Biyu was not a soldier, nor was she familiar with war doctrine. Her education did include enough fundamentals for her to understand war doctrine when it was explained to her. That was why she was with other nobles who had presented their personal banners for the assembling army, but were not themselves commanders. Many of the nobles who had joined were the futures heads of their houses or lesser youths sent to the battle with military advisors. This was an opportunity for training not to be missed.

  The nobles, Biyu, May, and Malice Selene were near the rear with Marshal Kenneth and his command staff. Biyu had considered having May take command of her forces, but in the end she chose one of the guardian spirits. They already served as Captains, having proven themselves during the battle with the demon. None of the mortal soldiers had ever complained about serving under the guardian spirits, despite the fact they could rarely see them. They still remembered the fight with the demons and the role the guardian spirits played.

  They stood atop a platform erected upon a series of carts, granting them a sweeping view of the battlefield. Other platforms were erected where Knights who could attack at range took position, but there were only a handful of them. Space on the platform was limited, so only the most prestigious of the guest nobles joined the Marshal. Biyu's place came from her status as a god. One extended a god every courtesy, if they could not simply ignore them. May stood guard below, while no one dared to obstruct Malice Selene as she politely trailed after Biyu.

  The soldiers were arranged into ranks at one of the town gates, facing a force of Goblins. The Goblins went without armor, but stood in their formations with mute resolution. Between the armies were carts with thick wooden shields. Tied down on the shields was a man, woman, or child. They shrieked and whimpered, pleaded to be freed, or cursed the soldiers and Knights for failing to save them. They knew they would die, likely painfully, to the army come to kill their captors.

  Biyu felt compassion for the poor Humans as her other self instructed her Guides to be ready to collect them. Their souls would not be used to empower her Immortals. They would not need it. Penitent souls who fell short of the Heavens and the Hells would serve that role. Even now they were ghost lights around her guardian spirits, waiting to be used to empower the soldiers.

  "They do not expect the hostages to slow us," Marshal Kenneth commented. He was conversational as he explained the strategy of the Goblins to Biyu and the other important nobles on the platform with him and his aides. "They do it to demoralize us, not slow us. We could try to rescue them, but those carts will be trapped. They might burst into flame, or have hidden spikes. One battle I was involved in, they spewed forth poison. It's not the worst thing they'll do, either. They prefer to wound instead of kill."

  "Aren't they worried we'll heal the soldiers and send them back?" asked a noble youth. He was from the house of March Shadowgate, another youth sent to the battlefield as part of his education. He wore good steel armor, but his beard was the thin scraggly mane of a child.

  "Of course not," Marshal Kenneth berated. "Did you miss your lessons on Goblins? Lady Bringer, can you tell the boy why they don't care about that?"

  "Goblins are very toxic. The wounds inflicted by their blood and spittle do not easily heal. I am told that even the healing of Trolls is impeded by their corruption."

  Marshal Kenneth looked surprised by the last tidbit. "Not much is known about Trolls. How do you know it arrests their healing?"

  "My Master told me. She has met Trolls in her long life."

  There was approval on Marshal Kenneth's face, before he turned to the boy. "Do you understand now, boy?"

  The young man nodded. "They can injure or kill anyone trying to recover the wounded. But, even if we do recover them, they won't come back to the battlefield. It's bait."

  "That's right," Marshal Kenneth said. He was ready to lecture further, but there was a rustle from the battlefield. "Ah, they're making the first strike."

  Shapes flew up into the air from behind the town wall. There was no scream or yell. The diminutive figures of Goblins hurled over the ranks. As they fell, they exploded. Chunks of flesh and gobs of blood sprayed over the army. Among the ranks were Stone Circle Knights, and they used [Be the Wall] to deflect the chunks and blood. The flesh rolled off the phantom walls, falling between the ranks.

  There were gaps in their protection, and that was where her guardian spirits flexed their power. Soldiers not under the umbrella of the Knights were sheathed in soul armor. Soldiers startled as ethereal armor appeared on mortal men. The Immortal Legion let out a rallying cry. The soul armor deflected the corrupted flesh, but it hissed and flickered. Even it was not immune to the Goblin corruption.

  Despite the protections offered by the guardian spirits and Knights, a few soldiers were still wounded. They screamed in pain as they were taken from the field.

  Marshal Kenneth gave the order to advance. The Goblins lowered their spears and raised their shields to meet them.

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  The first to die were those on the shield carts. Marshal Kenneth had commanded they be given a quick, clean death. Biyu approved. Knights of the Order of Severing Twilight at the front of the ranks killed the hostages with quick strikes of [Twilight Terminus] once they were in range, neatly severing off their heads. The mortal soldiers relaxed as the weeping and screaming came to an end. Those in the back ranks, the ready reserves to replace those who fell, saluted the Knights.

  Spears dug into shields, and savagery commenced.

  Goblins fought much like Humans, but there were obvious differences. First, the Goblins used longer, thinner spears than Humans did. It gave them greater reach, but it took two or three Goblins to wield each one. Shields were held by other Goblins, who only had long knives at their belts for weapons. Where the shields were thrown aside or broken, those Goblins would take advantage of their small size to dart into the formations of Humans and hamstring any soldier they could. If the Goblin became too wounded to advance, it would slice open its belly and throw itself at the legs of the nearest Human.

  The Humans were well-trained, and most were battle hardened. Those who fell were often trampled, but those in the back rank were expected to pull the wounded and the dead from the front lines. Many had grave wounds from corrupted earth. Many would not survive the battle.

  This was also the Goblins' field, and they had made preparations. There were hidden pits, and more than one soldier fell screaming into spikes or were ambushed by a hidden cluster of Goblins. The army had Tradesmen from the Guild of the Treasures of the Earth, a mining guild, among the back ranks. Their task was to detect cavities in the ground and pave them over. There were only a few Tradesmen in the army, so for each pit they found, another sprung its trap.

  The Immortal Legion were empowered as they engaged the Goblins. They had volunteered to form the center, where the fiercest fighting would occur. Their Captains took form above the battlefield, their eyes blazing, as they extended their blessings far and wide. Mortal soldiers across the field were granted protection, and while their weapons were melted by blood and flesh, their bodies were left untouched.

  The Goblins withdrew from the mortals in ethereal armor, forming a gap where the army could reach the walls of the town. The Goblins did not cease attacking, flanking the advancing army even as they gave up ground. From atop the walls, Goblins with slings hurled stones into the approaching army. Knights retaliated, their magical missile striking Goblins off the walls. For every Goblin dropped, it felt like two took its place.

  "Now comes the hard part. The part you can't train for," Marshal Kenneth said grimly. "Goblins have a lot of weapons. They have better coordination than we do. When there's this many, they can use weapons and formations as well as we do. Better, since they all have the same 'training'. Then there's their flesh and blood. Thank you for that, by the way, Lady Bringer. I didn't know you could protect our troops."

  "You are welcome, Marshal Kenneth. Unfortunately, we cannot give the wounded false flesh. The corruption of the Goblins prevent that."

  "That's something you can do, Lady Bringer?" Marshal Kenneth frowned, his eyes sliding to Malice Selene who hovered at the edge of their conversation. "Forgive me for asking, Lady Bringer, but isn't your domain death?" His eyes turned back to the battle as he spoke, keeping an eye on how it went.

  "I am the Bringer of Judgment. We are at war against those who defy Judgment. Goblins, the undead, and demons are my enemies. Their destruction is the purpose of my Temple Knights. That is why my soldiers and their guardian spirits can participate in this battle. Why your army has my blessing."

  Marshal Kenneth gave a nod, while Malice Selene looked on thoughtfully.

  "I see. As I was saying, the hard part you can't train for is the smell of corpses. It's a weapon all on its own. Makes a healthy man ill, and an ill man will vomit himself to death." He watched the army as soldiers began to stumble. Some were tripping over corpses, but many were gagging on the scent of dead Goblins.

  Knights among the soldiers called on the wind to blow the stench away. It was only a half measure, as the soldiers were mired in small corpses. They wore boots greased with ointment to retard the Goblin corrosion. That too was only so effective, but it would preserve the limbs of many mortals.

  Now that they had reached the stone wall of the town, a Knight of the Order of the Stone Circle walked up and slammed it with a mace. The wall splintered under the strike. Another strike, buttressed by another use of [Break Stone] and the wall shattered. Goblins poured out of the wall like termites from a broken nest. The Knight was nearly swallowed up by the swarm. It took Biyu a moment to recognize Lady Chelsea. Despite herself, she commanded the guardian spirits to grant her their blessing. She gleamed in the same armor as the mortal soldiers, startling the woman. She almost turned to look back at the platform. Fortunately, she threw off the distraction and got on with the arduous task of breaking Goblin bodies.

  A horn sounded from behind, and they turned to see if the Goblins had managed to flank their rear. That should not have happened, as they had pickets, scouts, and a rear guard to prevent it.

  Instead, they found an army of Humans in mismatched armor.

  Marshal Kenneth frowned in puzzlement as he looked at them. "Bandits?"

  Biyu grimaced as she looked at them with her milky eyes. "No. Undead."

  The forces of the undead were at most five thousand. Normally, the army would be more than sufficient to destroy the undead with few if any casualties, but pinched between the Goblins on one side and undead on the other, they were in dire straits.

  "Did you call them here?" Malice Selene asked. Her eyes remained on the undead.

  "No. I have no power over the undead. As I have told you, my task to bring them to Judgment."

  "You did, but you've also said you'd let demons off," Malice Selene said.

  "And I helped kill a demon," Biyu replied. "My decisions are directed by the Litanies."

  "You presume to know them?" Malice Selene asked.

  "You have witnessed Judgment. The Litanies sing in my soul."

  Marshal Kenneth listened to their conversation quietly. "This is trouble. That many undead suggests a necromancer or lich commanding them. Intelligent undead avoid Goblins. If they are working together…"

  That was when they heard it. Laughter, deep and booming, rolling out from the town. Despite the Goblin King being hidden from their eyes, deep within the town, they clearly heard it as the Goblins redoubled the attack. The rearguard engaged the shambling undead, the animated corpses throwing themselves mindlessly onto the spears.