Chapter 46.1

Chapter 46 Part 1: That time when there was a melee in front of the fort and we didnt know what to do as we watched from the side

The morning of the next day, the leader of the unit who looks like an insect with feelers growing out of his head did a speech in a loud voice. While he was doing that, I was carefully eating my meal. I went through all the effort lining up to get this warm soup after all.

Well be moving on foot from this point onwards! Well be able to see our destination, the fort, once we cross that hill! The fort is an important location in the frontlines where the supplies are delivered and injured soldiers are treated and at this moment, the humans are trying to snatch it away from us! Our job will be to repel them!

Just take whatever is necessary from your luggage in the carriages. You can leave the rest to the remaining 10% of the group that will stay behind. In case something happens, we can send a messenger here so you should look for someone who will receive that message! Our victory is certain! Thats why Id like it if you savor your meal and eat it slowly!

So in other words, hes saying that this might be our last meal so we should savor this meal. Well, I guess you dont really say it in such a blunt way like that normally. Might as well savor my meal as he said.

Oi, Caam. What do you think were going to do?

Who knows? We were just told to act as a supporting unit so we can just move independently as a commando unit right? Even Yaoul-san wasnt sure since he said that its out of his jurisdiction so lets just take it easy and try not to cause trouble

Thats true. Lets just all mobilize together

Whats with this Lets all go together atmosphere building up here?

After we finished eating breakfast, I took my small rucksack and rushed to finish up the inspection of my equipment. If I take too long, the people from the infantry corps might make a fuss.

Oh? Its time, isnt it?

Yeah, it seems so. Are we going to say at the end of the line like last time?

We already finished guarding the Transportation Corps so our task right now is to eliminate the humans whore swarming the frontline base, however, the two of us werent sure what were supposed to do. Were being treated as mercenaries and there arent a lot of us here so aside from providing us with meals and other consumable goods, were pretty much ignored.

Nn, I guess we should go then

Right

After saying that, our group started walking. We sounded very relaxed as we conversed so the everyone around started glaring at us.

Come to think of it, are there any other units who have people that were dispatched from the guild?

I dont think so

Does that mean that Cravatte-sama didnt hire anyone else besides the two of us?

Ah, thats probably the case

Since we were so casually conversing, the members of the infantry corps started glaring at us as we followed them closely behind.

Is that the hill?

As I said that, the soldiers were already starting to line up side by side and the cavalry unit setting up behind the hill. Theyre split into two groups so theyll probably cross the hill from both sides.

Well, I already saw that in their training so that is to be expected but I wonder how theyll fare when were in battle. While I was thinking that, we decided to take a look at the situation at the fort.

Theyre still so small I can barely see them but at the bottom of the gently sloped hill 700 meters ahead, there are human soldiers besieging the fort. In front of them is a moat thats surrounding a square rampart. The rampart was around 300 meters wide on one side and 10 meters tall with arrowslits on top. Since I can see people moving around on top, I guess the wall is at least 2 meters thick. The entrance should probably be a drawbridge. Can they accommodate these much reinforcements I wonder? Im not sure if theyre still alive in there though. I want to be able to sleep in a soft bed and a roof on my head soon.

The grounds completely bare with no trace of grass. I guess it must have been thoroughly trodden on. I cant even see any trees and only a few bushes nearby.

How annoying. We cant ambush them so I can only wear my brown clothes.

The moat was around 7 meters wide and looks to be about 3 meters deep. How deep the water level is then? Im guessing that its enough to drown the humans but cant really tell. Wait, dont tell me its just a meter deep. Even if they botched up the construction, thats still too little water.

The distance between the ramparts and the moat is pretty wide so they wont be able to cross unless they had a really long ladder. I see that the humans have a siege tower but it doesnt seem like itll be of any use (with the moat right there).

Now that I think about it, how do they do trigonometric functions in this world anyway? The wall is 10 meters tall and its about 7 meters away from them so the ladder length should be Well, so long enough to reach it I guess. Un. Its no use even if somebody acquires that knowledge, they probably wouldnt know where and how to apply it.

Well, the worst thing about all of this is the insufficient water level. They would probably give up if it was deep but they can just enter the moat if its actually shallow. It would be difficult to move through the water if it at least reached their waist though.

They are already in the water so even if the guys defending the fort pour boiling oil and water from above, they might just get away with only moderate burns. But even so, the unsanitary conditions in the battlefield among other things make it so that theyll probably suffer for a long time and will eventually die from those injuries. Well, they might also survive but thats just what I presume.

Is that a handcartwheelbarrow? The humans have those at hand so while theyre being shot by arrows, the humans were frantically digging and transporting soil to try and fill the moat. Theres water in it though so its just turning into a bog.

The guys in the fort are still holding out against the humans catapult right now but there are only a few guys aiming at the humans operating that mango-something whatever its called. Or is that just an even bigger trebu Geez, Ill just call it a stone-throwing weapon. Why do these weapons have such complicated names? Well, the smaller one has a shorter range so I guess they picked that one to target. They would obviously bring those out after all. This is bad, isnt it? [TL: Mangonel= and trebuchet= Those words are a mouthful for the Japanese I guess]

I wonder why the humans still havent used that stone-throwing weapon yet. Well, I guess that has nothing to do with me.

Oi. It seems like were going to be attacking soon

Roger. Im going to change my clothes so give me a moment

After saying that, I changed into my brown clothes then mixed water with the soil to create mud to cover my face and hair.

Alright! With this, Im completely brown!1

You really are a strange guy, arent you?

I cant really deny that

The people of this world just dont get it yet.

Charge!

Ohhh!

A large number of people vigorously charged towards the hill then split into to the left and right paths. Looking at the right path, we can see the main entrance so youd probably be behind the fort if you took the other path.

Oi, did we get left behind?

Hm? Ah. Well, it cant be helped. Were just hired help after all. Lets just look at the flow of the battle before we take action

Noticing their loud voices, the humans turned around, put up their shields, then poked their long spears through the gaps. A formation that emphasizes defense is good and all but can they stand the force of a horse running downhill I wonder?

Ah, their formations collapsing. Well, its impossible after all. From there, the humans were starting to recover their disarrayed formation but they were suddenly attacked by a large group from behind.

They guys who were attacking the fort were forced to go on the defensive as a response the charge so they were still able to somewhat recover but their numbers were clearly not enough.

After that, the prisoners who were only equipped with just a sword and shield started mowing down the humans as stones were flying at them. They may be prisoners but that still some pretty crappy equipment, isnt it? I wonder if it cant be helped since theyre just considered as disposable pawns. Well, I cant really say anything about equipment considering that I have my shovel, crowbar, machete, and thick clothes.

I wonder if those unpopular old men are still alright

We need to cut the rope to prevent that stone-thrower from attacking. Well, I guess we should go and give them support. I soften the ground near it with magic then turned it over burying a lot of the humans nearby while I was at it.

Its magic! They have a magician with them! Stay vigilant!

A flashy looking guy started waving around his sword while saying something. Well, I wouldnt be able to hear them from here though.

Hmm. Well then, I guess we should go as well

Huh? Did you do that?

Yeah He was pointing his finger towards that scene so I just lightly replied.

You really are an idiot, arent you! You usually wouldnt be able to do that you know! He violently retorted.

Well, I was able to do it though

Haa Well, whatever. So, what are we going to do?

Theres a melee up front so were going to go around them. If we go through the other side of this hill using the left path, well be behind the fort. Lets just do that so we can proceed safely

After saying that, we moved towards the other side of the hill while making sure we werent noticed as we went around them.

I poked my head out a bit to make sure the coast is clear and to examine the situation. It looks like the humans cant do anything. They cant even set up their ladders on the ramparts because theyre busy dealing with our troops as theyre getting shot by arrows from above. It kinda feels like everything will somehow be alright even if we do nothing.

This is just a conclusion I came up with but do you want to hear it?

What is it?

It kinda feels like we wont get our turn at this rate

While I was saying that, Keith also poked his head out.

Ah

It looks like he got what I meant.

I wonder how it looks from the front

Dont know. Are we going to go around again?

I guess so

We were already clear of the hill so we decided to go another detour to reach the right side while making sure that the humans dont see us.

We havent done anything yet, have we?

Yeah

While having that kind of exchange, we lowered our bodies as we made our way to a shrubbery located near the right side of the rampart. I really appreciate the reliability of the plants in these kinds of situations.

Im not sure how intense of a battle theyre having on the left side but its just a battle between the laddermen versus the guys throwing boiling oil and water over the ramparts and the archers here on the right. Meanwhile, the exchange of arrows between the attackers and defenders continues.

Shall we start giving them support while making sure to avoid shifting their attention to us?

Y-yeah

After saying that, I shot out a boiling WaterBall. I choose boiling water instead of the normal one since I took into consideration the splash radius and figured that I might as well target the guys who are climbing the ladder.

Ive always thought about this but how exactly does the water ball in games do damage?

Is it from the impact of being shot out or does it have something to do with the quality of the water used? I guess that might be it since Ive heard that its possible for the waters surface to have the equivalent hardness of a concrete wall depending on the angle and speed you hit it. Im sure it would really hurt if a buckets worth of water that was traveling at more than a hundred kph hit you.

Giyaa!Arghh~~~

Feeling the heat on their backs, the people climbing the ladders jumped into the moat by themselves in panic. While I was observing that, the soldiers on top of the wall peaked over and shot arrows into the moat. They probably want to make sure that theyre dead.

Even though theyre speaking a different language, it seems like youll be able to understand the scream no matter which world you are in.

Keith, will your arrows reach them from here?

It will but my aim might be a little wonky at this distance Im sure that it will reach them though

Theyre about 200 meters away after all. I guess its hard to predict where the arrow would land at that distance.

I see. We wouldnt want to hit our allies so it cant be helped. I guess Ill use my magic then. Ah, we might get noticed if I do that. Is that okay?

Do what you want. I wont say anything about your magic anymore

Roger~

I generated a 500 litters worth of boilingWaterBall 20 meters above and dropped it towards an area where there were a lot of humans. Ive seen that amount in a large tank at a hardware store so it was easy for me to imagine the size.

As if a large water balloon exploded, the hot water scattered around in every direction causing a large amount of steam to come out. The soldiers who got hit by the hot water screamed and jumped into the moat.

When the steam cleared up, the demonkin soldiers who had no idea what just happened came to their senses and started firing arrows towards the digging humans and topping down the ladders.

Ugh

While groaning, Keith had a weird look on his face as he looked at me.

It seems like you have something you want to say

I know I said that I wont comment about your magic anymore but you really are an oddball, arent you?

Is that so?

Even as I said that, I continued producing another hot water ball for my next wave of attack.

After doing that a few times, the soldiers started running away. It seems like theyre about to approach our direction.

Hey, I still need to aim my waterball at the guys attacking the wall so Ill leave these ones to you

Yeah yeah. I got it

After saying that, he started eliminating the humans running towards us by shooting arrows at them one by one. No matter what you say about Keith, theres no denying the fact that his accuracy and rate of fire are really good. That might be the reason why he was also chosen by a noble.

After Keith defeated a few more people, instead of running away to our direction, they spread out left and right sides of the rampart.

Ill just leave the guys coming this way to you. Theyre not running towards us just yet so it doesnt seem like we were noticed

Got it

While examining the situation, I let loose another water ball but that no longer did anything because of how spread out the humans are. Even if I didnt do anything, the soldiers on top of the ramparts could have dealt with them with their arrows.

They have to worry about the hot water if they group up but then there are the arrows if they decide to split up or run away. And no matter where they run, theyre bound to get attacked so the humans no longer have a chance in this fight.

Dont you think thats enough?

Ah, I guess so. Theres no need for me to produce any more waterballs

We decided to lay low in the bushes for a while.

OHHHHH!

A few moments after that, we heard loud cheers coming from the fort. There were still a few vanguards from the prisoner troops roaming about the entire battlefield has been mostly cleared up(of soldiers).

Is that it?

Were already done, right?

We stood up from behind the bushes and approached the out of breath prisoner soldiers.

Is it over?

I think so

The prisoner soldier we approached was a panting bloodstained beastkin who had bloodshot eyes and was being vigilant of his surroundings.

Im sorry to be rude but is that blood yours? Are you injured?

Its from the enemy so dont worry about it

I see. Then, lets go group up with the others

We began to walk after that. It made me feel depressed knowing that well have to walk while avoiding the mountain of corpses. I didnt want to see any dead bodies but I cant avoid doing that since they are everywhere. Its the worst.

After most of the soldiers have gathered and even the carriages carrying the goods arrived they lowered the drawbridge and a flabby creature wearing clean and gaudy clothes and whose race I didnt know came out. In a high-pitched voice, he said:

Thanks for the reinforcement

Did he get so fat that it started squeezing his vocal cords? I cant even fathom a guess as to what race he is.

Thank goodness you arrived on time

The insectkin who is probably the one in charge of the place said that as he beckoned the caravan.

All of the goods are fine as well. Well be able to continue fighting with this

Then the flabby creature butted in and address the troops.

Nobody will get mad at us if we splurge out today! Because of that, while youre cleaning up, well make a nice hot meal for you!

OHHH

Un, I certainly think that its important to raise the morale of the troops but you would probably jump on any reason to eat, right? Shouldnt you also attach debuu to the end of your sentences? Hell be saying something like

Im hungry. Bring out the food debuuWhat are you doing debuu! Finish off the humans quickly debuu![TL: equivalent to oink oink I guess]

While Im coming up with such wild ideas, Keith was giving me a weird look.

While gathering the arrows from the soldiers corpses our troops were finishing off the not yet dead but suffering humans lying around. After that, they piled up the corpses on one place then set them on fire. The smell of the burning humans started to reach my nose so I ran upwind to escape it. Or rather, why is it that the cleanup time takes longer compared to our time in battle?

As for the ones who ran away earlier, the lightly injured ones and the ones wearing flashy-looking armor were bound and gathered in front of the gate. Ah, I really dont want to know what will happen to them after this. What do they even do with the survivors? Just as I was thinking that, when I looked back, their heads were already separated from their bodies.

A-ah, I knew I shouldnt have looked

Muttering that, I searched for my luggage on the carriage and decided to stuff my face with sweets. Its already past noon based on the position of the sun so I decided to look for Keith while walking on the slippery blood-soaked ground.

O~i, have you had your lunch yet?

Before that, you should go and wipe your face

Yeah, I didnt get covered in blood this time so I completely forgot

I shoved my face inside the Waterball I created then wiped it off with a cloth.

Thats a really convenient magic, isnt it?

Right? Want me to teach you?

I tried saying that while grinning.

I cant use magic

Well, my bow skill is pretty trash

So what? You want me to teach you that in return?

No. What Im implying is that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses

Damn right. How bad are you with the bow anyway?

Ill somehow manage to hit anything but my target. It also kinda feels like the arrow would fly straighter if I just threw it

Whats with that? Let me see it for a bit

He laughed as he handed me a bow and arrow. Then, he then started commenting as I did my demo.

Ooh, what a nice form

Ah, it kinda seems like youve been cursed by god. It doesnt seem like it will fly straight no matter what you do

While we were doing that, we heard some soldiers shout, Its meal time! as they were walking so we immediately decided to follow them. It had more ingredients in it this time but they still served the same bacon soup and hard-baked bread.

Theyre still pretty stingy when it comes to splurging out, arent they? Well, theyve just restocked the supplies so I guess it cant be helped

Theres just bacon in it so it doesnt really make me happy

Nn. Damn right

You know, the carriage I rode to get to Tephroite had prisoners in it

Whats this all of a sudden?

Well, I was thinking about searching for them since Ive heard that there were a few of us from the demonkin side who were injured

I see

Yeah. Moreover, Ive heard that almost all of the injured were from the prisoner group so Im a bit worried about them

Lets go then. We arent soldiers so they probably wont say anything

I guess thats true. Sorry about talking about this even though were eating

Dont mind it. Its actually better that way since the smell of that burning corpse mountain thats starting to reach us

We quickly finished our meal after that then I walked towards the area where the prisoners were gathered.