Chapter 286

Aegir POV

Schwartz looks unhappy as he is being led by the crew member .

Be careful when handling him, he gets angry when he gets touched too much by men .

he relaxes when Celia pats him . This pervert of a horse, are women the only thing on your mind?

We brought out your horse but this is a ship and theres water all around us .

The crew member comments fearfully .

You dont have to be so scared, I wont cut down an ally .

I get that much . But I want to attack them before they board our ship . except I dont have the confidence to land the grappling hook onto their ship and climb on .

It would be a terrible joke if I dropped down into the river before I could jump onto their ship .

Thats why Im leaving it to you .

I mount Schwartz .

You cant be thinking of jumping over together with your horse!?

Thats absurd

Thats unheard of!

Of course, Ive never heard of that either .

Rather, Ive never fought on sea before .

Ill be rampaging as much as I can on their ship while preventing them from boarding our ship, so support me with your bow .

Uujumping straight into the enemy is too dangerous

Not a big deal, were all going to be in the confined space of a boat .

Its not like Ill be bombarded from all sides by a large army .

As arrows fly from the approaching pirate ship, the crew members hide in the shadow to take cover and fire back .

Its almost time .

The pirates gather on the deck and twirl their grappling hooks .

Theyre getting ready to throw their ropes as soon as they get close enough .

Its about time for me too .

Go . Schwartz .

At my signal, Schwartz starts running .

The Surov is a little too tight for him to run .

Still, Schwartz used that little bit he could run as a running start to build up speed before leaping, barely getting his legs over the side of the boat .

Weighing over a ton, Schwartz probably damaged the boat when he jumped off the deck, but Im sure theyll forgive me for that much .

If I missed and fell, Id have to swim all the way to shore after all .

I mutter under my breath in mid-air, but it looks like I dont need to worry anymore .

The giant horse captured everyones attention as it flew in the air .

Enemies who were twirling their grappling hooks stare in a stupefied manner like they couldnt believe what was happening .

Schwartz lands right in the middle of all those stupid faces, though more accurately speaking it was directly on top of two of them .

Gugeh!!Agaah!!

I hear their muffled screams and the sound of bone and flesh being crushed .

The two men Schwartz landed on were squished to the point of being unrecognizable as a human corpse .

A horse?Eh? Eh?What on earth

I dont have the need or luxury to allow the pirates around me to regain composure .

Shi-!

As soon as I land, I swing my longsword to sweep the enemies on the right side and those in front of me .

I was off balance so I couldnt put all my strength in that attack, still a few people lost parts of their bodies and collapsed to the floor .

One more time .

I turn the blade of my sword in the opposite direction and sweep the left side too .

They were gathered by the side of the boat since they were trying to jump on the Surov, making it easy for me to mow them down all at once .

Being able to wipe out several people with one swing actually feels pretty satisfying .

Gueeh!! Gyaaaaaah!!

The downside is that I hear such ugly screams right away . I wish they just died with their mouths closed .

H-hold off on boarding their ship! Men, focus on taking care of this guy first!!

A man wearing an important-looking hat shouts .

The pirates abandon their hooks and turn toward me . Now I dont have to worry about the Surov .

Schwartz, just run all over the place . I dont mind if you swim .

The pirate ship may be larger than the Surov, but it still isnt big enough for Schwartz to run around freely, plus there are many obstacles scattered on the deck . I cant just ride my horse in this cluttered melee .

After I dismount, Schwartz neighs as if complaining so you only used me to jump?, then trots off in the direction of the stern of the ship .

Youre the ones who attacked us first . So even if I destroy the boat

I lower my hips and wind my sword back until its hidden behind me .

Pirates brandish their swords and charge forward .

Dont hate me!

I unleash an upward diagonal slash .

One of the men takes the full brunt of my attack and helplessly gets torn apart at the chest, while another man who sticks out his sword to block my strike gets cut in half together with his weapon, then only his upper half falls into the river .

One more!

I turn my diagonally raised sword around and bring it down vertically .

The pirate tries to run away but is unable to escape the reach of my two meter longsword .

His head cracks with a similar sound to wooden planks shattering and he falls silently, dying the deck with blood .

Three people in an instant!?

I-its this guy! Hes the one who killed all the ones who tried to board their ship!

The pirates shout as they step back and try to surround me .

I take a breather and inspect the enemies around me .

Theyre either not wearing any armor or just wearing simple leather armor, the size of their weapons range from large to small although they are all variations of scimitars, and while some of them have bows, I dont think they can get a clear shot in such a narrow and obstacle-filled space like the ships deck .

A small grin forms on my face .

Their scimitars are definitely advantageous in a fight on deck .

However the curved blades are not suited to thrusts with it being a given that they would be swung around to cut people .

Obviously they are not suited in fights were your allies are all densely packed together either .

They have no choice but to try and cross swords with me despite their shorter reach .

L-lets go on three?

Alright! One uwaaaah!!

The three of them try to coordinate with each other to come from the front, but Im not going to wait .

I take a giant step forward as I hear the countdown start .

I cut off the front mans right hand at the wrist since bisecting him from the head would leave me vulnerable, I deliberately shifted my aim to the right .

I take one more step in and hit the man on my right with the back of my sword .

The man wasnt wearing any armor so he collapses after I hear the sound of his ribs cracking .

The reason for hitting the man on my right with the back of my blade was so I could swing the sharp edge to my left .

I parry the attack from the man on the left with my armguard . The slash from the scimitar was like a gentle touch and didnt make much of an impact when it hit my armor .

I run my sword into his defenseless stomach and slice him in two .

The other enemies are stopped in their tracks as they watch the mans guts spill out .

Even so, Im not finished .

Hmph!

I take a step hard enough to leave an indent on the deck and thrust my longsword straight out with my right hand .

My target is the important-looking man in a hat . Hes probably the commander .

Heh!?

I dont know if he let his guard down because of the distance between us, but the hat-wearing man touches the sword stabbed through his chest like he couldnt believe what just happened . When I pull the sword out, blood jets out from the hole and he slowly collapses .

Whos next?

I turn to the pirates and smile .

Against these guys, I can comfortably take on dozens at a time . Im not going to lose to anybody who fights me head-on .

Y-you go fight him!

Im obviously going to say no! Hes not just some chump!

He has monstrous physical strength not to mention hes as fast as the wind!

It was right when I was thinking of bringing the fight to them and readying my sword again .

What cowardly things are you spouting!? Hes just one person, hurry and clean him up!

The high-pitched voice makes me turn my head .

It came from a pirate wearing a hat even fancier than the hat the man I killed was wearing .

Unlike the filthy rags worn by the other pirates, this one is wearing clean clothes .

Fumu

This one is definitely the commander .

Lets end the battle right now .

Above you, Aegir-sama!

I hear Celias voice and the sound of something slicing through the wind at the same time .

I twist my body in response and manage to barely escape with a scratch from a crossbow bolt grazing my cheek .

From what I could see, it was shot from the top of the ships mast .

I totally forgot to pay attention to whats above me .

Several people appear on top of the mast to follow up the first shot, though it doesnt pose a threat to me if its not a surprise attack .

I deflect two with my sword and repel another with my bare hand .

Those on top of the mast, keep shooting! Those on the deck, surround him and aim for his blind spots! Use the obstacles as shields . His large sword is likely to get stuck so he shouldnt be able to swing it freely .

The instructions from the clean pirate are definitely effective .

If they simultaneously fire arrows from above while Im not able to make a complete swing with my sword on this narrow ship, that will certainly make it hard for me to fight well .

Will it go so smoothly though? Natia, Pipi, Im counting on you!

Aye!Yeah!

After I shout, I hear screams from above me and men start falling head first .

Pipi and Natia are shooting down the pirates with their arrows .

Get behind the mast and ugyah!

Fire back at them! Dont let themdowah!

The pirate ship is pretty much parallel with the Surov, meaning the distance between the boats is practically zero for Pipi .

Even though the pirates try to hide, they still get brought down by precise targeting of the tiniest exposed parts of their feet or arms .

Meanwhile, Natia climbs up the mast of the Surov and gets on the same eye level as the opposing pirates .

While she also faces counter fire, she keeps jumping around in high places to make it hard to aim at her .

For an elf like her who regularly traverses through the treetops, that is a cakewalk .

Now then, with the threat above me eliminated, this fight is mine .

I charge towards the pirates once again .

Dont be scared! Use the boxes or the mast as a shield

It didnt need to be said to everyone . Keeping the instructions of their leader, the pirates approach using the cover of wood boxes .

Without hesitation, I destroy the boxes meant for hiding themselves with my longsword . The box explodes with a thunderous crash, scattering wood chips everywhere . The only things left behind are the heavily damaged box and the lower halves of the men .

Eh?

Its not made of stone or steel .

One of the pirates grab a rope hanging from the mast and swings at me in the air .

I avoid that attack and repeatedly slash the mast instead of the man .

The thick pillar cracks and tilts to one side .

N-no way thats the sturdy main mast!

Uwaaah, its coming down!

He smashed it with a sword! Hes not human!

Its just wood, you think that would stop me?

With the mast collapsing, the boats center of gravity is shifted and tilts to one side .

A barrel falls over onto the deck and rolls in my direction .

The pirates eyes widen in anticipation for the barrel to hit me .

However I betray their expectations and easily stop the rolling object with my left hand .

Compared to Claudias tackles, this barrel is as light as a feather .

If you think you can take me-

I swing my sword down vertically in front of the shocked pirates, my exaggerated actions of exerting more strength being clear to the men and causing them to take steps backward to get out of the way, resulting in my strike slamming into the ships deck .

The pirates take the opportunity to transition into attack but thats just as planned .

Our foothold!

The deck is breaking!

An unsettling cracking begins to spread all over the deck from my single full-powered strike .

The thick boards laid together cave inward, dropping the pirates inside the boat .

-go ahead and try .

I lower my hips and charge up for another swing briefly before unleashing a horizontal slash .

My sword takes out everything within its two meter range, including barrels, wooden boxes, various sizes of pillars, and filthy pirates .

I cut down all of those things .

The semi circle I drew with my sword scattered a mixture of wood fragments and pieces of flesh, dried meat and guts, water and blood .

After a one second delay, another pillar cracks dryly and falls over, further tilting the ship .

I hold my longsword in both hands, then let out a bestial roar as I charge at the pirates .

A-amazing hes just like a monster .

The captain of the Surov says something . I am pumped up right now but I can still hear him .

So this is Lord Hardlett this is beyond what I heard . Hes literally a demon of war .

Arbakin has also come out before I knew it .

If so many people are watching, Ill get embarrassed .

The pirates are making faces like they have no clue what to do as I cut them down one by one .

I slash diagonally at the man who charges straight at me, then kick and crush the face of the man who dives at my leg .

I deflect the attack of the man who swings from a hanging rope then drop him into the river, next I stab through the man whos being used as a shield and the coward hiding behind him, killing both at the same time .

I cut in half those who run at me, stab through the backs of those who run away, and smash those in hiding along with their cover .

Pirate corpses start piling up and panic spreads across the ships deck .

This has become a strange fight where I single handedly chased around double digit enemies .

Boss, what should we do!? That guys a monster! We dont stand a chance!

E-enough, just go in front! Do whatever you can and fight!

The instructions of the clean pirate leader has already lost its meaning .

When I hurl the man I skewered earlier, he lets out a cute squeak .

Y-youre mine!

Because I was thinking of something unnecessary, I created an opening for a small man to thrust at me with his short sword .

I didnt give you anything .

Before the short sword could reach my side, I stretch out my hand and grab his head .

If you were holding a short spear instead, it might have stabbed me . It was close .

Gugagh gugh!!

I tighten my grip and squeeze his head, then throw him in the direction of the river .

The corpse flies through the fence installed on the side of the boat and into the depths of the river .

The corpse must have knocked over a torch . Flames spread all over the deck .

This is convenient .

This bastard, he set the boat on fire!

Hurry and extinguish it!

I cut down the two men who try to put out the flames .

Youll get cut if you come at me . If you dont do anything, the boat will burnnow what will you do?

I rest my sword on my shoulder and smile as I admire the spreading fire .

I dont know who the pirate is at this point

Who said that . Ill interrogate that person later .

The unextinguished flames quickly grow bigger and the pirates run about trying to escape .

Nobody points their blade at me anymore .

The only one repeatedly calling out for them to fight is the leader .

I just need to kill you and I win .

I run at the pirate leader .

The boss tries to run away desperately, but Im not going to allow that .

I instantly close the distance and grab the leaders collar, then push the person to the deck .

Kyaa!!

Ill be done with this fight if I take this bosss head, then I can move on to the remaining ship

D-dont kill me Im begging you

A fragile voice unbecoming of a pirate leaks out from the mouth of the person and tears well up in both eyes .

The hat falls off, causing the beautiful flaxen hair hidden underneath to spill onto the deck .

Mu?

I lower my raised sword and touch the individuals chest area through the clean clothes .

Ow! S-stop

Muu

A soft feeling . Then I stick my hand in the crotch area of the tight-fitting capri style pants .

My finger slips into the cave in between the persons legs .

Agh!

You have a hole there so you were a woman!?

Its a different story now that I know .

Killing her is out of the question . I have to take her with me .

T-this ship is done for!

Were escaping!!

The fire eventually engulfs the entire ship .

With the mast broken and the ship tilted to the side, it cant really be used anymore .

Its clear this ship will sink .

The pirates all begin to jump off the ship and into the cold water of the river .

Because I made a mess of things, large pieces of wood and debris are floating on the surface for them to hang onto, but I dont know if theyll last too long .

L-let me escape please .

The frightened female pirate mutters in my arms .

No . You wont last long if you jump in the icy river . Youre coming with me .

No, no! Dont you know what happens to pirates when they get captured!? Let go! Let me go!

I deliver a light chop to the neck of the wildly flailing girl with my hand and knock her out .

Aegir-sama! Come this way, quickly!

Celia throws a rope in my direction . Time to make my escape .

I hold the female pirate under my arm and grab the rope, then jump off the deck .

For a moment, I was mentally prepared to fall into the cold water

What a troublesome brat you are .

I can feel my body being pulled with tremendous force, then I roll onto the deck of the Surov .

What happened!?

I was planning to jump down but I flew up instead .

I dont know . Im going to sleep .

Brynhildr briskly makes her way back inside the ship . Oh, so she pulled me up .

I was able to avoid getting wet thanks to her .

That was a fine display rather that was some outrageous fighting . Anyways, who is that?

The captain asks without hiding his cautious attitude .

This ones a prisoner . Its a woman despite looking like this . Treat her hospitably .

A prisoner!? But its basic knowledge to kill all pirates . Making an exception for a woman is

Arbakin puts a hand on the captains shoulder to stop him from continuing .

No, its fine . Im sure Lord Hardlett has something special in mind .

Im glad you understand, but stop making that face like youre about to burst out laughing .

The other ship is heading towards us along with the small boats!

Kuh, its one problem after the other .

The net has been removed! But we wont be able to make it in time even if we increase speed now . Theyll catch up to us .

It becomes rowdy in the ship again .

Lord Hardlett, Im sorry to ask this of you after that earlier scuffle, but could you please prepare for battle again?

No, I think itll be fine .

Thats because I spoke to Mirumi after she took off the net .

Hm? The enemy ship has stopped what is going on hiiih!!

The scream from the lookout made Arbakin, the captain and the other crew members look over the side of the boat .

Ooh, what a sight .

The pirate ship supposedly heading towards us was halted abruptly .

The reason for that was clear even from here .

H-hands countless hands are aah, water god! Spirit of Water! Please protect us!

Numerous hands stuck out from the water and grabbed the pirate ship .

I told them not to show their faces because it would create a complicated situation if people found out about a large group of mermaids, but it still seems really creepy for me if they only show their hands despite knowing whats going on .

A-are they ghosts of the dead who sunk in the river there are hundreds of them .

If I remember correctly, there are a total of 555 . Ah, I guess it would be 556 including Mirumi .

Ive heard stories about that before theyre jealous of the living and would try to drag you down into the water to make you one of them!

You wont become a mermaid by getting pulled into the water though .

Everyone on the pirate ship is making a fuss .

The surrounding small boats also abandon the mothership and scatter away in different directions .

The crew on the main pirate ship scream while desperately rowing the oars, but they dont make any progress at all .

Then, arrows start to fire at the water from one of the small boats .

Not good, Mirumi and the others will get hit .

Which is what I thought until I saw how quickly they move in the water .

It didnt take long for several dozens of hands to grab the small boat and start rocking it .

In no time, the pirates in the boat get thrown into the water then disappear immediately after sinking below the surface .

Hey dont yout have any protection charms or something?

Arbakin mutters .

I only have charms praying for safe childbirth .

One of the crew members replies .

it might be better to have than not have . Hang it on the mast .

The hands sticking out of the water eventually begin to pound at the bottom of the pirate ship .

The rhythmical sound can be heard on our side too .

One of the pirates standing at the tip of the boat shouts at us loudly .

Ill surrender or do anything you want, so please save me!! Let me get on your boat!!

The enemy surrendered, so I dont understand why the captain and the crew have such long faces .

We were able to get by without fighting . With how things look, they shouldnt resist . Ride out on small boats and get them to disarm .

Arbakin looks to the captain after I give out the instructions .

Ahem, the duty obviously falls to the ships captain .

The captain slumps his shoulders .

We will now go and disarm the pirates! I will be staying here to get an understanding of the big picture . The ones who are going will be Doris and Agra!

The two crew members turn pale and start to cry .

Theres really nothing for those big men to cry about though .

Its fine, Ill go .

I feel like Im forgetting something .

Mixed with the constant pounding of Mirumi and the others, I hear a familiar neighing .

Schwartz is crying on the deck of the burning ship .

What are you still doing over there? Hurry up and come back or youll die .

Schwartz neighs again . Is he telling me hes had enough of me?

Go on, jump .

I extend a hand towards the deck .

As soon as he saw that, Schwartz leaps without hesitation . His ability to be decisive really shows his experience on the battlefield .

Schwartz soars toward me

No, thats impossible for me .

I take back my hand when I see the airborne Schwartz .

Theres no way I can carry him when he easily ways at least 1 ton . Im not stupid .

Schwartz makes a huge splash as he falls into the river .

There is a net prepared and we can somehow manage to pull him up if everybody cooperates .

Itll be a good thing for that perverted horse to cool his head and dick . A fire will be ready to warm him back up .

None of our allies died, the enemy is cleaned up, and I was even able to get my hands on a new girl .

The point total for this fight is close to full .

After that, Schwartz was pulled up from the water with an indignant look on his face, repeatedly huffing in discontent as a blanket is wrapped around his body .

Hey, dont be so mad . Ill treat you to something tasty .

Prepare as many bottomed out ladles as you can . When those hands come out, throw them in the water . 1 After that, bow down and pray to the water god . Got it?

I wonder what the captain is talking about .

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett . 24 years old . Winter .

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave . Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area . Mountain Legend . Friend of the Dwarves . Friend of the King of Aless . Dragon Slayer Hero .

Elf Mediator .

Accompanying: Celia (escort, assistant), Marta (aide, bedmaker), Natia (stowaway elf)

Pipi (archer), Messerschmitt (worthless dog), Brynhildr (vampire), Schwartz (enraged)

Arbakin (Federation ambassador)

Family:

Nonna (legal wife), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Miti (concubine, expecting), Maria (concubine, expecting), Catherine (concubine, expecting)

Melissa (lover), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover), Mireille (lover), Leah (???)

Casie (ghost), Rita (head maid), Yoguri (playwright), Alice (fainting in agony magical girl)

Marceline (pregnant lover), Daughters Stephanie (lover), Bridget (lover), Felicie (lover)

Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (capital mansion supervisor), Claudia (giant meatball), Clara (female attendant)

Felteris (virgin eating, moving to the next one)

Non-humans:

Lammy (plant caretaker), Mirumi (mermaid), Alraune (can move), Petit Roper (enlarging)

Pet:

Pochi (sulking in bed)

Subordinates:

Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby, Myla (security officer, in pursuit)

Gido (escort unit), Polte (refugee case worker), Gretel (wife-dog-to-be)

Leopolt (staff officer), Adolph (domestic affairs official), Tristan (domestic affairs assistant, escaping)

Claire & Laurie (official merchant), Lilian (actress), Kroll (servant), Alma (servant)

Assets: 13,600 gold

Sexual Partners: 438, children who have been born: 55 + 555 fish