Translator: Nat

–Aegir POV–

I am laying spread eagle on a simple futon in a military tent, healing away the fatigue from the march.
There is no concern for an ambush. That's because of the great number of scouts sent by Leopolt who are frequently bringing back information on the enemy.
It is estimated the enemy will arrive tomorrow around noon, which is pretty late.

We originally thought it wouldn't be strange if the enemy reached Zan Dora first.
However the enemy army seems to be advancing without hurry, paying close attention to possible ambushes and traps along the way.
Towards our scouts who got too close, cavalry would be used to simply chase them away and the enemy doesn't even try to hide.

「I'm sure the enemy has collected information on us with their scouts and spies. So they're saying they're going to break through our 20 000 or so forces head-on?」

「Hate scouts, smelly, smellyー!」

As I talk to myself, the harpy above me makes a fuss.
She must have mistaken the word for "soap". She splashed around a lot and made a real mess when she got in a bubble bath.

Most of the harpies were left in Rafen with Pipi and Pochi, but this one grew really attached to me since the time I carried her around, so I decided to let her accompany me and maybe relay messages for me.

When I asked her to deliver a message to Rafen, she came back about thirty minutes later with a pigeon in its claws.
Apparently, she got excited from finding prey and forgot what she was doing.

Concerned that she could mistakenly deliver a message to the enemy, Leopolt and Tristan fired the harpy from her position, demoting her to being my feather quilt.

「Enema! Enema! Hurts! But feels good!」

「Hahaha, it's different from an enema, you pervert.」

I hug the small harpy and repeatedly kiss her from the shoulder to her neck.

The harpy writhes around from my kissing, not to resist me but as a response to the ticklish feeling, which soon stops when I gently caress her thighs and crotch.

「Mate! Mate!」
「Oh, so you want to copulate.」

I hold the harpy in my arms and steal her lips.
Her bird legs twist around a bit before stretching out straight. The area between them has already completed preparations for baby-making.

I guess many men like to sleep with a girl right before battle.
Perhaps it has something to do with the instinctual fear of death.
Of course, I also feel strangely aroused.

「Piihー Let me suck, I remember!」

The harpy squeaks noisily and then closes her mouth around my crotch.
She is nowhere near skilled, although her innocent bobbing is kind of cute.

Celia, Myla and the other bow cavalry girls offered to tend to me, but there is less than a day before the enemy comes. I refused their offer, seeing as how going overboard would affect their bodies and ultimately increase the danger on their lives.

「You'll run away after the fight begins so you'll be fine even if I attack you too much.」

I lightly grab her head and move it away from my c.o.c.k, then I wrap my arms around her tiny body, including her wings.

「Piihー」

The harpy flaps her wings and flails until she gets her wing-arms around my neck.
More often than not, we do it in a seated position while facing each other.
She would be unstable riding cowgirl with her wing-arms, meanwhile she's too small and light to support me as I mount her in the missionary position.
That's why she prefers it when I hold her and don't apply any weight. However, I feel like a little change of pace now.

「I'll do it from the back this time.」

I leave the harpy on the futon and circle around.
Making sure her talons don't hit me, I grab a hold of the base of her legs and push the tip of my d.i.c.k against her hole.

「Piihー! Different from usual! Scared!」
「Don't struggle. I'll support you properly.」

The harpy is laying flat on her stomach, but since her wing-arms can't support herself, I have to hold her up.

Hmm, as always, it feels like I'm embracing a child.
She's so small, she speaks poorly, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s are practically nonexistent and her hole is merely a slit.

「Here we go…… tight as usual…… fumu, but still an adult.」

I give a little push and my c.o.c.k slowly sinks into her body.
While she's small, her body is a fully developed female body.

「Hmp.」
「Pigiihーーー! It's in! Hitting weird places! So big!」

I swing my hips as I partially lift her up from behind.

「Tell me if it hurts. Ooh, I can feel it sc.r.a.ping since it's so narrow.」

「Sticking up from belly. Feels lumpy.」

With every thrust I make, my d.i.c.k pokes up from under the harpy's thin stomach.
If she was a human, I don't think she could handle this. Being a monster has its perks.

「Kiss, want kiss.」

The harpy twists her body, pleading desperately for me to kiss her.

「Oh, a kiss, huh?」

Developing feelings for me and laying with me countless times caused this harpy to be wired slightly different from the others of its species.
When mating, other harpies would desire s.e.xual pleasure and impregnation, but this one would perform foreplay on her own and ask for kisses and direct feelings of love to me.

I raise her body close enough so our lips can touch.
Rather than doggy style, this position is simply us connecting in the back.

「Pigih…… got bigger, hurts a bit.」
「It's because you're so lovely. Sorry.」

While giving her the kiss she wanted, I reach one hand down to her flat chest.
She's so light that I can probably lift 12 of her with one hand.

「Doing it from behind feels pretty good too, right? I'll make it feel even better.」

「So big! So big! And intense!」

The movement of my hips gradually increase in speed.
Likely because it's hard to hold in the overwhelming pleasure, the harpy thrashes about.
She's unlike a human in this regard and can't endure. My face is whacked by her wings several times, but that only serves as proof of embracing her.

「I like, really like, love, I love you!」

As she says in short breaths, her tongue pushes into my mouth.

「Me too.」

I meet her tongue with mine and twine it before separating from her lips and sucking hard on her neck.

「Neck is being eatenー」

She lets out a small gasp. Because I sucked rather hard, it probably hurt.
However, a little pain should add a certain spice to further increase s.e.xual pleasure as she is nearing her climax.

「Ah, coming! Something big! Is coming!」

As I predicted, the pain pushed her over the edge and the harpy's body started to tremble.
For good measure, I pinch both her nipples.
With my hands no longer holding her, the harpy is supported only by my d.i.c.k stuck deep into her body.

She lets out a high-pitched squeal no longer resembling a human's voice or a bird's voice.

Her wings spread like she's about to take off into the sky and then her legs stretch down like she's about to land.
The movement of her feet and the undulations of her clenching hole stimulate my d.i.c.k further.

Her bent head pushes against my chest, revealing her wide-eyed expression and open mouth with her tongue sticking out.
Looking closer, I see the pupils of her eyes are slightly different than those of a human's eyes. They are creepy and exotic at the same time.

Realizing I'm staring into her eyes, the o.r.g.a.s.ming harpy seems to alter her expression.
Perhaps she's trying to smile.

In thinking that, my d.i.c.k reaches its limit.
Since I don't have any reason to hold back, I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e inside of her.

「Guh.」

When I groan and start to c.u.m, the harpy's reaction changes.
Her natural desire to be impregnated is triggered and her wings wrap around my head again.　She's moving her hips, which were previously only convulsing, and matching my timing, milking more seed from me.

「A child, strong childen…… will be born……」
「What a cutie. I'll give you as much seed as you want.」

I stop moving completely and envelope her body in mine before falling backwards.

I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e as deep into her body as possible while gently rubbing the harpy's nipples.
Her tiny nipples have become so erect, they have grown to the size of the tip of my finger, although they gradually shrink as the wave of pleasure subsides.
Her long o.r.g.a.s.m has come to an end.

After emptying a huge load into the harpy, I release her from my embrace.

「Fuuー」
「Piiiー」

Still one with each other, the both of us exhale in unison.

All of a sudden, the tent flap is parted.

「I apologize for intruding the feudal lord-sama during his rest! A messenger has arrived from the enemy army――」

The fl.u.s.tered soldier's jaw drops as he enters the tent.
How rude. He could definitely hear the voices and should have known I was having s.e.x.

「A messenger? What else do they have to say at this point?」

When I stand up, my softened d.i.c.k slides out with an audible slurp sound, accompanied by excess s.e.m.e.n dripping from the harpy's hole.

「R-right! The feudal lord-sama was requested personally…… should I have them wait?」

「No, I'll go right away.」

My hands happened to free up anyways.
The harpy is collapsed on the futon and twitching, probably not able to last a second round.

「Hey…… did you see that?」
「Yeah……I thought for sure he was embracing a woman to cheer up.」
「Who would have expected it to be a harpy…… a monster that he was f.u.c.king.」

I hear the soldier whispering something behind me, but they're not loud enough for me to hear what is being said.

「How much does he love females that he would do it with anything as long as it has a hole? I can't match that at all.」
「More importantly, look at the harpy's face. It's drowned in pleasure…… so even monsters fall when embraced by the feudal lord.」
「What I'm curious about is the puddle of seed. How good would it feel to have that pumped in my a.s.s?」

I can't make out the details, but it seems they're praising me.

The enemy messenger is in the middle of a large tent, seated on an isolated chair with the escort unit surrounding him.
Celia is also there with her blade drawn.
If any inadvertent moves are made, she would be prepared to cut off his head at any point.

「I'm Hardlett. What do you want?」

I know I spoke roughly, though who can blame me for dropping the respect towards someone like this.
They were the ones who tricked and declared war on Goldonia in the first place.

「……then I will get to business at once.」

The messenger takes a deep breath and raises his voice.
Sweat is dripping from his brow. He knows his chances of leaving here alive, considering the current situation, are slim.

「These are words from Her Majesty, the Empress of South Yuguria, Wilhelmina!」

「Shall I cut him?」

Celia lifts her sword when the messenger starts off rather conceitedly.
If she gets in the way, it'll take more time, so let him speak.

「Margrave Hardlett should not suffer losses to citizens or soldiers through futile battles and promptly surrender to us! If you give up without resistance, peace to your family and appropriate standing will be given.」

「Oh, is that so?」

Wilhelmina surely won't think I'll seriously surrender.
She probably thinks it's beneficial to try asking on the off chance I accept.
Even if she fails, the only thing she loses is this pathetic man's life.

「So……」

Celia pulls her sword back and Myla also unsheathes her sword.
The messenger is doing his best to keep a straight face, though his eyes are darting around in a panic and he looks like he's about to cry.

「I understand where you're coming from, but nothing will change by cutting this guy down.」

It's not impolite to cut down someone who mounted a surprise attack after layering lies and is now requesting for a betrayal in such a self-important manner. Rather it's expected.
Nevertheless, it won't change anything and killing a defenseless opponent leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

「State your answer.」

This guy must be highly loyal to Wilhelmina. When he presses for a reply, I wave my hand to chase him off.

「Of course I'm not going to accept. This conversation is over. Have something to eat and then go home immediately.」

「You will regret this!」

That would be an impressive parting threat if your face didn't look so relieved. It's not enough to make me angry.

「Killing such a rude guy is a natural thing to do. You're too lenient! No, it seems you're calm.」

「Now that I think about it, you've had an expression filled with affection from the start. ……ah!?」

Celia and Myla look at each other.

「So you didn't take that girl to be your blanket!?」
「Acting unprincipled again and sticking it in someone non-human…… one day, tentacles will grow out from your thing!」

Hahaha, they found out.

「I don't know what's going on, but if you're not going to surrender, then I will take my leave.」

As the messenger stands up to leave, another shadow appears at the entrance of the tent.
The figure clothed from head to toe in a black coat is off-putting, especially when welcoming spring.

It is the vampire girl who Brynhildr ordered to follow me to the battlefield. She won't tell me her name.

「The sun has set so I will now stay by your side.」

After she stands beside me, the messenger gives a pa.s.sing look as he casually walks toward the exit, and then――

The messenger was so surprised, he had to give the girl a second look.

「Y-you can't be……」
「Do you need something?」

In disbelief, the messenger can't help staring dumbfoundedly.
Meanwhile, the girl gave nothing more than an emotionless side glance before returning her eyes to what's in front of her.

「What are you doing? If you have finished your business, get out!」

Celia hurries the motionless messenger out of the tent by whipping the flap open.
At that moment, a strong wind suddenly blows.

「Ugeh!?」
「……」

This time, a hysteric gasp escaped the messenger's mouth.
I'm left at a loss for words.
The girl doesn't look concerned even though the reason for our reactions came from her appearance.

Her long coat was blown up by the gust to reveal she was in fact not wearing anything underneath.
Not only was she naked under the coat, hemp rope bound her entire body.
As a finis.h.i.+ng touch, an extra thick d.i.l.d.o was jammed into her crotch.

「P-pardon me!」

The messenger rushes out of the tent.
Is he not going to eat? What a hasty guy.

「T-that can't be Kifil…… it's impossible. Is she being forced to do it? No, if so, she would have long since ended her life. Which means she was broken by that guy…… she was one of the finest covert operatives too…… what a frightening guy.」

What is he mumbling?
It's the same thing with those other soldiers, if you have something to say, say it clearly.

「Whatever. I'll go to sleep until the enemy comes.」

「Then I will become your body pillow. You can't use a feather quilt once after it's sweaty.」
「No, I make for a better pillow since I'm softer.」

「I'm here too!!」

「Irijinsan, please take a bath first! Why do you stink of sweat!?」

This will be quite a luxurious time of relaxation.

――The Next Day, Past Noon.

「The enemy army has arrived! I-it's a large army!」

They have finally showed up.

「The enemy is in field battle formation, looking to beat us on the field from the start.」

「How convenient.」

We never intended to shut ourselves in Zan Dora and defend a siege anyways.
We'll fight and defeat them on the field.

「There's no need to worry. That Tristan said he's fully prepared and if he lost like this he wouldn't mind dying.」

All eyes move to where Tristan is.

「Is that true, Tristan?」
「You better be prepared, Tristan.」

「Don't lie. What I said was, "I've made preparations since doing something is better than doing nothing. If we're lucky, we might win." I never said anything like I would be fine with dying…… my own life is the most important after all.」

Tristan lets out a miserable-sounding voice and a chuckle escapes the mouths of Celia and the others.
I have calmed down a little.

「It's gotten worse for me.」

「You're not the kind of guy to tense up before a battle.」

Tristan is also shameless, albeit in a different way than Leopolt is.

「Then let's go.」

I shake my head to answer Leopolt's question.

「Bow cavalry, all units, advance!」

On command, the 6000 bow cavalry charge forward all at once.
In terms of numbers, they are only one tenth of the enemy army, however the pressure given off by their charge cannot be compared to an infantry charge.

「Fumu, pretty quick.」

Those words held two meanings.
The bow cavalry were quick to respond to the order and the enemy was also quick to set up their anti-cavalry formation.

「Well, it's all within expectations.」

As Tristan comments, the bow cavalry stop in place and shoot their arrows.
A volley of 6000 projectiles were released into the air and then before they could hit the ground, a second volley was also fired.

Those earlier words now have three meanings. The speed at which the bow cavalry loose their arrows is also unbelievably fast.
Using swift and smooth motions like that of an acrobat, arrows are nocked, then the string of the bows are immediately drawn back and released. While the strings are still making that low-pitched tw.a.n.g, the next arrows are already being nocked.

「They're twice…… no, thrice as fast as normal bow cavalry. Equivalent to 18 000 archers!」

The enemy were aware of the bow cavalry and were prepared to get into anti-cavalry formation, raising large s.h.i.+elds to fortify their defenses.
Nevertheless, being bombarded to this degree meant many arrows would inevitably fly through the gaps, taking multiple soldiers down.

「s.h.i.+t, they're shooting relentlessly! Isn't there anything we can do!?」
「Don't falter. Our archers will return fire soon.」

As expected of the enemy, they won't let us shoot one-sidedly, and s.h.i.+elds quickly open up to allow archers to counterattack.
Except they won't quite reach us.

「Move ten steps back!」

The bow cavalry follows Luna's instructions and then begin shooting another furious barrage.

「We'll make the most of this tiny gap.」
「It's literally like balancing on a tightrope.」

During a previous fight in the southern territory, we got our hands on the bows used by South Yuguria.
a.n.a.lysis of the weapon found that they were indeed high-quality, though inferior to ours by a small margin.
In particular, it was important to note that the maximum shooting range falls short by a few dozen steps.

「Shooting range varies depending on the skill of the archer, although I don't believe there are any users more skilled than the bow cavalry. If we ensure this distance is kept and we fight from long range……」

「We can shoot them without any consequence.」

The enemy is not allowed to rest as arrows continue to rain down.
By this point, either their s.h.i.+elds have been riddled with arrows or the soldiers' arms are starting to lower because of the aching from propping them up so long, which results in them shouting in pain when hit.

「H-how long are they going to keep shooting!?」
「There are arrows everywhere! This is too much, no matter how you look at it!」
「Isn't it about time for their arrows to run out!?」

I can almost hear the frustration of the enemy.

Not only are the quivers shouldered by the bow cavalry filled to the brim, the ones on their hips and carried on their horses' backs are also full.
It was more than 50 or 100.

This is the power of Lintbloom's military supply production at full force.
Mountains of arrows have already been stockpiled and even more are being created as we speak.

「Here comes the enemy cavalry.」

Unable to tolerate anymore, horses split off from the side of the enemy formation and run towards the bow cavalry.
They number 2000 or so.

This prompted the bow cavalry to turn and run.

「They're running!?」
「after them!」

Taken aback, the enemy gives chase, naturally eating a mouthful of arrows.
Unlike infantry, cavalry can't use s.h.i.+elds to defend and suffer great losses.

「s.h.i.+t, stop! Stop for now!」
「They're moving to the front!」

「Charge! Dive in close!」
「We can't. We'll be shot if they run again!」

The bow cavalry pulls back when the enemy advances and then runs forward when the enemy pulls back.
They barely stay outside the range of enemy archers while maintaining their own endless downpour of arrows.

「This time we will manage with just the extremely mobile bow cavalry. a.s.suming the war will be drawn out, we need to limit casualties as much as possible.」

The helpless enemy cavalry leave behind a large number of corpses before falling to the rear of the formation, and that's when the bow cavalry resume their attack.

Staying in a defensive formation meant arrows wouldn't be enough to break them.
However, the non-stop shooting would hinder their ability to change formations and move around, and more importantly, make the soldiers feel rushed.

Regardless, we know the enemy isn't stupid. If things continue the way they are, the enemy will change strategies.

「It's a good time now. We will make a move.」

Leopolt promptly raises his hand.
The bow cavalry who were shooting arrows from the front parted to the left and right, opening up a path for the infantry to move forward.

「Doing it at this timing!?」
「Eeei, stop spreading out! Undo the anti-cavalry formation and get into attack formation.」
「I heard the Hardlett army's main force is cavalry and now they're attacking with infantry? What are those guys in intelligence doing?」

It seems the enemy was a little shaken up by the fact we didn't use cavalry.
They somehow s.h.i.+ft their ranks, although with the incessant volleys…… they didn't do so very orderly.

「They're making contact.」

The frontlines of both sides collide.

「Go! Charge in!」
「Here come the skirmishers! Take them out with crossbows, and archers can finally be useful! Leave the s.h.i.+elds aside, they're in the way!」

An ally soldier's spear sticks between the enemy s.h.i.+eldbearer's legs and trips him.
In addition, a swordsman crashes into an enemy and his s.h.i.+eld, then after locking swords, pulls the enemy down and impales him in the throat.

Crossbows are also fired from the enemy side, attacking and scattering those who are rattled.

「The enemy squad has collapsed. Go forth and open a hole――」

An enemy unit was about to transition to offense.
It was at that moment when a single arrow flies over the heads of ally and enemy, accompanied by a high-pitched sound.

「That's the warning! Get down!」

All the ally soldiers drop to the ground.
Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers are standing still and staring blankly, confused about what we were doing.

Almost simultaneously, countless 'wooshes' of arrows cutting through the wind could be heard, and then the squad which left the cover of the s.h.i.+elds were turned into porcupines.

「Guwah!」「They fired in the midst of close combat!」「We can't take this! Withdraw!」

After the enemy and ally made contact, the bow cavalry stopped firing and watched the situation develop with sharp eyes.
If our allies were close to falling apart or if the enemy appear vulnerable, a sound-making arrow would be shot.
It is the signal for allies to get down or take cover behind s.h.i.+elds before an accurate volley of arrows is shot.

「Eei, we can't advance the way we want like this!」
「If we strengthen our defense against arrows, then the infantry come.」

The enemy doesn't know how to deal with the dual a.s.sault from infantry and arrows.

「I'm impressed with how well the training went.」
「The inferiority in numbers is obvious. If we can't do that much, we have no chance.」

Myla puffs her chest with pride as she speaks.

Leopolt gives precise instructions while keeping a close eye on the battle.
Tristan disappeared before I knew it.

「The infantry are not aiming to defeat the enemy either. They are continuing to battle while keeping losses to a minimum.」

「Aah.」

I rest my longsword on my shoulder and move my arm in circles.
Is it my turn yet?

Our allies are fighting valiantly with the support from the bow cavalry and chariots, but the enemy has 70 000 compared to our 14 000 infantry.

Because the enemy had formed a slightly thicker line to stop cavalry, there wasn't as big of a numerical disadvantage on the front, although we are still gradually being pushed back.

「Right wing, pull back.」
「Left wing, withdraw while protecting the center.」
「Center, concentrate on who is in front of you. Don't let anybody through.」

Leopolt, Myla, and Celia order for the gradual retreat of the frontlines.

「Isn't it bad if things continue at this rate?」

Well, the command is excellent so our allies are not falling apart despite having to retreat.
Be that as it may, the pace of retreat is increasing and we can't afford to expose a single point of weakness or we, as the smaller force, will totally collapse.

「Irijina's cavalry unit is also playing around. Why don't we have them mess with the enemy from the side?」
「There is no need.」

Leopolt a.s.serts firmly.

I silently rub Celia who is next to me. She feels strangely hard.

「Um……」

It was Gido. Don't confuse me like that, go over there.

Our headquarters match our slowly retreating allies by moving backwards as well.
Eventually we can see the city of Zan Dora beside us.

No matter how you look at it, isn't it pointless if we get pushed all the way to Zan Dora?

「I don't mind. The enemy will be the one to move.」

As Leopolt said, the moment Zan Dora is up against our backs, the enemy's movements dull.
They would stop in their tracks and slowly distance themselves to regroup.

「The enemy is retreating? At this juncture?」

Even Celia curiously tilts her head.
Although we are still healthy, it isn't like the enemy has suffered many casualties relative to their size either.
There should be absolutely no meaning in retreating now.
If they choose to do so, it's possible to push us back and capitulate Zan Dora first.

「Take a look behind you.」

I turn back and only see the road. It's the path we came from.

「That's right. There's a road. If the enemy continued pus.h.i.+ng further―― perhaps even pus.h.i.+ng into and conquering Zan Dora, there is a possibility we will determine fighting more is impossible and retreat.」

Wouldn't they want us to run though? It would be their victory.

「Clearly, the enemy's goal is to capture Zan Dora and at the same time also annihilate our field troops, so obtaining the city while letting us escape would only fulfill part of their objective. After all, they wouldn't want to fight us again near Rafen, a deeper part of the territory where we are more advantageous.」

So they want to settle things right now.

「Not to mention our main force is cavalry whereas theirs is infantry. They would not be able to conduct a decisive pursuit of our forces.」

Leopolts adds a little more to his explanation.

「Which is why the enemy will not push further. Instead, they will definitely circle around.」

Before he finished speaking, the watchout strained his voice to announce his observations.

「The enemy has divided into three groups! The frontal squad is once again marching forward and closing the distance. The squads on either side are making a large detour around the perimeter!」

「30 000 in the center, and 20 000 each on the left and right. What would Lord Hardlett do about this?」

At this rate, we'll be surrounded on all sides and ganged up.

「I would use all forces to breakthrough the middle. I'll lead the charge.」
「I will accompany you.」

When I tighten the grip on my longsword, Leopolt shakes his head.

「That's not good.」

I was ready to go too. Celia tripped over herself as she started to run.

「The enemy wants that. Their defense in the middle will slow you down, and while you are having trouble penetrating, both wings will engulf you from the sides.」

That's true if we happen to struggle.

「Their st.u.r.diest formation is in the center. The left wing should similarly be equipped well if they have to squeeze in between Zan Dora and us. The weakest of the three would be the right wing with the role of circling around.」

「Then we'll attack the right ring.」
「Wahaha!! I'm coming too!!」
「Please stop.」

Another let down. Irijina is unsure about what to do with her spear too.

「If you attack now, it will only result in being surrounded. First――」

As Leopolt gives instructions, our army divides into three groups as well.
Each formation seems dedicated to defense with large s.h.i.+elds held high.

「Splitting an already small force into three!?」

「How foolish…… is he finally showing fault?」

「No matter how much we fortify our defenses, we can't hold on with such a large difference in numbers.」

A brief moment of unrest came from the enemy formation, then sneering can be heard.
As one not very familiar with tactics, this method seems odd to me too.

「Do you want to hear the reason?」
「No, I won't ask anymore. Do as you like…… well, I can kind of guess from being back stage.」

I head to the left and smile slightly.

Our ally squad in the middle retreats, then the wings veer off far off to the side to avoid the surround, while the enemy wings correspondingly splits off to either side in order to complete the surround.

At this point, both armies have s.h.i.+fted so much that neither side has 'wings' in the formation.

Leopolt's eyes narrow like that of a hawk.
And then――

「Now.」

The moment the center and left wing makes contact with the enemy, and the moment when we approach the enemy right wing, Leopolt orders for a flaming arrow to be fired straight up into the air.

「Right, right. Here I go.」

I could have sworn I heard a lazy voice.

Green gra.s.s scatters along with the flash of light.
Without delay, clouds of dust rise up from the right wing of the army who was racing with us to complete their surround, and enemy soldiers are blown in every direction.

「Cannons, huh?」

Smoke comes out from spots which appear exactly like the plains.
Upon closer inspection, one would find a cannon set up in small hole.
Gra.s.s is piled up in front of the barrel so it would be hard to distinguish from a distance even though we are on an open field.

I was wondering why I didn't see any cannons or cannoneers yesterday…… Tristan also disappeared part way through so he could prepare for this, I guess.

On an un.o.bstructed plains, it's natural for the enemy to think we don't have any soldiers waiting in ambush and the only choice was to race us.
Thus, they took the unlikely cannon fire head-on in a vulnerable state.

Just one round threw the enemy into chaos, disrupted their formation and sent the soldiers running around in panic.
Another plan came to fruition here.

「Get them.」

Once the order was given, the large s.h.i.+elds were brought down.
Good grief, I've finally been released from my cramped field of vision.

「Lord Hardlett, you're up.」
「Leave it to me.」

I grab my longsword and run towards the enemy right wing in disarray.
Following me are the escort squad, Irijina's cavalry squad and the 13 000 infantry.

「Eh? Why!?」
「The enemy should have divided into three…… this should be the entire army……」

The enemy right wing could not hide their bewilderment.

I glance behind me as I rush forward.
The roughly thousand or so allies in the center and left wing threw away the paper thin s.h.i.+elds and start running away as fast as they can.

Our army was only split equally in the front of the formation where the s.h.i.+elds were being held, but in fact most of our forces were grouped up in the right wing.
The s.h.i.+elds were nothing more than a smokescreen.
If closer attention was paid, it might have been discovered, however the enemy was too focused on completing their surround.

All of our strength will be used to destroy the weak right wing. This was our objective from the start.

「Now, it's time to charge. Let's run to our heart's content.」

Irijina's cavalry squad and I jump into the enemy who were hit by a decent shot from our cannons.
The slightly delayed infantry trail behind and the bow cavalry provide covering fire above our heads.

While the bombardment left a strong impression, not much damage was actually done.
We will be the ones to deal the fatal blow with our charge.

When one spearman stands in front of me riding at full speed on Schwartz, I swing my longsword and cut him in half.

「Hmph!」

Next to step up is a s.h.i.+eldbearer, who I knock away with the b.u.t.t of my sword, and use the backswing to slice open a crossbowman's stomach.

Schwartz doesn't hesitate to raise its forelegs and stomp on the chest of an enemy who approaches from the front.
The enemy soldier could not resist the weight of well over a ton and I hear the sound of his guts explode as his body is smashed into the ground.

「The enemy is disorganized. Cut them all at random.」

Suddenly shot with a cannon and losing their numerical superiority, the enemy right wing can't help feel panicked.
I'm not going to let this opportunity slide.

「I got your back!」
「Don't worry about your left.」

Celia covers the area behind me while Sekrit takes care of the left.

Since we're already deep in enemy lines, enemies are everywhere, not just in front.

「s.h.i.+-! Yaah!」

Celia steps in between me and a swordsman trying to circle to my rear, blocking the sword with her s.h.i.+eld before throwing her helmet.
As the enemy soldier wavers, she takes the chance to push her sword into his throat, and then kicks him away.

「Heh, is that all you got?」

To my left, Sekrit stands before an approaching heavy cavalry.
She crosses her two swords to block the downward slash of the opponent's greatsword, then as the enemy exhales, she unleashes a cross slash.
The enemy heavy cavalry quickly uses his greatsword to intercept her attack, although the weapon easily snaps from the simultaneous force from both sides.

「See ya.」

With the speed of lightning, Sekrit pierces the enemy's eyeb.a.l.l.s through the gap of his helmet and deliberately waits a second for the soldier to scream before thrusting the sword into his skull, finis.h.i.+ng him off.

「I can't lose to them.」

I adjust my stance with the longsword and then run towards a corner still maintaining some form of order.

The enemy who hasn't collapsed notices me and all point their spears at me.

「Jump.」

Schwartz's large body leaps into the air.
The enemy spears. .h.i.t air, barely sc.r.a.ping Schwartz's legs, meanwhile the tip of my sword and Schwartz's hooves claims the lives of enemy soldiers.

「「「Gyaaaaaaah!」」」

There were two sounds of heads being chopped off and one sound of hooves crus.h.i.+ng a person.

「One more.」

I center my sword as Schwartz lands and make a quick turn to take out the enemies around me.

「A hole has opened up! Go now! Skewer themー!!」

Irijina tells everyone to charge while being the first one to rush in.

「Wahahaha! One! Two! Three!」

Irijina counts out loud after every enemy she impales.

She blocks counterattacks from opposing enemy cavalry with the shaft of her spear first, then spins the weapon to disarm her foes.
Irijina definitely doesn't rely on brute strength when handling her spear. In terms of technique, she is probably better than me.

「M-my spear―― wait!」

「Four!!」

Her spear protrudes through the man's face, dropping the cavalry to the ground and eliciting cheers from her allies nearby.

I also advance forward, not yielding to Irijina's indomitable spirit, cutting down enemies as I pa.s.s by.

「Y-you're that―― pugyaah!」

His head is lopped off.

「Rumors of a demon are―― gueh.」

I stab his neck with my Dual Crater and throw his dead body off my sword and onto the ground.

「One day, Her Majesty will―― gugeh.」

I push my longsword into his torso and hurl him up into the sky.

「Sweep the horse's leg―― guwaaah!」

The group of enemy soldiers coming from Schwartz's side to aim for his leg didn't expect a sudden change of direction from Schwartz and gets kicked back.

It's about this time that we finally reach the middle of the enemy lines, where a middle-aged man dressed in fancy commander-like garments points his sword at me.

「So you are Hardlett! It seems you are more than just brawn. The rumor of you being an inhuman ent.i.ty of evil is somewhat true then.」

「It's none of you business. Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk. I need you to die.」

I swing my longsword at him.
Judging he can't block it, the man evades, tilting left where my Dual Crater greets him with a diagonal slash.

「Gabh!」

I spin my body to whip my longsword horizontally, cutting a straight line through his body.
That's the end.

「Uooooh!」
「Wahahahahahaha! Mu, five!!」

Celia and Irijina let out their war cries.
As if everybody could tell what happened, the enemy right wing started to fall apart and the soldiers run in all directions.

「Chase them. Kill as many as you can.」

I won't tell them not to run after the fleeing enemies.
The situation is still quite intense and it isn't like the battle will end like this.
We need to think about dealing as much damage as possible here.

「Oh right, what's going on with the center and left wing? They should be hurrying to provide support.」

I look around and certainly see the enemy heading over rapidly to rescue their allies from their predicament.
However, on the way they encounter fences, pitfalls, and intentionally created swamps, which slow them down.

While they are struggling to free themselves from the traps, our bow cavalry rain down a merciless shower.
After all, they didn't think about defending themselves and blindly rushed to the aid of their fellow soldiers.
This time around, the arrows were more effective in dealing damage than when the enemy was in formation.

「This was done before, you see. It only takes a few people to prop up the fences built in advance and left hidden in the gra.s.s to create a hurried camp, and although it can be just as easily destroyed, we have arrows raining down while they do so, plus it also buys time.」

Tristan brushes his head and makes his way over.
Apparently, he was hiding in the gra.s.s during the fierce fighting. How uncool.

When I strain my eyes, I can see fewer than ten ally soldiers in front of the enemy.
They are running away and occasionally stopping in certain places to rummage around on the ground to do something, which I guess is them setting up the fences.
The enemy has no chance of catching up.

「At least it looks like the right wing is finished. Nevertheless, we still have to face 50 000 more. It will be a hard fight.」

「But a substantial amount of damage has been dealt to the enemy. They won't be able to bulldoze with power alone.」

After confirming the complete collapse of the right wing, the enemy stops forcefully advancing.
They fire a flaming arrow straight into the air like we did before, signalling their forces to retreat and regroup.

「It seems they're withdrawing for now. Let us also leave our pursuit at that and reorganize.」

「Agreed. If we don't hurry and pull our cannons along, they'll fall in the enemy's hands. It will be trouble if we lose them here.」

If Leopolt and Tristan are both in favor, then there is no reason for me to object.

「What's the damage?」

「A negligible amount, so we can consider this a complete victory. Well, the enemy still has 50 000. I don't think they'll give up so easily.」

All soldiers were ordered to return to camp.

The harpy who fled in the sky lands on Schwartz's back, and that is how the first battle ends.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 25 years old. Spring.
Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave. Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area. Mountain Legend. Friend of the Dwarves. Friend of the King of Aless. Dragon Slayer Hero.
Elf Mediator. s.e.x King of White City.

Escort: 150 men

Infantry: 13 100, Cavalry: 1450, Archers: 1500, Bow Cavalry: 6000, Cannoneers: 450
Total: 22 500 men.

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

a.s.sets: 200 000 gold
s.e.xual Partners: 775, children who have been born: 68 + 565 (non-human)