CH 19

“Eryu-san, report from the 1st Marine Division on the front lines, It said ‘The advance is going extremely well, and our forces have captured 90% of the enemy base.'”

“Yeah, it’s perfect. Please send my compliments to the Division Commander on the front line.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

The Conference Room on the Führer’s ship Fugaku. Inside the impromptu command center, I receive reports from Ayame-san.

Everything is going extremely well, as planned.

As for our Yamato Empire’s first battle, I would say “It’s not something you can call a battle”.

Well, there is no such thing as an enemy force on this rural island, so it is only natural.

Even if they tried to resist us, we are only dealing with militia who have nothing more than hunting bows and spears.

Against such an opponent, an army equipped with bolt-action rifles and machine guns assisted by artillery support attacked them… You can’t call that a battle anymore.

Under my orders, the Marines who landed eliminated the minute resistance of the enemy militia and took control of most of Ieneko Island.

The damage on our side was almost zero, and we destroyed more than 4,000 enemy militiamen.

It’s an impressive achievement, but… What about the 4,000 enemy militias?

The population of this island is about 10,000, which means that about half of them have become militia and are resisting.

Since it is a war against a different race, I expected there to be strong resistance… It is hard to imagine what the future holds.

That said, the capture of this island is almost complete.

All that remains is the walled port town of Ie Catvania on the northern shore.

Right now, that town seems to be overflowing with Beastkins from all over the island fleeing from our attacks.

“Ayame-san, how is the Navy faring?”

“The 1st Fleet, with the battleship Fuji as flagship, has already deployed to the coast of Ie Catvania. The 2nd fleet is expected to arrive shortly… We are ready to strike at any time.”

“What about the Army?”

“The 1st Marine Division has Ie Catvania completely surrounded and has established an artillery position on a nearby hill, ready to attack.”

“Perfect, isn’t it? Now, demand that the Beastkins to surrender. There is no need for needless killing.”

Ayame-san replies, “Ya,” and relays my orders to a nearby radio operator dressed in a maid’s uniform.

The enemy has fled to the city, which is surrounded by our forces from land and sea, and more battleships and army divisional artillery are ready to attack.

It’s all over now.

If the enemy does not surrender, we will checkmate them with our artillery fire, and if they surrender, we won’t have to kill them.

Alright, the first battle is going to be ended pretty easily.

……So, Ayame-san, why are you making such a serious face?　

It looks like she received a new report from a radio operator… There should be no enemy forces on this island that we would have a hard time with.

“Eryu-san, I have a new report from the front line unit. It seems that we have run into some extremely difficult political situations… I want you to come to the front with the Saint.”

“You want me to go?”

Well, how can you summon me, who is the top of the country even if I’m rotten to the front line?

Has the situation become that serious? Well, that’s fine.

“Yeah, it seems that safety is already assured…”

“I understand, how about the Imperial Guard?”

“Armored Battalion, Motorized Infantry Battalion, both units are on standby.”

Well, let’s depart then.

The equipment of the Imperial Guard this time is ridiculously heavy isn’t it. Although the same as ever, the outfit is still a maid’s uniform…

Motorized Infantry and Armored Battalion equipped with more than 50 tanks.

All we need now is some artillery and we’ll have a Kampfgruppe― ‘Combat Groups’.

I’d say that’s too much for a one-man escort, but rather, use this troop to hit them with it! It’s a very high-level unit.

Hey, don’t you think so, my Adjutant and Chief of Imperial Guard, Ayame-san.

Ah, you don’t think so, I see. Ayame-san doesn’t have it does she, common sense.

So we set out with Ayame-san and Saint Roshana-san in tow.

From Fugaku, we boarded a launch boat and landed on Ieneko Island. After landing first and joining the standby Imperial Guard Combat Group, they hurried to the frontline city of Ie Catvania.

Surrounded by tanks, the march begins…The sound of the engine and the track is annoying.

By the way, this time we are traveling by car, not by a tank.

It is a slightly expensive-looking convertible for commanders that you often see in old war movies.

Before I became an Eryutheia, I was a proud boy too, so I have a romantic yearning to ride in a tank…

I brought Roshana-san with me this time, so I can’t ride the tank.

My previous tank is a Type 3 light tank― was a three-seater. One of them is for the driver, so this is fixed by Captain Nishi, my personal driver.

Neither Ayame-san nor I can operate a tank.

By the way, Captain Nishi is a cute girl with a ponytail. Her hobby is horseback riding… I wonder if the name of the horse she is riding is Uranus?

Well, let’s put it aside.

The driver is fixed, and if I and Ayame-san sit in the remaining seats for the machine gunner and tank commander, there will be no room left.

And it’s a light tank, so it’s cramped.

So that’s why we are riding a car.

Captain Nishi is driving, the Saint is in the passenger seat, and Ayame-san and I are in the back seat.

Speaking of cars, I recently came up with a great idea.

That is…If I hold hands with Ayame-san when we get in the car together. That way, she can’t stroke my thighs like she has been doing for some time.

If we hold hands, Ayame-san seems somewhat satisfied, it is killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

After an hour of marching, we arrived at the top of a hill near the front line. I would say it is only a few kilometers from the city of Ie Catvania.

It looks like a Regimental Headquarters is being built here.

After a quick “thank you for all your hard work” greeting to the troubled-looking Regimental Commander, I get out of the car and check the front line with binoculars.

Umm, what is this situation?

It doesn’t look very clear because of the distance to the front…

It’s like looking down from the top of a hill, but… First of all, there’s a large Cat-Beastkin in front of the city’s main gate.

That Cat-Beastkin is screaming something while holding a knife to the neck of a naked girl.

I’m too far away to hear what he is saying, though.

I mean, is it my imagination, or does that girl look like she has cat ears…

“Sir, according to reports from the soldiers on the front line, the beastkins have taken some hostages and are holed up in the city…”

“Hostages, you say?”

“According to the Beastkins, they are Half-human. Soldiers on the front lines have also reported that they certainly look like Humans.”

I receive a brief report from the Regimental Commander. A hostage is it… The Beastkin, they sure do something troublesome.

Now, what should we do. What is a Half-human, anyway?

Let’s ask Roshana-san, who seems to know the most about this world… Or rather, this is why we brought Roshana-san with us.

“Roshana-san, do you know what kind of creature a Half-human is?”

“Half-human…? Wouldn’t that be the Half-beastkin? They are extinct in my country, but there was once a race of people called Half-beastkin who possessed both Human and Beastkin characteristics.”

“I see, so they’re Half-beastkin. Are they on our side of human?”

“No, they are basically treated as Beastkin, instead of human beings…”

Hmmー

They were treated as Beastkin, is that right?

Our Yamato Empire is a nation of Humans, and we are hostile to Beastkins. It’s rather questionable for a creature that is treated like a Beastkin to have any value as a hostage…

I guess this is like, they were afraid of losing the war and took a nearby human-looking guy hostage out of desperation, right?

“…Just out of curiosity, did they respond to the call for surrender?”

“Not at all, sir. They seem determined to fight to the last man standing.”

I see… That’s unfortunate.

It’s really a shame.

“What should we do, Eryu-san? I don’t think there is any reason for our army to stop the attack…”

I suppose it is.

Because I don’t know anything about Half-beastkins. Who are they?

While it would be pitiful to leave them to die, we too have the lives of 120 million citizens at stake.

It is a cruel decision, but I will attack them mercilessly.

……Nevertheless, it would be too pitiful to do nothing at all.

Even looking through binoculars from a distance, it is obvious that the girl being held hostage was battered and badly treated.

It would be a pity to blow up the Beastkin as it is.

“Transmitted to the Imperial Army and Navy, to fire a simultaneous artillery bombardment upon Ie Catvania at 1200. Show them a relentless barrage of fire.”

“An intense burst of fire, Eryu-san?”

“Yes, an intense burst fire. As long as it does not hit the hostage, it does not matter where it hits the rest. Strike the maximum firepower possible in the shortest amount of time.”

There is no change in our intention to attack.

I’ll give it some thought though.

The way for hostages to survive.