–Aegir POV–
One week since arriving in Rafen, the town is seeing congestion like it has never seen before. But that is how it should be, since the Eastern army which went out to secure the region has brought the citizens back along with them. The town is crowded with people, and a strange liveliness is born.
「I have some leeway in terms of funds, so I can maintain their stay here for now...」
Adolph can't hide his dissatisfied expression. The situation with the town's security causes anxiety, and calling back the citizens from the villages also causes the farmland to become rough, so harvest can't be expected. As the domestic affairs official, you can't just keep quiet.
「This isn't a problem. I will settle it in one month.」
Leopolt is opposite with Adolph and absolutely doesn't change his expression.
「Attacking the army provisions, is it?」
「Yes. Although they are called the mountain tribe, they are actually nomads who live on the plateau. They wouldn't think to steal our land and plow our fields. In their attacks against us, they are looking to pilfer women and anything easily accessible to eat.」
But both options would pull the army up. The villages are now empty husks.
「Rather than seeking food, those guys just want to enter into our territory.」
「Are you going to hit them there?」
「That's right. But just as Lord Hardlett has experienced, they are extremely skilled in battling on an open field. If they fight decently, then we would also have a painful time.」
Leopolt spread the map and placed several markers.
「Lend me 500 soldiers and the according amount of laborers. I'll lay a trap that will get them.」
「I'll leave it to you.」
「Please wait! You call them laborers, but they're just like farmers. If you take them out to war, there will be casualties! And then after the war, it will hinder the harvesting and maintenance of the village!」
Leopolt and Adolph look at each other. Electricity seems to spark between them.
「The first thing we should do is win. Otherwise, domestic affairs will have no meaning.」
「That's wrong. Regardless of how you win, if the land gets roughed up, there's no use.」
「If we get crushed in battle, then all the abundant harvest will fall in the enemy's hands.」
「If the citizens and land are healthy, then we could regain it after 10 to 20 years.」
Ooh, this is quite an interesting fight. The only fights that happen on our side is between Nonna and Carla, so seeing a different kind of fight occasionally is nice too. Celia seems to be highly interested too. I want to watch a little longer, but I don't have time for this.
「Leopolt, out of everything we have, you're going to bring laborers to the battlefield?」
「Yes. It's essential if I am going to make a trap. Casualties will not occur either.」
This guy has been producing many results up till this point. I should trust him.
「It is as you heard, Adolph. He's not going to kill the laborers. Also, having those barbarians right up against our territory will not allow us to expand our territory. We won't know when they will attack us again like they just did.」
「......」
Adolph goes silent.
「For now, the development of the eastern area will be postponed, and that portion of labor force will all be used in the development of the safer Rafen and its suburbs. Just as I said earlier, it will be settled in a month.」
I feel sorry for him, but it is war time now. I have often heard that an excellent civil official in peace times will often get in the way during wartimes. Just leave the war to me and Leopolt.
「Leopolt, take the soldiers and laborers you talked about earlier. I will also bring the entire squad as soon as we get prepared.」
「I'm grateful. Let's meetup here.」
He points at one point on the map, and I agree. As soon as he finished his business, Leopolt quickly leaves.
「My goodness, it's because Hardlett-sama is also a soldier. I'm at a disadvantage.」
I unconsciously laugh at the pouting Adolph.
「I guess so. Well, I was raised a mercenary and became a noble from a soldier, you know? You shouldn't have asked me for an opinion on domestic affairs.」
But, I continued on.
「But after this battle is over, the land in this remote region shouldn't get attacked by damage from the war. Then your role would suddenly be important.」
Adolph breathed a large sigh.
「Please, let this be over as fast as possible, hopefully with just a few casualties?」
「That's what all the soldiers are hoping for too.」
I chuckle and leave the place. The troops that have returned are collectively preparing to sortie. Celia leaves a sugary treat in front of Adolph. 1 She's hoping to comfort him, but what are you going to do if your cuteness makes him fall in love.
–Leopolt POV–
Five days later Eastern Area of the Territory Leopolt's Divided Army
「Release them!」
Arrows rain down all at once from the 100 archers. The goal is to surprise attack the approximately 50 barbarian archers who are hiding in the villages. They still ride horses on the wastelands, and are able to skillfully use swords and bows on horseback too.
Then we just have to shower arrows down on the top of their heads. In the barrage of arrows, their expertise on horseback is irrelevant, and if they're unlucky, they'll get hit by an arrow and die. In addition, these guys aren't wearing any decent armor at all.
「The enemy is rushing at us now!」
「This is going as planned. Throw a javelin first, then as they get closer, throw a dagger. Don't aim for the rider, injure the horse.」
As long as we drop them from their horses, they would be no different from common militia since they have children and women mixed in their forces as well. The only threats are their skill in riding and ability to loose arrows on horseback.
A portion of the enemy is able to skillfully use their bows to defeat some of our ally archers, who fired volleys of arrows at them from the top of the roofs. But the enemy, who couldn't sprint away, is lured into the village, where they were stabbed repeatedly by a mob of infantry charging in from the side.
The enemy has 50 units, while our allies number at 500. Since it isn't an open field where they can move freely and repeatedly employ hit and run tactics, it will only be a slaughter from the beginning. As soon as the enemy stepped into the village, the battle was settled.
The group of barbarians are swiftly being defeated, and in no time at all, the small number left remaining also scattered away. With this, the three enemy squads will be vanquished. The enemy should also be figuring out soon that the worthless village has nothing valuable left in there, and that they should head to a bigger village. Then, we would move our large squad, since in order to defeat them we would also need to gather our own forces.
The laborers are also steadily progressing in their work. It will be completed soon.
I would like this trivial fight to be over, and perfect the preparations for the important war.
–Aegir POV–
Eastern Army Main Forces
I received a report that the 500 soldiers provided to Leopolt were rampaging. It seems they've already dispatched several enemy squads already. Having the soldiers hide in the village and perform an ambush, loading a covered wagon used to transport goods full of soldiers as a decoy tactic, and it seems they just did as they pleased.
The mountain tribe is powerful, but they don't really use large-scale strategies or any kind of tactics, so on the contrary, it seems they didn't overlook them either. Leopolt is the worst opponent for them. We are almost at the rendezvous point.
「A group which seems to be barbarians in the front has been spotted! Approximately 50 of them.」
If I don't crush at least one group, then I won't look cool.
「Cavalry squad, continue on! We're going to trample them.」
Unlike before, I don't have to worry about the women, so I feel more comfortable. Irijina and Celia have gotten strong enough to be able to protect themselves.
With me in the lead, several hundred cavalry charges into the group of barbarians. I use my shield and spear to block the arrows, as I slice the two that I charged into in half. Having their arrows hit the horse armor on Schwartz, they glanced at me, knowing that this is a dangerous situation.
The barbarians have excellent archery skills but the quality of their arrows are bad. It would be hard to penetrate armor made of iron or steel. But they always have the skill to aim in the gaps, so I can't let my guard down.
By the time I cut down the third person, the cavalry rushed in all at once. Before they charged in, many of the enemies were defeated by arrows, but they couldn't use their bows when I jumped in there. In the end, we relied on our numerical advantage to suppress them.
That's fine, those guys are few in number. If they were to engage us in a one-on-one combat scenario, then they would be the ones to die first.
「Crush them! Destroy them!」
I break the neck of the fourth person by hitting him with my handle, then I punch the fifth person and he falls off his horse. The fifth person was unlucky and got trampled by Schwartz right after, his scream disappearing just like that.
「Ha-!」
Celia's knife sinks into the throat of one of them with pinpoint accuracy, causing him to fall off his horse without a sound. To match her, I throw the sword that I stole, but this time, neither the handle nor the blade hit him, it was the side. Even so, it smashed his nose and finished him off, so I can count that as a success.
After taking out about eight of them, our allies became the only ones who were moving on the battlefield, and cheers erupted, loud enough for the defeated and retreating enemies to hear in the distance.
On the afternoon of that day, Leopolt and I were able to meet up at the rendezvous point as planned.
「It seems you've been killing enemies left and right.」
「And you've been defeating enemies in an outrageous fashion.」
Shall I strangle his neck? 2
「Is this the village that you've set up camp in?」
Leopolt has set up battle positions in a comparatively large village, although I don't know the name of it. It seems that there used to be around 100 people living in it.
「Yes. Thinking about the terrain and our situation, this place is the most convenient for us.」
「Is it 'that' plan? Has it been completed?」
「Our part is completed, but there are still two things needed: For the enemy to gather into a large group and the weather.」
「So you were attacking the smaller enemy squads until now for that purpose?」
The enemy usually has squads of around 50 people...which is probably a single family or a single faction or something. For the trap to spring on that faction, the effect would be limited, so we would like for them to group up into large numbers so we can eliminate them all at once. For a group of 50 people, I would probably show them a sizeable force they could never match or just trample them though.
「It was effective. I have received reports from scouts that the enemy is currently gathering themselves gradually.」
「Then shall we push through by force one more time?」
My squad is carrying plenty of supplies. Mountains of wheat and casks of alcohol were piled in a place which stood out in the town. It's so that the enemy scouts could find it any time they came.
「Indeed, those guys are simpletons after all. It's because it's Lord Hardlett that you could think of something like that.」
I've always thought this, but this guy is making fun of me, isn't he?
「My entire squad has already been accumulated but...we just have to wait to ambush the enemy now.」
「Shall I scatter the cavalry randomly? Even if I get into trouble, I can return quickly, and on the off chance that they lose their minds and head toward Rafen, then I would need to keep them in check.」
Wait a minute, there's only a few soldiers there right now. If they get attacked, then there won't be any people left.
「The possibility is infinitesimally small, but there is no such thing as absolute in this world. But if you are afraid of that, then what can you do?」
「You're right...Let's say our preparations are fine, so what about the weather?」
「Even just a little rain is fine, then it would be perfect.」
Rain? Oh yeah, it hasn't rained at all lately.
「We can reasonably expect rain seasonally. If not, then we're just unlucky and I'll think about it then.」
「Luck? I didn't think you were the type of guy to believe in that stuff.」
「Even though I look like that, I'm still deeply religious. If it brings benefits, I will lower my head to any God.」
That is what is called an unbeliever.
「Let's bring out some alcohol for the troops. As expected, the enemies won't come attacking us today or tomorrow.」
「Well, the enemy scouts may take advantage of the dead of night and come. If they see my negligence and our abundance of supplies, then the possibility of them coming increases.」
Celia heard the word alcohol and her eyes light up, but the only thing she's getting is the honey alcohol, which is more like honey than alcohol.
「Alcohol!」
Irijina shouts excitedly, but this is troubling, since if she drinks, 10 soldiers' worth will disappear.
In addition, she drinks it like water, so it's actually a waste of supplies.
Many soldiers got excited at the banquet in the battlegrounds where they risked their lives. Unlike the meals during peaceful times, it is all you can eat and drink, causing morale to increase dramatically.
「Aegir-sama, here you go...」
Celia attempts to be the one to pour me drinks, but she isn't holding anything in her hand. If I look carefully, her mouth is full. It seems she wants to transfer the alcohol to me with her mouth, but her face is red and her focus is wavering.
「Hey, who's the idiot who let Celia drink!?」
「Hm? Well it looked like she was disheartened while drinking the honey, so I gave her plenty. Is that bad?」
Just like I said, it was an idiot. I'll punish the two of you together. I'm going to get rough, so you better prepare yourselves.
After that 'battle' was over, I went out to catch some of the evening breeze and something interesting caught my eye.
For this expedition, we hired a few female waitresses and kitchen-maids to accompany us. Leopolt seems confident in his plan, even accounting for the fact that the accompanying women would invite attacks from the enemy. I saw a soldier take the hand of one of those kitchen-maids and bring her to a place where few people would go. I stepped closer to beat him up, but when the soldier saw me, he said 'crap' and tried to run away. But the woman grabbed the soldier's hand, bowed her head while facing me and gestured for him to take out money.
I see, she was trying to earn an extra source of income in addition to her kitchen-maid duties. I don't want to interrupt the business of a prostitute. So I turned my eyes away and waved my hand to tell them to get out of here. So this is what was happening when I saw a woman whose face looked really tired during the march. I surely thought that it was because they couldn't keep up with the pace of the march. Next time, I'll increase the pace without mercy.
I hear some splashing sounds, and look around, spotting a woman standing beside a well lightly rinsing herself. Her transaction is over, but maybe the customer was too quick and it looks like she can still do more.
「Ara, captain. Oh my, how embarrassing.」
I instantly hug the woman who tried to hide her body.
「Are you still...open for business?」
A smile floats to her face and she exposes her body.
「If it's the captain, I'll open up a special night service.」
With that said, it would be tough on me to keep attacking her until dawn, and it would hinder her day job. So let's just keep things quick.
「Let's head under that tent's shadow. If you so desire, I can do everything with my mouth.」
「No, just your special part will be fine.」
I bring her to the shadow and take my cock out. It must be because she just had a man in her earlier, but her special place is already wet.
「Woah, it's huge! A lady-killer just like the rumors...」
「Are you frightened?」
「No way. There's almost no chance to be able to taste something like this. I'm glad I came along with the army.」
After touching her lips lightly, it entered her. When it was halfway buried into her, I stopped moving for a little bit.
「Guu...It's too big. I think it can go a little deeper though.」
「I'll take you up on that offer.」
I grab her shoulders and push my hips stronger, sinking it in a few centimeters deeper inside.
「Aaaaah!! There-! That's the deepest part! It's thick and stretching me.」
In a flash, sounds of my hips slamming against her butt can be heard. The sounds echo in the dark of night, and if you listen carefully, you can hear sounds of flesh on flesh. There is only one person among them who can though.
「I can't get enough! If you make me remember this, I'll never be able to go back!」
I use my meat rod to scrape out the remaining semen left inside her hole by the other man and add even stronger kiss marks on top of the ones already on her neck. Right now, just during this time, this woman belongs to me.
「Captain! I'm already going to cum! Do it rougher!」
To comply with her request, I move my hips intensely, pinch her nipples and pull on them slightly. Feeling the convulsions in her vagina, I swing my hips strongly two or three more times and the woman climaxes, moaning while arching her body backwards.
「Aaooooo–!!」
The woman squeezes my dick hard, as she collapses.
「Aaah...That was good. It's been awhile since I came for real...」
「Sorry but I haven't finished yet.」
「Ah, that's right. I'll quickly...wha-? I can't stand up, can I take a break?」
I grin broadly.
「You can't.」3
I let the collapsed woman lie down as I begin my intense thrusting in and out of her. I block her screams by giving her a kiss and raise her arms above her head, slamming into her without holding back. The movements of my waist also show it, but I'm nearing climax as my cock gets harder, scraping in the insides of her hole and giving her several times more pleasure.
「You have quite a nice hole. It feels good.」
「It's too intense! Die, I'll dieeeee!! Aaaaaah!!」
If she opens her mouth too much then her voice will leak out, so I kiss her once again. It's about time I finish things.
I place my hands under her arms to support her firmly as I thrust into her deepest part, stopping my movements. The woman finally rolls her eyes back. I can feel a warm sensation from her crotch, so she probably wet herself. While feeling that warm and wet feeling, with a single groan, I ejaculate, continuing to thrust up into her many times. Because I thought that a prostitute would be used to these kinds of things, I went a little too overboard. During the one minute while I was ejaculating, I was thinking of these things as I caressed the woman, whose eyes are rolled back and is already foaming at the mouth.
After finishing, I couldn't just leave the unconscious woman out here, so after rinsing her off by the well, I take her to my tent and had her sleep in a futon. As soon as Irijina falls asleep, she won't wake up, and Celia also drank alcohol so her usual sharp senses shouldn't be there.
I hug Celia's naked body, who is mumbling something in her sleep, and fall asleep while entangling my body with hers. She's pretty warm.
「uunya...Aegir-sama-! Who the heck are you?!!」
「NNn...Oh, I didn't realize, a new girl?」
「Uuun, that thick penis is.... Hm, captain? Good morning.」
「Get out!」
「Go get our meals too!」
As I wake up, loud voices of women ring throughout my head. Celia's voice is especially loud so it hurts when she yells. As expected, I shouldn't have put her on the same floor.4
「Here, I pushed you too much yesterday.」
「Gold!? Hya, how generous. Call me again anytime! I'll do anything for you~」
「Hurry and get out!!」
Celia chases out the woman whose clothes are still all messed up. Then she looks up at the sky.
「What happened?」
「It's a dark cloud, so it may rain.」
For it to rain so soon, should I bring Leopolt to a temple when we get back to town and kneel to him or something?
Celia looks at me curiously while I'm grinning to myself. Not even one hour later, droplets of rain began to fall from the sky.
That day, the rain continued to pour for half the day, then a clear sky returned. On the surface, nothing seems to have changed; around the villages are fields and yet-to-be-cultivated grasslands and forests. Nearby there is also a small river stream, but it wasn't like the rain was heavy enough to cause flooding.
Two days passed with nothing special happening. Other than the ground getting a little wet and it getting a little easier to plant seeds, I don't feel much difference.
The headquarters is noisy. It seems that the scattered reconnaissance cavalry discovered the enemy.
「A group of barbarians are heading towards us from the east! Looks like their numbers exceed a thousand! They're coming straight at us.」
It seems they have properly found the mountain of food piled up from the banquet the other day. After defeating so many of them, this must be their entire army. If we win, then their fate is sealed.
「Leopolt, so there was rain. Is the plan completed?」
「There are no delays. I'm ready to go at anytime.」
The marching speed of all those guys on horseback are abnormal. They will probably reach our location by this afternoon. However, measures are already in place. Let's be at ease and defeat them.
Before that, there is one important issue.
「I haven't heard much about the plan or whatever, but what on earth is it?」
A nearby soldier has an uneasy expression and is turning pale. Don't be worried, you'll be fine after you hear it.
And thus the war begins.