One day later, the two armies met.On the vast plains, more than 200,000 goblins had assembled, forming an overwhelming tide of bodies that stretched to the horizon. Their presence alone sent tremors through the earth.
"In the name of Eternal Night, we declare victory in this battle!"
Ye Zhan yanked the reins of his warhorse, stood high in the saddle, and raised his spear skyward. His voice echoed like thunder across the field.
"We will win this battle!""We will win this battle!""We will win this battle!"
The warriors of the Night Tribe roared in unison, their cry rolling like a storm across the battlefield. Even the goblins, standing in their chaotic ranks on the opposite side, faltered at the sound.
"Follow me!"
With a fearsome shout, Ye Zhan charged ahead, spear gleaming as he led the charge. His cavalry surged forward behind him, the thunder of hooves shaking the ground.
Though they numbered only thirty thousand, they couldn't afford even a moment of hesitation. A single mistake in a clash this massive could lead to annihilation. Ye Zhan knew this, so he adopted the strategy he knew best—aggressive momentum, sharp formation, and relentless pressure.
On the other side, the goblin leaders screamed, rallying their troops to charge.
But the moment they began to run, the goblin line disintegrated into chaos. Their loose formation collapsed into a confused mass, with goblins trampling each other in panic.
They had placed ordinary goblins in the front lines, hoping to preserve the elite blood-red goblins at the rear. But the plan unraveled the moment battle began. The goblins had no real discipline, no cohesion. It looked less like an army and more like a frenzied mob rushing a market stall.
A goblin commander's smug confidence vanished as he caught sight of the oncoming cavalry.
The human horsemen opened with a volley of arrows, cutting down scores of goblins. Then, without pause, they crashed directly into the goblin ranks. The impact was devastating. Over 8,000 cavalry slammed into the disordered horde like a wave of steel, ripping through the front line.
"Die!"
Ye Zhan's spear flashed, piercing through one goblin after another. His movements were fluid and unstoppable, the sharp tip of his spear slicing effortlessly through green flesh.
The cavalry was a force of nature. Their armored warhorses barreled through the battlefield like tanks, mowing down everything in their path.
Goblins were flung into the air or trampled beneath hooves. The formation crumbled in seconds. Whole sections of the goblin line vanished in an instant beneath the cavalry's onslaught. There was no strategy—just raw force and overwhelming power.
The ground turned red with blood. Severed limbs and torn entrails littered the field. The air rang with shrieks of pain and terror.
Intercept them? With what?
Ye Zhan and his warriors tore through the goblin ranks like wolves among sheep, unstoppable and merciless.
From the rear, the goblin leaders watched in horror. One barked an order, and the elite blood-red goblins finally entered the fray.
"Come!"
Ye Zhan tossed aside his spear, drew a long sword, and with a vicious swing, cleaved a monstrous goblin clean in half. He didn't pause. He drove forward, sword dancing with lethal precision, carving a path of carnage.
The goblins' crude weapons could barely scratch the warriors' armor. Their attacks bounced off harmlessly, while every strike from the Night Tribe reaped lives.
First the outer defense collapsed. Then the second line fell. And finally, the blood-red goblins stood in their way.
The clash was immediate.
But even among the evolved goblins, something was wrong. Their confidence cracked the moment the battle began. Ye Zhan charged straight for the leader of the Kara tribe, his presence like a storm wrapped in steel.
"Die!"
In a flash of crimson, Ye Zhan unleashed the full force of his power. Scarlet fighting energy surged down his blade. The goblin leader managed a single backward step, barely lifting his mace in defense—
The next moment, his body split cleanly in two.
A stunned silence followed.
"The leader is dead…"
"He couldn't even block it."
"This is bad. Really bad."
Panic spread like wildfire. The blood-red goblins stared at the corpse in disbelief. The Kara leader wasn't the strongest among them, but he had been formidable. And now he was gone—in a single strike.
Before they could recover, the cavalry pressed harder. Blades tore through the elite goblins, who began to fall one after another.
"Don't panic! Attack together!" another goblin leader shouted.
But before the last word left his mouth, Ye Zhan struck again. His blade arced through the air in a crimson flash, and the goblin's head flew from his shoulders.
Gasps followed.
"How do we fight this?"
"Maybe... maybe we should retreat..."
The fear was no longer contained. For all their bluster, the goblins had never faced a force like this.
While the cavalry shattered the rear, the Night Tribe's infantry engaged the scattered goblins across the front. Since connecting with the City of Gods, the Night Tribe had been well-supplied. Their 20,000 infantry wore fine iron armor, their shields gleamed, and their swords were sharp.
Even better—among them were five hundred half-metal giants.
Towering figures clad in heavy armor, the half-metal giants held massive maces and moved with terrifying purpose. Each one charged into the goblin ranks like a battering ram. A single swing sent goblins flying in every direction.
It was like watching giants wade through a sea of children. The goblins, barely reaching their knees, were helpless before the crushing might of the half-metal warriors.
Behind them, the human sword-and-shield infantry advanced steadily. They raised their shields, held the line, and cut down goblins methodically.
Slash. Step forward. Repeat.
They didn't rush. They didn't falter. They advanced like machines forged for slaughter.
If the cavalry was meant to break the goblin line, these infantry were built to clean up the battlefield.
Now, for the first time, the goblins truly understood what fear was.
It didn't matter that they had seven times the numbers. It didn't matter that they were backed by all the major tribes. Their crude weapons could not pierce human armor, and their morale had shattered.
The courage they had drawn from sheer numbers crumbled under the cold steel of the Night Tribe.
They couldn't win. No matter how many of them there were, they couldn't win.
This army of human warriors was stronger than anything they had imagined.
Stronger. Smarter. Braver.
More terrifying than the ancient stories had ever told.