Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

–Aegir POV–

End of the Ceasefire, A Little Earlier

The army is not simply a pawn to be used on the battlefield. If the army is large enough, they can be considered a moving city. With tens of thousands of people, they would consume an immense amount of food and water everyday. Of course, without the proper facilities, even just their daily waste would be a tremendous amount.

As long as food is carried when stepping into enemy territory, what happens afterwards is of no concern, however doing whatever we please in our own country is not the best idea, which limits the places where camps inevitably must be set up in preparation to cross the river.

「That city in Magrado……what was it called again?」

「Port Randel.」

「Even though we can see it, it still looks so far away.」

During the period before the ceasefire is over, we have set up camp in a spot prepared in advance located in the forest close to the small port city, where ships are unable to see us from the river.

We overlook the opposite shore from the top of a watchtower which uses the tall trees. If the areas were connected by land, it probably wouldn’t take more than 30 minutes on horse to travel the distance. But it’s too far for a person to swim or drift across.

「I’m curious as to why there are so few ships.」

There are ships camouflaged on the shore of the port city in a way they don’t stand out, but the most they can transport should be around 3000.

「It is unknown how much the enemy has prepared, but I’m sure the first unit will be pretty tough.」

They will probably circulate their ships to other areas too, but I wonder if we can manage with this number, this makes me quite uneasy.

「We should form a unit around the Kingdom’s army for the first battle.」

Leopolt suddenly pops up on top of the watchtower between Celia and I. Celia pouts and puffs her cheeks.

「Oh, did you want me to pay attention to you?」

「The inspection from this point on will be done without knowing the enemy’s movements. It isn’t possible to deploy scouts and it won’t be possible to rescue them on the off chance they get caught in a trap. We should avoid any risk of losing our own army.」

He ignored me.

I understand what Leopolt is saying, but if I tell the Kingdom’s soldiers to go and hold my own soldiers back, they’ll become suspicious that they’re being used as fodder. Their morale won’t go up either.

「Umumu……」

I was about to take a gold coin out of my pocket and flip it, but Celia stops me.

「No! You can’t decide something in such a random way!」

「Then let’s do it this way – have the Kingdom’s army embark first, but I’ll take direct command of them.」

That way, the soldiers won’t consider themselves sacrificial pawns. Besides, it’s important that the commander is the first person to step on enemy territory so it doesn’t look like they’re just watching at a distance from the back.

「No!」「That isn’t a good idea.」「You can’t!」「The enemy will be skewered!」

Celia and the others – Myla, Pipi, Irijina – all show up. Where were they all hiding?

「It’ll be terrible if you get caught in a trap! Leopolt-san should at least go first! 」

「It’s important for the commander to take the lead, but it also depends on the timing and situation. There are too many unknown factors this time.」

「I’m not sure what’s going on, but you can’t!」

「Isn’t it time to eat yet!?」

The times which resulted in a bad outcome after I trusted my instincts ……are few and far between. And Leopolt, the person who was the most likely to voice a complaint, is remaining silent.

「Our national strength and command on the battlefield are both superior to theirs. But there is a chance, though small, of Lord Hardlett exposing himself to danger.」

「That much can’t be helped.」

It’s foolish to wish for absolute safety in battle.

「Then there is nothing else for me to say. But please don’t forget. If you get defeated, this battle and your territory will be finished.」

「Lord Hardlett possesses great influence for better or for worse after all……」

Steering away from the ominous talks the two of them were having, I rub the ass of Irijina, who’s taking a bite out of a bone-in meat.1

「Stop being so negative, since we might be able to land without encountering any problem at all.」

「I’m definitely coming with you!」

「Mefgh dooh!!」2

Celia won’t leave my side no matter what. I guess I could take the escort unit at least.

Also, don’t talk with your mouth full Irijina, you’re spraying a rain of meat and oil everywhere.

「As one would expect, we can’t move at night. Let’s embark on the ships as soon as the sun rises.」

It’s foolish to send out the soldiers who aren’t used to being on ships in the pitch darkness, and they won’t be able to do the prep work to embark either. Campfires will attract the attention of the enemy from across the shore after all.

「The last time we’ve been on a ship was when we were travelling in the past.」

Celia brings her head close in a nostalgic manner. Myla and Irijina look somewhat bored.

At that time, the only ones I knew were Celia and Nonna, and I only met Melissa on the way. It might not be interesting to the other girls I guess.

「You can slowly get ready to set out on the ships when everything is settled.」

I’ll leave the territory to Adolph so the fatigue on my mind and body can be healed. For now though, I’ll need to prepare for tomorrow’s sortie and relieve the stress of my lower half too.

The Next Day, Onboard the Ship

「The ships in the front have crossed half of the river! The enemy navy hasn’t appeared!」

「Oh, what a letdown.」

「So this is the river……my legs are paralyzed……chief, so scary!」

Along with the rising of the sun, separate boats containing 2500 Kingdom soldiers and my escort unit and I, heads towards Port Randel gradually along the river current. The heavy cavalry are too heavy and put on more weight than expected. The transportation of the bow cavalry seemed like it would take a lot of time and effort. Judging from Pipi’s frightened reaction, the embarking and disembarking might not go smoothly either.

We have quite a few battleships prepared and everyone is on high alert for the enemy’s counterattack, but nothing is happening at all.

「Good grief. The enemy might be focusing their attention on the front where Lord Radhalde’s First Army Corps has deployed.」

Celia calmly analyses the situation.

「Erich might be having a hard time. But the battle is practically settled if we can land.」

If my army of over 40,000 can land completely, we probably have enough to fight Magrado’s army even by ourselves. If we proceed along the river and hold down the port city, the enemy navy won’t be able to do anything. Even though they’re called the navy, they’re not constantly on the river and will need to refill on food supplies and arrows or they’ll be powerless.

「The enemy navy……! No, it’s a small group. It might just be some scouts.」

The report given by the lookout instantly causes my entire body to tense up, but the enemy has only sent out a few small ships when I look closely. When our battleships fire off their arrows, the enemy ships quickly run away. Our entire fleet of ships have already crossed the midpoint of the river. Even if they launch a counterattack now, it’ll be too late.

「As I thought, Aegir-sama has lady luck on his side.」

「I don’t remember when I slept with her though.」

Celia gets angry, telling me not to say something which would get me punished.

The ships in front start shouting and flames rise up from a few of them. It seems that a shootout is occurring between them and the enemy on land, who are protecting the city. But we can push through after coming this far and get on land despite the boats catching on fire. There aren’t many soldiers defending the city anyway.

「Everyone get ready for battle. We’ll bring down the city quickly and call the others to follow us. I don’t mind if you burn the city, but try not to destroy the ships regardless of their size.」

If we can secure the place unharmed, it would make the transportation of succeeding soldiers easier.

「And lastly……don’t kill the women no matter what. If you’re gonna screw them, make sure they consent, got it!?」

‘Ooooooh!’ – The soldiers all shout back in affirmation.

Now, the war with Magrado has finally begun.

–Third Person/Magrado POV–

Magrado Territory, Port City: Port Randel

「The Goldonian ships are approaching, and unloading their soldiers!」

「Can we stop them somehow!? What is the defence unit doing?」

「The defence unit numbers 2000 while the enemy has close to 3000!!」

The soldiers and commanders shout loudly at one another. Port Randel is not a large city by any means. There are plenty of other important bases, but the reason why so many forces were stationed here was because of the wariness towards Goldonia.

「Dammit! Why did they come here? Do they have any backup!?」

「According to the scouting ships, they appear to have tens of thousands of soldiers in the city on the opposite shore!」

The shouting stops for a brief moment.

「Tens of thousands……a genuine landing operation, is it? Well, we’re done then. There’s no way we can fend them off……」

「Stop your whining! No matter how many tens of thousands they have, only a few thousand can cross the river at a time. The enemy doesn’t have that many ships!」

「We can’t even hold off a few thousand! Are reinforcements not coming?!」

Using common sense, it would be normal to think that it would be impossible to defend the entire coast from Goldonia, who has a superior amount of forces, thus it would be natural to go with a strategy where the main force would be stationed in-land and would try and beat down the enemy before the army could land on the base. However, such a strategy required a certain something.

「What is the navy doing……? Those Goldonia guys aren’t even struggling to get here!」

The navy are supposed to defeat the enemy, and even if they aren’t able to, they should at least buy time by preventing the enemy from conducting their landing operation or stopping them from moving. Port Randel has a hidden navy base near the city. An emergency smoke signal was already raised and they should be coming soon.

「Why……? Why aren’t they coming? At this rate, the enemy army will land. Our country will be finished!」

A particularly large scream can be heard.

When the soldiers turned their attention in that direction, they could see an army of heavy cavalry waving a black flag, ripping the defence unit and their battle lines into shreds. The knight riding in the front is sending soldiers flying left and right. That single knight is destroying the hastily constructed defence line on the road.

「The war demon, Hardlett……」

There isn’t a single soldier in Magrado who doesn’t know of that name belonging to the demonic warrior who routed the great commander Radgalf and his elite army. Everyone knew that the situation is only going to get worse.

–Aegir POV–

「Move it !!」

I knock away the soldiers who are lining up their spears and crush the wagons which have been piled up to act as a wall. A man jumps off the roof of a house and swings his sword at me, but I skewer him in midair and throw him back up high in the air. The splat sound of the man falling to the ground breaks the enemy’s spirit and the soldiers in the area run away.

「Aegir-sama, you’re charging in too far! The Kingdom’s army has just finally suppressed the harbor! 」

「It’s enough for them to capture the harbor. The enemy will crumble immediately.」

I duck my head to dodge the spear of the cavalry running at me, then thrust my own weapon through the soldier’s throat. Because my spear is thick, his neck is torn off……it’s getting messy again.

「An opening!」

「Nope.」

I grab the spear thrust at me by the soldier coming at me from the path, then swing the pole along with the man holding the weapon into the wall, demolishing the side of the house.

「HIiiiih!」「R-run away!!」

Fumu, this much should be good. I guess I’ll return to my allies for now.

「Tell the ships to go back immediately and carry the other soldiers here.」

I had the ships on standby so we could escape just in case we met the majority of the army on land, but the city is undoubtedly going to fall. In that case, I should get the soldiers over here to follow after me as soon as possible. If they’re quick, they can make two round trips.

「As expected of a squad trained by Erich, they’re quite powerful.」

The Kingdom’s army didn’t wait for me to give out instructions and already know what they have to do. Their commanders are on a higher level and overwhelmed the enemy even though their numbers are on par with each other.

「Alright, since the harbor is under control, the next step is to throw the enemy out of the city. Press on!」

Because the army corps commander himself is out in the fray, the morale of the soldiers are high. The soldiers charge in unison with their shouts and the Magrado soldiers quickly get pushed back.

「If I go out any further, it will only take away the merits of my allies. 」

「Yes, there’s a chance of getting hit by a stray attack too. It’s better for you to be in the back.」

There’s no point in rampaging while our allies are pressuring the enemy already.

「Even so……it’s surprising the enemy navy didn’t show up.」

「That’s true, that is the biggest worry.」

It’s obvious for things to turn out this way when the navy doesn’t meddle. No matter how much the land base is divided on land, it makes me feel strange when they don’t show up at all.

「In any case, we have already successfully landed. If they abandon this place, it might become fatal for them in the war as a whole, so they will definitely send reinforcements here. We’ll need to quickly take control of the city and fortify our defences by calling our follow-up soldiers here.」

I’m confident.

Now that we have secured the harbor, the soldiers can be transported over and over. Even if the enemy comes at us, if we protect the city, our forces will increase by 6000 to 9000 everyday.

‘Waaah’ – Loud cheers erupt from the soldiers.

It seems the enemy’s final resistance has collapsed and the fighting has moved outside the city.

「Don’t chase too deep. Our top priority is to secure the city! Also, raise the green smoke signal.」

This is fine, since right now Leopolt and Myla, who were left on the opposite shore, are probably sending an express messenger to the palace and to where Erich is to tell them we have successfully landed.

「Well, now that we’ve completed the first stage, let’s find something light to eat.」

「You’re right. The enemy might counterattack, so it might be better to fill our stomachs……」

Celia seems to have a more relaxed expression compared to when she was in the middle of fighting.

Meanwhile, Irijina comes back from fighting on the front lines with her armor covered in the enemy’s blood.

「The enemy has been thrown outside the city walls!! There aren’t any large squads nearby either! So now……」

I have a bad feeling about this somehow.

「This war, it’s our victory!!」

Irijina shouts in a loud voice.

When the transport ships finish departing to Port Randel, a dense cloud appears in the once-clear sky. A shadow is gradually cast over the city and it eventually starts pouring rain, something rare at this time of year.

Side Story: Kroll’s Indiscretion (First Part)

「Kroll, could you carry this?」

「Yes, Nonna-sa……madam.」

Perhaps bored of the large vase in the bedroom, she wants it moved to the corridor. No one except the girls can really enter the rooms of Nonna, the other concubines and the rooms the lovers are using. The only ones who can freely enter and exit are the butler Sebastian and Kroll. As one would expect, Nonna and the maids have thin arms and Sebastian’s getting old, so they are against carrying heavy objects, meaning it would become part of Kroll’s duties.

「Do you want it……here?!」

The vase is heavy, but his body is plenty strong from the miscellaneous chores and training he does.

「Yes, over there. And then that painting will go in the room……」

「Good work, go eat some sweets if you like.」

Kroll breathes hard after being worked so thoroughly and takes a drink of water.

「Without Aegir-sama around……it’s lonely, isn’t it.」

Nonna leans forward lazily against the table.

「Nnn!!??」

Kroll panics, which is natural to happen, since Nonna’s enormous breasts practically spill out onto the table. His dick pushes up against his pants.

「? What’s wrong?」

「N-no, it’s nothing……」

Nonna isn’t the type of person who would let off a man just because he’s young. If she realizes his erection, she would scream as soon as she gets violated.

「W-well then, please excuse me!」

「Haah, well if you don’t need anything, that’s fine.」

Carla appears in front of Kroll after he dashes out of the room. She’s dressed lightly, almost in a suggestive manner, after coming out of the bath. The boy’s dick gets harder and harder.

「What’s got into you, running around in such a hurry?」

「I-it’s nothing!」

She bypasses her swiftly and enters the living room to see Mel hugging her youngest child, Gilbard. Mel normally dresses in a more conservative manner so this should be a little relief.

「Fuu……」

But the situation is quickly turned on its head.

「Ara? Are you hungry? Look, here are my boobiess~」

Mel glances at Kroll to see him turn back before bringing out her breasts and letting Gilbard suck on them for milk.

However, there’s no way a 15 year-old boy could take his eyes off the beauty’s breasts, despite her being an older lady.

「Uuuu-!!」

Kroll hurriedly dashes out of the living room.

「……I came.」

Even though he didn’t touch his dick at all, it ejaculated so fiercely.

At Night

「Haa, haa……this is no good! Even doing it myself……」

Kroll strokes his dick at night, but he’s unable to satisfy himself. He’s been able to suppress his urges by masturbating all through the night in the past, but after he’s experienced the feeling of a woman, it won’t do anymore.

He wanted to be inside a woman’s mouth, breasts, and of course her precious hole.

「Woman……I want a woman.」

His lust reaches the limit, and a dangerous feeling starts bubbling up within him – one which makes him want to rape his master’s women. But there was a knock on his room.

「Kroll? Are you awake?」

The one who appeared was Alma, an introverted servant who was raised in the same orphanage as Kroll and a year younger than him, but has recently started opening up more.

He quickly puts his dick away and straightens his clothes.

「What is it, coming so late at night?」

「Um, I heard Kroll was acting strange today so……」

「It’s nothing. Just go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow, don’t you?」

「……But I’m worried. There was that incident previously too……」

Kroll’s face distorts.

He doesn’t want to be reminded of the time he got scolded for going to the sexshop.

「It’s fine, just hurry up and go……」

His gaze stops at Alma’s chest area. It wasn’t like they were exposed and it isn’t even clear whether she has breasts or not, but her thin sleepwear doesn’t hide the figure of her body. The reason the shy Alma shows this appearance to Kroll is because she lets her guard down around him, who she treats as a brother.

「We grew up together for so long, and I might not be the most reliable, but you can talk to me about anyth-……kyaaah!」

Alma smiles as she gets hugged, while Kroll’s losing his reason from the soft sensation and the wafting smell of a girl.

Aegir Hardlett. 22 years old. Autumn. Wartime.

Commander of Third Army Corps

Subordinate Squad: 45,900

Private Army: 8000 (Units brought to battle only)

Infantry: 2500, Cavalry: 500, Archers: 700, Engineers: 300, Bow Cavalry: 4000

Cannons: 10 (1 Genuine)

Kingdom Army – 2 divisions: 29,900

Neighboring Vassal Lords’ Armies: 8000

Not strictly under the command of the protagonist.

Additional – Rafen Defense Squad: 1000

Military Subordinates: Leopolt (Deputy Commander), Celia (adjutant), Myla (commander), Irijina (commander, Flag), Luna (commander of the bow cavalry), Pipi (mascot), Tristan (house-sitting)

Current Location: Port Randel

Achievements: Capitulated Port Randel