Chapter 464 (1/2)

Chapter 464

Translator: Nat

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–Aegir POV–

I follow Celia into the city of Tortoent.

「The main battle has ended, but remnants of the enemy who failed to escape had apparently caused trouble. The citizens we have left alone until now were everywhere and friendly fire was possible if we entered the alley, so I chose not to act against my better judgment.」

「You’re right. It’s better if we leave it to Erich.」

As I move my hand to pat Celia’s head for a job well done, I stop mid-way and hold back a groan.

TOP ARTICLES2/5Rule Breaker Chapter 127

Maestus’s attack accurately struck me in the side of my body through a gap in my armor.

Because I had blocked it partially, his attack didn’t reach my organs, although it wasn’t exactly a minor one either.

「There it is! My troops already have it surrounded!」

What Celia excitedly pointed out was a lookout tower in the city.

It is a 12 m tall 5-storey building in the shape of a simple cylinder with about a 6 m radius and has one opened window in each cardinal direction for every storey above the first. Considering the beautiful exterior established by the neatly laid red bricks, the building is probably not for military purposes.

「There seems to be a dozen or so still inside. I’ll round them up in a flas.h.!.+」

Celia huffs eagerly.

Alright, let’s see what she’s got.

「It’s no good, we’re completely surrounded. We can’t run.」

「Dammit, protect the flank of the thousand-man squad, my a.s.s! They’re the ones who fled first!」

「In the end, they used us recruits like sacrificial p.a.w.ns!」

I can hear the unrest and resentment from the enemy.

Celia’s battalion numbers 400 even when excluding the injured. Their overwhelming advantage is unwavering.

「Loose!」

Arrows shoot up and rain down on the tower at Celia’s order.

Of course, they don’t have enough power to penetrate brick, but they prevent enemy soldiers from peeking out of the windows and shooting crossbows or throwing rocks.

「Eclair company, commence the attack!」

Her deliciously-named unit rushes forward.

Soldiers threaten the enemies from the windows of the second and third floor with spears while their colleagues bang on the door with hammers, struggling with those pressing against the entryway on the inside.

「Souffle, carry your ladders and look to climb up!」

Another tasty-sounding group brings out the long ladders used in sieges and props them against the side of the tower, quickly reaching the window on the fifth storey.

A well-executed two-p.r.o.nged attack.

It is something which a bunch of remnants……and recruits at that, should not be able to deal with. Or so I thought.

「Stay calm, it’s over for us if we get fl.u.s.tered! A little more……now!!」

I hear a dignified female’s voice from inside the tower.

The door of the tower is thrown open and swordsmen burst out.

Celia’s troops flinch from the sudden emergence.

In that brief moment, the enemy takes advantage by pus.h.i.+ng down the soldiers wielding hammers and kicking down the base of the propped up ladders.

「「Gyaaaah!!」」

Having the support kicked from under them, the soldiers on the ladders could do nothing else except fall.

「What are you doing!? Attack them back!」

Celia yells, snapping the stunned soldiers back into action. But as they try to suppress the enemy with numbers……

Crossbows stick out from the windows of the tower.

Several of them bunch tightly together in each of the laughably small windows and steady their aim.

「Fire――!」

The collective volley disrupts the movements of Celia’s battalion.

The allied archers providing suppressing fire would interfere with those trying to climb up ladders, so they stopped shooting.

「Withdraw!」

Like skittering rats, the enemy soldiers scurry back into the tower and shut the door.

It was right after that when the allied soldiers’ arrows poured down, meaning the enemy suffered zero casualties.

Once all the arrows. .h.i.t the ground, a spear sticks out of the window and waves around in a mocking manner.

「Heeey. Over here~」

They are taunting us.

「Grrr――!!」

Celia stamps her feet on the ground repeatedly in frustration.

You don’t have to get angry. There may not be many of them, but it won’t be easy to take them down as long as they’re holed up in the tower.

Even though we have great numbers, not everyone can attack simultaneously with how tiny the tower is, so that essentially forces us to split up into smaller groups and attack through the windows and doors. It is a time-consuming task to say the least.

The enemy’s skill and morale are also greater than expected.

It wouldn’t be strange for them to surrender after the first attack or scatter in a panic.

Although they are wearing gear for conscripts, it’s impressive how they can still keep up their morale despite the city falling.

「They’re pretty good.」

I don’t exactly hate the type of people who are bold enough to provoke us in a situation where they are rats in a bag either.

「In that case, I’ll launch an all-out attack! Bring out the cannons and plenty of oil!!」

Thinking that she was just humiliated in front of me, Celia turns red.

「Gyaa! The enemy is going to attack for real!」

「It’s because you taunted them!」

「Also, how long is this guy going to stay unconscious? Splash some water on him!」

I place my hand on top of the enraged Celia’s head.

「Don’t get so worked up.」

It’s dangerous to use cannons or start fires with allies and citizens around.

In the first place, the only reason Celia wants to settle this quickly is because I’m here. As long as she takes her time, she’ll take them down with certainty. Although in such a situation where anyone can see she holds a tremendous advantage, they might get disheartened if she simply took it nice and easy.

It’s definitely not because she is incompetent or because she made a mistake.

「Will you let me handle this? I still haven’t fought enough.」

「Eh, but……」

I stroke Celia’s cheek and step forward.

「Escort unit, dismount.」

The accompanying soldiers on horseback turn into infantry.

I also hop off Schwartz’s back and wrap my arm around her shoulder.

「Go.」

「「「Yessir.」」」

The escort unit marches in lockstep.

<hr>The sound of their footsteps has a completely different intensity compared to Celia’s battalion.

After all, the escort unit is composed of individuals who are especially well-built and skilled in fighting.

Moreover, because they are prepared to enter battle with me, all of them are wearing a full set of armor, with a portion of them even using special dragonskin equipment. They are literally my strongest soldiers.

「Something seriously bad is coming!」

「Crossbows, aim! Get the stones ready too!」

「――guh, did I…… wait, isn’t that the escort unit!?」

The enemy shoots their crossbows.

The bolts. .h.i.t the thick s.h.i.+elds held by the escort unit and bounce off, doing no damage.

Throwing their puny stones at the armored troops don’t defeat any of them either.

And they’re not going to find any rocks as large as the ones used to break down the city walls around a tower in the middle of the city.

The escort unit closes in on the door, ignoring the overhead attack.

Looking at things calmly, the enemy is merely a ragtag group of light infantry.

There is no need for complicated tactics or complex instructions, just have a bunch of heavily armored soldiers run in.

「Break it down.」

「「「Yessir.」」」

The escort unit bangs on the door with a hammer.

They do the same thing as Celia’s battalion, but the door greatly vibrates with one hit.

It’s the difference of power between individual soldiers.

「Their strength is nothing like before!」

「Not good, I can’t hold it shut! At this rate……」

I also run toward the door as I hear the enemies start to get anxious.

And then with a sharp exhale, I kick down the door.

The right side of the double doors tears off and flies into the tower.

My side still hurts. It’s best if I don’t push myself too much.

I make eye contact with the enemy soldiers.

「It’s over……」

「I wanted to at least sleep with a pretty lady before I died…… or a pretty boy would do too.」

I see clear resignation on their faces. They should not have any options left.

I was just about to order my soldiers to attack.

「Not yet!!」

Someone jumps over my head.

「Don’t give up until the very end! Follow me and open up an escape route!!」

「Commander Zillia!」

A brave woman raises her sword and inspires her fellow soldiers…… so she is the commander.

「Yaaaah!」

The female commander carries out her own words and leads the charge.

Her readiness to die is evident in her face.

With that said, the escort unit won’t falter from that.

They deflect the woman’s attack with their s.h.i.+elds and form a circle around her so she can’t escape.

「Kuh, need to find a weak spot……」

The female commander scans the surrounding area and identifies the tiniest seam.

「There――」

She runs at the gap.

I think of calling Schwartz just in case she manages to get free, but I change my mind after some more consideration.

「Hardlett-dono! There are enemies here too!?」

The one who appeared shouting loudly was Irijina, who also blocked the female commander’s opening with perfect timing.

「Mu! An enemy!!」

Irijina reacts to the das.h.i.+ng enemy.

「Don’t do it Zillia! Irijina is――」

I hear a familiar voice from inside the tower try to warn the female commander.

「I’ll push through!」

「A challenge!? Come on then!!」

The enemy commander jumps at Irijina with a slash from the air.

Irijina was not fazed and easily deflected the attack with the shaft of her spear.

When the distance was closed and the two individuals’ weapons were locked in a fierce struggle, Irijina used the strength she is so proud of to repel the enemy.

「Now it’s my turn!!」

Irijina lowers her hips and takes a firm step before unleas.h.i.+ng a continuous barrage of thrusts.

Despite the female commander’s best attempts to defend, she isn’t a weapon expert judging from what she displayed earlier.

Irijina on the other hand is on another level when she wields her spear.

「S-so fast! And heavy!」

The female commander is thrown off balance from the first strike, gets her s.h.i.+eld knocked away from the second strike, and loses her sword from the third strike.

「Prepare yourself――!」

Irijina twirls her spear as she pulls back and launches a wide sweep.

Unable to do anything after being disarmed, the female commander takes the hit directly in the center of the chest area of her light armor and is sent flying briefly before falling to the ground.

「See that!? Victory!!」

Irijina lifts her spear and laughs, encouraging the soldiers of the escort unit and Celia’s battalion to applaud.

「Good work, Irijina. It was wonderful how you finished her off with the shaft.」

I check on the fallen girl―― and see if this person named Zillia has any injuries.

「Uu……mortifying……」

It doesn’t look like she has any major wounds.

I’ll take her to the doctor just in case, wait till she recovers, and then f.u.c.k her.

I carry Zillia on my shoulder.

「Get the others to surrender. If they resist, kill them.」

I a.s.sumed that the soldiers would lose their will to fight once their commander went down and turned my back on the tower.

「Aegir―― wait!」

I stop moving and slowly turn around when I hear my name called.

「Oh……Christoph.」

So the one who was glaring at me with a sword in his hand was Christoph after all.

I guess this squad which was left behind was his squad.

His fate must be tied with mine, for better or for worse.

When I silently glare back at him, Christoph immediately averts his gaze and takes a step backward.

I am somewhat relieved that his cowardice hasn’t changed.

「Christoph――!? How dare you show your face in front of Aegir-sama!!」

Celia also notices and flares at him with a threatening att.i.tude.

「I don’t have any comebacks. If you want to curse at me, you can call me an idiot, trash, a fool or a traitor as much as you like!」

I don’t feel any anger towards Christoph.

While supporting Zillia on my left shoulder, I extend my free hand out to him.

「You idiot. Come back with us already. Your squad can’t escape at this point.」

I don’t know what he was displeased with that caused him to switch sides, but there’s no point in him opposing us anymore.

But Christoph shakes his head.

「I can’t do it……I―― uwaaaah!!」

Before he finishes speaking, I punch him with my right hand.

He flies away and rolls on the ground until he crashes into the tower and faints.

Umu, his frailty hasn’t changed either.

「Drag that idiot back with us. That punch should open his eyes.」

「Understood. Let’s have Schwartz drag him back.」

Celia smiles maliciously and fetches rope to bind Christoph with.

I sigh and rub the a.s.s of Zillia on my shoulder.

「What a nice a.s.s. It’s well-suited for thrusting from behind. Fufufu, I’m going to show you lots of love.」

「Uuu…… nooo……」

Zillia mutters feebly.

「You’re a commander though, so I guess I’ll interrogate you at the same time I release my post-battle stress. Don’t worry, you’ll feel good. Let’s see, how about your chest……」

I was just about to slip my hand into her s.h.i.+rt.

「General……remove…… your hand.」

Surprisingly, Christoph got up.

He would normally remain unconscious for several hours after being knocked out.

Celia is also staring blankly with the rope in her hands.

「Enough, just stay asleep or you’ll eat another punch.」

I turn my back on Christoph.

「Take your hand away, Aegir! She is……Zillia is my woman! I won’t give her to the general!!」

Everyone froze.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

「I see.」

I turn around slowly.

The greatest mystery has been solved.

「So the reason you joined South Yuguria is because of her?」

I carefully lower Zillia off my shoulder and onto the ground.

「……yeah.」

「I see, a woman huh, I see.」

I can understand that. Women are more precious than gold and fame.