In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 278

Chapter 278: The Kukkoro Male Knight and a Joint Battle Line 3

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I separated two units from the main force. One was Lady Dalaiya and her followers—the Dalaiya Detachment. The other was the Josette Detachment, formed by repurposing the knight corps as it was. I had those two detachments fall back once and assigned them to support the “Legitimate” army.

The remaining main force consisted of the Elders and their followers, along with our marines. Since a considerable amount of strength had been pulled from the front of the main force, the pressure on the enemy naturally dropped in a noticeable way. Of course, the enemy did not miss that opening. As if delighted by their good fortune, they launched a fierce offensive.

“Chestreesben!”

An Elf soldier of the Martyrs charged in while shouting like a beast. It was nothing short of reckless, headlong assault. I immediately drew the revolver from my hip holster and fired at once. Two dry gunshots rang out in succession, and the Martyr Elf soldier collapsed.

“This is nothing!”

However, felling one soldier did nothing to dampen the morale of the Elf troops. Without the slightest sign of hesitation, another Elf soldier charged. The obsidian blade of her wooden sword, raised high overhead, gleamed sharply in the dappled sunlight.

“Kieeeeeeeee!!”

Letting go of the handgun, I shouted with all my might. Then I grabbed the hilt of my saber and drew it. Before her white blade—no, black blade—could reach me, I cut the Elf soldier cleanly in two.

“What a fast draw!”

“It was like lightning!”

The Elder-faction Elf soldiers nearby cried out in admiration. I broke into a grin beneath my helmet, but before I could respond, one of the Elders raised her wooden sword and shouted:

“You lot! A man’s being attacked right in front of you! Move your bodies before you move your mouths!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Rebuked by their superior, the Elder-faction soldiers hurriedly rained arrows upon the Martyrs charging toward us. The fairy bows used by the Elves were categorized as shortbows, but they were extremely powerful, comparable in strength to longbows. With a single volley, multiple Elf soldiers fell.

“Don’t fall behind the Elves! Charge!”

“Uoooooh! Semper Fi!”

Toward the Martyr unit, whose momentum had been blunted by the volley of fairy bows, the marines charged with cavalry carbines fitted with bayonets. It was a splendid combination of gunfire and assault. Even the formidable Elf soldiers could not fully respond, and a considerable number were pierced through by sharp bayonets and died.

But the Elves were not such easy opponents as to be wiped out by that alone. In the blink of an eye, they re-formed and began pressing the marines in return. They deftly avoided bayonet thrusts and, seizing openings, slashed with their wooden swords. Admirable technique, even as enemies.

A rifle with a fixed bayonet had a reach comparable to a short spear, so against swords it could fight at an advantage… but the enemy were elite Elf soldiers. The difference in training was hard to overcome. In frontal close combat, we were clearly at a disadvantage.

“Oh ho, oh ho. You short-lived ones aren’t half bad, are you?”

“You lot are fine warriors yourselves. Don’t underestimate us!”

Speaking cheerfully, the Elder-faction soldiers stepped in to support the marines. Frankly, it was a tremendous help. Only Elf soldiers could truly stand against Elf soldiers. I could not help but feel that way. Their level of training was seriously dangerous.

With brave battle cries (or perhaps battle shrieks?), the Elder-faction soldiers began swinging their swords to shield the Liseben troops. I had witnessed this sight many times already. It seemed that among the Elves, there was a value system that considered it shameful to die after men or short-lived races. Thanks to that, despite this being our first joint operation, we were fighting with remarkable smoothness.

“Third Platoon! Leave that to the Elves and fall back for now!”

While retrieving the pistol I had dropped earlier by pulling in its lanyard, I gave the order. Since we were overwhelmingly disadvantaged in close combat, I honestly wanted to avoid bayonet charges as much as possible.

That said, their reckless charge had been carried out to support me. For that, I had to properly express my gratitude. Praise them, thank them. If a commander neglected that, his subordinates would not follow him.

I roughly slapped the shoulders of the marines retreating in a fluster and called out, “Well done! I’m fortunate to have subordinates like you!” Then, in an almost offhand tone, I ordered, “Fall back for now and reload your rifles.”

“Understood!”

The Liseben soldiers withdrew to the rear with proud smiles. It seemed my approach had worked. If I had bluntly ordered, “Leave the front to the Elves and fall back!” it would have crushed their pride, so I had to be careful with my phrasing. It was a bit troublesome, but whether one paid attention to such details made a world of difference in how subordinates viewed their commander. Better to be considerate.

“You poisonous man! Die already!”

Shouting that, an Elf soldier launched a surprise attack from the treetops. They were as adept at climbing trees as monkeys and frequently used the trees to attack. Nothing could be more troublesome.

“The one who’ll die is you!”

Before I could move to intercept, Sonia roared and swung her sword. The Elf soldier who received a blow from her prized greatsword was split clean in two before even landing. Blood and entrails splattered, staining the surrounding trees. Well… that was splatter.

“Now! Loose your arrows!”

But the treetop attack did not end there. Before I knew it, Elf soldiers had gathered thick as hanging fruit on the branches of nearby great trees and shot arrows all at once. It was already too late to evade. I turned sideways to minimize my exposed area and tried to strike down the arrows with my saber.

“I won’t allow it!”

One of the Elders leapt forward and chanted a spell in a singing tone. A gust-of-wind spell activated and blew away the rain of arrows. In the end, not a single arrow reached me.

“Return fire!”

As I gave the order, I fired my pistol at the Elf archers in the trees. A moment later, rifle shots overlapped, and the Elf soldiers on the branches tumbled down one after another.

“You fall back too! When a man stands at the front, it makes us too anxious to fight!”

The Elder who had saved me from danger said that with an enraged expression. She genuinely seemed worried about me.

“However…”

In a forest with poor visibility, having the commander at the front could not be avoided. I was about to argue that point, but the Elder grabbed my arm without further discussion and dragged me toward the rear. I shot a glance at Sonia for help, but she ignored me with a composed expression. It seemed Sonia shared the Elder’s view.

In the end, I was dragged to the base of a giant tree growing at the edge of the village. It was somewhat removed from the area currently serving as the battlefield. Certainly, it was safer here.

“You there! Why did you pull soldiers from the main force and send them to the rear? Are the rebels struggling so much they can’t even protect the men?”

After releasing my arm, the Elder asked that. Her expression was extremely stern. If I affirmed it, she looked ready to dash off at once to support the “Legitimate” army.

“Are you worried? About the noncombatants?”

“Of course I am! There are quite a few men among them! If those youngsters get captured by the rebels, just what kind of fate will they suffer…?”

With an almost desperate intensity, the Elder spoke passionately. It seemed she was truly worried about the men retreating. Elves were often associated with abducting men, but there were also those like her who sincerely tried to protect them. I felt a little pleased.

“No, it’s fine. The enemy in the rear seems to be a small detachment meant as a diversion. So far, they don’t appear to be struggling.”

“Then call back the ones you sent down immediately! If it’s just us, we can manage somehow, but the Liseben forces can’t. Albert-don, haven’t you been under concentrated attack this whole time?”

She said this while repeatedly smacking my shoulder. As she noted, I had indeed been subjected to obvious concentrated attacks. It seemed the Martyrs held a particular grudge against me. …Well, I had tried to scatter spies throughout the country and win over influential figures. …Naturally they’d hold a grudge.

“I’m a bait. If they don’t take the hook, that would be a problem.”

Well, of course I understood that perfectly. Precisely because of that, I was useful as a decoy. I lifted the visor of my helmet and smiled at her, and the Elder-faction woman curled her lips upward. “…Oh?”

“With our pressure reduced, they’ll push in aggressively. We’ll have no choice but to retreat to maintain the line…”

“Indeed. And?”

“The moment they think, ‘All right, this is the finishing blow!’ and charge all at once, that’s our chance. At that instant, we commit the reserve units placed on the left and right… and bang.”

I clapped my hands together as if in applause. We would feign retreat, lure the enemy into overextending, and then strike from both sides. It was a tactic akin to a feigned flight ambush. At the same time, the separate units on the flanks responsible for encircling the enemy main force would also function as reserve strength in case something happened on the rear line. It was a deployment that killed two birds with one stone.

To begin with, in forest warfare like this, even if you concentrated your forces, it was difficult to fully exploit the advantage of large numbers. It was better to disperse into small units and act organically while supporting one another. In other words, mission-type tactics.

“So that was your calculation.”

Her worried expression vanished, and the Elder broke into a radiant smile as if a flower had bloomed. She vigorously slapped my shoulder again.

“Quite a cunning plan. If I were a man, I might have fallen for you. Wahahaha!”

Laughing from the bottom of her heart, the Elder waved her hand lightly and walked away.

Even as a woman, you’re welcome to fall for me!

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