I looked at the fleeing monkey demons and nodded.
Our victory was now assured. But it was not over. The real battle is yet to come. We need to destroy everything here and now.
If they scatter and flee to the mountains, it will take time to exterminate them.
If we had archers, we could easily shoot them in the back, but what isn’t here can’t be helped.
I turned my horse around before I had time to recover from my labored breathing.
“Ray, Al, one more time.”
I called out again to Al, who happened to be nearby, and to Ray, who was a little further away.
With the two horses in tow, we chased after the fleeing monkey demons.
This time, the task was to be a sheepdog. We run in a wide arc against the monkey demons fleeing in all directions and lead them to the center as they try to flee outward. I don’t even need to swing a sword. I just run through and threaten them so that they don’t escape, which is very effective, thanks to my “grace.”
The soldiers skewered the monkey demons gathered in the center.
“Al, Ray, are you okay?”
I didn’t have time to look behind me, so when I checked again, I found a pale-faced Ray right beside me. He was breathing heavily and looked like he was desperately trying to catch up.
I looked further back and saw Al. He was not holding a spear in his hand but was leaning forward from his horse with his sword drawn, slashing with it.
He must have abandoned his broken spear and decided to fight with his sword. The sight of him wielding a bloody sword is quite heroic.
Looking around, we were able to defeat most of the monkey demons, but I saw one monkey demon that I had failed to defeat running away.
“Ray, come on!”
I won’t let any of them escape.
I chased after the fleeing monkey demon on my horse.
I am not strong enough to defeat a monster, but I don’t need that in this situation. I ride my horse straight ahead and stamp out the fleeing monkey demon with my horse’s hooves.
I hear a scream beneath my feet and feel the crushing of the horse’s hoof. I feel a little guilty, but I quickly shake it off. This is a battle. This is not a situation in which I can be naive.
I stopped my horse and looked back to see the monkey demon crouched on the ground.
He wasn’t dead but still alive, though his leg was crushed and his right thigh was heavily caved in.
“Miss.”
Ray, who had caught up with me, looked down at the writhing monkey demon with a pale face.
“Ray, finish him off.”
“Eh?”
Ray looks at me in surprise, but I look straight back at him.
Ray hasn’t killed a single monster yet. His spear is still clean, and he hasn’t been sprayed with any blood.
I don’t mean to denigrate him as a coward, but I can’t take a soldier who has never killed an enemy with me like this.
The battle will become more intense from now on. We need him to lose his virginity quickly. Opportunities like this are rare. I want to make the most of it.
“Please hurry up. That is your duty as a soldier.”
“Yes, ma’am”
At my command, he held up his spear as he swept away. The monkey demon desperately resists and raises its voice.
Overwhelmed by the desperate look of the monkey demon, Ray could not draw his spear.
“Quickly!”
He yells at the monkey demon, and reflexively, Ray launches his spear. But the spear misses and pierces the ground.
“Aim firmly!”
Ray, being scolded, repeatedly brought out his spear, finally hitting the monkey demon on the third try, but it pierced only his shoulder, far from being a fatal wound.
“You have to finish him off with one blow. They will fight back to the death.”
Ray continued to spear, but he was unable to hit the target properly and ended up stabbing it several times.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Ray stabbed the spear again and again. The monkey demon was already dead, but the excited Ray was oblivious to this and continued to thrust again and again.
When the monkey demon was no longer in its original form, Ray finally realized that it was dead and raised his head.
“I did it.”
His face was drenched in blood, and his smiling face with dilated pupils was familiar to me.
It was the same face of the prince who had defeated a monster for the first time on his journey. At that time, I wanted to hug him and be his support, but that was in the past.
“You have done well. I’m going back to the main group.”
I gave him a short compliment, and Ray replied in a surprisingly loud voice.
The loud voice was a little funny, and when I returned to the main group laughing, I found that they had already finished destroying the monkey demons. Here and there, I saw recruits who, just like Ray earlier, were repeatedly putting the finishing blows on them.
A quick look around revealed no major injuries.
The soldiers are basking in the excitement and triumph of having defeated the enemy, but it is not over yet.
“Ray, gather the wounded and treat them. Al, take five uninjured ones and go around to finish off the monkey demons. Be careful, they may be pretending to be dead.”
I ordered Ray and Al to go around.
“Yes, yes, you’re a bit rough around the edges.”
Al, who had been soaked in blood, complained, but obeyed with a laugh. He is probably still excited about defeating the monster.
“The rest of us who are free can put out the fire and rescue the wounded villagers.”
I quickly gave the order and proceeded toward the village.
In the settlement, the villagers were peeking through the cracks in the poor fences.
I said to them, “Villagers, we are from the Cashew garrison. We are here to help you.”
When I simply introduced ourselves and told them who we were, and that we were there to defeat the demons in the area. I could hear the joy and relief of the villagers who had been listening to us from their village. They were probably worried that we might be enemy soldiers.
The gates surrounding the village opened, and an old man appeared, probably the village chief or something.
“Thank you for coming to our rescue. On behalf of the village, I would like to thank you. It would have been close if you all hadn’t come.”
“No, we did what we had to do.”
The feudal lord must ensure his people’s safety.
Once safety was confirmed, the villagers came out of the village to help rescue the injured and put out the fires that had reached the fields.
Because of the delay in coming to their rescue, about three villagers were killed and some were seriously injured.
I wished I could have come a little earlier, but I had no choice but to accept the fact that there was nothing I could do.
“As a way of saying thank you, we would like to hold a small feast. We have only a little, but we will provide meat and sake.”
*Sake (酒/sa.kɛ): a kind of Japanese alcoholic drink made from rice. (Wikipedia)
Needless to say, the soldiers cheered and rejoiced at the village chief’s offer.
The feast prepared by the village chief, though modest in scale, was a great success, and the soldiers laughed at each other, saying that nothing could be more fun than this.
The soldiers intoxicated with the wine of victory, even if it was thin, cheered here and there.
They were a little too excited, but it was a great victory in their first battle. It would have been churlish to water it down. I use it as an impetus to give them even more momentum for the next battle.
The soldiers’ joy was not limited to drinking. Some of them were looking at the silver coins clutched in their hands.
It’s the silver coins that I gave as a reward this time. One of those coins was enough to buy a whole sheep. It was a bit much as a reward for defeating the monkey demon, but it was their first victory in battle, and I needed to take advantage of it for the next round.
Everyone is excited about the first large sum of money they have earned in their lives. They must be excited that becoming a millionaire wasn’t just a dream.
At the banquet, it was Al who was especially vocal. With a cup of sake in his hand, he was gorging himself on a huge piece of meat.
I handed two silver coins to Al for being the most successful in the battle this time. He was very excited to receive his first large sum of money for his achievement. He immediately used the money to buy a sheep from a villager and roasted it whole, eating it with gusto.
Of course, he couldn’t eat by himself, so he served it to everyone.
I would like to tell him to spend it more carefully, but his extravagant spending habits are convenient. When the soldiers see him lavishly spending his money after getting their rewards, they are motivated to do the same. And since the money will naturally run out the next time they spend it, they will have to earn it again for their next extravagance, and they will seek the battlefield and fight bravely for the credit. It is a good thing.
“You have fought well today, gentlemen.”
The party was drawing to a close, and I decided to say a few last words.
“Tomorrow, we will leave this village for the next one. I am told that monsters have been spotted there as well.”
Hearing of a new enemy and battlefield, the soldiers had no fear. Some of them are whistling with joy. They see it as an opportunity to take credit and get gold.
“At this rate, we will be able to defeat all the monsters in our territory. We can do it.”
I encourage the soldiers, and they all cheer at once. Letting them get too carried away would be dangerous, but I have to get them to do their best.
