Translator: Nat

Aegir POV

Gildress and the 15 000 soldiers of the Aless army he is leading started charging at the South Yuguria army before our eyes as soon as they were acknowledged as enemies.

The 5000 soldiers of the Goldonian army and I were not completely ready to attack, however, we couldn't just watch them attack, so we followed their lead.

It became a pretty messy situation, but the Royal army commanders trained by Erich adapted quickly and acted accordingly. They try to cooperate with the Aless soldiers and gain an advantage in battle.

The enemy is divided into several groups. Spread out into two wings and limit the freedom of movement

My developed muscles are growling!

I'll show you the strength of a man of Aless!

Booze, women, and battle! That's how a man lives!

Archers aim for the center of the enemy, cavalry circle around from the side and

Uoooooh! It's time to fight!

My pecs are throbbing greatly as if they have been waiting for this day for a long time!

In a man's fight, there is only a frontal charge!

They're working together to aim for victory.

Eh, working together? You mean this?

Celia turns around with a cold tone.

Don't worry about it.

I'm simply escaping reality a little bit.

Goldonia's commanders are definitely shouting various instructions, except the soldiers of Aless aren't paying attention at all.

The only thing they are doing is running straight at the enemy with vigor.

In the first place, their brains are wired not to listen to anybody else.

Standing in front of every brawny-looking man and wearing his distinct red cloak is none other than Gildress, the king of Aless.

My friend, feast your eyes on this! This is how a man of Aless fights!

Gildress turns around mid-run to face me, then bangs his sword and shield together.

His smile is genuine, displaying true happiness from the bottom of his heart.

He's calling you.

I was prepared for it, but he's more suffocating than expected.

When I see his face, I no longer feel like asking why they don't need rest after swimming across the North Teries river all through the night or asking how they can run faster than cavalry.

Aless's charge was enough to rattle us, so I can imagine how shaken the South Yuguria army are.

After all, as soon as the sun rose, 15 000 soldiers suddenly appeared in front of them and are charging without delay.

Knowing they have control of the river, the impact of such a scene should be even greater.

I don't think they can comprehend how they crossed.

I mean, I probably wouldn't have believed what happened before Gildress told me, and even after hearing it, I still think it sounds pretty stupid.

Except the enemy didn't remain stunned for long.

They probably realized the inconsistency when they saw the emblem and equipment of the charging Aless soldiers differ from that of Goldonia's.

A few light cavalry rushed out and shouted loudly.

Hold it! We see that you lot are not Goldonian soldiers. Who might you be!?

I am Gildress, the king of Aless! I am here to be your enemy in order to fulfill a promise between men, among other things!

Gildress replies directly, ignoring the light cavalry and continuing his charge.

I guess he won't bother with worthless opponents.

An arrogant-looking messenger stepped forward next.

This is a battle between Goldonia and our Yuguria Empire, we have no reason to fight Aless. Doesn't Aless feel the same?

They're trying to persuade him.

I-if Aless stops now, we'll be finished! I'm worried that musclehead will be deceived by words.

Celia expresses her concern, but I don't panic.

It'll be fine. Although he might not be very logical, he is trustworthy.

Gildress, who couldn't have heard the conversation between Celia and I, eases up his speed and shouts back.

Nay! A promise to a friend is reason enough for me to fight!

At the very least, his voice is hoarse and thunderous.

The messenger's horse rears back and Schwartz folds his ears uncomfortably in annoyance.

If you fight us here, you are declaring all-out war with our nation! You think you have a chance of winning against us!?

I don't care! The important thing is that a fight with a powerful opponent is exactly what we want.

That messenger isn't getting through to him. I know, conversing with Gildress can be a real drag.

Maybe because he was getting impatient, the next thing the messenger said would completely flip the cheerful smile on Gildress's face.

You're willing to expose your country and its people to danger for a trivial promise!?

Gildress stops in his tracks, his head pointing slightly down toward the ground.

The Aless soldiers stop with him, a few of them letting out a dubious groan to question the cause for the sudden standstill, however, they show no signs of anxiety or confusion.

What's wrong, my King? Are you not going to charge?

Are we resting? In that case, I'll eat something.

I'm going to change my pants. It feels itchy.

Some of them actually start eating and take off their pants argh, I just saw something disgusting.

In contrast to the composed Aless soldiers, Gildress boils with anger.

It's rare for him to become quiet and it's even eerie.

Just now what did you say?

His voice is as loud as usual, although the pitch was lower than before, a deep rumbling that carried an intense pressure.

I can tell Schwartz's body tense up despite the nonchalant face he's making.

You're willing to expose your people for a promise

Shut up!

Gildress raises his face that has now become filled with anger.

You said a promise to a friend a vow between men, is trivial?

All of a sudden, Gildress lets out a beastly growl and runs.

Hurrgh!

Gildress charges at a speed at which the messenger couldn't respond and front kicks the horse's chest with all his might.

There was a squashing sound as his foot sunk into the animal's body, the horse's eyes rolling back into its head before falling on its side.

Guwah! W-what are you doing!? I wanted to negotiate

Gildress doesn't seem to be in a mood to listen to the messenger who was flung to the ground.

He stands imposingly over the messenger and shouts, the tip of his sword pointed at the fallen man.

I don't care about South Yuguria! I don't care about the reason Goldonia is fighting! However, don't think you can talk if you dare make light of a man's vow and promise. You guys and I are not compatible. Since we're not compatible, the only choice left is a fight to the death.

D- don't

Gildress raises his sword.

Aah, how unlucky.

I pity him.

Celia puts her hands together in a cute little prayer pose.

Behold our methods! This is the smoke signal to start off the battle!

Gildress's shimmering blue sword slices the messenger in half from the top of his head.

Soft shrieks and cursing comes from within the South Yuguria camp, meanwhile the Aless soldiers cheer excitedly.

Oooh, finally!? I'll save the food for later.

It doesn't look like I have time to wear it. There shouldn't be a problem if I have my cloak on.

The men cheerfully store away their food.

Sorry for keeping you waiting, men. Let us go forward now!

Uooooh! A fight at last!

It's time to show off our polished fighting techniques!

The roar's effect ripples through to the Aless soldiers and each of them respond with war cries of their own or by banging their swords against their shields.

Gildress, located smack dab in the middle, apologetically removes the armor covering his chest and tosses it aside.

If I had a say, I would have wanted him to wear clothes that are as thick as possible, but in the end, he has stripped down to only his cloak and leather underwear.

If you're going to take off the armor before the fight, why wear it in the first place?

Celia's sigh was erased by the yelling men.

In any case, the Goldonia soldiers were able to catch up to Gildress after he paused for a bit.

On the other hand, the enemy was able to set up their defenses and the ambush effect wore off.

From this point on, the 30 000 of the enemy forces will face off against the 20 000 troops of the Goldonia-Aless joint army.

We can't consider it a joint army. It's 5000 Goldonian soldiers plus 15 000 Aless soldiers. They don't listen to other people so the problem is one that comes before cooperation.

I guess she's right. Aless's recklessness followed by Gildress's exasperation, leading to him murdering the enemy messenger and letting out a war cry, has completely the Goldonian soldiers behind.

Aegir-sama is the only one here. I have to do my best.

Celia pumps herself up adorably.

Lately it feels like Celia is subtly speaking ill of me, but maybe that's my imagination. No, I'm sure it is because of how cute she is.

Uoooooooh!!

With a bellow loud enough to shake the earth, the 15 000 Aless soldiers advance in a simple straight line formation, gradually approaching the South Yuguria camp.

The enemy has already gotten into an anti-skirmisher formation. Sending the messenger might have been a ploy to buy time.

The enemy is in a similar line formation except with added depth, consisting of heavy infantry holding shields in front, light infantry behind them, then archers positioned further behind in the cover of the shields. Cavalry and spearmen cannot be seen.

Spears are not strong against the charge of lightweight skirmishers. They intend to block with their line of shields, disorient with their arrows, then eliminate with their light infantry! If there is a chance, cavalry can aim for the side andprrrr hey, please don't do that in the middle of a battle!

I'm so happy Celia is taking it upon herself to act as staff officer that I just couldn't help scratching her under her chin.

All the charging Aless soldiers are still light infantry, regardless of how intense they appear.

Not to mention, the man acting as their general is leading the way, leaving us, the Goldonian soldiers, deserted, almost like they are charging without any semblance of strategy, making them look like an easy opponent to construct a formation against.

Let's see if things will proceed as smoothly as they like.

Jumping in with them now won't bring about a positive result.

First, I'll let Gildress show me how he fights. Celia's commentary is also pleasing to the ear.

Arrows have been fired by the enemy!

Right away, South Yuguria launches a sizable volley of arrows.

On top of the Aless army holding round shields, they're in the middle of charging. In normal circumstances, a great deal of casualties would be unavoidable

Men of Aless, defense!

Ooohh!

Gildress's command was answered promptly.

All of the Aless soldiers came to a stop, clumped together in groups of 5 to 10 people and lined up their shields tightly.

They're quick.

Even though it looks like they crowded together without much thought

Not a single soldier falls over from the shower of arrows.

Men of Aless, advance!

Ooh!

As soon as the arrows ceased, Gildress gives another order, which disperses the clusters of soldiers, and the soldiers resume charging.

South Yuguria would loose a second and third volley, but the Aless soldiers defended the same way, demonstrating such an attack had no effect.

The groups formed each time are with different people each time. That means they aren't assigned to a certain group.

I realized as well.

Typically, armies are separated into certain squads and soldiers would gather with their own respective squads during defense. That goes for the Royal army, my personal army and the South Yuguria army.

In Aless's case, the soldiers are forming groups with whoever happens to be closest to them.

In other words, no such assigned groups exist within the Aless army, rather each individual is cooperating with each other.

Even if the soldiers were divided for any reason or if the commander was taken out, no strength would be lost until the soldiers themselves die.

Still, nobody is falling over at all. It's impressive how they can use such a small shield to block all the incoming arrows.

No, look closer. Many of them were hit in the stomach or leg.

When I strain my eyes, what she said is true.

Nevertheless, the Aless soldiers don't stop moving forward and they don't seem to be in pain.

In fact, they have large grins on their faces like they're having fun fighting.

These guys are not normal

Having persisted through the third volley, the Aless army close in on the South Yuguria army again.

Calm down, they are still light infantry in the end. They're no match for us in full plate armor!

Let's send them flying with our shields and then counterattack!

Show them our loyalty to our fatherland and Her Majesty!

The enemy is not fazed.

A neat line is formed under each commander with each soldier in the line holding out their shields in unison.

Large shields fit perfectly alongside each other, creating the image of a single sturdy wall with no gaps.

Uooooh! Get fired up, men, this is where the real battle begins!

Just charge through! Get through and go wild!

Show them your trained bodies and honed skills!

On Aless's side, they are psyching themselves up, almost like Christoph does when he goes to a brothel at my expense.

They roar and rush in like an avalanche or so I thought. Right before impact, their movements synced up in an instant to form a shield of their own.

The collision was between two walls.

The sound created from the crash was more similar to a cannon being fired than metal slamming into metal and it was loud enough that we scrunch our faces, despite being at a distance from the scene.

Then

Such a familiar sight

Indeed.

South Yuguria's line of heavy infantry danced beautifully in the air.

Eh? They're flying?

Eeh those are full plate heavy infantry we're talking about.

The enemy soldiers behind stare blankly at their allies flying above their heads.

One beat later, the heavy infantry fell down on their fellow soldiers, eliciting cries of pain from those spectating after getting pinned to the ground.

Hearing such a reaction, the Aless soldiers smile grandly.

Wahaha! There was practically no resistance.

Humans don't get thrown up in the air that easily, so they must be ghosts. Scary, scary, gahahahaha!

One South Yuguria soldier bounced like a rock skipped on the surface of the water and crashed into his allies.

Gyaaaah!!

I don't need to guess who did that. Obviously, it was Gildress.

Nuun, this is what those who make light of men amount to. Weak, frail, and nothing to fear! I'll show you what a real man looks like!

Gildress's shout was answered by a chorus of roars from his men.

The Aless army disperses and engages the South Yuguria army in a melee.

Savage!

I won't be done in by a bean sprout like you!

One Aless soldier blocks a sword swung down with his shield, pushes back a bit before knocking away the enemy's shield with a front kick.

On the counterattack, the Aless soldier swings his sword with power, disarming the enemy on the first strike, then splitting the enemy's helmet and head on the second strike.

They're strong in one-on-ones! Team up!

Oh, come, come! It's more fun when there are more of you!

I see an Aless soldier is fighting a two vs. one.

A short spear and sword thrust at his mostly vulnerable stomach, which was deflected by his shield and sword respectively.

I've got you now!

One of the enemies swings their shield at the Aless soldier after confirming both hands have become occupied.

Come at me!

The Aless soldier receives the blow deliberately with his face.

Although blood trickle