Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi Chapter 496

–Aegir POV–

「Get your ass in here, you pervert.」

The hand forcibly pulling me lets go and throws me inside a building.

It was the kind of action that a stern mother would do when her child is having a tantrum on the streets, except the child ― me in this case ― is 190 cm and the mother doing the dragging ― Brynhildr in this case ― is about the same size as Celestina.

「I took off my golden armor, yet I somehow attracted quite a bit of attention.」

「Swinging that dirty thing around, what do you……or rather, it's standing upright!」

The reason why the guards didn't arrest me was because Brynhildr grabbed my hand and ran off at a tremendous speed.

「E-excuse me……what business do you have in my house――!?」

A shadow emerges from the back.
It makes sense for someone to be living here, a normal residential building, and it's also a natural reaction to scream when a naked person shows up out of nowhere.

Three people appeared.
The female who looks to be a little over thirty years old should be the wife.
Beside her are two daughters, one who is fourteen or fifteen, and the other trembling one is no older than seven.

「Mama, who is this man? Why is he naked?」

「Kyaa! That thing is exposed……pervert! Who are――!!」

「I-it's huge……gulp.」

At this rate, I'll be treated as a pervert.
I want to convince them otherwise, but I don't think they'll listen to a naked man who burst into another person's house.

「Eei, how annoying. Stay in the corner.」

Brynhildr's firm tone immediately caused the bodies of the women to shiver.

「'Kay……staying……still.」

「In the corner……not doing……anything……」

「……doing nothing……it's so big.」

The three of them wobble to the corner of the room, huddle together and become silent.
Their eyes also seem to be unfocused.

「It's a mild suggestion. I can't stand it when people fuss unnecessarily.」

Manipulating a woman's consciousness is not very admirable, but I'll endure it since no real harm has been done and this is kind of an emergency.

Brynhildr reaches down to my crotch without warning and grabs my balls.
If she's trying to caress me, she's lacking some kindness. Honestly, it hurts.

I was hoping for a sweet affair too, instead my dick is going to go limp.

「Don't worry, I am also in the mood……eei, this is a ritual of sorts.」

In saying so, Brynhildr brings her face close to my ear.
I immediately anticipate her to bite my neck to suck my blood or tease me with words.

「Wilhelmina.」

「Uugh!」

My dick twitches when she whispers the particular word.
I nearly blew my load on the spot.

It's like I'm repeating what happened with Monica.
No, Brynhildr wouldn't stop at that. In the worst case, she'd rip off my penis.

「I don't know why that woman has such a magical appeal to you. But as long as you store up seed for her, you are in no condition to fight.」

Mmm, so what are you saying?

「Eei, you blockhead! I'm saying I'll help squeeze out the contents of your needlessly swollen nasty testicles!」

Brynhildr proceeds to toss me onto the bed.

「You better be prepared after neglecting me for so long. I'll wring so much out of you that it'll never get hard again.」

「You're more than welcome to do so.」

I glance at the three females in the corner of the room.

「Until I release my suggestion, they're as good as puppets. Treat them like they aren't there.」

「Standing……in the corner.」

「Not doing anything, not doing anything.」

「So big……covered in veins……want to try putting it inside me……」

I'm concerned, but I'm also aroused.
I think I can cum more than usual.

–Third Person POV–

Meanwhile. Dard Mountain – Mountainside. South Yuguria Army: Special Forces.

「Rocks resembling chicken heads, the tracks of a landslide, and twin peaks with the setting sun in the upper left direction……just like the scouting team informed us. This is definitely the place!」

When the commander shouted, the soldiers collectively let out a sigh of relief and slumped down to the ground.
It had been three days since the troops started climbing the mountain and they were exhausted.

Their march, which was already difficult on the plains, turned into hell when they had to ascend the sloped terrain.
Three soldiers and two workers lost their lives on the way by slipping and stepping into crevices which were hidden under the ashes.

Nevertheless, they persisted.
The number of people questioning the significance of the mission diminished as they progressed further up the mountain.
There was no room for complaints and everyone became a machine to complete the hellish trek.

「If we hurry, we can make it before the sun goes down……everyone, get to work on setting up the gunpowder barrels! The spots are here and here……move it! Chop chop!」

「「「Oh!!」」」

The soldiers hunched over from fatigue spring up and furiously start their work,
They were at their limits physically, but they knew that they could descend the mountain once they finished the job. That thought allowed the soldiers to muster the last of their strength.

These men, although unarmed and equipped like adventurers, are the best of the best.
They installed the barrels at a speed that would make even the Goldonian engineers swoon and fixed the bottom of the barrels in place with ashes or rocks to prevent them from shifting after the explosions.

「Position one is in place!」
「Second one is done too!」
「The footing is a bit poor for the third……but it has been completed!!」

The commander nods and smiles for the first time, but he soon scowls and raises his voice again.

「Alright, they're going to explode. Everyone, step back. It's almost certain a landslide will happen so go around to the sides. Don't go underneath.」

Confirming everybody has evacuated, the magic users step forth.

「Don't get the timing wrong. Fire your most powerful explosion magic at the same time.」
「We carried you on our backs all the way for this very reason.」
「Match your breathing――3, 2, 1――fire!!」

The staves of the 8 magicians glow and giant flames simultaneously fly out.

Each flame has a different shape.
One is like a stream following a jet of oil, one is a gigantic ball of fire and one is surrounded by a bluish circle……regardless of form they were all considered among the best explosion magic in South Yuguria.

Each spell enveloped the barrel of gunpowder and hit the surface of the mountain, then after a brief pause, triggered a violent explosion.

「Incredible!」
「So these are the elite magic users personally picked by Her Majesty……to think they had such power.」

The booms of the explosions drowned out the comments of the soldiers.
With 20 barrels packed with as much gunpowder as a human can carry, and with all of them exploding at nearly the same time, it came as no surprise that the resulting explosions were massive.

The entire field of view dyed red, followed by an ear-shattering roar, and then a shockwave that blew over the soldiers' heads.

「What an explosion! It seems capable of evaporating a 100-man squad!」
「Don't lift your head. It'll be taken off by the unexpected destructive power of the blast!」

As the fire rushes up the face of the mountain, the force blows up ash that creates an artificial cloud.
And then without delay, crushed rocks tumbled down.

The soldiers cover their heads and wait until the induced destruction settles before slowly getting up.

「This might work……」

Carefully, they examine the state of the environment.

An explosion caused by a concentration of powerful magic and over a ton of gunpowder……even a bombardment by the great cannons of the Federation did not possess such might. This unprecedented explosion gouged a deep hole in the side of the mountain and formed a 20 m wide crater.

But that was it.
Some ash on the mountain was blown away, some rocks scattered, and a somewhat large dent was left in the ground.
The mountain remained steadfast and the residual ashes from the blast also eventually floated quietly back down to earth like nothing happened.

There was a moment of silence.

「……mission complete. Everyone, let's go home. After a quick rest, we'll withdraw.」

The commander mutters, a hint of defeat in his voice.

「……I knew this would happen.」
「If you think calmly, there was no way a human could do anything to a mountain.」

The soldiers sit down and sigh, free from blame, as the commander understood their disappointment.
Their efforts and sacrifices were in vain. Feeling discouraged is not exclusive to subordinates.

「Haha, come inside the crater. We can say farewell to the ashes for a bit.」

「All these pointed rocks are gonna hurt my ass. ……although this is the product of our blood and sweat. It'll be too depressing if I don't at least sit down.」

One by one, the soldiers gathered in the cavity, laughing halfheartedly.

Among them, there was one person who spoke up.

「Hey, look over there. A strange hole opened up.」

At the end of the person's finger, there was a hole big enough to fit a single human.

「With all that we did, of course there's going to be one or two holes……wait, it goes pretty deep. I can't see the bottom.」

「Bring a torch over. ……it's no good, I still can't see anything. It's really deep. Someone, try jumping in.」

Normally, this would simply be mocked as trivial, but having lost their purpose, the soldiers got excited.

「I used to work in a mine. We measure the depth of holes like these by doing this――」

The individual picks up a fist-sized rock and tosses it in the hole.

「1, 2, 3, 4……」

He folds his fingers as he watches the rock disappear into the jet-black space.

「11, 12, 13……no way. It's bottomless.」

He stops counting with his fingers and raises his head.

「It should be clear if I do this.」

Another man throws a lit torch in the hole.
Wasting a torch for the sake of entertainment is something that he would usually be reprimanded for, however the demoralized commander couldn't care less.

The men huddled around the hole, watching as the flame danced in midair.

A few seconds later, it hit the bottom and bounced, causing the soldiers to snicker.

「It's not bottomless. It's probably closer to 40 m. Aaah, I could literally see the bottom, how boring.」

「Hahaha, I better check the equipment of the entire army to make sure they're not using the defective steel you dug up.」

「Uu, you're right, I didn't hear a sound――huh? Hey, isn't that weird?」

The self-proclaimed former miner points inside the hole.
Everyone else reluctantly follows where his finger leads, convinced there is nothing left to see.

The light of the torch which should have fallen to the bottom is approaching them at a terrifying speed.

「What the――gue.」

Something pokes into the man's forehead.

「Eh? Gyu? Kakakakkiki.」

It was a tube about the thickness of a woman's arm.

The tube seems to bulge out periodically and it seems to be making a sucking sound as the soldier blabbers incoherently, drool trickles from the corner of his mouth and his eyes gradually roll to the back of his head.

「Hm?」
「What?」
「Nn~ What's wrong?」

Nobody knew what was going on either, so one person grabbed the shoulder of the man making strange noises and turned him around.

That was when they realized the abnormality.

The man was smiling……no, he died with his face stuck that way.

There was no blood or brain matter that should be leaking from the hole in his forehead, instead it was a tunnel devoid of liquid.
That tube had drained the contents of the man's head.

The soldiers didn't have time to shout.

Something big crashes against the hole, forces it wider and bursts out.

It was a giant spider which was at least 2 m long.

「Mon――」

The word could not be completed.
The bottom of the crater where the soldiers were fell out and whoever was sitting on top disappeared into the darkness leaving nothing more than a scream.

Neither the soldiers nor the commander had any way of knowing, but the explosion they risked their lives for had an unmistakable effect.
The areas which were weakened by the eruption were blown up, opening up a direct passage that connects the bottom of the earth with the surface.

Naturally, the others who were resting heard the roar of the collapse.

「What happened!? Is it a rock slide!?」

「Anybody here who slipped!? Anybody breathing!?」

The people who rushed to the scene were greeted by numerous giant spiders that climbed out of the cavity which is now a gaping hole.
Even the smallest arachnid was at least 2 m, while the bigger ones are close to 5 m.

「Monsters!? In a place like this!?」

「Impossible, how could there be monsters here!?」

The soldiers reflexively reach for the weapon on their hips, but they aren't carrying swords or shields that have much weight.
The best they can do is a knife that has a blade length of 20 cm.

「Gyaaaa!! Let me go! Stop iittt!」

「Uwaaa! This thing is- this thing is sucking up my insides! Save me, someoneeee!」

There was no way they could compete with the spider, which was well over 2 m long, wielding such puny daggers.
And so, the soldiers were one-sidedly preyed upon. Those who were lucky lost their footing and died from falling off the mountain.

「Commander, what on earth are they!? What did we do!?」

A soldier yells.

「I don't know! How would I know!? Her Majesty……don't tell me……she knew……」

The cluster of spiders pounced on the shocked commander and panicking soldiers.

「Let my power become fire!」

A flame shoots from the side and envelopes several spiders.
They roll around, screeching in an unpleasant manner unique to insects, and eventually flips on their backs, motionless.

「Oh, magic users can still fight without weapons.」

However, the magic users also had grim expressions.
They expended their energy to cause the earlier explosion and don't have much magic left in reserve.

Only three individuals who had exceptional magical capacities could fight, meaning the other five could do nothing except watch.

The commander of the special forces realized that fact.

「Kuh, there's no time to waste. We have to descend the mountain as quickly as possible. Magic users, keep shooting behind you! Climb down without being afraid of falling! It's better to slip and die than become food for those things!」

The commander runs as he encourages his troops, and the magic users repel the spiders with spells.
Although it appeared like they put up a fierce resistance, everything ended in an instant.

Click, click, click, click.
Everyone turned toward the sound of flint being consecutively struck.

「……O God.」

The commander who gave out appropriate instructions stops running and stares up at the sky.

Crawling out of the mountain was a 20 m long monster.
It had nine heads growing from its long body.

「A hydra.」

The name muttered by one of the soldiers was something that appeared only in legends and fairy tales.

「Nonsense, that's incorrect.」

The commander promptly denies the claim and goes on to explain.

「Isn't a hydra a snake with nine heads? This thing――is a centipede, right?」

Sure enough, the body and head of the monster matched that of a centipede.
Fangs belonging to each of the nine heads gnashed viciously.

The magic users shot spells that surrounded the nine-headed centipede.
Flames erupted and a wave of heat blew through the air.

「……ha, hahaha……ahaha……」

The black carapace was impervious to the blast.

As one of them forced a chuckle, the heads of the centipede stretched out at a speed faster than the eye could see and gobbled up the three magicians.

Without a chance to make a sound, their upper bodies were torn and their lower bodies were tossed high in the sky.
A spider leapt to collect the splattered flesh.

The grating chattering noise increases.

Different centipedes emerge from beside the nine-headed one.
One, two, three――

「It seems that we-」

The commander unsheathes his knife and spreads his legs apart.

Raining ash and steep cliffs did not pose a problem to the monsters.
There was no chance of escape.

「-opened the lid of hell――」

Minutes passed.

Thousands if not tens of thousands of spiders, centipedes, and other bizarre shapes descended the face of the mountain in the darkness of the setting sun.
They did not head in any particular direction, rather they dispersed every which way, following their instincts in search for food.

There was no end to the swarm of creatures.
Monsters were constantly pouring out of the hole in the mountain.

A Few Days Later.

South Yuguria Empire – Temporary Capital: Poron.

「Neither Torandio or the messenger we sent to the city have returned! I also can't get in contact with Migusas or Temiame!」

「No response from the detachment of 3000 that was supposed to meet up from Vandola! A messenger was sent, but the entire area is……overflowing with grotesque monsters.」

Commanders, staff officers, and even low-ranking soldiers and civil servants were running chaotically around the Poron throne Wilhelmina sat on, which was two sizes smaller than the one in Altair.

Wilhelmina merely looks down while the pale-faced Zaphnes barely maintains a straight posture.

Reports of monster attacks came from the towns and villages near the Dard mountains.
In just a few days, the attacks have expanded to the point where they could not be contained.

「A scouting team reported that the Mocha village which fell into Goldonia's hands……was consumed by monsters. Guards and all……were gone in minutes.」

「……that is a strategic point. If Goldonia is no longer present, we should send soldiers to recapture it.」

The staff officer shook his head with a grimace.

「Fool, that's not important! Strategy and tactics aren't important! This is not the time for them!」

The staff officer steps before Wilhelmina.
He's close enough where his spit could reach her and he doesn't bow, but Zaphnes doesn't scold him.

「Your Majesty, this is no time for war. Monsters are scattering in all directions centering on the Dard mountains. According to reports, they are unsightly and incomparably more vicious than orcs, plus there are enough of them to fill the land.」

Wilhelmina nods.

「Over thirty villages have already vanished――the squad of 5000 sent yesterday to subjugate them have yet to return. Not a single soldier!」

The empress nods slowly once more.

「Armies have been devoured……those things are beyond the realm of monsters. They are calamities or the wrath of God……」

「This on top of the deteriorating state of war……did someone enthrall a demon?」

Pallid-looking cabinet ministers exchange whispered conversations.

The staff officer sends them a glare then turns to Wilhelmina.

「Now that it's come to this, we should immediately ceasefire with Goldonia and cooperate with them to deal with this matter.」

Zaphnes silently nods over and over next to her as if trying to encourage Wilhelmina to agree.

「Why?」

The staff officer stared in disbelief.

「Did you just ask why!? Didn't you hear the reports!? Herds of monsters have swallowed cities and citizens! We should not be fighting other humans――」

Wilhelmina holds out her hand to interrupt the officer.
Her head still faced down so the staff officer could only see her mouth.

「Let's assume we made a truce and exterminated the monsters. From there, we would resume the war at square one……would we win?」

The staff officer was at a loss for words.
There was no way to reverse the outcome. Based on his knowledge and experience, the possibility of recovery is zero.

「It would be impossible. But even if we lose the war, there are plans we can use to flee or beg for forgiveness and aim for a comeback. The monsters don't leave anything behind when they eat people――moreover, there are reports of them laying eggs or living in people as parasites among other horrible things.」

Wilhelmina whips her finger out and points it at the staff officer.

「This man lacks the will to fight and is a rebel who desires to see the empire's defeat. Put him to death.」

「Wh!?」

Everyone in the room was stunned. Zaphnes was also taken aback and stared blankly at Wilhelmina.
This was the first time in which she sentenced a subordinate to death in such a manner, at least in public.

「Y-you fool! This is no time for that. I can't believe you would be so stupid――」

Although confused, the guards obeyed Wilhelmina's orders, restraining the staff officer and pushing him to the ground.
Zaphnes waved his hands in an attempt to salvage the discussion, but in the end no words came out.

「This can't be anything other than an opportunity. With such powerful monsters heading north, even Goldonia will be helpless. We can once again turn the tides of battles.」

「Ridiculous. They may be called monsters, but they're mostly insects! They simply eat whatever they lay their eyes on, it's impossible to choose who――」

Wilhelmina gets up from her throne and stands in front of the staff officer.

「It's possible because they're insects. They don't have intelligence. After devouring the prey in front of them, they go search for new prey.」

Zaphnes follows behind her with a concerned expression.

「Allow only the troops around Polpo and the bare minimum of people inside the castle by tomorrow morning. Fires are to be extinguished and no guards are needed. All soldiers and civilians should go to the basement, otherwise, they are to dig a cave and hide there for the night, waiting for the right moment. Those who can't make it in time …… order them to subjugate the monsters. If they run around carelessly, those things will stay longer than necessary.」

Wilhelmina peeks at the staff officer's face.

「Once the monsters finish their meal, they'll return where they came from. If we wait for that and march again, we'll be conquering an uninhabited wasteland.」

「You intend to turn the Central Plains into their feeding grounds……no, there's no guarantee they'll stop there! What's the point of ruling over land that is void of citizens and cities!?」

「Of course, I'd prefer it to remain intact. However, if I'm unable to get what I want, I have to compromise.」

Wilhelmina and the staff officer exchange looks.

「I see, you……you were the one――!」

The guards drag away the staff officer.

Zaphnes softly mutters to Wilhelmina in a sad tone.

「……what if they sniff out our hiding spots? What if they stay in the Central Plains for months after consuming Goldonia? Perhaps……they will travel all over the continent.」

「Then it will be the end. For me, for this country, and this seed called the human race. Everything will be done for.」

Zaphnes, rendered speechless, takes a step back.

「But wouldn't it be the same?」

Wilhelmina lowers herself back on the throne.

「I have only one life, only one chance to live. If that's the case, isn't the destruction of the world the same as the destruction of myself? If I'm just going to perish like this, I'll take another gamble with the world as my chip. If there is even a shred of possibility of victory in hell that is.」

Grinning, the empress takes Zaphnes's sweaty hand.

「Our chances……are as tiny as my fingernail. Now Zaphnes, you approached me poorly once before, no? We have nothing to do but wait now. If you want to embrace me, I will allow you.」

Zaphnes looks up and then shakes his head.

「No thanks, I'll pass……I don't think I can get it up.」

Only Wilhelmina's giggles could be heard in the silent room.

Chapter end