Chapter 403 (2/2)

I deflect a bolt aimed at me and destroy the head of the crossbowman who fired it.

This weapon is better than any fragile spears or swords, I don't see what's wrong with it.

「Ooh, you finally came as well!!」

「Uwa, there he is!」

The deep rumbling voice which can be heard clearly even through an angry bellow is Gildress.

He saw me swinging my club around and runs happily towards me.

On the way, two enemy soldiers stand in his way.

「Nuuun! Don't get in my way!」

Gildress uses a sword similar to the Dual Crater, the Light of Aless―― no, he's also wielding a club similar to mine and instantly crushes his foes.

「Wahaha!! Let us go wild with weapons befitting real men!」

I don't know why he chose to match my weapon nor do I care to find out, but I agree with the going wild part.

「These d.a.m.n orcs!」

Several knights charge at us.

「I won't let you!」

Shouting in a throaty voice which doesn't lose to Gildress's volume is a man speaking in a creepy feminine tone.

At the same time, the enemy knights were hit with an iron ball attached to a chain.

「If it isn't Madam.」

「Ufun. I hate fighting, but if I've already come this far, I'm not going to stop until I drive all of them away――」

A split second after Madam tilts his body backwards, a spear thrusts in the s.p.a.ce where his head was.

Did he avoid that purely on instinct?

「We're in the middle of a conversation here! You insensitive intruders!」

Madam tangles the spear with the chain of his morning star, then delivers a blow to the enemy's face with the handle.

Following up, he kicks the enemy in the crotch, causing him to bend over, and then quickly bashes the man's head, spraying unpleasant fluids everywhere.

「Fuuー fuuー…… ufun. I'll fight together with the feudal lord-sama until I drive them all out.」

「Y-yeah. Thanks.」

Madam wipes the blood splatter on his face gently with a frilled handkerchief and then yells out.

「Here we go, Ra-chan.」

「Yes, leave it to me, Madam.」

「I-I know him. He's a former Magrado captain of a hundred-man squad…… the Mad Dog, Raizelgreif!!」

The members of Chrysanthemum-opening Garden are fighting around Madam.

As usual, the only parts of them that have turned completely into a woman are their words and the way they dress.

「Mi-chan, protect the feudal lord-sama's back―― no, his a.s.s.」

「Sure thing, Madam. I'll protect his a.s.s.」

「That's the mercenary captain of Stura…… 30-kill Milgendorf!」

I feel as if the enemy soldiers are fussing about something for a while now.

「Coco-tan will protect this place with me!」

「With Madam, I don't feel like we'll ever lose.」

「T-that can't be, a cavalry of Vandolea…… the knight of fresh blood, Cordon Corschtein!!」

Madam runs at the rattled enemies.

「Let's go, you guys! Murder anyone who looks down on okama!」

A fierce fight breaks out between Madam's faction and the enemy.

I could have sworn I saw Claudia giving someone a roundhouse kick in the corner of my eye, but I'm sure that was just my imagination.

「Hmmm, very manly indeed. So there are men outside of Aless too.」

When Gildress comments contently, he immediately gets a ”my heart is a woman!” in response.

「This is no time to be joking around.」

I tighten my grip on the club and turn to the enemy.

「Kieeeei!!」

I see the sword being swung down at me and block it.

His sword digs into the wooden club slightly, but it's thick enough that it won't be sliced in half.

When I rotate the club, his sword snaps with a sharp clink and a portion of the sword was left stuck on my weapon.

「Hnm!」

I keep my club in place and aim a front kick at the enemy's stomach.

「Uugh……」

A kick with my steel boots is powerful even through his armor.

As the enemy holds his torso in pain, I swing down my club on his head, crus.h.i.+ng him into the ground.

「Target his back!」

A few people circle around behind me.

「Sooraah!」

I do a spinning swing with my club.

「Uwah!」

「Hiih!」

I'm simply waving around this heavy-cla.s.s weapon recklessly so I'm not expecting an accurate strike.

Nevertheless, I can tell that I hit one and broke another one's sword.

The merit of a club is that I can fight roughly.

Unlike a sword, it doesn't have a blade that can break and unlike a spear, the shaft won't bend that easily.

In an official fight against a swordsman opponent, it might not be a suitable weapon, however it's more than strong enough in a jumbled-up battlefield.

Naturally, the dwarven spear and the bardiche Lucy gave me in the past have way more might and precision that, when given the choice, I would rather use over this club.

Unfortunately, I have neither. Which is why I prefer a club over a regular spear.

「s.h.i.+t, this d.a.m.n beast…… I'll punish you with this spear of mine!」

Just like that, a spear user appears before me.

「Kieeeeh! Sei, sei, sei!!」

He repeatedly thrusts at me, but I can use my thick club in place of a s.h.i.+eld and I easily defend his attacks.

One strike, a second strike, and then a third strike.

Fumu, I get his habit now.

「It's over!!」

When his thumb is pointed up, it's a feint.

I match the timing of the opponent's thrust with my own swing.

Although his spear hits my body, the predicted feint did not have enough power to penetrate my armor.

「Hmph!」

Conversely, I committed full strength on my swing, so when my club hit the man's shoulder, it tore off that half of his body.

「Uwa……he can split bodies with a club too?」

Myla mumbles in surprise with a hand to her mouth.

「That's nothing, I won't lose!」

Similarly, Gildress bashes an enemy with his club.

The enemy's formation collapses from the inside centered around us.

「They're too weak after all.」

I grumble.

I've charged into South Yuguria armies before and they were much stronger, and even if one squad goes down, the others would flood in to support to give me more trouble.

Right now though, I'm allowed to do whatever I want.

Worse than that, some of the squads are retreating without thinking about their allies.

I stop fighting briefly and scan my surroundings.

「We're going to withdraw even though there's a hole in the formation!?」

「The headquarters is exposed! How come there are no nearby squads backing us up?」

I hear fl.u.s.tered voices.

There's another person who shouts on the other side.

「It's fine. Prioritize the withdrawal of your own squad first.」

「You don't need to question the commander. Retreat at the judgement of each individual squad.」

Myla and I look at each other.

「The enemy is not listening to orders from their superiors?」

「It appears the rattled ones are the reinforcements from the direction of Malt.」

Celia pounds her fist softly into her palm.

「That female commander, the one who ran away crying and wetting herself, fled, right? It makes sense that her subordinates abandoned her…… of course, I'll stay with Aegir-sama to the end even if he soils himself! I would do the same thing!」

Don't worry, I won't do that.

Except now I figured out the reason for that out-of-place feeling.

The enemy is no longer friendly with the corps commander and are fighting under the command of their squad leaders.

No wonder their reactions are one step slow.

「Celia, please. Be careful of arrows.」

「My apologies!」

I pick up Celia.

She climbs on my shoulders and stands up, then points to a particular spot.

「There are more torches than anywhere else, and horses even though it's a night battle…… they're messengers. ――there! The enemy headquarters is over there!」

「Alright, come with me.」

I run towards the place Celia believes to be the headquarters.

Although I encountered several enemy squads along the way, once I roared at them, no one had a strong enough spirit to try and stop me, so they opened the path and scattered.

When I kicked down the cloth part.i.tion of the supposed headquarters, I saw a familiar face.

「So we meet again.」

It's that female commander with the pretty face and glamorous hair.

「Hiih.」

The moment she sees me, her face fills with fear and she lets out a little shriek.

I won't kill you no matter how scared you are. My objective will be completed if I capture you.

Like the last time, the same knights and staff officers are around her.

There was something clearly different than before though.

「Tch, is this the end!?」

「Let's blend in with the night and run away!」

「I'll accompany you!」

Instead of protecting the woman, the knights and staff officers flee as fast as they can.

「……」

The men pa.s.s beside me as I remain silent.

「You're going to let them go?」

The bell-like voice rings clearly in the night.

「Of course not, they're all dying.」

Before I finished, agonizing cries and deathroes already crossed in the air.

A freshly severed head rolls out from the darkness only to quickly be retrieved by a white hand.

「A man who abandons a woman to save his own life, no matter what the circ.u.mstances, does not deserve to live.」

I turn to the female commander and slowly close the distance between us.

「Don't resist. Now, come over here.」

「U…… uuuu……」

Her body trembles uncontrollably and she stands up unsteadily like a newborn fawn.

「I'm not going to die while I have yet to clear my name!」

She mounts the horse tied beside her and charges at me.

「Moooove!」

「I won't.」

I swing my club at the head of her horse.

With a thud, the horse falls on its side, and then I toss away the club so I can catch the woman before she falls.

「Let go! Let me goooo!」

She struggles even more.

「How troublesome you are.」

Both my hands wrap around the woman's back for an embrace.

「Kuh!」

By the time she rummaged around her waist for a knife, my hands were already squeezing around her tightly.

「Sorry, but I don't have the time right now. You're going to feel a little pain.」

I hold back enough barely so her bones don't break.

「Guu! Uugh! Uuuuu……」

She flails in my arms, eventually dropping her knife, then foams at the mouth and p.i.s.ses herself before pa.s.sing out.

「That's good enough.」

I place her on my shoulder and carry her like a bandit does after kidnapping a girl.

「Raise your voices! Shout for victory! Wahahahaha!! I'll be taking your commander.」

I purposely pa.s.s through the center of the enemy while yelling in an exaggerated manner.

Regardless of the error made by her, it is still demoralizing for the enemy soldiers to see their commander being carried out like a captive.

Along with a timely all-out attack from Leopolt and Tristan, the enemy completely collapsed.

Faced with a one-sided ma.s.sacre on top of being surrounded, the enemy find themselves in the worst situation possible.

「This takes care of the east.」

「We can't do anything if Goldonia loses though. We have to fight again in the west.」

Myla and I smile.

「Ooh, there's a pillar of fire!!」

Irijina points to a tall flame.

「That's where the enemy is running. Is that Leopolt's ambush?」

Knowing him, he must have set a wicked trap. I wonder how many came out alive from that.

The female commander on my shoulder doesn't react from the few b.u.mps as I carry her.

I might have squeezed too hard.

「This fight was a rare one without complaints.」

Celia hesitates after my satisfied remark but decides to chime in.

「I want you to stop fighting with the club though. During the fight, Aegir-sama resembled an orc many times. I'm sorry!!」

I didn't think Celia would call me an orc.

「……actually, I thought so too.」

Myla suddenly averts her eyes.

「Wahaha.」

Irijina turns to me and laughs.

The club is convenient, but I guess it has a large influence on my dignity.

I'll have to look for a proper weapon then.

<hr>

–Third Person POV–

South Yuguria Empire – A Certain Place.

「Are you really…… okay with this?」

「Yeah, I've already decided.」

After the man answers, the woman looks downward a bit and then replies with a cheerful smile.

「I want to be with you, Zillia.」

「You're really an idiot, Christoph.」

The loss of soldiers in the South Yuguria Empire was increasing as the war intensified.

Although citizens are not yet being indiscriminately conscripted, almost all who have previously served in the military, especially lower level commanders like Zillia, are being called to the frontlines.

「Is this really fine with you? You're turning your motherland into your enemy and you'll be betraying your good friend.」

Zillia asks Christoph with a troubled face.

It was like she had to make the tough decision herself.

「I was originally from the Federation. Besides, I'm not that great of a man to call my motherland my home town.」

Christoph chuckles and then looks up at the sky.

「Still…… I owe a lot to the general and Agor for taking care of me, plus Mack, Gido, and Kroll are good guys. I don't want to fight against Miss Celia either.」

Zillia's expression becomes cloudier after hearing that.

「I hear we'll be dispatched to the west. War is not completely ruled out…… one day, you might have to fight your friend…… kyaa!?」

Christoph steals Zillia's lips.

「Yeah, I'd hate that. It's not like I want to fight those guys, I'd be filled with guilt. Even so…… I want to protect you. I won't be able to take it if you die somewhere I don't know!」

「I don't want a weakling like you worrying―― umhh!」

They kiss again.

「You're precious to me, Zillia…… compared to everything else…… I've fallen in love with you.」

This time, Zillia initiates the kiss.

「I get it…… I'll bring you along as my a.s.sistant. So, well……」

Zillia clears her throat and then brings up the topic with a flushed face.

「It's about time, you know. Not just kisses, I mean. The way things are going, 'that'……」

「No, let's sleep and prepare for tomorrow.」

An unpleasant silence dominates the air.

「Hey…… you're supposed to go for it here! The girl is already in the mood!」

「No, if we're tired and an accident occurs, that'll be bad. Maybe next time.」

Zillia pouts and glares at Christoph.

「Wait, you can't have…… from that kiss just now……? You're kidding……right? Even a kid hitting p.u.b.erty doesn't……」

「Now, let's sleep. Before that, I'll go change.」

Christoph's fate begins to roll.

<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 (aerial bombing), Casie (MIA), Rita (45 cm above the knee), Yoguri (playwright), Leah (injured)

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

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

Sebastian (disciplined), Dorothea (capital mansion supervisor), Claudia (volunteer soldier), Clara (resignation)

Celestina (weak), Monica (troubled), Adela (embarra.s.sed)

Subordinates:

Celia (adjutant), Myla (commander), Marta (attendant), Irijina (commander), Peticheri (intelligence), Luna (healing), Ruby (around somewhere), Gido (escort unit), Polte (dealing with aftermath)

Leopolt (staff officer), Tristan (staff officer)

Claire & Laurie (revived), 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 (orgy), Alice (relieving fatigue)

Non-humans:

Lammy (9 m), Alraune (potted plant), Mirumi (monster unit), Balbano (found the path), harpy (relieving fatigue)

Pet:

Pochi (resting), Messerschmitt (napping), Schwartz (mating)

Citizens: 220,000 (uncertain in wartime)

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

Army:

Under Protagonist: 26 500

Escort Unit: 120

Infantry: 11 800 ⇒ 10 800

Cavalry: 1250 ⇒ 1150

Archers: 1400 ⇒ 1350

Cannoneers: 450

Bow Cavalry: 8950 ⇒ 8670

Aless Soldiers: 3979 ⇒ 3960

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

Volunteer Soldiers/ Recruits: 23 000 ⇒ 21 500

On Their Own

Aless Soldiers: 10 000

a.s.sets: 159 500 gold

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

Enemy Eastern Army Force: Approx. 35 000 ⇒ 4000 (annihilated)

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