Chapter 457
(Kyle Calendar Year
516: Age 23)
A Disturbing Honeymoon
⑤ What the Expedition Brought
As Shannon's urgent voice echoed, realizing the situation
required me to play one of my trump cards early on, I clicked my tongue in my
heart. This was more of an all-out attack than a third wave.
「Everyone, prepare throwing grenades! On my signal, throw them into the
thicket spreading on the right! Wind Mages, take your positions!」
These throwing grenades had been useful at the Big Bridge before; they
were hand-thrown suppression grenades. Capsaicin, the ingredient of the
suppression grenade, has varying effects depending on the monster; it has a
dramatic effect on mammalian and reptilian monsters, but not much on avian
ones. However... it can cause massive damage to the eyes and mucous membranes,
so that was enough for now.
「Throwing grenades, launch! After throwing, turn to the left and
commence free firing! Wind Mages, maintain an upwind position against
the right at all times! Respond to the rocky area on the left by laying a
defensive membrane! The remaining Mages can fire blindly, just shoot,
shoot, and keep shooting!」
At my command, the soldiers of the Demon Territory Knights threw
the fist-sized throwing suppression grenades hanging at their waists all at
once, then turned around, this time readying their Estol Bows toward the rocky
area on the left and began loosing arrows. Meanwhile, the thrown grenades sent
up red smoke in various places, which began to be diffused by the Wind Mages
toward the other side of the thicket, and the agonizing death cries raised by
unseen monsters from various spots started echoing around. Aiming there, each Mage
began to unleash attack magic one after another.
「We'll handle the monsters breaking through the thicket! Yoltia,
hold them back; Carla and Sigur, handle the monsters that slip
through! Don't let them reach the soldiers fighting in the back!」
Damn it, being pincered from the left and right made us insanely busy,
and I had no choice but to leave things other than rough instructions to the
accustomed soldiers' responses. At that moment...
「Explosive flames are rising from the direction of the rear guard as
well! Along with the sound of a bell from the very back!」
Hey, hey, they're attacking the rear line at the same time? This was no
longer just a wave attack. It was as if we had been lured into a defile where a
defense in depth was laid out, falling into a state of undergoing an
encirclement and annihilation battle.
「Damn it, monsters are capable of doing this?」
Here, I even felt the illusion that I was facing humans who knew
military strategy. Moreover, they chose terrain advantageous to themselves to
attack, and hadn't attacked at all from the front where visibility was open.
「Takuhir-sama,
please!」
Yeah, Yoltia, I know. Now that the rear was being attacked, we
were also at our limits. Not to mention, the most elite Demon Territory
Knights were deployed mainly in the vanguard.
「Form a circular formation and put the injured in the center! Retreat
while fighting! Yoltia and I will take the very rear!」
「Fufufu, we shall also take the rearguard.」
「I will accompany you.」
As soon as they said that, King Krugel and Princess Consort Clarisse
took the rear along with me. While sweeping away the monsters attacking like
wolves pursuing their prey... Among them were several huge, red tiger-like
monsters, but we hunted them relentlessly when they were immobilized by Yoltia's
gravity magic. And... we finally made it back to the defense base, but that too
was under monster attack. It goes without saying that we endlessly repeated
offensive and defensive battles there for another half day.
Around the time the sun began to sink, the monsters' wave attacks
finally settled down, and we quickly withdrew from the Demon Territory,
but it goes without saying that everyone was completely exhausted. With a few
exceptions...
「In the end... we didn't encounter a Fire Dragon.」
Hey, tomboy! That's not something you should say sounding disappointed!
If the Fire Dragon, which was said to rarely appear, had shown up there, there
definitely would have been casualties!
「Hmu, we did suffer some injured, but with this, the southeastern
frontier of our country can live without fearing monsters for the time being. I
would like to express my gratitude anew to everyone from each country.」
Certainly, the number of those monsters wasn't normal. With that many
around, they could overflow at any time, and it wouldn't be strange if a
stampede occurred. No... receiving attacks from all directions like that, it
was exactly in a stampede state, though.
「So the farming villages all across the southern part of the
Principality are surrounded by defensive walls just like the Demon Territory
Dukedom? The Empire (We), who were in a position of merely envying
the existence of a Demon Territory, have newly realized the fear of the
territory residents living nearby. From now on, we must also slightly change
our thinking regarding the response in development areas...」
I suppose so. Because in the Demon Territory on the outskirts of
Salaam, there was a mood of easy victory. It was probably a good
opportunity for them to know the true terror. For that reason as well, the
newly established experimental site must be firmly surrounded by a defensive
wall, and a system to guarantee the safety of the surrounding regions must be
built. I'll be making sure we receive the budget for that, you know? However,
I'd like to be excused from ever going to this Demon Territory again.
That's my honest feeling. In a place like this, no matter how many lives you
have, it wouldn't be enough, and if we had advanced any deeper than that, there
definitely would have been casualties.
「Besides... with this incident, I too have learned for the first time a
fraction of the terror Glorious once experienced.」
That's probably true. Other than the final defense base, there was
absolutely no leeway to collect materials, yet the number of monsters we were
able to collect easily exceeded five hundred. This is a number on the same
scale as the 『Night of Nightmares』, where the Imperial army once suffered thousands of casualties and
took a devastating blow, you know?
「But once again, I was surprised by the power of the Holy Mages.
Even though we were once the enemy army, many of our people had their lives
saved, but it's not like we were watching it right in front of our eyes...」
Right. Although there were no fatalities this time, that was only
because there was no one who died instantly. Dozens suffered near-fatal severe
injuries, but they merely had their lives saved by the active efforts of Marianne
and the others. Including them, the number of injured who became unable to
continue combat was close to a hundred. If you include those who, like the old
me, got beaten black and blue and were revived with holy magic, nearly thirty
percent of the entire force was injured.
「By the way, regarding the monsters collected in this expedition, the Empire
would like to transfer the majority of the rights to the Demon Territory
Dukedom, with some exceptions. To begin with, this monster subjugation was
to collect the materials used for the weapons we ordered.」
It's true that we received an order for ten thousand units of the
latest reinforced crossbows from the Empire. However, if the most
expensive parts (monster materials) were transferred to us, we'll have to
discount the delivery price accordingly, right?
「It is the same for me. I participated hoping to cooperate even a little
in acquiring the necessary materials for the crossbows we ordered. Also, I
believe this has been a wonderful experience for the soldiers.」
Eh? Did King Crajyu participate with such thoughts? I completely
thought he was inspired by his muscle-brained companions... I just pray it
doesn't become a trauma as a 『terrifying experience』 for the soldiers. We received an order of five thousand units from
them too... should I treat them the same as the Empire?
「In addition, regarding the ballistae we brought, we would like to
present half to the Fearalt Principality as a wedding celebration gift,
and half to the Griffonia Empire as a sample for future orders. Would
you be willing to accept them?」
Ooh, this is an unexpected present. In fact, those ballistae were very
active in base defense. I think deploying them on the front lines to protect
the territory residents from the Demon Territory is also a good idea.
「This is a joyous story. I was just thinking that our country would like
to place an order next once the deliveries to the Empire are finished.
With those, even non-Mages can be expected to perform actively
surpassing Mages. First, I would like to deploy them to the defense
facilities near the Demon Territory and the Royal Guard Division.」
「Hahaha, for the Empire as well, this is something we could only
wish for. Promptly, I think we will deploy them to the national border zone
that came up as a pending issue yesterday.」
「By the way, our country is in the position of having received
assistance from friends of each country in cleaning up the Demon Territory.
Similarly, we will yield all the materials to Takuhir-dono. This
time, we are bringing them back as they are because there is no time to process
them, but as part of our gratitude, we will process them entirely into
materials in Feari and then send them to you.」
No, is everyone really okay with this? Just the number alone is
considerable, you know? It's a rough estimate, but...
·
Red Tigers: Around 10 to 20
·
Cassowaries: Over 100
·
Fire Lizards: Over 100
·
Fire Foxes: Over 200
·
Others: Close to 100
Is it really okay to receive most of those?
「Umm... it's a very happy story with your lavish generosity, but is it
really okay? These are expensive materials that are rarely obtainable even in
the Demon Territory Dukedom or the Kyle Kingdom, you know? Of
course, I intend to deduct the cost of the materials from the delivery price of
the crossbows...」
「The Empire has absolutely no problem. We were taken care of in
various ways by you as the organizer this time, and you are also the leading
actor of the alliance.」
No, that's wrong! For some reason, I just ended up in a situation where
I was forced to act as the organizer as a result. Because everyone is way too
much of a free spirit.
「The Principality has no problem either. To begin with, my friend is the
greatest contributor who guided our marriage. I couldn't thank you enough.」
No... rather than guiding, it's just that it ended up that way as a
result, there's that too. It was precisely because we were able to achieve
victory on the southern front faster than expected that we could rush to the
western front. As a result, the western front was also settled, and we could
move to subjugate the Principality's rebel army. In that sense, the leading
actor of the marriage of the two would be Sieghart, who led the alliance
with the then Third Prince, wouldn't it? Everything started from there.
「We hope to be able to return the favor even a little to the Demon
Territory Dukedom and Archduke-heika, to whom we owe a great
debt of gratitude. It is a trifling matter, but I believe this is also a part
of it...」
Even if you say that, the recapture of the three countries was, in
fact, entirely for our own convenience. There was the matter of the Apostles of
Darkness, and border stability was a major reason at first. As a result, we
received cessions of vast territories from the former three countries, so it's
not a story to be called a favor.
「Then we shall gratefully accept. In return, we will handle the
development of the border city. Also, I will return the signing documents
entrusted to me to everyone with the Kyle Kingdom added.」
「Fufufu, it went by in a flash. First, we will return to Griffin
and then back to the Imperial Capital, but we are looking forward to our next
reunion.」
「Ah, the more fun the time is, the faster it goes. When the border city
is completed, let us gather with our friends once again and exchange cups
together!」
「Gratitude for the invaluable experience and your kindness! I will rush
over anytime.」
Geh, somehow... it feels like the next gathering is already being
decided...
「「「We'll be counting on you again next time, Organizer(-dono).」」」
Who's the organizer! Since when did I become a chaperone or an
organizer? Damn it, is there no way to change this flow anymore?
「Understood. I am looking forward to it too, but from now on, there will
be no unreasonable demands like this time, alright?」
However, I feel like there won't be many events with such a legitimate
reason for the heads of state of each country to assemble like this in the
future... Isn't a celebration for the completion of a border city a bit too
light? While answering with a smile, I was grandly holding my head in my hands
inwardly. However, even while we were away from the country, the world, which
had formed a new framework, was accelerating a flow that exceeded expectations.
As a result, our reunion was also the same...
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