Chapter 378 (1/2)

Chapter 378: 378

–Aegir POV–

Having a major blow dealt to their right wing, the enemy decided to temporarily distance themselves from Zan Dora and regroup .

On the other hand, with minimal damage and Leopolt’s ability, we were able to reorganize our army quickly .

And now, after confirming the sun has set, we slowly start to take action .

Leopolt declared right at the end of battle that a night attack would come soon .

「The enemy’s objective, after defeating us, is to capture Zan Dora . Not only have they achieved neither, they lost a large portion of their forces . 」

The battlefield is littered with corpses of enemy soldiers . It is definitely not an insignificant number .

「Beating us is not the only reason why the enemy sent such a big army, they want to move from Zan Dora to Rafen, then hope to invade Goldonia from the east . In other words, the enemy does not have time or troops to waste . They will try to defeat us with a forceful method if they have to . 」

「There just so happens to be a new moon today . 」

Myla and Luna strain their eyes in the darkness in the direction of the enemy .

They can’t seem to see anything .

「South Yuguria’s army will move rationally . A night attack might be irrational considering their casualties and fatigue of their soldiers, however it’s a rational tactic when looking at the bigger picture . 」

In any case, it appears there will be a night attack .

If they’re coming, we will have to defend .

Dismounted bow cavalry and infantry are taken out of the campgrounds slowly .

Of course, torches are not being used .

Not much has changed several kilometers away from Zan Dora, where the enemy base is .

Naturally they are not going to attack us with torches lit .

「Will they really come? If nothing happens, then we will unnecessarily exhaust the soldiers . 」

The one who answers my whispered question directed towards Leopolt is Brynhildr .

「Come, you mean those fools covered in black cloth and sneaking around?」

Brynhildr’s red eyes narrow slightly and she points to a particular spot with her finger .

I can’t see anything besides darkness though .

「Prepare for attack . 」「Get ready . 」「Wahaha―― mmgh!」「Please keep quiet!」

At the same time, the shoulders of the archers are tapped and something is whispered to them .

「That woman was sent over there . 」

Kifil, who was a.s.signed to monitor me, followed along .

To a vampire’s eyes, a night with a new moon is as bright as day .

By the way, Kifil told me her name on her hands and knees…… when I asked her as I was kicking her roughly .

Brynhildr seems to have ordered her not to say anything unless I treated her violently .

So that means I have to hit Kifil whenever I want to do something? How troublesome .

「Loose . 」

I hear a quiet order .

The sound of bowstrings being pulled taut and then released tells me arrows were fired .

「Gyaa . 」「Gueh . 」「Don’t make a sound…… calm down . 」

I think I heard someone’s voice .

No enemy rushed out though .

「Did we miss?」

I ask Brynhildr .

「No, most landed roughly where they are . Several of them died too…… Hmph, this is a surprise . They are changing their route without breaking formation . 」

If what she says is true, then we should be surprised .

Their night attack was detected and arrows were shot at them . Not many soldiers can stay calm after that .

「Seeing how we didn’t run after them or light any torches, they must think that our arrows were a lucky shot in the dark and merely meant to intimidate . They appear to be going around our defense camp and continuing the attack . 」

That is some impressive training, but it won’t do them any good .

The place those guys are heading to is……

「Fire . 」

Kifil is probably advising on the timing and positioning .

In the darkness, large arrows are launched from lined up chariots .

「Guah!」「Higyi!」

Bolts which would kill instantly if they hit rain down, causing the enemy to shout .

Cannons were not used because the smoke given off after firing would be seen .

If our position was revealed, it’s possible the enemy would come at is with an all-or-nothing charge .

To that point, shooting arrows and bolts without the use of light will keep the locations where they are being shot from unknown .

「O-our position is compromised? Can they see us!?」

「No way, this is a night with a new moon and no torches are lit . Even if they are aware of our presence, they shouldn’t know our exact position! They must be shooting in a general direction! Spread out . 」

Unfortunately for them, we can see .

「Now they have split up into two groups . One is moving slowly in front while the other is circling around from the west . 」

They purposely left half of the group behind to attract our eyes while the other half rushes in .

Obviously, Leopolt should know what is going on .

「Aim!」

An ally soldier shouts the order loudly with no intention of hiding .

At the same time, multiple tiny flames appeared in the dark . All of them were used to light the tips of arrows on fire .

「W-we’ve completely been foiled!? Everyone, stand up! It’s a total failure!」

It was already too late by the time the enemy commander yelled .

Countless flaming arrows sliced through the night and rained down at the enemy .

「Guwaaah!」「Dammit, we don’t have s.h.i.+elds!?」「I-it’s a night attack, so anything heavy and would make noise……」

Small columns of fire extended into the sky, showing us the figures of the enemies as well .

They stand up and throw off the black cloth covering themselves .

Another volley of arrows came pouring down .

Kifil had been indicating where to shoot vaguely thus far, but things were different this time .

The bow cavalry sighted the enemy with their own eyes and fired arrows with a precise target in mind .

That would naturally lead to a rapid increase in accuracy .

And the enemy chose not to carry s.h.i.+elds with them to improve their stealthiness .

As they are being shot at, their numbers visibly decreased .

「Now that it’s come to this, our only option is to charge!」

「Follow me!」

Some courageous commanders draw their swords and charge at our ally soldiers who emerged from the dark after shooting their flaming arrows .

「Do it here . 」

In sync with Leopolt’s command, the ground between our allies and the charging enemy bulges out .

Ally infantry who removed the black cloth over them appeared seemingly from nowhere .

「Chargeーー!!」

Our ally infantry cry out as they intercept the enemy .

Having the tables turned unexpectedly and getting attacked when they were ready to die in their charge accelerated the enemy’s collapse .

Eventually, soldiers on the opposing side began to scatter .

「Alright, stop the attack!」「Don’t give chase! Let them run!」

Commanders hold back the energized soldiers .

「I really wanted to pursue and whittle down their numbers a bit . 」

「It can’t be helped . The reason why the enemy didn’t send help to their night raid squad is because they can’t distinguish between friend or foe . If we ran after them, we would have been severely counterattacked without a doubt . 」

What a waste .

I’ll endure by rubbing Celia’s a.s.s .

「Chief…… that’s my b.u.t.t you’re touching . 」

d.a.m.n Gido, why are you in such a confusing spot . It’s dark and easy to mistake you .

If you don’t stop it, I’ll jam something in you .

「Chasing them is impossible, however a method to deal damage to the enemy has been prepared . 」

「You still have some tricks up your sleeve? The soldiers are going to be tired from the consecutive battles . 」

Sure, we won comfortably the first time so it’s been forgotten about, but fatigue has definitely acc.u.mulated in their bodies .

If we want to fight longer, we should not overuse the soldiers anymore than this .

「I am only going to use the cavalry who have yet to play a part . They will be attacking the enemy at night . 」

「Huh? A night attack?」

I question him unconsciously .

「The enemy might not think we will attack right after we repelled them, but it’s still……」

Myla tilts her head .

To begin with, cavalry are noisy and not suited for a night attack .

On a day like today when the moon is dim and footing is unclear, it’ll be hard to utilize the speed they’re proud of to the fullest .

「That part has been taken care of somehow . If things don’t go well, blame Leopolt-san . I’m only helping . 」

Tristan pops up after disappearing again .

He seems sleepy from not being able to take a nap .

「Fumu, let’s see what you got then . 」

「Just so you know, I’m not responsible for anything . Well, since I have nothing more to do, I’m going to sleep first . 」

If we are successful, I’ll have a few nymphs pay a visit to Tristan’s sleeping place .

If we fail, it’ll be some s.e.xually deviant men who visit him instead .

Tristan happens to be more popular with those guys than girls . He’s slender and feminine so it makes those guys want to dominate him .

Having failed their night raid, the enemy scurry back to their camp in shame, flames of varying sizes wavering in the darkness .

Thirty minutes later, about the time when they have pretty much settled down, the plan was carried out .

「Don’t trip, maintain your distance . 」「Keep the times you use light short . 」「Don’t let your horses make a sound . 」

「Wahahahaha! My arm is itching to kill . 」「Irijina-san, you’re being too loud!」

The cavalry squad is silently making their way to the enemy camp…… trying to anyways .

「Uwa, it’s sunk in here!」「I’m going to light a torch briefly . 」「Achoo!」

「This is awful……」

It is as Myla said .

Horses b.u.mp into each other and let out a short neigh, mounted soldiers make a fuss at the sudden shake, and then a torch illuminates the area so a more stable foot path can be secured . It’s laughable that this group is supposed to be a night raid squad .

Nevertheless, it is a part of Leopolt’s plan .

The enemy doesn’t particularly react as we creep towards the enemy camp .

Only the flames of the campfire flicker .

When we reach a point not far from the enemy, I raise my voice .

「Alright, charge in!!」

「「「Uooooohーーー!!」」」

Our cavalry roar altogether and light from torches multiplies .

Rumbling from the galloping hooves echoes in the night .

The faces of the enemy seem to brighten up instantly .

「Fools! Did you think we couldn’t hear you!?」

「Your noisy clamoring was leaking from the start, you amateurs!!」

「We can return the favor for what you did earlier!」

Lying in wait was a crowd of spearmen at the ready and crossbows positioned behind them .

Those poor horses get skewered and shot down by many crossbow bolts .

「It worked perfectly . 」

「Yes . 」

The donkeys, after getting punctured in the body and shot in the face, tumbled forward dramatically .

Barrels carried on their backs break open and spill the oil inside all over the enemy soldiers .

「Eh? Just the horse?」

「Where are the soldiers……」

「Ueh, is this oil? There is also some kind of sand……」

Horses and donkeys with torches attached to their backs fall over one by one .

Some horses died instantly, some packhorses rampaged while trying to run, and donkeys fell along with the cart they were pulling, flinging dry gra.s.s everywhere…… not a single person was riding .

The cavalry squad and I were watching from a distance .

No matter how poorly suited cavalry are for night raids, we wouldn’t be that terrible in execution if we actually tried .

Everything was a deception .

Without the eyes of a vampire, they can’t tell warhorses from packhorses or cart-pulling donkeys .

Adding the torches to their backs completed the disguise as foolish cavalry charging blindly .

「I do feel a little bad for the horses . 」

It’s a necessary sacrifice for victory, but hearing their painful cries hurts my heart .

Schwartz, whose feelings I expect to be more hurt than mine, is acting like it doesn’t concern him .

I guess there weren’t any mares among those killed . He’s only thinking about females, huh? What a perverted horse .

「It’s about time . 」

「It seems so . 」

Not really answering our words, the horse with a torch held in a bamboo tube on its back is pierced by a spear and flips over .

In the next moment, a dazzling light bursts out the vibrations of an explosion reach my chest .

Not long later, a pillar of fire erupts in the middle of the enemy camp .

More fire crawls underneath and spreads to other areas .

It clings to the pools of oil and dispersed dry gra.s.s to grow in size .

「W-what is this!!?」

「Is this gunpowder!? But for it to burn this much―― gah, my body! Gyaaaahーーー!!」

「This is what the gunpowder is for!? s.h.i.+t, the gra.s.s is scattered everywhere too…… the fire is all over the place!」

A little later, the enemy screams .

Even at a considerable distance away, I can feel the panic in their voices .

The enemies close by stand no chance .

「So it seems the fire worked . 」

「Yeah, it’s more flashy when seen in the night . 」

Sekrit wedges herself into my conversation with Leopolt .

「Oh, that’s the special gunpowder I told you about . You put all of that on the horses?」

Sekrit smiles innocently like a child as she gazes at the enemies engulfed in fire and writhing on the ground .

「……」

「……heh . 」

When I touch her a.s.s, she’s wet enough to stain her pants .

This woman is really dangerous after all . It can be good in its own way .

「It’s time to go . 」

「Go freely . 」

I hold my Dual Crater up high .