Two days after the fall of Fortin, news spread throughout the human kingdoms.
In the capital of the Kingdom of Estalia, the nobles gathered in the palace.
Before them, the King of Estalia sat with a tense face.
A messenger had just arrived, his breathing labored.
"Your Majesty… The city of Fortin has fallen!"
The room fell silent.
One of the nobles stood up angrily.
"Fallen? What do you mean fallen? It was a fortified city!"
The messenger gulped.
"Goblins… Goblins attacked and took over the city in one night."
A general slammed the table.
"That's impossible! Goblins are just low-ranked monsters! How could they defeat our army?!"
The messenger shook his head.
"These goblins are different… They are not a wild mob. They have an army. They have a strategy. And they have… a leader."
The King of Estalia stared intently.
"Who is their leader?"
The messenger took a deep breath before answering.
"Goblin Lord… Reed."
Silence.
Then… laughter erupted in the room.
The nobles laughed in disdain.
"So we're scared because of a goblin who can think?!"
"Ridiculous!"
However, the King of Estalia did not laugh.
He tapped the table once.
"Enough."
The room fell silent again.
The king's eyes shone sharply.
"If this goblin can conquer two cities in such a short time… Then he is no small threat."
He stood up from his throne.
"We will send troops to finish him off before he gets any stronger."
Three days later, the human army moved.
More than 15,000 soldiers were sent from various human kingdoms.
This was no longer a small war.
This was an extermination expedition.
The generals gathered in a large camp.
In their midst, General Ardan—a renowned war veteran—scouted the map.
"This goblin has already captured two cities. If we let him, he will only grow stronger."
He pointed to the map.
"We will attack from two sides. The main force will attack from the south, while the cavalry will surround from the north."
The officers nodded in agreement.
They believed this would be an easy victory.
They were wrong.
In Fort Fortin, Reed received a report from the scouts.
"The human army is moving towards us. There are over 15,000 of them!"
The goblins were getting restless.
Shia stood beside Reed, her eyes full of wariness.
"They outnumber us three times. What is your plan?"
Reed smiled faintly.
"Let them come."
He stood up from his throne.
"They think we will hold out inside the fortress."
He looked at the map.
"But we will not play along with their plan."
He pointed to the dense forest near the city.
"We will ambush them before they reach us."
Shia raised an eyebrow.
"An ambush? With a smaller force?"
Reed laughed softly.
"Humans rely on discipline and formation. If we can break that before the battle begins… we can win."
The goblin generals bowed respectfully.
They trusted their leader.
That night, a war plan was drawn up.
And the next day, the blood will flow.
Dawn broke.
The human army moved towards Fortin.
Under the orders of General Ardan, they remained in tight formation.
But as they passed through the forest…
They did not know that they had just walked into a trap.
SSSHHAAA!
From the trees, arrows shot out.
Dozens of soldiers fell in an instant.
Before they could react…
The goblin army charged from the shadows!
The Hobgoblins charged like wild beasts.
The Goblin Shaman rained fire magic on them.
The Shadow Goblins slid down and slit their throats one by one.
The human army was shocked.
Their formation fell apart.
And amidst the chaos…
Reed stepped onto the battlefield.
With the black sword in his hand, Reed moved like a shadow of death.
He cut down a human soldier in one slash.
Blood spurted to the ground.
A knight tried to attack him from behind…
But before his sword could touch Reed, Shia appeared and stabbed him in the neck.
"Don't waste your time, Reed. They are no match for you."
Reed smiled coldly.
He looked ahead.
General Ardan stood in the middle of the human army, his eyes full of anger.
"You damn monster! Do you think you can win against us?!"
Reed grinned.
"I don't think. I know."
He raised his hand.
From behind, the goblin reserve troops appeared.
They attacked from all sides, blocking all escape routes.
The human army was trapped.
And in that moment, they realized… they had lost.
The battle lasted for hours.
The human soldiers tried to hold on.
But they were losing hope.
One by one, they fell or surrendered.
And as the sun began to set…
The human army had been destroyed.
In the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield, Reed stood atop a pile of corpses.
General Ardan lay prostrate before him, his body covered in wounds.
He stared at Reed with hatred in his eyes.
"You… monster…"
Reed raised his sword.
Without hesitation, he swung it down.
Ardan's head was severed.
And with that…
The great war had begun.