Chapter 354

Translator: Nat

Aegir POV

I run towards the enemy in front of me .

If I break past this formation, will the headquarters be beyond them or will there be two more squads waiting behind?

Right now, I dont know . I will leave that for Leopolt to think about .

I only know that I have to focus on defeating whoever is standing in my way .

Lets go .

Schwartz doesnt slow down .

I notice an arrow is stuck near his face so I help pull it out for him .

Trailing us is my escort unit as well as the cavalry of the royal army .

As they did not have a role in the siege battle, they are pumped up and ready to contribute now that they have a chance .

We have already come far away from the dazzling flames which lit up the darkness .

Minutely maneuvering the cavalry to disturb the enemy while visibility is poor is out of the question .

Our cavalry will be the drill .

Simple is best when it comes to cavalry . We can charge into the enemy lines, open a hole and create a foothold which allows the infantry in the rearguard to easily punch through .

I, as the lead cavalry, will act as the tip of the drill .

Get into anti-cavalry formation! Defend

Schwartz accelerates further .

The enemy commander is giving out orders while overseeing the entire battle and he probably didnt expect my horse to be this fast .

We reach the enemy before long spears could get lined up .

S-so fast!

A black gale

Right before contact, one soldier turns his spear to me, but I throw my longsword at him .

Gugh!

My sword flies right into his stomach, the force of impact throwing him down on the ground on his back, which opens a hole in their lines big enough for a single horse to fit .

Schwartz quickly adjusts his path and heads straight for the hole .

He knocks away enemies coming from either side of him with his giant body and tramples through the reserve forces waiting behind .

I let you borrow it and now Im taking it back .

As I pass by, I pull out my sword sticking out of the enemys body, then bisect the upper half of the commanding officer .

Crossbows, what are you doing!?

Idiot! How can we shoot in this situation, we will friendly fire!

Schwartz travels like the wind through the enemy army .

The squishing sounds beneath his hooves echo loudly .

I also recklessly swing my sword and shield .

Being surrounded by enemies actually makes things easier .

On the contrary, the enemy has a difficult time .

The archers and crossbowmen especially have it the hardest as the darkness as well as how close they are together makes it extremely likely for them to shoot their allies .

In a short time, I was able to get through the second layer of defense .

What are you doing, letting Lord Hardlett go alone like that!? Pulverize the enemy!

Aegir-sama, please slow down a little!

It looks like my allies are colliding with the enemy behind me .

Having created a hole, the enemy is out of sorts and it should be a matter of time before they get run over .

that was pretty thin .

I mutter to myself and smile when I see what is waiting for me .

No wonder it was all to buy time for the third layer .

The third line of defense has appeared in front of me .

Their soldiers are prepared and neatly arranged, and it looks hard to get through quickly .

Loose!

Release!

Countless flaming arrows and bolts fly from the new enemy .

While I cut down any arrows aimed directly at me, the ones which fall around me lights up the area and helps secure better vision for the enemys next shots .

Moreover, the bolts I could not defend end up hitting me and Schwartz .

Sure, most of them bounce off our armor, however a few bolts find their way into the gaps in Schwartzs armor due to him being a larger target .

He exhaled slightly, pretending to be fine, but I know having him charge into this squad would leave him with more than a scratch .

Your job is done here .

I dismount from Schwartz who continues to run .

He had a oh, is that so? face as he runs off to the side somewhere .

I let the momentum from jumping off Schwartz propel my dash toward the enemy .

This guys whole body is black no, hes just covered in blood!

Damn demon shoot! Shoot him full of holes!

Multiple arrows and bolts soar at me .

The one that stopped was the enemy .

My shield protects me as Im charging and allows me to maintain speed .

I feel numerous blows hitting my shield and my armor .

Two projectiles dig into my flesh, although that is not nearly enough to affect my movement .

Here he comes!

Light infantry forwar uwaaaah!!

Almost like pushing apart the sea of arrows, I lower my hips right as I reach the first soldier and then make a sweeping motion .

Four crossbowmen get sent flying all at once .

I saw blood squirt so my attack must have finished off a few of them, but I dont have time to count how many .

Response time is fast on the opponents side, as infantry holding shields and swords appear before I realized .

Everyone dismount! Attack from the front!

Catching up with me after enduring the harsh barrage of arrows, the escort squad get down from their horses and choose to fight .

Its probably going to get messy from here on out .

Look how this guy is dressed . Hes a commander .

How brave of him to lead the charge . Now Im going to finish him and turn him into one of my achievements!

Oops, I better focus on the enemies in front of me .

When I take a deep breath, the world seems to move slowly .

About twenty enemies stand before me, all with the same swords and metal shields, plus the man at the far back with the red shield is the commander .

Prepare yourself!

The very first man shouts as he approaches me and swings down his sword, which I block with my shield, and then I return a slash to his torso from the right .

My sword tears through his armor, rips through his soft innards and cuts through his solid spinal column .

He lets out a sluggish scream .

I dont force my body back after it shifted to the right, instead I use the momentum to bash the next enemy with my shield .

The sensation of his facial bones getting crushed is transmitted through my shield .

Using the foes body to stop my initial slashing motion, I focus my gaze at the sword being thrusted at me from the front .

My response is a powerful slash to the opponents legs .

I purposely aimed low because stabbing him in the stomach would restrict my movement .

In a forward-leaning position, I bring myself down barely touching the ground to avoid attacks from two enemies on either side of me, then bounce back up in a spinning manner to slash their backs .

Showing my own back to the enemy will naturally invite attacks .

From what I saw last, they were aiming at my head, side and thigh .

Hup!

My shield is lifted to defend my head, I twist my body to dodge the thrust at my torso, then I shift my leg to allow the armored portion to take the hit .

The enemys astonishment was also sluggish and hard to make out .

Now is when I hear the first guy I cut fall to the ground .

I return to my normal stance and then throw my shield at one enemy while slicing in half another through his shield .

Noticing that the enemy let go of his sword, I leave my shield where it is, grab the spinning sword in midair and lop off the head of a third enemy with it .

Fuu

Time moves at regular speed once again after I exhale .

Mo monster

Eight people in a single breath

Before the enemy could finish speaking, I inhale deeply and start moving again .

I draw the Dual Crater at my hip for the usual dual-wielding setup and swing at two enemies in front of me .

My attack was faster than their attempts to defend .

The Dual Crater went on to bisect one of them, meanwhile the blade of my longsword was deliberately tilted to the side to deliver a blunt hit to the other .

A dull edge makes slicing cleanly hard, although the mans head is caved in so I guess the result is pretty much the same anyways .

Another man cries out sluggishly as I block the slash from my right with my longsword, then use the tilting center of gravity to launch a kick to my left .

I let my leg fall back down and lower my hips for another powerful sweep with my longsword .

The circular slash at shoulder level chopped off one head and four hands .

Positioning my Dual Crater lower at the same time I spun around sliced the faces of the two enemies who crouched .

That wasnt the end .

I follow up the rotation by running forward .

A fierce slicing of wind can be heard as my Dual Crater and longsword cuts through a head and body respectively, strengthened by the energy of my dash .

Retaliating slashes from the enemy are so slow they seem to be stopped .

I dodge one sword, then the second, then the third, and then slaughter their owners with my Dual Crater .

Im unable to evade the fourth slash to my waist, so I block with my longsword, proceed to tackle that soldier and finish him off after he falls by stomping on him .

The fifth sword which comes along with the shriek of the man I just took out gets grabbed with my bare hand and snapped in half after I toss my Dual Crater up in the air .

When I catch the Dual Crater, I behead the dumbfounded enemy .

Now the only one left is the commander .

A-a dem

Whos a demon?

I cut his words short with a headbutt, bashing my helmet-wearing head against his skull and splitting it open .

With a chance to look back, I see the ground littered with twenty corpses, and none who looks remotely able to get up and attack me from behind .

hiiih!

This is impossible its not real

Bystanding enemies immediately take steps backward .

Those I determined to be commanders hide behind their subordinates when their eyes meet with mine .

We cant fight head-on against that kind of beast! Shoot him down! Kill him with crossbows!

Crap, I let go of my shield .

I have no other choice except to deflect with my sword .

Just when I thought I was in a little trouble, my escort unit rushes in .

They may be off their horses, but the heavily armed soldiers should be more than enough to defeat crossbowmen .

Aegir-sama! Ive finally caught up to you . Gosh, how could you leave your shield!

Gununu

Its Celia and Mack .

Macks entire body is dripping with sweat as he picks up my shield .

Oh, thanks .

I saw what you did earlier . It was so fast my eyes couldnt follow .

Celias eyes are sparkling .

Hahaha, Im glad shes fallen for me all over .

During my escort units fierce attack, the bow cavalry and royal army also catch up and the third army starts to collapse .

Its not a rout . They are maintaining order and retreating to their headquarters .

In any case, the attack on the headquarters can finally begin .

Theyve pushed through! Stop them at all costs, those who can move go to the front!

A group of large men come forth amidst the melee .

Warhammer no, its even bigger . Theyre equipped with giant hammers and large axes!

Those are siege weapons used to destroy fences and gates .

In no way do they look like a squad meant for field battle, but I guess the enemy is desperate .

Hrggooooh!!

Over 2 m tall men wielding enormous weapons come at me .

Theyre equipped with gigantic two-handed weapons, wrapped in coarse-looking chains, and wearing a helmet that resembles a can covering their entire head except their eyes .

The pressure exuded by their sheer size and executioner-like appearance overwhelms our allies .

A boost to their morale is required .

Mack, lets do this .

Kay .

Mack and I stand in front, facing off against the executioner look-alikes .

Hnngooh!

The irregularly-sized hammer is swung down .

Since two hands are needed to use it, I can easily dodge and slash the mans vulnerable stomach, but I purposely block with my shield .

A loud clang rang out like the sound of the bell signaling the daytime, and then Celia and the others closed their eyes instinctively .

fumu, is that it?

The impact only pushed my shield back slightly .

Of course, the executioners eyes open wide like he cant believe what happened .

Hmmph!

When I return the favor and bash the hammer with my shield, the large man flies backwards .

Uooooh!!

Mack is also forcibly pushing the executioner to the ground with his warhammer .

As expected, since in terms of strength Mack is even stronger than me .

Hnggoh!

Once again, the executioner challenges me .

I meet his downward attack with my longsword .

Sparks fly when our preferred weapons clash, and then the executioners hammer shatters .

Its over .

I grab the man by the chains around him with my right hand and lift him up .

What the

He mumbles astoundedly in a low growl .

His weight should be around 150 kg .

Off you go .

I throw the big man .

He didnt fly far because he was so heavy, however he fell head-first and snapped his neck .

It would have been simple for Celia to land on her feet . I guess being heavy has its merits and demerits .

Guaah!!

At the same time, Mack also manages to get a hit on the other executioners head with his hammer .

Incredible Lord Hardlett is strong .

If you stay calm and think, those guys are full of openings . Theyre nothing to fear .

Now the morale of our allies has recovered .

They are quickly finishing off the executioners with spears and crossbows .

With Leopolt and Myla also in command, our forces are slowly pushing the enemy back .

I take a step backwards so I can look at the bigger picture and determine where to attack next .

Enemy general, prepare yourself!

Watch out!

Celias warning alerts me to an incoming spear .

The owner of the spear is a knight wearing red armor unlike the small fry around .

Woah .

That thrust was dangerously close to hitting me .

The spear is also a nice silver color .

Im not done yet!

The knight retracts the spear so a follow up attack can be performed, a feat which takes considerable skill .

Although not as heavy as a strike from Irijina, it is comparable in speed .

This is the finisher!

I falter when dodging the spun spear, allowing an opening for a full-powered thrust .

Failing to evade the sharp thrust it gets caught in my left hand instead .

Yes, your attack is quick, but has no weight behind it .

Unless such an attack was a surprise, it wont finish me off .

A prompt yank pulls the spear out of the knights hand .

A ah

Sorry .

I position my Dual Crater above the blankly staring knights head .

Right before my sword reached the downward looking head of the knight resigned to the inevitable outcome, I see long hair spilling out from beneath the helmet and catch a whiff of a sweet scent .

Guh!

My Dual Crater barely stopped in time .

The blade actually split open the helmet and cut off a few strands of hair .

With a dry clang, the two parts of the helmet fall to the ground .

You were a woman!? You should have said so in the beginning, I almost cut you!

The woman was taken aback when I yelled at her, then her face becomes dyed with anger .

So what if Im a woman!? Im a soldier of South Yuguria, whose allegiance is sworn to Her Majesty Wilhelmina, and Im your enemy!

Pulling out the knife at her waist, the female soldier assaults me .

Careful! Let me take care of it!

I hold out a hand to stop Celia from jumping in and stand in front of the woman myself .

Die, enemy of the Empire!

Her knife easily gets deflected by the arm guard on my left hand while my right hand dives into her crotch .

Ah!?

Finding a gap in her armor, my hand squirms into her pants and I insert three fingers in her hole all at once .

Messing around with Sekrit paid off .

Owwthat hurts!!

I see blood trickling when I pull my fingers out .

Oops, you were a virgin? Treat this as lesson of war then .

What lesson

She drops the dagger and squats down .

Uuuuu my virginity I had the resolve even so

At least I made her lose the will to fight safely .

If she continued to resist, she might have been killed by her own allies .

How dare you do that to big sis!

Woah, a sword this time?

Its a pretty silver sword too .

When I bend my body backwards to avoid the slash, I discover the attacker is another female knight . This one looks to be one size smaller than the first .

Im coming to save you now!

She shouts as she charges again .

Unfortunately, her attack is much lighter and much slower than the first womans attack .

Ill take that .

I steal her sword, lift her up and roll her pants down enough to fully expose her ass .

What are you doing!? Stop thaaat!

I thought I could demoralize her in the same way, but I guess shes a little too young .

How about this?

Ah!?

I shove two fingers into her ass .

Now shell lose her will to fight and will obediently become my prisoner .

Nhiiih! Dont I was nervous this whole time because this is my first battle ah, ah, ah, aaaah!!

She peed herself .

Oh my .

Celia calmly states .

This is a wonderful mess I created .

The small knight slumps to the ground in tears .

No shred of defiance remains in her .

My goal is achieved for now I guess .

Ill make amends later .

Lets leave these two to our allies .

Mack, Celia, and I found the place where the fighting will revolve around .

If we can take that hill by dawn, the bow cavalry can overlook the enemy and shoot as they please . The enemy wont be able to remain here!

Looking closer, I see Myla has taken command of a battle around the hill too .

She must have also figured out the importance of this point .

Reinforcements from the enemy are coming out in droves .

The enemy commander has been properly identified as well .

Lets assist Myla and secure that hill .

I want to get to her as soon as possible, but I cant relax when the night limits visibility so much that enemies can be hiding anywhere .

Hmph!

I cut down one of them .

Eei!

Celia slashes at the feet of another, then stabs the fallen soldier to finish him off .

Mmngh!

Mack crushes the head of yet another with his warhammer .

Hup .

Sekrit severs the arms of an enemy soldier with her swords, then severs the mans legs while shes at it, and leaves him to die .

When did she

She found her way behind us in this chaos .

Oh well, shes good with swords so Im sure shell be a good help .

Myla, Im here to assist .

Lord Hardlett!

Myla smiles happily .

The commanding officers around her also cheer .

Ooh, Lord Hardlett has arrived .

Our victory is practically assured!

I dont know if she unconsciously let her guard down when we get praised but Celia doesnt realize the enemy behind her .

Take that!

Auu!

The enemys sword grazes Celias shoulder .

It was a shallow wound which the enemy intends to add on to .

Kuh .

Celia hastily holds her sword up in defense .

It ends up being unnecessary as my body automatically takes action, jumping in from the side and slicing off the enemy soldiers dominant arm .

Im fine! Its a minor scratch!

Celia pleads her case that shes still in good shape, except I can only focus on the blood staining her clothes .

My vision instantly turns red .

You hurt my cute Celia unforgivable absolutely unforgivable .

Hiiih

I grab the legs of the fallen soldier who lost his arm .

This guy seems to be the lead so a few others are following behind .

Theyre all equally guilty .

Ugaaah!!

Gyaaaa!!

I swing the mans body at the other incoming soldiers .

Hes being treated like an abnormal warhammer .

Gueh!

Guaa!

My swings come from above to crush my enemies and then from the side to knock them away .

This is absurd Lord Hardlett goes crazy when a woman gets injured?

How frightening its not any different to the rumors .

You guys, be quiet .

I hear Sekrits laughter as well, although it doesnt matter to me now .

Gaah!

When I smash the final enemy, my human warhammer seems to have gotten lighter .

I look over and see that the soldiers body has torn apart, leaving only his legs in my grip .

Fumu

Celias not too badly injured so I guess I can let them off .

That guys head and body flew off somewhere .

If I rely on my anger to fight, I tend to make more careless mistakes .

Taking a deep breath, my eyes happen to find Sekrit facing off against an enemy .

The enemy is attacking her and shes merely blocking .

Dont tell me shes struggling .

Kuh, I got hit .

To my surprise, the enemys sword cuts Sekrit in the thigh .

Thankfully it was a small nick, however its the stream of blood on her dark-skinned thigh that sets me off .

Once again, my vision turns red .

She did it on purpose! Thats definitely done on purpose!

Celias voice seems far off in the distance .

I let out another animalistic roar and lift up the enemy over my head .

You hurt my Sekrit!

Ugyaaa!

I snap the enemy in half by bending him too far in the opposite direction .

Blood leaks out from the deceased mans mouth, anus, and the crack in his body .

Sekrit, are you okay?

Its only a scratch . pfft, that wasnt bad .

Im relieved theyre both okay, but they have to be more careful .

If you girls got hurt, I wouldnt be happy even if we won .

Guoh!

Mack was the next to grunt .

An arrow apparently struck him in the shoulder .

You alive? Youre a pretty big guy so youre an easy target . Be careful .

okay .

Lets get back to fighting .

We help out Mylas squad by rampaging wildly .

We defeat a tenacious enemy unit and take out the commander at the head of the army .

When the morale of our soldiers start darkening, we pick a big fight to encourage them, and push the enemy back again .

Myla commanding well at the head of her army and then Leopolt mobilizing the reinforcements at the optimal timing gradually tilts the battle in our favor .

A crack of light appears on the horizon to start brightening the sky and by that time most of the hill is in our hands .

Our bow cavalry is on standby and ready to rain down arrows on the enemy when the sun clears up the field of vision .

The end is near .

Infantry, go rout the enemy left wing! Just one more push . If we fend off this counterattack, we can drive off the enemy!

Myla wipes the sweat off her forehead as she yells her order .

Her dignified voice rouses me to fight harder on the frontlines .

I find a chance to take a breath and our eyes happen to meet .

Myla, while her face is dirty and stained with blood, nods and gives me her best smile, feeling that our victory is all but guaranteed .

At that time, I feel my face tense up .

!

I shout as loud as I can, but my voice gets drowned out by the background noise .

Myla notices my mouth move and smiles, her body acting on its own .

No need to worry! I wont be done in by something of this level!

Myla deflects the spear aimed up at her on horseback with her shield, then finishes off the enemy with a nicely timed counterattack .

Thats not it .

Im not worried about that guy .

I run to her while pushing aside enemy and ally alike .

Theres no way I make it in time though .

One enemy makes his way through to Mylas side .

He was most likely remarkably desperate to get this far through all the jostling .

A sword is swung in passing .

Fresh blood gushes out from Mylas neck .

More was spilled this time than when Celia and Sekrit got hurt .

Myla holds her hand to her neck, looking at my face as she slowly falls off her horse .

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett . 24 years old . Winter . Wartime .

Libatis Reinforcement Army Supreme Commander

Subordinate Squad:

Goldonia Royal Army Seventh Division Army Corps In Battle

Infantry: 6800

Archers: 1100

Cavalry: 1500

Hardlett Army In Battle

Bow Cavalry: 3700

Escort: 160

Chariots: 75

(including vacancies left by wounded)

Subordinates: Leopolt (staff officer), Celia (minor injury), Myla ( ), Irijina (charge), Luna (charge)

Gido (charge), Pipi (charge), Pochi (charge), Marta (standing by), Keith (corps commander), Sekrit (minor injury)

Current Location: Melisbark outskirts

Achievements: Defeated siege army, repelled Melisbark first and second attack