Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

Chapter 397: Central Plains Unification War ? Demon Capital Rafen: Part 3

Third Person POV–

The battle flipped. The South Yuguria army who were on the verge of collapse got a second wind, allowing them to push back Rafen’s volunteer soldiers.

「Heavy infantry on defense, don’t take a single step backwards.」

「Spearmen, separate into three lines and attack in waves. Archers, stay 50 m behind the area of collision.」

「Light infantry, insert yourself in the areas where the enemy has weakened. In the end, they’re nothing more than amateurs and shouldn’t be any match for you after their momentum is killed.」

Now that their order is restored, South Yuguria’s ranks are holding back the volunteer soldiers who are relying solely on momentum.

Heavy infantry would take the brunt of the force while the spearmen and archers skillfully picked off individual soldiers.

Although the morale of the volunteer soldiers was high, they stopped moving after their attacks were deflected several times.

Due to their lack of experience in battle, they could not make a prompt decision on what to do next.

That failure to act was repeatedly targeted by a small group of light infantry for an effective counterattack.

「The enemy’s movements are strange!」

「Another companion got taken out! Isn’t it better if we halted the attack for now?」

「Don’t push! I said, don’t push!!」

A portion of the militia, who have experience as mercenaries but have not received training as a group, could not keep up with the sudden change in situation and fell apart.

That situation was naturally transmitted to Jim and Adolph.

「They can’t hold on after all! We must hurry and retreat!」

「The order has already been sent long ago. Why haven’t they fallen back yet......」

Jim proceeds to send what will be the fifth messenger while Solana sobs helplessly.

「So this is how it ends...... I can’t answer their burning justice because of my incomptence......」

Jim mutters in frustration. In reality, he did not mess up the timing of the retreat. He gave the order and sent multiple messengers.

It was the volunteer soldiers who just didn’t have the ability to execute the order.

「Stop fighting! Fall back! Don’t stand there blankly...... I said to fall back!!」

「Don’t all rush to the same place! With that said, they haven’t been trained on how to do it......」

As the South Yuguria army sees the volunteer soldiers panic further, they were able to continue increasing their composure, and even the highly-skilled elite squads like the escorts had no other choice than to withdraw unilaterally.

By the time the sun set below the horizon, the state of battle was despairingly poor for the defending side.

「Kuh, if only we had freedom from the sky!」

Jim looks up at the sky in disgust.

「The dra―― giant lizard seems to be at its limit in terms of stamina. And the harpy unit can’t fly because of the poor visibility at night.」

「It’s no good? ......something resonated in my heart when we received the support from the sky though.」

Jim sighs and starts taking command in the places he can.

「I actually felt an indescribable uneasiness from the aerial attacks. Breaking down the walls in order to settle the fight was a little bit premature. Is urban warfare unavoidable?」

Adolph slumps his shoulders in disappointment.

Feeling the atmosphere get gloomy, Solana turns around.

「Wakyaa!」

She bumps into a shadowy figure behind her and falls over with a cute scream.

After hastily covering her underwear which became exposed as she tumbled to the floor, Solana looks sharply at the figure.

「This is the headquarters! What are the guards doing, letting someone walk in unannoun―― a, auu.」

A pair of emotionless eyes stare down Solana.

It didn’t take long for those glowing red eyes to silence Solana and make her start shuddering.

「Who might you be?」

The shadow doesn’t answer Adolph and speaks forcefully overtop.

「By the orders left by Brynhildr-sama, we――」

Solana curls up in a ball and covers her ears when she hears the voice that sounds like something originating from the depths of the earth.

She can’t even spare any thought to hiding her exposed underwear anymore.

「―― will kill the enemy. No interference is necessary.」

「Is that supposed to be helping us? In the first place, you people――」

Before Adolph could finish, the shadows vanish into thin air.

「I can’t feel any justice from them. Could they be the axis of evil......」

Jim was baffled by what happened.

「Uu...... what were those things......」

Solana, after confirming the presence of those mysterious beings disappeared, gets up.

「How would I know? That one had a handsome face, but he felt gloomy and creepy. He seems the type to have sex with a sour face.」

「I did not point it out because I didn’t hear anything about obeying Hardlett-sama or hurting the people...... but if the rumors are true, it’s going to be hard to tell which side is the ally of justice.」

Adolph lets out one last sigh.

A few minutes afterwards, the black-clothed group attacked the South Yuguria army who were advancing on the city walls.

Jumping from roof to roof until they reached the site of battle, the group would then leap over the fighting armies around the destroyed part of the walls as if mocking them.

Without any kind of trick, they land right where the South Yuguria army’s flag is.

「Hey, the enemy is outside!」

「What? Where...... whatever. A small force like that won’t pose a problem.」

A South Yuguria squad point their crossbows and spears in the direction of the new arrivals.

The vampires also draw their swords in response, standing together in a disorderly fashion.

「They’re amateur militia after all. Do it.」

At the commander’s order, crossbows are fired.

The enemies are only 10 m away. Since the opponents are not even wearing armor, eliminating them should be easy.

「......」

Those black-robed individuals simply continued to walk straight forward at the South Yuguria soldiers.

「You missed at this distance!!? You guys suck!!」

The South Yuguria commander yells at his subordinates.

「I was sure I hit them......」

「How could they be standing if you hit them with a crossbow!? Don’t make excuses!」

Tilting his head, the soldier retrieves a spare crossbow and steadies his aim.

In the time it took to take a breath, the trigger was pulled, releasing the loaded bolt with a satisfying twang of the bow string at a speed faster than the human eye could follow.

The targeted man seemed to pause a little before resuming his advance like nothing happened.

「Eeeh? There’s no way I missed this―――― ah?」

The crossbowman let out a puzzled voice.

That would change into a shout in the next moment.

An enemy who should have been 10 m away was right in front of his eyes after he blinked.

And the soldier’s stomach――which should be protected by thick armor, has been stabbed with a sword up to the base.

Before he could finish speaking, his throat was slashed and he died while watching his own blood spraying out.

「He closed the gap in an instant. How is that possible?」

「Get ready for melee. Hurry!」

As the order was screamed out, the spearmen behind the crossbowmen stepped forward to intercept.

Their spearheads approach the black-clothed group. It seemed certain that once the line of spears hit an opponent without a shield or armor, they would be skewered.

「Hah?」

A spear was grabbed with lightning speed.

「Eh?」

The attack was dodged by fast movements that left afterimages behind.

「Oh?」

On top of everything, a spear was stopped by the palm of the opponent.

The tip did not penetrate through the hand.

「......」

The men in black did not make a sound or change their facial expressions.

「No way.」

Hell would unfold soon after the person spoke.

The grabbed spear was swung like a child would swing a twig and the soldier holding that spear was thrown up into the air so high that nobody could see him anymore.

The soldier who took a step in to thrust his spear noticed his arms fall to the ground in front of him and screamed the loudest he has ever screamed in his life.

「Hiiih!」

The soldier desperately trying to pull back the spear after it hit the opponent’s hand was instead pulled back in and had a portion of his throat gouged out.

Deathroes from those three acted as a signal for the vampires to attack the South Yuguria army.

In the face of overwhelming power and speed, the South Yuguria soldiers could do nothing more than die.

「What are they!?」

「They dodged crossbows easily...... that’s not something a human could do.」

「Don’t falter! The enemy raised the Altair flag. If you run away here, you don’t have any excuse to make to Her Majesty or your family!」

Nevertheless, the moral of the South Yuguria soldiers did not break.

They fought valiantly despite their companions being taken out one after the other.

It would require something unbelievable for their morale to crumble.

「Right there!!」

A soldier made the most of his opportunity after two of his fellow soldiers were eliminated and attempted a thrust at a vampire.

His spear would beautifully pierce through the vampire’s neck and escape out the back.

「Luin did it!」

「Nice work! Everyone, follow his lead!」

As his comrades cheer, the soldier named Luin tries to pull out his spear.

However, it did not budge an inch.

Piercing the neck of a vampire with a steel spear wasn’t enough to kill them.

The vampire holds the spear lodged in his neck and pulls Luin toward him.

「Gugya.」

Poor Luin’s neck is twisted and he dies.

The vampire slowly removes the spear from its own throat and tosses it away on the ground.

「Monster――」

It could no longer be called a fight at this point, but a one-sided massacre.

When news of the total collapse of a single enemy squad reached Rafen’s defense force, they called out to the mysterious group.

「Heeey! The enemy over there is already routed. Help us defend the crack in the wall instead!」

There was no reply.

「You can’t support us if you fight there. Come closer to the walls and...... uwah!」

Something resembling a spear was thrust right beside the soldier who shouted.

「W-what the-!? They aren’t allies!?」

「Don’t interfere.」

「We don’t take orders from humans.」

「We only obey Brynhildr-sama.」

The vampires ignore the soldier whose hips gave out and continue slaughtering the enemy in front of them.

They don’t cooperate at all.

The commanders on the South Yuguria side also noticed the unnatural fighting.

「Their movements seem completely separated from the others. Are they possibly not under the command of the defense?」

「They also fight strangely. Their moves don’t comply with military logic. They appear to be simply chasing around whoever is in front of them. It’s like they’re beasts or monsters...... even though they are in the shape of humans. Perhaps they are-」

「If you consider the tree monster and the harpies, it’s possible. In that case, we have a way to deal with them.」

「Send out a decoy squad. While fighting, lure them to a meaningless place. And then――」

「Muu...... they don’t take orders?」

Jim says, holding his head.

Solana is also at her wits’ end beside him.

「They’re moving further away from the city...... they’re being lured to an insignificant area. Now they can’t make much impact on the general battle.」

「It would be good if that’s all. Look, there are lots of torches in that area. It’s obviously a trap.」

Jim’s premonition struck the mark.

While Siegfried and the vampires were chasing the enemies, several large bolts would make whooshing sounds and rain down on them.

Having eyes that can see in the dark, the vampires easily avoided the attack.

However, once the bolts hit the ground, they shattered, sending countless iron fragments flying everywhere.

Dodging every single piece was impossible even for the vampires.

Getting hit by one or two did not inflict major damage to the durable vampires.

But those whose entire bodies were bathed in the shrapnel were rendered motionless, while those who took a direct hit from larger debris fell over after losing arms and limbs.

「Look! They can be defeated. They’re some kind of monster after all!」

「Switch to attack!」

With the boost in morale from dealing damage to their foes for the first time, the South Yuguria soldiers fearlessly transition to counterattack.

In the ensuing battle at close-quarters, the vampires continue to overwhelm the enemy.

Even when South Yuguria utilized their numerical advantage to defeat one vampire, it was in exchange for 20 slain allies.

Still, the vampires were outnumbered more than 20 to 1.

Gradually, the advantage shifted in favor of South Yuguria.

Siegfried, the one exception to the 20 to 1 rule, wielded his two-handed sword, and as he knocked down bolts from the sky and flowing smoothly to cutting up the enemy soldiers, he looked up at the sky and muttered.

「A full moon――?」

Vampires are creatures of the night. The darker the night, the stronger they become and conversely, they become weaker in the presence of light.

If a new moon was out tonight, a few iron fragments wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Even if they were showered with arrows or skewered by spears or even if limbs were lost, it might be possible to regenerate instantly. Instead of 20 to 1, it would be closer to 200 to 1.

Unfortunately, it was a full moon, a time when vampires were at their weakest.

As the battle progressed through the night and the sun was about to rise, the defense side was finally pushed within the limits of the city walls.

「Here comes the sun! Now we can get support from the sky again!」

Solana exclaims excitedly while Jim replies bitterly.

「Umu! Let’s hope that will dampen the enemy’s momentum!」

「Those creepy guys disappeared though, wait some of them are literally burning over there. What are they?」

In no time, the harpies fly overhead in an aerial formation and descend rapidly.

Things would not go as Jim expected.

「They’re coming! Do as we were told.」

「Not yet...... a little more...... alright, fire!」

Right before the harpies could drop their pots and barrels, archers aiming only at the sky loose their arrows.

「I’m shot!」

「It hurts! Falling!」

「Careful!」

A few harpies fall after being hit by arrows, while those that didn’t get hit drop what they were holding from getting surprised.

As a result, the aerial attack didn’t have the same impact as it did during the previous day.

「Squad 3 focus on aiming at the sky. Don’t worry about the frontlines.」

「It doesn’t matter if you don’t hit. If you shoot when they come close, they’ll be scared and run away. They’re no more than harpies.」

「The problem is――」

A large shadow passes over them. It was Pochi.

「That thing’s here!」

「According to the spy’s report, its name is Messerschmitt. That thing is troublesome......」

Arrows were fired at the creature, though they couldn’t pierce the harder-than-steel scales and they bounce off with soft clinks.

Pochi breathes fire from the top of the enemy’s head and sets a few of them on fire.

However, the flames were clearly smaller than the day before.

「What’s wrong, Pochi? Shoot more.」

Despite Pipi’s encouragement, Pochi whimpers sadly.

「Pochi’s flames......」

「It’s because the enemy entered the city. If it were done from the outside, the whole city would be engulfed by the fire.」

Pochi tried several times after to spit more fire, but the enemy realized the diminished firepower and don’t ease up on their attack.

Fearful of the arrows, the harpies stay at a higher altitude so they don’t get hit.

The volunteer soldiers centered around Madam, the security unit and the escort unit fight had, but the defense side is gradually pushed further into the city.

「If we get pushed more than this, there won’t be anything more we can do. I will go out as well. The rest...... I’ll count on you.」

Jim takes a sword and stands up.

「Prepare for the worst case scenario and get the plan to evacuate the citizens......」

As Adolph was mid-sentence, Suzy points in the opposite direction of the war front.

「Hey, something is coming from the north.」

「If they close off the north, we can’t escape.」

「It isn’t the enemy, but it has a skin-colored tone.」

Everyone’s eyes shift to the north.

「Skin-colored ground is coming close......?」

–Aegir POV–

Near Rafen – North side.

「I can see it, it’s Rafen! I see smoke and fire...... they’re under attack!」

Celia shouts on top of my shoulders.

「That’s a good sign. If there is still fire, then the battle is not over yet.」

When I kick Schwartz in the belly again, he neighs as if saying he knows, and increases his speed.

「Aegir-sama is going out too far. You’ll be riding solo!」

「Nuun. Not to worry, little girl, I’m here.」

Schwartz turns around in disbelief when he hears the hoarse voice beside him.

I don’t blame him. Gildress is keeping up with Schwartz when he’s running as fast as he can.

「Nuhahaha! A true man has fast legs too!」

Behind him, the other Aless soldiers are similarly running with him.

They weren’t as fast as Schwartz, but abnormally fast for an infantry.

Their speed can be compared to a cavalry’s running speed.

In addition, their footsteps are abnormally loud. I think they’re more annoying than galloping hooves.

「Uuu, so gross.」

Celia shudders on top of my shoulders.

「They don’t wear armor after all......」

Other than a portion of their shoulder and chest covered with a steel plate, the upper halves of the Aless soldiers were practically naked.

When they clump together and run, it would appear like a wall of flesh was moving.

「Our first priority should be on backing up Rafen. Ignore the feelings of disgust.」

「Right......」

If they didn’t come with us, then I would have to charge into Rafen by myself.

I would accept that there was no other choice, but if these guys are willing to help us, a little bit of grossness can be tolerated.

「I’m counting on you. My girls are in Rafen. I have to protect them no matter what.」

「Leave it to me. We’re not going to lose to some coward who aims for when a man is absent.」

Gildress pounds his chest.

He’s showing some impressive stamina to be chatting like this while sprinting.

「We’re almost at the north gate...... enemy light cavalry spotted in front!」

Celia deftly dismounts from my shoulders and readies her blade.

「What are we doing?」

Gildress asks while drawing his sword.

I’ll answer with action, of course.

「I won’t detour. I’m going to charge in and make my way into the city.」

「That’s what I want to hear!!」

The enemy realize our presence.

When one of the cavalry takes a look at me, he shouts with a face scrunched up like he swallowed a bug.

「Shit, the demon came back. Did Altair call him back!?」

「The battle is almost over. Until then, find a way to hold him――」

「Like I’ll let you.」

I slice off the horse’s head with my Dual Crater.

「Nuun!!」

A flash of blue light streaks beside me and Gildress cuts an enemy soldier in half.

「Seal off the path!」

「Pull him down from his horse somehow!」

South Yuguria soldiers stood in front of me one after the other.

「I wish I had a longer weapon.」

I have no complaints about the sharpness of the Dual Crater, however it is lacking a little reach when I’m fighting on horseback and I have to clash with the enemy’s sword while passing by. As long as I don’t have my longsword though, I have to make do with something else.

「Prepare yourself!」

「Go on then.」

I evade the opponent’s sword by a hair’s breadth and lop off his head.

「I won’t let you pass!」

「I’m going.」

I slice off the enemy’s spear and cut his right arm and side in passing.

「Even if I have to exchange my life――」

「Your life isn’t enough.」

I grab the tip of the swung warhammer with my left hand, take the weapon away and crush his head with it.

「Aegir-sama, the crossbow.」

Celia immediately jumps to my arm.

We’re going to be doing what we practiced, right?

I grab Celia and hurl her at the enemy.

「Wha-!?」

She kept her eye on the enemy and adjusted her posture while spinning in midair, then landed on the enemy’s horse so she could slit the throat of the soldier aiming at me with his crossbow.

Furthermore, Celia threw her daggers at several more enemies before hopping off the horse.

I circle back to Celia to pick her up by her waist and return her on Schwartz.

That was perfectly executed.

「Teamwork with Aegir-sama was a success!」

「Yeah. Good job.」

I was against throwing the cute Celia, but I’m glad we practiced.

If the crossbow hit Schwartz and we all fell, we’d be in trouble.

Now, we’ve almost reached the gate. I wonder how Gildress is doing?

Don’t tell me he was taken out.

「Nuun!」

When I look over, I see Gildress grunt and slice an enemy from the top of his head down to his crotch.

「I thought only Aegir-sama could do that.」

I’m a little frustrated after she said that.

「Nuuun!」

Gildress grabs the enemy soldier by the neck and rams him into another, taking both out at the same time.

「Nuuun!」

Lastly, he runs next to an enemy and uses a lariat to knock him over.

His head bent so far back that it stuck to his back, so I’m sure he died.

「There are two demons!」

「He divided himself into two!」

I respond at the same time as Celia and shout back at the enemy soldiers.

「Don’t lump us together.」

「That’s not funny!」

I tear through the torso of the enemy with my Dual Crater while Celia slashes the enemy’s carotid artery.

They collapse, spilling out their guts and spraying blood like a fountain respectively.

We finally arrive at the north gate after that.

「Feudal lord-sama!? Aah, we’re saved!」

A guard expresses relief and opens the gate when as soon as I come into view.

「The enemy has entered the city from the south. We’re at a disadvantage no matter what we do and at this rate――」

I couldn’t tell from far away, but the guard is actually a female.

She’s protecting the north gate along with only a few other small girls since most of the guards left for the south.

「I’ll handle it from here. Everything is okay now.」

I pat the girl’s head.

「Aaah......」

She lets out an extended sigh and her eyes start to well up with tears.

I’m sure she feels safe from the bottom of her heart. I have to do my part and answer those expectations.

「Everyone, follow me. Time to show your manliness.」

The eyes of the Aless soldiers sparkle and for some reason Celia puffs her cheeks.

A wide smile appears on Gildress’s face and he also gives out a command.

「That’s right. Men of Aless, follow the two of us, examples of true men, and advance!」

「「「Uooooooooh!!」」」

Amassing together in a flesh-colored ball, we make our way to Rafen’s main street.

Sure enough, our side is at a disadvantage, although the volunteer soldiers are desperately fighting back and have managed to prevent the enemy from invading the center of the city.

「Look, it’s the feudal lord-sama!」

「Uoooooh! He came back!」

「We’ve basically won!」

Ally soldiers shout with joy when they see me.

「H-he’s finally here...... the boss of the monsters......」

「Those Altair guys might have summoned him! This is terrible......」

The enemy soldiers let out a shout close to a terrified scream.

As the Aless soldiers and I enter the fray, Gildress yells.

「Get into the man avalanche formation!」

The Aless soldiers charge at the enemy while staying packed together in the narrow cityscape.

To me, it looks like a huge dumpling so calling it a formation seems a little strange, but I won’t point it out now.

「Eeei, we aren’t going to lose to the wicked Hardlett or the wicked Altair! We’re going to win no matter what!」

Despite being rattled by our participation, the South Yuguria soldiers don’t run or break their established lines.

They engage the solidly-huddled charging Aless soldiers.

「For the pride of the Empire――」

「To avenge my family――」

「To bring victory to Her Majesty――」

Compared to the wordy causes spouted by the South Yuguria soldiers, the Aless soldiers shout more primitively.

「「「Hnngraah!!」」」

Both sides collide.

「Gyaaa!」

「Uwaaaah!」

「Hiiiiiiiiiih!」

The soldier who went on about pride gets knocked back and falls to the ground.

The one who wanted to get revenge crashes into a stone wall and stops moving.

The enemy who shouted about victory was stabbed with a sword and dies after his internal organs pour out.

「Soft. Train your bodies before screaming all of that nonsense.」

Gildress bellows as he cuts down enemy soldiers.

I also cut down two and kick the third one to death.

From what I can see, our allies are intimidated by the will to fight and morale of the South Yuguria soldiers.

On the other hand, the Aless soldiers aren’t affected.

It doesn’t matter to them whether their opponents are fire up or withered.

Their morale is always at its peak and doesn’t drop. To stop them, you simply need to kill them.

「C’mon, let’s do our best to kill each other. I’ll show you how muscular my body is.」

「Gufu...... fufufu, you won’t pierce through my abs with that strength.」

Somehow, the South Yuguria soldiers hold on to a certain extent against the Aless soldiers who are truly having fun when they fight.

Fatigue played a part after a while and as the fight prolonged, they began to be pushed out of the city.

「Can do it? Can do it?」

「Doesn’t hurt? Then drop, close by.」

As the South Yuguria soldiers went outside the city walls in a disorganized retreat, pots of oil and gunpowder fell on their heads.

「What the-!?」

It was the harpies who dropped them.

The clamor noisily while scattering their loads.

Celia also stares blankly at the sky.

When the enemy soldiers moved sufficiently away from the walls, Pochi and Pipi swoops in.

Pochi inhales deeply and blasts the enemy soldiers with a fierce stream of fire.

Close to a hundred soldiers got caught in the attack.

「Oooh!」

Gildress turns around in awe.

「Is that possibly――――」

Gildress points at Pochi and says.

「You were keeping a large flying fire-breathing lizard? As expected of my friend, the pets you raise are on a different level.」

「Impressive, isn’t it?」

Pochi’s flames was the finishing blow that completely screwed up South Yuguria’s calculations and they started to flee.

Recomposing themselves from that should be impossible.

「That should be the end.」

Certain that the enemy was routed, more and more citizens appear on the main road.

「That’s our feudal lord-sama, chasing away the enemy in an instant! Here, have this apple.」

It’s from a dirty man, but I’ll accept.

「I beliebed you, fewdal lod-dama~! S’a kiss for thanks~」

Hahaha, she’s still an infant girl, but I’m happy.

I’ll accept her adorable kiss. After ten years, I want her to kiss my rod too.

「Aahn, feudal lord-samaa, you’re too lovely. Please touch my boobs.」

A young woman who is overcome with emotion throws her breasts in front of me.

I can’t suck on them here, so I’ll fondle them for about 15 times before letting her go.

「Ahaahn, feudal lord-samaan~」

What’s this feeling? The tone of voice is the same yet I feel a shiver down my spine.

Sure enough, when I turned around, the one who let out the sweet call in a throaty voice was Madam Gonzales.

「......that was an incredible fight.」

Madam is holding his morning star which is covered up to the shaft in blood and dozens of bodies are lying around him.

If that was all, he would have been comparable to someone who survived hell, however the problem was his appearance.

Madam’s armor was peeled off in a few places and his upper half was mostly naked.

Most notably, his thick face makeup is streaking off from all the blood splatter and sweat, so his face is a scary mess.

If I happen to come across an orc and Madam at the same time during a stroll at night, I would most likely attack Madam first.

But......

「Nicely done. You protected the city and my women.」

I put my arm around Madam’s shoulder.

Madam looks horrible, but he was unmistakably fighting hard for me.

After I separated from Madam, Gildress was the next one to embrace him tightly.

「You’re a wonderful man for defeating all those enemies by yourself. I’ll give you a man’s hug.」

Gildress slaps Madam’s back a few times and releases him. Madam starts shivering immediately.

「Auuaaa...... that muscular chest, that manly voice, the stifling male stench...... I can’t get enough. My womb aches...... oh, my water is going to breaaaaak! Nnhooooh!」

「What aching, what bursting......?」

「Now then, Adolph was the one in charge, right? I wonder where he is......」

As I turn away from Madam and proceed to look for the command post, I see Carla running over.

I knew she was okay since the mansion wasn’t destroyed, but actually seeing her puts my mind at ease.

「Sorry. I put you in a tough spot by being away......」

Instead of giving me a loving embrace, she shouts in sorrow.

「Melissa and Leah are not here! This girl saw them go outside the city walls and――」

That was all I needed to hear to mount Schwartz.

「After the enemy. Right away.」

I clench my teeth hard enough for blood to ooze out and refocus myself.

How can I call it a victory without even checking on the status of my women?

I’m almost disgusted at my own foolishness.

The cheerful citizens fall over when they see my face and the infant girl wets herself.

My demonic appearance is blatantly obvious even to me.

「Let’s go.」

I only grab Celia with me before rushing out of the city to pursue the fleeing South Yuguria army.

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. Sex King of White City.

Family:

Nonna (legal wife), Carla (going to battle), Mel (taking refuge), Miti (taking refuge), Maria (taking refuge), Catherine (taking refuge)

Brynhildr ( ), Gretel (taking refuge), Melissa (captured), Kuu (taking refuge), Ruu (taking refuge)

Mireille (going to battle), Pipi (aerial bombing), Casie (missing), Rita (head maid), Yoguri (playwright), Leah ( ! )

Marceline (taking refuge), Daughters – Stephanie (taking refuge), Bridget (taking refuge), Felicie (taking refuge)

Natia (rich), Sofia (taking refuge), Sekrit (off on her own)

Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (capital mansion supervisor), Claudia (in battle), Clara (preparing for battle)

Celestina (taking refuge), Monica (taking refuge), Adela (decoy)

Subordinates:

Celia (adjutant), Myla (commander), Marta (attendant), Irijina (commander), Peticheri (intelligence), Luna (commander), Ruby (commander), Gido (escort unit), Polte (temporary adjutant)

Leopolt (staff officer), Tristan (staff officer)

Claire & Laurie (state of emergency), Lilian (actress), Kroll (going to battle), Alma (volunteer soldier)

Rafen Defense:

Adolph (feudal lord proxy), Jim (adjutant), Suzy (staff officer, useless), Solana (staff officer, useless)

Felteris (magic soldier), Alice (magic soldier)

Non-humans:

Lammy (revived), Alraune (annihilated), Mirumi (standing by)

Pet:

Pochi (aerial bombing), Messerschmitt (worthless dog), Schwartz (battling)

Citizens: 220,000 (uncertain in wartime)

Major Cities – Rafen: 40,000. Lintbloom: 7000. Special Cultivation District: 14,000.

Rafen Defense Force:

Escort: 140 men ⇒ 130 men

Security: 190 men ⇒ 140 men

Guards: 700 men ⇒ 450 men

Evacuating soldiers: 350 men ⇒ 250 men

Volunteer Soldiers: 10 500 men ⇒ 7500 men

Aless Soldiers: 4000 men ⇒ 3990 men

Alraune: 200 ⇒ 1

Mermaids: Approx. 900 ⇒ 900

Pochi: 1 ⇒ 1

Harpies: 56 ⇒ 28

Frontal Warfront: 23 450 men

Infantry: 14 000, Cavalry: 1500, Archers: 1500, Bow Cavalry: 6000, Cannoneers: 450

Cannons: 60, Large Cannons: 30, Dwarven Cannons: 16, Field Artillery: 20, Chariots: 50

Capital: 14 000 men

Aless Soldiers: 10 000 men

Assets: 170 000 gold

Sexual Partners: 782, children who have been born: 68 + 565 + ???