In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 322

Chapter 322: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Tunnel

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The trench expansion work that had continued for several days had left our position defended by two lines: the first and second trench lines. Behind that second trench line were key facilities such as the command dugout and shelters for evacuating and protecting noncombatants.

However, the enemy had managed to open a tunnel just behind that second trench line. With no warning whatsoever, the enemy had appeared deep within our main camp, throwing everything into chaos.

From an opening that looked like a collapsed hole, ant soldiers and elf soldiers had come pouring out in droves. It was like an anthill. The defending troops, suddenly struck from the rear, had begun a frantic counterattack.

“Use the reserves to intercept them! Anyone stationed in the trenches is not to engage beyond the bare minimum for self-defense!”

I issued orders while hurriedly preparing for battle. For now, there was only a single tunnel that had been opened. The number of troops they could send through at once should have been quite limited. The location where they emerged was problematic, but if we responded calmly, they were an enemy we could suppress without much trouble.

Of course, the enemy should have understood that as well. If so… then their main objective must lie elsewhere. Was the tunnel operation a diversion, meant to sow confusion by striking our rear while their main force attempted to break through the trench lines? That was my prediction.

Of course, if the enemy had prepared two or three tunnels, it would be a different story. Still, setting aside the ant soldiers, Lady Vanka had been maneuvering to keep anyone other than elves and ants out of the fighting as much as possible. It seemed unlikely that he would make a tunnel operation that endangered noncombatants his primary strategy.

“Sonia, how many grenades do we have in reserve?”

“Not a single one left. We used them all up as of yesterday.”

The answer from my adjutant was merciless. If we could have tossed grenades into the tunnel, it would have been quite a spectacle. Truly regrettable. That said, there was nothing to be done about it. Against tightly packed ant formations, grenades had been the only effective weapon we had. In dealing with the repeated harassment attacks over the past days, we had exhausted all our remaining ammunition.

“If I recall correctly, Fezaria also said she was out of fuel for the flamethrower… So those harassment attacks since the other day were meant to make us waste our trump cards. How cunning.”

Since riverboat supply runs had prioritized food above all else, our ammunition had remained depleted. This was turning into quite a troublesome situation. Still, there was no use wishing for what we didn’t have. We had to find a way to fight with the cards currently in hand.

Now then, what to do… If we could pour water into the tunnel, it would be the quickest solution, but with the area around the opening under enemy control, it would be difficult to draw a waterway there. If we could just seize the entrance, we could deal with it in any number of ways…

“We still have the explosive charges unloaded from the Michael Collins, right? We’ll use those to blow up the enemy position. Tell any idle soldier to bring over the powder barrels.”

“Understood!”

As I watched the messenger run off in haste, I let out a small breath. The tunnel operation had honestly been unexpected, but we had made preparations in advance for emergencies. We had dismantled the main gun shells from the now-disabled Michael Collins and packed them into barrels to create improvised bombs. They were crude, so their power was nothing to boast about, but they were better than nothing.

“…Oh? Is that the leafcutter ants? They look quite formidable.”

Peering through her telescope, Sonia spoke. In her line of sight was a group of enemy troops swarming out from the newly opened tunnel. The enemy unit was a mixed force of elf soldiers and ant soldiers. However, the ant soldiers looked somewhat different from the army ant insectoids we had grown used to over the past few days. They were slightly larger overall, and their skin had a reddish hue. Looking closely, their fangs were also somewhat smaller. That said, they were still as bare-chested as ever.

“Those are leafcutter soldier ants. They’re like kin to us now, but I’ve heard that in the past they were our rivals… If you underestimate them as mere fungus farmers, you’ll regret it.”

With a grave expression, the army ant envoy explained. If my memory was correct, leafcutter ants were one of the few creatures capable of rivaling army ants. Their soldier ants possessed extremely high combat ability, and it was said they could tear apart and throw aside attacking army ants in great numbers.

In fact, the leafcutter ant soldiers looked like quite troublesome opponents. Like the army ants, they fought with four arms, wielding two shields and a spear, but their larger build gave their blows much greater weight. Moreover, they were not just about power. They also had speed and technique to match.

“….”

Against these formidable foes, our elf soldiers had been struggling considerably. Many elves were small in stature, and in direct close combat they were at a disadvantage. They were barely holding their own by mixing in their specialty attack magic.

Furthermore, the enemy was not composed of ant soldiers alone. Elf soldiers wearing plain ponchos without the crossed-bit emblem were launching harassment attacks with magic and arrows. It was a coordinated assault between ant soldiers and elf soldiers.

The combination of highly defensive ant soldiers and fast, quick-witted elf soldiers was downright vicious. It had an explosive strength that could blow away any simple numerical advantage. Our elf soldiers were clearly being pushed back.

“As expected of Vanka-dono, he’s quite skilled at war…!”

Still, being able to do nothing but watch was truly frustrating. I wanted to draw my sword and rush to their aid immediately, but I couldn’t abandon my post as commander. The lives of over a thousand soldiers and many civilians rested on my shoulders. I couldn’t act irresponsibly.

“Ah! You idiots…!”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling that frustration. A fair number of elf soldiers had jumped out from the second trench line and joined their comrades in battle. Seeing their struggling allies, they had lost patience. But they had been given orders to remain in position. It was a problem if they left their posts without permission. A serious problem. I understood their feelings, but I needed them to stop. Just as I was about to order them back to the trenches—

“Albert-don!”

A crow birdfolk descended from the sky and spoke in an urgent voice. It was Lady Uru. She had been sent to scout the enemy lines, and now she had returned pale-faced… which meant only one thing. I almost grimaced, but managed to hold it in through sheer will, then asked as calmly as possible, “What is it?”

“The enemy’s main force has started moving, looks like the whole army’s advancing. They’re coming for a decisive battle!”

As I thought. I almost let out a sigh inwardly. The tunnel operation had likely been a diversionary disruption, and this was the real attack. With our ammunition depleted and our rear threatened, it would be difficult to mount a full defensive response. Honestly, Lady Vanka was using some rather nasty tactics.

“I see. What formation are they using?”

“A solid line formation of ant soldiers, with elf soldiers covering both flanks. Ain’t a formation we’ve seen before.”

“Okay, I’ve got the general idea.”

I see, the enemy had coordinated ant soldiers and elf soldiers at the unit level as well. Heavily armored infantry that were strong and resilient but not very maneuverable, supported by light infantry with superior mobility and attack power… it could be called an ideal combined-arms formation.

Well, in the end, it was still a dense formation. With grenades or artillery, we could have crushed it head-on. In fact, the enemy seemed to understand that as well, since until yesterday, the ant soldiers had avoided large clustered formations and instead used dispersed small groups… a so-called fish-scale formation.

But now, we no longer had the firepower to wipe out enemy groups in one blow. The enemy understood that, which was why they had returned to a densely packed formation. Honestly, every one of those Liseben barbarians was absurdly good at warfare…

“We outnumber them. If we intercept them carefully and in an orderly manner, we can win! For now, tell anyone who’s left their post to return to the trenches immediately!”

I gave the order with a confident expression, but inwardly I was uneasy. The coordination between elf soldiers and ant soldiers was more formidable than I had expected. On top of that, we had been thrown into confusion by an unexpected attack from the rear. This might be a rather bad situation…

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