Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi
chapter-570-4-30041322

「I thought I was going to die.」

「And whose fault is that!? This result is no different to having our ship stolen and being thrown in the river.」

We hung onto debris of the badly damaged ship and somehow drifted to the riverbank.

The intelligence officers are also trained and have all followed us.

It's already night at this point so we aren't able to confirm our current location and the officers are exhausted so we decided to rest until morning.

「It's strange how reinforcements aren't coming despite the ruckus we caused. What happened over there?」

「Aau.」

When Sekrit gives a similarly dark-skinned ass a slap, the girl cries out and tightens around my dick.

I am sitting cross-legged while facing Sekrit and the enemy girl I saved is riding on top of me.

「T-there should be one more ship waiting nearby but it suddenly moved upstream during the raid. It only raised an emergency signal flag.」

The girl turns her head and answers with a hand still resting on my shoulder.

When I lightly bite her tanned neck, she lets out a scream and arches her back.

「So, what faction do you belong to? Judging by your uniforms, I'm guessing you aren't bandits.」

Sekrit extends her hand toward the girl's ass and she starts squealing intermittently.

It seems she's inserting a finger into her ass.

「After Admiral Sheele took control of the entire port of Teschilara――」

I never heard that person's name or that place's name, but Sekrit seems to know.

「Kuku, so that half-wit is independent now. Even so, I didn't expect a coward who would faint out of nervousness in front of the emperor to rebel, the backbone of the Empire appears to be shaking.」

After fiddling with something on her crotch, she mounts the woman on top of me.

「What are you putting in......my aagya!」

I feel pressure being applied to my dick mid-penetration from the other side.

Sekrit must have strapped on a dildo and stuck it in the girl's ass.

「Hey, she'll break from double penetration.」

By the way, I am not raping her.

I saved her right before she drowned, but it's the promise of being released afterward that got me her consent.

「This loose hole won't break. Go on, tell him how many men you've been with.」

She didn't seem like someone with no experience, though her insides are tight enough to make me think she isn't really experienced either.

「Five in the front......and only one in the back......」

「Don't lie!」

Sekrit grabs both arms and slams her hips hard against the girl, causing her to arch back and scream.

「Ten in front! Five in the back......kyaa!」

The girl squeals as her nipple is twisted and her neck is bitten.

「103 in front, 48 in the back......and five people simultaneously at most.」

「What a lewd girl!」

The girl shrieks again from my dick expanding inside of her.

「You should have known from how easily you were able to penetrate her. Be more aware of the size of your thing, it's big enough to make an average girl faint.」

Sekrit leans forward to kiss me with the girl still in between us, tangling her tongue with mine as she rocks her hips.

Pleasure builds up from the girl's insides tightening, Sekrit's tongue, and the girl's moaning and hot breaths as she rests her head on my shoulder.

「I'm going to cum soon.」

Feeling the urge rising, I grab the girl's ass cheeks.

「Look downstream at one o'clock, elevation 30 degrees.」

Sekrit whispers in my ear as she is digging into the girl's ass.

I tilt my head in the aforementioned direction without stopping my hips.

There are multiple small lights on a tree-covered hill a short distance up from the riverbank...... they are too small to be torches, no the lights are being hidden. They either don't want to be found or are aiming for an ambush.

Sekrit looks at me.

Oh right, I'm the one who makes the decisions.

「Everyone, wake up. Spread out and hide behind cover!」

The intelligence officers scramble to get up.

「It's morning already!?」

「Idiot, it's an enemy attack! We have to hide!」

Their movements are sluggish, though they are not a combat unit so it can't be helped.

And the opponent has probably realized that we noticed them.

Sekrit and I quickly pull our tools out from the girl.

「Higyii! If you pull out so fast......you'll turn my ass inside out!」

When I stand naked in front of the girl, I hear a familiar slicing of wind.

I snatch a torch, toss it up in the air, and strain my eyes to discover a glowing arrowhead.

「Assassins mostly use stealth weapons or crossbows. It's kind of nostalgic to hear the sound of arrows.」

I grab my Dual Crater and swing it up diagonally.

The blade repels the arrows with several satisfying metal clinks and the broken pieces scatter.

I examine the arrows at my feet as the next volley is being prepared.

The arrowheads are polished iron with no ink or dye applied.

In addition, the feathers are white like the ones attached to hunting arrows.

「This isn't a night raid unit. These arrows aren't even meant for battle.」

The second volley is fired.

First I rotate myself to sweep away the arrows, then whip up a gust from the force of the return swing.

One arrow was fired at a delayed timing, but Sekrit deflected it with her prosthetic arm.

「Sorry.」

I hug Sekrit, kiss her and turn back around.

「They are skilled with the bow. Their second volley was clearly targeting me.」

It should not be normal to aim at a single person in the dark.

「But they are amateurs. Their coordination is all over the place, and their aim wasn't divided, that's why the arrows concentrated on you standing in front.」

Something feels off.

The response from repelling the arrows was strong, yet there is no control despite the seemingly high amount of skill and power.

「Hey.」

「I know.」

Sekrit pulls the string tied around the bottle she took out with her mouth, winds her arm back and throws it far out in front of her.

The bottle spins in the air and disappears in the darkness, then a large explosion can be heard several seconds later.

「Did it hit? More importantly you're naked, where did you get that from?」

「I can't see in the dark, I just threw it randomly. And a woman has many pockets. Because of you, I also got a few more.」

Following the explosion, I see torches that were once hidden thrown away.

Also, the footsteps that could not be heard before become irregular, clearly flustered.

「It doesn't seem like they were hit. They were probably surprised and ran.」

「We're chasing. I want to find out who they are. I doubt they have time to set up an ambush in their panic.」

Sekrit and I put on our clothes and kick the asses of the intelligence officers laying on the ground.

「You're done too. Are you going to escape now?」

「In this situation and when I'm naked? Are you a demon!? At least take me to a safe place. Also, my ass is turned inside out and won't go back to normal.」

Left with no choice, I also bring along the female prisoner.

The pursuit ended quickly.

Their base was a mere ten minutes away from the riverbank.

「What is this?」

「Kuku, this is......wow. Fufuh.」

I stare blankly with my mouth agape while Sekrit covers her face and chuckles.

It was a village so empty that it could be called deserted.

「It doesn't look anything like a garrison. Rather, it's already in shambles.」

Not only are the conditions poor, the wood fence surrounding the village is broken in various places, with temporary repairs done on it, and the building that stands in what is believed to be the center has traces of being burnt.

「There isn't a single road nearby. If you look closely, you can see they planted trees to disguise the place so it's not visible from the river.」

No wonder I didn't notice.

「Did you know?」

I ask the girl who is restlessly touching her ass, but she shakes her head emphatically.

「A hidden village......oh, a lookout.」

We take cover from the hooded individual wielding a bow.

There is still some distance to the village.

However, the lookout is not moving and is staring in our direction like we are not covered by the grass.

「Did we get noticed at this distance?」

Sekrit stops laughing.

「There would have been a shout if we were noticed. It's like that person is trying to listen for any sounds......」

Finally able to reverse her ass, the girl joins in.

「Our attack has become more difficult though. That's a girl.」

Hey, don't push that dildo against my ass.

What if it goes in?

The lookout fixates on our location and approaches carefully.

Just when I thought I had to jump out and attack, the person turns in the opposite direction of the river and runs off.

「「Attack!!」」

The sound of galloping horseshoes follow the order.

It suddenly gets rowdy within the village and the villagers run out, and that's when multiple flaming arrows rain down.

Cavalry then storm into the village, accompanied later by individuals wielding spears and crossbows.

It seems like they are being attacked by a different faction.

「So this is the reason the village looks so damaged.」

Meanwhile, the villagers aren't simply being beaten one-sidedly.

The archers provide steady fire, and the skirmishers are somehow able to compete against the enemy with nimble movements.

「Their total forces are two hundred......no, three hundred. Do you know anything about them?」

I push the female prisoner forward.

「That's the Kimyul flag! They're a group with only land soldiers, but they are hostile to us. We just fought them last week.」

Let's get this straight.

We were assaulted by the rebel army, then attacked by a mystery village at the place where we drifted, that village was then attacked by another rebel army, and that rebel army is hostile with the initial rebel army.

「It's so messy.」

Right after the comment was made, a villager gets dragged down and stabbed to death by a spear.

「Ah, my dear――!!」

Having witnessed it, the wife and daughter cry out.

The rebel army soldiers kick the wife's face, step on the daughter's chest and raise their sword――

「I'll be back.」

I ran toward the village faster than the words left my mouth.

「Hii, there's an enemy coming from the river――」

I punch the villager who hastily points a spear at me, pick up that spear and throw it.

Thanks to the training I did in secret, the spear flies in a nice arc right into the mouth of the soldier about to stab the daughter, piercing through the back of his head and pinning him against the wall behind him.

The gazes of the enemy soldiers all focus on me.

「Who the hell are you!?」

I answer with the swing of my Dual Crater.

I slash another one down his shoulder, then with the momentum of running, stick my elbow out and tackle one more into the wall, crushing him.

「Gugya!」

I grab the man by the lapels as black blood squirts out of his mouth after his organs get destroyed and turn around, using the body as a shield against two incoming spears.

Quickly letting go of the corpse and before the two can pull their spears out, I lop off the head of one with my Dual Crater, then grab the helmet of the other and twist the guy's head 90 degrees.

「Are you hurt?」

「Hiu......」

The daughter wets herself from being on the verge of death and tries to crawl back home, but I lift her up and carry her under my armpit.

In a situation where enemies are all over the place, going back inside a dilapidated house is a bad move.

「Let go of my daughter!」

I slap the mother's hand as she threatens me with a kitchen knife, disarming her, then carry her in the same fashion as her daughter.

Despite her delicate outer appearance, the mother was fast and strong.

「Bastard, who are you!? Are you under Druize――」

There's another faction involved?

「I can't remember any more than this, don't show up.」

Reacting to the shout and sound of hooves from behind, I toss the mother and daughter up in the air.

「「Kyaa!」」

Now holding the Dual Crater with both hands, I chop off all four legs of the leading horse, then thrust my sword into the rider of the next cavalry and toss him to the left.

「Yotto.」

I catch the daughter in my left hand without missing a beat.

The mother, who I also intended to catch, twirled in midair and landed safely by herself.

「Fuuー!」

Once again she tries to intimidate me, but I don't want her to struggle and forcefully carry her, this time squeezing a little tighter.

「Kyuu.」

Having her pass out will make it easier for me to save her, hopefully she forgives me.

「Let me drive this rebel army away first.」

I rub the unconscious mother's ass.

Watching your husband die before your eyes is sad, but I'm sure you need a new man to help heal your heart.

「We can no longer do that. Another enemy of the enemy has been added.」

Sekrit pops out unexpectedly and points to the river.

When I climb a nearby watchtower, I see a huge ship moving on the river.

The red-painted ship is far bigger than the merchant ship we were on and the ship of the first rebel army that attacked us.

「Four Nehru-class mass-produced combat ships. Two Hargear-class gunboats. This is absolutely not the equipment of a rebel army.」

「What is the Emperor's fleet doing here!? Does this mean the consort ship ran......」

The captive female hits her hands together like she's satisfied with the outcome, but stamps her foot in frustration as if she was angry she wasn't told earlier.

Normally, the village can't be seen from the village due to the trees obstructing the view.

However, the village is currently a battlefield.

The sounds of fighting resound loudly, horses kick up clouds of dirt and smoke rises from flaming arrows.

With this much of a commotion, the village can easily be located from the river.

「Ah, they dropped anchor. Not good.」

The girl tries to flee after muttering, but I grab her by the collar.

「Hey Sekrit. Can that ship attack the village at that range――」

Sekrit replies, laying low while closing her eyes and covering her ears.

「That's what the gunboats are for.」

Smoke envelopes the red body of the ship as I feel a thunderous boom that travels down to the pit of my stomach.

The two factions fighting in the village instantly stop what they're doing and look up at the sky.

Then all hell broke loose.

Hooded villagers fly in the air along with chunks of the earth, rebel army cavalry are blasted to pieces.

The stone building which served as the defensive stronghold caves in and collapses, while soldiers who tried to assault that area fall over like toys from the scattering debris.

Shells also drop near me, which I turn my back to, in order to protect the girl under my arm.

Rocks pelt my back, but they don't go further than breaking my skin.

The rebel army who were attacking us has already fled.

On the other hand, the villagers have no place to escape and are running back and forth.

At this rate, they'll be annihilated in the blink of an eye.

I strain my eyes on the battlefield.

There......that person is in the center and giving instructions to the hooded villagers.

「Pess, try to support the front somehow! Mook will have to deal with the one who circled to the ba――gueh!」

I grab the guy who I think is the village chief, or the guy who took that role, and pull him to the ground by the neck.

「Guwa!? Is this it......?」

I put my hand on his head as he closes his eyes in resignation, and pull his ears.

Wait, why does he have ears here?

「There's no time so I have to skip over things. Anyways, you're being bombarded from the river. Do you have any siege weapons?」

「W-what are you saying!? You're also our ene――kyaain!!」

The man lets out a weird scream when I tug on his ear hard.

His ears are quite fluffy, but this is no time to be worrying about that.

「Answer me. Do you have cannons?」

「No.」

The man curls his tail and responds in a miserable voice.

「What about catapults? Ballistae?」

「We have just one, an old style ballista in the storage......kuuun.」

Sekrit comes up to me and tells me it won't work.

「The Nehru-class and the Hargear-class have armor. Even shooting it up close won't penetrate them.」

I ponder for two seconds and hit the village chief on the head.

「We're abandoning the village. Gather everyone here. Get the ones hiding too.」

「We can't, how can we think about running when we've hidden and lived in this village for generations! Besides, we'll be blasted to bits if we go outside!」

Interrupting the village chief, a shell directly hits and destroys a house.

The roof caves in and people scream.

I grab and tug on the chief's tail.

「You're not choosing whether to protect or throw away your village. You're choosing whether you want to perish with the village or leave and stay alive. Do you actually think you can protect the village?」

I grab both sides of his face and show him the cannonballs falling on the village.

「Hey, the landing craft is coming.」

Sekrit says calmly.

「Get ready in five minutes. Intelligence officers, stay here and help.」

I toss the chief away and run toward the river.

A small boat full of soldiers from the red ship makes its way to the shore.

They just bombarded the village, so it's clear what they'll do once they reach the village.

I push my way through the bushes to the river.

Preoccupied with landing, the enemy soldiers noticed me only when I had already ran close and jumped up with my Dual Crater, ready to strike.

「Hmp!!」

I come down with my Dual Crater, swinging right at the tip of the landing craft.

Rather than slicing through the vessel, I slam the flat part of the blade on the boat and push the sword until it dents the surface of the hull.

「W-what the-!?」

「The stern is lifting......no way!!」

The bow of the boat with about ten people in it sinks below the water from my single blow and the entire boat flips vertically.

Passengers get flung out like they were fired from a catapult.

「As usual, you're so ridiculous.」

Sekrit, who came a bit later, stuffs her ears with dry grass, sits down the female prisoner and rests her prosthetic arm on her head.

「You had an artificial arm? But what's with ugly tube thing?」

A boom rings out and a smoke trail follows a cannonball that hits a larger landing craft.

On hit, several people are sent flying and a few seconds later the impact spot explodes, reducing all those on board to dust.

「An explosive shot huh ......? Those dwarves could have turned White City to rubble with this.」

Sekrit mutters mockingly as she carries the fainted female prisoner.

「A cannon!? Is there a cannon being operated somewhere on the shore!?」

「Landing craft, come back! You'll become a target!」

「Contact the gunboats! The village can wait, concentrate fire on the riverbank!」

This is good, a perfect score.

Sekrit and I high-five each other and return to the village.

The bombardment of the village ceases and the area near the riverbank starts to get hit with a barrage of cannonballs.

Of course, it doesn't hurt anyone since nobody is there.

「This is everyone pretty much.」

When I reach the village, all the villagers are gathered around the chief.

Most of them are puzzled or have doubtful looks on their faces, but their questions can be answered after we escape.

「Good job. Time to depart.」

When I pat the chief's head, he sticks out his tongue and pants happily.

Mmm, weird.

「Why do you have ears on the top of your head? Wait, you also have a tail too.」

「We are beastmen. This is the hidden home of the beast tribe, we've been living here secretly until the recent turmoil caused us to be discovered.」

Inspecting the mother and daughter I saved, I see they have ears like those of a cat, I also notice a soldier who is dragging his injured leg has dog-like ears, and a girl who is keeping her distance from me has a round rabbit-like tail on her butt.

「They're non-human, what should we do?」

Sekrit asks bluntly.

「Mu, mu......」

I reach for a girl closest to me and flip up her clothes to check her body.

「It's fine. I'll save all of them.」

Back in the bathroom.

「That's the story. As a result of my personal investigation, the mayhem in the Empire is not simply a battle between rebels and the emperor. I came to the conclusion that with the prevalence of factions that have battleships, the situation was too chaotic to be settled quickly or easily.」

And the sworn enemies of the Empire will be more greedy than us for this information, wanting it in more detail.

「I see, and as usual you made the beastmen fall in love with you, slept with them and impregnated them?」

Nonna, uninterested in the circumstances of the Empire, ignores my heroic story and changes the topic.

「But wait. According to Aegir-sama's story, wasn't it one week ago that you went to the Empire? These people's bellies are too big. Do pregnancies progress faster for beastmen?」

Celia says while pulling on the ear of a beastman.

See? It's human nature to want to pull on those ears, right?

「A little faster than humans, though it still takes about half a year.」

「As to why they have gotten so big, we also......know since we get filled every night.」

The girls look at me and my dick like they are monsters.

Stop, that hurts.

Then, the mother and daughter I saved first chime in while rubbing each other's bellies.

「We didn't fall in love and mate with him.」

「He forced himself on us and made us bear his child.」

The mother and daughter smile.

「Continue.」

Nonna says, drumming the bucket.

「Hurry up.」

Melissa stares at me with cold eyes.

「Haa, haa......please go on.」

Catherine approaches me in an oddly aroused state.

「By the sounds of it, the woman wasn't pregnant when traveling with you. Now, you can easily identify the bump even when she's clothed.」