novelraw Chapter 238: 238. Abyssal Holy War – Binding
Chapter 238: 238. Abyssal Holy War – Binding
Chapter 238. Abyssal Holy War – Binding
The Drones that leaped into the dug trenches, attempting to build walls of corpses to cross, were spectacularly blown up by pre-placed explosives.
Afterward, the Drones unable to cross through the flames were simply fired upon again and again from the other side with one-sided grapeshot bombardment and musket fire.
The rain of fire, unleashed ceaselessly by all the Allied soldiers, devoured the Drones that stood there blankly, ignorant of cover, taking them as sacrifices.
Just as the ceaseless roar of gunshots and cannons filled the air, and the sky, which had brightened slightly as the purple mist receded, became shrouded in acrid battle smoke.
“The bastards are running away!”
The soldiers witnessed the spectacle of the Drones, which knew neither fatigue nor fear, turning their backs to flee.
“W-we won!”
“Waaaah-!”
In an instant, cheers erupted, covering the encampment.I let out a sigh of relief.
This was the first all-out war the Allied Forces had fought since setting foot on this Demon Island.
Although the high command of each nation had the will to fight, and we managed to get them to the front line thanks to Eris’s persuasion, it wouldn’t have been surprising if their morale had shattered at once had we suffered heavy losses in this battle.
But the result was a clean victory.
The Drones couldn't even breach our encampment; a million of them charged in a dense formation, suffered tremendous damage from the Allied Forces’ shelling, and were routed.
Paimon had intended to fight in earnest, but he was far too overconfident in the superiority of the Drones.
A weapon of countless numbers that feels no fatigue and knows no fear?
But in exchange, they lack autonomous judgment and rely solely on closing in for melee combat.
They must have used the same tactics because, until now, simply charging into melee combat was enough to overwhelm human armies.
Battlefields and tactics evolve ceaselessly, but Paimon overlooked that.
When we were defending the gate after the landing, our troops were stretched so thin we could barely manage to rotate for rest, so we couldn’t use a method like bisecting the entire engagement zone with a trench line. Now, however, we have enough manpower.
But more importantly right now…
“You have endured much, Your Majesty.”
As I approached Eris and spoke quietly, she threw back her hood and steadied her heavy breathing.
“Hah, hah. That was difficult.”
Sweat trickled down Eris’s forehead, so I took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.
“It’s no wonder, given that you were blocking rockets while maintaining a divine protection to ward off the succubi.”
After all, without Eris’s divine protection, it would have been impossible to mobilize the lethargic soldiers for these preparations. Even if we had managed, exposure to rocket bombardment would have broken our formation, making it difficult for the soldiers to move in unison.
One misstep, and we could have had a catastrophe on our hands, with our own soldiers falling into the traps we dug.
In short, this was an operation made possible only because I trusted Damien De Millbeau commanding at the frontmost line, the other Allied commanders, and Eris.
“But thanks to you, it’s a great victory. I thank you, Your Majesty.”
Eris wiped her sweat with the handkerchief, smiled broadly, and answered energetically.
“You can count on me in the future, too!”
“Your Excellency, the Mar---quis Lafayette!”
Ah, this flippant…
“A great---victory! An overwhelming great victory! Did you see it? Bwahahaha! The masterpiece of this Damien De Millbeau, the power of the new Millbeau Line! Seeing the spectacle of those Drone bastards getting blown to bits without even getting close… Ahhhhhh! It feels so damn good!”
Demian, who had run over panting, was making an exaggerated fuss, spittle flying from his lips.
Ah, yes…
You’re happy, are you…
“Good work, Commander Millbeau. It was an excellent military achievement. Your role was significant.”
This was something the Allied High Command came up with after wracking their brains, and he’s sneakily calling it his masterpiece.
In fact, Demian’s only proposal for that operation was to use trenches to block the Drones’ charge.
Whether my expression was wry or not, Demian continued to chatter with the happiest face in the world, only to jump in surprise when he saw Eris smiling cheerfully beside him.
“Gasp! I-I apologize, Your Majesty! I didn’t realize you were here!”
“Yes, I was here. Though I suppose I lack the presence of Marquis Lafayette.”
“N-n-no, that’s not it…”
At Eris’s subtle remark, Demian trembled like an aspen leaf.
Is he still suffering from that phobia?
And he’s supposed to be the vanguard commander…
But Eris soon smiled brightly and said.
“You’ve done well, Count Millbeau. It was a splendid battle.”
An earthquake erupted in Demian’s pupils.
What’s with him? Why is he reacting like that even when she says something nice?
After a long moment of speechlessness, Demian spoke slowly.
“Th-thank… thank you, Your Majesty. I never thought the day would come when I would hear such words from you.”
A moment of silence passed.
Eris quietly turned her head to me and asked.
“Am I, by any chance, a person that stingy with praise?”
“No, that’s not it, but.”
Eris isn’t the kind of person who’d be criticized for her personality, is she?
As I was thinking this, Giselle Davi approached, saluted, and began to speak.
“Congratulations on the victory, Your Majesty! And His Excellency the Marquis! Ammunition consumption report for each unit—ack?!”
But we were treated to the spectacle of Davi stopping her report in confusion.
“Davi! You were right! Her Majesty praised me!”
An excited Demian had grabbed her by the shoulders and was shaking her vigorously, spraying spittle.
“The Queen! Praised this Damien De Millbeau! Not with a whipping, but with praise! Can you believe it?”
His voice was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
Flustered by the gazes that instantly fell upon her, Giselle tried to calm Millbeau down, but—
“Co-Commander, Your Excellency. Please calm down—”
“…Count Millbeau?”
Eris’s voice cut in before she could stop him.
“Uh, uh, uh, Your Majesty. I, uh. I was so overjoyed I made a slip of the tongue…”
As Demian turned his creaking head, Eris, a golden whip now in her hand, pulled it taut— and said with a sweet smile and a gentle voice.
“It seems you were missing it. Shall I give you a taste, for old times’ sake?”
“N-no! Th-that’s not it…!”
I pressed a hand to my forehead and quietly looked away.
That idiot, Demian.
“Congratulations on the victory, Your Excellency the Marquis, Your Majes… what in the world is that?”
Louis Desaix, arriving late, wore a bewildered expression, and I just shook my head.
“Pay it no mind. More importantly, is that the battle report?”
“Ah, yes, Your Excellency the Marquis.”
Desaix handed me the report and added.
“It’s an overwhelming victory. It must be possible because the Drones still insist on melee combat.”
“I’m starting to think it’s due to a fundamental limitation in the Drones’ design.”
I don’t know exactly how the Drones boast physical strength and agility superior to living humans, but with such physical abilities, they possess sufficient lethality with their bare hands.
So Paimon likely didn’t feel the need to arm them with weapons.
“Is that so? It would be a headache if those bastards, moving so mechanically, could also fire guns.”
“That won’t be easy. Bare-handed melee can be executed efficiently with relatively simple movements, but shooting is a very different story.”
In bare-handed combat, you just lift an arm to strike or thrust deeply with a hand.
But something like a musket, while simple in appearance, is a surprisingly complicated weapon to fire.
Taking out the cartridge, pouring in the gunpowder, ramming the bullet, aiming, and firing—the whole sequence is too complex for Drones being remotely controlled as a group.
“Phew. That’s a relief. But there is a problem. As you can see, the ammunition consumption is enormous. This is just the count for the Northern Army; it will be even more severe for the Allied Forces as a whole.”
As Desaix sighed in relief and continued his report, Giselle Davi belatedly approached and saluted again.
“Ex-excuse me for interrupting the report, Your Excellency the Marquis, Commander Desaix. The Southern Army’s ammunition consumption is also severe.”
“Ah, no. The commander being an idiot isn’t the chief of staff’s fault.”
Giselle looked at me with a slightly troubled expression for calling him an idiot so openly, but she handed me the report without delay.
In any case, Desaix and Davi are nothing like that Demian guy, who’s currently being whipped by Eris for going wild with joy and spouting more nonsense.
Normally, even in an all-out war, artillery engages in counter-battery fire, and the line infantry either has only the front rank fire or they fire in sequence.
Naturally, after a few volleys of aiming and reloading, the engagement usually ends, or it moves on to melee combat.
However, in this battle, we dug a trench line vast enough for a massive army to line up and conduct free-fire, and we actually did conduct free-fire against one million Drones.
Thanks to Eris, all enemy shelling was blocked, so we could just fire at will, with no need for cover, evasion, or defense.
Against the swarming Drones, any shot was bound to hit, so it was as if the largest number of personnel in history had unleashed a barrage at the fastest rate ever, with no need for aiming.
As a result, we were able to inflict a devastating blow on the Drones, but the price for it was made starkly clear by their two reports.
“Wow, we used more in a few hours of fighting than we did during the entire Barua Urban Warfare, which lasted for days?”
This…
Just the consumption rate of the Revolutionary Army is staggering; it’s frightening to even imagine the ammunition problem for the entire Allied Forces.
We achieved a great victory in the expeditionary force’s first battle and solved the morale problem, only to be hobbled by an ammunition issue.
But engaging those countless Drones in melee combat would be crazy.
“It seems another battle is out of the question until we’re resupplied.”
“That can’t be helped.”
Just as Desaix was smacking his lips in disappointment, a voice came from behind.
“No, it’s fine.”
My head turned automatically.
“Christine!”
“Congratulations on the victory, Pierre. Commander Desaix, Lieutenant Colonel Davi.”
Christine’s black eyes curved as she smiled lightly and said.
“You can begin preparations for the next battle immediately.”
“What?”
Seeing my confusion, Christine’s eyes widened as if she were the one who was surprised.
“Is there some kind of problem?”
“No, it’s just that the ammunition consumption rate is…”
As I handed Christine the report, she answered before even looking at it.
“I’m sure it’s enormous. I watched the battle, too. But don’t worry about the ammunition problem. It’s likely being transported from Lumiere as we speak.”
What? How is that possible?
As I stood there dumbfounded, Christine narrowed her eyes and spoke.
“What is it, Pierre? Didn’t you say you trusted me?”
—Then, I’ll trust you with the logistics during battle, Admiral.
—I trust you too, Commander. Ammunition, cannonballs, food supplies, whatever it is. Feel free to use them unstintingly.
…We did have that conversation, yes.
But for them to already be on their way means you prepared them before the battle even started?
As if reading my thoughts, Christine grinned and said.
“Before the second landing began, I placed an order through the Kingdom of Alps. I believed that you would without a doubt construct the gate, and that you would be victorious—Ah!”
I had pulled her into an embrace before I even realized it.
Christine seemed a little startled, but she gave a small laugh and said.
“There are other people watching.”
“Ah, Lieutenant Colonel Davi. Shall we go attend to the clean-up?”
“Ye-yes, sir! Commander Desaix!”
The two of them disappeared in an instant.
“Now they’re gone.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Christine kissed me and pulled away. I gave a wry smile and said.
“What am I to do? My wife seems to be spending her property like water. If I happen to fail and can’t secure the payment, won’t this be enough to cause bankruptcy?”
Christine smiled faintly, placed a hand on her chest, and replied.
“It was meant for Louis anyway. Didn’t you say that even if I weren’t the Countess Aquitaine, even without the merchant guild, I alone was more valuable?”
—Do you intend to drag the Lafayette name’s prestige through the mud? Or are you mocking me? Either way, I—
—To me, you alone are more valuable than the prestige of Lafayette or the influence of the Aquitaine Merchant Guild.
A smile spread across my lips unbidden.
The words I’d spoken when I asked for her hand in marriage again—she had remembered them all this time.
“It’s the same for me. Property, anything—you are more valuable to me than everything I possess. So…”
Christine spoke, her tone both earnest and cruel.
“I will stay by your side and help you, betting everything I have. So, no matter what happens, you must win. If you fail, it won’t be just my property that I lose, but my life as well.”
A binding woven of affection and trust coiled around my body—
I smiled and whispered to her.
“It seems those demon bastards ought to learn a thing or two about threats from you.”
Christine smiled more enchantingly than any demon and kissed me.
So deeply that I could never hope to pull away.