Chapter 22 - Volume 3 (1/2)
▯The King of Peasants, Rank 71st, Dantalian
Empire Calendar: Year 1506, Month 2, Day 25
The Black Mountains, Black Fortress vicinity
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For several days the fog was severe The soldiers were afraid to advance through a place where nothing could be seen The Gods are not allowing our passage……these words were spoken in whispers We unpacked our gear near the hness This location is a renowned shrine and numinous mountain in the demon world, so it would only be appropriate to perform an ancestral rite to the Gods here”
“Would it truly be right to perform a memorial service in the middle of a war?”
“There are many soldiers who entrust their psyche to the Gods Console the bodies and hness”
“Minds, huh……?”
I scratched my forehead
“It’s bothersome since it feels like it may become a needless pretense Omit the cereather the troops into one spot and regulate them inconveniently Instead, be considerate and allow the soldiers to offer their prayers whenever they desire Inform the soldiers that while my intention is to show respect to the Gods, I shall not submit to the the times they are unable to see their so-called Gods, their hness’ command to Miss Farnese and it shall reach the captains from there”
Lapis handled the matter rapidly It seems she had already taken care of the preparations for an ancestral rite before we had embarked on our round it, and made it into soup They then pulled out wheat and turned it into noodles They werechilled soy milk noodle soup Demons believed that if they consu an ancestral rite, then their insides would become clear and their spirits would be cleansed The less salty it tasted, the better it was as food for memorial ceremonies The soldiers ate the bean soup noodles and prayed to the Goddesses Following us, the peddlers and prostitutes alsoa taste of the bowl that was presented to me, the taste of the soup was pleasurable A servant had chopped cucumbers and modestly placed it above the noodles, which made me wonder where they could have possibly acquired the cucu this winter season The servants believed the act of obtaining cucu them to me contained their sincerity, so they were quite proud of themselves for it It’s a relief that there were cucu immaculately The soy milk noodle soup was si clear I experienced for the first time in my life the devotion towards ancestral rites, which I did not experience before, here in this world
“With this, is the service over?”
Lapis responded
“It would be better to capture a white horse froood descent and drain its blood and then boil that clotted blood to consu in the war as our cavalry, we cannot sacrifice a horse”
“Hm”
Centaurs were demons with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of horses For a race of demons with handsoe as a horse as well, so honestly, they were a cheat-like race If ere to capture and drain the blood of an ani penis as they did, then certainly the centaurs would loathe the idea
“I see your consideration is deep, Lapis”
“It would also be fine to boil the clotted blood of dogs instead of a horse Your highness, would it be better to capture the hunting dogs?”
“That is fine Although itblood ood at all Rather than that, this chilled soy ain later on”
“If we pillage the hu like soybeans as hness so wishes, then this one will prepare the dish for your highness even if it is not during an occasion such as an ancestral rite”
“You’re terrifyingly bad atfood, so that kind of lip service is……”
“Could this one’s cooking be as disgusting as Your Highness’?”
“What, how could you call it disgusting?”
Although those words weren’t necessarily wrong, that was still going too far It seeht her comment was a bit harsh and fixed her words
“That was a slip of the tongue This one apologizes Your Highness’ hand, but rather, it is poor”
“If you’re saying that as a compliment, then you are also quite the mystery”
My lover is truly a weird wo ability was also co the food made by others or the food we had picked up, which could not be dared to be called cooking, so the lord and his vassals were all pitiful How felloho have never made themselves a properto go to as a mystery If it was a farce, then it was a coether, they discussed military operations
The captains disputed on the difficulty of the siege
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— Your highness The Black and White Strongholds are inable fortresses that have been penetrated only 6 tieneral protecting the ra? That House has had great coenerations
— There was also a case where the stronghold did not fall despite the th is e would be incredibly difficult
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I took out my pipe and bit down on it
“Do you think I came here unaware of the difficulty of this path? Would the castle gates open if ere to have another history lesson after having cos that are needless to say I wish to hear your stratagems Even if you are to make a foolish utterance, I will not punish you by military law, so do not worry However, keep in her than you think You will have to be brighter in strategy than a foolish lumberjack If not, then, well……blood will flow froulped
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— That is, well Although the eneed mountain terrain, it’ll be difficult for them to receive supplies because of that terrain It would be fine for our troops to hold position on this vast field and relax, but the eneo on patrols frequently, furtherh so it’ll also be that cold……
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I spat on the floor
“Oho? Are you saying that we should wait patiently until the enemy forces run out of provisions? That is quite the splendid strategy and reat co Coestured for hi my instructions, the captain prostrated I raised my bare feet on top of the captain’s back and declared sternly
“Until thisends, you’ll be my foot rest”
The dwarven captain was close to tears
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— Your Highness’ Royal Grace is iroas sniffling, there was nothing as extre captains could not dare to laugh, so only the edges of their lared at the captains
“Listen carefully Though the eneh mountain terrain, their back entrance is wide open Their back gate is connected to the White Fortress, and the White Fortress is connected to the E cut I understand that you feel reluctant about perfore, but use your brains a bit, your brains”
The captains glanced at each other
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— How about turning the witches into a detached force and assaulting the enemy supply lines? It will h our infantry and cavalrymore than a total of 4,000 men, the number of witches we have is 50 Normally, an army that reached 30,000 soldiers would have around 50 witches, so our nu force Please make active use of the witches If our forces block the front gate of the fortress while the witches cut off the back path, the enehold will be unable to move anywhere and lose morale
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I was in awe
“It is quite beautiful to see felloho claim to be warriors, pass on all their duties to the witches I should have utilized theyou chaps to just acquiresoic in your words However, do you think that a stronghold known as the front line which protects the humankind would not have any supplies in their reserve? No matter how little their supplies h to keep their forces fed for 2that tianize auxiliary troops from the rear, however, we do not have any reinforcements, so what can we do? By the looks of it, it also seems like there are no brains inside those heads of yours, so what can we do about that as well?”
I beckoned to them
“Come here”
The captains approached The two captains laid on top of each other like a ha those idiots as a chair, I sat on top of theroaned and endured the sensation of my sexy derriere
“If you have no better plans, then just get on your knees I will at least uphold the dignity of those who kneel down honestly”
sound effect)</eathered in the tent had lowered their bodies at once
Were these not dubious fellows?
Solely Farnese kept her back straight Even during ato the cover of the book were being brushed by the cold wind, so they had turned red
“……”
Every tie of her book with her cold hands, the air around the tent was emaciated by the sound of the paper The captains and I watched Farnese as she flipped one page at a time Farnese spoke frankly
“Just rush in There are no enelanced at each other with a doubtful gaze I asked
“Why would there be no one protecting the stronghold?”
“Margrave Rosenberg is a coward Since it seems like it will be impossible to protect both, he will try to at least defend the other half That is the fate of an old general The th to protect both the Black and White Fortresses He would want to hold the White Fortress at any cost……”
Farnese let out a yawn Her words were indifferent so it was si the leaves of her book, and it was lightly passed by like the pages being turned I thought about the child as unable to learn how to speak from people and had no other choice but to learn from books I spoke
“What rave would have brought here are a few?”
“There are several reasons Those rave hness while relying solely on his oers A foolish fellow”
Farnese let out a dried breath In the previous battle, thebeen deceived by us Farnese was referring to the vengeance that had blinded him because of that
“There is also a political reason Theyour lordshi+p, he presented the demons a justification to start a war The humans ere sed up by this abrupt battle willup after one’s ownalong these lines, so he should feel pressured”
I nodded
Margrave Rosenberg was the supreion of the E? He had come to this location in order to blockan army that barely reached 4,000 soldiers In contrast, the Imperial Princess Elizabeth went to face Barbatos and Marbas The roles were reversed
There was only one conclusion Although Margrave Rosenberg was the supreered The nobles did not follow hi Therehow the culprit behind the start of this war could go around acting like a general
That was the reason That hy the ainst me and reestablish his sullied reputation A foolish fellow…… the words Farnesewas a fool
“Therefore, Lord, be at ease and rush straight in The Margraveus in as deep as possible The Margrave is ai us the Black Fortress and luring us all the way to the White Fortress”
“And you’re planning to go along with that plan, general?”
“The ht by the hook A slightly less diards it and swi the hook, and escapes leisurely”
She gazed atlady is not a fish but a single shark I shall drag the rave in, hook and all, and tear hi lady This young lady shall offer the lives of thousands to your lordshi+p”
I noddedlady shall carry out the task for only your lordshi+p”
The first stone was placed on the Go board
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▯The Northern Guardian, Margrave of Rosenberg, Georg von Rosenberg
Empire Calendar: Year 1506, Month 2, Day 25
The Black Mountains, White Fortress
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“An urgent report frohold was captured!”
The conference rooer’s report
The captains glanced at each other with an anxious gaze Only I was silently looking down at the Go board Since the Black Fortress falling was such an obvious occurrence, there was no reason for myself to panic I scolded them in a mock-serious manner
“Oi, where’d eneral”
The captain hastily picked up his stone piece once sters these days…… Did they not kno to maintain their coed around by ether disorderly The result was his defeat by a largevictory, I spoke
“It seems you lost because you panicked, and you are upset since you have lost”
“Yes……”
“Do not be perplexed, gentleuards that were posted at the Black Fortress was atthat was already destined to fall? Do you not gain victory by getting rid of the stone piece that is necessary to sacrifice? If you try to protect everything, then you will lose it all instead That is the saeneral”
The captains bowed their heads The very sight of the their heads was docile How troublesoor In the past, I used to beat the commanders around and…… no, wait Am I perhaps old now? Have I become an obstinate oldaroundvery e, huh? I should pass on quickly…… Except, that will be after I have killed Deer What were the enemy numbers? With what method did Demon Lord Dantalian capture the Black Fortress? Tellis so dense that nothing is visible Other than the fact that the snowy fog is i else could be known It felt like the enemy had about 2,000 soldiers, but it also felt like they had 4,000 However, it ardless, it truly is difficult to be positive because of the fog I heard the sound of gunpowder exploding in the distance and then the enemy forces invaded Of course, the words that the enemy forces invaded is also uncertain since this one did not witness it personally”
While being aghast, I muttered
“I do not knoho chose you as the er, but you truly are a splendid one”
As if feeling er bowed his head
“Thank you very much This is the first time I have received such a co that you were unable to see anything, I have become suspicious on whether if you had actually run away as soon as the fight started Did you flee?”
“This hu care of by htlessly……”
“Take hirabbed the er and left The courier cried out, ‘General, General…!’, but of course, I did not pay hiainst a captain, another ent report frohold has been captured!”
“I already know, courier Their nuh whatyou know
The courier then exaggerated fluently
“Yes The ene as the revival of an ancient de all consisted of trolls and ogres, whichus While the soldiers on our side were scared out of their wits, a dragon flew at us and breathed fire Although our forces struggled desperately, our e so they were unable to hold on for even a er’s words, the captains whispered to one another
“If that’s true, then I think we should withdraell”
“Even if we retreat, the dragon will catch up to us and we’ll be turned into grilled meat, so we should just sit here and die”
“It’sone, and it’s more of a fake scenery than aheadache
“……You iht now after having actually seen it, or are you blabbering after having seen a delusion? Dragons have been extinct for centuries now, but through whatone here?”
The courier furrowed his brows
“Honestly, when the fortress was assaulted, this one was taking a nap in the barracks so even I as I had witnessed were reality or a delusion”
“Are you interpreting your dreaht now in this sternthat dream as your report?”
“Since this one believes it is true, this one does not think that it is too much of a hallucination Referentially, is a person’s belief not what forms that person’s world? Because I believe that I have seen a dragon, then that dragon must exist”
“This man So if I were to believe that you are soon destined to die, then I guess you will indeed die shortly after”
“Uh……”
The courier tilted his head
“Although that see”
“The thing that is wrong is your head”
I snarled
“So this fool away and punish hied hi clubbed could be heard in the distance While I was concentrating on the Go board and placing er knelt down as soon as he entered theroom
“General!”
“……I will have no expectations so just speak however you want However, it would probably be better to say nothing at all instead of speaking whatever you desire”
“General–!”
Fro to end, the courier shouted
“The Black Fortress has fallen by the heinous deuards because they thought the ene, but they aimed for that carelessness! The enemy forces put a bit over 20 witches in the front and bo about in confusion, the eneled, but thethe ones that had fled, most of them were unable to escape completely and were captured General! The enemy infantry consisted purely of dwarves and their numbers were approxih and they were all well equipped!”
Once finished with his report, the er lowered his head It was truly a clean movement The captains lowered their voices and e That fellow clearly gave a proper report, but for some reason, it sounds like a lie”
“The so-called Shepherd’s Law If the first two tell a lie, then no matter how sincerely the third states the truth, it’ll seem like a lie That’s hile it’s important for a person to be sincere, they must also be first, or at the very least second This is important as well”
“I have never heard of a laith that kind of name in my entire life Are you sure that’s not some law that you randomly made up?”
“Hey, don’t accuse an innocent person……”
These guys, I told them to not panic and ease their tensions, but it seeo
I let out a sigh and spoke
“Gentle to the reports from our scouts, the enemy army has about 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers This location is absolutely not the oal is to grab our attention with the use of a separate attack unit Do not be disturbed, and do not be blinded”
“Yes, general”
The captains courteously lowered their heads I continued
“Gentlemen, personally patrol the walls and reassure our id because of the weather, so their hands should be cold Switch their duty rotations frequently, and prepare hot water within the quarters regularly”
The Black Fortress was captured, but what about it? There was no proble, it would be fine to judge that everything was going s to write a report
Demon Lord Dantalian will now pass the Black Fortress and advance further into the then in consonance with that Additionally, forests were luxuriantly spread out on both sides of the road The optimum location to hide an ahtlessly, then most certainly, the ones to die will be on the Dee was like a Go board The Black Fortress was the upper side while the White Fortress was the lower side, and the entire mountain pass was spread out as the face of the battlefield A single line of a stronghold rampart was merely increased by another line, and yet the battlefield was expanded to a high and low Surely, the ancestors who had built these walls in this locationthat I am worried about was not our front There were no proble, the complication was behind us Whether if the I to properly provide us with supplies or not……
His Majesty the Emperor had appointed me as the supreme commander of the northern armies However, the nobles of the Empire had sworn their loyalty to the Inity froiven by the Eedy
The Imperial Princess considered h of a possibility for the supplies to be delayed I had to obstruct the Demon Lord in front of me, and at the same time, I had to keep in check the Imperial Princess behind me For myself to be in a here I was surrounded on both fronts, just how did it become like this
I recalled the words the Imperial Princess had spoken to , do you not think that the majority of the conversations we have shared can be condensed into rants their faith a single tie of the Iator, filledcareless with the Imperial Princess was not an option
Froain coht of sub to the Imperial Princess in order to establish a livelihood and the thought of refusing to bow to the Ied fidelity to His Majesty the Eorously encouraged one’s livelihood, while the latter solemnly advised loyalty I wasat us fro us froreat ancestors had raised two sets of walls and given us humans freedom, however, it felt like all the liberty in the world was the freedom of the enemy and the freedom of the Ioing to be laid to rest By breaking through this location with my bare body, hen I will finally be able to survive with ulped With the sick sensation that felt as if soht in my throat, I wrote the report
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— 2nd month, 25th day Eneth approximately 3,000 The commander is Demon Lord Dantalian Our forces are stationed in the White Fortress and are perfectly secured We are abundant in provisions and have a sufficient nu is severe
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And then, with the intention of warning the Imperial Princess, I added another line
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— The mountains are safe
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……Good Even the Imperial Princess should be able to understand with this
After passing the report to the postrider, I gazed outside theThe Deh the mountain pass covered in pure white snow
Come, Dantalian Coe……
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▯The King of Peasants, Rank 71st, Dantalian
Empire Calendar: Year 1506, Month 2, Day 25
The Black Mountains, Black Fortress
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Our forces had occupied the Black Fortress before a period of having a single ht There were barely any troops within the stronghold
It was barely 200 Thethat this was too insipid, Hu to be able to s time, but we drew a blank Why did those shi+tty hu–?”
“Are you bored since you were unable to fight intensely?”
“A frustrating feeling like feeling—?”
Humbaba pouted her lips I responded
“Then burn them”
“Yes–?”
“Do we not have a lotthe other witches and take 50 prisoners to burn as you desire Thefire, so your stress should dissipate a bit”
Humbaba tilted her head
“……But they’re nice enemy soldiers who surrendered obediently–?”
“Since they gave up obediently, then I guess they will die obediently as well”
“……I don’t really know if that’s okay–?”
“I plan to go and greet the rave tomorrow”
I picked up some snow that was mixed with mud and tossed it in my mouth I scrutinized the unpleasant taste of the dirt and the fishy s considered as a renowned shrine and nu the demons, the dirt and snow did not have any distinct taste in particular I spat the rave had coone from my stone cavern, we had becorave’s stone walls, it is only natural for rettably do not have a present to give him”
“……”
“I feel as if 40 heads should be roughly enough to express my sincerity What do you think, Humbaba?”
“—Ahahah”
Humbaba twisted the corners of her lips Ahah, ahahah…… Huhed flatly The pitch black brim of her hat covered Humbaba’s face
“Really, our master knows his stuff”
“Burn thereatest experts in burning people to death A person who has eaten a lot of ed a lot can also burn things well You’ll be stifled, master It’ll be fine if you look forward to it–”
The humans were set ablaze while they were still alive
While looking down at their bodies burning fro up, the hu out their twisted intestines We hung the corpses that were burnt pitch black on the ramparts Similar to their last cries, their corpses were twisted bizarrely as well
The witches devised a game It was a sport to throw stones and hit the corpses 1 point if you hit the body, 2 points if you hit the head, and 3 points if you hit their balls Players who hit the balls three tiifted 10 extra points The witches under eniuses
Farnese and I watched the hu played with The sound of the witches’ giggling echoed throughout the area The s , where the whereabouts of the shter of the witches stopped, Farnese spoke
“Lord Do you perhaps knohich army had captured the Black Fortress the fastest in the entirety of history?”
“I am not interested in history, so I do not know that well”
“The answer is the revolting ar a rebellion in the northern region, they assaulted the Black Fortress frohold, and this was an enduring record that was unable to be broken for the past 313 years”