Free Web NovelChapter 355: They’re Being Herded
[Ras Vegas]
"When will the enemy arrive? That is the question."
I kept a close eye on the enemy’s movements from the watchtower of Ras Vegas. With the Andras and orc units gone, Ras Vegas had become a ghost town.
"There’s no way the enemy reaches Ras Vegas before the orcs even get to Ras Village, right?"
"That’s precisely why we decided to stall for time with the Andras unit. Don’t worry. Everything will go according to plan."
"Eila, it’d be nice if life always went according to plan, but the problem is that it almost never does. Some random curveball is definitely going to come flying in from somewhere."
"What kind of curveballs come to mind?"
If we’re talking purely about variables that could arise in the course of our Legion fighting the subjugation force, there were broadly two.
"One is the Allocen front collapsing."
The Allocen dungeon getting breached in the war against House Sagittarius, turning the Gremory dungeon into a battlefield. If fighting broke out in the Gremory dungeon, which was essentially our food storage, there would be far too many things to worry about.
"We can handle that variable well enough. Isn’t that why you left the minotaurs and the Harpy Aellos behind?"
"Right. If push comes to shove, Shaitan will deploy them."
Their primary mission was to lay eggs through sowing, but they were also a formidable fighting force. Because they were there, I could entrust the front to Gremory with greater peace of mind.
Please, let nothing go wrong.
I prayed to both the Goddess and the Demon King that Gremory would not only repel the enemy but capture prisoners and launch a counterattack into Sagittarius territory.
"The other one is the virgin elves. If they immediately turn hostile toward us, we’d be in trouble."
"That would certainly be problematic. But don’t worry. They won’t show hostility toward us right away. They know full well the Queen is here; would they really draw their bows against us?"
"You think so? All I need to focus on is watching the enemy’s troop movements?"
"That’s correct. If anything happens, we’ll handle it. Please don’t burden yourself."
The operation had already begun, but my thoughts only deepened. Should I have shored up the Allocen front first and waited for the enemy to come to us, or should I have given up the Allocen dungeon and sealed the portal?
’No. Once a man picks a path, he sees it through to the end.’
Maybe in a game where you could save and reload, but once you chose a path, you had to take responsibility for it to the end. That was a virtue befitting the head of a Legion and the leader of an entire faction.
"Eila. Can we win?"
"Yes, because you’re the one who chose this fight."
"Why is that?"
"Because you never fight unless it’s a battle you can win without bloodshed."
"...That’s right. Thank you."
Just as my resolve was about to waver and crumble, Eila steadied me from beside. My pride and confidence came alive, and at the same time, conviction in our victory began to well up inside me once again.
"Let’s win on both fronts and show them the might of our Legion."
"Of course. ...Master, up there in the sky."
In the direction Eila pointed, a harpy was approaching with white wings flapping. I took her, Harpuia, into my arms and patted her back. She looked quite exhausted.
"Good work. Rest for now."
"Hah, hah. Let me report first...."
Harpuia looked tired but met my eyes squarely as she delivered her scouting report.
"Part of the scouting party reached the enemy force. They’ll probably start moving south soon."
"Well done. You carried out your mission flawlessly. I’m proud of you, Harpuia."
The mission I’d given Harpuia was simple.
Confirm that the scouting party reported back to the main force that orcs were moving human prisoners toward the dungeon.
"Legion Commander, let me fly back north. I can check and come back."
"No, rest. You’ve done more than enough. Leave the rest to the Andras troops."
"But...."
Harpuia was eager to do more, but unfortunately, there was nowhere left for her to step in.
"Go inside and rest. And... when we win this battle, hold Gray."
"...Understood."
Harpuia returned to where the harpies were waiting with a gloomy expression. Seeing her wings drooping, I couldn’t hide my complicated feelings.
"I feel a bit bad."
"Is it because she’s your child, so neither synthesis nor reincarnation is possible?"
"Something like that."
The way for the harpy species to grow stronger lay in reproduction. Just as the former Andras had laid far more than 666 eggs and reached 5-star, the harpy species as a whole placed great emphasis on breeding.
’They’re a species that needs a male to help them lay eggs.’
In that sense, Harpuia’s growth was considerably slower compared to Line, who could grow through predation, or Lancelot, who could grow through combat. Without pairing her with Gray, even her first evolution at level 15 would have been impossible.
"Once this battle’s over, I’ll look into finding a way. ...If it comes to it, I could dump Monster Enhancement Tickets into her and make her a 2-star level 100 Harpy Angel."
"Or you could... no, never mind. Forget I said anything."
A brief silence settled.
"That is one option. But I won’t use it. The reason... you already know."
"You’re quite particular about things like that. I understand."
Because Eila was a noblewoman from the human world rather than a demon, she understood perfectly well what I was worried about.
"...I’ll have to ask her directly when we meet later."
Whether a relationship entered by mutual consent was just. I organized the things I needed to do after the battle in my head and gazed out beyond the horizon.
"Eila, how about a little wager while we wait?"
I moved behind Eila and caressed her backside. In case of a potential battle, Eila was wearing leather pants.
In other words, there was no problem with taking them off and putting them back on.
"...Heh, what kind of wager?"
"Whether the enemy comes straight at us or goes around."
Whether they’d ram straight into Ras Vegas, or bypass it and head for the dungeon.
"...Hmm, alright. What do you think, Master?"
"They’ll hit Ras Vegas head-on."
"That’s different from the best-case scenario we envisioned. Very well, then I’ll bet that they’ll take a detour to the dungeon."
Rustle. Eila placed her hand against the wall and slid down her underwear. Beneath the silk-like undergarment, woven thick from Andras thread, moisture was already beginning to pool.
"The wager will be... one wish granted to the winner."
Creak. I rested the tip against the curve of Eila’s rear. She had propped up my pride so I could face this war with confidence instead of anxiety; now it was my turn to stand at attention for her.
"Let’s go until we can see the Andras troops on the horizon. The moment we hear the sounds of battle from beyond, I’m finishing inside you."
"...I hope the subjugation force stays in that standoff with the Andras troops for, ah?!"
Smack.
I brought my palm down on Eila’s pale, exposed backside.
"Jinxing us right from the start of the operation. Who says something like that? Was it this mouth? I’ll have to punish that reckless mouth."
I gripped myself and traced the head downward along Eila’s cleft. Eila, still braced against the wall, reached one hand below and spread herself open.
"I’m sorry... Master. Please punish my reckless lower mouth with that hot paddle...!"
"Heh heh, your acting’s improved a bit."
Smack.
Just as she wanted, I pushed the paddle into her, little by little.
"Ahhhhn!!"
The empty walls of Ras Vegas. Together, we looked out over the nighttime plains atop the Stone Golem wall and made love.
Waiting endlessly for the Andras troops to return.
***
"So... you’re telling me that Priest Francis, Sir Pisces, is alive?"
"Yes! I saw it clearly! The orc at the front, uh, the orc had a leash around Priest Francis’s neck and... ugh!"
The scout’s words spread through the entire subjugation force in an instant. If it had been someone else, the reaction might have been muted, but learning that a priest of the Goddess Church capable of wielding divine power was still alive shocked everyone.
"What? The Demon King’s Army always kills priests who can use divine power. So why?"
"Priest Francis is alive? Then maybe my son too...?"
"Sir! Did you happen to see anyone who looks like me! My twin brother!"
In an instant, the crowd descended into chaos. The state of those who had joined the subjugation force to avenge the hostages was beyond words.
"...It’s a trap."
The Knight Commander muttered in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear. Gray broke out in goosebumps at how instantly the Knight Commander had identified it as a trap.
"They’re taking human prisoners to the dungeon...? People they haven’t killed until now, dragging them to the dungeon on purpose...? The enemy isn’t simply stupid. If I assume the enemy is on my level and think through several layers of deception... this is probably a trap to lure us in...."
Gray couldn’t easily interject as the Knight Commander reasoned through the situation under her breath. Speaking carelessly could easily arouse suspicion.
"Commander, for now, let me go calm the soldiers..." freewebnøvel.com
"It would be better if Sir Pisces were not alive...."
Gray froze mid-sentence. The Knight Commander hadn’t even noticed that Gray was listening intently to her muttering, continuing to let her private thoughts spill out.
"The Pisces family donated a fortune to the Church for revenge.... That could become a commission fee. And besides, having a noble house enter the Church any further..."
"Knight Commander!!"
A middle-aged man appeared and dropped to his knees before the Knight Commander. Gaunt and haggard, he slammed his forehead against the ground and pleaded.
"Please, save the prisoners! My, my daughter might be among them!"
"That’s right! If they spared a priest who can use divine power, my child might be alive too! If the Goddess watches over us, they must be alive!"
"Tch."
The Knight Commander clicked her tongue. Gray sensed something was off, but quelling the unrest came first.
"Calm yourselves! We can’t make sound decisions if you’re all this worked up!"
"...Something feels wrong. I don’t like this; it feels like we’re being herded in one direction."
"...Get ahold of yourselves! Listen to the Commander’s orders! If we provoke the enemy recklessly, they might massacre the hostages! ...I escaped from their camp, and I guarantee it! Those bastards will kill hostages the moment things don’t go their way!"
Gray shouted until his throat was raw, and the crowd finally settled. The warning that the hostages might die because of their actions barely managed to cool their frenzy.
"But...!"
Of course, their frenzy was all that had cooled. The desperate hope that their loved ones might still be alive hadn’t faded at all. Every eye turned to the Knight Commander.
"All forces, prepare for battle."
The Knight Commander pulled the banner from the flagpole and handed it to the priest beside her. In her hands now rested a long spear, sharpened to a point on both ends.
"Listen, all of you!!"
Her shout, imbued with divine power, drew the entire subjugation force’s attention.
"We break through the monsters blocking our path! Then we rescue the prisoners! The enemy surely intends to use the hostages as sacrificial offerings in a ritual to summon a high-ranking demon!"
Several people went pale at the Knight Commander’s words. A high-ranking demon summoned with the sacrifice of several hundred humans was dangerous enough to require the Holy Sword’s Hero to deal with.
"Follow me! We save the hostages and destroy the dungeon; we will slaughter every last one of those vermin threatening humanity’s peace! I, Levis An, will lead the vanguard!"
The Holy Knights, counted among the most skilled of the Goddess Church’s battle priests.
And among them, the knight who commanded the Holy Knights: the strongest warrior of the Goddess Church.
Her other name, widely known to the world, was the Holy Lance.
"All forces, prepare to charge!!"
Levis An’s command blanketed the earth.
***
"We’re screwed. The humans are all pissed off."
"Yeah, looks like it."
The Andras troops, who had been holding the line in front of the bridge, shuddered at the sudden shift in the enemy’s demeanor. The humans looked ready to tear them apart at any moment.
"Don’t worry. Master gave us his wisdom for exactly this kind of situation."
Depending on the enemy’s movements, pull out the parchment from the corresponding color-coded envelope. Andras drew the red envelope for the red alert scenario: the enemy attacking them.
"Hmm...."
Andras nodded at her master’s instructions.
"Everyone, about face!"
Click.
The Andras troops spun their beaks 180 degrees in unison. Andras tossed the cumbersome mask head to the ground and pulled up her hood.
"Run!!"
The Andras troops began sprinting forward, toward Ras Vegas. The crumpled parchment in Andras’s hand was caught by the wind and fluttered to the ground.
Thump.
The slip of paper settled gently atop the beak of the taxidermied adult Andras head. On it, three words were scrawled in someone’s hasty handwriting.
This Is Fine.
The instant the human army moved to attack, the Andras unit wheeled around and began retreating like a flash of light.
