touched the coins in the bag.

Seeing this, the hotel owners actually raised their prices on the spot, increasing room rates by at least three times!

This is hardly a house fit for human habitation!

...

"Whoosh—" The city gates were fully opened, and the heavy cavalry figures were obscured by the dust mixed in outside the city.

"He's here! It's Count Ledo!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Hearing the noise, Parker quickly stuck his head out the window to see what was going on.

As the dust settled, the lead heavily armored knight lowered his head and let his horse carry him into the city.

The horse was blind in one eye, but it still held its head high to greet the crowd.

However, the welcoming crowds lining both sides of the road were stunned.

This is hardly a triumphant army!

The second rank of heavy cavalry carrying the flags were covered in dust and dirt, their flags tattered and worn. Ledo's head was wrapped in bandages, and his right arm was empty.

Many of the cavalrymen's mounts were completely blind, and an eerie silence filled the scene.

Parker pulled his head back, lost in thought, his mind blank—perhaps only two words could describe it…

A crushing defeat!!!

"How could this be?" He couldn't understand.

Ledo was fighting goblins... right?

If Count Ledo is considered weak, then the nobles will cut out the tongues of those who spread rumors!

Count Ledo was a true master of heavy cavalry, a veteran of countless battles, and had been involved in numerous clashes of territorial interests between families.

How could I be beaten to this state by mere goblins?!

Trisna leaned against the window, watching Lydo Tiran walk past the skeptical gazes of the crowd below.

He then nodded in understanding.

...

Inside the manor castle, Ecardo patted Liedo on the shoulder: "Looks like things aren't going very smoothly."

"Not entirely," Ledo forced a smile.

The maid beside him cleaned his missing right arm and then wrapped it with bandages.

Ledo noticed that Ecardo kept looking at his missing arm, then laughed and said, "I'm old, what's an arm to me!"

“It’s just a pity…” Ledo said in a low voice, “I’m afraid I can no longer fight normally.”

The selection criteria for heavy armor knights are too strict; even the slightest flaw can create a huge weakness in a heavy armor knight.

"Ahem..." Ecardo coughed a few times and poured Liedo a glass of wine: "Tell me, what happened to you?"

"Goblins? Or remnants of the Demon King's army?"

Liedo held his wine glass in his left hand. Hearing Ekado's words, he smiled: "So you know about that little thing Aize was talking about?"

"The Black Knight is no small matter!" Ecardo joked, "He scared little Azer half to death!"

He was referring to the letter Aize had sent some time ago, in which he reassured everyone that he was safe and sound, and also emphasized the strange black knight.

“To be honest, I didn’t see any remnants of the Demon King’s army,” Ledo sighed.

Aikado frowned: "Only goblins?"

“Only goblins,” Liedo repeated, emphasizing his words.

This time it was Alcardo's turn to be confused!

Goblins only? Who would believe that!

Those little green things probably couldn't even break through the defenses of a heavily armored knight, right?

"Cough! Cough!" Alcardo coughed violently a few times, spilling the wine from his glass.

"Drink less!" Liedo snatched the wine from Ecardo's hand.

“Since we’ve come this far, I won’t hide anything anymore,” Liedo said. “We underestimated the goblins.”

"Perhaps we encountered those filthy, cowardly little devils before, but today..."

Ledo paused, met Ekado's gaze, and said with emphasis, "We must truly regard goblins as enemies."

Aicardo looked at him, wanting to hear the reason, and was also very curious about what had happened to Liedo.

“Reg is right, those guys are the knight’s bane,” Ledo said. “I’ve never seen goblins like that before.”

“Their equipment is excellent, and they even have tactics specifically designed to deal with heavy cavalry,” Ledo said, leaning back in his chair. “They coordinate very well; we can no longer treat them like rats.”

“Yes, it seems they have indeed changed,” Ecardo admitted.

Ledo stood up; he was going to rest, and... he needed to settle the families of the fallen heavy cavalry.

“Oh, right, Alcardo!” Liedo suddenly remembered something and said, “They might really be going to attack the city.”

"Also, I saw her."

"Who?" Alcardo asked, puzzled.

“The Black Knight,” Ledo said.

"If it weren't for her, I might not have come back."

...

"Wendo, what are you writing?"

On the front lines, the mercenary leaders gathered together, but the laughter and merriment of the past were nowhere to be seen.

A regimental commander came to Wendo's side and saw him writing a letter.

"Your handwriting is quite good."

“Haha…” Wendo smiled when he heard the praise and said, “Write a letter to my old friend’s son.”

"That little scout from a few days ago?" The regimental commander leaned against Wendo.

“Yes,” Wendo said.

"It's good to go back!" the regimental commander sighed. "It's safer back there!"

Wendo continued writing letters, inquiring about Parker's situation in Orwick City, and suggesting that he could withdraw from the commission if necessary.

The situation at the front lines... is not optimistic.