In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 293

Chapter 293: The Kukkoro Male Knight and Elf-Style Slash-and-Burn Agriculture

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After finishing the evacuation of the male civilians, I reversed my unit. I left a portion of my forces inside the village to escort and protect the evacuees, and sent the rest toward Lady Orphan’s rescue at full speed.

The “Legitimate” army deployed on the outskirts of Runga City was in the middle of chaotic combat. We had sent reinforcements once we received the report that they were under attack, but even so, the “Legitimate” forces had not gained the upper hand. It seemed the enemy had committed a considerable amount of manpower.

“Fire the signal flare!”

A makeshift wooden cannon that looked like a firework launcher fired a signal flare. A magnesium mass suspended by a parachute began to glow brightly in the sky. Its brightness was considerable and should have illuminated a wide area, but this place was deep in an evergreen forest. The light of the flare was blocked by overgrown branches and leaves, and it did not produce much effect.

“Hm…”

Even so, it was better than nothing. I let out a small groan while looking into the forest, faintly lit by the light. Elves were clashing blades while shouting insults at each other. The sounds of wooden swords and mountain blades striking echoed all around.

“I can’t tell friend from foe…!”

That much was fine. However, all elf soldiers wore oversized ponchos in a “teru-teru bozu” style fashion. Combined with the poor visibility, I could not tell who was friend or enemy at all.

“Do they even know who they are fighting…?”

Pointing my saber toward the chaotic battlefield, I asked Lady Dalaiya. Knights and soldiers of the Galea Kingdom usually wore surcoats with family crests or carried banners identifying their affiliation, so even in chaotic battles it was somewhat possible to distinguish friend from foe. However, the elves had nothing of the sort. Even their armor, which should have been a place to express individuality, was hidden under ponchos. They were thorough about it—probably intentionally—but it was extremely troublesome for us as allies.

If we attacked carelessly, we might end up harming our own troops, so it was difficult for us to intervene. Despite having come to provide assistance, all we could do was stand back and observe the battlefield while keeping our weapons ready. The Vanka faction seemed to understand this as well; not a single arrow had been fired toward us. It appeared they intended to keep the melee as chaotic as possible.

“They probably don’t know either… I suspect there has already been a fair amount of friendly fire,” Lady Dalaiya replied with a groan.

So they really don’t know!

“The tactic of hiding affiliations and dragging battles into chaos used to be the Legitimate army’s specialty… but it seems Vanka has copied it.”

So the elves’ lack of identifiable gear was intentional after all. What kind of ruleless, absurd tactic was that? Weren’t they afraid of friendly fire? …No, they probably weren’t. They were elves, after all. Despite being a long-lived race, they treated life as cheaply as discounted bean sprouts. It was infuriating.

“At this rate, we cannot provide support. We must reset the situation,” Sonia said sharply.

In situations like this, blindly jumping into the chaos thinking, “Well, we have to help them!” was the worst possible choice. It would only worsen the confusion. As Sonia said, we needed to reset and separate friend from foe first.

“Lady Orphan! Fall back for now! At this rate we cannot fight properly!”

I called out to Lady Orphan, who was at the front line swinging a wooden sword. The forest was filled with deafening battle noise, but since most soldiers were female, male voices carried well. My voice seemed to reach him.

“I understand! I will reorganize the formation! Flame Unit, advance!”

From the shadows of the trees, a suspicious group of elves emerged. Unlike the other elf soldiers wearing ponchos, these ones wore thick leather armor covering their entire bodies. Even their faces were hidden behind disturbing masks, and each of them carried a massive leather bag on their backs.

“Geh!”

Seeing them, Lady Dalaiya let out a strange sound.

“You know about them, Dalaiya-dono?”

I asked without thinking. However, I already had a vague idea of what they were.

“Yes… those are elf flamethrower troops. A forbidden unit from the dark history of the old Elfenia Empire… soldiers who burn forests.”

At the same time as Lady Dalaiya spoke in a hoarse voice, Lady Orphan brought down her raised wooden sword and gave the order.

“Do it!”

“This is the true way of Legitimate elf warfare! There is no way a usurper army can imitate it!”

“You filthy heretics! We’ll burn you all down and turn you into fertilizer for potato fields!”

The elf flamethrower troops shouted crude insults as they aimed iron tubes at the battlefield. Leather hoses connected the rear of the pipes to the bags on their backs. The next moment, flames erupted from the iron tubes. It was clearly different from ordinary fire or gas burners. Liquid fire surged out violently, arcing through the air and pouring down onto the forest trees.

…I had known elves had flamethrower units, but these were about three times more modern than I had imagined. What even was that? A group that primarily used wooden swords and bows should not be carrying equipment like that. Elf technology was completely incomprehensible.

“Gwaaaah, flamethrower!?”

“It’s hot! It’s hot!”

Trees engulfed in flames ignited instantly, and the fire spread indiscriminately to both sides, hitting elf soldiers engaged in combat. Their ponchos caught fire, and many collapsed to the ground. The liquid incendiary used by the elves was similar to Greek fire, the special incendiary weapon said to have been used in the Eastern Roman Empire in my previous world. It had the terrifying property of burning even more intensely when exposed to water, easily consuming even fresh living wood that should normally be difficult to ignite.

As a result, the entire area quickly turned into a fiery hell. The dancing flames illuminated the surroundings far more clearly than our weak signal flares. Elves caught in the blaze screamed and ran in panic, while other elf soldiers laughed and fired arrows at the fleeing ones. This was hell on earth.

“Now, Albert-dono! Our Legitimate Elfenia troops do not fear fire! The enemy is anyone who flees like a beast at the sight of flames!”

I heard Lady Orphan shouting such things. What kind of rough identification system was that?!

“Prepare to fire! Target the fleeing elf soldiers!”

At my command, Liseben soldiers raised their rifles, and elf soldiers raised their Elven bows. The forest, which had been pitch dark moments ago, was now brightly lit by the flamethrowers. Aiming was extremely easy.

“Fire!”

Gunshots and the sharp whistling of arrows rang out continuously. Struck by lead bullets and arrows, elf soldiers began to fall one after another.

…Hey, is this really okay? We aren’t hitting allies, right?

I looked toward Lady Dalaiya, but she simply averted her gaze with a complicated expression.

Say something, you loli-baba!

“Good! Now is the time! Advance! Advance!”

Ignoring us, Lady Orphan energetically led her troops and ran toward us. Normally she was so refined she hardly seemed like a barbarian, but on the battlefield she turned into this. The gap was so extreme it made my head spin…

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