Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi Chapter 449: Farewell, Man

I shake my head as Luna draws closer to me.
The doctor said he would wake up if we waited a little longer.

「T-then are all his limbs……?」

Luna takes one step closer.

Once again, I shake my head silently.
His limbs are still connected……but barely.

「Then what kind of injury……?」

Damn Gido, getting a girl who he's in love with worried like this.
However, he can't answer anymore.

I close my eyes and look up at the heavens like I'm mourning a dead person.

「Gido's manhood――has come off.」

A Short Time Ago――

「How's Gido?」

「I will spare you the explanation of his countless non-life-threatening injuries――」

The doctor's stern face told me the situation was bad, now it was just a matter of finding out exactly how bad.

「Firstly, he has fractures in both arms, which will simply require time to heal, and that's the least severe of his injuries. He has a compound fracture on his left leg, a very serious injury, but depending on the doctor's skills, the bones can be connected.」

I mean, he was stepped on over and over by horses, so these injuries are to be expected.
It wasn't only his arms and legs either.

「The state of his internal organs is horrible. All the blood loss from his mouth shows how bad the damage is……to be honest, if Lord Hardlett did not allow the use of the highest grade of medication, we could not have saved him.」

Gido has saved Celia before.
I should do everything I can to help him.

「So, will Gido be alright?」

「He has temporarily escaped critical condition since he's young and has stamina. I cannot make any guarantees, but his survival rate is 80%.」

Gido isn't so weak that he'll drop dead at 80%.
Feeling slightly relieved, I reach out towards a cup for a drink of water.

The doctor's face doesn't improve though.

「His life isn't in danger……however, he won't go back to normal. Because of the severity of the break in his left leg, it's unknown whether he can move it like he used to. Moreover――」

The doctor flips open the bloody sheets covering Gido.

The moment I saw what was uncovered, I dropped the cup I was holding.

After a hollow clunk, a water stain spread across the floor of the wagon.

「This is terrible.」

My shoulders slump in disappointment.

「Can't you do anything about it……?」

I look pleadingly into the doctor's eyes.

「Sadly, it was completely broken by the horses. If left unattended, it would infect the rest of his body, so we had to cut it off at the root without delay……unfortunately. His balls are still attached……」

I shake my head.

「You don't have to say any more, doctor…… Gido is……dead as a man.」

「I see. But if he's still alive…… then……」

Luna forces herself to smile, although her eyes remain downcast.

「Life isn't all about playing with women. If he uses this as an opportunity to focus all his energy into his work, he can still have a fulfilled life.」

Myla seems to be relieved for the most part.

「Who would have thought…… maybe this is some form of karmic justice.」

Celia was quite harsh.

「Urngh.」

A groan suddenly comes from the wagon.
Gido has woken up, it seems.

All of us rush to the wagon.

「Guh……my whole body aches……what happened to me?」

Gido winces from the pain and asks us when he notices our presence.

「Gido…… live strong.」

「Losing only one won't stop you from working. Devote yourself.」

「Use this to change your heart.」

The three women's rapid comforting statements momentarily distract Gido from the unbearable pain in his leg, which resurfaced once his mind settled down, and prompted him to flip up the sheets laid on him.

「One…… you mean my leg――!! Huh, it's broken, but still connected?」

Gido was confused for a few seconds and then lifted up more of the sheets.

「My dick is…… it's not there――!!」

「Yeah, it was torn off at the root.」

The light in Gido's eyes vanish and he falls limply on his side.

「S-someone, behead me now.」

I swiftly grab Gido's shoulder.

「Listen to me, Gido. You can't change what has happened. However, it's not like you're dead.」

Gido stares at me with lifeless eyes like a zombie.

「A man's worth is not all in his dick. You're a pretty clever guy and you have a knack for fighting. Your face is also irritatingly handsome. If you put that all together, you still have about 20% of a man's worth. If you're a true man, show me you can put up a fight with that.」

「So 80% is in the dick……」

I let Celia's comment go in one ear and out the other while throwing the sheets back on Gido.
There's no point comforting him any longer.

After Luna saw Gido fall asleep, she whispers sadly.

「Poor Gido…… he didn't even get to have his own kids…… that girl was looking forward to it too……」

She must be referring to Gido's wife.
That makes me a little sad.

「It was my fault for not realizing how far forward Gido charged. If absolutely necessary, I'll take responsibility and get his wife pregnant.」

There wasn't anything I could have done. Nevertheless, it's the boss's duty to take responsibility.

Celia and Myla had a different opinion.

「「If Aegir-sama isn't careful, yours will come off too!」」

It was time to leave the injured soldiers' camp.
That was when a commotion caught my eye.

「See that, damn Goldonian bastards!! Hurray for His Excellency Maestus! Long live the South Yuguria Empire!」

The one yelling loudly is Piris――the page of enemy general Maestus who we captured during the recapture of Arkland.

She is threatening soldiers while her hands are tied behind her back.
After multiple failed attempts at escaping, leather manacles were put around her hands against her will, yet she is still quite energetic.

「Cut it out already. Don't forget your place as a prisoner……geez, if only the general would give the okay, I'd have fucked you a long time ago.」

「Shut up, bandit! The glory of the empire and my br-……and His Excellency Maestus is forever! You should have found that out after their victory this time!」

Yakov wanted to silence her badly, but because I told him not to be rough with her, the most he could was cover her mouth with his hand. Oh, she bit him.

Piris must have gotten bolder due to seeing us lose and now she can't stop talking.

At first, most of the soldiers ignored her, treating her words as merely the ramblings of a little girl, but with many companions dying in battle, they began to seethe with anger. If things continue at this rate, the morale of the soldiers, and most importantly Piris's life, is at risk.

「Move, Yakov.」
「G-general…… what a life-saver. Hey, owww.」

I replace Yakov, who is squeezing the hand oozing blood, and lift Piris myself.

「F-feel like hurting me now!? What a vulgar thing to do, taking out your frustration of losing in that last battle by beating a prisoner――」

Without letting her finish, I place the upper body of Piris face down on a crate and position her feet far away from her reach.
This, in addition to her bound hands, will render her unable to move.

I disregard her pleas for me to stop and pull down her pants, underwear and all.
The soldiers around me cheer.

「Y-you're going to rape me, huh!? Look, this is the true nature of all you people! In the end, you're no different than brigands――」

「I won't do that.」

I give her exposed pink ass a soft rub before licking my middle finger and putting it up against her precious place.
It was plump and a pretty color just like her ass, without any signs of abuse.

「Y-you're actually serious!? S-stop!」

Piris cries out to no avail, as I don't feel like stopping.
I guess what happened to Gido has got me more irritated than I thought and I'm now taking it out on Piris.

「Bear with it for a bit.」

I grab the nervously trembling ass and mercilessly shove my finger inside her.

「Noooooo!!」

「「「Uoooooh!!」」」

Piris's scream and the soldiers' aroused roars intersect.
The murderous air starting to hang in the air disappeared.
Also Yakov joined with the soldiers.

My finger keeps digging into Piris's tight tunnel until it hits a dead end.
She's a small girl, but her hole should not be this shallow.

Piris desperately twists her body and glares at me.

「Fufufu, so you were a virgin after all. If I push my finger past this point……」

Moving my finger a little bit further and Piris's hymen will be torn.

「I'm going to let you off easy this time though.」

Instead of robbing her virginity, I bend my finger and move it back and forth near her entrance.
Careful not to scrape her with my nail, yet focusing on the upper surface, I rub the place where girls feel the most pleasure.

「S-stop! Don't!」

Piris struggles are in vain as both her hands are tied and in her current position, she has no way to remove my finger.

While my middle finger works the inside of her vagina, my thumb plays with the outer lips.
It was in no way rough, it was just purely a continuous stream of stimulation.

「Look, the general's fat fingers are stabbing her tiny hole.」

「I was wondering how to get rid of her earlier, but she's pretty cute now that she's crying like a little bird.」

「Well, he's still being gentle. Although it looks like he's sexually assaulting her.」

「Wait, isn't that girl wet? She's leaking down her thighs.」

Every time the soldiers hurl vulgar jeers at her, she denies it, but her hole clenches around my finger.
Every time, she seems to get just a little bit wetter.

「You like it when people watch?」

「Of course not! Stop, this is ridiculous!!」

Piris tries to bite me when I bring my face close to her, but misses.
Because of how she forcibly twisted her body, my fingers are rubbing more than before.

「Ah! N-noo! Something weird is coming! Even though I shouldn't be!」

Piris's body convulses greatly.
It was faster than I anticipated, but I'll deliver the finishing blow anyways.

I pulled out my finger from her vagina, spread her ass cheeks and put my mouth on her genitals, and before she could protest, sucked on her clitoris.

「Hiiuuuuu!」

She shrieked and her ass twitched.

I draw my face back with her bean still in my mouth, then let it snap back softly.
Now there's no going back.

「Noooo!! I don't want to cum! I don't want to! Dear brother!!」

Piris's body wiggles on top of the crate and her ass shakes wildly as she squirts like a fountain.

「Woah, there she blows.」

「Hahaha, this one's incredible! A young face and a gusher? She puts prostitutes to shame!」

「She's saying no while drooling and swinging her ass. That must have been quite the orgasm.」

I wipe the corner of my mouth with my sleeve and pat the head of the still cumming Piris.

「I won't tell you to be obedient in your heart, but don't provoke anybody needlessly. It won't do any good to you or us.」

When I gave her a kind warning, Piris turned red and bared her canines menacingly at me.

「T-this humiliation…… I haven't shown this to my dear brother…… I-I won't forgive you for this! When my nation wins this war, I'll make sure you are the first to be executed!! And before you are hanged, I'll piss on you!!」

Piris remains obstinate, but with her ass out for everyone to see and after that foolish display, there is no impact behind her threats.
The other soldiers also don't take her seriously and burst out laughing.

「Hahaha, you're gutsy to say that with your cute butt exposed like that. Plus, you're blushing.」

「Next time, you won't get away with just fingers. When you get pounded, I hope you'll let me join.」

「I'll pass on the hanging, but I'll gladly bathe in your pee right now. I'll even open my mouth for you to piss inside.」

I guess there's nothing for me to worry about.

I lightly pat Piris's head and leave the place chuckling.

「Hey, put my pants back on! I can't use my hands! You, don't look! Uwah, I'll have all of you executed, uuuu!!」

That settles that.

――Later That Day. Front Lines Headquarters.

「Everyone, any opinions on how to break the deadlock?」

Nobody answers Erich's question, including me.

Once again, we're faced with an impasse on the war front.

With that said, it's different from the standoff against the impossibly sturdy encampment we encountered in Arkland.
This time, they're mobilizing squads to attack villages at a high rate of frequency and circling around with their cavalry.
As a result, the line of battle cannot advance forward or shift backward.

The reason why the enemy can't progress forward is simple.
The losses they suffered during the battle at Trisnia are still greatly affecting them and they don't have complete squads to utilize.

On the other hand, we also can't go forward.

No matter where we attack, the enemy peasant soldiers surge out.
The enemy most likely had a hand in turning all the peasants in our immediate vicinity against us.

「If there is one point we need to hold down the area, it's that.」

I turn my head toward Leopolt who is keeping his voice hushed.

「We have currently identified 15 of the large weapons and about 40 of the smaller ones, all of which have an overwhelming destructive power.」

That's right, we were flustered by the enemy's unknown light-emitting weapons in that last fight.

「The large ones are giant long-range――let's use cannons for the lack of a better word. It has been confirmed that they possess the ability to melt thick steel and essentially cannot be blocked.」

Not to mention they're considerably accurate, capable of targeting our siege weapons or the center of our army.

「For the smaller ones, each individual weapon fires 50 fireballs, which on landing, explode and spreads flames. They are slightly inaccurate compared to the larger ones, but they can burn an extremely large area with a single shot and has actually annihilated an entire squadron of a hundred people who were tightly grouped together.」

It's a weapon that can be called unfair.
It's a weapon beyond the scope of annoying.

「Furthermore, town walls with strength that clearly contradicts that of their structure have been confirmed in small villages.」

「Yeah, I know that as well.」

I thought my jaw would fall off when I saw, during the attack on a small village, a boulder launched by a catapult get deflected by a wooden fence.
In the end, it took over a hundred ally deaths to bring down that small village.

「It is assumed that the largest enemy base, Tortoent, has many of these installed.」

「That's a fair assessment.」

If a simple wooden fence can reflect a catapult projectile, then I wonder how strong the walls in Tortoent are.
We can't perform the trick with crashing the ships again.

「Is there anyone with a plan to conquer Tortoent?」

I definitely hear Erich's voice.
However, my answer is the same as all the others who are silent: “it's impossible.”

Battering rams and cannons have no effect on the walls, if we try to climb up ladders, we'll be met with the light cannon and a rain of fireballs, and if we try ambushing or infiltration, the peasants around us will prevent us from sneaking around efficiently.

「I think I might have to light a fire under Tristan.」

My order to him to discover the truth of the enemy weapon――that is the only hope for us.

By the way, right now on my left side……Celia is sitting happily in Tristan's seat.
Myla, who is in the next seat over, is mumbling how she should be the one to slide into the empty spot.

『Err……I'm in a hurry here. Could you let me in?』

『Entry and exit of this war conference is strictly forbidden unless it's a messenger. Excuse me for being rude, but clearly state your name and rank――』

『Well, I'm not a noble―― eeh, I can't enter if I'm not a noble? Fine then.』

I hear an argument at the entrance.
For that lazy guy to make an effort to come―― that must mean 'that'.

I automatically stand up, and bow once to the glaring Erich before leaving for the entrance.

「Come in, Tristan.」

「L-Lord Hardlett! That's against regulations!」

I ignore the guard, grab Tristan by the arm and drag him to the war conference area.

「Lord Hardlett, the Military Commissioner is in the middle of speaking! You're being rude!」
「It's a violation of rules for anyone to go in or out during a war council!」

I disregard the complaining staff officer and noble and stand in front of Erich.
Mmm, yeah, he's a bit angry.

「Hardlett, that's too rude, even for you. You better have a good reason for this.」

Tristan, feeling the negative looks gathering on him, sighs and sets the book he was carrying on the table.
Said book was damaged and worn to the point that the title was illegible and an old musty smell wafted throughout the room.
Because of that, everybody's looks got harsher.

「Of course I do. Isn't that right, Tristan.」

「Yeah…… um well, at least I think so.」

「You think so?」

Erich's eyes narrow dubiously.
Idiot, you're supposed to say yes in this situation, even if you have to lie.

Reading my intent, Celia secretly stomps on Tristan's foot.

「Oww! Err, yes. I believe there is enough value in what I have to say――」

「So, what is it?」

Erich urges Tristan impatiently.
He's also a soldier so he doesn't like indecisiveness.

「The strange weapon, whether I figured out the identity of it or not―― ow! Yes, I have a rough idea!」

When the somewhat desperate Tristan answered, everyone groaned softly.

「We will alter the agenda. Continue as you please.」

Erich orders Tristan to sit down.
Celia became sad after being robbed of her seat but cheered up when I beckoned her and readied her notepad.

Alright, let us know what you found out.

Chapter end