Chapter 296
–Third Person POV–
White City – Command Headquarters .
「Wolnasky, you fool!」
Martin, after receiving the report from the landing army in the headquarters, silently enters the commander’s room and closes the door before yelling angrily .
「Invading with a paltry 100 000 having only landing equipment, what is going on inside his head!?」
Martin slams the desk with his fist .
He went into the commander’s room so his shouting doesn’t make his subordinates anxious .
The only other person in the room is his trusted friend Nikolai .
「They are heading south under the pretense of cleaning up the surrounding enemies . A reply was sent for them to return to Zabrela and retreat immediately…… still it would take some time . 」
「Because of the fog, the ship with the messenger can’t move fast either!」
Martin said that before chugging the entire bottle of water on his desk, then returns to speaking calmly .
「――sorry for the unsightly display . It was my incompetence that failed to see how stupid he was . 」
Martin smiles wryly, which Nikolai nods in response to .
「No, it’s a natural reaction . I would have smashed the desk if I was the commander . 」
There was a little laughter exchanged . The two of them go back to being good friends instead of superior and subordinate when nobody else is around .
However, it doesn’t take long for their laughter to disappear .
「We must take measures promptly . If they head south from Zabrela in a disorderly manner, they’ll eventually meet a powerful army . It would be disadvantageous for a lightly equipped landing army like them . We must also anticipate them being routed . 」
Nikolai agrees .
「Wolnasky would request for reinforcements if possible, but it’s out of the question . As long as the Imperial fleet remains strong, the tens of thousands of troops we want to send would be isolated even if the fog lifts . Besides, it isn’t a day too far from now . 」
Martin pulls out directives from the shelf as he speaks .
「Gather the eastern river fleet and the surviving ships of Ivanna’s fleet . ……that ship is also complete too . We should play the hands we can――」
Martine carefully writes up a letter and continues on, making sure his anger and impatience does not show .
「Reform your strategy with the assumption that the 100 000 elites of the landing army are annihilated . 」
「Understood . 」
Nikolai answers with a splendid salute .
「Anyways, to think Wolnasky was this incapable…… my eye for people still has a ways to go . 」
Martin sighs as he glances at Wolnasky’s career history, and realizes something .
Then he slams his glass on the desk after closing his eyes in frustration .
「What’s wrong? Did he do something else?」
「No, this anger is directed more at myself . Why did I overlook it?」
Martin hands the career history to Nikolai .
「Look at his family . His only daughter Sofia has married Lord Sembray from Kalinin . Her husband has died in battle, she couldn’t escape from the city and has gone missing . Wolnasky probably intends to rush all the way to Kalinin . 」
「Misappropriating the army like that, he really is one incorrigible idiot . The issue is with his nature . 」
Martin closes the file and looks up to the heavens .
「Yeah . But I could have done something if I realized it . Talking about it now doesn’t help . 」
Martin continues after stretching his body .
「I didn’t know what to expect from that guy from Goldonia either . He was different from who I expected, but he was an interesting man . 」
「It’s a common occurrence on the battlefield . We’ll pull through if we’re lucky . 」
「I guess so . 」
Martin looks in the mirror and ensures he doesn’t look angry or flustered before exiting the room, returning to his staff officers .
–Aegir POV–
Landing Army . Currently Retreating to Zabrela .
「It’s an order from Defense Headquarters . Are you sure?」
「……」
Wolnasky hangs his head disappointedly with the commanders lined up in front of him .
I am seated on a chair close enough to hear what they are saying while rubbing the ass of Celia, who is standing upright beside me .
「Nnh! Guh……」
Her eyes are desperately appealing to me to stop as, being an adjutant, she cannot make a sound in this place where all the commander level personnel have gathered .
That just makes her look cuter and want to rub her ass more…… until tears well up in her eyes . Crap, I got too carried away . Sorry .
We narrowly defeated an army of the Empire .
We finished off those resembling commanders, plus the enemy has retreated, so it can be considered a victory for us .
But if you look at the casualties, that can’t be said .
From that fight, the landing army has lost roughly half of its total troops and many powerful weapons including cannons and ballistae .
The enemy has also lost the same amount, except they started with twice the number of soldiers and have more left over .
If they reorganize and attack again, we probably won’t be able to hold out .
Celia, Yakov and the other commanders also thought the same way, and almost everyone shared the same opinion of proposing to retreat to Zabrela .
Even so, commander Wolnasky said that it may be possible to advance to Kalinin since the enemy army also retreated, and that was when orders came from command headquarters .
The orders which were sent in the name of command headquarters this time were a harsh censuring on our misinterpretation of orders to head south, also telling us that a refusal to obey orders for an immediate and unconditional retreat would lead to a change of commanders with a replacement chosen from within the army’s hierarchy .
The corps commanders, using the directive as the trigger, all consented to dismiss Wolnasky after he kept advocating to march further .
And now, the army is slowly starting to retreat .
The enemy’s main force has also pulled back so there is no immediate concern of being pursued, however the soldiers are wounded and totally exhausted, looking almost like the survivors of a defeated army .
「It was inevitable . I’ll leave the rest to you……」
Wolnasky’s shoulders droop as he sets the commander’s staff and mantle on a chair before standing up .
One of the corps commanders asks a question sadly .
「Your Excellency, why did you advance with such recklessness? Your Excellency should not be a person who does such things without planning . 」
He must be a long-time subordinate .
「――no point hiding it now . You see, my daughter married into a family in Kalinin . 」
He starts to talk in a partially defeated manner .
He talked about how his only daughter in Kalinin was late to escape from the Empire’s raid and her whereabouts are unknown .
How a tragic end came to the feudal lord and his family and also the city occupied by the Empire .
And how he wanted to save his daughter who hasn’t done anything since she was young .
As the story continued, there was an increasing amount of anger in the air . It originated from the other corps commanders…… I guess that’s to be expected .
A father fighting to save his daughter sounds like a beautiful story, but mobilizing the army for that reason can only be seen as misappropriation .
Not to mention the soldiers of the landing army were handpicked elites, so it would affect the war as a whole if they were annihilated .
「Excellency―― no, you bastard――!」
One of the corps commanders pulls out his sword and attacks Wolnasky .
Meanwhile Wolnasky has given up and doesn’t resist .
「Well, wait a minute here . His Excellency has already been dismissed . Further questioning is meaningless . 」
I get in between both parties and pull them apart .
I tell him that I will also take away the soldier grabbing his waist from both sides .
For now, Wolnasky will be kept under house arrest in a nearby carriage .
「Surely, you are angry as well . 」
「No, not really . 」
He endangered his own squad and even his fatherland for the sake of his daughter .
That may be a failure on his part as a soldier, however I don’t feel any unpleasant emotions or anger .
Even I would prioritize someone close to me rather than the 100 000 faces I don’t know .
It goes without saying if that person was my daughter, but I’d do the same for any women .
「Is that so…… will you listen to the story about my daughter?」
「Why not . 」
If he were to safely return to White City, he would not be let off easy . I’m sure he knows that too .
I’m not particularly close to him, but the least I can do is hear him out .
「My daughter……」
Beside me, a father begins talking about his beloved daughter .
Wolnasky reminisces and elaborates in a fluid manner, while I feel my own expression changing .
「The last I saw my daughter, she was grumbling about how she was getting chubby . Her breasts were always big, so I guess it was easy for her to consider herself fat . 」
「Plump and big-breasted……」
「She is an easygoing girl who smiles a lot . She certainly won’t be able to survive harsh environments . Moreover, she is such a pretty girl . I can’t bear it when I think how she could have suffered because of that . 」
「So she’s a beauty too……」
「She’s whimsical and falls in love easily, though she’s late into her marriageable years at 24 this year . I was just thinking that it might be time to get a grandchild……」
「24 years old and a beauty who is susceptible to fall in love…… not to mention she’s curvy and has large boobs…… I see . 」
My resolve stiffens .
「Excellency, if a man existed who could save your daughter, what would you do?」
「Hypotheticals are pointless . But if a man like that existed…… I would give anything for my daughter to be saved . There’s no question, in the end I’m just an unbelievably foolish parent . 」
「…… and what if your daughter was requested?」
「That’s a difficult situation, although she is someone who gets easily charmed . If a man saved her, she would likely follow him regardless of her parent’s permission . 」
That decides it .
「I cannot save you . However, I will let you meet with your daughter . 」
He said something afterwards, but at this point it doesn’t matter .
Night .
「Unnh, Aegir-sama…… it’s thick . 」
「Munyamnya…… giant cock……」
I leave Celia and Pipi in bed, then go make preparations .
I pounded them pretty hard so they shouldn’t wake up for a while .
「Sorry . But I have to go . 」
When I kiss their two faces, their expressions relax in content .
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