Chapter 399 (2/2)

「……all of them?」

「All of them. Have everyone recruited by order of the feudal lord.」

I proceed to s.h.i.+ft my gaze to Leopolt.

「I'll personally be taking command from here. You will be my advisor.」

「Understood.」

Even though I'm late, I still have things I need to do.

「First, we'll rout the enemy army from Rafen. Then, we'll crush the entire eastern army and retake all of our territory. That should take care of this matter.」

「Easier said than done.」

I pay no attention to Tristan's remark.

「Doing it is easy. I'm not one for theory and logic…… however, I've always been good against opponents who use schemes.」

「Of course. How could I forget.」

Tristan nods for some reason.

Leopolt and Adolph prepare for the conscription while Myla runs around to reorganize the troops.

As they take action, I enter a room with no light.

「Brynhildr. I would like the strength of you and your subordinates as well.」

「What a selfish guy…… but-」

Brynhildr stretches up to the best of her ability and touches my chin.

「You look so handsome when you've come to a decision. Very well, I will listen.」

She grins and vanishes into the shadows.

With that, everything has been set into motion.

<hr>

――A Few Days Later. South Rafen.

「An enemy force of approximately 10 000 has been confirmed in front. There are no signs of movement.」

One scout kneels before me and presents his report.

The main force of my personal army led by Leopolt, the army of Aless soldiers led by Gildress, and the mountain nation who came to me after hearing of Rafen's crisis are all currently under my command.

It's an army of over 30 000 and that's on top of the continually increasing number of recruits being left in Rafen for defense.

「I thought they would run a little further away, but they stopped at a distance requiring less than a day to travel.」

「The enemy was receiving aid from a collaborator and travelling along the mountain nation's path after all. With that area blocked off now, they can no longer retreat without support from their main force.」

Leopolt didn't need to hear Peticheri's report to know what the enemy did.

That doesn't erase the fact he was duped by the enemy once though.

「When you think about it that way, they're pretty unfortunate.」

Tristan is right, those poor things have nowhere to run.

It would have been good had they successfully executed their ambush, however, they failed and now they have no escape route.

「But the entire personal army has been mobilized here, which leaves all the territory aside from Rafen and its surroundings in enemy hands.」

Myla states.

We saw citizens and peasants carrying their belongings and fleeing to Rafen in droves before we set out.

「If something is stolen from you, you just have to steal it back. The same goes for women.」

I unsheath my Dual Crater and point it at the enemy in front of us.

「First, I'll beat the adulterers to death.」

「The enemy also realizes we're here. Since we have the bow cavalry, let's have them circle to the rear……」

I shake my head at the proposals given by Myla and Celia.

「The enemy is a small force of the remnants of a defeated army, while we are……」

I look to the soldiers.

「Everything's going to be fine now that the feudal lord-sama has returned!」

「Our counterattack begins here!」

「My wife's home has been occupied by the enemy. I want to recapture it right away!」

Noticing my gaze, the soldiers raise their swords and shout energetically.

Despite being overwhelmed, their morale is still rather high.

Everyone has their own reason for fighting within the territory.

「Nuooooooh!!」

「Bring us to battle! To blood!」

「Has the time to show our bodies not yet come!?」

For some reason, the Aless soldiers have the most spirit overflowing from them, even when this battle is another nation's matter.

「The formation will be a charging formation. That should be sufficient for a head-on attack.」

There is no need to use any tricks when we are superior in both morale and numbers.

We only need to charge straight at them.

「All-out attack―― go!」

The soldiers cheer and rush forward after the way-too-easy order was given.

I'll try not to pay attention to Gildress's voice, which is the loudest.

「Do you have anything to say?」

I turn to Tristan and Leopolt.

「Not really. I mean, we'll win no matter what we do here.」

Tristan shrugs his shoulders.

「Nothing from me.」

Leopolt doesn't say much either.

I thought he became meek after the enemy outmaneuvered him, but there's no way he'll let that get to him.

If needed, I'm sure more toxic comments will come from his mouth, so I'll leave him alone.

Although it's a stupid thought, I wonder what would happen if I put him and Gildress in the same room.

「Bow cavalry has made contact with the enemy!」

Celia shouts as if to blow away the wicked thoughts from my mind.

When it comes to a simple charge without any special tactics, the bow cavalry who have the fastest legs are the first ones to clash after all.

「A furious exchange of arrows between the enemy in front―― we're winning! The enemy is collapsing…… the charge has begun!」

「Aren't they being a little too forceful?」

After the bow cavalry single-handedly defeated the enemy archers, they charge in with their swords drawn.

They're obviously displaying a fierce drive trying not to lose to the Aless soldiers, but they seem somewhat impatient.

「Pus.h.!.+ Push them back! We're going to rout the enemy by ourselves!」

Gido is standing in the front, frantically swinging his sword.

He brushes aside the spear thrust at him with his sword and cuts down his opponent, then quickly switches to his bow to shoot two more enemies, and smoothly, without hesitation, he switches back to his sword to finish off another enemy.

「Bring on the next one!」

Even as a man, I think this sight of him shouting is quite becoming.

He's good-looking after all…… if I was that handsome, I would be able to ravage more girls.

「Fight hard and show your loyalty to the chief! I will not let us be thought of as the same as those idiots of Gukuto!」

Luna is firing arrows in rapid succession.

She doesn't bother to use her sword and insists on shooting down every enemy with her bow.

「Uoooooooooh!」

A heavy cavalry covered with metal armor roars as he approaches.

Luna's arrows have no effect against the gapless armor.

「Fuuuー……」

Luna stops her consecutive firing and focuses on aiming a single arrow.

As the enemy gradually gets closer and finally reaches his sword's range, Luna looses her arrow.

「There!」

Her arrow flies true.

As if being sucked into the only hole large enough to fit one arrow, Luna's arrow stabs the cavalry in the eye and the enemy falls over with a thud.

That was amazing but too close for comfort.

If she missed, Luna would have definitely been cut.

「They probably know about it too. I mean the possibility of a trait―――― fmgh.」

I squeeze Myla's cheeks before she could finish.

「We can talk about that later. Send a messenger, there is no need for the bow cavalry to attack so desperately regardless of whether we're attacking head-on or not.」

I'll have to speak to Luna and Gido afterwards too.

「……」

While Celia, who for some reason gets upset, pinches her own cheeks, the Aless soldiers and the infantry from my army charge into the enemy lines already half-devastated by the bow cavalry.

The enemy tries to fend us off with a square formation, but the development was one-sided.

Forced onto the defensive, the enemy could not counterattack and with no escape route, they could only run disorderly in different directions.

「Since they can't run, it won't be long until they die.」

「If not, the canonneers and archers will simply catch up and shower them with blows.」

There is no hope for the enemy to leave my territory alive at this point.

The only possibility left is――

「A new enemy has appeared to our rear―― they number more than 50 000! Over 50 000――!!」

「So they came!?」

I don't even need to ask who they are.

The main force of the enemy eastern army arrived.

「So they came here instead of Rafen?」

Leopolt nods once.

Before we departed, we already antic.i.p.ated two possible courses of actions for the eastern army to take after my army withdrew.

They would either bring their entire army to Rafen and try to invade again or meet up with the ambush squad we're trying to isolate and wipe out.

We could naturally deal with whichever option they picked, but it would have been more troublesome had they went to Rafen.

For us, this development is welcomed.

「Halt the attack. We'll strike the eastern army.」

I grab Myla's shoulders.

「I'll entrust you with 3000 archers and infantry. Suppress the remnants completely in an hour. You can do it, right?」

「Yes!」

Myla straightens her back.

Lately, she's been acting like a bigger Celia.

We stop our charge and turn to face the rear.

The surviving ambush unit tries to support the main enemy force, but Myla does what I asked and holds them down.

「The enemy army in front is―― ah! The enemy detached their cavalry! It looks like they're trying to circle around to the back!」

I see.

「Moreover, their lines have separated to the left and right! They're making a big detour in a formation never seen before! They want to get in between us and Rafen――」

Fumu, fumu.

「A blue and red flaming arrow was shot in the sky! Their meanings are unknown―― aah, a new enemy has appeared to the west! They total a few hundred……」

I turn to Leopolt.

「I see, it appears it's true that their command has drastically changed.」

They're clearly moving differently.

Somehow this feels unsettling.

It's almost like when Nonna takes a walk with a d.i.l.d.o stuffed inside her.

「Right, I believe it's a change in commander. I will update the information.」

Now then, they've made a whole bunch of moves.

「Tristan, do you know what they're doing?」

「There are endless possibilities. I can't see what the plan is at this point.」

That's fine.

「Everyone, follow me. We'll charge straight at the enemy again.」

If we don't know what they're doing, then we just have to tear them apart with raw power.

We'll use the dominance we had before coupled with the sky-high itch for battle. Schemes are unnecessary.

「……they might be planning something, you know?」

「We don't know what it is though. We can't be afraid of everything we don't know.」

I retort the mumbling Tristan.

「Aah…… was I also done in like this?」

Tristan continues to grumble.

I pay no heed to him and look to Leopolt.

「I'll directly command this charge. If the enemy does something, handle it.」

「Understood.」

Leopolt lowers his head.

I turn to the soldiers and shout.

「We're going to be charging into the enemy's main force. Follow me. Schemes and tricks…… they'll all be foiled by strength.」

I jump on Schwartz as soon as I finish.

Behind me, a collective yell with the force of surging waves erupts from the soldiers.

This is going to be a decisive battle.

<hr>

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 25 years old. Summer.

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave. Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area. Mountain Legend. Friend of the Dwarves. Friend of the King of Aless. Dragon Slayer Hero.

Elf Mediator. s.e.x King of White City.

Family:

Nonna (legal wife), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Miti (concubine), Maria (concubine), Catherine (concubine)

Brynhildr (gathering), Gretel (concubine), Melissa (fainted), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover)

Mireille (lover), Pipi (standing by for sortie), Casie (untraceable), Rita (head maid), Yoguri (playwright), Leah (injured)

Marceline (lover), Daughters - Stephanie (lover), Bridget (lover), Felicie (lover)

Natia (wealthy person), Sofia (lover), Sekrit (off on her own)

Sebastian (confined to home), Dorothea (capital mansion supervisor), Claudia (volunteer soldier), Clara (resignation)

Celestina (weak), Monica (troubled), Adela ( )

Subordinates:

Celia (adjutant), Myla (commander), Marta (attendant), Irijina (commander), Peticheri (intelligence), Luna (intensely furious), Ruby (fighting hard), Gido (intensely furious), Polte (dealing with aftermath)

Leopolt (staff officer), Tristan (staff officer)

Claire & Laurie (total exhaustion), Lilian (relaxing), Kroll (dealing with aftermath), Alma (dealing with aftermath)

Rafen Defense:

Adolph (dealing with aftermath), Jim (Rafen defense), Suzy (no-good staff officer A), Solana (no-good staff officer B)

Felteris (fis.h.i.+ng for men), Alice (relieving fatigue)

Non-humans:

Lammy (monster unit), Alraune (potted plant), Mirumi (monster unit), Balbano (lost)

Pet:

Pochi (standing by for sortie), Messerschmitt (worthless dog), Schwartz (horse)

Citizens: 220,000 (uncertain in wartime)

Major Cities – Rafen: 40,000. Lintbloom: 7000. Special Cultivation District: 14,000.

Rafen Defense Force:

Security: 150 men

Guards: 500 men

Volunteer Soldiers/ Recruits: 16 000 men

Under Protagonist: 31 700

Escort Unit: 130

Infantry: 14 000

Cavalry: 1500

Archers: 1500

Cannoneers: 450

Bow Cavalry: 10 000

Aless Soldiers: 3990

Cannons: 60, Large Cannons: 30, Dwarven Cannons: 16, Field Artillery: 20, Chariots: 50

On Their Own

Aless Soldiers: 10 000

a.s.sets: 100 000 gold (First Recruitment + Sortie -50 000), (Temporary Fixes in Rafen -20 000)

s.e.xual Partners: 782, children who have been born: 68 + 565 + ???

<hr>

<hr>