Chapter 406 (2/2)

「Going for this one this time!?」

「Uoooooh! As expected of the general, he even made that girl his!」

「That's the boss for you! A peerless womanizer!」

「The boss is a man among men!!」

Eeei, I can forgive 'general' but cut the c.r.a.p with calling me boss or whatever.

If people looking like you guys say that, you'll really be mistaken for bandits.

「What are you doing, insolent moron!? No wonder you were acting strange!!」

Ivanna's kick lands perfectly between my legs.

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――A Few Hours Later.

The fuss ended after the anchoring of the s.h.i.+ps and the disembarkation of the crew, who all went to take a break.

A calm a.n.a.lysis of military potential begun in the meeting room together with Leopolt and Tristan.

「It will come in handy later too. I want to have a good grasp of the strength you brought along.」

「You should have did this in the beginning. All that unnecessary…… ow, ow, ow.」

Ivanna ices the bruise on her leg and nods.

「The fleet is composed of―― 5 large combat s.h.i.+ps, 20 smaller combat s.h.i.+ps, 20 armed transport s.h.i.+ps and that……」

Ivanna turns her head to gaze at it.

「It's the flags.h.i.+p, Battles.h.i.+p Suvorov, a proud battles.h.i.+p of the Federation.」

Suvorov was clearly larger in size than any of the other combat s.h.i.+ps and made even Patena's harbor seem too cramped.

「They've all been sold to the king of Goldonia in response to his call for aid. In other words, you don't have to worry about repaying anything or worrying about losing them.」

The way Ivanna said it makes it seem like they aren't reinforcements, but rather Goldonia simply bought s.h.i.+ps……

「Then you also have me, Ivanna Reskina, the greatest reinforcements you can get.」

Ivanna puffs her chest out in a dignified manner and rests one of her legs on the table.

Irijina and Luna go ”ooh”, impressed by her display.

Ivanna even gets carried away enough to tilt her chin up.

「River battles.h.i.+p Suvorov…… judging by the deterioration of the wood, I would guess it was built five or six years ago. The design concept is a little old and its broadside cannons are fairly big, but the blindspots of the front and rear cannons are too large. Positively speaking, its speed is above the bottom tier, although its use in fast-flowing basins has not been considered. Frankly, it's an outdated s.h.i.+p. It was probably pushed out during the reorganization of the Federation's fleet. I guess it was sold in order to get rid of inventory.」

The one commented with a large grin on her face was Sekrit.

「A…… ah……」

Ivanna froze with her foot still planted on the table and a finger pointed at Sekrit.

「It's an old model, but it isn't bad. There is heavy wear in certain places, however, that means it was used frequently and inspires a sense of confidence. In a situation like the current one, it's more reliable than a new experimental s.h.i.+p. It's a good s.h.i.+p.」

Sekrit gives Ivanna a quick glance.

「You……」

Yakov and Celia immediately hold Ivanna down from both sides.

Considering her connection to Sekrit, who knows when she'll pounce.

「How dare you show yourself before me again…… you're the one who ordered me to be the leader of idiots too――!!」

Regardless of her restraints, Ivanna stepped forward with enough power to pull Yakov and Celia along.

「Ooh, how scary, how scary.」

When Sekrit exaggerates her fear and jumps into my arms, a real bloodl.u.s.t, unlike the one she directs at the 105th division, starts oozing out from Ivanna.

「So you were acting as some s.e.x-crazed woman after all! I'll cut you down right here……」

She kicks Yakov away and shakes free from Celia, then reaches for her sword only to stop midway.

「――you, that arm.」

She realized the missing part in Sekrit's left sleeve.

「Hmph. It is as you can see.」

When Sekrit rolls back the sleeve to reveal her arm, Ivanna's grip on her sword weakens.

「You lost it?」

As a soldier herself, losing limbs is nothing out of the ordinary for Ivanna.

Sekrit's misfortune was actually a good thing for once.

Ivanna's pride will not allow her to cut down a one-handed opponent.

The smile on Sekrit's face was a malicious one though.

She probably thought of something wicked again.

「Yeah, as I promised to you, I won't ever stand on the battlefield again, so I asked this guy to cut it off with a saw. It was the first time in my life that I've ever screamed hard enough for blood to come out from my throat.」

「Hey!」

What is she saying?

「A-a saw, you said…… it was sawed off? I did say…… so you couldn't stand in battle again.」

A s.h.i.+ver went down Ivanna's spine as she imagined the gory scene, then she looked at me.

「General, that can't be right. It can't be!! f.u.c.king is one thing, but hurting a woman in that manner isn't like the general at all!」

Even Yakov is staring at me.

How troublesome, I'll have Celia explain it later.

「Arrgh, enough. We're going to discuss war. What's important now is whether we can win against the Meldora fleet. Can we defeat them with the attacking power we have?」

If we are able to, we should prioritize sinking the enemy fleet.

The enemy's landing would be impossible once we control the river and we could conversely trap the enemy western army on the west coast.

On the other hand, if we can't win, there won't be any major changes to the state of war despite gaining reinforcements.

We would only have a minor advantage with the extra 5000 soldiers from the 105th.

I look to Ivanna and Sekrit, the surface warfare experts.

Now, what do they think?

「「I don't know.」」

Both of them answer at the same time and slump their shoulders.

Leopolt and Tristan sigh simultaneously.

「You can't say you don't know…… I'm asking seriously here.」

I try adding a sad tone to my voice, but it works against me and the four eyes staring at me look like they've given up already.

”You know ……”, Ivanna rests an elbow on the table and begins.

「The Meldora fleet? What the heck is that? How do you expect me to know if you don't explain that, you idiot?」

Up next is Sekrit, who rests her leg on the table.

「How many s.h.i.+ps does the enemy fleet have? 10 small s.h.i.+ps? 100 combat s.h.i.+ps? How can I predict the victor of a battle when the scale and composition of the enemy fleet is completely unknown? You can't win a surface war with muscles alone, idiot.」

They said a lot, but they're right.

I was impertinent.

「We have information from the capital…… though I doubt we can expect much.」

Leopolt cuts in.

「After all, they have practically no navy to speak of. The enemy has yet to reveal what they're fully capable of.」

Tristan chimes in as he unfolds some kind of map and draws a line on it.

「Considering the size of the port, the enemy fleet should be divided by this line…… the news of the arrival of reinforcements should be captured by their intelligence network. They should undoubtedly be gathering their forces in fear of each individual squadron being destroyed.」

Leopolt also nods and points to the map with a pen.

「We are planning a covert reconnaissance operation on the west coast. If the enemy is indeed ama.s.sing their forces, we should be able to accurately a.s.sess how many and what kind of s.h.i.+ps they have.」

The two talented staff officers begin devising a plan.

I'll make sure not to bother them and throw a welcome banquet for Ivanna.

Yakov can sit in with them too.

Before that, I can talk for a little longer.

「As a reference, what is the largest enemy army we can win against?」

Ivanna, puts a hand to her chin and thinks for a few seconds after receiving a brief explanation of Meldora from Celia.

「The performance of city state s.h.i.+ps and the skill of their soldiers are known. If the enemy has three times our forces, we can still crush them.」

「How promising to hear that we can handle up to three times.」

Ivanna holds her chest high and her cheeks turn a faint red.

「It's nothing. I mean, I refused to take command of the 105th at first…… I only reluctantly accepted because of your letter.」

I also sent a letter to Ivanna when the war broke out with South Yuguria, huh?

I didn't think someone with her standing in the Federation would come…… she's such a nice woman after all.

「Hmph, well, it's because I owe you one. Besides, being in debt goes against my――」

Sekrit b.u.t.ts in when she tried to act cool.

「Judging by the s.h.i.+p handling and strategy during their landing operation, if I take command, I can easily win against five times our numbers.」

Sekrit looks back and forth between me and Ivanna and smiles.

Then I could hear the sound of teeth grinding out of vexation.

Being the commander of the great Federation, Ivanna's pride is quite high.

Not to mention, she gets angry easily, so it's easy to set her off.

「……now that I think about it some more, I can handle six times our forces.」

Ivanna corrects herself stubbornly.

「If you push yourself too much, you'll get captured again―― oh c.r.a.p!」

I can almost see the steam coming out of her ears the moment those words left my mouth.

「I said I can do it because I can!! Whatever, I'm going to rest and prepare for tomorrow!!」

「Hey, what about the banquet……」

「I don't need it! Do it without me!!」

She lost it completely.

「I provoked her like that when I destroyed her fleet that time too. Kuku, I remember it.」

This is no time to be laughing, Sekrit.

Ivanna is walking off in a huff with square shoulders. If we don't hurry with the preparations, she'll rush into an inn.

「I was thinking if things go well in the banquet…… we could proceed to better things later.」

I guess that's why people often say the mouth is the root of all evil.

「General, we're still here. Let us drink and be merry!」

The beauty transformed into Yakov.

「This is all because of the Meldora fleet. I won't forgive them.」

I refresh my resolve to win.

Then I wrap my arm around the snickering Sekrit.

「I'll do something about your arm. Believe in me.」

Sekrit stops laughing for an instant and gives me a light, upward headb.u.t.t into my shoulder.

<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.

Subordinates:

Celia (adjutant), Myla (territory defense), Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby (around), Sekrit (close aide)

Leopolt (planning), Tristan (planning), Gido (escort unit), Brynhildr (nocturnal attack squad)

Ivanna (reinforcement fleet commander)

Army:

Under Protagonist: 42 000

Escort Unit: 120

Infantry: 11 230

Cavalry: 1200

Archers: 1300

Cannoneers: 450

Bow Cavalry: 8700

Aless Soldiers: 14 000

105 Army Corps: 5000

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

Battles.h.i.+ps: 1, Large Combat s.h.i.+ps: 5, Small Combat s.h.i.+ps: 20, Transport s.h.i.+ps: 20

Stationed in Port City, Patena

a.s.sets: 500 gold

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

Enemy Western Army Force: Approx. 50 000, Meldora fleet (???)

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