Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 45: Fortress Siege (5)

I had been chased by the soldiers in white armor, but I hid in the ground and continued my sabotage. I actually wanted to go back as soon as possible, but I had received orders from Orvo to cause havoc until the fighting on the surface settled down.

I wondered if there would be additional orders. It was unfair that I couldn’t go back even though I had already finished what I was told to do. However, I couldn’t go against the orders, so I continued to hunt down the fire-breathing war chariots.

(There are still strong presences around me. I don’t want to get close to them… Has the battle on the surface ended?)

In the end, I managed to take out fourteen of the fire-breathing war chariots. However, the remaining six were heavily guarded, and I didn’t dare to approach them. If they were able to withdraw from the area, it would be a relief for me, as I would have to fight them to destroy them. I cautiously peeked my head out from the transformed sand ground to assess the situation on the surface.

To my relief, it appeared that the large forces of the coalition army had successfully pushed back the invading army. Despite their initial plan to attack the coalition army from the rear with the fire-breathing war chariots, my thorough obstruction had prevented them from doing so, putting the invading army at a disadvantage.

The offensive by the invading army was met with a relentless barrage of spiritual attacks, as the previously occupied hands of the skilled spiritualists were now free to unleash their power. While the invading army’s close-combat specialized armor was formidable, it couldn’t withstand continuous onslaughts from top-notch spiritualists. Moreover, many soldiers of the coalition army were skilled warriors proficient in close combat. If it weren’t for the fire-breathing war chariots, the invading army would have stood no chance, even with equal numbers.

As the tide turned against them, the invading army began to retreat. The shoulder parts of their close-combat specialized armor unfolded, releasing a strange-smelling smoke as they started to fall back. The coalition army naturally attempted to pursue, but the soldiers who inhaled the smoke struggled before collapsing one by one.

Was it poison? The rear spiritualists quickly created a gust of wind to push the smoke back towards the invading army, but it seemed that they had taken precautions, as no one among them appeared to be suffering. With the toxic smoke still billowing out, it would be difficult to pursue them. The coalition army gave up on reckless pursuit, and the invading army retreated leisurely.

With my mission now complete, I emerged from the underground and made my way back to the point where I had parted ways with Orvo, running on the surface. There, Orvo was already waiting, waving both hands enthusiastically towards me.

“Welcome back! You did great again today!”

Orvo celebrated with a sense of personal achievement, as if my success was his own. And in truth, that was the case. After all, this would make it easier to recruit volunteers for his experiments. It seemed like the day when he would create synthetic beasts modeled after the human species, following my example, was drawing near.

After accompanying me, Orvo bypassed the victorious camp of the coalition army and made his way back to the fortress. I entered the cage and took my usual seat, closing my eyelids. Orvo seemed satisfied as he set off towards his destination, likely to speak with the leaders of the coalition army.

Putting aside Orvo for now, I reflected on the day’s battle on my own. Using the underground approach had proven to be highly effective, and I decided to continue utilizing it unless the enemy implemented countermeasures. However, the challenge had been the fight against the white armored soldier.

Technically, I hadn’t lost the battle since I hadn’t been defeated, but it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say that I had won either. I knew that I could have defeated the soldier if I hadn’t made a mistake in my response.

The cause of my failure lay in my carelessness and lack of experience in fighting with this body. Because I let my guard down and neglected to be vigilant of my surroundings, I failed to notice the enemy, who was stealthily concealing their presence, just like me. If I had been more cautious, I wouldn’t have been shot at in the first place.

Moreover, I feel like I was too fixated on using my swords in battle. I could have used kicks or spiritual arts, and most importantly, I should have made better use of my tail. In hindsight, it was a battle with nothing but points to reflect on.

It was probably because I was overly conscious of Alexander and the Holy Knight’s movements. Nevertheless, both of them use spiritual power in battle, and besides, I also have a tail that I could utilize. I should take their movements as a reference, but I need to adapt them to my own body… It seems like I still have a long way to go.

As I held my self-reflection session, the fortress gradually grew louder. The soldiers who finished cleaning up the battlefield were returning one after another. They were probably going to celebrate their victory right about now. The soldiers who performed well would likely be rewarded. It had nothing to do with me, though.

As time passed, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky transformed into a dark canvas of night. Surprisingly, instead of settling into silence, the clamor at the fortress intensified, filling the atmosphere with an electric buzz of excitement. Laughter reverberated through the air, echoing off the walls. While it was true that we had emerged victorious, but perhaps everyone was getting a little too carried away?

“Hey, there you are! Gahahaha!” Alexander came over with a swagger. At first glance, he seemed to be acting as usual, but there was a strange smell coming from the bottle he was holding in one hand.

Alexander put the bottle to his lips and gulped it down. As he exhaled with a loud “Buhhh,” the strange smell grew stronger. I wondered what he was drinking.

“I heard it! You’re the one who crushed that pesky fire-breathing war chariot and went around taking care of things! Because of that thing, every front line suffered heavy casualties! Just as expected of my disciple! Well done! Gahahaha!”

Alexander sat down in front of the cage and praised me while taking something out from his pocket. It was dried meat that had been dried until it grew hard as a rock.

He tore it apart with his teeth, chewing loudly, and then took another swig from the bottle. As he did so, Alexander’s face lit up with happiness.

“The spiritualists are grateful! Thanks to you, we’ve reduced the effort of blocking those fireballs! Even those arrogant Eru race members had to admit it! Gahahaha!”

“Calling us arrogant Eru is quite harsh, you know.”

As Alexander laughed heartily, another person approached. Wait a minute, I didn’t notice them approaching at all? Who could it be?

However, as I looked at the face with my compound eyes, I understood. This female with long, pointed ears was one of the formidable members of the coalition army who had been wary of me, just like Alexander.

“Oh, if it isn’t the chieftain of the Eru members!”

“Please refrain from using such crude language like ‘chieftain’. I’m not a thief, you know? Honestly…”

It seemed that Alexander’s choice of words didn’t sit well with her, as the female sighed while placing a hand on her forehead. Eru, huh? I had some knowledge in my head about this humanoid race.

They were a small minority among the human species, known for their exceptional spiritual powers. However, that was all I knew. I had no information about their appearance, so I couldn’t connect this female with the Eru race. I’ll remember that pointed ears are a characteristic of the Eru.

“Well, never mind. You there, synthetic beast, wake up.”

“….?”

Huh? I was suddenly given an order… though I have no obligation to obey it. But ignoring it here would likely cause trouble. So, I followed the order and opened my eyelids.

“Well, on behalf of the ‘Raging Wind Squad’ that I lead, I thank you for destroying those detestable fire-breathing war chariots,” said the female Eru race member, turning her back and walking away. She had said it was a word of thanks, but I couldn’t feel any gratitude from her at all.

Alexander chuckled heartily as he looked at me, dumbfounded. He drank from the bottle until its contents were gone with a gulp, then exhaled with a strange-smelling breath.

“Bwahaha! Gahaha! You see, even though she expressed gratitude, she said it like that! Didn’t I tell you? Eru members are arrogant! In that regard, our Kogo race warriors are known for their honesty! Some may call us crude, but that’s how we roll!”

I couldn’t believe it. Was that really a show of gratitude? I closed my eyelids in exasperation. And to think that Alexander had referred to himself as a member of the Kogo race, a species I had never heard of before.

He must be talking about the members of the “Dragon Blood Knights.” They were known for their towering height, muscular build, coarse hair, and beards. I had learned something new.

“To be honest, when I first laid eyes on you, I thought you were too dangerous,” Alexander said with a hearty laugh. “But now you’re my trusted comrade and disciple! Gahaha!”

Alexander chuckled as he tossed a pottery bottle, similar to the one he had been drinking from, onto my lap.

I had been curious for a while, but what was this? If I could figure out what it was, perhaps I would have the relevant knowledge within me explain it.

“It’s alcohol! Even though you fought in the battle, it’s a pity if you can’t join the victory celebration! I brought some for you too! Gahaha!” Alexander exclaimed.

So this was alcohol, a preferred beverage among humans, as my knowledge had informed me. Did humans really like that strange-smelling liquid? It was incomprehensible.

However, despite receiving the bottle, I had no idea how to drink from it. Alexander didn’t seem to be aware of this, and he didn’t seem to be concerned even now.

“Well then! I’ll be heading to bed soon! We’ll continue training tomorrow morning too! Gahaha!” Alexander said, giving his knees a pat before standing up and striding away with large steps. Wait, was he really leaving? How was I supposed to drink this while I’m shackled?

I lowered my head as much as I could, extending the small pincers on my cheeks to try and pick up the bottle. However, the pincers couldn’t reach it no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t drink it like this, but I also couldn’t just throw it away… What should I do?

“Just brought some food for today!” There came the familiar soldier who brought me meals every day.

He was staggering and swaying as he approached. His face was somewhat red, and his breath smelled like Alexander’s, so it seemed like he had been drinking alcohol.

The soldier opened the cage with a humming tune and offered me bread as usual. While the other soldiers were celebrating their victory lavishly, my food was still the same tasteless bread. I didn’t expect anything different from the start, so I chewed on the bread with a “munch munch”.

“Oh? This is… a bottle of alcohol. Haha, it must be a gift from that big Knight Captain. Well then, here you go,” the soldier said.

The soldier noticed the bottle of alcohol on my legs and accurately guessed the truth. Only someone like Alexander or a member of the “Dragon Blood Knights” would think of offering me such a luxury item, so the difficulty of his deduction was low.

The soldier pulled out the cork from the bottle with a satisfying “pop” sound and brought the mouth of the bottle close to my lips. It seemed like he was going to let me drink it. The smell of alcohol was unfamiliar to me, but since I had the chance, I decided to give it a try. I used the small pincers on my cheeks to hold the bottle in place and took a sip of the alcohol.

“Blugh!?”

The moment I tasted the alcohol, the smell that had been coming from Alexander and the soldier’s mouths hit my nose. At the same time, my tongue tingled with a strange sensation, and a complex flavor with a hint of sweetness spread in my mouth. Then, my vision distorted and blurred.

What’s happening? I feel dizzy and can’t gather my thoughts. Everything feels fuzzy. I hear something… Oh, suddenly feeling sleepy…

******

TN : I couldn’t translate that race as elves because an elf in Japanese should be called Erufu, while in the chapter they’re called Eru, I could call them El race but it doesn’t sound that good, also this Eru race are most likely elves so you can picture them as such