Chapter 293
–Aegir POV–
「Stick to defense around the harbor! Push them back until reinforcements arr―― ugyaah!」
I stick a sword in the enemy commander and throw him into the river to shut him up .
「The boss brought him down! We can’t fall behind!」
「Hyahah~ Kill all who resist! Kill all those who run too!」
As soon as I finish off the commander, the allied soldiers charge into the disoriented enemy lines .
They thrust up from below the enemy’s shields or sweep at the enemy’s feet to trip them when they bring their shields up .
Once the enemy falls down, they get stomped on or stabbed repeatedly from above .
The 105th division is doing everything they can to move forward so the enemy has no chance to reconstruct their formation, retreating from the harbor to the center of the city and even up to the city walls .
「Set fire to the docked enemy ships . Destroy the harbor facilities too . Demolish everything . 」
Our main objective this time is not to defeat the army garrisoned in the city .
We are to prevent the enemy troops from landing their troops on the north coast by sealing off the city of Zabrela, so we will achieve our goal as long as we completely wipe out the ships and the harbor .
Crushing the enemy forces is secondary .
「S-spare us, we surrender―― gyaaah!」
Allies climb on the enemy ships and cut down the member after member of the ship’s crew who raise their hands up, then toss them in the river .
Either that or kicking them on the ship, sprinkling oil on it, and then setting it on fire with the crew still on board .
Seeing the indomitable 105th division, the soldiers from the other armies also increase their destructive activities .
「P-please! Spare me, I don’t want to die!」
「Keh, stupid Empire whore! Be good and die―― uwah, what are you doing!?」
As a soldier was about to kill a female soldier pleading for her life, a soldier from the 105th division holds the allied soldier back .
「The boss’s orders were not to kill women . We’re taking this one!」
「Boss, we got a girl!」
The soldiers of the 105th division report to me carrying the female on one of their shoulders .
「……we totally look like pirates now . How did things become like this?」
Celia holds her head in distress beside me . However my morale rises instantly .
「Well done . But I’ll kick your ass if you call me boss again . 」
I snap back as I grab the captured girl .
She’s trembling so much I feel bad for her . I guess I’ll calm her down for now .
「Drop your weapons here and stay back obediently . Everything will be fine, I absolutely won’t treat you roughly . 」
I caress the woman’s cheek and give her a soft kiss .
In that moment, I happen to catch the image of an enemy swinging his sword at me reflected in the woman’s eyes .
「Don’t get in my way when I’m talking to a woman . 」
I block his attack with my longsword and send him flying with a front kick .
Celia rushes in without delay and skillfully takes the head off of that enemy .
「Hiiih……」
「Relax . You’re a woman so you won’t get hurt . I’ll seduce you later so wait patiently . 」
After one more kiss and a brief fondling of her breasts, I separate from the woman .
When the fight is over, I have to seduce her, mount her, then pour my seed in her .
I have to end things quickly .
「Everyone follow me, we’re going to throw the enemies out of the city all at once!」
「Let’s go you guys! Follow the boss!」
The 105th division army with me in the lead charge into the enemy and drive them out .
The other armies are using bows or ballistae and some are even setting up cannons .
However the most effective strategy right now when the enemy is running away should be an all-out attack――in other words, a charge attack .
「These damn pirates!」
「How rude of you regular army soldiers!」
I tilt my body to one side to evade the spear thrust at me, then run past the enemy while slashing his midsection .
「Some random savages!」
「Shut up!」
The next spear thrust gave me less room to dodge than the first so I only tilt my head .
The tip grazes my cheek and draws blood, though I have no time to worry about that .
I spin my body, using the rotational energy with the swing of my longsword to lop off the head of the enemy .
「Not yet…… I won’t let you go past me . 」
The final soldier confronting me appears to be an Imperial knight donning a scarlet full plate armor .
I block the strike from his greatsword with the body of my sword . He has considerable strength .
「I’m returning the favor . 」
I swing my sword in a similar manner and the enemy blocks my attack with the blade of his weapon like I did .
Seeing the abnormal size of my sword, the knight slides his sword diagonally on impact to disperse the force of my slash .
「What brute strength! Did I look down on him as a barbarian!?」
「Quiet, just die . 」
I turn my sword around and get ready to make an upward swing from the downward position .
The enemy hurries to parry the blow, except he was unsuccessful in diverting the force this time .
「Guooh!」
My longsword snaps his greatsword in two, then continues straight into the side of his body . The reason that wasn’t a fatal injury was due to his metal full plate armor .
「Guh…… impressive . But the battle has not been decided yet!」
The knight abandons his broken greatsword and draws the one-handed sword at his waist .
「No, it’s done . 」
Why did he think that a second attack would end the fight?
I quickly pull back the sword dug into the side of his abdomen and take one step back .
Obviously, it wasn’t so I could glare at him, it was to put enough distance between us for a thrust .
「Fuu!」
The length of only the blade of my sword is two meters so it was almost like thrusting a spear .
There’s no way he could deal with my charging strike using a mere one-handed sword .
「Gah……」
My sword sinks into the knight’s throat, tearing through two sheets of armor and then exiting the back of his neck .
The fountain of blood gushing out denoted my victory .
「The general did it! He defeated the enemy’s boss! We won!」
Yakov shouts loud enough for everyone to hear .
Well now, is this guy really the commander? I don’t think he said anything of the sort .
「Let’s believe that is the case . Dressing so extravagantly in red makes him look like a commander, doesn’t it?」
Yakov whispers to me before roaring out victoriously .
Everyone in the 105th division has accepted the fact for now and cheers erupt .
「The general did it! It’s our win!」
「Mop up the remaining enemies! Take all the girls too!」
The vigor of the allied soldiers increases drastically, leaving the enemies at a loss for what to do besides running away .
「Wait, our commander is still alive! It was only the knight Morgman who got defeated! Don’t run!」
The Imperial commander desperately shouts at the soldiers however the momentum of battle can’t be changed so easily once it’s been set in motion .
It wasn’t purely the 105th division, all the other allied soldiers, holding a strong belief in their victory, began to mount a furious attack and chased the enemy soldiers out of Zabrela in no time .
「For now, we’ve taken back the city . What’s next is the timing of our retreat . 」
After we ran the enemy out of the city, the other commanders and I gather in an inn temporarily designated as headquarters .
「The ships and supplies have been taken care of . The facilities have been set on fire so there is no issues on our side . Now we have to block off the harbor……」
Taking the lead is this operation’s commander-in-chief, er his name――womanizer1―― was it?
「It’s Commander Wolnasky, Aegir-sama . 」
Right, that Womanizer . Thanks Celia .
It just rolls right off the tongue . I think I might like being called that more than Hardlett .
「At present, we are dismantling the surrounding residences and facilities and throwing the stone rubble into the harbor . Large ships won’t be able to dock there by tomorrow . 」
They can bring more supplies and ships and rebuild everything with top speed construction .
But with the port destroyed, they can’t restore it so easily .
We made it so Zabrela can’t function as their home port .
With the harbor out of commission, we make arrangements to return to the north coast in little boats .
It will take longer since we can’t use large ships so we have to make up the time by moving faster .
「Let’s go now . Do it while the fog is still thick, or else it’ll be too late when it clears . 」
That’s what I say, however commander Womanizer scowls .
「No, that is certainly what we initially planned……」
「What’s the problem?」
As far as I know, there should not have been any impediments to the operation .
「According to the initial plan, it was estimated that recapturing the city would take half a day and we would suffer a 20% loss to our total forces . 」
Something like that was said too, huh?
「The reality is that it didn’t take more than two hours to scatter the enemies and we suffered way short of 10% casualties . 」
That sounds like a fine result to me .
「……which means the enemy was weaker and had lower morale than we expected . Isn’t it possible to not have to retreat and instead advance further until the south coast? If so, it may have been better if we didn’t destroy Zabrela’s harbor . 」
「That’s――」
Yakov starts to open his mouth on reflex, then he suddenly goes quiet when stared at .
A landing army of 10 000 is a large enough force . Sure, it may not be enough to gain control of an entire region though……
「If the fog clears up, the enemy fleet will come back . We will then be isolated . 」
「Umu, if they commence naval bombardment, we won’t be able to hold out . 」
The other commanders complain anxiously, though Womanizer doesn’t stop .
「We seized a large amount of supplies from the enemy so we don’t have to worry about getting our resupply cut off from White City for the time being . The naval bombardment won’t particularly affect us either if we invade further towards the south coast . 」
Somehow it feels we’re trending in a bad direction .
To be honest, they should be several times more knowledgeable than me in terms of military tactics, but speaking from experience, there has never been a time where things went well after changing plans at the last moment .
「So have we decided to alter initial plans following the destruction of the harbor and proceed to a decisive invasion towards the south coast?」
「Wouldn’t that run contrary to the Supreme Commander’s wishes?」
Stessel’s orders were simply to wreck Zabrela’s harbor .
「My intentions are not to violate his orders . His Excellency has also ordered, besides destroying the city, to eliminate the nearby enemy army if possible . If the enemy is weaker than we expected, I think it’s better to aim for as much military gain as possible . 」
It feels like a convenient way to interpret things .
How far exactly is “nearby”, is that all the way to the nearest house, or all the way to the next village? Or is it everything under the horizon?
「Besides, Ivanna’s fleet should be utilizing the cover of fog to attack the enemy fleet . She’ll annihilate―― maybe not, but a considerable amount of damage should be done . 」
How optimistic . I just want her to come back unharmed .
「Umumu…… after seeing the fragility of the enemy, it is in our best interest to press the attack a certain extent . 」
「But if the path to retreat is blocked, we may not be able to move forward…… the risks are too high . 」
The commanders still have not cleared the doubt in their minds . I bring Celia close to me and pat her head .
At any rate, it’s gotten quite big .
「That’s nothing, even if the retreat path is blocked, that just means we’ve attracted the enemy’s fleet . If the enemy fleet focuses on Zabrela, then the allied soldiers fighting in the west and east can freely land on the south coast in return . His Excellency Stessel will do that much at least . 」
Celia mutters under her breath as I’m patting her head . .
「Muu…… making baseless and hopeful observations while presuming how allies will move…… doing everything Leopolt-san said not to do . 」
However it seems the commanders are gradually warming up to the idea .
「I guess you’re right…… ever since the fight in the blizzard, we’ve had consecutive victories because of commander Stessel . Letting this opportunity slip is probably not a good idea . 」
「If we hold both coasts, it will be the Imperial fleet who is isolated . 」
「We’ve taken away their functioning base . It would have been better for us to counterattack if we didn’t tear down the harbor……」
I can’t really put my finger on it, but it feels like this plan will fail .
I’ll borrow Celia’s theory to explain .
「Is this really a good idea?」
「What do you mean, Lord Hardlett?」
I mean this awkward march is not guaranteed to succeed when we have no information on the enemy’s position .
If the command headquarters does not realize our intentions, their movements will be delayed and we’ll be wiped out . Although these are only a few examples, Womanizer simply frowns dismissively .
「I get where you’re coming from…… how cautious compared to how you fight . 」
「That may be so . 」
Womanizer closes his eyes to think for a bit before lifting his head and declaring .
「Like I said before, we will be carrying out an invasion towards the south shore . This is an order from the commander of the landing army . I understand Lord Hardlett’s concerns, however now is the time to take proactive measures to turn the state of battle in our favor . ……This is our land . 」
I can’t say anything else now .
After bowing once, I go back to patting Celia’s head . When I scratch her pale chin, I can hear soft purring . In embarrassment, she puts up the slightest of resistance, though that only emphasizes how adorable she is .
「……Aegir-sama should be the correct one . 」
「Hahaha, you’re always on my side Celia . That makes me happy . 」
I’m not particularly annoyed . Nobody can say who is right until after we see how things turn out .
「Regardless, I’m a little curious about Womanizer . 」
Besides wanting to win, he seems to be carrying something else on his shoulders .
I don’t think he’s in a state of confusion or in a rush to earn merits in war……
「Since the decision has been made, we can only fight . Time to get ready, Celia . 」
「Yessir!」
And so we suspend our work to destroy the port and get ready to start another march…… just when the sun was setting and it was getting close to evening, the lookout shouts in a high-pitched voice .
The lookout is a girl . I’ll bring some hot soup and seduce her later .
「Enemy attack――! Multiple enemy cavalry! Exact number is unknown because of the snow being kicked up!」
Cavalry at this timing?
I put Pipi on top of my shoulders and then climb up the watchtower, grabbing the female lookout’s ass while I’m at it .
「How does it look, Pipi?」
「With all that snow dancing in the air, I can’t really see . But they’re moving really slow . Also I don’t see any soldiers around the city anymore . 」
According to Pipi’s eyes, the horses are moving too slowly even though they can’t gallop in the snow .
Moreover, the Empire soldiers who should have been thrown out of the city have disappeared .
「Their formation is too wide for a charging formation…… they’re probably hiding infantry behind them . 」
I jump off the watchtower .
「It’s a group of cavalry . They have infantry in tow . All units, prepare for battle!」
Not just the 105th division, the other armies hurry to get ready to fight .
「Can enemies with low morale come for a counterattack so quickly?」
My inner thoughts just came out on their own .
「General, there are no defensive structures around the city . It is a plains as far as the eye can see, so wouldn’t it be more advantageous for us to pull back and fight in the city?」
Celia answers Yakov’s question proudly .
「No, with so much snow accumulated, the original speed and force of impact of the cavalry cannot be utilized! If we defend carefully, we should be able to fend them off and more importantly the enemy has infantry behind them . Letting them in the city would in fact be troublesome . 」
Yakov feels satisfied by the explanation, while Celia puffs out her chest .
It was charming when she was small, however her breasts have grown considerably since then .
I don’t like how she’s showing them off to Yakov . I grab them from behind .
「Hyaaah! Why did you squeeze my boobs like that!?」
「Jealousy . Don’t worry about it . 」
Anyhow, our 105th division will stand in front of the city and form a defensive formation with shields and spears .
The rest of the armies must have reached the same conclusion . Ever since the orders were given by the commander, most of the formations were already arranged .
For my personal army, I have Leopolt and Myla who are extremely competent, but things get a little more unsteady with those under them .
I am once again amazed by the potential of the Federation army .
I just hope the commander’s strategy is not wrong .
「The enemy cavalry has detached from the infantry! The cavalry are charging this way! Roughly 10 000!」
They changed their tactics after seeing us set up defenses in the city .
Exactly by the book, the cavalry will charge forward and open a hole in our defensive formation for the infantry to push through, then they’ll look to cause confusion in our ranks . This is also textbook strategy .
「Archer squad, begin firing!!」
A rain of arrows fall on the approaching enemy .
Due to the snow hindering their speed, they get by more arrows…… though that’s not enough to defeat the heavy armored cavalry .
「Tch, don’t come over here . 」
「The 105th division ranks are the roughest after all . The enemy might view that as a weakness . 」
Yakov comments in frustration .
Despite having help from the snow, nobody is happy to clash with cavalry in an open field .
A vivid flag waves in my direction from the army next to me .
Even if you do that, I don’t know what it means .
「It means “expecting a tough fight” . 」
「Good grief, how carefree can they be . 」
I mount Schwartz and swing my longsword once .
The piled up snow is blown away to the nearby soldiers who let out groans .
Schwartz stamps on the ground a few times to check the condition of the ground before neighing like he’s saying “no problem” .
「Anti-cavalry formation―― ready up!」
Celia pulls out her sword beside me and shouts .
That was always Leopolt’s job, however she gets to do it now since nobody is here besides her .
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