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Log Horizon Volume 4

Chapter 1: The Return of the Goblin King

Part 1

roar, a battle also broke out in the central hilly region of Sand Leaf peninsula.

They came out of nowhere, sweeping through the forest in small patrol groups.

13 people here, 5 from Minori's party, 6 from the higher-level party, Naotsugu, and the Cleric from Black

When they encountered the first batch, they thought it was just a group of wandering goblins.

the way of a small-scale tribal migration. When they battled for the 6th time, they could not ignore this

Nyanta was scouting in the mountain ahead.

In terms of battle power, goblins were not a threat. They were one of the major forces of the demihumans

was between 10-20, so if it was 1 on 1, beginners who were around level 25 like Minori's party were

Even though the situation was unclear, the beginners still went about their businesses calmly, packing

the light, everyday items in their normal backpacks.

"Ah?"

"Irritating, I hate irritating situations, it has a feeling of impending misfortune."

Rezarick gave a 'no big deal' look, he could handle 10-20 goblins by himself.

"Hmm..."

"There are many beginners around too, I think this could turn out pretty bad."

Rezarick was a veteran player from the big guild Black Sword Knights of Akiba. He did not laugh off

The grass swayed slightly and a slender figure appeared in the plaza.

were thin slits as usual, but he had a serious expression as he approached Naotsugu and the others.

"Nya."

The beginners were still hard at work and did not notice Nyanta had returned.

ridge on the other side nya. Their actual numbers... to be frank, I do not know nya."

There were incidents of goblin groups moving together before, no, goblins were a demihuman race that

numbering in the thousands marching together was rare even for goblins.

There was something out of place here, the 3 veterans could smell it and were nervous because of this.

Naotsugu nodded as if he understood something, and asked Nyanta if he had contacted anyone.

"Can't contact?"

Nyanta spoke calmly, but he was not as calm as he usually was.

to imagine Shouryuu being like this. After hearing about this, Rezarick had a faraway gaze in his eyes, an

Naotsugu and Nyanta stopped their discussion and waited for his news, but Rezarick replied: "No good,

Naotsugu and Nyanta did not have the contacts of any other Crescent Moon Alliance members. Nyanta

They had met with the other younger members several times now, but they had always done it through

the others overlooked.

There were many possibilities, but they had to prepare for the worst too.

Even if the goblins were low in level, if there were several thousands of them on the other side of the

They could not leave the beginners behind.

"The ones heading into the valley are a big scale pillaging tribe nya, it looks like the whole mountain is

trolls nya... There are also groups of orcs, this is a proper invading army nya. They are heading in the

"So the ones we encountered are just the scouting party?"

Naotsugu turned and saw the party with Minori and Touya in the lead standing to one side, all of them

"Several thousand... just one mountain ridge away?"

and had a sense of determination.

"I am in charge of the beginners in Crescent Moon Alliance, so, because of that, I registered all of them on

"Y, yeah. Of course."

"Is it okay to ask them about their situation?"

lists. Naotsugu scratched his head and mocked himself for overlooking this. He forgot that Serara and

Now that he thought about it, it was really obvious.

Since they had to tell everyone when they went back to base anyway, Naotsugu and Rezarick gathered the

They were scheduled to return to the school campus in the afternoon, but now that they were surrounded

and the situation of the other training teams in the area.

From the intelligence gathered by the 2 of them, there was a fierce retreating battle at the coastline, blue

formation with the high-level camp leaders acting as rear guard.

Naotsugu cursed and swore, he had never heard of anyone encountering the rare monster Sahuagin in the

"Is this... a coincidence?"

answer, so there was only silence. But the 2 armies seemed to be moving in concert, calling it a

Heading to the school campus may not be the best option now, they might be surrounded by both the

(If it is too dangerous, we can all use 'Call of Home' to teleport back to Akiba.)

They could go back to Akiba easily if they used 'Call of Home', but they would need a few days to come

Leading the beginners back to the school campus was also risky.

They could account for everyone's safety this way, which was the top priority.

With the decision made, executing it was very fast.

According to Nyanta's description, the goblin groups were spread around the forest area, scouting out a

"Alright, we will be returning to the school campus next, Me, Nyanta and Rezarick will be the leading

higher-level party will be in the rear, remember to do your part, pay attention to the back but don't stay too

front, don't drop your guard because you are in the center!"

They intended to cut across the Sand Leaf hills in a straight line.

Naotsugu worryingly acknowledged this fact, the goblins and Sahuagins might have surrounded the entire

If that was the case, his reliable friend would initiate some form of counteraction rising against the

Naotsugu stroked the neck of his horse gently and advanced along the forest trail.

Moving the time forward a little.

peninsula. But he already knew about it earlier during the meeting with the lords of the People of the

Adventurers could communicate with a companion far away via telepathy, the People of the Land also had

They held conferences with each other through the use of crystal balls and magic.

game. They did not have battle abilities and convenient skills provided by the game system like the

But Elder Tales had a fantasy setting, in order to have deeper story elements, the People of the Land were

Examples would be the secret skill to create magical artifacts or teleport magic to escape from the main

But this was just a setting, not an existing ability. But in the alternate world after the Catastrophe, these

Long range conferencing via magic by using crystal balls was part of that magic.

of knights. The nobles of the League of Freedom Towns Eastal understood this point, and had a personal

The pillaging goblin tribes only roamed in the mountains and wouldn't attack the cities the nobles reside

The first to know of the goblin army was Tsukuba's Marquis Kyriva. The goblins were moving in the

This information was transmitted last night.

immediately. Marquis Kyriva only hesitated a moment before calling for an emergency meeting and

and requested for aid from all the attending nobles.

army was terrifying in its numbers and this incident was severe enough to impact their governance.

There were several reasons why Krusty and the other Adventurers were not invited to this meeting.

Freedom Towns Eastal yet.

10 days meeting, this had already been scheduled. But the nobles wanted to negotiate as much as possible

the ceremony yet, the Round Table Council was not an official member of the League right now.

There were even rumors 'Is the goblin invasion a scheme of the Adventurers?' that were totally, laughably

This type of view came from a fact. The goblin tribes in the Owly Hills had always been a headache for

the villages. Even though the residents thought of them as dangerous elements in the hills and feel uneasy,

The reason the goblins were held at bay in the mountain was because the Adventurers periodically raided

The nobles residing around the Owly mountain ridges knew the importance of inviting Adventurers to

When Elder Tales was still a game, the nobles would use the bar to disseminate quests to 'raid goblins',

the rewards and make their way up the mountains.

mountain. That was why the nobles of the League, especially those situated near the Ouya mountain

But that was not the case.

changed the world. The Adventurers also changed to adapt to this new world, living every day with no

ignored, this was something that couldn't be helped.

that's why they were ignoring the goblins. This was common knowledge spread among the People of the

emotionally.

"So, is it true?"

"They are no longer here? Meaning they were destroyed?"

'spirited away' would be the best way to say it."

The 'Knights of Izumo' was one of the 'Global 13 Orders of Knights', the strongest military force of the

'Ancient' in this world. They were made with lost ancient magic hidden in the bloodlines of the People of

The 'Global 13 Orders of Knights' were a league of superheroes exclusively made up of 'Ancients'.

when demihumans attacked in small scale. But they would definitely strike during big-scale disasters to

Those 'Knights of Izumo' disappeared.

Freedom Towns Eastal classified this information from the public. They suspected this might be the

also troubled by this.

must be shouldering the safety of the world on other continents, and had not appeared in Yamato before.

The several fortresses that were used as their home bases were now empty. From the scout reports, there

far away lands.

The impression was similar to taking a walk on a sunny day and not coming back.

"Woo woo..."

The goblin army numbered over 10,000. If they formed up on the plains and clashed all-out with the

But the goblins were moving south along the mountain ridges and there was no way of knowing where

of Urumiya.

protecting the nobles' residences and the entire city area, they were fortress cities. Depending on the

defensive strategy. But if they were facing goblins that were over 10,000 in number, they might not be

These cities were dependent on the aid of 'The Knights of Izumo'.

There were sightings of the goblin invasion forces in the mountains, and they were estimated to be less

Other than this, the possible targets of the goblins were the aforementioned Hitachi, Fourbridge,

They might target...

Duke Sergead said as he put his strong rugged palm on his cheek.

the city ruins of Eastal. Calculating from the place the goblins were sighted, they might attack the city in 2-

In conclusion, the goblin army was heading straight for the throats of the League of Freedom Towns

deep into their territory.

was about to corrode the heart of the League.

It was an unbearable silence.

away from invading any number of cities, this was not the time for meetings.

to surround and exterminate the goblin army.

visibility, the heavy cavalry which relied on their charges to take down the enemy would not be able to

It was difficult to run a large scale war, the nobles' forces would be spread out, fighting the goblins would

the goblins might spread out and run away, there was no guarantee you could take them all out.

Most cities were able to survive a siege for months, but as the goblins attacked the fortress, they could

reinforcements came to save the city. Their motives were food and treasures, not to occupy the city.

The mountain ranges in the northeast region of the Yamato archipelago faced a serious problem. A big

Duke Sergead pressed his aching temple with his fingers and thought.

We can only accept the fact we will lose a lot of men in this war of attrition... But the problem in this case

Leading the vanguard sounded like a honorable role, but they were actually going to be cannon fodder.

strengthen its defense to resist the goblins. The goblins would tire from laying siege, and the League's

This was a proper war strategy in military terms.

bait.

All the nobles understood this.

For a city to be under siege meant accepting all the farms and fields they had tilled would be razed to the

"... We... We request under the charter of the League of Freedom Towns Eastal for help from the lords in

Tsukaba's Marquis Kyriva uttered these words like a scream.

"That... That's right, Akiba! There is Akiba, they can use their army to defeat the goblins, we should do

Marquis Kyriva shouted desperately as though he was going to be crushed by the silence. These words

(Ehmm...)

This was a good idea.

not considered adding elements from outside... that element was the Adventurers in Akiba, if it were them,

(But...)

sword, there was no guarantee they could control this weapon.

including the disappearance of the 'Knights of Izumo'.

If they put their minds to it and declared war on the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, it would be more

gone, if the Adventurers knew about this, they could not predict how the dynamics of the situation would

Duke Sergead thought the 3 young ambassadors could be trusted.

stay true to his business ethics.

no matter how challenging the problem was, he would cut it down.

ways, a knight was not enough to describe him. The potential of this young man Krusty could not be

But the personal feelings of Sergead had to be strictly separated from the decision-making of Duke

League of Freedom Towns Eastal. The nature of the 3 ambassadors also could not be used to gauge the

(And the Holy Empire Westelande is watching this closely...)

few lords brought up the 'Knights of Izumo' incident, suggesting that keeping secrets from allies was not

But even more nobles questioned the feasibility of the strategy, the Adventurers joining the fray was a

match, it would be hard to entice them.

And it continued to be this way when Nyanta reported the situation to Shiroe the following day.

The morning after the noble's meeting.

Nyanta might not be the first to report, because Michitaka and Krusty also received similar messages from

Sand Leaf peninsula was under a large-scale attack from demihumans.

Michitaka, Krusty, and a few others, the rest were either on security detail or out scouting for intelligence.

Round Table. Even though it was inconvenient, they still managed to hold a meeting through telepathy.

At Michitaka's request, Shiroe took out his notes and informed the others of the known facts.

are 67 players from Akiba attending a summer training camp in the peninsula. The invading demihuman

hundred; central hill region is attacked by large-scale pillaging goblin tribes, at least 10,000 in strength."

Elder Tales' smallest group battle unit was a 'Party'. This was a group cooperating together using tactics,

Elder Tales would form a 'Party'.

battles, Elder Tales' design had a big scale battle system called a 'Raid'.

player mid-sized group. Elder Tales' heroic-level battles were normally done in this way.

Spirits,' required a 24-man group and was a 'Full Raid' quest.

were very few quests in Elder Tales that were 'Legion Raid' level, and were used to handle very largescale,

It was hard to work together in an army of 96 people, most players wouldn't be able to grasp the full

Goblin levels were low.

of an army that was a hundred times bigger then the 96-man 'Legion Raid'.

"Why do you think so?"

"It's based on the reason for the invasion."

Everybody was talking through telepathy, the minutes were taken by one of the attendants that came along.

fact, just my own deduction' as a opening line, and said:

Shiroe not only made the meeting room he was in quiet, the Round Table Council members in Akiba and

When Elder Tales was just a game, 'The Return of the Goblin King' was a periodic game event.

Every 2 years there would be a goblin king coronation ceremony, crowning the strongest goblin tribe

If you changed it to real time, this was an event that happens every 2 months. The entrance to the 'Seven

period, they would be able to obtain strong loot.

even if they were not something the top-tier players of major guilds would want, they were still very high

Another reason that could not be overlooked was the strength of the goblin king and the defense forces

According to the game setting, the goblin king was selected from the strong goblins from the surrounding

'Seven Falls' zone would also be weakened, the level and power of the goblin king would also go down.

quest, making it a worthwhile and popular quest.

happened before and might be forgotten by the players."

not too difficult, a raid suitable for mid-size guilds to take on. Shiroe had never heard of a goblin king

But if Shiroe remembered correctly, this was what was happening right now.

his army will increase by 10 times, I remember there is such an explanation, right?"

That was correct.

increase significantly.

this alternate world. Even if it was Elder Tales' popular quest 'The Return of the Goblin King', they didn't

"So the goblins retained their military power."

"Yes, we did not raid the 6 surrounding tribes, and did not attack the fortress of Seven Falls in waves, so

than this, I am more worried about the scale of the united goblin tribes."

They did not want to keep quiet but with nothing constructive to say, the room became silent.

camp attendees were seeking refuge in the abandoned school campus, Maryele from Crescent Moon

Telepathy could only connect 1-to-1, so Henrietta was relaying Maryele's messages in the meeting room.

back to Akiba to avoid harm.

west or south, razing any communities in their way. But Akiba was still a distance away, and Akiba

Even if the goblin army was the biggest ever, they were still a manageable group. You needed a 'Full

(But the situation now...)

Even if the enemy numbered just 10,000, Shiroe thought it would be enough to take down a weaker

Shiroe lacked military knowledge, so it was a shame that he could not be certain about that. But he could

"Will the 'Knights of Izumo' be deploying?"

This was answered with a chatter of voices agreeing "Oh..." "Now that you mention it...".

This was an order of knights in the Japanese server made up of 'Ancients'.

Adventurers, the ace in the hole for the kind human race. When Adventurers first appeared in this world,

numbers. But if the fate of the world hanged in the balance, the 'Knights of Izumo' intervened.

known as the Japanese server's... wrong, it should be Yamato archipelago's guardian angels.

the more experienced players would know even more about the legends of this mythical knight order.

They were the protectors of all of the kind human race in the world, so they would not involve themselves

demihumans were to happen, they probably would take some action.

as they had not confirmed that the 'Knights of Izumo' were operating normally as usual.

interested in the southwards march of the goblins, recalling that the Elder Tales official setting only said

empire'.

Shiroe did not have a clear answer in his heart. The fact was that he had to worry about the 'Spirit Theory'

Part 4

The maid's call made Raynesia turn around.

Raynesia tilted her head slightly up, the knights of the court would be mesmerized by just this look and

the maid that had been taking care of her for the longest time.

The maid said in a overly familiar tone.

looking 'depressed' was longer than the time she spent thinking. But her most common action was just

"Eh? Elissa, do I look like I am thinking?"

The maid Elissa made her way to the back of Raynesia who was sitting at the dressing table to comb her

"Yes, you look like you were thinking, which is so rare for the princess."

The key of differentiating her actions was in her gaze. When she was looking slightly down and not

If she looked to the bottom left and looked like she was smiling despite being troubled, she was

made.

melancholic beauty'. The things she was fretting about were usually stuff like 'did I eat too much last

The expression popular with the knights and muscular men was the 'dazing around' expression. Her head

dazing too much, her eyes would shine, making her even more alluring.

the most she would say would be something on the level of 'Ah, the weather is nice' or 'I want to take a

she was serving under was a real idiot, there was no mistake.

(This is hard, beauties are hard to handle.)

Since Elissa was a maid serving the princess, she was also quite a beauty herself. If she had some time

From Elissa's view, she was a pretty charming woman, but to the standard of a fancy beauty. Real

herself, letting others ignore things like her personality and thoughts, a whole dimension by itself.

Elissa sighed softly as she combed the princess' luscious and silvery hair, each strand passing through her

"... Didn't come today."

"Ah?"

"... Why did you ask?"

around this time."

Raynesia replied in a mildly panicky tone. The slightly embarrassed Raynesia was not the princess the

This princess was a beauty, but she was closer to being naive and clumsy instead of a fancy lady... she

"Yeah, that is correct. The animal known as man doesn't pay attention to details since the start of

our problems with our wardrobes, it is really making me speechless... I remember lunch yesterday was a

satin... right, the one with the double layer material."

Raynesia had a surprised expression, from the look she was giving Elissa through the mirror, she didn't

"Listen carefully princess, this is not 'Castle Cinderella' in Maihama, so your wardrobe is very limited. If

wear. Since it is lunch, you cannot wear dresses for dinner banquets, you need to pay attention to the

you need to choose according to the wallpaper color if you are eating indoors..."

"I am fine with yesterday's clothes."

Elissa rejected Raynesia's suggestion.

"That is indoor casual wear! And this is the specific costume you always laze around in!"

like she was hiding her sorrows, bearing her painful troubles, beauties were terrifying.

hostess!)

"Wrong! The animal known as man may say he doesn't mind, but he will tabulate the scores in his heart, it

up they will turn their gaze far away. What they need is not 'most natural look', but your 'seemingly most

The sound of the knocking door interrupted Elissa's spirited lecture.

"Ah, Raynesia, calm down and listen to me."

"A goblin army is heading towards Maihama, 10,000 in strength and seems to be increasing. They might

Elissa was unable to get what he was saying.

The city of Maihama had the largest population within the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, numbering

thousand guards that maintained peace and order in the city, the 400 knights stationed in Maihama, and if

When Elissa realized it, she felt her blood draining away in an instant.

The enemy were demihumans, so the civilian militia wouldn't be able to match up to them. Elissa heard

no military knowledge.

territories are also in the danger zone. But we cannot afford to let down our guard, I plan to return to

"Dear Father, I will also..."

She had a sharp and serious expression.

a daughter of a prestigious clan.

This sloppy and careless princess had the bloodline of one of the only two duke clans... Clan Corwen.

potential.

"Why? With our land in danger, we need to all go back..."

Father-in-law referred to the current head of the family, Duke Sergead. Raynesia's mother Sarariya was

"We have not determined the true intention of the invading army, from the scale, they are not only after

Freedom Towns Eastal being wiped off the face of the map. To counter this, the League will need to unite

You need to become his pillar of support... Do you understand?"

He did not wait for his daughter to reply and hastily left the room, Elissa bowed deeply to bid him

Feynail was Elissa's main employer. Compared to her times with Raynesia or her mother, Elissa had little

The lord of Maihama was Duke Sergead.

was loved by his people. His daughter and granddaughter Raynesia were also very well-liked.

saying it this way sounded wrong, but he could not avoid the criticism of leaving a weak impression on

He was not a knight or the son of a noble, he was just a bureaucrat with a normal background. He was in

marrying into the clan, the people were not really disappointed, but just had the feeling of missed

But you could not feel the gentleness of his bureaucratic background when you looked at his back as he

approved of him, and Elissa agreed with the Duke's judgement.

"Princess?"

Raynesia was thinking.

Her eyes seemed to be looking at something without form and shape, nursing a flame that was burning

"Princess...?"

Part 5

many Adventurers gathered on the field.

were no officers nagging at them and asking them to form up and behave. They gathered in small groups

No one made any suggestions, but the Adventurers had already accounted for all their things and packed

water bottles with ice cold black rose tea over there.

their companions and continue to talk softly.

evening.

Following the guideline that was announced, they would be using this campus as a base until they had

safe.

Nyanta, Naotsugu, Maryele, Shouryuu, Rezarick, and other level 90 players were holding a meeting in the

The supervisor for this summer training camp was Maryele, Crescent Moon Alliance was a small guild,

were either at the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice, or were back in Akiba, so the training of the beginners

The news of the Sahuagin and goblin attacks had already been reported back to the Round Table Council,

"Mary-san? Don't think too hard about it, just leave it to Shiro and Henrietta-san, alright? Don't worry, be

"Thanks, Naotsugu-yan."

She thought that smiling in this situation was not too good, but feeling the sincerity of others made her

adult ... He was usually so brash and bold, so it was hard to imagine that he was actually delicate and

"Alright! Let me give you a hug! A hug as thanks!"

helpless demeanor was so cute and interesting.

Naostugu whose mind was in total chaos surprised Maryele, but she continued to hug Naotsugu's head as

"Maryele-cchi? I think you should change your clothes nya, it is already evening. cough cough, about

This advice made Maryele realize the situation and she backed away hastily.

(Heavens... that was careless of me, I am wearing this when I... Boo hoo... Now he will think of me as a

Her chest that was pressing against Naotsugu felt warm, the heat seemed to be coming from her sense of

change into, no one should be able to see her behind the screens. But she did not take off her swimwear,

"Sorry to disturb! Players above level 30 are all accounted for! Everyone is present!"

Everyone was accounted for, no attendees were lost, Maryele felt a heavy weight was off her shoulders.

The enemy level was low, but their numbers were very troublesome. The strategy for long-term battles

Cleric Maryele was a healer, and if the healer ran out of MP it meant the supply of healing spells would

Tales, a normal party raiding a dungeon would get into battles that lasted from 30 seconds to several

Only players in major guilds who took part in 'Raids' would have experience in long and pitched battles.

There were people wounded in the battle, but they were cured by the healers. Shouryuu commented that

gain something out of this.

Naotsugu call "Mary-san!" and walk out into the purple night sky. There were many specks of lights

"... Those are torches nya."

This was a scene out of a fantasy, and it was an uneasy and looming sight.

Countless specks of light shone and moved through the forest, like ants carrying lights and marching

"From the looks of it, 100-150?"

The number of torches was not equivalent to the number of goblins, but there were at least that number of

The countless specks of light were a wordless warning from the goblins that 'We will attack you next'.

"Ah, wait a minute, I will use Magic Torch."

the map. Serara was holding the edge of Nyanta's shirt with unease, while Nyanta studied the maps and

Nyanta decided to use the griffon to scout from the sky while there was still daylight, he should be the one

Everyone in the plaza didn't panic when they saw this strange sight. Put simply, since everyone was

'Call of Home', they did not have the feeling of desperation.

(Anyways, we need to wait for the Round Table Council to make a decision. But since everyone is safe, I

As Maryele was considering this, Nyanta had a troubled expression as he approached with Serara and

camp leaders.

Maryele asked.

Nyanta didn't know where to start.

"Something wrong? Chief, just say what is on your mind."

about it.

splinter group that is responsible for pillaging nya. The main army seems to be situated more to the

"Choushi doesn't have walls."

The hands of the middle-school girl were shaking, but she steadied herself forcefully and continued:

Part 6

Michitaka kept repeating this like a parrot.

D.D.D's leader 'Berserker' Krusty.

Oceanic Systems' 'Strong Armed' boss Michitaka.

And Log Horizon's 'Black Heart Glasses' Shiroe.

meeting to discuss the situation. Maryele who was leading the training camp in Sand Leaf and Shiroe's

through telepathy.

They were unable to come to a final conclusion at this current phase, they could only continue to keep

develop, this was the general feel after the discussion.

Shiroe made 3 suggestions to the Round Table Council, the first was to strengthen the defense of the

The nobles had their own bodyguards, but the Adventurers felt they were not strong enough.

heed Shiroe's call and rushed to the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice.

the goblins would attack here, this was a safe zone that didn't need any reinforcements. But the meeting

Krusty might not be able to continue discussions with the People of the Land, so there was a need to send

But if a big-scale reinforcement army was to arrive while they were still in the middle of discussion, the

was a relatively small guild among them and volunteered to lead the way.

Soujirou entered the palace with a few attendants.

Towns Eastal. If they needed to rush, they could arrive in 2 hours riding a horse, so Soujirou was in

According to reports, it had been confirmed that the goblin army was situated around the root of Sand

Shiroe marked out the rough position on the map, this place was near Abiko and Toride in the real world.

"This is their headquarters, they are divided into tribes and coordinating their movements, but their

still scattered and lacks uniformity. Their range of operations is wide and unregulated, which makes them

Shiroe expressed his views.

abandoned capital city Eastal. If you drew a line between Tsukaba and Maihama, the army was right

"Because their movements are erratic, we cannot grasp their actual numbers even after receiving several

"15,000..."

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