In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 325

Chapter 325: The Kukkoro Male Knight’s Fury

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“Wow…”

Watching the elf soldiers leap out one after another from the trench line from inside the command bunker, I let out a strange sound without thinking.

“…Those people, acting on their own without even receiving an order to charge.”

Sonia muttered with a slightly frightening look in her eyes. Well, I understood what she meant, but this might fall within on-site discretion. The order I had given was to hold the line for one hour. Given that we were running low on arrows and ammunition, it was difficult to rely solely on ranged combat for defense. A shift into close-quarters combat had been inevitable.

Besides, the elves’ main weapon was the sword. They were fine in ranged combat, but trench fighting didn’t suit them. The trenches were too narrow to swing a sword effectively. So, the decision to charge out before the enemy reached the trenches itself wasn’t necessarily wrong.

Even so, I hadn’t expected them to shift to a charge this quickly. And more and more elf soldiers kept pouring out of the trenches… It almost looked like a swarm of locusts descending upon a field. At this rate, weren’t nearly all the elves assigned to the front line charging in?

“Maybe I should have issued more specific orders…”

I muttered quietly. The vagueness of my orders was partly because I didn’t have the capacity to give detailed instructions to every unit under my command, given how large the force had grown, and also because I had to consider counterintelligence.

The former couldn’t be helped. The larger an organization became, the harder it was to relay orders clearly from top to bottom. Thanks to the birdfolk, dispatching messengers was fast, but everything else was a disaster. We simply didn’t have the staff structure or command system necessary to flexibly manage forces on the scale of a regiment.

We were like a giant whose body had grown massive, but whose nerves didn’t reach every limb. No matter how much the brain, the command center, or the individual units tried, delicate coordination was impossible. Trying to enforce too much control would only deepen the confusion. That was why I had no choice but to issue orders that effectively left things to the discretion of those on the ground.

As for the latter, the reasoning was simpler. Judging by how the Zera assassination incident was carried out, it was certain that a significant number of Vanka faction spies had infiltrated our forces. I didn’t want to give them any more information than necessary.

“Albert-don!”

While I was pondering what to do, a crow birdkin messenger flew in. Slipping through a gap in the overhead cover, she landed beside me and whispered in my ear.

“…What is it?”

The report was astonishing. Apparently, the elves charging out of the trenches were saying things like, “Blow up the enemy positions with artillery, even if it means hitting us too.” And it wasn’t just one or two individuals saying this. I paused for a moment, then beckoned Sonia and Lady Dalaiya, who were nearby. Lowering my voice so others couldn’t hear, I shared the report.

“…Are they serious? The elves, I mean.”

Sonia muttered, cold sweat forming on her face. Intentional friendly fire wasn’t a sane tactic, and for those on the receiving end to suggest it was clearly abnormal.

“…They’re serious, no doubt. The elves’ bad habit is showing.”

With her cute face scrunched up in exasperation, Lady Dalaiya let out a sigh.

“You know their values, don’t you? It is shameful to die after the young and it is especially shameful to fail to protect the men and children.”

“Well…”

The elves might be barbaric to the point of having no sense of ethics, but they did possess a warrior’s pride. During battles, I had seen elves shout things like “I won’t die after some youngster!” and charge recklessly more than once.

“Beside them are short-lived allies, and behind them are unarmed men and children. This situation strongly stimulates elven pride. Falling into a state of excitement and resorting to what amounts to suicidal tactics… it cannot be helped.”

“…”

I fell silent. Was this absurd behavior truly part of elven nature? If that was the case…

“Could it be that Vanka deliberately created this situation?”

Lately, I had begun to suspect that Vanka’s target for revenge wasn’t just the “legitimate faction,” but the entire elven race. Looking at her actions objectively, it didn’t seem like she was targeting only the legitimate faction.

Even so, despite being on the brink of extinction, there were still over a thousand elves left. And there were those like Lady Dalaiya and Fezaria, who had given up on self-reliance and sought our help. How exactly did she intend to wipe out the entire elven race? That had been puzzling me all this time, but…

“…Wait.”

“Yeah… That damn woman might be planning to make me pull the trigger that destroys the elves.”

In other words, she might be aiming to have us fire artillery into a battlefield where friend and foe elves were all mixed together.

Honestly, though, it would be impossible to wipe out over a thousand people with just a few muzzle-loading mountain guns and some mortars. However, the artillery Vanka had seen consisted of rapid-firing breech-loading guns and flashy rocket launchers. There was a strong chance she was overestimating our firepower.

If that was the case, her actions so far made sense. Handing over the men and children to us, deceiving the ant soldiers into joining the front line, all of it was meant to provoke the elves into reckless behavior. She had simply wanted to create a situation where enemy and allied elves were thoroughly mixed together.

…Damn it. 

I clenched the hilt of my saber. Revenge or not, who the hell did she think she was? A terrorist like her had no room for negotiation. I would kill her, no matter what.

“…”

Lady Dalaiya went completely silent, wearing the kind of expression someone would have after biting into something they thought was candy, only to realize it was cat droppings. I was probably making a similar face. Only Sonia remained calm.

“I see. Quite a troublesome opponent she is. However… would it really be a problem to go along with her plan? If we continue fighting with infantry alone and refrain from using artillery, the situation will inevitably bog down. The enemy has proven stronger than expected.”

Sonia glanced outside the command bunker. The struggle over the tunnel entrances was still ongoing. The number of enemies who had infiltrated through the tunnels wasn’t large, but the combination of ant soldiers and elf soldiers was extremely dangerous. When they focused on defense, it was difficult to push them back.

The same thing was likely happening on a larger scale at the main battlefield. Even if we had superior numbers, we couldn’t afford to be careless. At the very least, the casualty ratio wouldn’t be in our favor.

“The only way to resolve this situation is through artillery firepower. Since those being fired upon are willing to accept it, providing fire support without fearing friendly fire might actually reduce overall casualties.”

“…”

I processed Sonia’s words. It was a morally reprehensible plan. But it was worth considering. As soldiers, sometimes we had to abandon ideals to win. I had been in the military long enough to understand the necessity of swallowing both good and evil. However…

“No. Denied. Trust is a resource that must sometimes be valued even above lives. The Liseben army has only just been formed. We can’t afford to gain a reputation as a force that fires on its own allies.”

…And besides, I was a Marine. Marines never abandon their comrades, even in death. Intentional friendly fire was out of the question. Words from an instructor at the officer academy in my previous life resurfaced in my mind.

『Even if you cast aside common sense and ethics, never lose your pride. Because a soldier who loses pride will eventually become nothing more than a bandit.』

I had seen plenty of soldiers who had fallen into banditry, both in my past life and this one. I would never become like them.

“And frankly, going along with that woman’s plan is extremely unpleasant. That wretched terrorist woman… I can’t stand her. Damn it, I’ll make her regret this.”

Don’t drag an entire race into extinction just because of your personal vendetta, you bastard. You even involved children. Absolutely unforgivable. There’s no way I’m playing along with her scheme. Isn’t there some way to resolve this in a way that completely overturns her plan?

After thinking for about a minute and taking a sip of hot water, I called over a nearby birdman messenger.

“Go bring Uru-dono. I’m sorry to trouble him when things are so busy, but I need her to do one more job.”

Watching me, Sonia let out a sly grin. That woman had definitely proposed that immoral plan knowing full well how I would react.

“Honestly… you. Just watch, partner. I’ll completely tear apart that damn woman’s plan.”

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