Chapter 442 (1/2)

Chapter 442: 442

「That was great . Thanks . 」

I separate from the body of the prost.i.tute I chose to take care of .

She is already unconscious and the only answer I received came in the form of a wet, goopy sound from her crotch .

My feet feel unpleasantly sticky .

Apparently, the floor was splattered with my seed and her love juices .

When I dismount from the wagon, relaxing soldiers and coworkers of the prost.i.tute look at me nervously .

We’re all doing the same things so there’s no need to focus on me .

「No, I mean, it’s abnormal for the wagon to be shaking that much…… I thought it would tip over . 」

「The screaming could be heard clearly too . I peeked countless times to see if she was being tortured . It turns out she was simply feeling good……more importantly, how incredible must you be? If I…… no, nevermind . I’ll probably end up like that . 」

At the same time, a pathetic cry devoid of reason comes from the back of a wagon .

I left after pulling the hand of the prost.i.tute attending to a soldier and guiding it to my crotch .

「That person was this big when he was limp, can you believe it!?」

「You’re lying!? That’s――……」

It feels like the sky is gradually getting brighter, however, the rain hasn’t stopped so I don’t know the exact time of day .

「……are you finished?」

Celia appears from the shadow of the wagon .

Her face is oddly big…… or so I thought, it’s just her puffing her cheeks .

I poke one of the inflated sides and let the air out .

「Pshhh…… Leopolt-san is almost done preparing . We’ll be ready to depart shortly . 」

Celia straightens my clothes and takes out a set of makeup tools, then dabs my nape and neck with them .

「There are kiss marks all over…… it doesn’t look good, so I’ll hide it for you . Just keep walking . 」

「Oh, thanks . 」

I don’t really mind since they’re like badges of honor .

Celia darts to my left and right in search of every hickey, bouncing up adorably when there was a high spot she couldn’t reach .

I do as she says and continue walking, smiling at Celia’s healing cuteness .

「Watch out . 」

「Oops . 」

I narrowly tripped on a bunch of rocks near my feet .

They’re too regularly-shaped to be used by catapults . Maybe we should stack them up for a platform…… or whatever .

「This rain isn’t stopping at all . 」

「Yes . I’m worried that the wet ground will affect the horses . 」

If it continues raining, the river might overflow too……

「……it’s not rising at all . 」

The water level isn’t particularly increasing a whole lot .

Those sailors of the evacuated combat vessels are looking bored on the deck of their s.h.i.+ps .

Well, it’s not a torrential downpour, so I guess they’re not too concerned .

「Mm……and I’m done!」

Celia finished erasing the kiss marks on my body .

I won’t point out that I felt her lips give me a peck on my neck .

「Thanks . 」

I wrap my arm around Celia’s shoulder and go in for a kiss .

Of course, she doesn’t refuse, closing her eyes and tiptoeing to meet me halfway .

「Hau!」

She suddenly realizes the gazes of soldiers on her and hastily separates from me .

「What are you guys looking at!? Have you forgotten the strict order to finish up by noon!? Keep your hands moving!!」

Their commander also scolds them and demands them to get back to work .

A slender and long hole……resembling that of a moat, is being dug directly toward Trisnia .

If we want to brace for the enemy’s counterattack, I would think it’s better to dig it parallel…… even if it’s for an ambush, there’s no way we won’t get seen digging forward from the enemy vantage point .

「Maybe I shouldn’t interfere, being an amateur and all . 」

I walk along with the embarra.s.sed Celia under my arm .

「We will now commence our attack . Please take command . 」

Leopolt declares after looking at my face .

「How sudden . 」

Obviously, attacking comes with the territory of war, but our poor situation hasn’t changed .

Celia gets agitated and starts huffing and puffing, but remembers the mistake she committed last time and deflates .

She’s cute when she’s fidgety .

「Did some kind of new weapon arrive? Something that can blow up the wall into pieces in one hit . 」

「Currently, we have no method of destroying the city walls . I want you to use brute strength . 」

He’s asking for the unreasonable again .

「It didn’t work after being blasted that much by cannons and catapults . It’s not going to fall if I――tch . 」

Coincidentally, Gildress happened to hear what I said at the worst timing and came over .

His body trembled as he entered the tent with a smile…… a few minutes later, Aless soldiers try to push their way in .

Reading my intent, Celia stands in the entrance of the tent with her arms stretched out, blocking the Aless soldiers, then asks Leopolt with a sideways glance .

「What’s the reason for doing that?」

「It’s a diversion . The real operation is a little too large-scale and noticeable . 」

I’m sure it is .

「I’m wary of enemy spies so I haven’t given a consolidated order yet, but unless we distract them, I fear they will find out . Also, for a rather pointless brute force attack, it’s more natural for Lord Hardlett to take command more so than me . 」

There are things I want to say, however, Leopolt goes on before I could open my mouth to protest .

「I’ve already discussed it with the Military Commissioner, who is prepared to sacrifice soldiers . In fact, if their deaths are more flashy, it would be more effective as a distraction . 」

He’s the same as usual .

「Don’t say this in front of Yakov . He’ll start a fight again . 」

「Understood, though I don’t remember there ever being anything of the sort . 」

Almost at the same time Leopolt finishes his sentence, I hear the sound of resounding footsteps,

「Hurry! We’ll be late for battle!」

「It’s truly fortuitous we get to power our way through!」

「If we aren’t using our honed muscles now, when else would we use them!?」

There it is .

「I won’t let you through! Aegir-sama is still in the middle of――hngyaa!」

Celia, who had her arms spread wide and her chin raised to project her voice, gets blown away .

She adjusts her body in midair and lands softly back on the ground . She rolls on the thin carpet and comes to a stop .

Then, she faces the culprit who b.u.mped her, Gildress, and her hair stands up in a point at him .

「Hey, what do you think you’re doing to my cute――」

「I heard your plan, friend!! That we’re going to start a manly attack!!」

「――yeah, that’s right . 」

I don’t feel like complaining anymore .

He probably doesn’t realize what he did to Celia .

「That’s what we’re doing . You guys will partic.i.p.ate too, so go get ready . 」

「Of course . There’s no way I’ll sit out a manly attack!」

What is that repulsive attack name?

「Time to attack . Vanguard, advance . 」

I give out orders while riding Schwartz .

「25th Battalion, start attacking!」

「29th Battalion, don’t lose your nerve!」

Royal army soldiers entrusted to me by Erich, rush towards the city walls .

Behind them, catapults launch rocks and ballistae fire arcing bolts .

「It doesn’t have much effect though . 」

Myla murmurs beside me .

By the way, Celia was tasked with defending headquarters with her own battalion .

Her army suffered great losses in the previous battle, which actually works out in her favor, making it easier to control the group .

She’s really just starting over a few steps back .

「Well, we’re only using rocks and chunks of iron . We’re unable to use burning rocks and oil in this rain . 」

If it was only a light drizzle, they might still have a small effect, but everything is pretty wet since it’s been raining for several days . Now, it’s impossible for oil and gunpowder to start a fire .

「Battering rams are absent too . 」

「We’ve confirmed that they have no effect . 」

Cannons are unusable in this downpour .

We can’t exactly build a rain shelter in front of the enemy and hide in it either .

「So we have no choice except to go with a primitive tactic . 」

Yakov chimes in from the opposite side .

「I feel sorry for the soldiers, but this is war . It can’t be helped . 」

After the sorry excuse for an attack, the soldiers step forward .

Three people per group carry simple wooden ladders .

They’re hoping to climb up the walls quickly and take control of the ramparts .

Trisnia’s walls displayed an unknown tenacity, but are fortunately only five meters tall, an easy hurdle for ladders to clear .

「Chargeee!!」

「Uooooh!!」

Allied soldiers yell loudly and run forward .

The final chapter of siege warfare, invading the city…… that’s what their goal is .

「Archers, loose!」

「Ballistae…… begin firing!」

「Catapults, pull back…… now!」

Arrows, bolts, and rocks and iron b.a.l.l.s from within the city fly at us .

Our vanguard falls and the momentum of our attack is quashed .

「They’re coming straight at us! Heh, we’re not so naive that idiots can beat us by charging in blindly! Do it!」

Pots filled with liquid drop down on the heads of the soldiers starting to put their feet on the rungs of the ladders .

「H-hot――!! Gyaaaah!!」

「Uwaaah! My eyes! My face!!」

As soon as the liquid touched the soldiers and the ground, steam rose and harsh sizzling sounds could be heard .

Those directly hit instantly fell over and died, while others writhed in pain .

「……boiling oil . That can be used in spite of the rain . No, if it makes contact with water, it will splash even more and be extra annoying . 」

Myla furrows her brow .

「It can’t be blocked by s.h.i.+elds so it’s harder to deal with than rocks in a sense . 」

Yakov also comments with a troubled expression .

The vanguard was completely stalled and casualties continued to mount .

Commanders quickly turned to me in a panic .

「Have them fall back . We can’t do anything against that . 」

So the advance guard retreats, and our next attack squad steps forward .

However, we have no breakthrough solution .

Just from the enemy showing their fierce resistance, the movement of our soldiers seems worse than the vanguard .

「This isn’t good . 」

「Yes . It’s quite one-sided . We should change our offensive――」

Sorry Myla, it’s not how you’re thinking .

Since this is a diversion, the deaths are necessary sacrifices .

Although, the enemy might get suspicious if we prolong such a pathetic and pointless attack .

We need to be more flashy…… at the very least, we have to make them lose their mind .

「Yakov . I want to do something a bit reckless . Your plan……」

「Right . Then…… guoooh!!」「Leave it to us!! Aless has a plan!!」

Gildress knocks Yakov aside and rushes to my side .

Myla was about to help Yakov up after he smacked his face into the ground, but she jumps back and insults him .

Oh yeah, I think I heard a scream mixed with a strange noise from his a.s.s .

「A plan from you? Are you going to tear down the fences or something?」

How unexpected .

It would be as normal as Tristan or Adolph training their bodies .

Gildress disregards my concern and continues to explain in a booming voice .

「Brute force is certainly a masculine way, however, it’s not the same as haphazardly throwing soldiers at the enemy!」

Being lectured by this guy hurts my heart .

「It’s like destroying a ma.s.sive boulder! Simply punching it isn’t manly, it’s idiotic! You have to ram into with a running start, kick it, and headb.u.t.t it . That’s the true way of a man!! As my friend, you are a true man . Sit here . 」

I was directed to a pile of cloths .

I felt obligated to sit down in the moment and later noticed that I was on a bundle of sheets or pillows and that a stinky smell was coming from them .

「A real man doesn’t hesitate!! We won’t fall behind either!!」

Gildress plops himself down on a similar mound of cloths and signals his men with a swing of his arm .

「「「Oh!」」」

The Aless soldiers take a catapult―― oh, they carried one over .

「That’s a fully built catapult they’re lifting……」

Myla was speechless .

I don’t see what’s wrong . I’ve already accepted the fact they’re beyond common sense a long time ago .

「Friend, prepare…… no, forget it! A man of your caliber won’t be frightened . It was offensive of me! Anyways, do it!」

「My king! Fellow man! Fully demonstrate your military prowess and muscular ability!」

「We won’t be far behind! Now, go wild!」

I can’t follow this conversation . And in the next moment, Gildress and I, along with a few other Aless soldiers, are covered with a cloth .

「Hey, what’s going on!?」

Although the cloth is dirty, it’s soft and doesn’t hinder my breathing or my movements .

However, I have a bad feeling .

「「Into the fray!!」」

I feel myself being lifted up by multiple Aless soldiers and tossed .

A small gap in the cloth allowed me to see the same thing being done to Gildress .

Did we just get put on…… you’re kidding me .

「This is a “man-ball”! Let it fly!!」

At Gildress’s order, my body leaves the ground .

「L-Lord Hardlett――!! Aegir-san――!!」

I hear Myla shout .

It’s cute how she instinctively called me by name, but now is not the time to be focusing on that .

This is a nostalgic sensation…… it was the same when I was carried off into the sky by those monster birds……and then fell down .

After reaching the peak height, I start descending .

I can’t see because of the cloth over me and I’m disoriented from being spun around .

Well, the most I can do is curl up into a ball and brace for impact .

It wasn’t long until I landed .

「Guuh . 」

The force of the crash pierced through my back and into my chest, pus.h.i.+ng the air out of my lungs .

My entire body gets banged up as I slowly roll to a stop .

「W-what was that? What did those guys from Goldonia shoot at us!?」

「A cloth? Is it possibly soaked in oil or maybe it’s hiding gunpowder……」

「Wait, I think I saw some people being covered . Do you think……there’s no way . 」

Those voices I hear must belong to South Yugurian soldiers .

I guess I landed somewhere in the middle of the enemy camp .

I check the state of my body in a split second .

I don’t feel anything out of place .

Oh, so that’s what the cloth wrapping was for?

「T-Try poking it first . It might explode . 」

「Sure…… protect me with your s.h.i.+eld . 」

Even though I was partially cus.h.i.+oned by the cloth, I was just launched by a catapult, so my whole body is in pain .

I don’t think I have the luxury to stretch though .

I open up my body from the curled-up state and tear off the cloth .

「Uoooh!!」

I scan my surroundings immediately .

It looks like I was sent over the walls successfully .