Chapter 444

Translator: Nat

–Third Person POV–

――Trisnia. South Yuguria Army Invasion Headquarters.

「Bring out all the confidential doc.u.ments! No, there’s no time! Burn it all! Burn the entire building down!!」

「Stop the enemy somehow! Send word to General Imirie―― what, you already did? Well, send it multiple times!!」

「Call back the units scattered in the residential area for patrol as well! They can at least buy some time!」

TOP ARTICLES1/5READ MOREMercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1 Chapter 29

「We only have Imperial Guards around Her Majesty!? Make it at least 1000! The enemy is coming from all over the place!」

Things were hectic in the headquarters of the South Yuguria army.

It was known by pretty much everyone that the fall of Trisnia could no longer be avoided at this point.

Various doc.u.ments ranging from top secret to trivial were being thrown into the fireplace by not only soldiers a.s.signed to the headquarters, but also by high-ranked staff officers wearing gold pins on their lapels. Either that, or they ran off to personally deliver orders.

The Goldonian army broke through what was thought to be an impenetrable defence in an instant and are running past the supposedly st.u.r.dy multi-layered encampment.

「Headquarters’ prospective retreat location is either the village of Ates on the outskirts of the city or the hill behind it.」

「That’s a.s.suming we’re engaging the enemy. If we have already collapsed this much, there’s nothing we can do. Just fall back as far as possible.」

「In any case, we have to keep Her Majesty safe. That’s our first priority. Eeei, I can’t tell where our allies are!」

As people yell back and forth, Zaphnes overlooks the situation from the balcony of the former palace turned headquarters.

Regardless of how optimistic he was, as far as he could see, there were no exceptions to the fact that the South Yuguria army was one-sidedly being pursued by the Goldonian army.

However, it wasn’t like South Yuguria was lacking a plan.

Despite fighting with the intention of winning, it was well within expectations to retreat and abandon Trisnia while looking for an opportunity to counterattack if they were unable to withstand the enemy’s momentum.

If they were under a normal siege…… that is.

The a.s.sumption was that the city walls would fall as a result of a fierce fight and Goldonia would be breaking through each st.u.r.dy defensive encampment while suffering severe casualties.

The excellent personnel of the South Yuguria headquarters would then determine which point in the city is hardest to defend.

As headquarters and the army retreat, they would force Goldonia to hemorrhage as much as possible.

Even though the city would be surrendered, the exhausted Goldonian army would not be able to advance further. There was also a possibility that a timely counterattack could wipe out the remainder of Goldonia’s troops.

Zaphnes was confident in his ability to come up with a plan to put his side ahead in the war regardless of his loss in the battle.

That was literally crushed in an instant.

He had numerous supplemental strategies if they were routed reasonably and steadily.

However, he could not have predicted that a fortified city with 100 000 soldiers would lose all at once in a few minutes.

「A s.h.i.+p on land…… why is the water so conveniently flowing toward us…… in the first place, how did I fail to notice the movement of such conspicuous s.h.i.+ps…… shouldn’t have relied on the unknown substance brought by Meldora……」

Zaphnes was muttering with his eyes at his feet rather than at the situation until a beautiful yet cold voice called out to him.

「Zaphnes.」

The large man’s shoulders flinched. It was his one and only superior, Wilhelmina.

「Even an amateur such as myself can tell we’re losing. What will you do now?」

Wilhelmina did not look angry.

She did not look shaken or terrified either. That made her face seem more creepy.

Meanwhile, Zaphnes had a mix of rage, agitation and slight fear on his face.

「We have no other choice…… but to retreat completely. The spirit of our soldiers has been broken by their flashy performance…… and there is no time to recover.」

Wilhelmina doesn’t nod and speaks as if one-sidedly pouring out her thoughts.

「According to information from our spies, the enemy knows I am here. It’s possible that they will catch up even if I run. I think you are already aware, but everything will be over if they kill me. Protect me no matter what you have to sacrifice.」

It’s not hard to imagine South Yuguria’s collapse with the exit of Wilhelmina, who has supported the nation’s growth with her charisma up till now.

「I know. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll take the elites under my direct command and――」「You fool!!」

A roar interrupted Zaphnes mid-sentence, causing him to flinch again.

「What is your job t.i.tle?」

「S-supreme Commander.」

Wilhelmina looks down upon Zaphnes with narrow eyes from a position more than thirty centimeters shorter than him.

「And how much disarray would the army be if the supreme commander died? Are you not letting your mind become overtaken by ridiculous sentiments?」

Zaphnes’s boorish face distorted as he contemplated his options, then he raised his gaze.

「Call Acevedo.」

Acevedo――joined the headquarters of Trisnia through the previously flooded river as the commander of the western army.

He is over 2 m tall and had the body of a muscular warrior.

Meanwhile, his expression is unchanging like that of a rock and he is taciturn, not chatting unnecessarily.

His personality is the same as his appearance, stern and adherent to orders.

He is the opposite of Maestus, the commander of the central army.

Meeting up with the western army, who became reserve troops, was thought to make the defence of Trisnia easier, however, it just resulted in rounding up everyone to be taken out in a single throw.

「Your Excellency, you are over here.」

Amongst all the chaos, Acevedo still bends his waist for a small bow.

「As you can see, our defeat at the hands of the enemy’s scheme is inevitable. The enemy already knows Her Majesty is here in headquarters.」

Acevedo nods, staying silent for the moment.

「The loss of Trisnia is painful but not fatal. However, losing Her Majesty or myself, as well as the command headquarters, will directly lead to defeat in the war.」

Acevedo nods more emphatically than he did before.

「Thus, I have an order. Take any capable squads with you to the very back and a.s.sist Her Majesty and the headquarters in their retreat.」

The rearguard in charge of handling withdrawal has the most rigorous task.

Even more so when the rest of the army is being chased by the enemy and there is n.o.body to provide backup.

It’s essentially the same as being told to die.

Acevedo lowers his line of sight to meet with the eyes of the large Zaphnes.

「Understood.」

He gave a concise response, his face unaffected by the potentially dangerous mission.

「……sorry.」

Zaphnes turns around after apologizing briefly.

Fighting has begun in the courtyard of the former palace. He had no time to relax.

–Aegir POV–

――Goldonia

Celia and I run straight into the city side by side on our horses.

Enemies are all around us, but very few of them still have the will to fight, meaning we won’t encounter many obstacles.

On the other hand, we are pursuing the enemy with a group composed of the escort unit, Celia’s partially destroyed battalion, and nearby Royal army soldiers who are accompanying us for some reason. There was no time to gather every single soldier after the urgent notice to attack the enemy headquarters.

「Take a look at the former palace! There is a military flag next to the national flag, and then two army flags…… as expected, this is the headquarters!」

Myla came up beside me before I knew it.

As she pointed out, there are flags we haven’t seen anywhere else flying at that location.

A flag then proceeds to be lowered in front of us.

「They intend to retreat! Let’s hurry! And while I’m at it, take that!」

Celia runs behind a fleeing enemy soldier and cuts him in the back.

Mmm, she’s become quite the ruthless girl.

Well, I’m sure they’ll rest in peace since they were killed by the cute Celia.

「Wahahaha!! It’s time to end things!!」

I can’t say for certain what will happen to the soldiers impaled by Irijina.

Maybe if they like brawny women, they’ll die peacefully.

With such thoughts in mind, we storm toward the palace.

When Schwartz runs through the open gate to the courtyard, two guards holding spears turn around with a startled look.

「T-the enemy is already here!?」

「Fire! Hurry and set it…… gigh!!」

「I won’t let you!」

Celia’s dagger flies through the air and intercepts the torch thrown at the palace window.

At the same time, Irijina’s spear pierces through the eye of an enemy and exits the back of his head, while Myla’s sword slices off his head from the right side.

The torch which was knocked down about one meter from the window simply smoldered in a patch of weeds.

「So we were one step too late?」

If a soldier is trying to set the place on fire, there’s no way anybody could be left inside.

I peek through the window just to make sure, but I only see a brightly burning pile of papers.

「If they’ve escaped, they must have gone to the south entrance! Let’s hurry!」

「And I’m sure they can’t go too fast if they’re evacuating all the headquarters personnel. We can still catch up!」

I ordered a few soldiers to stay behind to double check the palace and deal with the fire before heading to the south.

Although enemy soldiers being chased are also rus.h.i.+ng to the south exit, we had no time to worry about them.

「Everyone, shout.」

I start by being the first to do what I asked.

Myla and Irijina followed my example and raised their voices, then the other allied soldiers yelled.

Enemy soldiers with their morale already broken immediately opened up a path for us.

Even the South Yuguria army could not do anything once they started to flee.

As the way cleared, a group of carriages could be seen in front of us.

「It’s the enemy headquarters personnel! If we take them down, the war will end!」

Myla accelerates as he eyes light up with joy.

Celia runs after her, not wanting to lose.

Irijina doesn’t lag far behind, twirling her spear in the process.

It’s finally time to pa.s.s through the gate.

There is nothing blocking――

「You won’t pa.s.s.」

The voice was clear, succinct and low-pitched.

A red flash swung as fast as lightning.

「Watch out!!」

Celia jumped off her horse not long after the words left my mouth.

The head of her horse was sliced off and flew backwards, while the headless body fell and slid on the ground.

Celia, who was thrown at full speed, manages to soften her landing with a roll, then crashes into a barrel on the shoulder of the road.

「Kyaan!」

Despite the scream, I think she’s fine.

The figure who cut Celia’s horse reveals himself from the side of the gate.

The man is of a large build and at least two meters in height.

He is clothed fully in dull and plain armor, aside from the gold medal decorating his attire, and not wearing a helmet.

He holds a two-handed sword with a blade even longer than his body that emitted a faint red glow.

「b.a.s.t.a.r.d!」

Myla swings her sword on horseback.

The man appeared to be standing still, but before Myla’s sword could cut his neck, his giant sword moved without any warning.

「Eh?」

A silver blade dances in the rain.

It was from Myla’s sword which snapped in half.

The man takes a firm step forward and unleashes another slash.

「You won’t get me that easily!」

Myla, who excels in defense, swiftly raises her s.h.i.+eld.

However, Myla’s s.h.i.+eld also splits in half after receiving one strike and the pieces fly in the air.

The man wastes no time and kicks the horse’s chest.

Having its ribs cracked and finding it difficult to breathe, the animal falls over, throwing Myla onto the muddy floor.

「I won’t forgive you for bullying my women.」

I unsheathe my Dual Crater and approach the man, but Irijina, who was closer to him, runs at him first.

「He’s a strong one!! The battle is on!!」

Irijina brandishes her spear and steps in between Myla and the man.

He acknowledges his new opponent, though his expression doesn’t change, and hops backward to widen the distance slightly.

He has a certain quickness that doesn’t match his giant frame.

「Try to block my spear!!」

Distance is a spear user’s friend.

Irijina lowers her hips and unleashes a powerful thrust.

「Hmpph!」

She exhales fiercely and grunts as her spear strikes the man like a bolt of lightning.

It wasn’t just fast. It was backed by Irijina’s monstrous strength and her body weight, which was enough to blow away any average man.

But the man dodges each of Irijina’s lunges by a hair’s breadth.

Neither the first, second or third consecutive thrust landed.

「He’s unbelievably skilled.」

Irijina is undoubtedly an expert spear user.

I have yet to see anybody come close to rivaling her skill, irrespective of gender.

All of the attacks from that Irijina are getting dodged.

If Irijina relents on any one of her spear strikes, she would allow the opponent to close the gap and instantly get cut in half.

「Impressive!! Then, how about this!!?」

Irijina hops backward, then bounces forward like a spring at the man.

The step she took as she closed the distance was heavy enough to partially sink her foot into the ground and she also let out a guttural cry.

It was the prelude to Irijina’s deadly triple thrust.

The first thrust gouges out a part of the man’s ear.

The second thrust strikes the man’s shoulder guard and indents it, the friction also creating a spark.

Lastly, the third strike aims for the man’s side.

I shout out with conviction.

「Dodge, Irijina!!」

Irijina’s third thrust grazes the man’s forehead instead of his side.

As soon as the man took her second thrust, he spun around and lowered his body.

His large sword was swinging toward Irijina.

Irijina lets go of her extended spear and bends her back so that it’s almost parallel to the ground.

「Hooh.」

The man seemed surprised.

There was a bright clang of Irijina’s breastplate getting knocked off.

The man’s sword cut away Irijina’s armor and chainmail.

It was close enough of a call to make me want to scream.

The man’s attack wasn’t finished.

He swings his sword directly above the unbalanced Irijina as if trying to break the ground beneath her.

「I won’t let you.」

I’m not going to sit here and watch.

I wedge in between the two of them and block the man’s slash with my Dual Crater.

The clas.h.i.+ng sound was clear and high-pitched like it came from a metal musical instrument.

I kick the man in the stomach to get him away from Myla.

He lets himself be kicked, also wanting to put some distance between us.

「Guu……」

I glance at Irijina and see the entire front part of her armor cut off, her shapely b.r.e.a.s.t.s spilling out because her clothes were also torn. If I warned her any later, she would have lost those beauties.

「I will a.s.sist you now!」

「Don’t think you’ve won after breaking one sword!」

Celia readies her sword and dashes off, while Myla draws her spare blade.

「Stop.」

My eyes remained on the man as I held the two of them back with my voice.

「He’s not someone you can match.」

I understand now.

Not only did he dodge Irijina’s best move, he returned the favor and almost sliced her in half.

If I didn’t get involved, Irijina would be in two pieces.

Sadly, Celia or Myla won’t stand a chance.

「Auu……」

「Kuh, how frustrating!」

The man sees we have stopped moving and whistles with his fingers.

Soldiers come running out from the gate.

Their eyes were filled with fighting spirit, completely different from those of the escaping soldiers.

「Defend.」

The man mutters.

「Breakthrough.」

I order the other soldiers of the escort unit.

Both sides yell wildly and charge at each other.

In the center of that, I face off with the man.

「Your name?」

「Acevedo. Commander of South Yuguria’s western army.」

An unexpected bigshot.

「I am――」

「I know who you are.」

Oh, good.

Acevedo and I run toward each other at the same time.

The one who attacked first was him.

His weapon looks to be approximately 2 m 30 cm long, double that of the Dual Crater.

He also has the advantage in height and reach.

His large sword pa.s.ses right in front of my eyeball at the slimmest margin.

I make an effort not to flinch.

「So you saw through that.」

He aims for my windpipe next…… I dodge by taking a big step back.

At the same time, he steps forward and follows with his sword, but that also narrowly misses.

「Splendid.」

I don’t wait for him to praise me and lower my stance, getting ready to lunge.

My target is his abdomen……because as annoying as it is, he’s 20 cm taller than me.

Tall guys always have trouble defending the lower parts of their body and his sword isn’t suited to defending either.

「It’s not that easy.」

Rather than turning his sword, he does a front kick.

Cutting his leg is an option, but if I stop moving here, I’ll end up taking the same downward slash that almost killed Irijina.

Well, it’s not something beyond my expectations.

I purposely don’t avoid his kick and let it collide with my shoulder.

Even though it p.i.s.ses me off that he kicked me, my shoulder charge is just as strong as the man’s kick.

My hand dropped to the ground to support myself after getting kicked, meanwhile my tackle also knocked him back.

「Here.」

I grip my sword with both hands and swing up at him.

「Not good enough.」

He predicted it and stepped back with his sword aloft.

I aim for his side from below……rather, I fake it and aim for his sword.

His sword is the problem, so as long as I destroy it, I can do whatever I want later.

That was my reasoning.

「……」

However, his sword didn’t shatter.

My Dual Crater just bounced off.

I didn’t miss it.

Unlike the first time, I was certain my blade hit and the angle was perfect.

I know I’m swinging up, but I still shouldn’t be lacking in power.

Yet for some reason, it was deflected.

「You have a nice sword.」

Acevedo comments softly.

「So your sword is special too.」

I start some idle chatter while pondering what to do next.

「There is no sword my dragon blade cannot break……or so I thought.」

I don’t know what he means by “dragon blade” but my chances of destroying his weapon are low.

「Then I’ll have to cut you.」

「That goes for the both of us.」

Our swords meet again.

In one second, they cross once, twice, then three times.

When I widen the gap, Acevedo attacks, and when he shrinks back, I attack.

Neither of us show any openings in offense or defense.

Thrusts, upward slashes, downward slashes and horizontal sweeps were all blocked.

「Die already.」

「I refuse.」

My full-powered swing was intercepted by the diagonally-placed sword and red sparks scattered.

「This won’t last forever.」

「Someone will die.」

I accept his downward slash, and using my gauntlet to support the back of my blade, push his sword away.

Our exchange would continue for about 20 more times.

「Guh.」

And then my foot gets stuck in some mud.

Acevedo doesn’t let the split second chance slip.

In the next moment, blood sprayed out from my shoulder.

「Guooh!!」

The Dual Crater falls to the ground.

Celia cries out in fear as I feel myself waver unsteadily.

「This is the end.」

He raises his sword for the finis.h.i.+ng blow.

「Not quite.」

My right leg digs into his side.

My metal boot caves in his armor and Acevedo coughs out stomach acid.

He also drops his sword.

I swing my fist at him as he crouches over leaking acid from his mouth.

If he was more handsome, it would make punching him more worth it.

My punch goes straight for his stone-like face.

「Payback.」

He counters with a punch of his own, knocking me on my a.s.s.

Acevedo follows up with a flurry of punches to my face, and when I raise my arms to guard myself, he switches to punching my body.

Obviously, the punches from a 2 m tall man hurts. I’ll definitely be knocked unconscious if I take any more hits.

I try to fight back with one big punch.

It was easily avoided, but I utilize the position of my arm to slam my elbow into his chest.

「Gufh.」

Although it was a thicker portion of the armor, I can deal damage if I put a little more power behind my strike.

「And here’s another.」

My fist repeatedly lands on his stomach and shoulder.

With each hit, his armor gets dented and his body recoils.

「Insane brute strength, like the rumors said.」

He quickly separates from me and whips his long arm at my nose and my jaw.

My vision becomes shaky and my legs feel like jelly.

I groan like a dog and retaliate with another set of punches.

First, a right hook, then a left hook, and then an uppercut.

Almost like he read all of my moves, he dodges every attack easily.

Then I launch a straight punch at him and step on Acevedo’s foot at the same time.

As he falls forward, I headb.u.t.t his face, smas.h.i.+ng his nose and causing blood to gush out.

While both of us staggered, I surveyed the situation.

Enemy and ally are struggling in front of the gate. The soldiers led by Acevedo haven’t lost their will to fight.

Of course, if we wait a bit, more allies will gather and we can easily break through.

But by then, the main force of the enemy would have gotten away successfully.

「I have to finish this soon.」

I clench my fist tightly with my eyes on my dropped Dual Crater.

Our swords are too far away from us and we’d have to turn our backs on the other in order to retrieve them.

I don’t have enough time to continue this punching match.

How should I create a chance?

My wish must have been heard by someone as I heard a scream from a nearby soldier.

I looked up and saw an iron ball flung at us by a catapult.

It landed directly in between me and Acevedo, and the force of the crash sprayed me with a shower of small rocks and mud.

However, there was no time to cry about it.

It acted as a signal for the both of us to run and grab our weapons.

Acevedo was the first one to pick up his sword.

He smirked when he heard my footsteps, which confirmed in his mind I was still running.

「That’s the first time you smiled.」

A dull feeling transmitted through my arm.

「What-……the-?」

Acevedo stared dumbfoundedly at the Dual Crater, still laying on the ground.

Then his gaze slowly moved to his own torso which I stabbed with a broken piece of a ballista bolt.

This was closer for me to pick up.

「You didn’t…… retrieve your sword……?」

「I’m not a proud knight. No matter how excellent a sword, it is just another tool. If I can use something else, I will.」

Keep it a secret from Nonna. I’ll get hit with a headb.u.t.t if she hears that.

I yank the thick arrowhead out of Acevedo’s side and jab it into his neck.

「Glory to South Yu―― no, to His Excellency Zaphnes. I will be waiting there for you.」

Acevedo looked up at the raining sky as he spoke his final words in a hoa.r.s.e voice, then perished.

「Even His Excellency Acevedo was no match……」

「Is this…… the end……?」

The enemy soldiers went from fighting fiercely to collapsing in mere seconds.

So that guy I killed was their mental support.

「Aegir-sama, your injuries!」

「Later.」

I hop on Schwartz who came running as if asking “is it over?”

If I was stopped here, then my handsome face would have been beaten for no reason.

「Uu…… my horse.」

Celia and Myla can’t come along because their horses were killed.

Irijina is enthusiastic about accompanying me.

「Hey, your b.r.e.a.s.t.s are totally out in the open. You’ll be raped by enemies and allies at this rate. Stay in the back.」

I mean, that’s what I would do. It’s like a sign telling others to do what they like.

Schwartz chases after the enemy.

Even though they widened the gap during my fight with Acevedo, this guy’s legs will close it in no time.

He neighs, complaining how it’s hard to run when the ground is muddy.

Well, it’s the same for the enemy, so you’ll just have to put up with it.

「Look, we can see them.」

The enemy’s carriages are running south along the road.

They were moving faster than expected for carriages.

Considering the path is muddy, it’s no wonder our allies couldn’t catch up.

「With that said, there are limits to what I, as a single rider, can do too.」

There are a few dozen carriages, and adding the escorts, they have over 100 total members at least.

That earlier fight shook me a little, so it’ll be hard if I have to battle a large crowd.

It seems they haven’t spotted me yet due to the rain, but I’d like to avoid engaging them if possible.

「I might not be able to annihilate them, but I want to take out the head.」

If I kill the Supreme Commander and the others run, I can say that half of our objective is achieved.

I strain my eyes and examine the group of carriages.

Many high-ranking personnel of the headquarters have boarded these identical carriages.

Normally, it would be a pretty big accomplishment to eliminate individuals of such importance, but it’s better to ignore them right now.

Leading that group of carriages is an especially fancy-looking one, being pulled by multiple horses.

That one smells fishy.

Running at full speed, the rain feels like needles poking my skin, but I press on and circle around to the front.

「No wait…… that’s-」

I found a different carriage.

Unlike the typical wooden carriages painted black, this one is white with decorative ornaments in various places.

And upon closer inspection, this one seems to be surrounded by the other carriages and cavalry.

「It has to be that one.」

I switch targets from the very first carriage to the one in the center.

That means I’ll have to jump into all of them.

I’d like to have some backup for that.

「Chief!!」

「Leave it to us!」

The loud voice attracts the enemy’s attention.

When they turned their heads, countless arrows rained down and took out numerous cavalry and the driver of the carriage.

It was Gido and Pipi.

Pipi is riding a regular horse instead of Pochi.

「Enemy attack――!」

「Pick up the pace――no, protect Her Majesty!!」

The enemy changes its formation.

I knew it, they’re guarding that white carriage.

The Supreme Commander must be in there.

The enemy seems to be distracted by Gido and Pipi, so now’s my chance to rush in.

Honestly, running in is hard enough, I’ll have to finish the commander in one blow.

「Schwartz. I’m crus.h.i.+ng two and then boarding the center afterward.」

Schwartz snorts, as if telling me to hurry up, and changes course.

「Kuh, so they’re the notorious horseback archers? Just two of them are creating havoc.」

I approach from a blindspot and cut down the cursing cavalry with one slash.

「Wha-, another one――!」

I also cut down the adjacent cavalry and steal two lances.

I weave my way through the other surrounding guards and then close in on the white carriage.

There are heavy cavalry glued to my target so I can’t get any closer.

「Please hit!」

I twirl and hurl one of the lances I stole.

It crashes through the lattice of the window and flies into the carriage.

The screams and yelling are drowned out by the sound of rain and galloping horses.

As I ready myself to throw the second lance, the back of the white carriage opens up.

「What?」

I hold the spear aloft at the unexpected development.

It wasn’t the Supreme Commander who appeared.

No, I guess this individual can be considered the highest in command.

「……Wilhelmina.」

Her black hair seems s.h.i.+nier from being wet and her green eyes are br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vitality.

She has a lovely, slender body and white skin, bordering on translucent. Then, she has this overwhelming beauty.

Wilhelmina I, the empress of the South Yuguria Empire, is someone I could never forget after seeing once.

My eyes were instantly drawn to her attire.

The chest portion of her pretty white dress was brutally torn apart, exposing both of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Her cleavage may be small compared to average women, but their shapeliness is nothing like I’ve ever seen.

They’re perfectly round and bowl-shaped, and perky enough to not sag even without support from her clothes.

Her areola are small, matching that of her modest chest, and her nipples are a.s.serting themselves by pointing up.

They were a nice pink color, like a peach of the highest grade.

She has snow white skin, a set of b.r.e.a.s.t.s that are like a piece of art, and undefiled pink nipples.

They’re practically a completed masterpiece.

「……c.r.a.p, what have I done?」

When I dwell on the fact that the spear I threw ripped her dress, the sense of guilt crushes me.

「……? ……! ……」

She doesn’t seem terrified after she saw me, and appeared to be saying something, but I’m too far away to hear her.

「Protect Her Majesty! What are you doing!? Tackle him, do something!!」

Enemies quickly charge at me.

I only have a few seconds left to attack.

What would happen if I threw this spear and pierced through Wilhelmina’s body?

South Yuguria would lose its ruler and collapse…… there will undoubtedly be chaos.

We’ll definitely win this war.

But I won’t be happy at all.

Rather than an accomplishment, killing such a beautiful woman with my own hands would be a blot on my life.

There’s no way the life of a beauty is comparable to victory in war.

「――!」

Wilhelmina opens her arms as if welcoming me.

It’s like she’s asking me to impale her with the spear.

I won’t do it.

「Pipi will!」

「Oh no!」

Pipi fires an arrow.

However, even the 100% accurate Pipi was affected by the rain, causing the arrow to fall in between Wilhelmina’s legs.

Her eyebrow did not twitch at the mishap.

「……it missed.」

Pipi slumps her shoulders and slows down.

Gido does the same, acting as her escort.

I tossed away my spear, ensuring Wilhelmina could see.

「This isn’t the right spear to pierce you with.」

I veered off course, knowing she couldn’t hear what I said.

The enemies going for me prioritize securing Wilhelmina’s safety instead and don’t chase.

「……in the end, they all got away.」

I took down one commander, but that’s not going to end the war.

I’ll keep quiet about Wilhelmina.

Erich will probably get mad if I told him.

I suddenly felt pain in my crotch.

I checked to see if it was something that happened during the fight with Acevedo, but that wasn’t it.

「……why is it so hard?」

It’s not only propping a tent in my pants, it feels like it’ll poke a hole in my armor.

The pain is from how much it’s bulging and about to tear through the leather.

This isn’t normal.

「Is it because I saw Wilhelmina?」

That’s the only thing that comes to mind.

Certainly, that body is――

「Guh.」

Just remembering it increases the pain.

I have to get myself back to normal.

A Few Hours Later. Trisnia.

「I see. So you even decided where to destroy the levee?」

When I returned to the city, Leopolt walked alongside me and explained his elaborate plan.

「Yes. I reenacted the great flood as depicted in past doc.u.ments of Trisnia.」

So that’s why he had a bunch of musty books.

「Fortunately, there were many resources, so it was simple to identify the levee constructed after the great flood. We predicted the course that would hit the city walls most severely based on the literature.」

「Hmm, you considered lots of things.」

As for me, I was simply flung by a catapult.

「It was unclear whether the s.h.i.+ps would stop midway or be able to ram the walls, so in order to raise the chances of success, a trench was dug vertically toward the wall to guide the flow of water and prevent the s.h.i.+ps from running aground――」

「Well, good job. It would have been better if you could have done so before I was launched.」

I head to the southside gate.

I lift up the corpse of the large man laying on the ground.

「Western Army Commander, Acevedo…… was it?」

「That’s what he said.」

He’s heavy.

「What a great accomplishment.」

「Even if I didn’t do it, it was a matter of time. He was the only one standing there. It was to buy time.」

Because he was there, it could be said that he lost us the time to chase the enemy headquarters.

Basically, he achieved his goal.

「This guy p.i.s.sed me off by pummeling my pretty face, but I can at least give him a proper burial.」

I find a spot to the side and dig a hole for his body, then stick a stone down by the grave with his name engraved on it.

That wasn’t much work at all.

「Aegir-sama, what should we do about this?」

Celia brings me that guy’s sword.

I think he called it a dragon’s blade or something…… I’m impressed he wielded this two meter long weapon so well.

I lowered the man’s body to the ground and grabbed the hilt of the sword.

All of a sudden, the fatigue of battle hit my legs, and I stumbled, accidentally b.u.mping the blade of the Dual Crater with that of the other guy’s sword.

『……hundred years…… who would have……』

「Ahn?」

I looked at Leopolt to see if he was the one who made that deep voice.

「Something the matter?」

Was it my imagination?

『Surely……child……luck……』

I turned to Celia.

「?」

She tilts her head adorably.

Wait, there was no way such a hoa.r.s.e voice could come out of Celia, otherwise I’d faint.

『……female……starved…… laughable……』

Just when I was about to express my frustration, Leopolt brings himself close and whispers in my ear.

「Here are the three suspected spies.」

I look and see three allied soldiers captured and tied to pillars.

「I-I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s a false accusation!」

「I only went to take a p.i.s.s in the middle of the night! I didn’t do anything suspicious!」

「Fueeeeehn! Mommy!!」

All three were female.

And then a suspicious man with his face hidden…… probably an information officer, handed me a small slip of paper.

Oh, isn’t the culprit revealed from the start?

I sigh and speak to the three of them.

「Two of you are falsely accused while one of you is guilty with the evidence to prove it. If you name yourself and cooperate with us, I promise that you won’t be severely punished. Come on, let’s hear it.」

All three of them whine.

「It can’t be helped.」

I take out a knife and approach the three women.

The women squealed at the sight of the sharp object.

I use the knife to cut the ropes of those two.

「Sorry for suspecting you. I’ll apologize to you later by buying you something nice.」

I grab the hands of the last individual.

「How unfortunate.」

She muttered, having lost all hope that she could talk her way out of her predicament.

I drag her to the interrogation room with a calm expression.

Then I open my eyes wide and bring my face right in front of the woman’s face.

「Let me say this first, I won’t kill you. I won’t torture you with pain either.」

「Fueh?」

I hold both of her hands together and bring my lips close to her neck.

「But, since you were a spy and didn’t confess to it, you’ll have to take responsibility.」

I take the woman’s hand and guide it to my crotch.

「Hiih!?」

I understand her reaction.

I was holding in until just now, but my d.i.c.k has been acting strange ever since I saw Wilhelmina half-naked.

Its shape and rigidity is beyond normal.

My sense of reason is also at its limit and I don’t know what would happen if I embraced Celia or Myla in such a state.

For that reason, I’ll have this girl receive my pent-up desires under the pretext of punishment.

「I’ll become a beast. I hope you’re ready to be violated.」

I warn the woman as I push her down.

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), Leopolt (staff officer A), Tristan (staff officer B), Celia (battalion commander)

Yakov (still leaking), Irijina (commander), Luna (bow cavalry commander), Gido (in super good condition)

Ivanna (preparing), Brynhildr (complete), Annette (princess of the 105), Sekrit (preparing)

Piris (crying), Harty (motivated)

Army – Southern Goldonia

Under Protagonist

Escort Unit: 75 ⇒ 60

Infantry: 7200 ⇒ 4500

Cavalry: 750 ⇒ 670

Archers: 870 ⇒ 670

Cannoneers: 430 ⇒ 380

Bow Cavalry: 7600 ⇒ 7000

Independent Celia Squad: 500 ⇒ 400

Conscripts + Security Unit: 17 300 ⇒ 17 000

Cannons: 50 ⇒ 40, Large Cannons: 25 ⇒ 23, Dwarven Cannons: 16, Field Artillery: 20, Chariots: 50 ⇒ 45

Reinforcements / Allied Forces

Aless Soldiers: 13 929 ⇒ 13909

105 Army Corps: 3850 ⇒ 3500

Fleet

Battles.h.i.+p Suvorov, Battles.h.i.+p Aless of Aless, and others: All grounded.

Transport s.h.i.+ps: 20

Ally Forces: Frontal Warfront – Royal Army: 78 000 ⇒ 50 000

Conscripts: 52 000 ⇒ 35 000

Enemy Force

Frontal Warfront – Regular Soldiers: 69 000 ⇒ 2・50 000

Conscripts: 80 000 ⇒ 40 000

Cavalry Army: 25 000 ???

Magrado Local Army: 30 000 ⇒ All disorganized.

Meldora: insignificant

a.s.sets: -10 000 gold

s.e.xual Partners: 785, children who have been born: 69 + 567

Current Location: Trisnia (adjusting military force)