Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi Chapter 479.2

Translator: Nat

–Aegir POV–

The sound of horseshoes draws closer.

「Aegir-sama, please come back! You're the only one in the enemy camp! You're completely isolated!!」

Celia voices her concern.
The escort unit is also with her.

「Hand me my weapon.」

I stretch out my hand.

「Anyways, we should ret――」

「Hand me my weapon.」

Celia shivers in surprise, then gives me the Dual Crater and Keravnos.

「You, follow Leopolt's instructions.」

I use my remaining sense of reason to order Celia and mobilize the soldiers.
Because I have to kill the rest of those guys, I can't bring her with me.

Thousands of enemy soldiers are gradually surrounding us.
What else could I expect? That much is obvious after I ignored my allies and charged in.

The flag of South Yuguria enters my field of view.
It's the flag that betrayed and killed Benel.

「Unforgivable……I won't forgive you guys.」

I raise the weapons in my hands.

Various murmurs come from the enemy.
Hurry up and come at me already.

「Haven't we fallen into a trap!? I mean, our allies were so easily routed!」

「B-but we have certainly encircled Hardlett and his small group of soldiers. We should not carelessly challenge him in close combat, and take him down with a rain of arrows.」

Hundreds of archers fix their aim at me.
If I take the hit, I'll turn into a porcupine. Then, I wouldn't be able to kill anyone else.

「Loose!!」

At the same time the enemy yelled, I used my Dual Crater to strike a rock in front of me with all my might.
The impact even shattered the part buried in the ground to pieces, scattering rock chips and pebbles everywhere.

I then swing my Dual Crater horizontally, deflecting the debris with the blade of my sword.
The rock fragments spray all around me with more than a few arrows getting knocked down in the process.

Of course, there's no way I could intercept all the arrows like that.
So I concentrate and eliminate the arrows I missed with my two weapons.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth were cut down, but the ninth one stabbed me.
It really doesn't hurt, therefore it looks like I have to worry too much unless they hit a vital organ.

I yank out the arrow as I walk toward the archers.

Frightened, they hastily nock another arrow and――

「Charge――!!」

And then, Celia's squad charges at the archers. Celia, she ignored my order.
The enemy directs their aim away from me.

「……using this opening-」

Logically speaking, this is where I might consider retreating with Celia.

However, in my current mental state, there is only one conclusion my mind leads me to.

「I have to kill more enemies.」

My vision begins to dye red again.
The voices of the enemies turn into mere background noise.

「Hardlett's army made a move! It's an all-out charge!」

「Why didn't you kill him when he charged in alone!? If you don't kill him quickly, he'll escape in the melee!」

「Was this a calculated move? I thought it was strange for someone of Hardlett's caliber to fall so perfectly for our plot.」

I can almost hear Leopolt sighing, but my anger erases the unnecessary thoughts.

Have I gotten halfway into the enemy camp?
Nearby infantry are distancing themselves and light and heavy cavalry are running over.

「Cavalry next, huh?」

At that moment, a familiar voice calls out beside me.

「R-reinforcements have arrived!」

Christoph……and the penal unit.
I don't intend to reply though.

「G-general? Is it possible that you're totally livid?」

If you can tell, then don't talk to me.
I might cut you too if I get more annoyed.

Ignoring Christoph, I stick my Keravnos in front of my body.
The spear grazes the neck of a charging horse and the side blade tears off the arm of the rider.

「Gyaa! They're here, they're here! Do it, you guys, do it!」

I don't have time to worry about Christoph.

Up next is a double-rider cavalry……South Yuguria's version of a bow cavalry where the rear rider wields a crossbow.
When I focus, time once again seems to slow down.

The crossbowman steadies his aim and slowly places his finger on the trigger.
Approximately 15 meters apart, the soldier's index finger bends……freeing the clasp holding the bowstring back and releasing the bolt.

「Shh!」

I match the timing of my exhale with the lifting of my Keravnos.
My spear perfectly lines up with the trajectory of the bolt and encounters minor resistance as it deflects the projectile.

Shock fills the faces of the two enemy soldiers. You also have to die.

Keeping my Keravnos raised, I switch to a one-handed grip and throw it with my right hand.
The spear doesn't veer off course and skewers both the front and back riders.

「One more.」

I spin with my Dual Crater in hand and sweep the horse's legs.
Since the fallen rider isn't dead yet, I swing again and smash his head open.

Where should I go next? Who should I kill next?

The one on the left……changed direction and ran away.
The one on the right……was killed by one of the penal unit guys first.

「Then, behind?」

Immediately after turning around, I grab the lance thrusted at me, catching it in my arms.
It isn't easy to do with the horse's momentum added to the attack, however the impact also affects the rider above me similarly.
Moreover, the current me can output more strength than usual.

As a result, even though I get pushed back a little, I'm able to dig my feet into the ground to withstand the force of the charge while lifting the rider up off the horse.

「Guh, I give up! I surre――」

No matter what you say, it's too late.
You have to die.

Carrying the knight wearing full plate armor on my shoulder, I wrap my arms around his waist and back, then squeeze tightly to break his body in half, armor and all.

「He crushed a fully armored knight……is Hardlett really human?」

「Apart from that, he reacted to an enemy directly on top of him. That guy……isn't he actually a demon?」

「How on earth did Dirty Angel manage to slash him……?」

Yes, right now I can even see enemies above me clearly.
But that doesn't matter. I have to kill more South Yuguria scum.

The next thing I know, my army led by Leopolt has reached my vicinity.

Noises generated by the enemy soldiers grow louder.

「I-it's an all-out attack by the Goldonian army! They're transitioning to total offense!」

「No way! This is completely different to the initial strategy! Are you sure this isn't a diversion!?」

「Yes, the enemy army has begun to charge with enthusiastic war cries!. It can't be considered a diversion!」

「We can't afford to focus solely on taking out Hardlett anymore!」

The enemy clamors and deviates from the path toward me.
Damn, I still didn't kill them all yet.
I'll have to find others to kill.

Myla and Luna are shouting something nearby, but I can't understand what they're saying.
Anyways, I have to kill the enemies.

As luck would have it, I spot light from a particular group in the corner of my eye.

Red and yellow beams are being shot at my allies.

「That's some cheeky light show you're putting on after betraying Benel.」

They're my new goal.
I brush off Myla and Luna and run.

「Red Unit 3, fireball attack on the enemy vanguard! Yellow Unit 2, lightning attack on the enemy siege weapons!」

「Yellow Unit 4, preserve your magic! Red Unit 2, those whose magic has dried up retreat to the back!」

Man, what a racket and those flashes are so irritating.
The smell of burning flesh is also unpleasant.

「Uwaaaaah! S-such intense fireballs!」

「These guys are magic users…… part of a squad made of hundreds of magic users! W-we don't stand a chance!」

「We can't get close! Fall back and use the siege weapons to――they destroyed the catapult!」

The allied soldiers running around like headless chickens are also in my way.
But they didn't kill Benel so I don't need to kill them.

Holding my Dual Crater in my right hand and my Keravnos in my left, I walk in between both sides.

「Lord Hardlett, they're a magic squad! Somehow, all the members have the same high magic power and――」

I put my Dual Crater up against the neck of the allied commander.

「Quiet. Stand down.」

I leave the dumbfounded commander and step in front of the enemy.

「That is…… a high priority target! Red Unit 4 to 7, shoot!!」

Countless fireballs fly at me.
All the blazing orbs accurately fall from the top of my head.
They move at an excruciatingly slow speed though.

I swipe at one with my Dual Crater.
The disappointing fireball vanished accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

「Ueh?」

Next, I jab my Keravnos at a fireball.
With the beating of a drum, the fireball bursts, releasing a gust of hot wind.

「Oh?」

I don't care about the strange sound made by the enemy or ally.

I lower my waist and swing my two weapons.

Fireballs are knocked down, swept away, erased and crushed.

The hot air burns my face, scorches my hair and the embers sears my skin.
Yet, I don't feel an ounce of pain.

I advance steadily while eliminating the fireballs along the way.

「There's no effect…… all of them are being struck down!」

「Red Unit 4 has depleted their magic……Unit 5 barely has any magic left!」

「Yellow Unit 4 to……arrgh forget it, all of you attack!」

Lightning bolts mix with the onslaught of fireballs.

As one would expect, lightning is faster and harder to react to.

I get hit once and my entire body convulses.
Damn, taking consecutive lightning bolts like that will render me unable to fight.

I try blocking the second shot with my Dual Crater, but I incorrectly position my arm, allowing the lightning to surge through my arm, numbing my right hand.
Now I get it.

I slice the third shot with my Dual Crater.
There is a gap between when the magic activates and when it transforms into lightning, and I just grasped the faint presence.

To prove my theory, I cut the next 10 bolts of lightning.

「L-lightning magic doesn't have any effect either! What should we do ne――」

There won't be a next time.

My Dual Crater starts to glow red.
Right, it absorbs magic or whatever, but it's troublesome to even think about it now.

（Madness――very well. Just channel your anger through the current of magic.）

I swing my Dual Crater without paying attention to the voice inside my head.

The distance separating me and the enemy is 50 meters.
It's nowhere close enough for――

Blistering wind burning a crimson color emits from the Dual Crater which I swung with all my strength to cut the air.
It is an emission of magic accumulated by the Dual Crater.

「What is――」

The gust generated by my sword flies toward the enemy magic soldier at chest height and separates his upper body from his lower body.
That's not all. When the corpse halves fall to the ground, they ignite like they were doused in oil.

「W-was that……magic?」

「Hardlett should not be able to use magic!」

The commander loses his head as he says the last syllable of his sentence.

「Use defense magic! Green Unit 1, put up a wall!」

「O spirits of the wind, blow fiercely and become my impenetrable protection――Wind Barrier!」

A whirlwind appears in front of the enemy.

My sword's gust hits the wall of wind……splits it open and sends the wind and the enemy soldier flying.

「The defense magic was penetrated!」

「The wind magic that can even block cannonballs!?」

Once again, I walk toward the enemy one step at a time.
Of course, I don't intend to let anyone survive. I have to decapitate everyone.

「General! Watch out!」

At a distance of about 20 meters from the enemy, Christoph's yell coincides with something stabbing my back.

I feel blood spray out and slowly turn around, then look above.

「A giant bird……?」

「Be it a monster or a demon, you can't fly! I'm going to torture you to death!」

The Keysian tamer shouts.
Just you wait.

It seems I'm not the only one the giant bird is attacking, other allied soldiers nearby are also getting assaulted.

I try thrusting at it with my spear. Obviously, my reach is not long enough.
The gusts from my Dual Crater won't be enough to bring down a bird which can freely fly in the sky either.

Not good.
As long as they're on the side of South Yuguria, I have to kill them too, but I can't even touch them.

I cross the glowing red blade of my Dual Crater with the Keravnos.

（Hey, what are you doing? Stop, magic is being sucked――）

A rumbling sensation travels down to the bottom of my stomach.
And then, suddenly lightning――a rising lightning bolt so to speak, originating from me ――shoots up into the sky.

「Uwaaaaah!」

「Guuuuuuh!!」

Electricity surges through my entire body, shocking me worse than the lightning bolt I received earlier and briefly causing my consciousness to fly away.

What flashes in my mind is the sight of Benel suffering beneath me and the sword in her chest――

I regain my consciousness and plant my foot firmly on the ground to support myself before falling.

The burnt smell rising from my own body enters my nose.

Because of the ridiculous method of discharge, the lightning also fried me.
But as long as the numbness goes away, I don't feel pain and my ability to fight is unaffected.

The burnt giant bird falls out of the sky and lands in front of me with a thud.

A moment later, smoking bird corpses incessantly pour down from the sky.

「Crap, the captain got hit!」

「Dammit, does Hardlett intend to bury Dirty Angel as well!?」

The penal unit withdraws.
What perfect timing, they were in the way.

Before I knew it, the enemy camp was no more and the walls of Alteria towered over me.
If I want to kill more, I have to go inside those walls.

The ballistae and catapults have not started launching yet.
I'm sure nobody expected me to charge in before the decisive battle, but it's just a matter of time.
If I don't hurry, things will become more bothersome.

I slowly approach the city wall.

When I make eye contact with the archer aiming at me on top of the wall, he inadvertently drops his bow.

「H-he's smiling? No, he's angry, he's crying? What a creepy expression.」

「I'm done. I can't do it……that's not a face a human can make.」

That reminds me, I don't know what kind of expression I have.
Well, it doesn't matter.

「You guys aren't getting away. I'm killing you for sure.」

I can tell that some of the enemy soldiers fell over on the other side of the wall.

Wanting to get beyond the walls, I raise my Dual Crater in preparation for a swing.

（Wait. All my power was sapped. If you do that now, the sword will break. Please wait.）

「Hold it!]

Something hits my back again.
It was Sekrit, who hugged me from behind.

「That's enough. Move aside for now……please.」

I take Sekrit's hand, careful not to be too rough.
Then I speak to her in as calm a manner as possible.

「Let go. I have to kill those guys in the city.」

Sekrit kicks me in the crotch and sits down next to me.

「Fire――!!」

Immediately after Sekrit kicked me, a barrage of cannonballs and iron shells rained down.

「The Royal Army……」

I was so obsessed with my own situation that I didn't notice them also rushing to the walls.

Erich is signalling me to fall back.
Sorry, I can't. I must charge forward.

Although the cannonballs land on target, the reinforced city walls don't take damage.
The walls repel the iron shells and the bolts snap like toothpicks.

「I can't get in like this.」

（It's impossible for me. It will really break.）

I survey my surroundings.
If there is really nothing else that can be done, I'll have to scale the walls on my own.

「Abnormal secretion of adrenaline in the brain confirmed. Normal thought process is doubtful.」

Tikuku coils around me from out of nowhere.

「Injury status――critical. Prompt treatment is needed. Continuation of combat is not recommended.」

Release me, I have to go no matter what.

「Not recommended, not recommended. Please move out of the designated area as soon as――」

I grab Tikuku's shoulder.

「I have to go.」

–Third Person POV–

At the Time the Attack Commenced. Goldonia Royal Army Headquarters.

「That idiot――!!」

Erich kicks over a chair as he stands up.

There is a man running in front of him――not only is he running at the enemy by himself, he is doing so unarmed and yelling like a madman.

「What is that fool thinking!? Is that some kind of plan!?」

He roars at the staff officers, but they all shake their heads in unison.

「The Hardlett army is a mess. A truly unforeseen incident must have occurred.」

「Word just arrived! There was an attack in Lord Hardlett's camp. A female prisoner was assassinated by an enemy spy. That woman……was apparently being treated as one of Hardlett's lovers.」

Erich mutters, “so that's it” as he pounds his fist on the desk.

「Assassinating a woman in front of him!? It's an obvious trap that he got caught in, why didn't anybody stop him!!?」

「H-he seemed like he would tear me limb from limb if I tried to stop him……my apologies!!」

After staring at the staff officer, Erich slumps his shoulders.

「Charging alone at close to 100 000 enemies……that guy can't be saved anymore. If we go back him up now, I'll be putting the entire army at risk.」

Erich bangs the desk hard in frustration.
The wooden plank breaks, scattering the map and various documents.

「A small amount of heavy cavalry left Hardlett's group!」

Erich looks in that direction, and after seeing Celia's figure, makes a face like he stuffed his mouth full of astringent persimmons.

「It's that girl. I see, she's planning to go together with him. Idiot, what are you doing, dragging women to the grave with you?」

Erich opens his eyes wide and continues to watch, hoping to at least see the man's last moments.

「It's a foolish end, but one fitting for him, I guess. However, we can't lose here. I need a replacement commander for Hardlett's army……no, I'll grant the staff officer within his army a temporary promotion to commander――」

「The Hardlett army has begun their attack――it's an all-out attack! The entire army is charging forward!」

Erich falls flat after reseating himself on his chair.

「What did you say!? They're not going to act as a decoy!?」

Erich hurriedly leans over.

The close to 20 000 soldiers of Hardlett's army fulfills a pretty large role overall.
Naturally, they're incorporated into the foundation of plans and selfish actions will ruin everything.

「No, each squad is departing in haste separately! They're focusing on pushing out in front…… and the adjacent vassal armies are seeking instructions on what to do!」

「I knew Hardlett was stupid, but wasn't that staff officer of his really the one in command!? What is that calm man doing? At this rate, the entire operation will fall apart.」

Erich, who was partially watching the warfront in a daze, noticed that the commotion on the frontlines had not yet been settled.

「Hardlett is…… still fighting?」

「W-well, he charged in alone. I know this is the Margrave, but it wouldn't be strange if he was killed in a few seconds.」

Erich strains his eyes further.

「The cavalry are rotating around a certain origin point. They are also concentrating their arrows on the same spot…… that guy is still alive!」

The staff officer groans as he repeatedly smacks his head.

「Military Commissioner, the enemy formation is starting to fall into disarray.」

「The enemy is extracting units from the right wing and a hole is becoming more prominent.」

Erich looks up in disbelief.

The rampage following the unaided charge shifted the whole battle situation.

「The Hardlett army has broken past the halfway point of the enemy camp! The enemy is trying to keep them at bay, but the offense is being maintained. They have not been stopped!」

Erich adjusts the plan in his head.
However, the situation is chaotic and already beyond repair.

In addition, he sees a new possibility.

「Bring out the overall war plan.」

The chief staff officer hands Erich a thick stack of documents.
All the staff officers spent many hours creating those documents for today.

Erich throws the fruits of everyone's labor into the campfire and stands up.

「Gentlemen, your polished strategy has been mercilessly ruined by the rampage of the idiot Hardlett and his crew.」

He proceeds to bare his canines, smiling belligerently.

「But we can win――we can win! All units, charge――tactics are unnecessary, just keep pushing to the end!!」

The staff officers, who can be considered crystallizations of wisdom, get fired up by the primitive orders.
It was a strange sight.

The strange development continues even after the Royal army charge.

「Enemy magic unit spotted and inflicted serious damage to the attacking squad――wait, it looks like an allied squad defeated them! Details unknown!」

「Monsters appeared in the sky! All units are in disorder――wait, an unidentified lightning magic annihilated them! Details unknown!」

「S-siege unit demolished the city wall! The battering ram smashed the east side to smithereens!! Eh, a three-person battering ram did it?」

Erich's subordinates look at one another.

「What's going on?」

「I don't know either.」

Erich hops on a horse.

「I'm heading to the front too. ……don't tell me this is all your doing.」

–Aegir POV–

The city walls crumble.

The Royal army soldiers wielding the battering ram stare at each other in shock at what they just accomplished.

「W-we did that? To a wall that deflected cannonballs?」

「It felt like toppling a stack of toy building blocks, but it didn't seem like anyone besides us attacked.」

「We've awakened. To the power of legendary heroes!」

「Not recommended. Not recommended. Cooldown: 20 000 seconds. Recharging in 1 555 200 seconds.」

I ignore the prattle from the other allied soldiers.
The smoke coming from Tikuku's face is nothing of concern either.

No debris remains from the destroyed outer walls as it has all turned to fine sand.
In any case, I only have business with the South Yuguria army.

「I didn't think the walls would be destroyed so easily. But that doesn't mean the army outside the walls has been eliminated. If we hold on, reinforcements will definitely come. We absolutely cannot surrender the city of Her Majesty!」

The commander spurs his subordinates on.

「Of course!」
「Agreed!」
「We'll do it!」

Three subordinates reply.

「Oh, is that so? I'm glad.」

My Keravnos pierces the commander in the face and my Dual Crater lops off the heads of two subordinates.

「Hiiiiiih!」

I grab the last person who tries to run away by the collar and drag him back..

「やS-stop, I don't want to die!」

「I want to kill.」

I hold his head and twist it 90 degrees to the side.

「Lord Hardlett.」

Oh, it's Leopolt……man, today's been busy.
I don't really feel like talking.

「You have a plan, don't you? Go over there.」

I say as I search for my next goal.

「A certain idiot ruined the plan, so I don't have one anymore. You broke through the enemy by force, however you have not surrounded or annihilated them so their forces remain strong. If our offense loses momentum, our rear will be sealed and we risk being annihilated.」

I don't say anything.

「Therefore, we don't have any choice other than continuing the charge. I hope that you fight like a fierce demon and settle the battle. In this moment, that is the only thing that will lead us to victory. Head in this direction.」

Leopolt points to the greatest building in Alteria……it was once the temple of Altair.

Well, that makes things easy to understand.

Without relying on any petty tricks, I get on the main road where most of the enemies are located and run in a straight line towards the temple.
Sekrit and the Celiled escort unit are following closely behind.

「There are barricades installed on the main road. Overcoming them one by one is――」

I don't respond to Celia and run into a house along the main road, bulldozing my way through walls.
Be it a stately mansion or a common residence, the thickness of the walls is insignificant, and the hedges and iron lattices are nothing I can't kick down with my steel boots.

「People normally can't break those. You're the exception.」

I eye the enemy soldiers stationed at the bypassed barricade.
Wait for me, I'm definitely coming to kill you later.

And then an arrow stabs into the nape of my neck.

「Kyaaa!!」

Celia screams, but I calmly pull it out and press down on the wound with my hand to stop the bleeding.
I guess I'll find a torch to cauterize it.

The exit is……there, huh?

So an archer was hiding on top of a roof.

「I'll be the decoy. You go behind him and throw a dagger――」

Before Sekrit finishes speaking, I place my hand on the ceiling.
I clench my teeth and exert all my might, shattering the part connecting between the ceiling and the pillar with a loud crack.

With the pillar separated, the roof gets lifted up by me and tilts to one side.
I'm glad there is only one roof.

「W-what the-, is the house collapsing!?」

「No, it's tilting! The demon is lifting it up!!」

After the enemy soldier falls, I return the arrow he shot at me right to the center of his forehead.

I take the opportunity to grab the torch adorning the wall and hold the flame to my neck.
That will completely stop the blood. Yep, I can confirm that I don't feel any pain.

「This is a five-room house with a stone roof.」

Sekrit's expression changes from one of surprise to a grim one.
She lightly touches my arm and thigh.

「Your pain receptors are dulled because of the anger……but it won't last long. If you don't return to normal, you'll really drop dead.」

「I'll do it after killing them all.」

I casually answer and continue forward.
Leopolt and Tristan follow after me and gradually make their way further into the city of Alteria.

It was at this time that I began to think capturing the temple was going to be easy.

「Sniff……this smell……get down!!」

Sekrit trips my feet, causing me to fall.
Celia jumps on my back, covering it with her body.

And then, a massive explosion occurs.

I peek up and see the road and houses sent flying, which levelled the immediate area to flat ground.
It resembled the grounds of an arena.

All of a sudden, multiple cavalry came running into the vast space that opened up in the city.

「You're really one of a kind, Hardlett. I don't know any other man who would act this recklessly.」

The one who appeared was Maestus. He truly is a disgusting and unpleasant guy――

「I heard from intelligence that Benel died. Poor girl, she was just 22.」

I hear my blood instantly rush to my head.

Celia and Sekrit fall to the ground after failing to restrain me, and I pounce at him while brushing aside any obstructing rubble.

「――ooh, I almost forgot. The one who gave the order……was that me?」

I realized what my body had done only after my sword clashed with his.

Chapter end