In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 304

Chapter 304: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Guerrilla Threat

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A full day had passed since we left the city of Runga. Fortunately, so far not a single child had been lost. For now, that was a relief. …After all, children in this world died easily. The sanitary conditions were poor. On top of that, the children of Elfenia were undernourished. No matter how careful we were, there was no such thing as being too careful.

In any case, the children were safe. They were safe, but there was another problem. The elf guerrilla soldiers of the Vanka faction. Their attacks were unnervingly skillful. They slipped through the surveillance nets of the birdfolk and elf soldiers, then launched concentrated volleys from their elven bows in a short burst. They would get ahead of our route and set traps, or in the middle of the night they would fire whistling arrows, arrows fitted with a special whistle instead of a normal arrowhead that produced a shrill sound when shot, into our tents.

All of these were harassment attacks, and the damage was limited. However, for those on the receiving end, they were extremely troublesome. There was no peace of mind whatsoever, and after striking once, they would immediately retreat, making even a counterattack difficult. They were a truly troublesome enemy.

“One dead, three wounded… If this keeps happening over and over, it’s starting to wear on me.”

While listening to the damage report from the attack that had occurred about ten minutes earlier, Sonia muttered in frustration. It was very rare for someone as patient as her to make such a weak remark, but I felt the same way.

“No matter how elite elf soldiers are, it’s difficult to defend against surprise attacks from hidden enemies… Hmm, how should we deal with this?”

Vanka-san had organized small commando units and was launching attacks from all directions. Moreover, by deliberately making the timing of the raids irregular, she thoroughly stirred up our paranoia. It was a tactic reminiscent of the Viet Cong. The damage from each individual raid was not great, but little by little it added up. Our losses were already reaching a level that could not be ignored. Yet we were unable to respond effectively. We had too many things to protect, such as the Michael Collins and the civilians.

“As long as we’re forced into a defensive stance, the only way to deal with it is to tighten the gaps in our patrol network.”

With her arms crossed, Orphan-san said this. On her poncho, the familiar bit-and-cross emblem was proudly displayed. No, not just her poncho. She had even drawn that emblem on small personal items. It seemed she had grown quite fond of it. Even so, there was not a trace of levity in her expression. After all, it was her subordinates who had suffered losses in these attacks. Deep wrinkles were carved between her brows. She looked thoroughly fed up.

“It’s those patrol units that are being targeted. It doesn’t look like Vanka’s goal is to take your head or mine. If anything, it feels like her aim is simply to inflict damage on our forces.”

Keep the enemy bleeding at all times and erode their will to fight. Given that Vanka-san was at a disadvantage in strength, it seemed close to the best tactic available to her. However, I could not grasp her ultimate strategic objective. What end point was she aiming for? Without understanding that, it was difficult to predict her next move.

“This is the first time I’ve faced Vanka-don directly, but I didn’t expect her to be this skilled in warfare. I might have underestimated her a bit.”

Letting out a sigh, Orphan-san shrugged. …Had she never fought an enemy commanded by Vanka-san before? I had heard that the widow lost her husband to the “Legitimate” faction… Did she never think of wiping out that “Legitimate” group with her own hands? This was strange. Normally, people would want to carry out their revenge personally. Especially since Vanka-san was clearly a highly capable commander. There was no reason for her not to take direct command…

“It might be better to center our perimeter surveillance around the birdfolk, since they’re quick to retreat.”

Sonia’s words interrupted my thoughts. The top priority right now was to escort the civilians and our own troops to safety. Understanding the enemy’s motives was important, but we had to deal with the reality in front of us.

“But the enemy is in the forest. And quite a number of the birdfolk have left the front lines to take care of the children. Honestly, it would be difficult to make them the core of our surveillance.”

“That’s true…”

Sonia crossed her arms and groaned. A dead end. That was the phrase that came to mind. It was as expected, yet it felt as though we were being cornered in a shogi puzzle. As a commander, Vanka-san might be the toughest opponent we had faced so far. Still, if even a faction of radical elves was giving us this much trouble, what would it have been like if we had been fighting the entire elven race? It was too frightening to even imagine.

“In that case, we might shrink the patrol network and increase its density instead. Spreading our forces thin over a wide area means we can’t take advantage of our superior numbers.”

With a serious expression, Orphan-san proposed this. Sonia’s eyebrows shot up when she heard it.

“But if we narrow the search area, the risk of the main force being attacked increases. If it were just us, we could handle it, but putting the refugees in danger is unacceptable.”

“That’s true, but letting the enemy jump into our midst can also be part of the plan. We’ve got more archers than they do, so if we drag them out onto the riverbank, there’s no way we’ll lose. I think it’s worth the risk.”

That sounded like a plan typical of Orphan-san. As she said, if we could lure them onto the riverbank, victory would be certain. Even if Vanka-san committed her entire force, I did not think we would lose. On open ground, we could unleash full volleys, and we could also receive supporting fire from the Michael Collins.

However, it was not without problems. A commander of Vanka-san’s caliber would easily see through our intentions based on our movements. It was hard to believe the enemy would act exactly as we wanted, and drawing them inward also created the risk of harm to the civilians.

Well, if it were Vanka-san, I doubted she would deliberately target men or children. In the first place, she had clearly forced them onto us as a burden. …That said, we could not base a strategy on the enemy’s sense of morality. The civilians had to remain our highest priority to protect.

“No, this is a phase where we should endure. I can’t support that plan.”

I shook my head and said so firmly to Orphan-san.

“Our opponent is a seasoned commander. If we lose patience and move to an aggressive strategy, she will definitely have a counter prepared. In fact, there’s a good chance she’s waiting for us to snap.”

“But…”

“Orphan-dono. No, Fezaria. What is our mission? To annihilate the enemy? No. It is to protect those who cannot fight.”

I spoke strongly. She had a point, but I could never accept putting the kids in danger. If possible, I did not even want them to see the battlefield. Glancing at the men nearby carrying babies on their backs, I continued.

“You expect to fight a shooting battle with infants on your backs? Don’t be ridiculous. Right now, we are shields, not swords. No matter how much we are wounded, as long as what we protect remains safe, that is our victory.”

After saying that, I deliberately put on a gentle smile.

“Of course, I don’t intend to make only you into shields. Pain should be shared. Our unit will take over patrol duties.”

“…Heh, you’ve got a way with words, don’t you. Hey, you lot! Is throwing your lives away for men and children something to regret!?”

Grinning, Orphan-san turned to her subordinates and shouted.

“Nothing to regret! It’s the greatest honor for us elf soldiers!”

“Don’t screw with us! You think we’d back down after hearing that!? We’ll be shields or whatever you want!”

The elf soldiers began shouting as they raised their wooden swords. …Yes, just as expected. I was starting to understand how to handle elves. As I nodded in satisfaction, I saw someone running toward us. They looked extremely flustered.

“A message from the Elder! Enemy forces approaching from the south have been confirmed! Their numbers are in the hundreds! That is all!”

…Huh? Enemy forces in the hundreds? That is practically Vanka’s entire army. What? What is this? What happened to the guerrilla tactics? Why? Why suddenly deploy the entire force? What’s going on!?

Just as I had rallied everyone in preparation for a long and difficult anti-guerrilla campaign, the situation suddenly changed. I felt like grabbing my head. Normally speaking, there was no advantage to launching a decisive battle at this timing. Just what was Vanka-san planning to do? Honestly, I had no idea at all.

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