Chapter 332: Invisible Battle ⑧ Kingdom Intervention

-Aegir POV-

「Dispatch orders have been given!」

「Get your squad together as fast as possible! Commanders, call back your off-duty soldiers!」

I gave an immediate response to the messenger sent by Count Monashi requesting for support.

According to Leopolt and Tristan, Baron Wejini is a less prominent noble who shouldn't have the military strength to engage the poor Count Monashi.

However the messenger has said the force is large enough to overwhelm him regardless of whether he joins up with childhood friend and military family Binbo as well as Gokhin.

When it is explained how Baron Wejini is also in Zilgray's faction, albeit at the lowest seat, even I can figure out the truth of the matter.

「We return the favor twice over every time he did something after all. The finishing operation also went well so perhaps he's feeling shaken. Maybe he wants to say "I've won against Hardlett's faction!" after routing Count Monashi?」

Tristan is also prepared to...... this guy, he only put the military cap on his head while he's still in civilian clothes. Don't blame me if you get hit by an arrow then.

「Armor is way too heavy for somebody weak like me. My spine will break if I wear all that stuff.」

「Truly pathetic......」

Leopolt speaks up as Celia is astounded with Tristan's pitiful behavior.

「I've said this before, but a full-blown collision will prompt the Kingdom to intervene. Naturally, preparations have been made for Wejini who initiated the attack to take the blame, although unexpected situations may arise considering the current state of the King. You have made your decision knowing all of this, right?」

He's asking the same thing a second time for once.

That must signify its importance, so I close my eyes and think...... or pretend to.

I wonder if this makes me look intelligent.

「Spare me the acting, I'd like a quick answer.」

「......no problem. My decision is to settle things right here.」

Damn you Leopolt, I was trying to make myself appear smart.

「Preparations for sortie are complete!」

Has it been two hours since the order was first given?

The squad of 1000 cavalry and 500 bow cavalry are ready to go.

Pipi has also shown up among the other mountain nation.

It took two days―― no, she probably arrived within the day since she was riding Pochi.

For them, they don't differentiate between peace times and war times so it doesn't take them long to get ready.

I'm sure of it when I look over and see them eager to sortie as soon as Pipi gives the message.

Here's a question for Leopolt.

「If you were in Zilgray's faction, how many days do you think it would take for me to make my way there? That is assuming you don't know our internal state of affairs.」

「With how sudden the circumstances are, it would take four days to prepare and three days to march. So a week at the earliest.」

Sending just the cavalry first to Count Monashi's territory would still take one or two days...... enough to set up something that can take them by surprise.

「Umm......」

I notice Nonna has come over. Is she here to send me off?

「What's going on that you have to head west? Are they not all allies?」

「Just a little internal conflict. No big deal.」

Nonna turns pale for some reason.

「Would it not seem like a plot if you mobilize soldiers within your own country? Will everything really be alright?」

I wrap my arm around Nonna.

「Everything will be fine. Don't worry.」

「But...... but if it somehow gets taken as a form of rebellion...... if it is seen as that kind of conspiracy......」

Nonna is thinking back to what happened to her own house.

I squeeze Nonna's massive tits to calm her down.

「Kyaa! W-what's that about!?」

「Hahaha, if something like that happens.」

I whisper to her so that others can't hear.

「I'll take all of you to the Federation or Empire. What happened in the past absolutely won't happen again.」

Before she could say anything, I give her a kiss and then brush my hand lightly over the child being held by the attending maid.

Then, there was a loud stomp from somebody's foot.

「How shameful. If you're a noble, have faith in your husband.」

Before I realized, Claudia is also rolling―― I mean, she's standing.

The puddle at her feet must be sweat.

You can't really blame her for sweating when it's summer and she has a body like that.

「Have a safe trip, my beloved. Go and further your merits.」

Claudia bows deeply. Nonna, the other girls, and the attending maids all follow suit.

It's important to note that Claudia's stomach is sticking out so much that she isn't able to completely bend her body forward.

Not only that, she's applying pressure on her stomach so the forbidden "Buuo" sound gets squeezed out.

「Guuh...... stinks......」

「Shh! We're in the middle of sending him off, no whispering...... b-but my eyes are stinging.」

「Oeeh, the smell is so intense when it mixes with the stench of sweat.」

In any case, we're heading out.

-Third Person POV-

Two Days Later. Count Monashi Territory. Baron Wejini's Army(?) A Certain Invasion Squad.

Despite moving in the darkest hours of the day before dawn, the invasion force did not need to be concerned with watching their step.

Their path is being illuminated by a burning flame.

「Captain Bolda, are you really okay with setting the village on fire?」

The man referred to as captain answers with a smile.

「Of course not. It should be done during a battle.」

Bolda tosses a lit torch into a house.

The house catches fire and panicked cries can be heard coming from within as the nearby soldiers cheer.

「It doesn't look like Count Monashi has surrendered yet. If we make more of a spectacle, maybe he'll find it easier to nod his head.」

「Yeah...... by the way, what are we asking for? Was it compensation money?」

Bolda lightly knocks the head of the soldier.

「Stupid, we want him to hand over access to water. We're soldiers for Wejini now so at least remember that much.」

「Hehe, my bad. Oh yeah, that's right.」

Baron Wejini's soldiers...... or so they are called, are actually soldiers prepared by Zilgray's close aides.

The ones here are raiding the villages and towns located west of the main attack force.

「Our actual boss said he would overlook plundering and arons if it's within the range of "an accident". Well, no matter what we do, the one who will be blamed is not our boss but that poor noble called Wejini or whatever.」

「Speaking of poor, that Binbo and Gokhin are pretty resilient. We wanted to surround the mansion in one go, but they pushed us back.」

「Yeah, they may be rotten, but they're individuals who rose up in status based on military achievements. This is as far as they go though, since we'll be participating in the all-out attack tomorrow. That will be the end.」

「I think we also got notice that Hardlett's army is moving out.」

Bolda's face becomes dark.

「......that guy is no joke. He's got a large force, but the main issue is that he himself is a monster...... I saw him during the Magrado war and people would be cut into pieces every time he swung his spear. Just to be clear, I'm talking about fully armored heavy infantry.」

Bolda's body shudders at the thought and he goes silent.

His subordinate quickly adds a comment.

「S-still, if we make Monashi declare a ceasefire, he would have no choice but to pull his troops back, right?」

When Bolda lifts his face and was about to agree, one of the soldiers collapses to the ground.

「Wha-!?」

Looking closer, one would notice several arrows stabbed in his back.

Bolda frantically hides himself and shouts loudly.

「Enemy attackーーー!! They have archers!! Be on alertーー!!」

Arrows really start to come down after that yell.

「An enemy ambush!? Find the archers!」

「Shit! We're in plain sight because of the light from the fire. Spread out and hide!」

The soldiers run to the shadowy areas so they can ascertain the source of the arrows.

In the next moment as if to mock them, a furious rain of arrows pour down.

「Gyaah!」

「What's with this amount!? They're not ambushed!」

「They're shooting at us from all sides!!」

When they finally believe the arrows have stopped, an order resounds in the dark.

「Halt your firing. Bow cavalry, draw your swords, charge forward!」

The sound of horseshoes echo in the night.

「No way, cavalry? There were so many arrows though...... no, more importantly Monashi shouldn't have cavalry......」

The cavalry don't wait for Bolda to get his thoughts sorted.

Horses leaping out from the darkness are taking out his soldiers one after the other after the initial volley thrown them in disarray.

「Who on earth? Which other feudal lord besides Binbo and Gokhin came for reinforcements?」

One horse waving a flag happened to pass by the burning house, revealing the colors of the battle standard.

It was a strange black flag which was not very visible in the dark.

「Hardlett's war flag!? No way, he just departed so how could he...... no that's besides the point, how did they come from the west!? Doesn't the road go up north!?」

As he finished his question, the soldiers on either side of Bolda flew backwards.

They didn't run or roll, they glided in the air parallel to the ground and shot straight into the burning house.

Appearing right after them is a man wielding a large sword riding a large black horse.

「H-Hardlett......」

「Ooh, what's up?」

The man stands in front of Bolda with a smile as his name is called.

-Aegir POV-

「Hey what's wrong, ignoring me after calling my name.」

This man appears to be the captain judging based on his uniform, so I have business with him even if he didn't call me.

The ambush by the bow cavalry was a complete success and the enemy fell apart without being able to do anything.

If I butcher ths captain here, it will be a rout.

I can't waste time on what looks like a small detachment.

Let's finish this guy off.

「Here I go.」

「Eh? Wait......」

I urge Schwartz to run at the man.

I have no intention of listening to what he has to say.

「Hmph!」

The man reflexively sticks out his sword, except my longsword outranges him by a lot.

My sword pierces his chest before his sword could touch me.

As I was wondering what I should do with the man I stabbed, I discover an enemy squad which just finished regrouping.

「Have him back.」

I toss the man's corpse in the air and swing my sword, hitting the body with the back of my blade.

The man gets batted in a straight line right into the burning house in front of that enemy squad.

The impact caused the house to collapse.

「T-the captain got taken out......?」

「W-we're done for!」

Their will to fight is eliminated and they scatter.

「Bow cavalry, give them one more volley.」

At the same time I delivered the order, Leopolt cuts in.

「Please wait. This fight is ultimately a personal struggle for water, so it's customary not to finish off the stragglers once the battle is decided.」

I guess they also looked like they weren't going to do anything else besides setting the village on fire.

「We can't do the same things villains would do! That would make us villains too!!」

「......」

I feel a sense of defeat when Irijina makes that comment.

No finishing them off then.

「S-stop itー!!」

「......Fufu, cry for me, scream for me.」

Sekrit was dragging a shouting enemy and was about to toss him into the fire so I slap her ass to stop her.

「......what are you doing?」

「No meaningless killing.」

Seeing an opening, the enemy soldier escapes.

「If you're talking about meaning, there is some. My enjoyment.」

「This bitch......」

Celia glares at Sekrit, though when a glare is returned, she partially hides herself behind me.

It will take some time before Celia can have a stare-off against her.

「Why did you bring this woman along!?」

I didn't bring her, she followed me on her own.

She isn't officially one of my subordinates so when I told her to return to the mansion, this is what she told me.

「"A lot of things are pent up within me. Staying in the mansion with nobody to take it out on might end up causing problems."」

If Sekrit rampages in the mansion when neither Irijina or I or anybody skilled in combat are around, nobody would be able to stop her.

I thought it might be better to have her around than leaving her to make a mess, so I allowed her to come along.

「Don't be mad. Aren't you happy that you get another hole to satisfy your lust?」

「Yeah sure, but listen to my instructions. You'll expose Irijina and Celia to danger.」

Sekrit mumbles "fine" softly before jumping on her horse.

「Save that to beat the main enemy squad. We're continuing our march.」

The ambush caught the enemy completely off-guard so we suffered no casualties.

We take our healthy squad of 500 bow cavalry and 1000 cavalry eastward.

We don't meet up with the bow cavalry Pipi should have called.

They properly went around from the east whereas we made a huge detour to the west.

That large detour will allow us to approach the enemy from both sides and also let us match the timing of attack with the bow cavalry who sortied slightly later than us.

「Count Monashi is still doing his best. We have to save him quickly.」

Irijina and I instruct the several hundred soldiers under our command to spread out to the left and right.

Being composed of all cavalry, it isn't a problem if our units a somewhat separated.

The important thing is to cover as wide an area as possible.

「Normally in these kinds of situations it would be me in the center with Leopolt and Irijina deploying the soldiers. Right?」

When I look at Celia, she flicks her head to the side in a huff.

When I look at Sekrit, she grins back at me.

Hmm, this doesn't feel right.

Day breaks during our march and we are greeted with the rise of the sun as the city where Count Monashi's mansion is in finally comes into view.

Our advance squad is sent ahead to the top of the elevated ground to find that the city is surrounded by multiple soldiers and various spots in the walls have been broken with smoke rising into the sky.

On the other hand, the enemy is crowding around the outside of the walls, not yet finished with the battle. Which means the defending side is still putting up resistance.

「We made it in time. The name of the city...... what was it again?」

「It's Mazushi. With a population of 3000 and located in the middle of Rafen and Arkland, it is a city where traders frequently pass, making it a relatively prosperous place.」

Celia answers after checking her notes.

It doesn't really have a prosperous-sounding name, but whatever.

「The enemy amounts to roughly 3000, and as expected isn't a number a baron family can arrange for.」

「Upon further inspection, the movements of the groups over here and over there are different. Even though they're using the same flag, those guys are mercenaries.」

Meanwhile, it's hard to accurately determine how many Monashi still has since he's confined within the city, so maybe he barely has 500.

It's impressive how he's still hanging on.

「Anyways, shall we charge in?」

I was about to raise my sword and Leopolt cuts in again.

「Wait a moment. The enemy hasn't realized us yet. I have a better plan.」

If we don't hurry, the city will fall.

「They're probably waiting for the arrival of the squad we just defeated. They haven't begun their attack yet. We should wait another three hours.」

「So sunset......?」

The enemy has a lot of archers since they're sieging and we have bow cavalry.

If we're going to have a shootout, we will have the overwhelming advantage being on the hill on the west side with the sun behind our backs.

「The enemy seems to be a mishmash of different soldiers, but they still have close to double our forces. We'll suffer many casualties if we fight them head on. Besides, the bow cavalry will arrive in the east if we wait a bit.」

A pincer attack to wipe them out all at once sounds good.

Fewer sacrifices is also a good thing.

Eventually the sun started turning red, and that was when I gave the order to the bow cavalry on the hill to release their arrows together.

Firing from a high place and using their powerful composite bows resulted in the sieging soldiers falling over like toys.

「Enemy attack!? From the west!」

「At least 500 of them! A black flag, Hardlett's soldiers!?」

「What's that? Archers...... riding horses?」

「Archers fire back! Shit, the sun is so bright!」

When the enemy starts to counterattack, the setting sun disrupts their aim.

Furthermore aiming up a slope shortens their shots and reduces their power on hit.

The lightweight leather armor of the bow cavalry is enough to protect against that.

「At this rate, they'll take us out. Close the distance! Bring the fight to close combat!」

「There's a mere 500 of them. We just have to drag them down the hill!」

Abandoning their bows, the enemy props shields in front of their bodies and runs forward instead.

It was a totally predictable move.

Leopolt signals to me that this is the right time to act.

It seemed a little different than usual, but now isn't the time to worry about it.

「Charge. Follow me.」

The simple order prompted the 500 bow cavalry to fall back while my escort group of 1000 spear cavalry and heavy cavalry waiting at the base of the hill rush out along with me, running down the enemies looking to climb the hill.

「Dowah!」

「They're coming straight at us!」

No time is given to the enemy who intends to engage us with their shieldbearers in front.

The spears thrusted by the spear cavalry skewer the enemy soldiers and the heavy cavalry barrels right through them.

「I'll give it a go too.」

I run past enemies, taking out enemies on my right with my longsword along the way.

The first one gets splits in half, and then another collapses after getting half his stomach torn.

Twisting my body, I focus my attention to the left.

One of the shieldbearers reacts well and swiftly positions his shield before my sword reaches him.

I turn my sword and use the side of the blade to slam into the shield.

The shieldbearer gets sent flying along with his shield into three others and they all fall down together.

「Can't you run more quietly?」

All that clanking is annoying.

Of course it's coming from Schwartz who is running over anybody in his way and then flattening their armor as he gallops over them.

Schwartz snorts back at me.

Whatever, the reason I can focus on the sides is because he's taking care of the front.

「This damn monster horse!」

One soldier sticks out his spear at him.

Schwartz lets out a neigh and then leaps, jumping over the pole weapon and landing right on the man holding it.

「Migyuh!」

Having a beast easily over a ton fall on him, the poor man gets squashed into an unrecognizable mess.

Schwartz's speed put him ahead of my other allies so enemies instantly crowd around when he slows down from that jump.

「Hey, make sure to support me.」

After telling Schwartz that, I swing my sword and rotate my body.

「Hmph!」

Schwartz ducks his head at the last moment as I slash at the enemies closing in from all directions.

He remembers that a bit of his ear got cut when I did the same thing during training.

A moment later, everyone around me split in half from the chest up and fall to the ground.

Schwartz's ears are unharmed.

「W-what is this guy...... he isn't normal!」

「A black horse and a longsword greater than the height a person...... can it be, Hardlett came in person!?」

The two behind me survived.

I can't spin my body completely around so my sword couldn't reach them.

When I turn around, the men run away. I guess I can let them escape.

「Gyaah!」

「Gugeh!」

The next thing I know, one of them gets a spear straight through his throat and the other one gets a sword through his eye.

「Scoundrels get skewered!!」

「Aegir-sama, you're too far forward!」

Irijina and Celia chased after them.

That's unlucky. No choice but to give up.

How frail they must be if it was that easy to go from being attackers to the attacked.

With the enemy starting to fall apart, those surrounding the castle undid their encirclement and regrouped.

Seeing that our army was mainly composed of cavalry, they opposed us with spears and archers. However they're too late.

Most likely acting on Leopolt's instructions, the 500 bow cavalry split to the left and right to enclose the enemy.

Normal archers lack the mobility and wouldn't be able to do it.

Not to mention the bow cavalry are incomparably more precise than average archers.

「They've covered our flanks! Get the shields ready for arrows...... or should it be spears since they're cavalry?」

The enemy seems confused about which front to deal with.

One more thing was added to the mix.

「Open the gate! We're going to defeat them!!」

「Now's our chance! Slaughter them!」

The city gates swing open and the guards rush out.

Despite being a measly 300 strong, the addition of yet another front compounded their dilemma.

Leading the charge is Baron Gokhin...... who for some reason has a regular glove on his left hand instead of an armored one.

I want to believe he lost it during the fight, not because he sold it.

「Uwah, they're coming from that side too!!」

「Calm down! We still have more soldiers than all of them combined!」

「But we can't fight if we're surrounded!」

The volley from the bow cavalry accelerates the enemy's descent into chaos.

「The enemy is distancing themselves from the city. Are they retreating?」

「Look again stupid, they're just trying to avoid being surrounded.」

Celia continues even though she scowls at Sekrit's interruption.

「Then we should give chase. We'll settle the battle right away!」

I want to do so as well, except there is no longer a need to do so.

「Around 2000 cavalry from the east...... they're ally bow cavalry.」

The mountain nation Pipi called have finally arrived.

With their presence on the battlefield, the enemy has lost their numerical advantage and we can continue our pincer maneuver.

At the same time, a smoke signal shoots up from headquarters on top of the hill.

Leopolt has ordered an all-out attack.

「Hey, isn't it supposed to be me, the supreme commander, who normally gives the attack order?」

「Don't sweat the details!! Skewer the baddies, skewer!!」

I'm an idiot for asking Irijina.

2000 cavalry in the east and 1600 cavalry in the west charge forward simultaneously.

The enemy was visibly flustered...... rather, they actually seemed to act in a hurry.

「Spearmen, it doesn't matter which way, just set yourselves up!」

「Archers position yourselves in the back! Not there, the west side isn't the back, it's the front!」

「Gokhin is charging? Eeei, figure something out on your own! Hardlett's cavalry are coming!」

Accompanying the sound of galloping hooves is the sound of wheels rattling.

「What is that? A carriage? Why bring a carriage to the battlefield?」

「Is it made of metal?」

These special carriages―――― these chariots launch their ballistae and change the enemy's doubtful mumblings into surprised shouts.

「What happened!?」

「A ballista! A ballista just fired from that carriage!」

The great shield intended to block the rain of arrows from the bow cavalry gets torn up by the giant bolt.

In addition, the densely packed formation geared towards dealing with cavalry worked against them as a single bolt took out multiple soldiers.

Regular ballistae and cannons could not be taken with us in this fight which required speed.

However not only can the horse-driven chariots match the marching speed of the cavalry, they can also freely move around on the battlefield.

「Crush that carriage! Return fire!」

The enemy concentrates their attention on eliminating the chariots, but the metal covering the carriage and horses prevent them from going down easily.

Unable to deal with either threat, the enemy archers were defenseless against the return fire of our bow cavalry.

The row of thirty chariots run rampant in the enemy lines, punching holes in their formation and allowing the bow cavalry to shoot arrows in the gaps created.

Any anti-cavalry formation starting to take shape instantly gets demolished, bringing the fight closer and closer to the end.

「Bow cavalry, draw your swords, everyone charge!」

I said it this time.

My allied forces run into the disassembled anti-cavalry lines and massacre the helpless enemy soldiers as they please.

The chariots also follow closely after, the steel blades attached to the wheels shredding enemies along the way.

It didn't take long for the victor to be decided.

A large number of enemies were shot down while others disperse in random directions.

Those of commander class were dragged down from their horses and...... not finished off, but restrained.

They're still countrymen. It's not good to kill off all of them.

「I believed it...... I believed you would definitely come!」

When we enter the city to stock up and reorganize our troops, Count Monashi comes running to me tearfully.

I get right to the point without exchanging a friendly handshake.

「We can catch up later, for now I want you to gather all the soldiers who can still move.」

If this is really a fight between him and Baron Wejini, it would be over after he loses his army, however that unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case.

In order to stop Wejini's invasion, we need to destroy both his soldiers and the logistics base which should be within his territory. That's what Leopolt said.

「We're taking the army into Wejini's domain. Distribute food and water to the soldiers. ...... and also, good job for holding out.」

Binbo and Gokhin happily puff out their chests with pride.

「We are of military background! We will not be defeated so easily!」

「Even though I had to exchange my left armored glove for tonight's meal, my heart will always be combat ready!」

I knew it, he sold his gauntlet......

Our army advances further west, all the way to the river where the source of the water problem is.

「I see...... river management.」

There are certainly signs of work being done on the river.

That construction was only the piling of dirt to make a levee, which my engineering unit can do in one week.

On a side note, the levee raised by Adolph was reinforced using wood and lined with stone on the inside.

There are also waterways, though they look shabby and it's questionable whether they can supply water to many fields if any at all.

The volume of water is low to begin with, the difference similar to that of a river and a small river. It looks possible to walk over the stream without a bridge in place.

「Zilgray probably just wanted an excuse to intervene, and now that I've seen the actual conditions, it seems pretty pathetic that we fought over this.」

No use talking about it since I'm still going to do it.

「Enemy soldiers on the other side of the river...... something doesn't look right.」

Baron Wejini's territory is on the other side of the river, but the remaining soldiers are laying by the riverside with a lit fire and eating something.

「Why are they taking it easy even though they can see us?」

Count Monashi comments sheepishly.

「In the beginning of the fight, the number of troops on both sides rivalled each other and it was back and forth battle, however I didn't attack across the river so that the chance of reconciliation wouldn't be eliminated......」

I see, so that's why they feel relieved when they cross the river.

「Did you know about the shallow point in the river?」

「...... I am aware.」

Great.

「Then shall we settle?」

I raise my sword in the air.

「Charge forward across the river. Rout the enemy and burn their supplies.」

When my troops let out their war cries and close in, the enemy soldiers scatter like spider babies.

「Waah! I thought they wouldn't pass the river!」

「Hiieh!!」

「......I'm correcting the order. Steal their supplies and only threaten them. They don't have the will to fight anymore.」

And so we reach the town where Baron Wejini's mansion is located with no resistance.

We don't have to go through the troubles of a siege since they're already waving the white flag.

The gate is wide open and the man himself trudges out.

「You must be Baron Wejini then?」

「Awawa! Awawawawa!」

I step forward as Count Monashi falls back.

「This fight is over. Now that it's come to this, you should surrender or risk seeing unnecessary bloodshed!」

「Awa, awawawawawa!」

Baron Wejini is so shaken that he can't form proper words.

He also seems cowardly so I don't see him initiating the invasion.

As expected, Zilgray is behind everything.

Let's leave the concerned parties to sort out the rest.

I start touching Irijina's ass.

「Cavalry approaching from the west, 700! ......they're heavy cavalry!」

700 heavy cavalry is a decent amount.

「Infantry also confirmed behind them!」

「Zilgray's reinforcements, huh. He isn't going to let Baron Wejini surrender.」

「It's too late though.」

That baron has just been going "awawa" this whole time.

「The insignia on their flag is...... one belonging to the feudal lord on the east coast of North Teries, who is also a member of the General Governorate. They're a group of knights under Count Tariotte...... they're not even trying to hide at this point anymore.」

「It doesn't matter how they come, we'll greet them properly.」

I jump on Schwartz.

The enemy's heavy cavalry don't stop for a moment and head straight for us.

We're not planning to defend either, we'll respond to their attack by attacking.

「Bow cavalry, release your arrows!」

「Bring the chariots to the front!」

The first volley of arrows rain down on the enemy heavy cavalry.

As expected, the rider and horse are wrapped in plate mail so the knights don't go down that easily, allowing them to close the distance between them and the bow cavalry.

At this rate, it will be inevitable for the lightly dressed bow cavalry to suffer great losses......

「Pull back.」

The answer is simply to run.

「Cowards! You're going to turn your backs on the enemy!?」

「Have you forgotten the honor of knights!?」

I don't think the mountain nation have such an honor.

The horses of the heavy cavalry are slower and have less stamina compared to that of the bow cavalry so it's unlikely they'll catch up.

「Turn back...... and fire!」

My bow cavalry can shoot facing backwards on their horses so they can continuously shower the enemies while maintaining their distance.

The heavy armor will protect them to some extent, but a few will eventually be taken down from being shot at one-sidedly.

In addition, the chariots barge into our game of tag and shoot their ballistae.

Even heavy armor is useless against the giant bolts and the knights get knocked off their horses after a huge hole gets opened up in their armor.

Right about this time, Celia and I, plus Sekrit who came up beside us before we realized it, charged at the knights together.

「It's been a while since I've had successive battles...... hah!」

I deflect the spear of the knight rushing at me head on with my longsword and then take off his head.

Next I sweep the legs of the following knight's horse to send him tumbling, then hit another knight in the head with the flat side of my blade to knock him off his mount.

Schwartz is also facing off against heavily armored opponents so he avoids head-on collisions with them.

On the other hand, any lightly dressed targets he finds get tackled by him and flipped on their backs.

「Hardlett, this is fun!」

When I turn around, I see Sekrit covered in blood from head to shoulders and smiling.

「Damn woman! Looking down on me!」

An enemy knight thrusts a spear at Sekrit, who leans back on her horse and makes him hit air.

While I'm admiring how far she can bend her body without falling, she's already swinging both her swords at the weak point in the knight's armor...... the elbow joint.

「Gyaaah!」

Her right sword slices off the enemy's left arm at the elbow and her left sword does the same with the enemy's right arm.

That would have been enough to deal a fatal blow to the knight, but Sekrit goes one step further, stabbing the man in the neck and eye.

「Hey now......」

No matter how you look at it, that's overkill.

Moreover she's smiling as she gets bathed in the spurting blood.

「This bitch! Die!」

「Watch out!」

One of the enemies become enraged after seeing his friend brutally killed and attacks Sekrit from behind.

She was able to promptly react and block, although the momentum of the strike pushes her off the horse.

That might just be because she isn't used to riding.

Still with sword in hand, Sekrit stabs the ground to break her fall, landing steadily before transitioning to attack.

She slips under the body of the man's horse where armor doesn't cover and slashes the abdomen.

The horse collapses in a pile of its own entrails and the knight also falls off.

「Y-you ......」

「Looks like the one dying is you.」

Sekrit raises both swords up.

「Wait, I surrender! Let us talk ransom negotiations!」

The knight drops his weapon and puts up his hands with the palms facing forward.

Sekrit doesn't lower her swords.

「Y-you're planning to kill someone who already surrendered!? You won't be forgiven for such injustice!」

「Maybe I won't. But――」

Sekrit closes in on the man.

「You're dying.」

The knight's face stiffens up.

「That's it. I wanted to see that face.」

Right when Sekrit gleefully swings her sword down, I grab her arm and stop her before any harm is done.

「Keep your word, don't kill the prisoners.」

「......fine.」

Seeing Sekrit put her sword away, the knight stands up.

「So you're Hardlett!? Hahaha, great success!」

He takes out a spare sword kept at his hip and slashes at me.

The man's sword reaches me―― and then breaks in half with a bright snap sound.

I was able to position my shield over my body faster than he could swing his sword down.

「Looks like you took back your intention to surrender.」

「That means you're no longer a prisoner.」

Sekrit and I approach the knight.

「W-wait, I surrender. I really mean it this time......gugya!」

My sword cuts down his shoulder, while Sekrit splits the man's head with hers.

A tide of his blood splashes on the both of us.

「......Nn.」

The blood-soaked Sekrit suddenly presses her lips against mine.

Her tongue instantly invades my mouth, but my first reaction is to pull away.

I'm all for a woman kissing me, except not when it's in the middle of battle where it's dangerous.

「What's that about?」

「I just got aroused from seeing a man covered in blood. Now then, let's fight some more.」

Sekrit smiles as she wipes the blood on her sword on her clothes.

Hmm, this girl really has too many vices.

For the most part, the fight progresses in our favor and the enemy lines start falling apart.

In the moment we were about to launch an all-out offensive, another small group of cavalry wedge in between us and the enemy.

「A new enemy? Prepare to fire......」

Celia frantically stops the commander about to give the order to attack.

「Halt the attack! Everyone stop! Don't shoot no matter what!」

The troops led by Leopolt also stop what they're doing.

Irijina grapples Sekrit to stop her.

The enemy did the same and completely stopped moving.

「The Royal Army......」

The cavalry are waving the Kingdom's flag.

「Suspend all fighting regardless of the situation!」

「In the name of His Majesty and the Military Commissioner, entrust the rest to us!」

「Continuation of resistance or fighting will be considered rebellion against the king. Understand!?」

I guess that's all the fighting we'll be doing today.

I squeeze Celia's ass while watching the Royal Army approach us.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 24 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. Sex King of White City.

Family:

Nonna (worried), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Miti (concubine), Maria (concubine), Catherine (concubine)

Gretel (dog wife), Melissa (lover, expecting), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover), Mireille (lover), Pipi (bow cavalry?)

Casie (ghost), Rita (head maid), Yoguri (playwright), Alice (ass lover), Leah (lover)

Marceline (lover), Daughters - Stephanie (lover), Bridget (lover), Felicie (lover)

Natia (elf), Sofia (lover), Sekrit (trance)

Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (capital mansion supervisor), Claudia (ball), Clara (female attendant)

Celestina (queen), Monica (handmaid)

Non-humans:

Brynhildr (resting), Lammy (lamia), Alraune (city greenery), Mirumi (mermaid)

Pet:

Pochi (giant lizard), Messerschmitt (worthless dog), Schwartz (horse), Felteris (gone missing)

Subordinates:

Celia (adjutant), Myla (standby), Marta (aide), Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby (bow cavalry)

Gido (escort unit), Polte (refugee case worker), Leopolt (staff officer), Tristan (staff officer), Adolph (disease countermeasures)

Claire & Laurie (merchant), Lilian (actress), Kroll (servant), Alma (servant)

Citizens: 185,500. Refugees: 24,000.

Major Cities - Rafen: 32,000. Lintbloom: 5000. Special Cultivation District: 13,000.

Army: 8650 men

Infantry: 6000, Cavalry: 1100, Archers: 900, Bow Cavalry: 450, Cannoneers: 350

Cannons: 35, Large Cannons: 20, Dwarven Cannons: 16, Chariots: 27

Troops Dispatched to South: 2200 men

Refugee Guards (Light Infantry): 2200

Other

Reserve Army: 2000 men. Security Unit: 200 men.

Assets: 38,550 gold (cost for dispatch of troops -3500)

Sexual Partners: 554, children who have been born: 66 + 555 fish