Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

Chapter 293: Federation Reinforcements ⑩ Zabrela Battle

–Aegir POV–

「Stick to defense around the harbor! Push them back until reinforcements arr―― ugyaah!」

I stick a sword in the enemy commander and throw him into the river to shut him up.

「The boss brought him down! We can’t fall behind!」

「Hyahah~ Kill all who resist! Kill all those who run too!」

As soon as I finish off the commander, the allied soldiers charge into the disoriented enemy lines.

They thrust up from below the enemy’s shields or sweep at the enemy’s feet to trip them when they bring their shields up.

Once the enemy falls down, they get stomped on or stabbed repeatedly from above.

The 105th division is doing everything they can to move forward so the enemy has no chance to reconstruct their formation, retreating from the harbor to the center of the city and even up to the city walls.

「Set fire to the docked enemy ships. Destroy the harbor facilities too. Demolish everything.」

Our main objective this time is not to defeat the army garrisoned in the city.

We are to prevent the enemy troops from landing their troops on the north coast by sealing off the city of Zabrela, so we will achieve our goal as long as we completely wipe out the ships and the harbor.

Crushing the enemy forces is secondary.

「S-spare us, we surrender―― gyaaah!」

Allies climb on the enemy ships and cut down the member after member of the ship’s crew who raise their hands up, then toss them in the river.

Either that or kicking them on the ship, sprinkling oil on it, and then setting it on fire with the crew still on board.

Seeing the indomitable 105th division, the soldiers from the other armies also increase their destructive activities.

「P-please! Spare me, I don’t want to die!」

「Keh, stupid Empire whore! Be good and die―― uwah, what are you doing!?」

As a soldier was about to kill a female soldier pleading for her life, a soldier from the 105th division holds the allied soldier back.

「The boss’s orders were not to kill women. We’re taking this one!」

「Boss, we got a girl!」

The soldiers of the 105th division report to me carrying the female on one of their shoulders.

「......we totally look like pirates now. How did things become like this?」

Celia holds her head in distress beside me. However my morale rises instantly.

「Well done. But I’ll kick your ass if you call me boss again.」

I snap back as I grab the captured girl.

She’s trembling so much I feel bad for her. I guess I’ll calm her down for now.

「Drop your weapons here and stay back obediently. Everything will be fine, I absolutely won’t treat you roughly.」

I caress the woman’s cheek and give her a soft kiss.

In that moment, I happen to catch the image of an enemy swinging his sword at me reflected in the woman’s eyes.

「Don’t get in my way when I’m talking to a woman.」

I block his attack with my longsword and send him flying with a front kick.

Celia rushes in without delay and skillfully takes the head off of that enemy.

「Hiiih......」

「Relax. You’re a woman so you won’t get hurt. I’ll seduce you later so wait patiently.」

After one more kiss and a brief fondling of her breasts, I separate from the woman.

When the fight is over, I have to seduce her, mount her, then pour my seed in her.

I have to end things quickly.

「Everyone follow me, we’re going to throw the enemies out of the city all at once!」

「Let’s go you guys! Follow the boss!」

The 105th division army with me in the lead charge into the enemy and drive them out.

The other armies are using bows or ballistae and some are even setting up cannons.

However the most effective strategy right now when the enemy is running away should be an all-out attack――in other words, a charge attack.

「These damn pirates!」

「How rude of you regular army soldiers!」

I tilt my body to one side to evade the spear thrust at me, then run past the enemy while slashing his midsection.

「Some random savages!」

「Shut up!」

The next spear thrust gave me less room to dodge than the first so I only tilt my head.

The tip grazes my cheek and draws blood, though I have no time to worry about that.

I spin my body, using the rotational energy with the swing of my longsword to lop off the head of the enemy.

「Not yet...... I won’t let you go past me.」

The final soldier confronting me appears to be an Imperial knight donning a scarlet full plate armor.

I block the strike from his greatsword with the body of my sword. He has considerable strength.

「I’m returning the favor.」

I swing my sword in a similar manner and the enemy blocks my attack with the blade of his weapon like I did.

Seeing the abnormal size of my sword, the knight slides his sword diagonally on impact to disperse the force of my slash.

「What brute strength! Did I look down on him as a barbarian!?」

「Quiet, just die.」

I turn my sword around and get ready to make an upward swing from the downward position.

The enemy hurries to parry the blow, except he was unsuccessful in diverting the force this time.

「Guooh!」

My longsword snaps his greatsword in two, then continues straight into the side of his body. The reason that wasn’t a fatal injury was due to his metal full plate armor.

「Guh...... impressive. But the battle has not been decided yet!」

The knight abandons his broken greatsword and draws the one-handed sword at his waist.

「No, it’s done.」

Why did he think that a second attack would end the fight?

I quickly pull back the sword dug into the side of his abdomen and take one step back.

Obviously, it wasn’t so I could glare at him, it was to put enough distance between us for a thrust.

「Fuu!」

The length of only the blade of my sword is two meters so it was almost like thrusting a spear.

There’s no way he could deal with my charging strike using a mere one-handed sword.

「Gah......」

My sword sinks into the knight’s throat, tearing through two sheets of armor and then exiting the back of his neck.

The fountain of blood gushing out denoted my victory.

「The general did it! He defeated the enemy’s boss! We won!」

Yakov shouts loud enough for everyone to hear.

Well now, is this guy really the commander? I don’t think he said anything of the sort.

「Let’s believe that is the case. Dressing so extravagantly in red makes him look like a commander, doesn’t it?」

Yakov whispers to me before roaring out victoriously.

Everyone in the 105th division has accepted the fact for now and cheers erupt.

「The general did it! It’s our win!」

「Mop up the remaining enemies! Take all the girls too!」

The vigor of the allied soldiers increases drastically, leaving the enemies at a loss for what to do besides running away.

「Wait, our commander is still alive! It was only the knight Morgman who got defeated! Don’t run!」

The Imperial commander desperately shouts at the soldiers however the momentum of battle can’t be changed so easily once it’s been set in motion.

It wasn’t purely the 105th division, all the other allied soldiers, holding a strong belief in their victory, began to mount a furious attack and chased the enemy soldiers out of Zabrela in no time.

「For now, we’ve taken back the city. What’s next is the timing of our retreat.」

After we ran the enemy out of the city, the other commanders and I gather in an inn temporarily designated as headquarters.

「The ships and supplies have been taken care of. The facilities have been set on fire so there is no issues on our side. Now we have to block off the harbor......」

Taking the lead is this operation’s commander-in-chief, er his name――womanizer1―― was it?

「It’s Commander Wolnasky, Aegir-sama.」

Right, that Womanizer. Thanks Celia.

It just rolls right off the tongue. I think I might like being called that more than Hardlett.

「At present, we are dismantling the surrounding residences and facilities and throwing the stone rubble into the harbor. Large ships won’t be able to dock there by tomorrow.」

They can bring more supplies and ships and rebuild everything with top speed construction.

But with the port destroyed, they can’t restore it so easily.

We made it so Zabrela can’t function as their home port.

With the harbor out of commission, we make arrangements to return to the north coast in little boats.

It will take longer since we can’t use large ships so we have to make up the time by moving faster.

「Let’s go now. Do it while the fog is still thick, or else it’ll be too late when it clears.」

That’s what I say, however commander Womanizer scowls.

「No, that is certainly what we initially planned......」

「What’s the problem?」

As far as I know, there should not have been any impediments to the operation.

「According to the initial plan, it was estimated that recapturing the city would take half a day and we would suffer a 20% loss to our total forces.」

Something like that was said too, huh?

「The reality is that it didn’t take more than two hours to scatter the enemies and we suffered way short of 10% casualties.」

That sounds like a fine result to me.

「......which means the enemy was weaker and had lower morale than we expected. Isn’t it possible to not have to retreat and instead advance further until the south coast? If so, it may have been better if we didn’t destroy Zabrela’s harbor.」

「That’s――」

Yakov starts to open his mouth on reflex, then he suddenly goes quiet when stared at.

A landing army of 10 000 is a large enough force. Sure, it may not be enough to gain control of an entire region though......

「If the fog clears up, the enemy fleet will come back. We will then be isolated.」

「Umu, if they commence naval bombardment, we won’t be able to hold out.」

The other commanders complain anxiously, though Womanizer doesn’t stop.

「We seized a large amount of supplies from the enemy so we don’t have to worry about getting our resupply cut off from White City for the time being. The naval bombardment won’t particularly affect us either if we invade further towards the south coast.」

Somehow it feels we’re trending in a bad direction.

To be honest, they should be several times more knowledgeable than me in terms of military tactics, but speaking from experience, there has never been a time where things went well after changing plans at the last moment.

「So have we decided to alter initial plans following the destruction of the harbor and proceed to a decisive invasion towards the south coast?」

「Wouldn’t that run contrary to the Supreme Commander’s wishes?」

Stessel’s orders were simply to wreck Zabrela’s harbor.

「My intentions are not to violate his orders. His Excellency has also ordered, besides destroying the city, to eliminate the nearby enemy army if possible. If the enemy is weaker than we expected, I think it’s better to aim for as much military gain as possible.」

It feels like a convenient way to interpret things.

How far exactly is “nearby”, is that all the way to the nearest house, or all the way to the next village? Or is it everything under the horizon?

「Besides, Ivanna’s fleet should be utilizing the cover of fog to attack the enemy fleet. She’ll annihilate―― maybe not, but a considerable amount of damage should be done.」

How optimistic. I just want her to come back unharmed.

「Umumu...... after seeing the fragility of the enemy, it is in our best interest to press the attack a certain extent.」

「But if the path to retreat is blocked, we may not be able to move forward...... the risks are too high.」

The commanders still have not cleared the doubt in their minds. I bring Celia close to me and pat her head.

At any rate, it’s gotten quite big.

「That’s nothing, even if the retreat path is blocked, that just means we’ve attracted the enemy’s fleet. If the enemy fleet focuses on Zabrela, then the allied soldiers fighting in the west and east can freely land on the south coast in return. His Excellency Stessel will do that much at least.」

Celia mutters under her breath as I’m patting her head..

「Muu...... making baseless and hopeful observations while presuming how allies will move...... doing everything Leopolt-san said not to do.」

However it seems the commanders are gradually warming up to the idea.

「I guess you’re right...... ever since the fight in the blizzard, we’ve had consecutive victories because of commander Stessel. Letting this opportunity slip is probably not a good idea.」

「If we hold both coasts, it will be the Imperial fleet who is isolated.」

「We’ve taken away their functioning base. It would have been better for us to counterattack if we didn’t tear down the harbor......」

I can’t really put my finger on it, but it feels like this plan will fail.

I’ll borrow Celia’s theory to explain.

「Is this really a good idea?」

「What do you mean, Lord Hardlett?」

I mean this awkward march is not guaranteed to succeed when we have no information on the enemy’s position.

If the command headquarters does not realize our intentions, their movements will be delayed and we’ll be wiped out. Although these are only a few examples, Womanizer simply frowns dismissively.

「I get where you’re coming from...... how cautious compared to how you fight.」

「That may be so.」

Womanizer closes his eyes to think for a bit before lifting his head and declaring.

「Like I said before, we will be carrying out an invasion towards the south shore. This is an order from the commander of the landing army. I understand Lord Hardlett’s concerns, however now is the time to take proactive measures to turn the state of battle in our favor. ......This is our land.」

I can’t say anything else now.

After bowing once, I go back to patting Celia’s head. When I scratch her pale chin, I can hear soft purring. In embarrassment, she puts up the slightest of resistance, though that only emphasizes how adorable she is.

「......Aegir-sama should be the correct one.」

「Hahaha, you’re always on my side Celia. That makes me happy.」

I’m not particularly annoyed. Nobody can say who is right until after we see how things turn out.

「Regardless, I’m a little curious about Womanizer.」

Besides wanting to win, he seems to be carrying something else on his shoulders.

I don’t think he’s in a state of confusion or in a rush to earn merits in war......

「Since the decision has been made, we can only fight. Time to get ready, Celia.」

「Yessir!」

And so we suspend our work to destroy the port and get ready to start another march...... just when the sun was setting and it was getting close to evening, the lookout shouts in a high-pitched voice.

The lookout is a girl. I’ll bring some hot soup and seduce her later.

「Enemy attack――! Multiple enemy cavalry! Exact number is unknown because of the snow being kicked up!」

Cavalry at this timing?

I put Pipi on top of my shoulders and then climb up the watchtower, grabbing the female lookout’s ass while I’m at it.

「How does it look, Pipi?」

「With all that snow dancing in the air, I can’t really see. But they’re moving really slow. Also I don’t see any soldiers around the city anymore.」

According to Pipi’s eyes, the horses are moving too slowly even though they can’t gallop in the snow.

Moreover, the Empire soldiers who should have been thrown out of the city have disappeared.

「Their formation is too wide for a charging formation...... they’re probably hiding infantry behind them.」

I jump off the watchtower.

「It’s a group of cavalry. They have infantry in tow. All units, prepare for battle!」

Not just the 105th division, the other armies hurry to get ready to fight.

「Can enemies with low morale come for a counterattack so quickly?」

My inner thoughts just came out on their own.

「General, there are no defensive structures around the city. It is a plains as far as the eye can see, so wouldn’t it be more advantageous for us to pull back and fight in the city?」

Celia answers Yakov’s question proudly.

「No, with so much snow accumulated, the original speed and force of impact of the cavalry cannot be utilized! If we defend carefully, we should be able to fend them off and more importantly the enemy has infantry behind them. Letting them in the city would in fact be troublesome.」

Yakov feels satisfied by the explanation, while Celia puffs out her chest.

It was charming when she was small, however her breasts have grown considerably since then.

I don’t like how she’s showing them off to Yakov. I grab them from behind.

「Hyaaah! Why did you squeeze my boobs like that!?」

「Jealousy. Don’t worry about it.」

Anyhow, our 105th division will stand in front of the city and form a defensive formation with shields and spears.

The rest of the armies must have reached the same conclusion. Ever since the orders were given by the commander, most of the formations were already arranged.

For my personal army, I have Leopolt and Myla who are extremely competent, but things get a little more unsteady with those under them.

I am once again amazed by the potential of the Federation army.

I just hope the commander’s strategy is not wrong.

「The enemy cavalry has detached from the infantry! The cavalry are charging this way! Roughly 10 000!」

They changed their tactics after seeing us set up defenses in the city.

Exactly by the book, the cavalry will charge forward and open a hole in our defensive formation for the infantry to push through, then they’ll look to cause confusion in our ranks. This is also textbook strategy.

「Archer squad, begin firing!!」

A rain of arrows fall on the approaching enemy.

Due to the snow hindering their speed, they get by more arrows...... though that’s not enough to defeat the heavy armored cavalry.

「Tch, don’t come over here.」

「The 105th division ranks are the roughest after all. The enemy might view that as a weakness.」

Yakov comments in frustration.

Despite having help from the snow, nobody is happy to clash with cavalry in an open field.

A vivid flag waves in my direction from the army next to me.

Even if you do that, I don’t know what it means.

「It means “expecting a tough fight”.」

「Good grief, how carefree can they be.」

I mount Schwartz and swing my longsword once.

The piled up snow is blown away to the nearby soldiers who let out groans.

Schwartz stamps on the ground a few times to check the condition of the ground before neighing like he’s saying “no problem”.

「Anti-cavalry formation―― ready up!」

Celia pulls out her sword beside me and shouts.

That was always Leopolt’s job, however she gets to do it now since nobody is here besides her.

「Fu...... fufufu.」

Although she tries to maintain her serious face, Celia can’t hide her smile.

She really wanted to that, didn’t she?

Celia’s cute voice moves the soldiers, and they stand their shields up on the snow to form a wall, their spears sticking out through the gaps.

The enemy cavalry run straight into the wall.

「Guwaaah!」

「Gyaaaaah!」

Numerous cries ring out, as well as the sounds of horses falling, flesh being smashed, and metal getting crushed flat.

Enemy cavalry get skewered by their own momentum.

Ally soldiers get their spears deflected and get kicked away along with their shields.

Enemy soldiers get showered with crossbow bolts after slipping past the spears and fall off their horses.

Ally soldiers let out deathroes when the horses of the dead enemies drop on top of them.

In an instant, multiple deaths occurred.

「Don’t break formation even if you die!」

「Focus all your energy on thrusting your spears out! Don’t let the enemy trample over you!」

The ally soldiers ram the grouped up enemies who slip past their spears, then match the timing of their thrusts with the approaching enemies. The enemy was unable to break past our defenses in one try and the battle has turned into a melee.

For the time being, we can say the defense was successful.

I’m always on the charging side so pushing cavalry back like this is a nice refreshing change.

In that moment, I start hearing screams and crashing metal from the ally camp beside me.

The enemy infantry that came a little later must have collided with our allies.

In the face of the enemy’s desperate attack, our ally soldiers maintain a sturdy defense and don’t retreat much if any.

More than that, I see the occasional soldier shove his shield forward accompanied by a yell and push forward instead.

「The flank seems fine. We can devote our attention solely on the cavalry in front of us.」

The 105th division also fight hard to push out their shields and swing their spears to somehow repel the enemy.

Pipi shoots her arrows endlessly, meanwhile Natia manages to provide support despite being overwhelmed by the large scale battle.

However, things don’t seem to be going well. We’re the ones gradually being forced backwards.

「......considering the enemy has cavalry, cooperation is important when it comes to defense...... the 105th division just doesn’t come close to the skill of the other armies.」

They’ve done the basic training, but it just wasn’t enough. The 105th division was never suited for defense in the first place.

For how well they fight with momentum, they lack the endurance necessary in a prolonged defense battle.

And then the thing we were afraid of happening happened.

「They’ve broken through the center! Close the hole!」

「The enemy cavalry has invaded!」

The already questionable battle lines were thrown further into disarray while we’re getting pushed back as they charge right through the middle of our formation.

The enemy cavalry will invade our ranks and try to divide us, then they’ll circle around.

If that happened, the army will fall apart in no time. I’m not going to let that happen.

「I’m going. Take care of the rest for me.」

「Eh!? I’m also...... wait, Yakov-san is going too? I’m the only one left in charge!?」

Celia has to stay here. That would make you the same as Leopolt.

As I watch Celia deal with the reports coming in one after the other, I head to the center.

「Do your best to impede their breakthrough! Have the reserve troops move around and fill the hole!」

「We’re up against heavy cavalry. Throwing half-hearted guys in front won’t do anything――」

The enemy has already encroached halfway to the middle.

I arrive there along with a handful of soldiers.

「You don’t have to seal the hole.」

「B-boss!?」「’s my bad! They tore into the middle! Soon enough, enemies will also......」

「I won’t let them.」

I extend my longsword like a spear.

If you’re weak on defense, then just switch to offense. Attack the enemies attacking you.

「Follow me!」

When I rush forward, the fellow flustered soldiers open up a path for me.

Waiting for me is a pack of enemy cavalry poking around with their spears.

All of them are wearing scarlet armor.

Now that I think about it, the knight I finished off back in the city was also wearing red.

「Rip the enemy apart! Show the Federation the power of the Red Dragon Knights!」

「There’s a single cavalry in front of us!? He’s coming straight at us.」

「Coming alone!? What is he thinking......」

The enemy seems to falter when they see me run at them, probably thinking there might be some sort of trap, however their expressions change after they spot the mantle I’m wearing.

It was a mantle given to me by Stessel and is apparently the symbol of a corps commander.

「That’s the enemy commander! The general’s head!」

「I-impossible...... if that’s the case!」

The enemy quicken their pace again. They turn and make a beeline towards me.

They made the right decision. If they finish off the commander, the entire army will fall apart. It will also lead to an overall victory.

「But will it go as smoothly as you think?」

I pull back my longsword greatly.

「The general’s head is mine――!! Aguah!」

My full-powered thrust launches into the stomach of the knight charging at me in high spirits.

The skewered knight flails around after being stabbed. If he struggles so much, he’ll fall off.

「What’s wrong? Keep coming at me.」

「How gutsy! That life, I’ll-...... guwaaaah!」

I hit the next man with my sword still stabbed into the first man. My strength combines with his momentum and the two bodies seem to squish together. The skewered man is dead, but his body still retains its shape.

「I’ll return you to your friends.」

I lift my sword high and swing it at the enemy, sending the corpse flying off my blade.

The body flies in an arc and crashes into another knight, causing him to wipe out.

I charge at the charging enemy without slowing down.

At first glance, it might seem like a suicidal move, but my thought was that I wouldn’t get surrounded if I keep moving at them.

It’s easy to focus only on the enemies in front of me.

「The enemy is alone, plus it’s the general! Finish him off already.」

The commander...... no, they are a group of knights so I guess he’s the knight commander?

In response to his yell, more knights head my way.

「Your dauntless courage is wonderful.」

Having allies like these must be reassuring. Facing off against them as enemies is also simple and I love it.

Five knights run at me yelling.

I run past the first one after gouging out his side, I cut off the head of the second one, I sweep the horse’s legs for the third, then I run my sword into the face of the fourth and tear him up.

「An opening!」

The fifth one shouts happily as he aims at my side with his spear.

「It might have been if you kept quiet.」

I grab the spearhead and throw him to the ground.

The knight falls head first and bends in an strange direction, becoming motionless after that.

「S-so strong......」

「This guy’s crazy. He’s treating the knights like toys......」

I run at the two knights who hastily retreat in front of me and deliver a single horizontal slash at both of them.

「You might have survived had you been one second faster in making a decision.」

I give a sidelong glance to the two knights as blood sprays out from their slit throats, then turn back to the front.

There are still plenty of enemies penetrating our lines and I can’t take on all of them.2

「What are you guys doing, standing around doing nothing? Hurry up and kill the enemies!」

Yakov roars after catching up with me, spurring the other ally soldiers being held down by the enemy knights to push back vigorously.

「Don’t think about defending. Keep pushing. Drag the enemies down and kill them. Like this!」

「Hieeeeh!」

I snatch the closest enemy while shouting and throw him up.

Before he hits the ground, I swing my sword and split him in two through the armor.

The enemies scream in horror while my allies cheer loudly.

Tossing a human and then bisecting them. It feels like I’ve done this quite a few times.

If I get dismissed from my feudal lord position, maybe I can make a living from that kind of street performance?

「You won’t be fired, and doing that kind of performance all around town would make you a mass murderer.」

Yakov chuckles beside me.

「Don’t answer my question seriously. Then shall we enjoy ourselves here on the battlefield where we won’t be called a murderers.」

「I’ll follow the general.」

The ally soldiers seem re-energized however the enemy won’t back down so easily.

We rush the red knights, taking the lead in front of the ally soldiers transitioning to counterattack.

I swing my sword and send enemies flying.

If there are enemies who get sliced by my blade, there are others who get knocked away by the back of the sword.

Yakov and I go on a rampage, encouraging our allies as we advance, although everything around us turns into red before we knew it. We may have gone too far forward.

「General...... isn’t this kind of bad? We’re smack dab in the enemy lines.」

「Umu, I got too excited. This is pretty bad.」

I comment while cutting away the spear of an attacking enemy and then gouging out his throat.

Next I deflect the slash of a knight behind me with my arm guard before knocking him out with a punch to the face.

Thinking it would probably be difficult to fight without a shield, I put my left arm through the strap and wield my longsword in my right, staying vigilant of my surroundings all the while.

「It’s over now that you’re surrounded like this! Just give up and die!」

「Obviously I won’t agree!」

I block the incoming sword with my shield and the blade snaps with a crisp clank.

It’s my turn to attack back and the enemy’s turn to defend with a shield, except my slash cuts through his shield and splits his head in half.

「You don’t know when to give up!」

I bash the enemy with my shield at close range before his sword could reach me.

I was going to counterattack when the soldier was stunned from my blow, but then I realize blood squirted out and he already fell down.

Right, I keep forgetting that this shield is heavier than the average human.

I look over to Yakov and see him crossing swords with two knights.

He appears to be struggling, although it could be acting.

「Yakov, doing alright?」

「Not at all! Please help, general!」

So he was actually in trouble. I respond by hurling my shield.

The heavy object flies in a straight line towards one of the knights and knocks him out with a loud thud.

The other knight freezes briefly in shock, which Yakov takes advantage of and cuts him down.

We got through that somehow.

Since I threw away my shield, I grab the Dual Crater with my left. It would be nice if nobody uses projectiles.

「The enemy lost his shield! Get him!」

I fend off the enemies crowding around me as best as possible with my dual wielding, cutting down soldiers left and right.

However more and more attacks are starting to get through because the Dual Crater is ill-suited to defense.

A spear grazes my shoulder, then the resulting recoil causes Schwartz to get stabbed in the gaps of his horse armor.

Schwartz neighs and tips to one side―― almost like he’s about to fall, however he uses that distance to increase the force of his tackle on the opposing knight’s horse, the spear remaining stuck in his body.

「Guwaah!」

The knight falls together with his horse and then his face gets crushed with a hoof, causing an unbearable cry to leak out from his mouth.

As the horse tries to get up, its legs also get broken, resulting in a loud neigh. What a short-tempered guy.

「Show me your wound.」

The spear is lodged firmly in his body. It’s not a heavy injury, though not small either.

Well, he should be fine for now.

「Something has to be done soon.」

At this rate, I’ll get hit with the next attack.

「Should we charge and open an escape route?」

「That may work for me, but you’ll die.」

Even though Yakov is a guy, I think he’s interesting. I don’t want him to be killed so easily.

「――a new enemy!? From the side!?」

「Not good, they’re cavalry! Pull back and regroup!」

At that moment, the enemy soldiers unexpectedly panic and start retreating.

Yakov and I look at each other before turning to where the enemy’s attention is focused.

「That’s...... ally cavalry. It looks like they circled around from the flank.」

Clouds of snow are being kicked up as the cavalry gallop in our direction. The enemy, afraid of being flanked, pull away from us.

「We shouldn’t have more than 500 cavalry in our army.」

「They probably don’t know that with all that snow. The effect is amplified by the chaos of the battlefield.」

「This is probably Celia’s doing. Oh, how she’s grown.」

Nobody but Celia is in the headquarters so I don’t even have to think about who it could be.

Seeing the enemy move backwards, the ally soldiers regain their morale.

「Then let’s use this chance to set up our lines again......」

I shake my head at Yakov.

「What are you saying? This is the perfect opportunity to attack. We’re going right away.」

I raise my sword and grab everyone’s attention.

「The enemy has retreated. Now it’s our turn!」

In that moment, a few remaining knights charge in from the side. What perfect timing.

「Kill the enemy......」

I cut one knight in half with a slash through his shoulder.

I block the sword of the second knight and remove the helmet, revealing a pretty face. Oh, a female knight.

「And capture the women!」

I forcefully steal the girl’s lips and embrace her tightly.

Her feeble resistance eventually stops and she passes out.

「Go!」

「Uooooooooh――!!!」

The 105th division got their second wind and furiously rushed the enemy, eventually making the enemy give up and flee.

Seeing the knights retreat must have broken their spirit, as the infantry attacking the other armies also compete to run away, meaning we’ve successfully defended Zabrela.

Night.

Soldiers are cleaning up the corpses strewn all over the place.

Being the loser, most of them are enemy bodies, although quite a few belong to ally soldiers.

This victory cannot be considered an overwhelming one by any means.

The opponent was definitely not weak. If the outcome of certain events were different, there was a possibility we would have lost.

「I went outside for fresh air, but all these piles of bodies are not a very pretty sight.」

It’s still cold outside, however my body feels hot.

I told the female Imperial knight captured in battle earlier that I would try my best to release her unharmed, and she ultimately trusted me enough to let me mount her. By the way, Yakov climbed on top of her after I was done.

I suddenly spot commander Womanizer.

The sun has already set, yet I can’t read his expression.

I approach him silently before speaking up.

「The enemy was stronger than expected. Are you still thinking of invading to the south coast?」

I try implying that I want him to reconsider.

「There’s a chance an elite squad just happened to be nearby. I don’t think the entire army will be that strong. ......Just in case, I’ll secretly deploy scouts.」

I let out a sigh and leave Womanizer alone quietly.

「Aegir-sama, where are you?」

I hear a familiar voice...... Celia must be searching for me.

She did great today so I’ll have to reward her with plenty of affection.

After I manage to find Celia, I take her hand and walk with her inside the tent. There, I see Yakov still continuing to swing his hips on top of the female knight. Crap, Celia was so cute that I forgot I went out to get some fresh air earlier.

「What are you doing...... in Aegir-sama’s tent...... not to mention with three women! You’re fucking the prisoners, how could you!」

Next to Yakov are the female lookout from before and a different Empire soldier prisoner, both laying on their backs with their legs spread wide open.

I already had my turn with those girls enough to make them faint, and Yakov shouldn’t have embraced them yet, although I can’t just say that out loud.

I turn my eyes away from Yakov who looks to me for help, then Celia kicks him in the ass.

「Guaaaaaaah!」

「Kyaah! He came inside!!」

It looks like Yakov ejaculated deep inside the female knight after the impact from the kick.

Sorry. If Celia finds out I fucked those girls before making love to her, she’ll end up sulking. You can endure at least one kick in the ass.

Federation VS. Empire – Comparison of Military Forces (Current + Losses = Max Mobilization. In the case where numbers don’t match, it means there are spare forces.)

Olga Federation 「Reverse Landing Operation Commences」

Military Strength – Current: 1 190 000, Max Mobilization: 2 550 000, Losses: 1 360 000, Civilian Victims: 970 000

Garland Empire

Military Strength – Current: 1 480 000 (480 000 of which are military slaves), Max Mobilization: 3 100 000, Losses: 2 100 000 (Military slaves not included)

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 24 years old. Early Spring.

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.

Army under command: 105th Division Provisional Army: 7500 men

Accompanying: Celia (escort, assistant), Marta (aide), Natia (temporary follower), Leah (temporary follower)

Brynhildr (temporary follower), Pipi (archer)

Messerschmitt (worthless dog), Schwartz (injured), Mirumi (submerged), Yakov (falsely accused sex maniac)

Assets: 13,000 gold

Sexual Partners: 450, children who have been born: 55 + 555 fish

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