Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

–Aegir POV–

I thought Gildress would be equally annoyed, but when I looked at him, he had a smile on his face and his eyes were sparkling.

「My friend! Things are getting interesting!!」

「Interesting, my ass. The plan fizzled out. 」

Now that it’s come to this, I’m thinking that I have to jump into the muddy stream and withdraw from here, but as I climb on top of the opened city walls, I don’t hear any insults or screaming from the enemy soldiers, or even the tumultuous noise of battle for that matter.

During the strange silence, I suddenly see the tip of a mast.

「Ahn?」

I blink once and look again, and see a sailor clinging to the watchtower.

「Fumu. 」

I lightly tap my temple and look again, and see Ivanna screaming in a high-pitched voice on the bridge.

「Nuun. 」

My eyes dart briefly away, distracted by the disgusting sight of Gildress pulling up his crooked pants, then switch back one more time to see sailors laying on the deck and shouting soundlessly.

「What’s that?」

The scene in front of me doesn’t register in my mind.

A city, a ship, a wall, a mast, sailors, Ivanna.

Screams come from both the left and right sides at the same time.

Just like the silence formerly enveloping the area, I had no idea what was going on.

Taking advantage of the confusion, I bend my body over the walls.

「Hey, you’re kidding me. 」

I wasn’t seeing things.

A ship which I’m no stranger to, the Suvorov, is sliding on land towards Trisnia from where the river gushed out.

Its emergency repairs gave the tattered ship a charming look.

The enemy had bigger issues to worry about than us at this point and yelled back and forth at each other.

「W-what the heck is that!? A ship!? On land!? How is that possible!?」

「How would I know!? First, Goldonia throws people with catapults and now they operate ships on land……damn lunatics!!」

「It’s coming at us in a straight line! Our walls should be strengthened by ‘that’, making it impenetrable, right!? Tell me I’m right!」

The ship gradually closes the distance.

Its bow was deliberately pointed in our direction, meaning it wasn’t simply drifting along.

As the vessel gets closer, the voices on board become clearer.

「Steady the course! Point the bow perpendicular to the city! Who would have thought that a ship could run on land……」

「The large hole in the hull――well, I guess it’s fine since the ship won’t sink on land. 」

「Brace for impact! Can the stronger-than-steel wall withstand this?」

The Suvorov hit a rock and bounced up for a second, revealing the naval ram attached to the bow.

As the sailors shout amongst each other and the volume of the hull scraping against the ground increases, I remember back before we sortied.

That ditch dug toward the wall previously…… so the ship is riding on top.

And then, the Suvorov arrives.

「Don’t leave your posts! We haven’t been ordered to retreat yet!」

「We’re fine! I’m sure we’re fine! There’s nothing to worry about!」

In spite of the impending collision, the enemies on top of the wall stand firm.

Boom――!

The sounds of crashing mixed with screams……although the shockwave quickly drowned them out.

Ripples were sent across the entirety of the wall.

Everybody, including me, was shaken off the ramparts.

When the giant body of the ship came to a complete stop, some of the enemies cheered.

But the joy they felt didn’t last long as the naval ram pierced through the walls, and several moments later as the ship pushed into the city, a chain reaction was caused, leading to the stones around the ship caving in……and then the grinding of the hull resumed as the water beneath the vessel dispersed, the residual momentum of the ship carrying it forward and destroying a couple houses along the wall before it tipped on its side.

「I-it broke……」

「How could this be……」

As if to mock the silence of the enemy soldiers, the next wave proceeded to follow the Suvorov.

Multiple ships rode the current toward the walls.

One after another, they crashed, destroying various places in the walls and penetrating into the city.

Luckily, I fell right into the Suvorov.

More accurately, I fell right on top of Ivanna.

「Gueh. 」

「Funya!?」

Well, I’ll take the chance to steal her lips and lick her neck before standing up.

Ivanna’s face looked like that of a bitch in heat for a split second, but then she clicks her tongue and stands up in the next moment.

「So this is Leopolt’s plan?」

「Yeah, now the fleet is annihilated. That damn miserable man. 」

Now that this happened, the ship likely can’t be used for the meantime.

「There was an effect though. The once formidable defence was practically made of paper to the ships. 」

I admire the five holes created in the wall.

「Of course. A charge with several hundred tons behind it isn’t the same as a battering ram being swung by five or ten people. ……I couldn’t possibly have considered using a naval ram on land. 」

As she finished her sentence, the sixth…… and final combat ship punctured the wall.

「This place is falling apart! Run to the center! ――toph, hurry up!」

「Uwaaaaaah!!!」

「Aaah, Chri―――― was knocked over!! Oh no, he’s mince meat!!」

「No wait, he got stuck in the mud! Pull him out and run!!」

The enemy descended into a state of panic at the unorthodox attack.

Many people were thrown off the walls and those who weren’t either fled disorderly or jumped down, some to their deaths.

「That’s all of them. This is the end. 」

Ivanna raises her hand and countless of Goldonian soldiers appear from within the ships.

They shoot arrows and bolts from the decks.

The combat ships were like moving castles.

Retaliation from the enemy in the form of bows and ballistae bounced off the ships.

In the enemy’s perspective, it was like six fortresses suddenly burst into their camp.

Bathing them with fire would be devastating, however, the rain prevented that.

The corner of Ivanna’s mouth curled up at the one-sided development.

「There’s just one more thing to add. 」

She gives an order for cannons to launch a unified volley.

With the ships tilted drastically, they were simply meant to threaten, the booming blasts and cloud of dust enough to shatter what little remains of the enemy’s spirit.

「Look, here comes the Goldonian army as well. 」

Having exhausted the supply of water, the gushing stream from the river weakens to a trickle and the water level visibly decreases.

The army used that timing to mount their offensive.

With six large holes in the wall, it’s almost the same as the wall not being there.

The fortified houses near the wall were also wrecked by the six ships and the defending soldiers fled, so they weren’t functioning either.

「It’s chaos. The battle’s over. 」

Everyone scatters in an unruly manner, discarding their weapons and prioritizing their own safety.

It’s unlikely they can regroup to set up any kind of organized attack.

I take Ivanna’s hand and pull her toward me.

We’ve won, so I doubt she’ll refuse my kiss this time.

「No, later. 」

A brown-skinned hand cuts in the space between my lips and Ivanna’s lips. It’s Sekrit.

I lick the finger of that hand since it’s in front of me, and Ivanna jumps out of the way, cursing like she ate something poisonous.

「Another order came from headquarters: “It appears South Yuguria’s supreme headquarters is in the city of Trisnia. There are also reports of the sovereign of the enemy nation, Empress Wilhelmina, being present. All units are to promptly pursue and exterminate the ruler, as well as the supreme commander, and all the other headquarters personnel. Regardless of casualties. ” ――so they say. If things go well, we can cut off the head of South Yugura. 」

It looks like we have to delay our victory celebration.

I hold my Dual Crater and grab onto a rope dangling from the ship.

I happen to catch a glimpse of Celia running over.

「Oh, and when you get off the boat, go through the plaza on the right hand side. 」

「What’s over there?」

Sekrit chuckles and smirks.

「Your friend is buried head-first in the ground. His ass is fully exposed. 」

I’ll get Yakov to do it.