Dungeon Defense (WN)

While Brittany was in the midst of dominating the first round.

The cavalry unit led by Baroness Juliana de Blanc clashed with the enemy’s cavalry on the right flank. The edges of the plains resounded with the thundering hooves of horses. Tens of thousands of infantrymen advanced steadily, one step at a time, as they listened to the thundering hooves.

The battle smoothly transitioned into the next stage.

“Begin singing.”

The officers repeated my order. Once they did, our civilian militia of 4,000 raised their voices simultaneously. The songs that flowed from the mouths of the militia born and raised in Sardinia were, naturally, Sardinian songs.

The enemy became more bewildered as they approached us. They had left their homes and stepped onto this perilous battlefield to fight against foreign invaders, not to harm their own people. The hesitation in the enemy’s formation was visible.

“We are not your enemies! The Duke of Milano is the traitor!”

“Brothers, there is no reason for us to kill our fellow countrymen!”

“La Spezia was abandoned!”

Centering around our petty officers, people began to shout from our militia. This was something that dampened the will to fight on both sides at the same time. Our side genuinely didn’t want to fight their brethren either. As morale plummeted on both sides, our vanguard, which was under my command, clashed with the kingdom’s vanguard.

“Nonsense! You guys are all traitors!”

“Let’s punish these bastards who betrayed their own countrymen!”

The kingdom’s generals roared back.

The clashing of spears and swords echoed loudly.

Once our forces withdrew slowly and made it clear that we didn’t want to fight, the vigorous claims from the enemy generals shouting, ‘That’s a lie!’ lost their persuasiveness. The soldiers who actively engaged in killing the enemy were in the minority. The soldiers’ grips on their spears were clearly lacking in strength.

Be it our imperial army or the kingdom’s army, this situation only made the clash between frontlines slow down considerably. This will undoubtedly delay either side from facing a decisive defeat.

And this kind of prolonged battle was precisely what Laura had ordered me to do.

“Do not retreat too hastily! Slowly. Match your pace with your comrades and sync your retreat with the commands from the petty officers!”

I personally moved among our troops to boost their morale. If our soldiers were to lose heart while attempting to withdraw gradually and prolong the battle, the retreat could swiftly devolve into a panicked rout. It was essential to emphasize that, ‘Your commander is here with you.’

Occasionally, I would aim my crossbow at an enemy’s head and let loose a bolt. This was to demonstrate that I wasn’t just giving orders but was actively engaged in the fight alongside them. Every time one of my bolts found its mark, our nearby soldiers would erupt in cheers.

“Fire!”

They probably noticed me. The kingdom army’s archers focused their volleys at my location. My royal guards raised their shields to protect me.

“Your Excellency, it is dangerous out here! Please retreat to the back for a moment!”

“At best, they are only firing toothpicks at us. Leave it be.”

I disregarded the enemy archers, choosing to stay close to our soldiers. This wasn’t due to exceptional bravery on my part, but rather because I had invested a substantial amount in a set of specially crafted helmet and armor for this war. These enchanted pieces were impervious to arrows.

But, damn it.

As expected, I have absolutely no luck in battlefields.

Of all places, an arrow managed to pierce into an opening in the thigh area that wasn’t protected by my armor. The arrow managed to escape the forest of spears, past the shields of my royal guards, through an opening in my armor, and right into my thigh!

“Kuaahh!”

I let out a scream as I bent down. My royal guards panicked.

“Your Excellency! Damn it, escort His Excellency to somewhere safe!”

“It is fine!”

I responded instinctively. Despite the excruciating pain I was experiencing, only one thought went through my head as soon as this damned arrow pierced my thigh, ‘Pretend like it’s nothing.’ If I were to falter here as the commander, the citizen-soldiers in our first row would crumble uncontrollably.

“Khh, ugh!”

I twisted the arrow and yanked it out in a single, agonizing motion. It was as if I were ripping apart my own muscles. I believe I came perilously close to losing an eye. Honestly, this was far from something a regular person should attempt. If I weren’t someone who had gouged himself a couple of times before, and if I weren’t a Demon Lord, I’d likely be dead twice over by now.

Damn arrows! The thing I hate the most in the world is arrows!

“Guaaahh!”

After ripping out the arrow in the most ignorant way possible, I raised it up. I then unsheathed the sword at my hip and cried out. Our soldiers cheered out energetically once they saw that.

“Yeah! Glory to the general!”

“Glory to Sardinia! Glory to Sardinia!”

I have no desire to be called your general, and cheering for Sardinia has nothing to do with me! Civilian militias really do cheer out to whatever they want. Our morale, which was on the brink of collapse, made an incredible turnaround and soared.

I turned off my voice amplification spell for a moment and spat out a bunch of curses to my guards.

“You stupid retards, do you plan to stand around there and do nothing until I become a corpse!?”

“O-Our apologies, Your Highness!”

“It really fucking hurts. Damn it!”

I took out a potion from my pocket and poured it on my thigh. I had deliberately twisted the arrow in a half rotation while it was still deep inside to prevent the arrowhead from getting stuck, so the opening was wide enough to let the potion flow in.

“Ghh. Fhhh……kuhh!”

As the potion flowed into my wound, causing a second wave of pain, I also remembered that this wasn’t the first time I’d been hit by an arrow in the thigh. It was the third time. The first time was from Riff’s adventurer party, and the second was from Margrave Rosenberg’s mounted archers. This was the third time now!

I was hit by an arrow a total of three times throughout my entire life and all three of them made contact with my thigh. I’m sure that in a previous life, there must have been some sort of unimaginable romance between my thigh and arrows. Thanks to that, I had to bear the brunt of this pain. They should just die.

I glared menacingly at my elven guards.

“You guys…… never mind. I will put this on hold until this battle is over.”

“M-My apologies, Your Highness!”

My guards were so perplexed that they forgot they were supposed to refer to me as Your Excellency and not Your Highness. Or were they trying to make me subconsciously give them a lighter punishment by referring to me with a higher position?

Even I know that my guards have done nothing wrong. That arrow had pierced through all sorts of layers of luck to reach my thigh. It was only natural to want to shout at someone after going through intense pain.

“Hoo.”

I let out a light breath as I raised my telescope.

I looked around to see that nearly all of the other infantry units were also engaged in battle. Unlike my group, the other units didn’t consist of civilians, so they fought fiercely, unburdened by the hesitation driven by kinship ties.

I checked our left and right flanks next.

The left flank, which Queen Henrietta commanded, was already devastated. Despite the similar numbers of cavalry on both sides, the Breton cavalry crushed the enemy in a single swoop.

I knew this because all I could see on the left flank were corpses. The enemy had already begun to flee into the distance, with the Breton cavalry in hot pursuit. They were likely trying to eliminate the fleeing troops so that they couldn’t regroup later.

“Tsk, I guess being hit by an arrow was worth it.”

I muttered to myself irritably as I turned my telescope to the opposite side.

The right flank, which Baroness Juliana de Blanc was overseeing, was still in the middle of their cavalry battle. However, it was obvious that our side outnumbered the enemy by twice the amount. It looked like it wouldn’t be long before things wrapped up on that side as well. Unless something unexpected happens, it should be fine to consider the cavalry battle on our right flank as a resounding victory for us as well.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Your Highness Duchess!”

Right when I was about to resume giving commands after getting a grasp of the situation, there was a sudden commotion behind me. I turned around and was startled. Laura, who should have been with the central army as the Supreme Commander, was rushing towards me with her subordinates.

“Laura!”

I frowned.

“What is the meaning of this? Why is the Supreme Commander here!?”

“…….”

Laura dismounted her horse and abruptly hugged me. Laura buried her face in my chest and murmured.

“L-Lord…… Lord…….”

My expression froze. I’ve heard this tone before. This was the same whimpering as that night when Laura vowed to leave everything to me.

I turned my head and signaled to the guards with my eyes. I immediately used my Demon Lord power to command them to shield us from the views of others. The guards, perhaps sensing the urgency, quickly unfolded their cloaks and formed a protective circle around Laura and me, blocking the view from the outside.

“Lord……hgh, I’m so glad that you’re safe…….”

“Laura, calm down. I am completely fine.”

I patted Laura’s back as I slowly lowered myself. The two of us were soon kneeling on the ground and embracing each other. Laura was shedding tears on my breastplate.

“When I heard that you were hit by an arrow, my mind went blank…… That is why…….”

“It’s all right. Here, look at me. Am I not a Demon Lord?”

I calmly whispered to her. In truth, my thigh still hurt like crazy, but I didn’t let it show. It was as if Laura’s sobbing triggered a kind of mental awakening. My thoughts and the pain in my thigh had separated, allowing me to speak with composure.

“Most wounds do not even leave a mark. Laura, your lord is a resilient man. If something of this level were able to kill me, then I would have already died three times.”

“Good…… I am so relieved that you are a Demon Lord…….”

I wiped Laura’s tears with my hand. There was a soft smile on my lips. Laura’s tears showed no sign of stopping, but as I continued to stroke her face and kiss her forehead, she began to calm down.

“The battle is still far from over, correct?”

“……Mhm.”

“I appreciate your concern for me, but if you really wish to do something for my sake, we must win this battle. Please return to where you should be. I am sure your subordinates are considerably worried.”

Laura nodded.

The two of us locked lips. Right beside us, there was the sound of metal scraping against metal, shields pushing against shields, and screams drowned in blood. After a brief moment, we parted our lips. I smiled.

“I trust in you, Laura.”

Only then did Laura’s blue eyes become refocused.

She smiled brightly.

“Yes, Lord.”

Laura rushed back to the central army. I remained silent as I watched her fade into the distance. The thing that angered me the most at this moment was how close the cries of war sounded.

I didn’t know the reason, but that genuinely angered me. Everything sounded noisy. The clanging of spears, shields, the pounding of hooves, the soldiers, all contributed to the cacophony. All of it was loud…….

“…….”

For some reason, my guards were staring at me with worried looks on their faces. I let out a snort.

“Know that your discretion will save your lives.”

I was threatening them that if word about this incident were to spread anywhere, I would chase them down to the ends of hell. It seemed they at least had the brain capacity to understand the underlying meaning behind my words as they responded with a resounding “Yes, Your Highness!”

I returned my gaze to the battlefield. The battle wasn’t over yet…….

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Laura’s mental state has become pretty concerning, huh? Feels rather foreboding…

Well, work is busy, life is messy, and I’m just crawling along. I’ve been doing a good job of distracting myself, so that’s good.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.