Chapter 436 (2/2)

Anyways, this battle is ours now that we've brought it to close combat. That's the left side taken care of.

What about the Aless army on the right side?

The 105th attacked first so the enemy is on alert.

Aless might have drawn the short end of the stick.

「Form into a man-turret!」

On Gildress's orders, the Aless soldiers start jumping onto each other's shoulders.

Actually, they were standing instead of sitting and another person stood on their shoulders.

The last person on top wielded a sword and s.h.i.+eld and stood on the bottom person's head.

「Height aside, performing an acrobatic move like that won't――」

Myla couldn't finish expressing her common sense opinion.

「Gooo!」

Gildress bellowed. Four human columns charged forward.

The stunned Myla dropped her sword unconsciously.

「It's better to think of them as animals. Overthinking things will tire you out.」

After the man-turrets closed in to the walls, they began clas.h.i.+ng directly with the enemy.

In spite of how vigorous the soldiers were moving, not even the person at the very bottom of the turret seemed likely to fall over.

「Now! Make a man-mountain!」

While the enemy was preoccupied with the man-turrets, about 50 Aless soldiers ran in front of the walls and knelt down.

At first, they seemed to be prostrating, but they were holding out their hands in a line.

「What is that?」

Celia tilts her head and asks adorably. Unfortunately, I don't know either.

Another row of Aless soldiers formed on top of the first row. This time the row had slightly fewer people.

When the second row was completed, another row formed on top, and then another, then one more……

「D-don't tell me they're planning to get over the wall like that……」

Celia's jaw drops.

Poking her cute tongue causes her mouth to close around my finger reflexively.

Celia's premonition happened to be on the mark and the platform continued to grow taller.

It was already several levels high.

Those soldiers at the bottom carrying the brunt of the weight amazingly did not waver one bit.

The enemy also noticed that and tried shooting arrows or throwing rocks to no avail.

「Uugh! Hahaha, 10 or 20 arrows won't bring down a man of Aless!」

「Exactly! Even my daughter hurts more…… gugh!」

Albeit sporadic, the enemy's counterattack was drawn to the moving turrets, however, the Aless soldiers acting as the foundation did not have a way to dodge.

Large rocks thrown down directly hit the head of a soldier at the bottom.

That appeared to be a fatal injury or probably an instant death.

But, the Aless soldier doesn't let himself fall, regardless of how much blood and brain matter is dripping out.

Even when he's about to die, he focuses on fulfilling his duty.

Seeing that really motivates me, prompting me to draw my Dual Crater.

「I'm heading to the front.」

Having said that, I ran off.

I head to the left side where the Aless soldiers were crowding and step on the man-mountain that is nearing the height of the wall.

Soldiers on the brink of death remained firm as I stepped on their back and I praised them for a job well done before moving on.

「Man, you are going too!?」

Gildress was beside me before I knew it.

「Yeah.」

A man holding a spear and s.h.i.+eld was waiting for me after I climbed up.

「Repel these absurd perverts!」

「Who are you calling a pervert?」

I hop off the man-mountain to the ramparts, using the momentum to unleash an elbow strike on the s.h.i.+eld-wielding enemy.

He gets knocked off the wall and falls into the city.

「Nuuun!」

Next to me, Gildress flas.h.i.+ly dropkicks two enemy soldiers.

I inhale and ready my Dual Crater.

Approaching me are three spearmen, 3 swordsmen and 2 s.h.i.+eldbearers.

I purposely stand still, allowing the three soldiers wielding spears to aim at my throat, chest and crotch respectively.

They fell for the bait, like I wanted.

My left foot deflects the spear aimed at my crotch, my left gauntlet blocks the spear aimed at my chest, and my Dual Crater splits apart the spear aimed at my throat.

「Fall back――」

「Like I'll let you.」

I plant my raised left foot firmly on the ground and dash off.

My Dual Crater pierces through the stomach of the soldier who tried to distance himself, then a kick lands on another enemy which knocks him into the city, and then I punch the last soldier in the face.

Next to fight are the three swordsmen.

I'm greeted with a horizontal slash, a lunge and a downward strike from above.

As I raise my sword diagonally, I take one step back to hide my preliminary action.

Both the horizontal and downward slash cut through air, leaving only the man who lunged in front of me.

Letting out a short breath, I slash at that man.

The tip of his sword, his head and his right hand slide off.

「This guy's fa――」

In the blink of an eye, I step in front of the remaining two.

My body turns as I knock aside the torso of one soldier and sweep his legs.

His lower body fell down while his upper body spun around several times before dropping into the city.

The last individual attempts to avenge his buddy, but freezes before he could take a swing.

「I-it can't be, you're―― a demon.」

It turns out the voice was surprisingly feminine.

After her sword gets knocked away by me, she helplessly collapses on the spot.

I pluck off her helmet and steal her lips for now.

She flinches and wets herself out of fear, then pa.s.ses out.

That must have been quite the shock for her.

「「Uooooh!!」」

Oops, I forgot about the two s.h.i.+eld guys.

They charge at me yelling, their s.h.i.+elds held out in front of their bodies.

Since the ramparts aren't very s.p.a.cious, I don't have much room to dodge when those two s.h.i.+elds are lined up side-by-side.

「We will vanquish the demon――」

「With our own hands――」

The duo declare as they cover their faces and commit to a full-powered s.h.i.+eld charge.

I stab my Dual Crater into the ground and hold my hands out in front of me.

Then, they crash into me――

「Fumu.」

I don't budge an inch, let along a single millimeter. My hands caught each of the s.h.i.+elds.

「Fumu.」

「Ga…… ggh……」

「C-can't move.」

The two of them roar like animals to squeeze out as much strength as possible, but only their own feet slide.

I casually clench my teeth and push off the ground.

「Hmph!」

Almost like time was turned backward, both of them were pushed back, cras.h.i.+ng into their allies and tumbling down altogether.

「Are you done?」

I turn around to check on Gildress.

「I just finished.」

With a grunt, Gildress breaks the neck of a final enemy by turning it sideways.

The tides of battle have s.h.i.+fted completely in our favor now.

The rest of the Aless soldiers crawl up the mountain of men, while the 105 army also occupy their side of the wall.

My personal army has also completely breached through the enemy's defenses.

「Uwaaah! It's here!」

「I don't want to be eaten…… eei, jump off!」

Enemies who still resist after we cornered them start leaping off the walls suddenly.

Thinking about what could possibly be the cause, I see Pochi climbing the wall too.

Pochi can climb a vertical wall with its sharp claws.

A large hole would be opened up in the walls so Pochi is forbidden from entering the mansion back home. The last time it happened, Pochi was scolded by Rita non-stop, ending up dejected for three days.

The Royal army has also busted through the wall and are flooding into the city.

There are still quite a few enemy soldiers within the city, however, there isn't much they can do when surrounded and their defenses are being penetrated.

The battle has been decided.

「With that said, we can't just say ”that's it” and go to sleep.」

I call Pochi over and grab onto its leg.

Gildress jumps and holds onto the other leg. We travel away from the walls and land directly in the center of the city.

「It's a Pochi carriage.」

Pipi cries out happily, followed by a cheerful roar from Pochi.

I don't really pay much attention to the blank stares of nearby allies.

Oh yeah, Gildress didn't react when he saw Pochi.

「It looks a bit strange, but this is what a dog will become if a true man raises it. Let's call it a man-dog for now.」

Pochi lets out a sad whine.

We advance to the central part of the city as the battle rages on.

In the urban areas, large-scale battles can not be conducted so smaller skirmishes have broken out in various places.

「Small fights are exactly what we want, but coming into this is……」

When we turned the corner, we encountered the enemy.

「How annoying!」

I stick out a leg instead of my sword, kicking away the enemy.

「Uwaaaaaah!!」

The enemy soldier cries out pathetically as he is sent flying into the wall of a house and dies――or so I thought. Due to the fighting, there was a hole in the wall he was supposed to crash into, and flew inside the residence instead.

There was no sound of impact after that, rather a few seconds later, some white dust rose from the house.

It looks like flour. This building is probably a storage for ingredients and the enemy flew into a bag of flour.

I couldn't see his face, but judging by his aura and weakness, he was clearly a small fry.

I don't have to spend any effort to chase and finish him off.

「Aah――ph got hit!」

「Hang in there, Chri――! I'm here for you!」

「Splash some water on him and wake him up! This city is done for. Let's get ready to escape.」

Shortly after, the center of Arkland was recaptured.

With the fall of the center, the enemy will probably decide to retreat completely.

The main force of the enemy army finds a thinner part to breakthrough and manages to narrowly leave the city.

「Don't let them get away, wipe them out!」

Naturally, we pursue, however……

「The main army has left! Stand your ground!」

The enemy general holds firm.

Compared to the 100 000 we have, they only have a few thousand――

「They stopped moving.」

Leopolt responds to me.

「Our victory has been confirmed. Soldiers will not want to lose their lives after a win.」

Yeah, that's true.

n.o.body wants to risk their lives in a fight that has already been decided.

「Effects of the forced march are also showing. At top condition, they would not have let the enemy escape so easily.」

「It hurts that we don't have them either.」

The main forces of the Aless soldiers and 105th army went toward the city center.

Other squads also headed for the center, and it was the moment when the city got congested that the enemy devised a plan to run.

I hope the Aless soldiers don't push allies aside just to chase the enemy. I'd rather not jinx it.

The enemy rearguard gets run over from being outnumbered.

But by that time, the enemy was already far away and the sun was starting to set.

「This is as far as we go. We should avoid needless pursuit.」

Erich appears with a mix of emotions in his face.

「I wanted to annihilate them here if possible……but I needed to prepare for them even if it meant having a thinner encirclement.」

In front of Erich, there were 20 000 soldiers without roles waiting on standby.

If they partic.i.p.ated in the siege, the enemy likely would not have gotten away.

「The enemy's cavalry?」

「That's right. The necessity of being equipped for those guys is more important than lessening the risk of the enemy's escape from the city. It can't be helped. Anyways, we reclaimed Arkland…… let's be satisfied with that.」

That particular group did not show up this time.

However, their mobility is exceptional. They might not be in front of us now, but that doesn't mean we can relax.

「So we have to crush them somewhere.」

「Umu.」

Erich and I exchange small nods.

In the corner of my eye, I see Celia shouting for victory, Myla directing others to hunt for remnants of the enemy, and Gido lifting up and touching a female prisoner.

「Eei, eei, ohー! Ei, ei, ohー!」

「Uncover every last survivor of the enemy in the city!」

「You're going to become my woman now. Got it?」

「N-no, I don't want to…… yet my body can't resist such a handsome man, I hate it!」

Ultimately, we won and took back the city which was stolen.

The endless defensive can transition into offense.

Will it be Trisnia next, or perhaps……

<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:

Myla (militia commander), Sekrit (mischief), Leopolt (staff officer A), Tristan (staff officer B), Celia (battalion commander)

Yakov (105th army commander), Irijina (commander), Luna (bow cavalry commander), Gido (captured)

Ivanna (on standby), Brynhildr (on standby), Annette (princess of the 105)

Mysterious Page (step-sister)

Army - Southern Goldonia

Under Protagonist

Escort Unit: 80 ⇒ 75

Infantry: 7500 ⇒ 7000

Cavalry: 750 ⇒ 750

Archers: 900 ⇒ 850

Cannoneers: 430 ⇒ 430

Bow Cavalry: 7500 ⇒ 7500

Independent Celia Squad: restructuring

Conscripts + Security Unit: 18 000 ⇒ 17 000

Cannons: 50, Large Cannons: 25, Dwarven Cannons: 16, Field Artillery: 20, Chariots: 50

Reinforcements / Allied Forces

Aless Soldiers: 13 928

105 Army Corps: 3800

Fleet

Battles.h.i.+p Suvorov (medium damage), Battles.h.i.+p Aless of Aless (heavy damage, reached the bottom)

Large Combat s.h.i.+ps: 2, Small Combat s.h.i.+ps: 8, Transport s.h.i.+ps: 20

Ally Forces: Frontal Warfront - Royal Army: 80 000 ⇒ 77 000

Conscripts: 60 000 ⇒ 50 000

Enemy Force

Frontal Warfront - Regular Soldiers: 30 000 ⇒ 29 000

Conscripts: 90 000 ⇒ 70 000

Cavalry Army: 25 000 ⇒ ???

West Coast of River - Regular Soldiers: 40 000

Magrado Local Army: 30 000

Meldora Fleet: annihilated, only a few small s.h.i.+ps remaining

a.s.sets: -10 000 gold

s.e.xual Partners: 783, children who have been born: 69 + 565

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