Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

Chapter 286: Federation Reinforcements ③ On Board Melee

Aegir POV–

Schwartz looks unhappy as he is being led by the crew member.

Be careful when handling him, he gets angry when he gets touched too much by men.

......he relaxes when Celia pats him. This pervert of a horse, are women the only thing on your mind?

「We brought out your horse...... but this is a ship and there’s water all around us.」

The crew member comments fearfully.

You don’t have to be so scared, I won’t cut down an ally.

「I get that much. But I want to attack them before they board our ship. ......except I don’t have the confidence to land the grappling hook onto their ship and climb on.」

It would be a terrible joke if I dropped down into the river before I could jump onto their ship.

「That’s why I’m leaving it to you.」

I mount Schwartz.

「You can’t be thinking of jumping over together with your horse!?」

「That’s absurd......」

「That’s unheard of!」

Of course, I’ve never heard of that either.

Rather, I’ve never fought on sea before.

「I’ll be rampaging as much as I can on their ship while preventing them from boarding our ship, so support me with your bow.」

「Uu......jumping straight into the enemy is too dangerous......」

Not a big deal, we’re all going to be in the confined space of a boat.

It’s not like I’ll be bombarded from all sides by a large army.

As arrows fly from the approaching pirate ship, the crew members hide in the shadow to take cover and fire back.

It’s almost time.

The pirates gather on the deck and twirl their grappling hooks.

They’re getting ready to throw their ropes as soon as they get close enough.

It’s about time for me too.

「Go. Schwartz.」

At my signal, Schwartz starts running.

The Surov is a little too tight for him to run.

Still, Schwartz used that little bit he could run as a running start to build up speed before leaping, barely getting his legs over the side of the boat.

Weighing over a ton, Schwartz probably damaged the boat when he jumped off the deck, but I’m sure they’ll forgive me for that much.

「If I missed and fell, I’d have to swim all the way to shore after all.」

I mutter under my breath in mid-air, but it looks like I don’t need to worry anymore.

The giant horse captured everyone’s attention as it flew in the air.

Enemies who were twirling their grappling hooks stare in a stupefied manner like they couldn’t believe what was happening.

Schwartz lands right in the middle of all those stupid faces, though more accurately speaking it was directly on top of two of them.

「Gugeh!!」「Agaah!!」

I hear their muffled screams and the sound of bone and flesh being crushed.

The two men Schwartz landed on were squished to the point of being unrecognizable as a human corpse.

「A horse?」「Eh? Eh?」「What on earth......」

I don’t have the need or luxury to allow the pirates around me to regain composure.

「Shi-!」

As soon as I land, I swing my longsword to sweep the enemies on the right side and those in front of me.

I was off balance so I couldn’t put all my strength in that attack, still a few people lost parts of their bodies and collapsed to the floor.

「One more time.」

I turn the blade of my sword in the opposite direction and sweep the left side too.

They were gathered by the side of the boat since they were trying to jump on the Surov, making it easy for me to mow them down all at once.

Being able to wipe out several people with one swing actually feels pretty satisfying.

「「「「Gueeh!! Gyaaaaaah!!」」」」

The downside is that I hear such ugly screams right away. I wish they just died with their mouths closed.

「H-hold off on boarding their ship! Men, focus on taking care of this guy first!!」

A man wearing an important-looking hat shouts.

The pirates abandon their hooks and turn toward me. Now I don’t have to worry about the Surov.

「Schwartz, just run all over the place. I don’t mind if you swim.」

The pirate ship may be larger than the Surov, but it still isn’t big enough for Schwartz to run around freely, plus there are many obstacles scattered on the deck. I can’t just ride my horse in this cluttered melee.

After I dismount, Schwartz neighs as if complaining “so you only used me to jump?”, then trots off in the direction of the stern of the ship.

「You’re the ones who attacked us first. So even if I destroy the boat――」

I lower my hips and wind my sword back until it’s hidden behind me.

Pirates brandish their swords and charge forward.

「Don’t hate me!」

I unleash an upward diagonal slash.

One of the men takes the full brunt of my attack and helplessly gets torn apart at the chest, while another man who sticks out his sword to block my strike gets cut in half together with his weapon, then only his upper half falls into the river.

「One more!」

I turn my diagonally raised sword around and bring it down vertically.

The pirate tries to run away but is unable to escape the reach of my two meter longsword.

His head cracks with a similar sound to wooden planks shattering and he falls silently, dying the deck with blood.

「Three people in an instant......!?」

「I-it’s this guy! He’s the one who killed all the ones who tried to board their ship!」

The pirates shout as they step back and try to surround me.

I take a breather and inspect the enemies around me.

They’re either not wearing any armor or just wearing simple leather armor, the size of their weapons range from large to small although they are all variations of scimitars, and while some of them have bows, I don’t think they can get a clear shot in such a narrow and obstacle-filled space like the ship’s deck.

A small grin forms on my face.

Their scimitars are definitely advantageous in a fight on deck.

However the curved blades are not suited to thrusts with it being a given that they would be swung around to cut people.

Obviously they are not suited in fights were your allies are all densely packed together either.

They have no choice but to try and cross swords with me despite their shorter reach.

「L-let’s go on three?」

「Alright! One―― uwaaaah!!」

The three of them try to coordinate with each other to come from the front, but I’m not going to wait.

I take a giant step forward as I hear the countdown start.

I cut off the front man’s right hand at the wrist―― since bisecting him from the head would leave me vulnerable, I deliberately shifted my aim to the right.

I take one more step in and hit the man on my right with the back of my sword.

The man wasn’t wearing any armor so he collapses after I hear the sound of his ribs cracking.

The reason for hitting the man on my right with the back of my blade was so I could swing the sharp edge to my left.

I parry the attack from the man on the left with my armguard. The slash from the scimitar was like a gentle touch and didn’t make much of an impact when it hit my armor.

I run my sword into his defenseless stomach and slice him in two.

The other enemies are stopped in their tracks as they watch the man’s guts spill out.

Even so, I’m not finished.

「Hmph!」

I take a step hard enough to leave an indent on the deck and thrust my longsword straight out with my right hand.

My target is the important-looking man in a hat. He’s probably the commander.

「Heh!?」

I don’t know if he let his guard down because of the distance between us, but the hat-wearing man touches the sword stabbed through his chest like he couldn’t believe what just happened. When I pull the sword out, blood jets out from the hole and he slowly collapses.

「Who’s next?」

I turn to the pirates and smile.

Against these guys, I can comfortably take on dozens at a time. I’m not going to lose to anybody who fights me head-on.

「Y-you go fight him!」

「I’m obviously going to say no! He’s not just some chump!」

「He has monstrous physical strength...... not to mention he’s as fast as the wind!」

It was right when I was thinking of bringing the fight to them and readying my sword again.

「What cowardly things are you spouting!? He’s just one person, hurry and clean him up!」

The high-pitched voice makes me turn my head.

It came from a pirate wearing a hat even fancier than the hat the man I killed was wearing.

Unlike the filthy rags worn by the other pirates, this one is wearing clean clothes.

「Fumu――」

This one is definitely the commander.

Let’s end the battle right now.

「Above you, Aegir-sama!」

I hear Celia’s voice and the sound of something slicing through the wind at the same time.

I twist my body in response and manage to barely escape with a scratch from a crossbow bolt grazing my cheek.

From what I could see, it was shot from the top of the ship’s mast.

I totally forgot to pay attention to what’s above me.

Several people appear on top of the mast to follow up the first shot, though it doesn’t pose a threat to me if it’s not a surprise attack.

I deflect two with my sword and repel another with my bare hand.

「Those on top of the mast, keep shooting! Those on the deck, surround him and aim for his blind spots! Use the obstacles as shields. His large sword is likely to get stuck so he shouldn’t be able to swing it freely.」

The instructions from the clean pirate are definitely effective.

If they simultaneously fire arrows from above while I’m not able to make a complete swing with my sword on this narrow ship, that will certainly make it hard for me to fight well.

「Will it go so smoothly though? Natia, Pipi, I’m counting on you!」

「Aye!」「Yeah!」

After I shout, I hear screams from above me and men start falling head first.

Pipi and Natia are shooting down the pirates with their arrows.

「Get behind the mast and―― ugyah!」

「Fire back at them! Don’t let them――dowah!」

The pirate ship is pretty much parallel with the Surov, meaning the distance between the boats is practically zero for Pipi.

Even though the pirates try to hide, they still get brought down by precise targeting of the tiniest exposed parts of their feet or arms.

Meanwhile, Natia climbs up the mast of the Surov and gets on the same eye level as the opposing pirates.

While she also faces counter fire, she keeps jumping around in high places to make it hard to aim at her.

For an elf like her who regularly traverses through the treetops, that is a cakewalk.

「Now then, with the threat above me eliminated, this fight is mine.」

I charge towards the pirates once again.

「Don’t be scared! Use the boxes or the mast as a shield――」

It didn’t need to be said to everyone. Keeping the instructions of their leader, the pirates approach using the cover of wood boxes.

Without hesitation, I destroy the boxes meant for hiding themselves with my longsword. The box explodes with a thunderous crash, scattering wood chips everywhere. The only things left behind are the heavily damaged box and the lower halves of the men.

「Eh?」

「It’s not made of stone or steel.」

One of the pirates grab a rope hanging from the mast and swings at me in the air.

I avoid that attack and repeatedly slash the mast instead of the man.

The thick pillar cracks and tilts to one side.

「N-no way...... that’s the sturdy main mast!」

「Uwaaah, it’s coming down!」

「He smashed it with a sword! He’s not human!」

「It’s just wood, you think that would stop me?」

With the mast collapsing, the boat’s center of gravity is shifted and tilts to one side.

A barrel falls over onto the deck and rolls in my direction.

The pirates’ eyes widen in anticipation for the barrel to hit me.

However I betray their expectations and easily stop the rolling object with my left hand.

Compared to Claudia’s tackles, this barrel is as light as a feather.

「If you think you can take me-」

I swing my sword down vertically in front of the shocked pirates, my exaggerated actions of exerting more strength being clear to the men and causing them to take steps backward to get out of the way, resulting in my strike slamming into the ship’s deck.

The pirates take the opportunity to transition into attack...... but that’s just as planned.

「Our foothold!」

「The deck is breaking!」

An unsettling cracking begins to spread all over the deck from my single full-powered strike.

The thick boards laid together cave inward, dropping the pirates inside the boat.

「-go ahead and try.」

I lower my hips and charge up for another swing briefly before unleashing a horizontal slash.

My sword takes out everything within its two meter range, including barrels, wooden boxes, various sizes of pillars, and filthy pirates.

I cut down all of those things.

The semi circle I drew with my sword scattered a mixture of wood fragments and pieces of flesh, dried meat and guts, water and blood.

After a one second delay, another pillar cracks dryly and falls over, further tilting the ship.

I hold my longsword in both hands, then let out a bestial roar as I charge at the pirates.

「A-amazing...... he’s just like a monster.」

The captain of the Surov says something. I am pumped up right now but I can still hear him.

「So this is Lord Hardlett...... this is beyond what I heard. He’s literally a demon of war.」

Arbakin has also come out before I knew it.

If so many people are watching, I’ll get embarrassed.

The pirates are making faces like they have no clue what to do as I cut them down one by one.

I slash diagonally at the man who charges straight at me, then kick and crush the face of the man who dives at my leg.

I deflect the attack of the man who swings from a hanging rope then drop him into the river, next I stab through the man who’s being used as a shield and the coward hiding behind him, killing both at the same time.

I cut in half those who run at me, stab through the backs of those who run away, and smash those in hiding along with their cover.

Pirate corpses start piling up and panic spreads across the ship’s deck.

This has become a strange fight where I single handedly chased around double digit enemies.

「Boss, what should we do!? That guy’s a monster! We don’t stand a chance!」

「E-enough, just go in front! Do whatever you can and fight!」

The instructions of the clean pirate leader has already lost its meaning.

When I hurl the man I skewered earlier, he lets out a cute squeak.

「Y-you’re mine!」

Because I was thinking of something unnecessary, I created an opening for a small man to thrust at me with his short sword.

「I didn’t give you anything.」

Before the short sword could reach my side, I stretch out my hand and grab his head.

If you were holding a short spear instead, it might have stabbed me. It was close.

「Gugagh...... gugh!!」

I tighten my grip and squeeze his head, then throw him in the direction of the river.

The corpse flies through the fence installed on the side of the boat and into the depths of the river.

The corpse must have knocked over a torch. Flames spread all over the deck.

This is convenient.

「This bastard, he set the boat on fire!」

「Hurry and extinguish it!」

I cut down the two men who try to put out the flames.

「You’ll get cut if you come at me. If you don’t do anything, the boat will burn......now what will you do?」

I rest my sword on my shoulder and smile as I admire the spreading fire.

「I don’t know who the pirate is at this point......」

Who said that. I’ll interrogate that person later.

The unextinguished flames quickly grow bigger and the pirates run about trying to escape.

Nobody points their blade at me anymore.

The only one repeatedly calling out for them to fight is the leader.

「I just need to kill you and I win.」

I run at the pirate leader.

The boss tries to run away desperately, but I’m not going to allow that.

I instantly close the distance and grab the leader’s collar, then push the person to the deck.

「Kyaa!!」

I’ll be done with this fight if I take this boss’s head, then I can move on to the remaining ship......

「D-don’t kill me...... I’m begging you......」

A fragile voice unbecoming of a pirate leaks out from the mouth of the person and tears well up in both eyes.

The hat falls off, causing the beautiful flaxen hair hidden underneath to spill onto the deck.

「Mu?」

I lower my raised sword and touch the individual’s chest area through the clean clothes.

「Ow! S-stop......」

「Muu」

A soft feeling. Then I stick my hand in the crotch area of the tight-fitting capri style pants.

My finger slips into the cave in between the person’s legs.

「Agh!」

「You have a hole there...... so you were a woman!?」

It’s a different story now that I know.

Killing her is out of the question. I have to take her with me.

「T-this ship is done for!」

「We’re escaping!!」

The fire eventually engulfs the entire ship.

With the mast broken and the ship tilted to the side, it can’t really be used anymore.

It’s clear this ship will sink.

The pirates all begin to jump off the ship and into the cold water of the river.

Because I made a mess of things, large pieces of wood and debris are floating on the surface for them to hang onto, but I don’t know if they’ll last too long.

「L-let me escape...... please.」

The frightened female pirate mutters in my arms.

「No. You won’t last long if you jump in the icy river. You’re coming with me.」

「No, no! Don’t you know what happens to pirates when they get captured!? Let go! Let me go!」

I deliver a light chop to the neck of the wildly flailing girl with my hand and knock her out.

「Aegir-sama! Come this way, quickly!」

Celia throws a rope in my direction. Time to make my escape.

I hold the female pirate under my arm and grab the rope, then jump off the deck.

For a moment, I was mentally prepared to fall into the cold water――

「What a troublesome brat you are.」

I can feel my body being pulled with tremendous force, then I roll onto the deck of the Surov.

「What happened!?」

I was planning to jump down but I flew up instead.

「I don’t know. I’m going to sleep.」

Brynhildr briskly makes her way back inside the ship. Oh, so she pulled me up.

I was able to avoid getting wet thanks to her.

「That was a fine display...... rather that was some outrageous fighting. Anyways, who is that?」

The captain asks without hiding his cautious attitude.

「This one’s a prisoner. It’s a woman despite looking like this. Treat her hospitably.」

「A prisoner!? But it’s basic knowledge to kill all pirates. Making an exception for a woman is――」

Arbakin puts a hand on the captain’s shoulder to stop him from continuing.

「No, it’s fine. I’m sure Lord Hardlett has something special in mind.」

I’m glad you understand, but stop making that face like you’re about to burst out laughing.

「The other ship is heading towards us along with the small boats!」

「Kuh, it’s one problem after the other.」

「The net has been removed! But we won’t be able to make it in time even if we increase speed now. They’ll catch up to us.」

It becomes rowdy in the ship again.

「Lord Hardlett, I’m sorry to ask this of you after that earlier scuffle, but could you please prepare for battle again?」

「No, I think it’ll be fine.」

That’s because I spoke to Mirumi after she took off the net.

「Hm? The enemy ship has stopped...... what is going on...... hiiih――――!!」

The scream from the lookout made Arbakin, the captain and the other crew members look over the side of the boat.

Ooh, what a sight.

The pirate ship supposedly heading towards us was halted abruptly.

The reason for that was clear even from here.

「H-hands...... countless hands are...... aah, water god! Spirit of Water! Please protect us!」

Numerous hands stuck out from the water and grabbed the pirate ship.

I told them not to show their faces because it would create a complicated situation if people found out about a large group of mermaids, but it still seems really creepy for me if they only show their hands despite knowing what’s going on.

「A-are they ghosts of the dead who sunk in the river...... there are hundreds of them.」

If I remember correctly, there are a total of 555. Ah, I guess it would be 556 including Mirumi.

「I’ve heard stories about that before...... they’re jealous of the living and would try to drag you down into the water to make you one of them!」

You won’t become a mermaid by getting pulled into the water though.

Everyone on the pirate ship is making a fuss.

The surrounding small boats also abandon the mothership and scatter away in different directions.

The crew on the main pirate ship scream while desperately rowing the oars, but they don’t make any progress at all.

Then, arrows start to fire at the water from one of the small boats.

Not good, Mirumi and the others will get hit.

Which is what I thought until I saw how quickly they move in the water.

It didn’t take long for several dozens of hands to grab the small boat and start rocking it.

In no time, the pirates in the boat get thrown into the water―― then disappear immediately after sinking below the surface.

「Hey...... don’t yout have any protection charms or something?」

Arbakin mutters.

「I only have charms praying for safe childbirth.」

One of the crew members replies.

「......it might be better to have than not have. Hang it on the mast.」

The hands sticking out of the water eventually begin to pound at the bottom of the pirate ship.

The rhythmical sound can be heard on our side too.

One of the pirates standing at the tip of the boat shouts at us loudly.

「I’ll surrender or do anything you want, so please save me!! Let me get on your boat!!」

The enemy surrendered, so I don’t understand why the captain and the crew have such long faces.

「We were able to get by without fighting. With how things look, they shouldn’t resist. Ride out on small boats and get them to disarm.」

Arbakin looks to the captain after I give out the instructions.

「Ahem, the duty obviously falls to the ship’s captain.」

The captain slumps his shoulders.

「We will now go and disarm the pirates! ......I will be staying here to get an understanding of the big picture. The ones who are going will be Doris and Agra!」

The two crew members turn pale and start to cry.

There’s really nothing for those big men to cry about though.

「It’s fine, I’ll go.」

I feel like I’m forgetting something.

Mixed with the constant pounding of Mirumi and the others, I hear a familiar neighing.

Schwartz is crying on the deck of the burning ship.

「What are you still doing over there? Hurry up and come back or you’ll die.」

Schwartz neighs again. Is he telling me he’s had enough of me?

「Go on, jump.」

I extend a hand towards the deck.

As soon as he saw that, Schwartz leaps without hesitation. His ability to be decisive really shows his experience on the battlefield.

Schwartz soars toward me――

「No, that’s impossible for me.」

I take back my hand when I see the airborne Schwartz.

There’s no way I can carry him when he easily ways at least 1 ton. I’m not stupid.

Schwartz makes a huge splash as he falls into the river.

There is a net prepared and we can somehow manage to pull him up if everybody cooperates.

It’ll be a good thing for that perverted horse to cool his head and dick. A fire will be ready to warm him back up.

None of our allies died, the enemy is cleaned up, and I was even able to get my hands on a new girl.

The point total for this fight is close to full.

After that, Schwartz was pulled up from the water with an indignant look on his face, repeatedly huffing in discontent as a blanket is wrapped around his body.

Hey, don’t be so mad. I’ll treat you to something tasty.

「Prepare as many bottomed out ladles as you can. When those hands come out, throw them in the water.1 After that, bow down and pray to the water god. Got it?」

I wonder what the captain is talking about.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 24 years old. Winter.

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave. Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area. Mountain Legend. Friend of the Dwarves. Friend of the King of Aless. Dragon Slayer Hero.

Elf Mediator.

Accompanying: Celia (escort, assistant), Marta (aide, bedmaker), Natia (stowaway elf)

Pipi (archer), Messerschmitt (worthless dog), Brynhildr (vampire), Schwartz (enraged)

Arbakin (Federation ambassador)

Family:

Nonna (legal wife), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Miti (concubine, expecting), Maria (concubine, expecting), Catherine (concubine, expecting)

Melissa (lover), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover), Mireille (lover), Leah (???)

Casie (ghost), Rita (head maid), Yoguri (playwright), Alice (fainting in agony magical girl)

Marceline (pregnant lover), Daughters – Stephanie (lover), Bridget (lover), Felicie (lover)

Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (capital mansion supervisor), Claudia (giant meatball), Clara (female attendant)

Felteris (virgin eating, moving to the next one)

Non-humans:

Lammy (plant caretaker), Mirumi (mermaid), Alraune (can move), Petit Roper (enlarging)

Pet:

Pochi (sulking in bed)

Subordinates:

Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby, Myla (security officer, in pursuit)

Gido (escort unit), Polte (refugee case worker), Gretel (wife-dog-to-be)

Leopolt (staff officer), Adolph (domestic affairs official), Tristan (domestic affairs assistant, escaping)

Claire & Laurie (official merchant), Lilian (actress), Kroll (servant), Alma (servant)

Assets: 13,600 gold

Sexual Partners: 438, children who have been born: 55 + 555 fish