Volume 13 Chapter 6 The Ant’s Kingdom Part III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Akves’ Perspective
”Archers, take aim! Target the Bowman Ant-man and the Magic Soldier Ant-man! Fire at will!”
The archers, who had been hiding behind the wall of wagons, stood up all at once and took aim, shooting a storm of arrows at the approaching Ant-men.
I too picked up a bow and fired 5 arrows into the air above.
The arrows rained down on the rear of the Ant-man group, targeting the Bowman Ant-man and Magic Soldier Ant-man who were aiming for long-range attacks.
They started to back away from the wall, sputtering. The sun had already set, and only the light from the magicians’ orbs illuminated the oncoming group of Ant-men.
”…not enough light… their dark exoskeletons are making them hard to see… we can’t let our guard down or they might break through…”
With the sun down, visibility had dropped dramatically, making it hard to track the enemy’s movements.
”Lord Akves! I’ve kept you waiting; the searchlights are set up. And the self-defense Meat Choppers are all in place. Now it’s our turn.”
Garvey, the one in charge of building the fortress, rushed over to me on the command platform with the good news.
The combat units were already in position, and Ane, Charlotte, and Kondrad, who had just finished their combat duties, were reorganizing for another sortie. The military strength defending the wall was about 3 thousand, now that the wall construction was complete.
”Thank goodness. It was getting hard to see the enemy as it got dark. The searchlights are a lifesaver. I’ll keep commanding the archers, so I want Lord Garvey to take over the defense of the wall.”
”Got it! Gunners, focus your fire on the approaching army ants! Concentrate and mow them down! We’ve got plenty of bullets and spare gun barrels, so keep shooting until the barrels burn out!”
Garvey sent instructions through the communication crystal in his hand.
This rare magic tool, a communication crystal, was lent to him by Lady Lina, who resides in the master’s side room. It could send voice messages to anyone holding a matching crystal within about 4 kilometers.
He had passed these crystals to the loaders at each gun station, enabling synchronized shooting.
As Garvey’s instructions reached the gun stations, their searchlights illuminated the ant-man swarms, and the guns unleashed a spectacular barrage of fire.
Each time the gun stations flickered, a few tracer rounds were loaded among the shots, soaring through the darkness like rockets, tearing holes in the army ants one after another.
”We won’t rest either! Loose arrows and hunt down the enemy monsters! Everyone is free to fire at will!”
I sent instructions with a loud voice to the archers on the castle walls. They clung to the walls and aimed at the leaders of the enemy groups, the Cavalry Ant-Men and Soldier Ant-Men, disrupting their command structure.
When the enemy group’s advance was halted, many army ants were torn open, and the Cavalry Ant-Men and Soldier Ant-Men fell like porcupines, pierced by arrows.
The light from the gun stations’ searchlights and the magicians’ light orbs illuminated the rising black mist, creating a fantastical scene as it was swallowed by the night’s darkness.
”Sir Akves… the enemy is retreating! What are your orders?”
An officer nearby asked for instructions.
The pheromones of the next-generation queen, the Baby Ant, filled the air, making it hard to believe that the ant-men would retreat with such a feeble attack. They were likely seeking a safer position to plan their next move.
”Don’t forget those guys are ants, Lord Garvey. They might dig tunnels and sneak in. Get someone with good ears to listen for vibrations underground.”
”Understood. Do what Lord Akves told you to do, right now. Everyone else, pretend the ants are digging tunnels underground and open up the water channels to bring in the Nirei River water. If we hold on here, we can beat them.”
Soldiers were tired from building the castle and fighting since morning. A lot of them were starting to look sluggish.
The soldiers are losing their focus… This is bad…
”Lord Garvey, how much longer until Lord Kondrad’s guys are ready?”
Garvey answered my question seriously.
”Lord Kondrad’s guys are reorganizing after a big fight… It’ll take another hour or 2. They said the ant-men were really tough in the field.”
”I see… Then let’s give a break to one-third of the soldiers. If we go back to fighting like this, they’ll make mistakes from being tired.”
I gave Garvey, who was becoming a high-level commander, my thoughts, and he immediately gave the order for a break.
Garvey was a good leader who came up from the lower ranks, so he understood how the soldiers felt. He saw the situation and knew they needed rest.
”Lord Akves, you should rest too. You’ve been working hard since this morning.”
”Okay. I’ll take a break.”
I told the officer next to me to give one-third of the soldiers a break, and then I went down from the command platform to the temporary tent command post.
* * *
Commander Kondrad, Ane, and Charlotte were gathered in the command post, resting and getting ready to reorganize.
”Lord Akves, it looks like we beat the first wave of enemies.”
”Lord Kondrad, the enemy is already planning a second attack. They’re drawn by the pheromones, and no matter what sacrifices it takes, they have to reach this place where the next Queen Ant is supposed to be.”
The enemy Ant-man group is attracted by the Baby Ant’s body fluid pheromones, the one who will become the new queen, and it seems they intend to crush anything standing in their way.
”There was also a report that the current Queen Ant has crawled out of the nest…”
Ane, while scouting at the foothills, reported seeing the Queen Ant crawl out of the nest, and it looks like we ran straight into the Ant-man’s swarming season.
”We caught them right at the time they were dividing their colony.”
”The Baby Ant I finished off was a group that left the nest looking for a new breeding ground. No wonder they had such heavy guards.”
”Indeed. Well, let’s just say it saved us some trouble. We can’t let them breed near Godard village, after all.”
I decided to call our battle with the Ant-men lucky.
Since they’re monsters we gotta wipe out sooner or later, beating them before they invade developed Godard will keep the damage small.
”Lord Akves is right. We should be glad we caught them here.”
Kondrad seemed to think the same.
”But I’ve never been so thankful for a castle wall. I gotta respect our lord’s cunning. Never seen a fortress built in such a wild way, but the wall they threw up in a day holds strong.”
”Lord Akves, our master is the smartest in the Demon Continent, a legendary commander, and a rare holy king. King Kent’s name will be remembered forever.”
Kondrad was really impressed by Lord Blackdagger’s wild castle-building methods and seemed totally smitten.
I had already sworn to give my life to Lord Blackdagger after he took in the whole Godard Clan, who were doomed to die in the wilderness of the Southern Region.
”Even Kondrad, the commander, knows that Lord Blackdagger is no ordinary man, to incorporate my entire army, sent by the Kingdom as spies, into his ranks.”
Charlotte, dressed as a man, had felt the full weight of Lord Blackdagger’s greatness when he saw through her disguise and pulled her entire army away from the Kingdom’s forces.
”Certainly, he’s an irregular king, with his… nightly activities and… the number of his concubines…”
Ane was impressed by Lord Blackdagger’s power for different reasons.
”Commander Kondrad! Message from the Detection squad! There’s a bunch of strange noises coming from below the castle gates. It sounds like they’re heading right for this central command tent! What should we do?”
An officer rushed into our tent, where we were chatting and laughing, to report the enemy’s approach.
The enemy group was trying to break through the castle walls just as we expected, by digging up the soil at their feet.
”Don’t panic. We’ve already started digging a waterway from the Nirei River. Send the newly reorganized troops to support them.”
Kondrad quickly decides to send the reorganized troops to help with the waterway excavation.
”Haha! Understood!”
The officer who brought the message dashes out of the tent as if he was shot.
Watching this, Charlotte makes a suggestion to Kondrad.
”It seems the enemy group is targeting me, covered in pheromone slime. Maybe it would be quicker if I took command of the waterway excavation and lure them in.”
”Oh, right. Then, sorry to make you work when you’re tired, but Lady Charlotte will take command of the waterway excavation. Let’s wash those bastards away.”
”Haha, I accept.”
Charlotte salutes Kondrad and leaves the tent.
”Lady Charlotte is about to become a General because of her battle achievements this time. And, rumor has it she might even become the Lord Nirei Fortress someday.”
I heard through Ulrika, who serves the lord, that the lord plans to make Charlotte a Lord.
More exactly, they’re gonna call Charlotte’s nephew, who has land in the Kingdom, and put him as Lord, but since he’s young, Charlotte will probably be the one running things.
Right now, she’s just a guest commander in the Margrave South District army, but if this mission finishes without trouble, the lord will officially give her the rank of General.
Looking at Charlotte’s skills, she’s more than qualified as a commander, and I was sure she’d make the Margrave South District army even stronger.
”She’s young but smart, and she can see what’s around her. After gaining experience in this campaign, she’ll be a fine General. The Kingdom army has talent way better than before. Maybe it’s all thanks to King Kent’s leadership.”
”That’s true. In the Kingdom army, you couldn’t become a General without factions, connections, or bribes.”
Back in the True Demon Kingdom days, promotions weren’t about command skill──they depended on how much a higher-up liked you, and that decided how fast you got promoted.
I never served in the central army, but even in the South District army, that kind of system was everywhere.
But ever since the lord became the army boss, promotions now depend fully on command skill and popularity.
So nobles got demoted to foot soldiers if they lacked skill, and commoners got promoted fast if they showed talent.
Garvey, the General of Margrave South District army, also started as a lowly commoner officer, but the lord saw his skill and promoted him, and he proved himself.
So, in the Margrave South District army, favoritisms stop at officer level. Anyone above that is only appointed if they actually have the skills.
”Lord Akves, we’ve met in a good era, haven’t we?”
”As you truly say.”
Me and Conrad laughed heartily, blowing away the weariness of battle.
* * *
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply