Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

–Aegir POV–

The enemy monster opens its mouth as wide as possible and lets out a low-pitched roar that shakes the earth.

Pochi falters slightly, however it manages to reply with a determined growl with Pipi’s encouragement.

The two monsters glare at each other while walking cautiously in a circle.

I can hear the panicked neighs coming from the horses in both the enemy and ally camps.

Soldiers also cause a commotion unlike one originating from spectating a duel between humans.

「Lord Hardlett, what is that? Could it possibly be a dra-」

A messenger visits from headquarters. Erich probably instructed him to.

Almost all the allied soldiers are looking at me for an answer.

「It’s our own giant lizard. I picked up an egg from a cave in the past and this is what hatched out. 」

「How vague……」

The messenger runs back to deliver his message, puzzled by my response.

The allied soldiers don’t shift their gazes from me.

「Argh, who cares about such details on a battlefield!」

I yell and chase them away.

Have Leopolt explain it after everything is over.

Anyway, back to the crucial fight.

「In terms of size…… the enemy has us beat. 」

Celia’s right, Pochi is 10 m long whereas the enemy is 15 m long.

Additionally, the enemy has a stout build and a greater weight compared to the slender Pochi.

「The enemy is attacking!」

After briefly distancing itself, the enemy monster charges swiftly and pounces at Pochi’s chest.

It uses the sharp nails on its front leg to strike Pochi.

Part of Pochi’s armor gets shaved off and fragments scatter.

Small cheers well up from the enemy side.

「Now Pochi’s attacking!」

Pochi roars and runs close to the enemy, then swings both of its arms from above the enemy’s head.

A metallic clink resonated when the enemy’s chin hit the ground.

Someone let out a quiet ‘ooh’ from the crowd of allies.

However, the enemy shakes its head once and gets up like nothing happened.

「Neither side’s attacks are working. 」

Pochi’s scales are as hard as steel and the enemy monster also seems tough.

If both are wearing armor on top of that, it’ll take more than a fist fight to bring either of them down.

「But Pochi has…… aah!」

Celia stops her sentence midway.

The enemy monster leaps with its hind legs and bites Pochi on the face.

I guess Pochi did not expect such speed to come from the large creature and could not react in time.

Pochi cries out in pain and claws at the monster to get it to let go, but the enemy monster is hanging on tightly with its front legs. Fangs as big as myself press down through the armor with a distinct crack.

Disappointed groans leak from the crowd of allies until the inside of Pochi’s mouth starts to glow red.

Perhaps afraid of the heat, the enemy monster releases its grip and jumps backward.

Immediately after, a stream of fire shoots out, passing just barely above the enemy’s head.

「Uoooh! It breathes fire!?」

「A large lizard with four legs and giant wings on its back?」

「Isn’t that a dra-」

I ignore the comments and click my tongue.

「That idiot, missed the perfect chance. 」

The enemy didn’t expect Pochi’s flames.

If aimed properly, Pochi should have landed the attack.

Now, the enemy knows to look out for it, making it hard to get a second chance, especially with how quick the monster moves.

Once its flames are exhausted, Pochi raises its head to take a breather.

The enemy won’t let such a big opening slip.

The monster turns its head to the back and does a spin.

Its thick tail whips around and hits Pochi right in the middle of its torso.

「Aah, Pochi’s down!」

With a sound similar to the simultaneous firing of ten cannons, Pochi falls on its side.

A sorrowful screech echoes.

No matter how hard its scales are, the impact from a blunt instrument travels through to its internal organs.

That was definitely a critical blow.

「Get up, Pochi! You can do it!」

Pipi shouts from the cage-like saddle attached to the back of Pochi’s armor.

That thing must be sturdy if it didn’t get knocked off from the powerful attack.

Aided by Pipi’s encouragement, Pochi slowly stands up.

It gets up on its hind legs, raises its arms high…… and with a loud roar, charges at the enemy.

Pochi unleashes a series of swipes, alternating between its left and right arms, while also occasionally throwing in some kicks.

「Aegir-sama, this is a little hard to say. 」

I get why Celia’s hesitant.

That kind of reckless attack is something a child who was made to cry by a scuffle would do.

Pochi sobs while wildly flailing its arms.

The enemy was bewildered by the continuous attack, but because Pochi didn’t put weight behind its attacks, not much damage was done.

Moreover, when a nail coincidentally slides into a gap in the armor and scratches the enemy’s skin to draw blood, it was Pochi that paused.

That gave the enemy room to land a headbutt, forcing Pochi to stagger backwards.

I unconsciously rest my head in my hand.

「There was no way that kind of personality would be beneficial in a brawl. 」

That stern face probably got scared after seeing the enemy’s blood.

And the initial flame attack was also missed on purpose.

Actually, Pochi was being bullied the entire fight, it just didn’t stand out because of the size difference and the steel scales deflecting all of the enemy’s attacks……more importantly, Pochi is the type who cries and runs without getting angry when punched.

The purpose of wearing all that armor is not so it can protect its body, but so that it can feel safe.

I’m sure Pipi also had to constantly spur Pochi on to finally fight.

「Ah, Pochi is running!」

Pochi spreads its wings and lifts itself in the air.

Its back is completely turned to the enemy with the intent to run away.

But the enemy doesn’t allow that.

The enemy monster builds up momentum by accelerating, launches itself using its hind legs, bites Pochi’s hind leg and then pulls the lizard to the ground.

The impact created by the crashing of the two giant bodies sent tremendous shockwaves rippling out, causing enemy and ally soldiers to stumble and knocking knights off their horse.

「Ukyaa!」

「Wah!」

「Hinya. 」

Celia also rolls off her horse, Myla somehow stabilizes, and Sekrit turns a somersault.

Wait, that last cute shriek was you?

Pochi flops around, hastily trying to get up――then suddenly freezes.

It realizes that falling on its back means the cage Pipi was in got flattened.

Pochi disregards the enemy and cries sadly as it fumbles for the broken pieces of the armor.

However, it could not find the tiny Pipi.

Despite the racial difference and armor covering its face, I can clearly tell the dread in Pochi’s expression as it looks to me for salvation.

Tears are pooling in its eyes.

Seeing Pochi’s vulnerable back, the enemy monster pounces.

Its giant claws dig into the lizard’s wings, making ripping sounds.

「It’s trying to tear off its wings!」

I stay silent and close my eyes.

Pochi’s miserable whines cease and it closes its eyes overflowing with tears.

「There are variations when it comes to cowards too. Some are cowards down to the core and only know how to run――」

Pochi’s nail grinds against the ground.

「And then there are those who have a line indicating the limit of how much they’ll yield. 」

Pochi’s eyes suddenly open wide.

The pupils inside its familiar eyes split vertically.

This is also a sign easily discernible irrespective of race, burning anger.

Pochi uses its wings which the enemy was grappling with to envelop the monster and rolls its body to throw off the enemy.

The force kicks up dirt and dust and also causes the enemy to lose its grip.

However, Pochi also tumbled over, slowing its get-up time.

The enemy, who stood up quicker, attacked in order to prevent Pochi from recovering.

「T-the attack was blocked!」

Pochi uses its own front legs to match the enemy’s front legs…… I guess it’s fine to consider them arms in Pochi’s case……and stops the strike.

Although somewhat startled by the reaction, the enemy quickly proceeded to growl and bite down on Pochi’s exposed shoulder.

The human-sized teeth press down against the lizard’s flesh――then snap with a moist bursting sound.

「Pochi was wearing armor when its head was bitten, that’s why teeth could sink in. Pochi’s stupidly hard scales are way too strong to allow a mere lizard’s fangs to penetrate them. 」

With the enemy monster reeling from the pain and shock, Pochi returns the favor by biting down with its fangs.

The merciless chomp pierces through the lizard’s thick skin and spills purple blood.

Pochi, with the enemy still held in its mouth, lets out a terrifying roar to the point it seems like an entirely different lizard, and thrashes its head left and right before slamming the enemy into the ground.

The enemy was fast to stand back up, however its eyes were spinning and its legs were wobbling.

「It’s a follow-up attack!」

Pochi inhales and spits out a large fireball.

This time, Pochi doesn’t try to miss. It lands a direct hit that engulfs the enemy from the face to the tip of its tail.

As a result, the monster becomes a mass of flames and rolls around like a moving forest fire.

「It’s not over yet. 」

Pochi spreads its wings and takes to the sky.

It isn’t running this time. It is to finish off the enemy.

Pochi hovers over the flaming lizard and grabs it, then furiously flaps its wings.

「……it’s going to pick that thing up? W-will that even be possible?」

「That’s what it looks like. How interesting. 」

The enemy monster weighs at least two times Pochi does.

But Pochi roars and flaps hard enough for the wind to blow us away even when we’re standing at a considerable distance from the battle as it slowly lifts the lizard.

Although the air pressure snuffs out the fire, there is nothing the monster can do to its carrier no matter how much it struggles.

Pochi, as if to convey its victory to Pipi, flies one lap above the enemy and ally armies and then rapidly descends before dropping the monster to the ground.

Even a monster of that size is powerless to falling from that height and speed.

The armor it is wearing shatters on impact with the ground, and the monster lets out an agonizing squeal…… then it stops moving entirely.

「「「Uwaaah!」」」

The subsequent earthquake is violent, throwing us off balance and putting our hands on the ground to support ourselves.

Schwartz, who was carelessly sniffing a woman’s butt, flipped onto his back magnificently. Hah, serves him right.

「We won……right?」

Celia’s small victory declaration triggers our allies to gradually cheer louder.

「What an incredible dra――I mean, lizard!」

「To be able to breathe fire, I expected nothing less of the legendary dra――lizard!」

「That’s the Lord Hardlett I know, leading a guardian dra――lizard!」

But Pochi, who the cheers are directed to, doesn’t react.

Pochi ignores the rejoicing allies and the fallen enemy, simply looking up at the sky and crying.

「I feel sorry for it, so it’s about time to tell the truth. 」

I call Pochi and point a finger at its forehead.

Pochi’s teary eyes converge to the center of its head.

「Good job Pochi. You were so cool. 」

Just before the cage was crushed, Pipi escaped and she had been clinging onto Pochi’s head the whole time.

It was immediately noticeable since we’re watching from afar, but Pochi’s enraged state would likely revert back to normal if anything was said, so I kept quiet.

Pochi trembles briefly, then puts Pipi carefully on its back and starts to dance.

After a few steps, it slumps over sadly and whines.

「……there’s blood coming from its wings after all. 」

「Several scales got ripped off too. 」

「Two nails on its foot also broke. 」

Pochi without anger doesn’t have the guts to push through injuries and fight.

This is where it will retire.

「You did well. 」

I leave a parting remark to Pochi as it drags its leg back home.

Well, the morale of our allies have increased with the victory in the monster battle.

Now, it’s time for Erich and Leopolt to show me their command.

「What is a prisoner doing over here!?」

I hear an ally soldier yell behind me.

A prisoner? Hm, did Piris slip outside again?

Damn Yakov, I’ll have to kick his ass.

「If you don’t stop……hey, you’re covered in blood. 」

The soldier’s strict tone changes to a surprised tone.

I turn around and see Benel standing there.

「Why did you come here? Didn’t you tell me you weren’t going to go close to the frontlines so you can avoid any misunderstandings?」

Benel walks unsteadily and slowly extends her arms toward me.

「Why……do you have a sword stuck in your body?」

I could tell the pitch of my own voice has raised.

A short sword was stabbed deep in her abdomen.

I also stretch out my arms to catch her.

「Agh. 」

She lets out a small groan as something light hits her.

Benel’s chin suddenly tilts back, revealing a blade protruding from her chest.

「Hey. 」

The sword thrown at her back pierced through.

Blood squirts out.

At the same time, a woman wearing an ally soldier’s uniform runs by, passing me and going straight to the enemy side.

Without looking at the woman, I support the falling Benel.

The blood which flows out from where the sword stabbed her trickles down her waist and dyes her legs red.

Blood also radiates from the sword stuck in her chest, creating a red circle on her upper body.

Everytime she moves, she coughs out a little blood.

Once Benel lands in my arms, I gently lay her on the ground.

There’s no time to speak.

I quickly place one hand on the sword in her back and place the other hand on the sword in her chest, then let go without doing anything.

She’s losing a lot of blood. If I remove the swords, she’ll bleed to death.

The sword that entered her back pierced her lung and the sword that stabbed her in the abdomen pierced her liver.

Both are fatal injuries to her vitals. Those I’ve seen with these kinds of wounds――don’t survive.

I try to search for Pochi, but the lizard has already disappeared.

There’s no time to call it back either.

「……kah. 」

Benel grabs my hand.

She coughs out blood when she does, which splatters on my cheek.

Normally, I should be asking “what happened?” or “who did this?”

But, with those serious injuries, her life might vanish after answering.

「……don’t say anything. A doctor will come soon. 」

I speak in a calm, composed manner.

Only a hint of restlessness was in my voice as I embraced Benel reassuringly.

Still, she tries to painfully squeeze out some words.

「……ga……gh……」

I couldn’t tell her not to speak when she’s trying so hard.

「……gh……gh……so-sorry. I was a spy. 」

「I knew. 」

The cute voice perfectly fitting my preferences weakly strings words together.

「But……it was fun. The sex also felt great. 」

「I had a blast too. 」

The blonde hair that I like tickles my nose.

「E-everyday, I did my gehoh……spy duties. 」

「What a bad girl. 」

Heat slowly leaves the soft body of my dreams.

「Yet why……uugh……didn’t you tell your allies? What did I do wrong?」

Tears spill from her charming eyes.

「I thought about it……and couldn’t figure it out. 」

Benel shows me one final lovely smile before her head slumps over and dangles lifelessly.

「Sorry for the wait! Th-this is horrible……surely there’s nothing that can be done……」

The doctor who Celia called makes a quick observation as soon as he arrives.

I also hear Pochi’s roar from a distance probably after being called back by Myla.

I carefully lay Benel’s body down. I purposely avoid looking at her breathing and her pulse.

Hope is faint……I know that without needing a doctor to tell me due to the amount of blood loss.

I stand up and look ahead.

「This is the fate of a spy. 」

I let out a big sigh.

「And this is war. It’s not surprising for there to be foul play. It might also be a misunderstanding of orders. 」

I wipe the blood off my hand and face on my armor.

「It’s my fault for not protecting you. 」

My eyes slowly blink twice.

「Could this be some sort of plot?」

I knew it.

Knowing that, I can’t contain my anger.

I can sympathize with what Pochi was feeling earlier.

The blood in my dick, which kept it erect for several weeks now, drains and shoots up to my head.

The war, victory, and even my own life doesn’t matter to me at this very moment.

My woman, the woman who I’ve grown to love, was killed in front of me.

Where is the person I can vent this anger to?

My eyes lock onto the woman wearing an allied soldier’s uniform and entering the enemy camp.

I am fully aware of the killing intent directed to her.

I want to kill her even though she’s a woman.

The doctor puts his mouth over Benel’s mouth and blows air into her lungs.

She’s not breathing anymore, meaning she’s essentially dead.

「I see, so you killed her. You killed my woman, huh?」

I did not speak to anybody in particular.

I said it to myself so I alone would get angry.

My vision slowly tints with a red color.

From both armies starting to advance forward, to messengers running around, to Celia and Myla pulling my arms, everything slows down.

My mouth opens unconsciously.

Air travels up from my lungs, through my throat and out my mouth.

There was no sound at first, then eventually my larynx vibrated, and by the time my vision went completely red, I was emitting something close to a roar.

Nearby horses rear up, monsters flee from the enemy camp, and Celia and Myla stumble to the ground.

If this was a play, I would scream “how dare you kill my beloved Benel. I won’t forgive you. I’ll get my revenge”, at this time. But all I could do was release all my frustrations at once.

Words are not needed. Neither is logic or thoughts.

The one who killed my Benel was the enemy. In that case, I just have to kill them all.

I ran straight towards the enemy camp.

「A-Aegir-sama! You must not charge in like that! Aaah, you left your sword behind――!!」

Fast, I have to kill them all as fast as possible.

I simply move my legs without thinking of anything else.

「Listen, headquarters implemented a plan. If it goes well, Hardlett’s army will either protrude or fall into disarray. Get ready to surround and annihilate them. 」

「Umu, then let us have one squad on standby――wait, is Hardlett’s army already here…… no, he’s charging by himself!」

I hear the enemy’s voices, but I don’t try to understand what they’re saying.

「Idiot, he fell right into the trap!」

「It’s over when you let blood rush to your head!」

「Hey, he’s unarmed…… you’re kidding, right!?」

Skirmishers wielding swords jump out in front of the enemy camp to face me.

Oh right, I didn’t bring my sword or spear with me.

One comes from the left and two come from the right.

As they enter my red field of view, they move as slow as caterpillars.

「I’ll kill everyone. 」

I mutter.

I grab the arm swung at me from above and pull the enemy’s other arm toward me to bring the enemy closer, but I end up tearing both arms off with wet squelching sounds.

I grab the second enemy by the throat and pull him similar to how I pulled the first guy, and his arms also come off shortly after tugging.

For the last soldier, I grab his sword, trip his feet and stomp on his stomach when he falls.

With those three killed, I move on to my next opponents, whose expressions don’t change.

Their eyes and brains probably can’t follow what’s happening.

It was only after I ripped apart my eighth soldier when the enemies’ expressions changed and started to scream in horror.

Time seems to flow even slower as I occasionally hear my heartbeat in my head reminding me of my own actions.

「He tore eight people in pieces――!? It hasn’t been two seconds yet!」

「I-it’s no good! He isn’t someone we can surround with skirmishers! That guy can’t be treated as a human! He’s a one-man army, we have to fight in formation!」

The skirmishers take refuge within the enemy camp and a spear unit steps forward.

That’s right, gather together. It’ll be easier for me to murder you lot.

I ran at the enemy, still empty-handed.

My eyes fixate on the forest of spears, allowing me to jump at the last second.

「He’s charging in!」

「Don’t ease up! You saw how he ripped our allies with his bare hands, right!?」

Of course I’m not Schwartz and I don’t have the leg power to leap over a wall of spears, so I jump in the middle instead.

The spearheads converge on me in slow motion.

I don’t panic.

Such slow spears can’t kill me.

The enemy soldiers think they thrusted collectively, but it’s not strictly at the same time.

The normally unnoticeable gaps just seem clearer when I’m in this state.

I twist my body to fit those gaps or throw out the spear with the soldier to create a gap.

「Breaking a wall of spears with his bare hands!?」

「This must be some kind of……bad……dream. 」

I bypass the spears and stand in front of the enemy soldiers.

Now I can finally kill you.

I send my fists at two separate enemies.

It’s apparent even to me that power on a different level manifests itself when I’m angry.

My fists crush the soldiers’ noses, break the bones of their faces and sinks inside their skulls, causing blood to gush out of their ears like a fountain.

I have to kill that guy in between my arms too……in other words, the guy in front of me.

I bite down on the area below his chin, then jerk my face up, peeling off the skin up to his forehead.

「D-demonnn!!」

The sound of plucking string perks up my ear.

I snap two long spears and block the flying bolt.

「……huh? What happened?」

「I didn’t see…… the bolt got deflected……? It was shot at less than three meters though!」

The string of the crossbow twanged again.

I spin around, immediately scanning the air for the flying bolt, and knocking it down.

It was impossible to evade one of them, although it only stabbed into my shoulder, which isn’t too much of a problem.

I feel the slight impact on my shoulder, but absolutely no pain.

My anger erased painful sensations entirely.

「I’m killing you too. 」

I throw the two broken spears.

The soldier who props up a shield and the soldier who tries to block with his arms both get skewered and die.

「A chance!」

「Kiieeeeee!!」

Keysian mercenaries jump over the spearmen and attack me with their strange swords.

I catch the swords with my bare hands, stopping them temporarily in midair before slamming the two mercenaries to the ground.

That makes two fruit smashing sounds.

I notice cuts on the palms of my hands, but don’t pay much attention to it since I can fight unobstructed as long as my fingers are attached.

Next, the Keysian mercenaries ride in on giant beasts with a large nose.

I pick up the strange swords dropped by the Keysian mercenaries without hesitation, one in each hand, and rush at the unknown beast.

The monster swings the nose which is comparable to steel.

It’s completely unlike the one from yesterday――and it moves sluggishly like a broken pendulum clock.

Maintaining my speed, I run until I’m in front of the beast and then slide under it.

The monster squeals, raising its foot to try and crush me, but it’s too late.

As the momentum carries me forward, I use my two swords to slit open its belly.

I relocate myself before the guts splatter on me, and run past the surprised Keysian monster tamer, then plunge one sword in the left and right eye of the monster in the rear.

「In that case, even though it’s risky, bring them out!」

The door to a transportable cage opens and a club-wielding orc wearing a chain collar walks out grumpily.

「It’s an especially violent and massive orc! It’ll easily trample a human――」

I start running toward the orc before the enemy finishes speaking.

I don’t care if I fight humans or monsters.

I’ll kill everyone who gets in my way.

Responding to me charging at it, the orc swings its club at me.

I decide to accept the full brunt of the heavy and way-too-slow strike.

A subtle crunch comes from my molars chipping as I clench my teeth to bear the orc’s power.

Naturally, my arms strain and I hear my flexed muscles begin to rip.

I could have easily avoided this predicament by dodging.

I just……didn’t want to waste time. I wanted to kill this guy faster, even if it is only by one second.

「So South Yuguria is able to get a dirty orc on their side?」

I grab the orc’s club and pull it towards me.

The monster that is easily over 3 m tall leans forward, dangerously close to stumbling.

「Then I can’t let you return alive. 」

I hold the orc by its ugly ears and bite down on its neck, suspending my body by grappling with it.

I ignore the unpleasant stench of grime and grease, and with my canines sunk into its skin, shake my head, growling like a rabid dog.

The orc lets out a nasty scream and struggles, but I hang on by its half-torn ears and don’t let go.

My teeth pierce the orc’s thick skin and push its way through the fat to bite through its carotid artery.

Fresh blood spurts out and the orc roars in pain as it falls down trying to cover the hole in its neck with its hands.

I chew the various things torn off in my mouth a few times and then spit it out.

「Fuuuu. 」

「Ah, aaah……he bit the orc to death. 」

「He’s a monster. Humans can’t match him. 」

The moment I groaned, the enemy soldiers fled from me.

Hundreds of people scattered.

Hey, I haven’t killed everyone yet. Come back here.