Chapter 227

Aegir POV

The tremendous amount of smoke spewed into the air from the Dard mountain dyes the sky gray .

Ally and enemy soldiers alike stand side-by-side staring at the otherworldly scene like idiots with their mouths open .

the soldiers cant fight like this .

A man who appears to be the commander of the Vandolea army looks at me awkwardly .

I guess not . Lets have a ceasefire until it calms down .

I reply while thinking about where Ive seen this guys face before .

If we were to resume battle now, it would be like the military training of some unmotivated villagers .

The enemy commanders gaze sharpens as he focuses on my face .

Who would have thought I would meet you and exchange words with you again

Umu, yeah . Its been a while since then .

I look over at Celia who is beside me .

Who was this guy again?

Hes the commander of the first invading army . I believe hes named Bejek you know, the one you took a prisoner of war from .

Oh, since that time . What a touching reunion .

Im just some insignificant person .

Hes acting all timid after I spent all that effort trying to remember him .

Hes so selfish .

Oh well, lets change the topic .

In any case, this is a first for me . This kind of stuff doesnt seem like it happens a lot in Vandolea .

Of course not . Ive never heard of fire and smoke blowing out from Dard even from legends! Whether its the fury of God or the resurrection of the Demon King your guess is as good as mine .

Gods fury huh, thats a conventional way of saying it but it also sounds believable .

The smoke endlessly billows up and only grows in size .

The south side of the Dard mountain is already covered with the ashy smoke and its hard to see past the dark clouds .

It feels like the ascending clouds of smoke would hide the whole sky .

Anything could happen while our allies and enemies are jumbled together like this . Lets split up for now .

Sure

Bejek and I yell at all the soldiers who are staring blankly at the mountain, forcefully separating our armies to the north and south .

We try to get back into formation just in case but it isnt working out too well .

I check on the condition of my allies during this brief ceasefire and they are distraught as expected .

The ones most affected are the bow cavalry and their commander Luna .

T-the mountain is angry . When did we incur its wrath

Luna, who doesnt usually show her emotions, is now hugging herself and trembling in fear .

I embrace her to reassure her but she doesnt stop shaking .

Seeing no other option, I extend a finger to her crotch, but she clearly rejects me saying now is not the right time .

It makes me a little sad .

It cant be helped, lets think about what we should do next .

What do you guys think we should do?

Leopolt and Tristan go into thinking as to how to deal with this abnormal situation .

And the both of them reach completely differing conclusions .

I believe we should march forward regardless of whether the unusual event dies down or the situation remains the same .

We should retreat for now . We have already achieved our goal of advancing to the south of Malt .

Leopolt insists that we progress forward while Tristan wants to pull back .

The enemy soldiers are just as distraught, which means it would be easy for us to take down the capital right now when all of Vandolea is affected by the anomaly . This isnt an opportunity we should pass up .

It is not the right time to gamble when something unknown is happening . We should pull back to the south line of Malt and watch how everything plays out . Besides, we dont have to worry about the enemy pursuing us .

In the midst of all these strange and sudden events, should we pursue greater results rapidly or should we just hold onto our initial results, let me hear the conclusion after more discussion .

Well then, shall we ask Lord Hardlett what he thinks?

These guys just threw it back at me in the end .

Whose work do they think this belongs to?

Making the final decision is a job which definitely belongs to Lord Hardlett .

fine, I get it .

then lets retreat . Weve already completed our objective .

Thats a lie .

The real reason is not because we achieved our goal .

Tristan is obviously relieved, probably because he just wants to go home as soon as possible .

On the other hand, Leopolts expression doesnt change and his only comment was understood .

I can tell though .

Hes probably sulking inside .

I call out to Leopolt right as he was about to make preparations for the army to retreat .

Does it upset you that I chose to follow Tristans advice instead?

Making decisions is Lord Hardletts job . If that is the direction you chose, I can only obey .

Fumu, I guess I should tell him the real reason .

You see, I didnt really choose Tristans suggestion . I was thinking of retreating from the start .

Only Leopolts eyes turn toward me .

And what was the reason for that thought?

I smile and respond while folding up the collar of Leopolts military uniform .

I had a bad feeling . Thats it .

Ever since fire started coming out from the mountain, I get this strange chill running down my spine and I cant stop thinking something bad is going to happen .

For the past little while and even now, I cant stop shaking .

theres no other reason except this gut feeling of yours?

Leopolt asks while folding down his collar .

Nothing except my instincts . Not happy with that answer?

I flip up the collar of Leopolts uniform again .

He immediately adjusts it back and stays silent for a short moment .

No, Lord Hardlett definitely has the devils luck if nothing else . I should obediently accept your judgement rather than follow the conclusion of making poor assumptions .

Sorry . wait a second .

This guy, he just said the only thing I had going for me was luck, right?

Pardon me, you also have brute strength . Now if you will excuse me, I will go make preparations .

Leopolt takes his leave after that comment .

How dare he laugh at me internally while he remains expressionless on the surface .

A little while after the order was given, I felt something hit my back .

It was Pipi who came running to me .

Chief! The mountain the mountain

So Pipi is scared of the unusual activity on the mountain just like Luna is?

Ill just gently soothe her .

Thats not it! Something doesnt look right with the smoke! Its becoming shorter! Its being sucked into the mountain!

The smoke?

Smoke should be spread all over .

If its getting sucked in, there would have to be a giant God or something .

I concentrate my eyes towards the mountain but the thick black smoke surrounding the area makes it hard to see .

However, it does appear that some of the smoke isnt ascending as high anymore .

Dont worry Pipi, well be going back north soon .

I hug her to set her mind at ease but the shouting continues .

Aegir-sama, the smoke is crumbling the surface of the mountain!

Thats Celia .

I look carefully and see that the rising smoke is breaking parts of the mountains surface instead of dispersing into the air and parts of the Dard mountain is being carried down .

Dard mountain isnt a small mountain, right!?

This mountain isnt just an ordinary mountain you can find anywhere even when viewed on the map .

The mountain straddling the Altair-Vandolea border boasts a considerable size .

It should be several thousand meters tall as well .

B-but the smoke has already reached the halfway point!

The chills I feel on my back get stronger .

The smoke rolls down at terrifying speed, yet it is still barely visible .

As expected there is still quite some distance until it will reach us, plus this is the plains so it shouldnt go that far

The confusion lasted for a second .

Leopolt! Stop all preparations and have everyone retreat to the north!

Right should we go immediately?

Have no intentions to discuss .

Dispose of the tents and heavy objects, theres no need to maintain ranks and its fine if you have to abandon equipment . All members will evacuate no, run away!!

Leopolt looks briefly at the mountain though he doesnt say anything else and repeats my order to the others .

Tristan, who normally complains all the time, similarly becomes a messenger and relays the instructions to our allies .

Withdraw so we dont need to maintain formation?Run freely what does that mean?Dont tell me, did we lose?

The soldiers mix with the different squads and start running north in a disjointed state .

They were told not to retreat in disorder during training so when they found me, all of them slowed down to ask me whether I was actually asking them to do so .

What are you dilly-dallying for!? Run as fast as you can!!

When I yelled at them, all of them quickly pick up the pace and sprints away .

I turn around to check the mountain and the clump of smoke has already reached the foot of the mountain .

Thats some scary speed .

H-hey, the enemy is running away .

Why arent we in ceasefire?

No way, did we win?

The enemy soldiers located slightly to the south are also confused .

Bejeks face is saying he doesnt know what is going on either .

I raise my spear and point it towards the mountain .

The enemy soldiers follow the direction my spearhead was pointing and realize the mass of smoke moving down the mountain . They soon start screaming and running just like we did .

D-did we win uoooooooh, we won! Oww!!

You idiot! Run!!

One of the enemy soldiers cheered without reading the atmosphere, then ends up getting whacked in the head and pulled along by the arm .

The ally soldiers did not know what they were running from at first, but ran faster when they realized the gradually approaching smoke and ended up in a full sprint .

Chief! It will definitely come here!

That isnt smoke .

A gray colored wall is closing in on us .

The wall which has already slid down the mountain isnt slowing down even on flat ground .

Its even faster than a horse what incredible speed!

Were running at full speed yet the wall is getting bigger and bigger .

The infantry scream as they are unable to run fast enough to escape it and end up climbing on the backs of the cavalry .

Look at that!!

Celia points to a farm village while on horseback .

The villagers of the nearby settlement were looking worriedly at the battlefield to determine what fate would await them .

Theyre getting swallowed

The entire village as well as the adjacent forest was swallowed by the gray wall in an instant .

Then, it left burning red flames in its trail .

That smoke is hot enough to set things on fire?

That means the villagers are unfortunately all dead .

If we stood still and watched, we would probably have ended up with the same fate .

If you clear your mind of all thoughts, fire would also

Just be quiet!

I grab Kroll as he mumbles some meaningless garbage and run with him .

We ran a considerable distance to the north but the wall still chases us .

It moves forward, burning all the forests, fields, and even small settlements along the way .

That thing about Gods having a drink is nonsense . This is literally the breath of a demon .

I look behind me and see a portion of the Vandolea soldiers who are stopping to hide behind some rocks .

Idiots this isnt just a gust of wind . This breeze is hot enough to set things on fire .

Sure enough, dying cries can be heard as soon as the smoke flows into the rocky area .

Although it quickly becomes silent again .

When I finally had to pay attention to how close it got behind me, I hear a small scream .

Celia!

Celias horse gets its leg caught in a hole and tumbles over .

The horse isnt one to make such a mistake in normal circumstances but its legs might have tangled together due to the pressure coming from behind .

Tch!

I quickly stop my horse .

Myla, who was running beside me, also stops .

Lord Hardlett! If you stop now, itll catch up to you!!

You go first, Ill be fine .

B-but

I glare at Myla who was about to say something .

It might be the first time I look at a woman this way .

Myla nods with tears in her eyes and runs off .

Sorry, I know youre worried about me .

But I cant imagine leaving Celia behind .

Move it, move!

The large group of allies has already fled to the north .

I push my way through the panicking Vandolea soldiers and rush to Celias aid .

Are you alright?

Y-yes but the horse

It doesnt look like Celia herself suffered any major injuries but the horses leg is broken .

We dont have time . Get on .

I pick up Celia and put her on the horse in front of me .

I glance behind me .

The smoke has already closed the distance because I stopped moving forward .

Lets go full speed Schwartz . I dont care if you have to kick away those in front of you .

To be honest, there is only a small chance we will be able to outrun the smoke considering how fast it moves .

But abandoning Celia was never a choice .

Ill do as much as I can .

Schwartz neighs softly and runs like a black wind .

It feels like the Vandolea infantry and cavalry running in front are standing still .

There are no horses who can match this guys speed .

At this speed, we could probably reach the Federation in a single day .

Even so .

Its catching up

The gray colored smoke is even faster .

I dont have the effort to turn backwards, but Im sure the smoke would be right in front of my eyes if I did .

I can already start hearing the screams of the Vandolea soldiers behind me .

The pond which passed before my eyes for an instant crosses my mind, but I reject the idea .

My instinct tells me it wouldnt work .

I can only trust in Schwartz that he would be able to outrun the smoke .

Schwartz turns toward me while maintaining his speed .

His face looks horrible and foam is coming out from his mouth as he tries to tell me something with his eyes .

It felt like he was saying heavy .

Celia, lend me a knife .

Without waiting for a reply, I forcefully take the knife from her hip, cut the leather string tying the horse armor together with his mane and throw it away .

I remove my own armor and toss it away as well .

Seeing what I was doing, Celia follows suit and takes off her own armor as well as her clothes, leaving just her underwear on .

Several kilograms worth of armor lessen the weight on Schwartzs back and he raises his speed one more level higher .

It felt like time stopped for all the surrounding soldiers as we zoomed past them .

Still no good!?

The flood of smoke doesnt seem to recede .

It seems even faster than the accelerating Schwartz and there is almost no gap between us .

I can feel the hot air surrounding us .

Schwartz turns his head at me again .

Is it still too heavy?

Throw me off! Its because of me that Aegir-sama will die!

Celia tries to jump off but I hold her down and rub her ass while I think .

The Dual Crater is light so thats not the problem .

Oh, its this

The dwarven spear easily weighs more than 30 kilograms .

I like it quite a bit and its also the proof of friendship between me and the dwarves .

It wont mean anything if I become charcoal while hanging onto it .

I throw the spear backwards .

Now I just have to leave everything to Schwartz .

I pat his black head lightly before hugging Celia and bringing our bodies low .

It feels like we got a little faster .

I continue to hear death throes around me and the heat gets stronger, then I feel fine sands hitting my body .

I dont know if it caught up, but smoke wraps around in front of me and my field of vision goes black .

I dont want to die before I get to meet Lucy .

Celia has finally grown up into a beautiful lady too, its such a waste for her to burn .

When I gently hug Celia, who clings to me in tears, the view in front of me suddenly clears up .

I turn back and see the flood of smoke stop moving, eventually breaking apart slowly .

It looks like I still have a chance to meet Lucy .

I let the sobbing Celia know were safe .

Waah ueeeaaaah! Im sorry for tripping and putting Aegir-sama in danger!!

Celia obviously cries and hugs me .

Myla and Irijina also rush over in tears .

It doesnt look like any of the soldiers behind me survived .

Just in case, go a little further north before confirming the amount of losses .

Leopolt doesnt overreact to what happened .

You could at least show you care .

The general should have been the first to escape . Please be careful next time .

Dont be like that, youre making Celia cry more .

I survived, so its all good now .

Leopolt turns around after that brief comment and Tristan speaks to him .

You breathed a big sigh of relief just now, didnt you . You were actually worried, werent you .

The army will collapse if the general is defeated . It is a natural thing to worry about .

You wanted to go back for a second, didnt you . It didnt seem like your usual calm self .

Theyre talking with each other about something .

Ah, Leopolt just tripped Tristan .

Guys, dont fight amongst yourselves .

From what I can see, my army hasnt lost anybody .

Everybody managed to get away .

Im so sorry Im so sorry hic .

Now, I just have to comfort the crying Celia .

I sigh lightly and lament as I look at the land to the south which has become completely gray .

The Vandolea army and I head north for a while to confirm the current situation together .

Bejek agrees that it would be stupid if we fought each other using sticks and stones with our faces covered in ash after losing our armor and weapons .

How was it?

Our troops suffered very few casualties . Only a few dozen tripped and were swallowed up . The vassal lords armies are pretty much unharmed too .

Thats fortunate .

It was probably a good idea that we made preparations to retreat even if it was barely too late .

I pull Schwartzs charred tail as I listen to Leopolts report .

On the other hand, Vandolea cannot distinguish who was killed in battle a third of their army is missing .

I see but they were further south than we were . They should be happy that 10,000 survived .

Ah! His tail was pulled off .

oh, nevermind . Just the burnt hairs fell off . That scared me for a second there .

Ow, dont bite my head Schwartz, that hurts .

A scout was deployed to confirm the areas further away .

It probably isnt a very pleasant report .

The smoke its probably better to call it a heated up mass of ash . That stuff was apparently leaking to all sides around the mountain . The damage it caused was massive, no its better to say it was a catastrophe .

I nod as I listen to the report Leopolt gathered from the findings of all the scouts .

Im reminded of the village that burned down .

The towns and villages within range got burned down without exception and buried in ash . The Dard mountain is still spewing ash from the top as we speak . Large red flames can be seen near the peak as well .

Leopolt and I can listen calmly but the same cant be said for the Vandolea army .

Its no wonder because the report was about how their own farming villages were completely wiped out .

The areas near the mountain has thick ash and residual heat so investigations cant be done yet, but there should not be any need .

If the outer ring was as bad as what we saw, then there would be no point going further inside . There are probably no survivors .

what a mess . How could something like this happen

Bejek slumps his shoulders in exhaustion .

His soldiers also threw away their weapons and armor to make it easier to run away .

The appearance of him sitting down with ash plastered to one side of his face makes him look more like a ghost than a defeated soldier .

The ash is being spread in a circular fashion around the mountain . It hasnt been confirmed but it probably flowed not only to the Vandolea side but also to the Altair side .

If so, then this would be an unprecedented catastrophe .

Yes . There will be major fluctuations which will affect the existence of the southern nations .

All the strategies we came up with might have become useless now .

I guess well go back .

There was no need for lengthy discussion .

It doesnt look like ceasefire negotiations or continuation of war will be possible with Vandolea .

The soldiers probably want to return north as soon as possible .

If I say to them that well be crossing over the mountain of ash and resuming the invasion, some of them may want to run away .

What are you guys going to do?

I call out to Bejek .

Vandola is far enough from the mountain the ash shouldnt have covered it so we have to make our report . However

As I thought, this expedition is not an ordinary one .

It might be unnecessary concern, but-

Leopolt steps in front of Bejek .

Vandolea as compared to Goldonia views your army as a group of deserters and our nation has told us they would not be intervening .

Bejek was not shocked when he was told of this news .

Desertershuh? I thought it was something like that . We could never just return alive from the start .

Bejek and the soldiers around him hang their heads and stare at the ground sadly .

You cant blame then since they had no home to return to the moment they departed .

Come to my territory . You wont be free to do anything, however you will definitely be treated more favorably there than if you returned to your fatherland .

Some of the soldiers lift their heads up .

Bejeks head remains down though .

The dishonor of betraying our fatherland hahaha, I guess it doesnt matter now .

He looks at the land buried in ash .

My birthplace as well is located at the base of the Dard mountain . I tried my hardest not to disgrace my family but its all over now .

Bejek turns around .

Those who want to return to our country may go . With that said, it wont be easy to return now you will have to make a huge detour to the east

You will get a few days worth of food .

Bejek adds at the end .

Those who want to follow me to Goldonia can stay here . Lord Hardlett will probably not treat us poorly .

The Vandolea soldiers murmur amongst themselves before 10% of the soldiers take food and head east while the other 90% remain .

It isnt normal to run together with the enemy from fire spewing from the mountain after a deathmatch with them . What a strange twist of fate .

Ill think about your treatment after we get back . Your heads will be lopped off if you commit any wrongdoings, but you should be fine if youre obedient .

Something suddenly falls on my shoulder .

Snow its still autumn though .

This falling white stuff it should not be possible during autumn even when were so far south of the central plains .

When I try grabbing some of it and squeezing my hand, it gives off a foul smell without melting .

Oh, its ash it doesnt feel hot though .

Its piling up more and more .

As Myla said, the ash like snow is falling and accumulating on the ground, the river, and the fields .

We advance north despite the unceasing fall of ash .

The forest and river quickly become covered with the gray material .

I occasionally brush the pile of ash off my head as we march north to get out of this colorless world .

It was an incomplete war but its over .

The southern region is now permanently changed

Oh yeah, Celia put on some clothes .

An idiot like me deserves to stay naked

Celia clings to me in her underwear .

It seems shes still bothered about putting me in a near-death situation .

You dont have to worry about it so much since we got saved in the end . Hey, Christoph is going to see you at this rate .

I pull her underwear to the side to tease her .

Hell see your pretty white ass, you know .

A fool like me deserves to be seen naked by Christoph and used as masturbation material .

Celia keeps sulking while clinging to me .

I kick Christoph away when he tried to take a peek and cover Celia with a blanket .

Shes become so miserable .

What am I going to do with her .

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett . 23 years old . Autumn .

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave . Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area . King of the Mountains . Friend of the Dwarves . Friend of the King of Aless .

Citizens: 163,000 . Major Cities Rafen: 24,000 . Lintbloom: 4500 .

Family: Nonna (the pretty Nonna), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Miti (concubine), Maria (concubine)

Catherine (concubine, sexually frustrated ++), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover), Mireille (lover), Leah (lover)

Casie (Suspect K), Rita (head maid), Yoguri (playwright), Pipi (lover), Alice (magical girl)

Marceline (lover), Daughters Stephanie (lover), Bridget (sexually frustrated +++), Felicie (lover)

Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (lover, in the capital), Melissa (lover, left for the capital), Alma (left for the capital)

Children: Sue, Miu, Ekaterina, Amata, Anastasia (daughters); Antonio, Claude, Gilbard, Reiner, Bartolome (sons); Rose (foster daughter)

Non-humans: Lammy (snake lover), Mirumi (mermaid), ??? (strange plant)

Subordinates: Celia (depressed), Gido (escort unit), Kroll (mendicant monk), Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby

Myla (security officer), Polte (training supervisor), Gretel (domestic affairs trainee)

Leopolt (staff officer), Adolph (domestic affairs official), Tristan (staff officer B)

Claire & Laurie (official merchant), Schwartz (horse, burnt ), Lilian (actress)

Army: 14,200 men

Infantry: 7150 , Cavalry: 800, Archers: 950, Bow Cavalry: 3900 (Vassal lords army: 1400)

Cannons: 10, Large Cannons: 10 (abandoned cannons on the frontlines)

Vandolea Army?: 9000

Assets: 470 gold

Sexual Partners: 233, children who have been born: 48 + 555 fish