Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi
chapter-417

Aegir POV–

The head of the Dolta literally plunged into the side of the enemy battleship.

Naturally, this meant both ships could not be maneuvered and their speeds dropped to nothing, left simply to drift slowly on the river.

「Board them! Take over the enemy ship!」

「You better not have forgotten how to use your swords!」

Ally soldiers flock to the bow buried into the opposing vessel’s hull and jump on the deck of the battleship.

「I won’t let you! Hand-to-hand combat is exactly what we want!」

「This is a battleship! Our numbers are superior!」

Gunners from the side and soldiers from the bilge rush out onto the deck.

They begin to clash with the ally soldiers who boarded the ship.

Rhythmic clinks of metal from swords hitting against each other can be heard, as well as the distinct tapping from hurried steps on the wooden floor.

A Federation combat ship is made with artillery warfare in mind.

Thus, it doesn’t keep spears, a stockpile of arrows or bulky armor on board.

The same should apply for the enemy.

As a result, soldiers on both sides are fighting only with one-handed swords and no armor.

For someone like me who is used to land battles, it’s quite a refreshing sight.

「Mu, they’re pushing back.」

The allies who thought they could quickly gain control of the enemy ship are being defeated one after the other.

It feels like the enemy might try to climb on our ship if this continues.

「Hooh, I thought the enemy sailors were smallfry―― it looks like they’re not bad at close combat.」

In a tight space like the deck of a ship and in a battle against fellow lightly-equipped soldiers, individual ability is important.

If there isn’t much of a difference in that area, then the side with purely greater numbers will win.

On top of the Dolta having fewer crew members, the side which attempts to board the opponent’s ship will inevitably be at a disadvantage to begin with.

「Let’s go.」

Sekrit lightly drags the claws attached to her arm along the deck cannon as she steps forward.

The grating sound of metal scraping against metal ring in my ear and small sparks dance from the friction.

「Is the interim captain going to board too?」

I draw my Dual Crater and entrust the scabbard to the female officer before following Sekrit.

「Kuku, with the bow stuck in this state, a captain isn’t needed. I’ll take a break from war and from here on out――」

Being overpowered, ally soldiers run back to the Dolta.

That prompted the enemy soldiers to cry out energetically and head towards our side.

「――it’s time to enjoy my favorite pastime.」

「Uoooooh!! Get on their ship and steal it away――!!」

A soldier shouts boisterously and attacks Sekrit.

The two cross paths and then there was a sound of tearing flesh.

The enemy soldier’s nose, underside of the jaw and throat were ripped apart as he falls head-first to the ground without uttering a word.

「This sensation…… it’s been so long.」

Sekrit gazes spellbound at the blood trickling down her claws.

「I’ll knock you into the river!」

Without delay, a new challenger appears before Sekrit.

She lets her claws hang loosely by her side and stands in place, seemingly unaware of the enemy.

However, I don’t bother running to her aid or even warning her.

I know it’s not necessary.

An excited yet innocent smile forms on Sekrit’s face as she remains in her vulnerable position.

Just as the enemy soldier was about to slash her neck, Sekrit’s upper body bends backward.

It’s a way of dodging that only a person with a flexible body like her can do.

「Wha-!? T-that arm……」

The enemy soldier stumbled after swinging at air.

「Does it need an introduction?」

Sekrit lifts her upper body up.

She’s close enough that her head can touch the other person’s nose.

Then a dull sound――

「Gabh……」

Her claws stab deeply into the soldier’s abdomen.

「Aah…… this is it.」

Sekrit erotically licks and sucks on the tip of the convulsing soldier’s nose…… then twists her claws while they’re still lodged in the enemy’s body.

He lets out a disgusting cry and faints in agony.

At the same time, Sekrit pulls her claws downward, spilling the man’s internal organs onto the deck.

「Not bad. Not bad at all!」

As the enemy falls to the ground and twitches, Sekrit spits something out of her mouth.

「Hiih.」

The female officer shrieks.

I can’t blame her. What Sekrit spat out was the nose of the soldier which she tore off.

Everybody, allies included, took a step back from her.

「Y-you fiend!!」

An enemy soldier let anger get the best of him and charges at Sekrit.

She answers with an ear-to-ear grin.

「One.」

Sekrit spins away from the slash and claws the man’s thigh.

He staggers and drops to his knee.

「Agah!」

「Two.」

Continuing to spin, she whips her claw around and gouges the enemy’s face.

Instinctively, he covers his face with his hands.

「Three. It’s over.」

On the third rotation, she unleashes a powerful roundhouse kick to the man’s temple.

The enemy soldier was sent flying into a fence on the deck and died after his neck broke.

Sekrit gives her crimson-dyed claws a satisfied lick and turns around.

「Are you going to let me fight by myself?」

At the same time, an enemy soldier roars ferociously and charges.

「If I’m not in the way, then I’ll come with you.」

I stand at the ready with my sword beside Sekrit.

「Deryaaaah!」

「So noisy.」

I cut the enemy who runs at me without thinking from the top of his head down until my sword exits out through the bottom of his crotch.

「Uooooh!」

「Don’t shout.」

Closing the distance, I lock swords with the second guy and then kick him into the river.

「「Then both of us will attack at once!」」

「Don’t bother.」

This two-pronged attack is almost the exact same as when the Dolta was about to be sandwiched by two ships.

「I’ll use the same maneuver.」

Instead of staying still and blocking, I crouch and accelerate forward.

「「S-so fast!」」

Their swords barely brush my back.

I lop the head off of one, then grab the other by the collar with my left hand and slam him once into the fence before tossing him in the river.

「Hiiiih!」

I turn my head to where the scream originated from and see Sekrit’s claws stab into the enemy’s face, then those three terrifying pieces of metal piercing through the back of his head.

That soldier’s arms and legs flail uncontrollably like some strange dance, which amuses Sekrit.

「Dammit, you brute!!」

An enemy jumps at me while I was looking away.

However, his attack was ordinary and slow, needing no effort from me to block it.

「Sorry. This is her come-back battle. I hope you can overlook that she’s a little too violent.」

I said as my leg snaps out for a front kick in his stomach.

「Gya.」

The enemy soldier flies back and crashes into the mast of the ship, leaving a huge bloodstain on the pole before falling down.

「There, you can proceed. Board them again.」

「What good are soldiers who hide in the back? You guys are supposed to go in and die first.」

Ally soldiers push forward again, led by me and Sekrit.

「They didn’t learn anything the first time!?」

「Drive them back again…… no, push them in the river!」

Similar to the first time, enemy soldiers congregate from all parts of the ship to intercept the allies who climb over the buried bow.

「Now, will it go the same as before?」

I swing my Dual Crater horizontally for a quick slash at the incoming enemy on my right.

「H-huh?」

The soldier feels cluelessly for the top part of his head above his forehead, which was sliced off by me, and dies.

I already foresee where the sword on my left is going, allowing me to dodge that enemy’s strike and cave his face in with my fist.

「This guy!」

A familiar noise prompts me to turn my body just in time for a crossbow bolt to skim past my ear.

「I guess they have crossbows on the ship.」

Three soldiers aimed at me at a distance not even 10 meters away.

At such a range, I can’t dodge after the bolts are shot.

And since I’m not wearing armor, a single hit could be fatal depending on where it is.

My eyes narrow and fixate on the soldiers.

If I can’t dodge by looking at the bolts, I’ll look at where the crossbows are being aimed and the fingers of the soldiers……

「Shoot!」

「Eat this!」

「Oraah!」

Their three voices were not in unison.

The timing is slightly off.

I raise my Dual Crater to deflect the first shot aimed at my face.

The bolt bounces off with a bright clink and a soft impact on my blade.

My body doesn’t react until the moment the soldier applied pressure to the trigger, launching the second bolt toward my side, which I was able to avoid by twisting away.

It tears through the pocket in my clothes rather than scraping my flesh.

The third bolt is aimed in the middle of my chest.

I doubt I can evade this one, so I measure the timing based on the soaring speed of the previous two bolts.

「1, 2 and…… 3!」

When I extend my hand out in front of me, the bolt flies perfectly inside.

I make sure to hold it tight right as my brain registers the sensation of it in my grasp.

Although the barbs of the arrowhead cut my palm in the process, I can’t really complain about something so small.

「Ooooh!」

「Eeeh!?」

Gasps and groans of contrasting tones come from allies and enemies.

「Now then.」

I throw away the bolt and point the tip of my Dual Crater at the three shooters.

As I did so, the trio look each other in the eyes and willingly agree to jump into the river.

Most of our allies are starting to cross over to the enemy ship too.

A clear path has opened up for them.

And so, the melee on board the ship begins.

I cut down enemies in front of me alongside the other allies, who ride the momentum and push forward.

Unfortunately, we’re unable to get into the ship due to the sheer number of enemies.

「If we had an ally who can set them on fire, it’ll all be over.」

If a fire starts, the Dolta will also burn.

Then we’d have no other choice than to jump into the river and drift with the current.

I don’t want to be in White City without realizing it.

「Woah.」

I feel something flying above me and swing my Dual Crater at it, encountering a light resistance in the process, and then discover a broken short sword falling to the ground.

「On top……」

There are enemies high on the mast too.

They throw daggers and iron orbs that resemble cannonballs.

With how often I have to deflect the short swords and evade the iron balls, my gaze tends to focus upward.

「There!」

「Where?」

I sweep the leg of the person hiding behind a barrel and then kick him with all my strength after he falls down.

The enemy soldier coughs out blood and rolls on the ground in agony.

Having to switch from looking up and down inevitably created a blindspot.

A short sword aimed from above and behind me grazes my shoulder.

The moment I turned around instinctively, this time pain shoots up from my other shoulder.

Although it wasn’t a deep cut, some of my flesh was definitely torn.

「I landed a slash!」

That enemy soldier grabs onto a rope and swings from the mast like a pendulum.

I try to counterattack, but he’s faster than I thought and I can’t catch him.

He uses the momentum to reach a different mast, climbs up and waits for another opening to attack.

「That’s annoying.」

I’m used to enemies being on all sides around me, but it’s impossible to eliminate blindspots if I also have to account for enemies above me.

I’ll be too worried about protecting myself to think about getting into the enemy ship.

「That guy isn’t accustomed to fighting on a ship!」

「Don’t rush your attacks. Aim carefully from his blindspots!」

I take slow steps and keep my movements minimal as I change where I face, keeping wary of my surroundings.

I hear a rope creaking behind me.

Immediately, I turn around and parry the slash with my Dual Crater.

And then I hear the sound of another rope approaching from behind.

I turn around and stick my Dual Crater out, however the enemy extends a leg out to kick off of the mast to change direction, then throws a short sword at me.

Such a straightforward attack won’t hit, but I’m just annoyed that I’m constantly on the defense.

「Uooooh――」

There’s the sound of another rope.

His shout reached my ears a split second earlier so I was able to react that much sooner.

「Ooooooh! Eh!?」

I turned around quicker than he anticipated and the swinging enemy was still in the middle of his attack.

He panics and tries to twist his body out of the way, but unfortunately, the pendulum motion can’t be stopped by his will.

「Take care not to chatter in the afterlife.」

I bisect the soldier’s body with a horizontal slash.

His upper body cried out as it slams into a different mast, while his lower half squirts blood like a fancy water show and falls into the river with a small splash.

「Finally got one……」

As I sigh, I hear metal sounds ring out.

「Don’t relax after killing a single smallfry.」

Sekrit stuck out her claws over my back.

Then, two short swords fell to the floor.

「Thanks. I’m not used to this.」

「Then get used to it right now. I’ll show you an example.」

Sekrit says as she grabs a nearby rope, does a short running start and then dashes up the sub-mast.

「They’re climbing up!」

「Kill that woman first!」

The enemy changes targets to Sekrit.

Similar to how they attacked me, they throw short swords at her, which can’t seem to find their mark as Sekrit runs around the pillar.

It doesn’t even seem like she’s taking any evasive action.

「Knock her off directly!!」

Impatient, the enemy soldiers draw their swords and swing from ropes to attack her one after the other like I was attacked.

「Fufu, this is good. Wonderful.」

Sekrit remains hanging on her rope and intercepts the incoming enemies.

She passes by one of them and her claws clash with his sword, creating small sparks on impact.

「You can’t kill me if you come one at a time―― sorah.」

Sekrit blocks the swords of three enemies and pounces on the fourth.

He wasn’t given any time to feel the voluptuous body wrapping around him as his throat was slit and then his corpse was tossed onto the deck like garbage.

Sekrit, after stealing the rope of the person she just killed, uses the remaining momentum to jump onto the main mast.

「T-this bitch knows how to――!」

Before he could finish his sentence, he eats a powerful elbow to the nose, and then gets stabbed in the eye with Sekrit’s claws as he staggered.

「Rookie. Who do you think you’re talking to?」

I hear a scream, the sound of something falling and the nasty sound of flesh being squished.

Following that is an angry roar and then a battle cry.

A fierce battle broke out on top of the main mast.

Sekrit fights with the claws on her left arm and a sword she stole from an enemy in her right hand.

The enemy wants to trap Sekrit, except she is located on the top of the mast.

Footing around her is at most 10 cm wide and falling from that height would certainly mean instant death.

Not to mention she is jumping from place to place by using the ropes and sailcloths so nobody can catch up to her, let alone corner her.

「What’s wrong? Can’t keep up?」

「W-what was that!? This is noth―― uwaaaaah!」

Frustrated by Sekrit’s taunting, the enemy recklessly chases, but is tripped by her and falls.

There’s no chance of surviving a drop easily over 30 m.

「Aw, another one died. You’re going to get me, right?」

「Y-you little-!!」

「Unforgivable!」

Two enemy soldiers attack Sekrit from opposite sides.

She wields her weapons and engages them simultaneously in a heated battle.

Well, it’s not really a close contest at all.

Sekrit has too many moves and dominates her opponents.

「I like how the arm itself is a lethal weapon. Being able to directly feel the sensation of tearing flesh is nice.」

Her claws knocks away the enemy’s sword and digs into the man’s shoulder.

「I still like cutting with a sword the way I’ve done all this time.」

Her sword cuts off the sword hand of the other enemy.

「Either way…… I have no complaints as long as I can kill them.」

Sekrit kicks away the enemy who lost his arm and lifts up the other enemy with her claws.

「H-…… hii…… don’t kill……」

Sharp pain involuntarily prompts tears and snot to run down the man’s face as he desperately clings to the claws, which is the one thing supporting him.

He doesn’t even have the luxury to look at his comrade-in-arms who fell to his death with a splat.

「I wouldn’t mind giving you a kiss as a parting gift to the other world……except my man is watching me right now. He’s a jealous guy and I don’t want to upset him. Sorry, you’ll have to die lonely.」

Sekrit slowly pulls her claws out of the crying enemy soldier.

「S-stop…… don’t……!!」

「See ya.」

The timing of her words aligned with when she completely pulled free and the man screams as he falls directly above me.

「Woah.」

I sidestep to avoid being hit and the man’s body sprays blood several times wider than the corpse after crashing into the deck.

「Hey, that’s dangerous.」

「Sorry.」

Sekrit smiles as she nonchalantly walks across a rope.

The opponent definitely won’t miss such a good opportunity to strike when her guard is down.

Swords thrust from both sides of the rope.

「Eh?」

「Wha-?」

Their swords cut air.

Sekrit’s body tilted to the side and her head pointed down.

「What!?」

I hurry to the spot underneath so I can prepare to catch her and then stop.

Sekrit didn’t actually fall.

Her head swooped under the rope, but one of her legs was still hanging on.

「Small fries.」

Sekrit swings her weapons while still upside down and cuts the legs of her enemies.

Her claws gouge a calf and her sword slashes an ankle, rendering both soldiers unable to stabilize on the wobbling rope, and ultimately resulting in two more mangled bodies added to the deck.

Sekrit chuckles before effortlessly swinging herself back upright on the mast then shouting at me.

「Heey, save me. I’m gonna die up here.」

Sekrit has a wide grin on her face.

It’s clear she isn’t being serious.

She’s fighting comfortably enough that she has room to make jokes.

「I’m a man too.」

She might be lying, but I can’t leave a woman alone when she’s crying for help.

Now that the enemy’s attention is directed at Sekrit, I should be able to do it.

I wrap my arms tightly around the main mast like I’m grappling with it and exert my strength.

「What’s that guy doing?」

「Suddenly hugging the mast like that, is he going to start having sex with it? ……has he gone crazy?」

I ignore the scornful comments and Sekrit’s guffawing and focus on pouring all my strength into pushing the mast.

「Hey, do you feel any wind? The mast is awfully shaky today……」

「Hey, it’s getting worse!」

「No way…… do you know how heavy a battleship mast is……!」

The mast is gradually rocking back and forth.

I compound the rocking by matching my pushing with the movements.

The shaking increases and the creaking of the pillar and boat becomes a deep rumbling.

Furthermore, the footholds connected to the main mast and other masts break and I can hear the sound of ropes starting to rip.

「Uwah! I’m falling! I’m falling!!」

「Hang onto the rope! I-it’s shaking! Gyaa!!」

Their sneers turn into panicked shouts and wood fragments rain down on my head.

I’m not done yet.

「Ooooh!!」

Lowering my hips, I add even more power behind my push.

The mast bends drastically one way, then bends back the other way.

Apparently, not many soldiers could not withstand such movements.

After multiple people cry out above me, over ten people fell with a thud to the floor.

Like usual, the ones who landed on the deck became smashed meat pies, whereas the lucky ones splashed into the river and started swimming to nearby ally ships for help.

「Hey, catch me.」

Lastly, I finish by catching Sekrit in my arms after she slipped off the mast.

「How’s that? Did I save you?」

「I don’t want to hear it, you monster. If you snapped the mast, the ship we worked so hard to obtain would become worthless.」

Sekrit hits my nose, but quickly gives me a kiss on the lips.

Our struggles were not in vain as morale increases, plus with the enemies on the mast cleaned up, our allies had an easier time fighting.

It was about time that a portion of our soldiers started invading the ship, however……

「Kuh, this one’s strong!」

「Withdraw for now! We’re no match!」

The soldiers run out in a flurry.

「Hmp!」

A blade sticks out of the face of the last soldier to run away.

Appearing after throwing away the body of the still-twitching ally soldier is a man of large build over 190 cm tall.

He was also wearing an eye-patch, which magnified his horrible looks.

「How dare you defile my beautiful Robud.You won’t leave here alive!」

「Ooh, captain!」

「This man is the pirate captain, one-eyed Gully!」

So he’s some sort of pirate after all.

Regardless, he’s the captain so we’ll win if we take him out..

I was about to step forward with my Dual Crater to face this guy called Gully until a pretty little hand rests on my shoulder.

「Hold on, let me do it.」

It’s Sekrit.

「Mu……but-」

I don’t know if he’s a pirate or whatever, but his demeanor tells me he isn’t weak.

Although having one eye is a fairly big handicap, the difference in size between him and Sekrit more than makes up――

「I’ll do it.」

Sekrit insists, giving me no room to object.

「Fine. I’m interfering if things get dangerous though.」

「It won’t get to that point.」

Sekrit lets her claws and one-handed sword hang loosely by her side as she confronts Gully.

Gully scans Sekrit’s body from head to toe as if he was mentally licking her all over.

「A fine woman…… but being one-armed is a bad look. If at least the breasts and ass are unharmed, you can be used as a hole to――」

Sekrit rushes out mid-sentence.

「Shii!」

She assaults him with a spinning slash and her claws.

「I like your energy! For fish and for women, they’re the best when lively!」

The man draws two swords and receives all of Sekrit’s attacks.

「It’s dual-wielder vs. dual-wielder.」

Her continuous barrage was blocked completely.

Sekrit not only has speed, each of her strikes had considerable weight behind them.

He must have quite the skill and strength to endure that so easily.

「……I see.」

Sekrit stops spinning and performs multiple thrusts coupled by swift side-to-side movements.

「Hmph, don’t think you can defeat me with that!」

The man has no problem blocking the change in style from linear slashes to precise lunges.

After the fifth and sixth clash, Sekrit determined she wasn’t making progress and ceased her attacks.

Gully grins.

「It’s my turn.」

He raises one of his swords and swings down toward the top of Sekrit’s head.

Of course, Sekrit won’t get hit by such a simple attack.

She crosses her claws and sword together above her head and successfully guards against the strike.

「You fell for it!」

He must have predicted her to block, since his other sword swung from below at her stomach.

「Big sister!」

「Mistress!」

The female officer and the sailor who acted as he chair cry out fearfully, while I watch calmly.

I said I would jump in if things got rough, but it doesn’t look like she’s in real danger yet.

「Guh……」

「Kuku, who fell for what?」

Sekrit raised her leg high and squeezed the man’s sword in between her upper arm and her thigh to stop it.

「Power, speed, movement patterns, I’ve got a general idea of all them.」

Sekrit holds onto her left arm.

Then, her claws slide off.

「What?」

Gully watches dumbfoundedly as Sekrit switches to a different arm――a steel one that can grip onto a sword, and picks one off the floor.

「Here I go.」

Sekrit spins again and assaults the man with her true two-sword style.

「Heh, this is the same…… u, uoooh!」

Sekrit seemingly attacked in the same manner, however the result was entirely different and she was able to overwhelm the man instantly.

The weight and speed of her attacks are on another level.

「The claws are good for tearing flesh, but lack weight. They’re fine against smallfry though――rejoice, you’re a strong smallfry.」

Sekrit ridicules him.

At the same time, her slashes seem to increase in speed.

「I…… can’t see a thing.」

「I can only see sparks flying here and there……」

Also stunned are the female officer and the sailor.

It’s not something I can’t see, but I have to admit she’s fast.

In one second, she appears to slash ten times with both hands.

「Ugh…… guh!」

Even though he manages to somehow block fatal blows, wounds are occurring with more frequency on his arms and stomach.

There isn’t any chance for him to think about counterattacking.

「Alright, here comes the next attack.」

Sekrit stops spinning and crosses her two swords.

Last time at this point, she performed her continuous thrusts.

Gully lowers his hips and adjusts his two swords.

「I’ll just block it again!」

Sekrit took a step back before doing a running start and launching――nothing.

「Eh?」

「Stupid, who said I was going to thrust?」

As if mocking Zory1, who positioned his swords close to the center of his body in anticipation of a thrust, Sekrit brandishes her swords and…… cuts off both of his hands.

His bulky arms drop to the floor with a thud.

Before Zory could shout after realizing what happened, Sekrit kicks him into the side of the boat and stuffs her boot in his mouth.

The other enemy soldiers rush to their captain’s aid, meanwhile our allies see a chance to attack and a melee breaks out again.

Since their boss lost in front of them, their situation isn’t looking too good.

Giving that battle a sidelong glance, Sekrit looked down on Zory with narrowed eyes.

「I have no need for a pig’s squeal. Now, it’s time to finish up.」

While Sekrit holds down Zory with her foot, she removes her current prosthetic arm.

「You see…… I really wanted…… to try this on a human opponent.」

What Sekrit took out was an arm Balbano made on the side which utilized the power of a spring to rotate.

I remember she happened to take a liking to that one.

Sekrit brings her arm closer to the man’s undamaged eye.

Then she operates the lever on the hand.

The arm makes a unique sound as it turns at high speed.

「U, uguuuu!!」

Zory tries to say something, but with a foot in his mouth, it only comes out as a groan.

「This thing can drill a hole in stone walls and iron plates. I wonder what it can do against a human. ……fufufu, fufufufufu!!」

Sekrit gets closer and closer to Zory with her arm――and everyone, including me, looked away.

「The gun deck is completely under our control, most of the cannons are unharmed.」

「Gunpowder storage secured. There is enough gunpowder left.」

「A group thought to be the enemy’s top ranking commanders have escaped the ship, unfortunately we were unable to chase.」

「Half of the bilge has been taken over, and the rest is a matter of time.」

I listen to the reports as I strain my eyes at my surroundings.

「Don’t rush the takeover. You can fight the rest of the way with style, and if it’s within an extinguishable degree, I don’t mind if you set stuff on fire…… no, feel free to use fire. If you do that, other ships won’t get close.」

Nothing but enemy ships are around us.

The reason they’re not firing at us is because they think their allies are still fighting, otherwise they wouldn’t think twice.

「Hey Sekrit. What should we do after this? We’re sort of at an impasse.」

I ask the naval battle expert Sekrit.

「Fu…… fufufu…… it pushes in as it spins…… fufu, making the head all mushy…… kukuku.」

Sekrit stares at her blood-soaked spinning arm in a trance.

Behind her, the female officer washes the tragic mess on the deck in tears.

As if only just realizing my gaze, Sekrit clears her throat and composes herself.

「A single ship can only go this far. If absolutely necessary, we’ll have to ride up the coast while blasting our cannons……」

Her elegant finger points to one spot.

「Even if she had you, she wouldn’t sacrifice a single combat ship.」

Now I can see Ivanna’s fleet heading over in a straight line.

Thunderous roars of the cannons gradually grow louder.

「It’s a pretty dimwitted thing to do, but not a bad plan. She must have made a big turn and built up speed with the current. She’ll probably come in with a head of steam and cannons firing. We should get ready.」

Sekrit yells at the sailors.

「One third of you return to the Dolta. The rest of you, get this battleship moving.」

「We’ve never operated ships from the Central Plains――」

She threatens the objecting sailor with her rotating arm.

「Do it. I’m ordering you.」

「Hiih!! Yes ma’am!!」

The soldier runs off as fast as he could.

Next, Sekrit whispers in my ear.

「Your job is that.」

She points to the part of the Dolta that buried into the enemy battleship.

「Pull it out on my signal. It’s time to put that monstrous strength of yours to use.」

「You’re asking the impossible.」

How can I move a battleship that’s several meters long by myself?

「Do it. I’m…… counting on you.」

Sekrit uses her right arm, not the spinning one, to brush my chin…… then lowers it swiftly to my crotch.

「Alright. Leave it to me.」

I promptly stand up and place a hand on the bow of the Dolta.

As I wait for her signal, Sekrit mumbles in a voice inaudible to the other soldiers.

「Because of you, I was able to stand on the battlefield again.」

My heartbeat thumps loudly in my chest.

「It isn’t my nature to say something like this.」

The thumping moves down to my stomach.

「But…… thanks.」

When I turned around, Sekrit was smiling shyly.

I feel the pulsing throughout my body concentrate on one place.

「Guh……」

My hips tremble and ‘that’ feels like it’s about to explode.

「Ally fleet is moving in!!」

I hear the lookout shout.

「Alright, on my signal, fire the cannons of the Dolta and this ship altogether. You will use the strength you’re proud of to separate these two ships.」

「Got it.」

This isn’t the time to explode.

「Okay…… get ready.」

The timing of the bombardment nears.

Meanwhile, the enemy ships surrounding us also change direction to deal with Ivanna’s incoming fleet.

「Now, fire!!」

Dolta’s gun deck and the battleship unleashes their ammunition.

The enemy ships were taken aback by the sudden cannonfire.

「Gaaaah!!」

Simultaneously, I push the Dolta with all my might.

Still thinking it’s impossible, I feel the bow shift ever so slightly.

「He’s really moving it…… Dolta, hard to starboard. This ship, hard to port! Cast the sails, we’re separating.」

Slowly, but surely, the two ships break free from each other and meet up with our ally fleet under fire by the enemy.

I don’t know if it’s because the Dolta rushed into the middle of the enemy and threw things out of order or because the flagship Suvorov was shooting their cannons like crazy, but the enemy fleet formation was messed up and slow to pursue us.

We’ve dealt a significant blow to the enemy, which they can’t simply ignore and proceed with the attack on Patena.

In other words, continuing to do battle with us is meaningless and their only option is to withdraw.

On the way home, I see Ivanna on the deck of the Suvorov.

At first, she was confused by the ally flag flying on the enemy battleship, then realized what must have happened when she saw us riding the ship and came out, screaming something.

I can’t make out exactly what she’s saying from so far away, however, I can easily imagine the storm of abuse coming out of her mouth.

「When we get back, she’ll be quite mad.」

I smile as I rest my hand on Sekrit’s shoulder.

「……more importantly, can you do something about that?」

Sekrit points to my crotch.

「I can’t do anything. It’s in a state of rampage.」

My pants can tear at any moment.

There’s no need to explain why.

「The battle’s over. It’s not rare for people to get hard, but not to the point of it visibly pulsing under your clothes. Seriously, are you human?」

「I don’t know what the reason is either.」

Sekrit sighs while the soldiers nearby whisper among themselves.

The female officer is covering her blushing face with her hands.

「Anyways, we won. As a souvenir, we even obtained a battleship.」

「The enemy fleet behind us is veering away. They must have given up on chasing.」

Sekrit and I look at each other.

「We will need a conference to plan what’s next.」

「You’re right. Let’s have a meeting with just the two of us in the captain’s quarters.」

Yes, a very detailed meeting is needed.