Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

Translator: Nat

–Third Person POV–

「Don't falter, advance!」

On Zillia's orders, the 20 soldiers from South Yuguria let out their war cries as they ran forward.

Their objective was to occupy the hill in front.

The area is on the border where relatively flat plains transitioned to a hilled region abundant in high and low grounds, and also where the Goldonian army decided to set up a sturdy defensive encampment by using the differences in elevation.

「If we take that hill, everything around it will also fall. Go without fear of losing your lives!」

Zillia's unit set their aim on the highest hill in the area.

If they secure the location, they'll be able to overlook the Goldonian army and it'll be possible to instantly push up the war front.

The battle is in a stalemate.

Both Goldonia and South Yuguria armies took turns pushing each other back and forth slightly on the many roads extending to the capital, but could not make any progress.

South Yuguria was attacking one-sidedly in the beginning, but the hard-fought battle that followed exhausted much of their strength and dulled their offensive.

Furthermore, the destruction of the eastern army that was supposed to advance from Hardlett's territory and the participation of the famed Hardlett army in the western front caused Goldonia's forces to be concentrated in the front, eliminating the options to overwhelm with numbers or to encircle, and leaving them with no other choice than to attack from the front.

South Yuguria requested for a large quantity of recruits to be drafted to compensate for the lack of soldiers, however Goldonia did the same and neither side could gain the advantage.

With the increase in unskilled soldiers, it became harder to implement rapid military tactics and that added to the stalemate.

However, that kind of strategic problem did not concern the soldiers or lower tier commanders like Zillia who fought on the frontlines.

They simply listened to Central Commander Maestus's orders and devoted their lives to fight.

「Charge――!」

「Uooooh! Rush in!」

As if to encourage themselves, the soldiers shouted loudly and climbed the hill.

Of course, units other than Zillia's spread out to hills on the left and right――

「Stop, defense!」

Zillia orders and her soldiers roll to the ground.

They cling to the backs of shieldbearers.

Several hundreds of arrows come flying from the hills on one side.

Countless metal clinks were heard as the arrows were blocked by the great shields, meanwhile screams and dull thuds of wooden stakes digging into flesh can be heard from those in other squads who were late to raise their guards.

「Don't falter! If we get close, they can't shoot us!」

Zillia stands up and draws her sword, ready to lead her unit.

「Hey, I said wait. It's dangerous in front!」

Trailing directly behind is a muscular veteran soldier――or rather, a soldier who has that appearance, in Christoph.

「Follow me!」

It happened right as Zillia stood at the head of her squad and raised her sword.

An arrow flew under her arm.

Faster than Zillia could turn around in fear for the worst,Christoph let out a pained cry.

「Uwaaaaah!!」

「Aah, Christoph was hit!!」

「An arrow to the chest…… this is quite bad.」

What Zillia saw when she turned around was Christoph with an arrow stuck in his chest slowly falling to his knees.

「Chirstoph!!」

Zillia's face dyed with despair as she held the injured man in her arms.

Christoph stretched out a hand to her and squeezed out a weak voice.

「I…… I'm dying…… aah……」

Christoph's breathing was faint, like it could stop at any time, and his trembling hands could barely grip the shaft of the arrow.

「Don't die Christoph! If you die, then I……」

Teardrops fall on the man's cheek.

「Damn, they got Christoph. We'll definitely avenge him.」

「We can't lose this fight. Everyone, get fired up!」

Nearby soldiers also stopped, their bodies shaking from a mix of grief and anger.

Christoph's hands slip off the arrow and Zillia takes one of those hands in hers.

「……aah, I thought I was going to die.」

With a rattle, the arrow drops harmlessly to the ground.

Zillia and the soldiers froze.

「Man, I never expected an arrow to fly perfectly under my arm like that. I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky.」

Christoph stands back up and for some reason has an accomplished smile on his face.

Zillia's tears instantly dried up and her nasally voice changed into a low-pitched growl.

「……why did you fall down if you only caught an arrow under your arm?」

「I thought for a second that it stabbed me and my hips gave out. I also hyperventilated…… anyways, I'm fine now! Sorry for worrying you.」

Christoph stands up and proves he isn't hurt.

「Apparently Christoph's fine…… this kind of thing happened before too.」

「Yeah, he took a hit from a heavy cavalry's spear and fell into a pond. Thirty minutes later, he crawled back up unscathed.」

「A catapult landed a direct hit…… and he was just buried into the ground. After digging him out, he was fine.」

The soldiers whisper among themselves as they watch Christoph apologize casually.

「……you can't do anything useful, yet you somehow can't get hurt.」

Zillia stares briefly at him before kicking him in the leg.

「Oww! I'm hit!」

In a huff, Zillia once again raises her sword and takes her place in front, setting her sights on the hill.

Other units have already closed the distance on their respective hills and begun to attack.

「Because of some idiot, we're later than our allies. From here on out, we'll also join our comrades――」

Before Zillia finished speaking, soldiers jumped out from the thickets to the right and left of their targeted hill.

「A-an ambush!」

「The enemy is hiding beside us!!」

The South Yuguria army was completely taken by surprise right when they were about to climb the hill.

「There are no soldiers in the enemy camp in front! No wait, a ballista has been set up on the top…… they're going to shoot!」

Since the camp was deserted, the ballista that Goldonia placed on the hilltop could be used without fear of friendly fire, and large bolts, utilizing the height difference to double in strength, can be launched.

「W-we can't hold out. We have to fall back and regroup――」

That wish would not come true.

Goldonia's heavy cavalry, thought to be waiting behind the hill, quickly began to charge at the flustered South Yuguria soldiers.

「Captain Zillia!」

「S-stop the advance. Jumping in there is suicide……」

The soldiers in Zillia's unit stare blankly at the scene.

They couldn't imagine what would have happened to the twenty of them had they participated in the hopeless situation.

「They read our attack and prepared for it, huh? I should get a little touch in.」

「If we continued to run ahead, we would surely…… I'm taking a strand of hair for myself.」

The soldiers turn to Christoph.

「Man, that was close!」

Soldiers promptly rub the innocently smiling Christoph.

「Stop! What's with you guys, gross! My hair…… uwaaah!」

And then, that was when a messenger runs in from behind with orders from headquarters.

「All units, pull back! I repeat, all units pull back! Halt your attack and retreat immediately!」

「You heard that? Retreat, fall back!」

「It doesn't feel good abandoning allies, but they can't be saved.」

「After they've been killed, we'll be next. We can only run!」

「Uwaaaaah!」

Zillia, who collected herself, instructs her unit to begin slowly withdrawing.

However, by then, the squads in front had already collapsed and a group of Goldonian soldiers were closing in on the halfway position Zillia's unit stopped at.

「The enemy is giving pursuit!」

「Are there any allies around…… wait, of course not, the order to retreat was just issued!」

Goldonia's vanguard were right on their tail.

「Kuh, it can't be helped.」

Zillia made a face that was like she bit down on a bug and considered ordering her unit to turn around.

She didn't do so because there was already someone who stood in place behind the squad―― it was Christoph.

Wearing an expression tinged with distress, Christoph stood imposingly with his sword at the ready.

「Who's this guy? He's here alone?」

Christoph quietly stares at the Goldonia soldier who points a spearhead at him in confusion.

His handsome manly face, his bulging muscles, his armor adorned with countless scratches, and most importantly, the action of distancing from his allies implicitly told his foes that he was a brave warrior of many battles.

Although the Goldonian soldiers gradually surrounded Christoph, none of them seemed willing or confident enough to make the first move.

「Be careful. He doesn't seem like an ordinary warrior.」

「Don't be impatient…… if you step forward recklessly, your head will be sent flying.」

Christoph steadied his sword at eye level before raising it above his head and softly uttering a single word.

「Come.」

That was enough for the Goldonian soldiers to take a half step backwards.

「At first glance, he's wide open…… except a fighter of his level would not leave himself so unguarded. If you get provoked by him, you're done.」

「Our spears should have a longer reach than his sword…… yet what's this pressure he's emitting!? I can't approach!」

Christoph was already encircled by the soldiers.

But nobody moved a single step.

「You aren't coming yet?」

Christoph glances behind him and mutters.

「T-take another half a step backwards. You don't know what he'll do.」

「Don't we have crossbows!? It's too dangerous to engage him in close combat!」

Christoph looks behind him again…… specifically at Zillia.

「C'mon, get a clue.」

「Ah.」

Zillia, whose attention was captured by the fight, realized that Christoph was simply requesting to be saved.

Then, she remembered seeing him in the corner of her eye panic after getting the retreat order and trip.

For some reason, the Goldonian soldiers are inching away from him.

「This guy―― he's holding back a smile!」

「What a guy! If you look closely, you can see his entire body trembling with excitement. Does he find pleasure at the prospect of hunting and killing all of us!?」

"No, his shaking and his face stiffening is due to fear", Zillia commented inside her heart.

Then, a large bee wandered into the battlefield somehow and buzzed its way into a gap in Christoph's armor.

Since there was such a tense atmosphere shared by Christoph and the Goldonian soldiers, nobody paid it any heed.

「Even though he's a master swordsman, he's alone and we can't keep this staring contest going.」

「Yeah, we have to be prepared to accept loss when we attack him. How many will survive……」

Goldonia seemed to find the determination to make a move.

Perhaps affected by the strained mood, the bee stabbed Christoph in the ass with its stinger.

「Uwaaaaah!!」

Christoph screams at the unanticipated pain, simultaneously throwing his sword up in the air and dropping down to a knee.

He twists his body and repeatedly slaps his butt in an attempt to expel the foreign object.

「Dowaah!」

「He beat us to the punch!」

「Not good! Retreat for now!」

Literally right when the Goldonia soldiers were about to yell and attack, they were forced to keep their distance.

「Now, save Christoph! We're making a break for it as soon as we retrieve him.」

Zillia does not miss her chance.

She was successful in dragging out Christoph who was leaking tears and snot from a tiny little poke.

――That Night. South Yuguria Army Garrison.

「Owww…… it hurts.」

「Don't whine like a baby, it's only a bee sting. You're really such a pathetic man.」

Inside a tent, Zillia is spreading a medicinal herb over the swollen area on Christoph's ass.

It wasn't particularly precious and could be commonly seen growing on the roadside.

「I can't take it…… my butt hurts so much I'm going to die…… the first to die in this squad is definitely going to be me.」

「What a mysterious phenomenon, I can't explain it.」

After finishing the crude application, Zillia gives the reddened ass a slap.

Her unit of 20 was formed in a hurry and by no means a collection of elites.

Half are amateurs who were drafted and naturally did not own powerful weapons.

The most capable in the squad, whose individual skills are not very outstanding either, is probably Zillia herself.

Honestly, the level of her unit can be gauged by looking at the incompetence of the man thrust into the position of commander's assistant.

Nevertheless, South Yuguria could not afford to leave any resources idle and this provisional unit had already experienced five battles.

Other 20-man squads had either completely collapsed or suffered major losses or had all its members aside from the captain replaced.

Among all the squads, Zillia's unit stood out.

「Zero casualties, zero injured…… it's strange enough that commissioned officers from headquarters suspect us of deserting our duties.」

The members of the unit remained the same since establishment, in other words, nobody retired from battle.

Even an elite squad from the headquarters could not achieve such a feat.

「You're useless, but you have ridiculously good luck.」

Zillia couldn't help smiling when she sees Christoph in front of her, sobbing as he rubs his sore ass.

The small bald spot on the back of his head was because soldiers pulled out some of his hair to keep as a lucky charm.

Some soldiers passing by outside the tent can be heard talking.

「Did you hear what happened? Apparently the army that landed in the west was massacred.」

「Yeah, it was Hardlett―― the demon who destroyed the eastern army, right?」

「I hear he himself killed and ate a hundred male soldiers, and also raped to death a hundred female soldiers.」

Zillia automatically turns to Christoph to measure his reaction.

「The boss's fights are real spectacles. He always generates crazy rumors wherever he goes. He's actually a really nice guy though.」

The man stops sniffling and a troubled smile forms on his face.

「This is between you and me―― but I hear Meldora's fleet was pretty badly beaten.」

「You're kidding. Hardlett may be a demon, but he shouldn't have ships. In the first place, I thought demons were afraid of flowing water.」

「That's an urban legend related to vampires…… Well, I don't really know the details. All I know is that an equally frightening female demon appeared…… that demon turned a human head to mush with her bare hands and laughed maniacally.」

Christoph agreed how horrible that sounded and stifled a chuckle.

Zillia briefly laughed along, though her face quickly became dark as she rubbed Christoph's back.

「Scary…… it's a good thing this is happening on the west side.」

「Idiot, we're going all the way to the capital. That means we'll eventually meet up.」

The soldiers' voices grew distant and could not be heard anymore.

Christoph's smile disappeared.

「I'll have to face the boss one day. No, it won't just be him. My man Agor, big sis Irijina, the little Celia-chan, I'll have to confront them and――」

Zillia cuts Christoph off by pressing her lips on his.

Her tongue slips inside his mouth.

「Nn……」

The kiss lasted for ten seconds before the two separated, creating a strand of saliva connecting their lips.

「Zillia……」

「Hardlett is a commander who leads several tens of thousands. There's no way he'll appear in front of a worthless squad like ours.」

Zillia quickly spat out what she had to say before pushing her lips against Christoph's again.

「Still, if that happens…… I'll protect you. Even if I'll be called a traitor…… no matter what……」

Christoph's firm gaze made Zillia blush and insert her tongue deeper.

Her muffled words were unclear, but the man did not bother asking her to repeat them.

A moment of silence followed after their prolonged kiss.

「Christoph……」

Zillia's eyes dropped to the man's lower half, who, after being satisfied by his reaction, started to strip down to her underwear.

「I helped tend to your ass. Now it's your turn to massage me.」

Zillia climbs on the bed and lays flat on her stomach, conscious of the man's attention to her ass.

「It's tiring being captain. My whole body feels stiff…… why don't you massage me the way you like.」

The man's hands gingerly touch the woman's pale back.

「Do a thorough job in the front and in the back. I want a careful and comprehensive one.」

The man's ragged breathing hits her neck.

「If you need to, you can take off my underwear. Otherwise, there'll be places you can't massage.」

The man grabs the woman's shoulders and flips her onto her back.

「You know where I'm feeling tight, don't you? Why don't you use that…… to massage me here. I'll let you do as you please…… so do it to your heart's content……」

Zillia relaxes her entire body and closes her eyes, leaving the man in charge of everything.

One Hour Later.

「Fuu…… alright, I'm taking a bath first.」

Christoph kisses the woman's sweaty back and exits the tent with a gentle smile.

Zillia, left half-naked, did not respond.

Long after the man parted, the woman slowly lifts her body up and mutters in frustration.

「He actually just gave me a massage and left!」

Zillia pounds her fist on the bed angrily.

「Even after I said all that! And did all that! Wouldn't it be clear to him!? Is he a child!!? Embrace me, gosh! You got a woman in the mood, so reap the reward!」

Zillia's fist slams the bed a couple more times.

「Ah, my shoulders feel light. Wow, all the knots are gone.」

Zillia rotates her arm smoothly before dressing herself and running after Christoph.