Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi
chapter-187

I take 13,000 troops with me and advance directly west.

We go south to Zan Dora, then go west from there…… advancing on the road towards Trisnia.

I am rocked back and forth on Schwartz’s back as I watch the Erg forest pass by on the right.

「The path is pretty rough compared to the part up until Zan Dora. 」

For this sortie, I’ve taken most of the troops in the territory with me.

Naturally, I didn’t only bring Celia, but everyone related to the military from Leopolt to Tristan departed as well.

「That’s a first-world problem. There wasn’t always a path around Rafen after all. 」

I hug Celia and pat her head.

「Hau! T-the soldiers are looking. 」

That’s nothing to worry about, it’s already common sense to them that you’re my lover.

「We’re almost in……Baron Hameh’s territory. 」

「It’s Lord Barieh. We have already dispatched a messenger so we should be able to set up camp near the city. 」

We’ve gotten permission from most of the western nobles prior to our sortie.

It’s because Nonna regularly holds balls and tea parties that our relationship with them is favorable.

「Well it’s actually this military strength. Normally, it would be impossible for them to refuse us regardless of what our relationship was like. 」

Leopolt threw cold water on the accomplishment Nonna managed to contribute for once.

「When we stationed our troops in the territory of Viscount Chavannes yesterday, he was almost pitifully scared after all. 」

Celia smiles bitterly.

We set up camp around their city of 5000 people almost like setting up an encirclement.

We were simply letting our soldiers rest near the city though, there was no other ill intent behind our actions.

「Now that I think about it, it was the same with that girl. 」

Last night, I stayed in a room in Chavannes’ mansion where a young lady snuck in secretly at night.

She begged me to make love to her so I didn’t hold back.

「That person was apparently a girl from the branch family. She’s in a sorry state now though with her eyes rolled back after pissing herself. 」

「Umu, she was a virgin. Moreover, she was pretty so I forgot to use contraception. I might have gotten her pregnant. 」

Cold glares are directed at me from Celia and Myla.

Let’s change the topic.

「More importantly, how does it look like we’ll fare? Is 13,000 soldiers enough against Atoroapolis?」

Leopolt, Tristan, it’s your turn.

「According to our intelligence network and information provided by the surrounding Poleis, Atoroa has a population of 30,000 and over 10,000 citizens who can be recruited as militia when necessary. 」

「They are unlike us in that they use all of their citizens as emergency soldiers. 」

If that’s so then we don’t have much superiority over them.

「However, they only manage the farmland in a narrow area between the city and the surrounding area. In other words, they can’t maintain a large cavalry force and they don’t have the flexibility to deal with all sorts of attacks. 」

「Their fortress of a city acts as strong defense, but they can’t even retreat or allow their citizens to evacuate. 」

Leopolt looks to the rear.

There, horses are pulling our cannons and the dismantled parts of catapults.

If the situation develops into a full-fledged siege battle, there will no doubt be many citizens sacrificed on their side as well.

If we push through as invaders, they might put up a thorough resistance, although we can just attack with the intention to hand them over as a faction of the Orthodox Magrado.

「If we consider the situation from the side of the Atoroa citizens, they’ll be exposing their families and houses to danger in order to protect an outsider. If they do something like trying to hold out in their fortress, dissatisfaction will quickly be expressed. 」

「Furthermore, Atoroa’s army is pretty powerful, and they will definitely fight us on the field if they see we don’t have a large force. 」

I see, but we won’t lose even if we fight a field battle.

As long as the terrain is right, I can promise that our 5000 cavalry will have the absolute superiority.

「And also, Erich was complaining until the very end that it would be better if the Kingdom’s army was also sent out. 」

「The Commissioner of Military Affairs probably wanted to take this as an opportunity to display his influence to the southern nations. Normally there would be no choice but to accept it as an order though……」

「It really helps that we have a condition which requires the other nearby Poleis to open the path. 」

The aforementioned condition states “A minimum force is necessary to subjugate Atorora and is allowed through”, whereas if the Kingdom army was included, it would make the tens of thousands of soldiers a large enough force to be considered an invasion and would not be permitted.

「We deliberately negotiated this part too. 」

「But if we were to lose like this, it would be embarrassing. Do you have a plan?」

「I don’t. 」

I grab Tristan’s head.

「Ow! Please stop! My head is being crushed!」

「It’s the truth, although a plan is not necessary. Even without utilizing a plan, we can win just by quashing the enemy’s plan and attacking from the front. 」

Say that from the start, any longer and Tristan’s head would have been crushed in my hands.

Let’s take it easy and march forward then.

City States Territory: Plains

「They’ve come, just like we predicted. 」

「They number…… a little over 10,000. It’s more than what I thought. 」

The battlefield we chose for our fight with the Atoroan army was a plains scattered with hills.

The hills were gently-sloping so they shouldn’t become obstacles in our fight.

「Leopolt, what do you think?」

「They clearly made a mistake in their choice of battlefield. If they pulled back a little more, they could have fought in a valley where it would be unsuitable for any army to deploy. 」

「It would be hard for the enemy to fight as well, perhaps they didn’t like that?」

Celia shows up behind me.

「The enemy is fighting a defensive battle, and wouldn’t mind if they don’t finish us off. We would be the ones who would eventually tire. 」

「With that said, having the enemy army nearby is extremely unsettling and if they withdrew anymore, they would also be worried about sporadic attacks on the plantations and fields around Atoroa. It seems like they are more considerate to their citizens than we initially thought. 」

Then perhaps they’ll agree to hand over the concerned party if we defeat them in battle just once since they would dislike having to hole up in their fortress against us.

「Let’s hope so. All troops, get into battle formation. 」

On Leopolt’s order, the army quickly changes shape.

4000 infantry and 1000 archers are led by Myla on the right wing, while the 3000 infantry spread out on the left wing are led by the unwilling Tristan. Luna and Irijina lead the bow cavalry and cavalry respectively, ready to advance forward at any time.

Leopolt is beside me and will be in charge of overseeing the entire battle.

「Aegir-sama!」「I will protect the chief. 」

Celia will be leading the escort unit and sticking close to me.

Gido is similarly lining up right beside her.

Pipi will be riding behind me.

That will make me a bow cavalry too.

「Well, let’s see how the enemy moves. 」

I would charge in with the cavalry right off the bat, but this opponent is one whose hand is unknown.

「The enemy has deployed evenly on the left and right! They’re marching forward slowly. 」

I see, the enemy is similarly cautious.

From what I can see, Atoroa doesn’t have many cavalry.

Almost all of them are holding shields and short spears or swords.

「They’re similar to Magrado’s heavily armed infantry…… although these soldiers are holding smaller shields and seem more agile. 」

「They seem to want to come at us head-on from the front. 」

Let’s leave it to Leopolt in the beginning.

Atoroa’s army and my army slowly approach each other from the front and the archers from their respective armies move to the head of the formation.

In the next moment, a volley of arrows is fired simultaneously from both sides, glancing past the arrows of the opposing archers and raining down on the soldiers’ heads.

「It looks like they have the same range as our composite bows. 」

The enemy fires their arrows in an organized manner and their accuracy is pretty spot-on.

So they must be quite skilled.

「Gua!」「Wah!」

Our archers prop up large wooden shields and shoot from behind them, but there are still some soldiers who get shot and killed.

The enemy experiences the same result and their formation is just the slightest bit disarrayed.

「Second volley! Loose!」

The second volley is fired and rains down on the enemy.

The enemy also shoot their second volley at the same time, meaning they have similar skill.

「Both of us are propping up large shields. Neither of us can finish the other off no matter how many arrows we shoot. 」

「We’ll make a move here. The ballistae are finished setting up. 」

Leopolt keeps his eyes forward while giving a signal.

Near the middle of the main army, 40 ballistae are pointed at the enemy who are shooting with our archers on the right wing.

The ones which are smaller in size than the ballistae made for sieges can be loaded and pulled on wagons without being dismantled.

Their range and power are inferior to the full-blown ballistae but these weapons takes less hassle to set up and can be used in field battles depending on the situation.

Their range is longer than that of a normal bow so they won’t get mixed with the shoot-out between archers.

「Fire!」

The signal is given and large bolts soar in the air accompanied by a low-pitched sound.

With weight incomparable to arrows, they destroy the propped up shields and mow down several enemies all at once.

「That’s quite powerful……however their precision is awful. 」

「They aren’t fixed to the ground, so it can’t be helped. 」

Out of the 40 soaring giant arrows, only a few came close to hitting the enemy formation.

That’s far from being a decisive blow.

「Oh well, it did disorient them somewhat. 」

「Shall we have the cavalry charge through the center of their formation?」

Celia wants to settle things right away.

But…… it’s still too soon.

「The enemy remains in control of their forces. If we charge in now, we’ll face a fierce counterattack. 」

「Muu. 」

Having Leopolt calmly counter her, Celia puffs her cheeks in frustration.

I pull on her cheeks to let the air out and give an order to Luna and her bow cavalry.

「Order the bow cavalry to split into left and right and have them shoot from their flanks. Circle around behind and pepper them…… just try to avoid engaging in hand-to-hand combat. 」

Leopolt nods as well and relays his orders to the other squads.

「You heard the orders, right!? Let’s go!」

The bow cavalry divide themselves into 2000 on the left and 2000 on the right, then pick up the pace to surround the enemy.

The enemy doesn’t have skilled cavalry so they can’t send out a force to intercept them, which meant they should be getting into an anti-cavalry defensive stance.

The enemy archers at the head of their army were about to change their targets to the bow cavalry approaching them from the left and right, but were prevented by the intense barrage of covering fire from our ally archers as instructed by Leopolt, and could not move as they wanted.

If the enemy isn’t careful and changes their formation now, it would allow us to push our archers forward and rain arrows on their entire army.

「Alright, they circled around to the left and right flanks…… hooh, they’re pretty good. 」

As soon as the enemy saw they were flanked from the sides, they instantly lined up their shields and spears.

So that didn’t affect their orderliness, which means they can still launch a powerful counterattack if we aren’t careful and charge in now.

「However, the bow cavalry aren’t like regular cavalry. 」

The enemy who was expecting a charge from the flanks get assailed with a furious fusillade of arrows.

The enemy formation becomes in disarray after receiving the volleys from the left and right.

Even if they wanted to counterattack, our ally archers in front of them are concentrating fire on them, not giving them a chance to return fire.

「Now we can charge……mggah-」

I pull on the excited Celia’s cheeks again.

Not yet, the enemy is just starting to change their formation.

In order to deal with the threat, the enemy soldiers carrying shields are moving one after the other towards the flanks.

So they can alter their formation while getting shot at.

The enemy hasn’t fallen into a state of chaos yet.

「Left wing, right wing, advance forward. 」

Leopolt finally gave Myla and Tristan their orders.

「But then our infantry would be exposed to the enemy’s arrows. 」

Celia tries to confirm her doubts, but there’s no way Leopolt wouldn’t know something as obvious as that.

「I don’t mind, the next move will decide things. 」

Having received their orders, the right and left wing start moving forward, marching on despite suffering casualties from the arrows.

I reject Irijina’s third demand to depart to the front lines, and watch the other squads sally forward.

「The enemy squad is concentrating towards the front!」

Naturally, they wouldn’t be able to defend against 1000 archers and 7000 infantry otherwise.

The bow cavalry which attacked from the flanks also ran off to the back.

It would take time for the bow cavalry to change directions and charge at them again, which is why they decided to focus on the present threat in front of them – the approaching infantry.

「Alright, now!」

The bow cavalry who have ran off to the back of the enemy turn around on their horses and release their arrows while still facing the other direction.

「Uwaah!」「Shooting backwards!?」

Right when the enemy felt relieved that they survived the first wave and thought their backs were safe, a shower of arrows poured on them from the rear.

The army which appeared relatively powerful up until now quickly fell into disarray.

「I bet they can’t do that. 」

I tried training some soldiers to become bow cavalry aside from the warriors from the mountain nation, and the result was that most of them are capable of firing arrows while facing forward.

However, pretty much none of them were able to fire sideways while running forward, and when they tried to face backwards, there were far more people who fell off their horses and injured themselves than people who succeeded.

I asked Pipi and Gido if there was a trick, but they just replied with “Isn’t it possible if you just be a little more careful?”

So I guess the skill I’ve grown used to seeing for many years can’t be replicated with half-assed training.

「Lord Hardlett. 」

「Umu, I know. 」

It’s the long awaited time for Celia. I’ll let her know.

「A-all units, chaargu!」

「「Uuuoooooooooh–!!」」

She fumbled her words at the most important part.

Celia tearfully tried to correct herself but she was drowned out by the war cries of the soldiers and lost her chance.

The infantry brigades on the left and right shift gears from a quick-paced march to an all-out charge.

Seeing how we are mounting a full-scale offensive, the enemy hurriedly pulls back their archer squad and pushes their own infantry forward to try and deal with the opposing infantry.

An intense clash occurs between our charging allies and the enemy soldiers standing their ground.

「The vanguard has made contact with the enemy. 」

Infantry battle infantry in this fierce collision, swinging spears and swords at each other while trying to push forward.

Soldiers on both sides fall over at similar rates, and although our allies are gradually pushing the enemy back, it won’t become a decisive blow to them.

「An all-out attack directly after they were in disarray from the volley in their rear, and we still can’t push through?」

Looking at the enemy soldiers again, Atoroa has equipped even their lowest ranked soldiers with metal armor and shields, making it difficult to cut them down.

I thought my army was also well-equipped, but when both sides have relatively similar gear, either side’s infantry has a chance to lose if they aren’t careful.

「Aegir-sama, we can’t push them back!」

The enemy inches backward ever so slightly while our allies take a tiny step forward, yet both sides suffer the same amount of casualties.

Then, the bow cavalry fire another volley of arrows – diagonally up and just enough to reach the enemy – from the back as their formation is reorganizing itself, which briefly disrupts the enemy army, but doesn’t become a decisive mistake.

「Leopolt, they’re hanging on longer than expected. 」

「Yes, I received a report about their high level of skill, but this is above expectations. 」

We need to be a little rougher here.

I send a signal to Leopolt with my eyes.

「Left wing, right wing, circle around the enemy on your respective sides. 」

Myla and Tristan shift their point of attack to the edges of the formation as they continue engaging the enemy.

Naturally, getting surrounded from both sides would be fatal so the enemy matched our movements and shifted their force to the sides.

Now, the center has opened up.

「Follow me, Irijina, let’s go!」

「This is what I’ve been waiting for! Time to skewer them!」

I charge forward along with Irijina and the cavalry in my escort unit which she will be in charge of.

In a panic, the enemy tries to get into anti-cavalry formation but because their main force was dragged to the sides by our infantry, they don’t have enough to do so.

Now we should be able to devour them.

「Charge forward, tear through the enemy. 」

We are galloping forward in a single-file horizontal line, however because of the difference in the speed of our horses, I’m at the very front.

「Aegir-sama! Please don’t put yourself at the very front!」

「They’ll target you!」

Celia and Gido shout at me, but there’s no way I can slow down now.

I’m going to continue as is.

Schwartz’s legs carry me forward swiftly like the wind as the arrows directed towards me from the left and right are unable to hit their target.

The only thing considered a threat to me is the enemy in front. I advance closer to the enemy while deflecting the arrows which are accurate enough to get close to me.

「All units, anti-cavalry defense-…… what the-!」

Schwartz leaps up when he saw the enemy beginning to form a wall of spears.

The horse’s large body easily vaults over the aligned spearheads and lands directly on top of the heads of the spearmen.

「Gubhoh!」「Gueeeeh!」

Two enemy soldiers get pathetically stomped to death by the enormous body while I take out the other nearby soldiers with my spear.

There are a few soldiers I missed, but quickly get an arrow to the face.

Oh yeah, Pipi is riding behind me. She’s so light that I forgot she was there.

There’s no reason for me to wait for the enemy who are trying to close around me in a circle.

I urge Schwartz forward, who knocks away anyone blocking the path in front of him, while I cut down any others who point their spears at us.

「Pipi will do her part too. 」

Pipi takes out the enemies with bowguns with pinpoint accuracy.

As expected from her, she doesn’t miss a single shot.

「The feudal lord-sama opened a hole! Follow him!」

「Aegir-sama, please wait!」

Ally cavalry flood through the hole I broke open in the enemy’s formation and their defense formation is instantly torn apart.

Now it looks like I don’t have to worry about blocking behind me.

「Stop the black cavalry!」

「Don’t ask something so unreasonable, he’s like a raging bull!」

「Who are you calling a bull!?」

My spear pierces the soldier through his shield and he gets tossed high up in the air.

Schwartz must not have liked that either and chased after the soldier who yelled those remarks so he can kick them.

That should do it for the charge, I don’t need to run through the enemy camp.

「Now come at me. If you beat me, you might have a chance at victory!」

「Muuun…… let us do battle!」

A man riding a horse who looks like the enemy’s commander comes charging at me with a spear.

This guy has guts.

「Seeei!」

「Hmph!」

Almost like a jousting match, our one decisive strikes land – his strike deflects off the armor protecting my shoulder while mine rips his body in half through the armor.

The nearby soldiers stare in shock at the sight and step backwards.

「What’s wrong? Did that scare you?」

I dismount from Schwartz and adjust my grip on the spear.

My escort unit also jump off their horses and cross swords with the enemies on foot.

「Dorryaa!」

I sweep the feet of a soldier who pushes his shield in front of me, then using that fallen soldier as a footstool, bash the head of a different soldier.

I repel the headless soldier, who remains standing, with my spear and he takes flight in the air.

「Hiiih!」「Uwaah, he came over here!」

I put my back into a full-powered strike and chop off the top half of both soldiers, leaving the lower halves standing while the upper halves which are sent flying in the air spray their guts everywhere through the open wound at the bottom.

As one would expect, a ton of their blood sprays back and gets all over me.

I take a good look around…… the enemy swiftly distance themselves from me.

「Yaaaaaaah–!」

I shift my line of sight to where Celia is and I catch her slashing at an enemy.

Her retrained body allows for nimble movements and she uses her agility to overwhelm the enemy soldier.

The metal armor worn by the soldier prevents him from falling in one hit though…….

「Yah, sshh, eei!」

She swings the handle of her sword against the soldier’s helmet, then cuts the thigh of the staggering soldier.

When the enemy isn’t able to bear the pain and stumbles to his knee, she sticks her sword into the gap of the helmet of the crouching soldier to finish him off, ending his life after a cry of agony.

「I did it!」

「Well done. Don’t overdo it though. 」

Gido also seems to be fighting on equal terms if not at an advantage.

Besides possessing a larger build than most individuals in the mountain tribe, Gido also has a natural talent for swordsmanship.

He won’t fall too far behind even if he isn’t on horseback.

「Next!」

Celia slices the wrist of the enemy who rushes her, circles around to the enemy’s side and stabs her sword into the soldier’s side.

She looks over at me as if wanting me to praise her, but a large man closes in on her from behind holding a rather big sword above his head.

「Die, little girl!」

I block the blow from the falling sword.

「What do you think you’re doing…… to my woman!」

I slash up at the man from the crotch up to his head and bisect him, leaving a thin slice behind before kicking the rest of his body into the other enemy soldiers.

As the large man gets sent backward, his body quickly splits in half, and striking fear in the hearts of all the surrounding soldiers.

「The enemy is starting to retreat!」

「Both sides are also collapsing! The half encirclement is complete. 」

The enemy fell into disorder from the frontal assault and were unable to deal with the attacks on the sides.

Myla and Tristan work together without delay to complete a half circle around the enemy.

With this, the enemy is in a totally disadvantageous position.

「The bow cavalry have finished rearranging their formation! They’ve begun to charge from behind the enemy!」

It’s settled, the enemy no longer has the strength to endure the attacks from the front, back, left and right.

Their angry bellowing turned into panicked cries and the entire enemy army finally began to retreat in chaos…… turning the state of battle into a complete rout.

「Don’t stop moving! Continue firing your arrows!」

The squad engaged in melee combat gathered all their forces and advanced slowly.

It was just about making sure not to give the enemy a single chance to relax.

With arrows raining down on them and the pressure of our encroaching soldiers, the enemy couldn’t recover, ultimately abandoning their heavy armor and swords before running away.

「It’s over, there’s no need to give chase. 」

The enemy army is made up of citizens, so unnecessary killing would conversely give them the determination to resist to the bitter end.

「We won again!」

「We’re the best!」

Shouts of victory and cheers erupt from the soldiers.

I also join in the festivities by picking Celia up and letting her ride on my shoulders.

Pipi goes even further up by smoothly climbing me and Celia and raises her hands when she gets to the top.

The soldiers’ cheers get even louder.

「Injury report. 」

Leopolt, who is unaffected by the lively atmosphere, calmly stands by my side and begins filling me in on the details.

Having this straight-laced man beside me when I have two girls on my shoulders is just weird.

「Cavalry, bow cavalry both lost about 50 and infantry suffered about 300 casualties. It will not affect our march. 」

「That’s relatively low despite the fierceness of the battle. 」

「It’s probably because both sides were heavily equipped, meaning both sides had a high defensive ability. I’m sure the escaping enemy hasn’t suffered more than 2000 either…… however their morale must have taken a plunge. 」

That’s fine, since we didn’t intend to destroy Atoroa in the first place. After all, the surrounding Poleis might target us if we did so.

We just wanted to attack them enough to drive Orthodox Magrado out.

「Reformation of the army is complete. Let’s resume marching before the enemy can gather themselves. 」

「Well, it’s better to win comfortably rather than barely scraping by. It saves us the effort too. 」

Myla and Tristan have returned too.

I can tell by the expressions on their faces that the casualties suffered aren’t too serious.

「Look, Hardlett-dono!」

Irijina, wipe away the blood you’re covered in. A smiling girl drenched in blood isn’t too sexy.

「Alright, let’s treat the injured and then advance. 」

Our march continues on.

–Third Person POV–

City State: Aless. Council

Several men are gathered in this grand building made of stone.

This place is home to the central pillar of the city state Aless, a place where even the King does not have complete authority – the place where the Council is located.

The messenger who stepped forward is reporting to the Council members.

「The Atoroan army has been defeated by Goldonia. 」

“Ooh” – A voice of exasperation leaked out.

「Even if they are weak compared to us, to be able to defeat Atoroa means Goldonia is not just a coward. 」

「Did they not just win by using a numerical advantage?」

「No, Lord Hardlett was the only one sent this time ……Goldonia’s royal army has not made an appearance. I’m sure there won’t be a large army coming. 」

The Council members discuss amongst themselves before being stopped by the clapping of the elder sitting in the center.

「Silence! This isn’t a place where women do idle chat. Conduct more constructive discussions. 」

The noise quickly died down.

「Atoroa was beaten pretty severely. Goldonia…… Margrave Hardlett should be marching forward and attacking their city. 」

Aless is located west of Atorora, outside the route one who take when marching into the city.

Thus, they would not be affected even if Goldonia were to march into Atoroa.

「It doesn’t feel good that he’s doing whatever he pleases in our territory though……」

One Council member makes a sour expression, while the other members object.

「Right now, Atoroa is reaping what they sowed. They called themselves Orthodox Magrado, was it? ……how barbaric, there’s no talking their way out of this. 」

「Indeed, and if they don’t give up the wanted individuals we have no choice but to assume they are colluding with each other. 」

The head of the Council listens solemnly to the declarations of the Council members and then gives his response.

「Umu, then Aless will not be getting involved with this incident. If Atoroa falls into ruin, that would just be the result of their own doing. As long as they don’t do anything barbaric like massacring citizens, it is fine to leave them alone. 」

「Agreed. 」

「That is the best. 」

When the Council members roughly come to an agreement of opinions, the door to the room swings open wildly.

「I ask that the esteemed members of the Council wait!」

The Council members instinctively cover their ears to shut out the loud, audacious voice.

「It’s too early to abandon Atoroa!! There has been a friendly relationship between them and the other Poleis which continued for many generations! Is it not in these dire times where that friendship should be displayed!?」

「Oh my, if it isn’t…… King Gildress……」

The intruder who was referred to as a King looked about 190 cm in height, with a well-built body which even the word muscular would not be enough to describe. He addressed the Council members in a lively manner.

「Goldonia’s army pales in comparison with us, almost like a tiny fawn struggling to reach our feet! We can crush them without any effort all! Even if Goldonia’s main army got involved!」

「That is probably true……」

Nobody dared to oppose those words with what can be considered an irrational line of thought.

Aless has a population of 40,000 and is a relatively large state amongst the other city states.

Their industries and agriculture are relatively prosperous, but the most distinctive fact about Aless is their overwhelming military strength.

The number of young men they could draft during emergency times was 15,000 and wouldn’t make the largest army.

However, their boys began receiving military training at the tender age of 10 and would not be excluded from regular military drills until retirement at the age of 45.

It goes without saying they practiced swordsmanship, but not a single man would be unable to use spears, bows, throwing daggers and even hand-to-hand martial arts.

It was common sense that the men of Aless could strangle a wild boar with their bare hands and even kill a bear with only a knife.

Those 15,000 men were the best of the best, ready to give up their lives to protect their country and King.

「King1, we would save Atoroa if they desired peace, but they were the ones who went mad. 」

「That is an internal conflict! If we want to settle this matter, we should be settling it ourselves, not borrowing the help of some outsider!」

The King instantly objects against the words of the Council member.

「Aless’s elite troops will not be defeated in a fight of equivalent numbers. However, blood will be spilled…… what merit is there to shed blood for Atoroa?」

「The previous King of Atoroa asked me to look after his daughter on his deathbed! There are times where promises are more important than blood!」

Gildress responds without hesitation, but the Council members don’t seem to sympathize.

The Council members were thinking of the grand scheme of things pertaining to Aless rather than the King’s personal circumstances.

The members continued to discuss amongst themselves for a moment until finally the Council head summarizes everyone’s opinions.

「I understand what you are thinking. However, I cannot imagine there is any just cause for us to interfere in this battle. Therefore, the Council will…… not approve the gathering nor the sortie of troops! Please understand, this is for Aless’s sake. 」

「……」

The King leaves the assembly hall in the same violent manner as when he entered the room, slamming the door on the way out.

The Council’s decision binds the King.

More accurately speaking, as long as they disprove of it, the King is not able to mobilize the army.

However, Gildress had no intention of obeying that decision.

「My King2, was it no good?」

「Umu, they were going on about benefits and just cause, but the Council is just a bunch of wimps. 」

The ones surrounding the King are all men with muscular bodies just like the King if not more muscular.

All of them were wearing leather undergarments with a cloak wrapped around their bulging forms.

「Then let’s just ignore the Council members. 」

「We can’t do that, going up against the Council despite them being cowards would be rebelling against the history of Aless itself. 」

It wasn’t like Gildress didn’t think about the country.

In fact, some might consider him a person who loves Aless the most.

He couldn’t break the law of his beloved fatherland.

「Then a trick……」

「I’ll go for a walk. 」

Hah? – the men around him tilt their heads in bewilderment.

「I’m going to take a walk with my gallant friend! There won’t be any convening or sallying of troops. This is simply a leisurely stroll!」

The men around him become all smiles.

「I see, what a splendid idea! Did you hear that, the King is going for a walk!! Gather all the capable individuals. 」

The King responds to the loud booming shouts echoing around him.

「The eldest in their family, those without sons, newly-wed men – all of them cannot participate in this stroll! This enjoyment will be limited to a few chosen individuals!」

「So……where will this walk of yours be done?」

「That’s obvious. East of Atoroa, in the Togor Canyon!!」

The men cheer.

Being true men of Aless, they believe fighting reigns supreme and losing one’s life to fulfill that purpose is a small task to ask.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 23 years old. Summer.

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave. Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area. King of the Mountains. Friend of the Dwarves.

Citizens: 160,000. Major Cities – Rafen: 23,000. Lintbloom: 4000.

Private Army: 12,600 men (-400)

Infantry: 6700, Cavalry: 950, Archers: 950, Bow Cavalry: 4000

Reserve army already convened

Cannons: 18

Assets: 300 gold

Sexual Partners: 202, children who have been born: 46