CH 66

It’s Ko-Fi’s Supporters’ chapter (16/60), enjoy~

After arriving at the first shelter, we stayed there for the night and then continued to the second, third, and fourth shelters to reach the former fifth shelter, or rather the point where the temporary fort was located.

More than two weeks had already passed since the explosion of the temporary fort, so we were prepared for anything. We knew that the decomposing corpses would probably be a mess.

“…It’s not as bad as I thought, huh?”

“There’s still a bit of a smell, but… I guess that means the Gizmas took care of it nicely.”

The more you approach this place, the greater the number of Gizma. Probably, they came to devour the corpses of the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom who died in the explosion of the temporary fort. However, considering the fact that they cleaned up the corpses in such a neat manner, I guess they’re good cleaners.

The dead bodies of Gizma that we killed in this area were collected and dismembered, but the meat was discarded.

I don’t feel like eating the meat of a Gizma that has devoured the corpses of the Holy Kingdom’s people, or rather, there are many problems with it. I’ll use the shells and leg tendons as materials, though.

We went a little further from where the temporary fort was set up and built a new temporary fort around where the smell of death was no longer present. Using my blueprinting function, it was only a matter of seconds.

“It’s a nightmare for the enemy.”

“I know.”

Suddenly, a fort appeared within a stone’s throw. In fact, it took less than half a day to walk from the new temporary fort to the nearest bordering fort.

The distance from the fourth shelter was a bit longer, but it could not be helped. We had many battles with Gizma on the way, so by the time we reached this place and set up the fort, the sun had already set.

“T-the number of enemies on the defensive was about 350.”

“Their morale seemed to be low.”

After dinner, Flamme, the light brown Harpy, and Capri, also a light brown Harpy, reported the results of their reconnaissance in the conference room of the temporary fort. Basically, Harpies don’t have much night vision, but Flamme and Capri were unusually night-sighted for Harpies.

Flamme has feathers like animal ears sticking out of her head, so I guess she’s a horned owl. I wondered what kind of Harpy Capri was. Is it a night hawk? She’s an unusual girl who speaks in a pseudo-Kansai dialect.

“After resting, we will set out at dawn. We’ll encircle the enemy fort in the early morning and cut off their message.”

“A morning sortie? That sounds good.”

Ms. Zamir smiles fiercely. No, she might have been trying to put on a big smile, but when she smiles, it looks like a ferocious smile to me because she has a lizard-like face.

“The plan is the same as we talked about before we left. We will surround the fort and make it impossible for them to send a message. Then we’ll bombard it with Harpy aerial bombs and cut down the enemy’s resistance. If they surrender, then good. If they don’t surrender, we’ll wait for night, and Kosuke will dig an underground passage into the fort, send in the soldiers, and conquer it from the inside.”

“It’s simple. There are two entrances to the fort, right?”

“Yes. I’ve confirmed it from the air, so I’m sure. Right? Flamme.”

“Y-yes. There’s one gate on the north side and one on the south side.”

“If we’re going to surround them, we’ll have to split our forces in two.”

“I’ll hold the north side with 100 former kingdom soldiers led by me and 150 crossbowmen, half of the entire crossbow force. I want Her Highness to lead the remaining troops and hold the south side.”

“Do I have to hold the south gate with you, Princess?”

“That’s right. Please.”

“Aiyo.”

“We, the mage corps, will join the blockade of the north side. The south side will be able to defend itself against arrows with Kosuke, but the north side is inadequately defended against arrows with the current formation.”

“That would be a great help.”

The north side will be blocked by 100 elite troops and 150 crossbowmen led by Danan, and ten mage corps led by Isla. The south side will be blocked by 150 crossbowmen led by Sylphy and Ms. Zamir, 100 former adventurer corps led by Shumer, and 15 Harpy air corps and five riflemen under my command.

Isla and the others were said to be able to use wind and earth magic barriers to protect their allies from the enemy’s arrows. Sylphy and I are indeed on the south side, so we can do whatever we want with the enemy’s arrows. If I wanted, I could build a wall higher than the enemy’s fort and beat them to a pulp one way or another. I’m not going to do it, though.

“So, now that we’ve confirmed, let’s break up. Get a good night’s rest in preparation for tomorrow. Is that clear?”

Danan looked at Sylphy, Isla, Harpies, and the others. The reason he doesn’t look at me is because he knows exactly who is in control. I almost burst into tears at Danan’s concern.

“It’s okay.”

“No problem.”

“All right.”

Sylphy grinned, Isla nodded blankly, and Pirna smiled on behalf of the Harpies. Is Danan really okay with this? It seemed that Danan was convinced by their reply, although there was a look of uncertainty on his face. I also hope that their reply will be followed through.

Well, to tell you the truth, I don’t mind it that much. Beautiful women, beautiful girls, they want me, they sneak into my bed at night and… take me into their bed. At first, the ethics I developed in Japan got in the way of many things, but after a week, I got used to it. I’m even enjoying it now, hahaha.

“…..”

Danan gave me a pitiful look. Please don’t give me that look; it affects me…

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a peaceful night since everyone has been behaving themselves. I feel like I’m sleeping in an oversized bed that’s too big to be called a king, though. I’m warm from the body heat of Sylphy and Isla and the feathers of Harpy-sans. Yes.

Then we got up while it was still dark, finished eating, and started marching. Since we couldn’t use fire, the rest of the Liberation Army soldiers seemed to have eaten block cookies and dried meat. We ate hot meals from my inventory, though. At least with Sylphy here, we deserve this kind of treatment, right?

We set out and walked for several hours. We arrived at the fortress on the border of the territory before dawn had even broken.

“It was still early in the morning.”

“It’s not quite dawn yet, but it’s getting light. It’s too late to panic now.”

We’ve already split up from Danan and the other detachment. By this time, Danan and the others should be in a position to blockade the northern gate. On the wall of the fortress on the border of the territory, the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom seem to be moving around busily, and the bell is ringing intermittently. This may be a signal that the enemy is attacking the fort.

“Okay, Kosuke. Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you going to call them to surrender or something?”

“No. It’s useless.”

“I see… let’s get as close as we can with the crossbows.”

“Umu. Advance!”

At Sylphy’s signal, the crossbow corps advanced to a point about 70 meters from the wall. With its relatively strong leaf spring, a Goatsfoot crossbow is sufficient to shoot the enemy on the wall at this distance. In fact, the crossbow soldiers were trained to shoot at targets set up on the city walls at this distance.

“Kosuke.”

“Aiyo.”

Then I set up walls to protect us from the arrows. It seemed that the enemy was not yet ready to intercept, but Ms. Zamir escorted me. Arrows flew at us sporadically, but I didn’t even get a glimpse of them.

After the shielding was set up, the crossbowmen started firing back. Perhaps it was the effect of their training, but the enemy’s damage seemed to be increasing. Although we are not without damage, we seem to have the overwhelming advantage in the firefight.

“Kosuke-san, we will go too.”

“All right. Get ready for battle.”

The legs of the Harpy Air Force were equipped with aerial bombs. The process itself is very simple. The aerial bombs for Harpy have been further improved since then, so that instead of having to tie them, you can simply hook the hooks of the aerial bombs to the harnesses that the Harpies have equipped.

After the Harpies grabs the handle of the air bomb, they can hook the hook on the cord that activates the fuse. That’s all it takes to complete the sortie, so the time it takes for each person to detonate the bomb is sufficient for about ten seconds.

“We’re off, then!”

“Safety first!”

“Yes!”

As Pirna and the others flew away, Sylphy instructed the crossbowmen to prepare for the explosion. It would be foolish to get injured by flying debris or anything else. Until the bombing is over, we must stay completely hidden behind shields and concentrate on defense. Me, Sylphy, Ms. Zamir, and the other civil officers also hide behind the shields I’ve set up.

As I looked up at the sky, I saw the Harpies soaring and dropping aerial bombs.

“They’re coming! Everybody get down!”

At Sylphy’s command, the crossbowmen completely hid behind cover and covered their ears. I told them to keep their mouths open beforehand, but I’m not sure how effective that would be.

A tremendous sound and impact came through. It’s even through the shielding; it was amazing.

After confirming that the explosion had stopped, I peeked out from behind the shielding and found the enemy fort in ruins. The walls had collapsed and were in shambles. The gate was half destroyed as if it had been intensively bombed. I don’t know what’s going on inside, but I’m sure it’s in a terrible state.

“Uh… what should we do about this?”

“Wait… Danan, what’s the situation over there? The enemy’s resistance is gone, and the south gate has been destroyed. It’s easy to get in.”

“We’re in the same situation. Should we move in?”

“Let’s do it. We’re going in in five minutes.”

“Understood.”

As soon as Sylphy finishes communicating with Danan on the golem communicator, Pirna and the other Harpies return.

“You did it! It’s a great achievement!”

“Most of the enemies have been blown away.”

“Praise us, praise us.”

“Oh, yes. Well done.”

While I was dealing with the Harpies, Sylphy and Ms. Zamir instructed the former adventurers to prepare for the raid. Shumer also seems to be very excited with the large gold crusher in her hand. I don’t know how many Holy Kingdom soldiers are left, but I wonder if those guys will get raided after being hit hard by the bombing… It’s pitiful.

”Then we’re going in! Follow me!”

“Oooh!”

Sylphy took the lead and charged into the enemy fort. There is nothing to stop them, as the attack from the top of the defensive wall has already stopped. Perhaps Sylphy used some kind of magic, and the half-destroyed gates of the fort were blown inward with a flash of light and a bursting sound. What a scary thing.

And for a while, I kept hearing the sounds of battle, or rather, the angry voices of the raiding troops inside the fort. It was only for fifteen minutes or so, but it was a while.

Then, with a battle cry of “Waaah!” A new flag was raised above the half-destroyed castle gate. It was the flag of the former Merinard Kingdom.

“It seems that our control is complete.”

“It seems so. It’s a bit disheartening.”

The only thing I did was set up a shield and take Harpy’s aerial bombs out of my inventory. Of course, I helped with the bombing, but Melty and the other civil servants helped too.

“Even so, I have to repair that wrecked thing…”

The battered walls and the gates of the fortress, which were already in a ridiculous state after Sylphy’s crushing blow, were rather depressing to behold. It even feels like it would be easier to clear the land and rebuild it with the blueprint function.

“Please do your best. I’m rooting for you.”

“Hey…?”

I replied absent-mindedly and was about to walk towards the fort when Melty grabbed my arm. I tilted my head and wondered what was going on, but she leaned in close to me and whispered softly in my ear.

“I’ll give you a reward if you want, Kosuke-san?”

“Hyiee.”

She whispered in a seductive voice, and I shuddered.

“Block!”

“No, Kosuke-han, you can’t. Do you want to see the princess get mad at you?”

However, Pessar and Capri, the light brown-feathered Harpy, intervened between Melty and me. It’s a nice cut.

“Kosuke-san will have something to do inside, so please leave this to us.”

“O-okay.”

I decided to obey Pirna’s words and head into the fort. There’s a lot of sound of chirping and ufufufufu in the back. I feel like I heard something behind me, but I’m sure it was just my imagination. I ran towards the fort without looking back.

“Whoaaaaa!”

“Kosuke, it’s perfect.”

“No, this scene must be hard for the unaccustomed person…”

The scene inside the fort was kind of awful. Bloodstains with no physical damage to the body are pretty good, but there are also pieces of flesh and body parts that I can’t understand. It’s bad. It’s so bad that my vocabulary is rapidly deteriorating. This shows how much consideration is given to the player when it comes to gore in games. And the smell. The smell is awful.

“It’s mostly because of the bombs.”

“Surely, this wouldn’t happen with a normal weapon. It could be with magic, though.”

“Anyway, we can’t even use the fort in this state. Let’s get rid of it as soon as possible.”

With Danan’s order, former soldiers of the Merinard Kingdom and former adventurers cleaned up the Holy Kingdom soldiers’ corpses around the fort. They seem to be gathering them in one place and burning them.

Sylphy has been rubbing my back for a while now. Thank you, Sylphy.

“Oh, how do you burn the bodies you’ve collected?”

“Burn them with magic. Then bury them in ashes.”

Normally, they would try to identify the bodies as much as possible and at least keep the hair, but this time, many of them had been blown up by aerial bombs, so they couldn’t do that.

“What about the prisoners?”

“About twenty. Some were fortunate enough to be unharmed or lightly wounded, some were unconscious, and a few surrendered when the battle turned into a melee. Most of those who survived the raid and moved around chose to resist and were killed. From the perspective of the devoted Adel worshippers, surrendering to a subhuman is unthinkable and disgraceful.”

“Seriously? Religion’s terrible.”

“Indeed.”

But still, when it was all over, it was really quite disheartening. I think Harpy’s aerial bombardment was too much of a punishment. It seems that there was hardly any battle at all. It is said that there were less than fifty men who could fight properly when they entered the fort.

“Kosuke, please repair the fort.”

“The enemy may still be lurking, so I’ll be your escort.”

Ms. Zamir stood beside me, carrying a shining mithril cross spear. I’ve heard that she happily reamed out the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom army. Rather, more than ten of the fifty enemy soldiers disappeared in the presence of the mithril cross spear Meteor.

“It’s a magnificent spear. It was wonderfully sharp.”

Perhaps she noticed that I was looking at her Meteor; Ms. Zamir smiled at me. It scares me.

In this way, we had taken a solid step toward the recapture of the Merinard Kingdom.