Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 38.5
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 57.5
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 87.5
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 108.5
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 139.5
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 163.5
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 215.5
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
Chapter 244
Chapter 245
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
Chapter 252
Chapter 253
Chapter 254
Chapter 255
Chapter 256
Chapter 256.5
Chapter 257
Chapter 258
Chapter 259
Chapter 260
Chapter 261
Chapter 262
Chapter 263
Chapter 264
Chapter 265
Chapter 266
Chapter 267
Chapter 268
Chapter 269
Chapter 270
Chapter 271
Chapter 272
Chapter 273
Chapter 274
Chapter 275
Chapter 276
Chapter 277
Chapter 278
Chapter 279
Chapter 280
Chapter 281
Chapter 282
Chapter 283
Chapter 284
Chapter 285
Chapter 286
Chapter 287
Chapter 288
Chapter 289
Chapter 290
Chapter 291
Chapter 292
Chapter 293
Chapter 294
Chapter 295
Chapter 296
Chapter 297
Chapter 298
Chapter 299
Chapter 300
Chapter 301
Chapter 302
Chapter 303
Chapter 304
Chapter 305
Chapter 306
Chapter 307
Chapter 308
Chapter 309
Chapter 310
Chapter 311
Chapter 312
Chapter 313
Chapter 314
Chapter 314.5
Chapter 315
Chapter 316
Chapter 317
Chapter 318
Chapter 319
Chapter 320
Chapter 321
Chapter 322
Chapter 323
Chapter 324
Chapter 325
Chapter 326
Chapter 327
Chapter 328
Chapter 329
Chapter 330
Chapter 331
Chapter 332
Chapter 333
Chapter 334
Chapter 335
Chapter 336
Chapter 337
Chapter 338
Chapter 339
Chapter 340
Chapter 341
Chapter 342
Chapter 343
Chapter 344
Chapter 345
Chapter 346
Chapter 347
Chapter 348
Chapter 349
Chapter 350
Chapter 351
Chapter 352
Chapter 353
Chapter 354
Chapter 355
Chapter 356
Chapter 357
Chapter 358
Chapter 359
Chapter 360
Chapter 361
Chapter 362
Chapter 363
Chapter 364
Chapter 365
Chapter 366
Chapter 367
Chapter 368
Chapter 369
Chapter 370
Chapter 371
Chapter 372
Chapter 373
Chapter 374
Chapter 375
Chapter 376
Chapter 377
Chapter 378
Chapter 379
Chapter 380
Chapter 381
Chapter 382
Chapter 383
Chapter 384
Chapter 385
Chapter 386
Chapter 387
Chapter 388
Chapter 389
Chapter 390
Chapter 391
Chapter 392
Chapter 393
Chapter 394
Chapter 395
Chapter 396
Chapter 397
Chapter 398
Chapter 399
Chapter 400
Chapter 401
Chapter 402
Chapter 403
Chapter 404
Chapter 405
Chapter 406
Chapter 407
Chapter 408
Chapter 409
Chapter 410
Chapter 411
Chapter 412
Chapter 413
Chapter 414
Chapter 415
Chapter 416
Chapter 417
Chapter 418
Chapter 419
Chapter 420
Chapter 421
Chapter 422
Chapter 423
Chapter 424
Chapter 425
Chapter 426
Chapter 427
Chapter 428
Chapter 429
Chapter 430 Part1
Chapter 430 Part2
Chapter 431
Chapter 432
Chapter 433
Chapter 434
Chapter 435
Chapter 436
Chapter 437
Chapter 438
Chapter 439
Chapter 440
Chapter 441
Chapter 442
Chapter 443
Chapter 444
Chapter 445
Chapter 446
Chapter 447
Chapter 448
Chapter 449
Chapter 450
Chapter 451
Chapter 452
Chapter 453
Chapter 454
Chapter 455
Chapter 456
Chapter 457
Chapter 458
Chapter 459
Chapter 460
Chapter 461
Chapter 462
Chapter 463
Chapter 464
Chapter 465
Chapter 466
Chapter 467
Chapter 468
Chapter 469
Chapter 470
Chapter 471
Chapter 472
Chapter 473
Chapter 474
Chapter 475
Chapter 476
Chapter 477
Chapter 478
Chapter 479
Chapter 480: Alteria Decisive Battle: Defeat The Famed General
Chapter 481
Chapter 482: Loveless Embrace
Chapter 483: Distressed Queen
Chapter 484: Those Who Are Squeezed Dry
Chapter 485: A Short Break
Chapter 486: The Banquet Continues
Chapter 487: Celestina’S Tears
Chapter 488: Unreasonable Demand
Chapter 489: Golden Sortie
Chapter 490: Unconditional Love And Respec
Chapter 491: Unclean Passage
Chapter 492
Chapter 493
Chapter 494
Chapter 495
Chapter 496
Chapter 497
Chapter 498
Chapter 499
Chapter 500
Chapter 501
Chapter 502
Chapter 503
Chapter 504: Mortal Combat In The Rain
Chapter 505: Nine Fortresses
Chapter 506: Grand Assembly
Chapter 507: Find The Hell
Chapter 508
Chapter 509
Chapter 510
Chapter 511
Chapter 512
Chapter 513
Chapter 514
Chapter 515: The Place Where It Ends
Chapter 516: My Name Is Wilhelmina
Chapter 517: I Am A Thinking 〇
Chapter 518: Unconventional Means
Chapter 519: An Elf Development Plan
Chapter 520: Fair Trade And Zwei Mothers
Chapter 521: Postwar Road
Chapter 522: Boring Domestic Affairs
Chapter 523: Three Individuals, Three Desires
Chapter 524: Wild Evening Party
Chapter 525: False Debauchery
Chapter 526: Slapstick Side Story 1 Pipi
Chapter 526-2: Slapstick Side Story 2 Pirate
Chapter 526-3: Slapstick Side Story 3 What About The Dual Crater?
Chapter 526-4: Slapstick Side Story 4 Strange Ecology
Chapter 526-5: Slapstick Side Story 5 Pregnant Party
Chapter 526-6: Slapstick Side Story 6 Merchants
Chapter 526-7: Slapstick Side Story 7 Non-Humans
Chapter 527: Should Overturn The Board
Chapter 528: Should Overturn The Board Ii
Chapter 529: A Landmine Larger Than You Can Imagine
Chapter 530: Think Of One’S Sister
Chapter 531: Worthless Trouble
Chapter 532: Disarm The Second Landmine
Chapter 533: The Two Who Me
Chapter 534: I Love My Sister
Chapter 535: A Resourceful General’S Misconduc
Chapter 536: Justice Power
Chapter 537: A Competent Worker
Chapter 538
Chapter 539
Chapter 540
Chapter 541
Chapter 542
Chapter 543
Chapter 544
Chapter 545
Chapter 546
Chapter 547
Chapter 548
Chapter 549
Chapter 550
Chapter 551
Chapter 552
Chapter 553
Chapter 554
Chapter 555
Chapter 555.2
Chapter 556
Chapter 557
Chapter 558
Chapter 559
Chapter 560.1
Chapter 560.2
Chapter 560.3
Chapter 561
Chapter 562
Chapter 563
Chapter 564
Chapter 565.1
Chapter 565.2
Chapter 565.3
Chapter 565.4
Chapter 566.1
Chapter 566.2
Chapter 566.3
Chapter 566.4
Chapter 566.5
Chapter 567
Chapter 568.1
Chapter 568.2
Chapter 569
Chapter 569.2
Chapter 569.3
Chapter 569.4
Chapter 569.5
Chapter 569.6
Chapter 570.1
Chapter 570.2
Chapter 570.3
Chapter 570.4
Chapter 570.5
Chapter 570.6
Chapter 570.7
Chapter 570.8
Chapter 570.9
Chapter 571
Chapter 572
Chapter 573
Chapter 574
Chapter 575
Chapter 576
Chapter 576.2
Chapter 577
Chapter 578
Chapter 579
Chapter 580
Chapter Ss1: Special Chapter: Pumpkin Festival
Chapter Ss2: Special Commemorative Story 2
Chapter Ss3
Chapter Ss1: Special : Pumpkin Festival
Categories Genre: Action, Adult, Adventure, All, Fantasy, Harem, Ongoing, Seinen Status: Ongoing Alternative names: Road of the Kingdom, Road to Kingdom, 王国へ続く道, ______
Total Chapters in book: 624
Estimated words: 3278060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 16390(@200wpm)___ 13112(@250wpm)___ 10927(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 3278060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 16390(@200wpm)___ 13112(@250wpm)___ 10927(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 624 Page No. 623 Page No. 622 Page No. 621 Page No. 620 Page No. 619 Page No. 618 Page No. 617 Page No. 616 Page No. 615 Page No. 614 Chapter 428
Translator: Nat
–Aegir POV–
The right-leaning Aless of Aless sails at a snail's pace.
Fires were barely snuffed in time and smoke can still clearly be seen rising from the gun deck.
「Slowly now. Anybody who rows with power will be thrown in the river.」
I give a warning to the Aless soldiers controlling the oars.
The hole opened in the side of the ship by gunpowder-induced explosions was large enough that temporary repairs could not block it completely, allowing water to continue flowing in.
If we mindlessly row the oars, the flooding would increase or worse, the ship would sink.
「Muuu…… how can a man's ship crowned with the name of Aless be this weak? Can the water not be scooped out faster?」
「What if all of us drinks it up? I can finish one barrel's worth.」
「How about trusting the manly ship and letting us row once with all our strength?」
I throw the last guy overboard, but he somehow grabs onto a rope and hangs on.
「We won’t last much longer. Can we do it?」
I pull up the soldier I threw and kick him back to his station before questioning Sekrit.
「Wait a little more. The flagship is fussing about waiting for the slowpokes.」
All of us were chased deep into the cove.
After the enemy sealed the entrance, they advanced slowly while burying the seriously damaged ships lagging behind.
We're truly in a desperate situation.
「I guess this is good enough…… hard to port, full speed ahead!」
「Finally!」
「Nuooooh!!」
The ship, which avoided turning because of the flooding, steered all the way to the left and accelerated.
「Stop the drainage of water. All personnel, come up onto the deck.」
We separate from the other ships and head in a different direction.
「Even though I know what's going on, it doesn't feel good.」
With the crew stopping the expulsion of water and the increase in speed, the sinking gets worse.
At this point, sinking is inevitable. I might as well start doing warm-up exercises to prepare myself to swim.
「A little to port…… now starboard, a little…… arrgh, that's wrong! Turn to the left, then a little to the right! That's too much, now left!」
Sekrit is standing at the bow instead of the bridge, shouting detailed instructions.
Somehow, the Aless soldiers answer her demands.
The ship moves toward a point near the center of the cove.
Our allies have run to the edge of the coast so there are only enemies in front.
It might appear to be a desperate charge from an outsider's perspective.
Enemy cannons fire at us, but Sekrit only peeks over the bow, focused solely on the water.
After a certain point, she lifts her head and clings to the sub-mast.
「All hands, brace for impact!」
The Aless soldiers react quickly and crowd around.
From the start, the man-chair was already bound with chains, while Lott grabs onto me.
「Au……it feels like it'll go in through the underwear.」
Don't say that. You'll make me hard.
An intense shaking assaults the Aless of Aless.
The deep rumbling can be felt in the pit of my stomach and the vibrations couldn't compare to the likes of cannons discharging.
We were not being bombarded. It wasn't an induced explosion either.
「Guooooooooh!」
Groans can be heard from all over and the ship's loses speed instantly.
The sudden stop flings everything from the back of the ship towards the bow.
Barrels, crates and stray cannonballs collide with each other and break things that they come in contact with.
Deck cannons which were not secured properly also get lifted off the deck, nails and all.
Aless of Aless runs aground on the sandbar in the central part of the cove.
「It is a disgrace for a captain's ship to be grounded and I never expected to order it.」
Sekrit comments with a composed expression, her claws digging into the sub-mast.
「But this is――」
I adjust my hold on Lott, who was about to slip under my arm and fly away, and use my foot to stop a rolling Aless soldier.
If something gets stuck in the wheel of a carriage, there would be a pretty big crash and the entire thing would be stopped in an instant.
For a large battleship that had built up momentum, it isn't easy to stop.
A low rumbling sound is made from the hull of the Aless of Aless grinding along the river bottom, the ship still moving.
「Couldn't you have lowered the speed even more!?」
I yell at Sekrit with Lott in one arm and my foot pushing against the Aless soldier's body.
「Not enough speed would mean only the front of the ship getting on land, which would cause the ship to flip over. On the other hand, going this fast means……look, it worked.」
The ship comes to a complete stop.
I let go of Lott and kick the Aless soldier's ass before taking a peek.
「Haha, what an interesting sight.」
The Aless of Aless literally ran on the soft sand of the shoal and stopped.
From afar, it would look like this ship was on land.
「The angle and position isn't too bad. Hey, you ruffians, how long are you going to stay clinging onto that. Go back to work.」
In response to Sekrit's shout, the Aless soldiers groan in anguish.
Many of them were able to endure the impact or simply shook their heads after falling to the floor and got back up like nothing happened.
「Don't dawdle. We have enemies incoming from the right.」
We ended up in the middle of the inlet with the right side of our ship facing the entrance.
In addition, since we turned hard to port as soon as we ran aground, the ship tilted so that the entire right side was lifted up and the bottom was partially stuck in the mud.
「Right, this isn't the time to be spacing out!」
「Here comes the enemy! We better start fighting!」
Aless soldiers collect themselves and take up their posts.
「Why did we lean the ship this way? It's going to be troublesome to move.」
I ask while putting Lott in a barrel and rolling her to a relatively safe storage room.
「You'll understand soon.」
Sekrit's answer came at the same time as the enemy's cannonfire.
Although the brilliant performance confused the enemy, there was no mistake that a battleship was just singled out.
There was no reason for them not to destroy it.
Within a few seconds, countless cannonballs rained down on us.
Since we have no way of moving the ship, we couldn't do anything other than watch as the Aless of Aless was bombarded.
Continuous clanks from the shots landing on the ship were deafening and the impact from each shell shook our bodies.
From the number of major vibrations felt, I would guess we were hit at least 20 times.
「Damage report.」
There was no delay in the reply.
「Not much!」
Sekrit leisurely leans against the railings on the port side.
「An incline of this extent means that any incoming fire can only hit the side of the ship.」
The Aless of Aless was always durable and it even had its armor reinforced on the side.
It will take more than a weak volley to penetrate this defense.
「Won't they go through the gun deck?」
「Look from the deck, you can only see the sky. If they have mortars capable of high-angle fire, then it might be possible, but combat ships aren't equipped with those. If they only have cannons, they'll hit the armor plating no matter how much they shoot.」
If the ship is tilted, then the apertures of our gun ports would be facing upward diagonally.
Cannonballs that can only fly in a straight line cannot enter a diagonal hole.
「So the enemy will aim at the exposed hull.」
Booms once again roar out and crash into our ship――this time, instead of metallic clanging, the unpleasant sound of splintering wood reaches our ears.
What is normally below the water's surface and has no armor obviously becomes the enemy's target.
Some of the shots must have pierced through and damaged the inside of the ship as well.
「Usually, it would be fatal for the draft of this ship to be hit…… right now, it's absolutely fine.」
That's right, we won't sink no matter how much they destroy the hull.
We're not in the water after all.
「They'll probably aim here next. They'll try to smash the deck and kill the crew.」
Cannonballs fly toward the deck where we're on.
Half of them hit the side of the ship like before and the other half fly over and off into the distance.
「Of course they're not going to hit the deck while it's tilted.」
It's slanted so far to the left that it's hard to stand upright.
There's no way they can hit us if they shoot from the starboard side.
Despite this ship being stranded on land, the enemy can't hit us with a decent attack.
I lean on the same railing Sekrit is on.
The enemy's cannons get louder.
That must mean they increased their power and shortened the distance.
However, the armor on the Aless of Aless isn't normal. It won't be broken so easily.
「It's not like we can do anything with our gun deck on an angle. We would have looked like idiots if they ignored us, so I'm quite pleased they gave us attention.」
「Things are fine. We'll get full marks if we can gather the enemy here.」
Unwilling to admit defeat, the enemy's cannonballs tear off the sub-mast.
Because of its height, the mast inevitably gets hit…… however, the balance of the ship won't be affected so it doesn't really matter.
Other damaged ally ships copy our tactic of riding up onto the sand bar.
Their ship handling was nowhere near Sekrit's level so they could not get the ships to tilt like ours, but having ships that won't sink is a fairly big problem for the enemy.
You either have to shatter the deck to pieces or shoot enough times to cause multiple gunpowder-induced explosions.
I glance over at the land.
There are no towns near the inlet, only a wetland area rampant with aquatic plants.
A small green-colored kite rises from among the grass.
As I stare blankly, I hear "wasshoi, wasshoi" from the gun deck.
「……they're starting something unnecessary again.」
「……I incited them by saying the enemy was coming, but nothing happened.」
Sekrit looks at me and jerks her chin, urging me to come.
Don't lump me in together with them.
「That's nonsense, considering you're wearing the red cape and the single pair of underwear.」
I'm doing it unwillingly.
My clothes were thrown somewhere so I have to look inside the ship with the cape on.
「……idiots.」
She was at a loss for words.
Those guys grew impatient from not being shot at due to the incline and are moving cannons onto the deck.
「I can't see the enemy from being constantly shot at.」
「So we just have to move to a place we can seen them!」
Each cannon was being carried by three Aless soldiers.
The large cannons, which were basically masses of steel, took nearly ten soldiers to lift.
This might actually be interesting.
「It's boring to wait while they shoot at us. We'll shoot back from the deck.」
「Huh? Do you know how much work it is to move cannons? And installing them on the battlefield is――」
Sekrit's voice fades as she watches the Aless soldiers carry the cannons.
「Don't install them, shoot while you carry them. I want four per cannon, three to hold it and one to light the fuse. When the enemy shoots back, move to a different spot immediately.」
A delighted "ohh" shouts back.
Before they could do anything, the ship shakes from the collective cannonfire from the enemy.
「Now. Go!」
A brief pause after the barrage granted the Aless soldiers time to run up the slanted deck with the cannons and push the barrels of the cannons out above the starboard railing.
「Fire!」
A few shots from the irregularly-timed cannonfire manage to land on the enemy.
「Ooh, got 'em!」
「We can do this!」
I rejoice along with the Aless soldiers.
Even though the enemy quickly fires back, we move backwards quickly and don't get hit.
「A couple of tiny ships are coming this way.」
「Maybe they're coming to set us on fire since we can't move.」
「Blow them away.」
After loading the cannon, the Aless soldiers relocate.
This time, the point the cannons downward and fire at the enemy barely approaching the sand bar.
「Alright, we did it! But there's a big one coming.」
「Let's greet them with the big cannons.」
Aless soldiers run around the deck with cannons in their arms, poke their heads out and fire.
Nobody seems to be having trouble with the slanted ground. Since people are shifting the cannons, the angle and direction of fire can be changed at will.
「Amazing. Do as you please. Don't overthink things.」
Sekrit couldn't help heaping praise on their hard work.
During all that, the color of the kite changes to yellow.
While watching out for the reef, the enemy advances deeper into the cove.
It appears they don't want to match us in a shootout anymore.
「They'll circle around soon.」
「Yeah.」
Although the Aless soldiers were able to shock and deal some damage to the enemy, it doesn't change the fact that the Aless of Aless can't move.
Aiming at us from the starboard side won't work, but if they move to the port side, we're a non-moving target.
If they blast the upper part of the ship where there is no armor, the ship will eventually be destroyed or explode.
「And that would seal Ivanna's fate.」
Ivanna is trying to reorganize what little of the ally ships remain, but her forces are only one fourth the size of the enemy's.
Not to mention they're cornered and can't do any complicated maneuvers.
It's a hopeless situation.
「We're reaching our limit here.」
Just in case, I order the Aless soldiers to bring one cannon and point it to the unmanned area…… the wetland area lush with water weeds.
It turns out I didn't have to give a fruitless order, the yellow kite returns to the ground and a red kite flies in its place.
「They're here.」
Sekrit tenses her abs and raises her body up from the railings she was leaning against.
「Finally.」
Damn Leopolt.
I was really getting worried since there are two females' lives on the line here.
We are in the dead-center of the cove, on the sand bar where ships cannot pass.
The front of the enemy fleet is in the middle of the inlet and the end of their queue has also completely entered the bay.
Our ally fleet is located on the edge of the shore…… the perfect position.
「It's coming.」
Sekrit and I watch the enemy with a strange sense of anticipation like we were watching a thrilling opera.
Aless soldiers are running around, creating a lot of noise, but I understand that theatres also have annoying guests as well.
There was a low-pitched thump.
I'm certain that was from a cannon, although I can't tell purely from the sound.
That was just how far it was.
「5, 6, 7, 8, 9…… that's pretty far.」
Sekrit is counting how long it takes for the shell to land…… or basically, measuring the range of the cannon, and she was quite surprised at the result.
The large enemy ship at the very front was hit.
There was a mix of destructive sounds and then multiple explosions…… in mere seconds, what followed those heterogeneous noises was the forward tipping of the ship's bow into the water and the eventual sinking of the ship.
「It pierced through the armor plating, destroyed the hull, then ignited oil or gunpowder…… all it took was one shot.」
Sekrit's eyes narrow.
That was the prelude to the barrage that was to come.
The attack was extremely accurate yet powerful enough to split medium and small ships in half, and even destroy or sink larger ships too.
As the enemy ships pass by us, we hear yelling coming from the crew.
They don't have the luxury to care about us anymore.
「Asalus, disabled! Purango, sunk! Tsulark, heavily damaged! What is this!? What's going on!?」
「We're obviously being bombarded! Look at the splashes created…… I've never seen any cannon like this. The strength of the shells are also strange…… look! They go right through to the other side even though they hit the armor plating!」
「More importantly, find out where they're shooting from! The smoke is coming from…… land? ……Shit, they set us up!!」
That's right, this is a trap.
The shadows near the plants belong to my army who have readied all of their cannons.
It would be difficult for us to win against an enemy fleet with overwhelmingly few numbers, let alone annihilate them.
If the enemy fleet survives and hides, we would have to be constantly wary of potential raids and we wouldn't be able to join the frontal war front.
If we were going to fight, we needed to draw out all of the enemy forces and eliminate all of them.
Leopolt came up with a plan to do just that.
The fleet battle was stage one and this is stage two.
「The large cannons and…… those other cannons I said I wanted.」
To be precise, it was 22 large cannons and 16 of the special dwarven cannons. They also had 60 regular cannons.
The dwarven cannons were particularly heavy, hard to manage, and honestly unfit for marching, but once they get set up, their power is on another level.
They aren't simply larger than normal cannons by three or four times.
They are created with different materials, which allow the cannonball to be propelled at extremely high speeds, and even I can shoot with utmost accuracy, despite not knowing how to operate it, as long as I use the sighting device.
「There's also cheating going on.」
I glance at the water.
Drifting on the surface of the rough river are rotten boats.
It isn't anything rare, but if something abnormal has to be pointed out, it's that they're staying in the same place no matter how much they are rocked by the water.
They were fastened to stones in the water after all.
When enemy ships pass beside the boats, they would get hit by three shots from large cannons.
「It's not necessary to aim every single time. Directions and angles are determined ahead of time so that there is no delay in adjusting the cannons. Buoys are placed in spots to mark where the cannonballs will land…… and then, when the enemy reaches the corresponding area, the cannons can be fired without much thought.」
This is essentially the same thing Sekrit did with the color markings for the Aless soldiers.
If one looks closely, there are also ragged flags that appear to float unnaturally close to barrels, fishing boats, and clumps of grass that stay in one place in spite of the intense bombardment.
「The accuracy may be higher, but the disastrous scene is a result of the cannon's ability. This power…… while not impossible to be reproduced by Federation technology, they would have to be cannons that tower high in the sky with no way to hide.」
All the cannons shooting at the enemy can be broken down as follows: 10% regular cannons, 20% large cannons, and 70% dwarven cannons.
Normal cannons won't do much damage to combat ships anyways.
It's the large cannons that can deal significant damage and the dwarven cannons that can kill in one hit.
With that said, the enemy won't let us fire freely.
「Here comes their counterattack.」
The enemy aimed and fired at the coast.
Easily over 10 times the number of projectiles were launched.
「……it doesn't seem to have any effect. The construction of the encampment is also well done.」
As if proving the health of the encampment, an enemy ship approaching the coast while firing gets blown away.
「Yeah, Leopolt has a nasty personality. He likes to show how meaningless the enemy's desperate attack is.」
I didn't like how Sekrit was praising Leopolt so I lowered him a little, which made her show a slight smile with her eyes.
Leopolt had calculated the direction in which the enemy would be lured in and ensured that the mound of aquatic plants and camouflaged encampments look nothing like camps from where they come from.
A mid-sized ship has over 10 cannons and a large ship has several dozens of cannons, and both are extremely powerful, capable of obliterating fortresses constructed with sturdy rocks.
However, it's a different story if they can't figure out where they are being shot at.
Smoke can be used to estimate a rough location, although their precision would be very low without a concrete position.
Moreover, smoke rises from places other than the supposed encampments.
Leopolt must have had wheat flour or quicklime sprinkled in various areas. This would further confuse the enemy.
In particular, the installation of dwarven cannons requires firm ground to be chosen and a hole to be dug.
That would make them difficult to be destroyed by cannons.
「They're not stupid enough to remain flustered though. Look, they're reversing the situation.」
They realized the trap and found out that shooting at the cannons on land won't silence them.
So, what can they do?…… It's simple, they can run.
Unlike combat ships that can chase with their cannons, cannons on land cannot move in the middle of battle.
For ships that can move at high speeds, it's imperative they get out of range as soon as possible.
Of course, the enemy does just that.
Paddles are lowered and they turn around, trying to leave the cove quickly.
「That being the case, we already won the moment they entered the cove.」
When the enemy fleet turned around, the front ships―― in other words, the last to enter and naturally unharmed ships, were showered with a rain of fire.
「It's because they were too cocky and chased us.」
Sekrit watches happily as the enemy ships start to burn.
It wasn't a special cannon or powerful magic that was shot at them.
They're ordinary flaming arrows, which have been used for thousands of years.
By the looks of things, there are at least a thousand of them.
「F-flaming arrows!? Impossible, we're not even close to land!」
「Are they in small boats or something!? They can't be, we'd notice if they had that many!」
Their consternation is clear as day.
Actually, the answer was quite simple. We had footing put together from the coast to the sand bar.
The depth of water on the shoals of a cove isn't typically deep, plus there is almost no current.
As long as we can predict where the enemy will enter and how they will run, it's easy to create a foundation to stand on.
Then, we just have to camouflage them like we did with the cannons.
On our way here, it was funny to see the archers covering themselves with the plants.
「Well, it's not bad. It would take me some effort to find it even if I knew it was there.」
Honestly, I found them right away.
There wasn't any mistaking Celia's cute ass sticking out.
It's hard to deal with flaming arrows at close range, and more so when there are close to a thousand of them.
Add to that the fact that a combat ship isn't prepared to deal with such an attack.
In the blink of an eye, several ships catch fire and stop moving.
Indeed, this was what we wanted.
A ship wasn't going to sink purely by the barrage of flaming arrows.
That's why we wanted to cause a fire or kill the commander and soldiers on the deck.
Once that happens, the ships would be in disarray, be incapacitated and become a large torch.
They would then also serve as obstacles blocking the narrow opening of the cove.
「Kuku, an excellent barrier. A fine example of the plan working.」
「All the archers did well. Tell them they can retreat.」
After the signal was given, the archers scatter, either running along the footpath to the coast…… or diving into the water.
In frustration, the enemy would later demolish the footing with cannons.
「They can't advance forward. They don't have an exit.」
Sekrit mutters and I join in.
「The enraged wolf will then pounce.」
The Suvorov leads the rest of the ships toward the dispersing enemies.
「Kuku, I'll tell her that later.」
Please don't. She'll flare up at me too.
Anyways, that settles it.
「Hey man! We'll participate too!」
Tired of carrying the cannons around, the Aless soldiers approach me.
「It's not like we can move.」
The Aless of Aless is grounded and in tatters.
「So what if the ship can't move? We can still move our bodies!」
Before I knew it, they were carrying boats instead of cannons.
Well, there's no point in stopping them since the battle has been decided.
「Do whatever you want. Go fight to your heart's desire!」
「Yeah, watch us! We'll display our bravery for everyone to see!」
They let out joyful roars as they jump off the ship and start running on the sand.
They proceed to enter the water and swim furiously toward the enemy…… all while carrying the boats.
「Hey, why are they bringing the boats?」
Sekrit asks, tilting her head adorably.
「How would I know……?」
The Aless soldiers swim endlessly with the boats.
What followed was a one-sided development.
Ivanna chased the disorganized enemies, dishing out relentless attacks as revenge for what happened earlier.
The enemy tries to escape the cove, but with the chain of command fractured by cannonfire and flaming arrows, they could only flee chaotically.
Any attempts at counterattacks are suppressed by cannons, ships trying to slip past their burning allies get caught in the explosions, those who move too close to the coast fall over and become grounded, and then nobody even notices the nearing Aless soldiers board their ships.
Only a few lucky ships manage to escape from the hellish pot that the cove turned into.
Ultimately, the enemy lost over 90% of their forces and can be considered annihilated.
Our plan was a success and now we can meet up with Erich's main army without worry of being threatened by the enemy from behind.
――After the battle.
An enemy battleship slowly sinks into the water.
This particular ship managed to break free alone after a fierce exchange of cannonfire with the pursuing Suvorov, but was eventually shot in the draft and was about exhaust the rest of its energy.
As the ship continues to tilt to the right, it eventually falls onto its side.
Many soldiers jumped into the river from the deck, but they were unfortunately outside of the cove.
Fatigued and weak from the tiring battle, the enemy soldiers had no strength to resist the current and sank under the water.
Nobody thought about risking their lives to save others.
This was their fate.
Nevertheless, some of them survive and flow to where we are.
At the brink of total exhaustion, they can't struggle or run away.
Standing in front of them was Sekrit.
She happily detached her prosthetic arm, and hesitated for a brief moment before choosing to equip the arm capable of gripping objects.
She raises a sword and swings it down on the enemy soldier who is on the verge of tears――
「Hey now.」
I grab her right arm.
「Mmn.」
An Aless soldier grabs her left arm.
「……what is the meaning of this? Let go.」
「There's no point in killing them needlessly.」
I'm also tired and in no mood to fight.
「It is not manly to kill those who are prostrating on the ground in defeat.」
The Aless soldier puffs out his chest.
At that moment, the enemy soldier lets out a plea in a weak voice.
「D-dammit…… there's no hope―― for the 200 people still onboard the ship. Alex……Missa……」
I take away Sekrit's sword and wrap my arm around the man's shoulder.
「Is Missa the name of a woman? Women are on that ship? Answer me.」
In a few more minutes, the ship will completely vanish beneath the water.
I slap the man's cheek a couple times.
「Ebh, gabh…… yeah, about 50 are left――」
I immediately leave the man's side and call out to the Aless soldiers.
「Let's go. It can't be helped if enemy soldiers die, but saving women is what men do.」
「「Oooh!!」」
I jump into the river, followed closely by the Aless soldiers.
Several minutes later, we returned with all the women on the ship and a handful of men.
「……uu, we're saved.」
「…… but now we're prisoners.」
Despite being sailors, the females were worn out and couldn't swim, so we put them in barrels with ropes attached to them and pulled them along to the shore.
「Look at all those men…… they look barbaric…… we're definitely going to be violated.」
「Umu, that's for sure. But we'll save you.」
The Aless soldier gives an honest answer.
「Aah…… I knew it.」
「It still doesn't guarantee our lives.」
Bobbing up and down in the barrels, the women resolve themselves.
By the time I reached the coast, Sekrit was nowhere to be found.
I wonder if she's sulking about what I did.
Trying to find her so I can follow up, I happen to see her standing in front of an enemy vessel.
It appears like they surrendered quickly and, as a result, didn't suffer any noticeable damage. Aside from the captain, everybody had abandoned their weapons.
A win by capitulation? If Sekrit tries to kill them, I have to stop her.
Just when I thought she was about to attack, a man suddenly steps forward and kneels before her.
「Hm?」
Something doesn't feel right.
It's not rare for the side who yielded to kneel to their opponents.
However, that man didn't seem to pay attention to anyone except Sekrit.
She was urged by the man to move behind a patch of aquatic plants.
Things are still hectic so nobody made any note of their movement.
I was the only one who kept a close eye on them.
「――」
The man seems to be telling Sekrit something.
「What is he saying……?」
In response, Sekrit scoffed mockingly.
Unlike the previous instance, she didn't seem to show signs of cutting him down.
I get closer.
「It's been too long―― general. I am extremely delighted―― to meet on this occasion.――」
「I don't―― who you are――?」
I only hear broken pieces. It seems the man has an interest in Sekrit.
A smile forms on my face.
I know she's beautiful, but it's unheard of to seduce someone after surrendering to them.
The next moment, my smile froze over.
「――document from―― addressed directly――」
「――nes. Kuku, what a nostalgic name――」
Sekrit walks up to the man and snatches the letter from him.
I didn't expect her to accept it.
「He doesn't know when to give up―― connection from the past―――― go ahead.」
「It's an honor―――― happy to―――― next week.」
On top of accepting the letter, she even agreed to the next promise.
What does she mean by connection from the past? My mind is going really fast and I can't think properly.
One final blow was delivered.
「――――oh right, Rehercles.」
Sekrit calls the man by his name.
She said it smoothly, almost like she was familiar with it.
「I no longer have any doubts.」
I look at the man's face again.
He appears to be in his thirties and is keeping his back straight unlike the other prisoners.
「……he's a handsome one too.」
Gido has recently gotten really cheeky and been called handsome many times too, but he doesn't compare to this man.
As a man, I have to admit that he's got a nice face.
「A clandestine meeting…… a promise to cheat?」
My hand balls into a fist.
It would be easy for me to step in uninvited and sentence the man with my authority.
However, that would be pathetic of me.
I wouldn't be able to regain Sekrit's heart either.
I have to show her how much better I am than him.
「――looking forward―― next week―――― tell him.」
I can't help it if Sekrit wants to meet with such a handsome man.
It's my fault that she even had that thought. If a woman gets stolen, it is due to a man's worthlessness.
「But I can take her back.」
If something is stolen, I only have to steal it back.
I'll show her my charm and prove that I'm the superior man.
I'll seduce Sekrit in front of him and pummel his handsome face…… no, I'll have passionate sex in front of him.
「I'm not going to lose. This is a man's battle.」
I renew my determination and head to where the rescued women are so I can restore my energy.
Total Chapters in book: 624
Estimated words: 3278060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 16390(@200wpm)___ 13112(@250wpm)___ 10927(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 3278060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 16390(@200wpm)___ 13112(@250wpm)___ 10927(@300wpm)
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