Annihilation

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few days after the battle at the borders of Yukonami and Shinka has concluded, a report was sent to the provincial lord of the southwest district of Yukonami province which is currently the only part of the Yukogahara clan that is participating in the war.

"L-Lord! Pardon the intrusion, but I bear news from the frontlines!"

Inside the local castle of the district, a soldier barged into the bedroom of the lord and bowed down till his forehead reached the floor while begging for forgiveness.

"Don't you see that I am busy here? Wait outside, will you?!"

"I-I'm really sorry, my lord! But this is of utmost importance!"

"Tch! Damn it!"

Standing up from his bed with three women around him who has passed out from attending to him, the young man wore his robe and took the scroll from the soldier's hands.

"…Kh! Incompetent fools! Why are they dilly-dallying like this when I told them to step into Shinka as quickly as possible?! Hey, you!"

"Eeeek! W-what is it, Yukogahara-sama?"

"Tell the geezers to get to the meeting hall or I'll cut their heads off!"

"Y-yes, my lord!"

After the scared soldier scurried away from the bedroom, the young lord turned around and slapped lightly the faces of the women to awake them. When those were not enough, he gritted his teeth and raised his leg to kick all of them away.

"Tch! Useless, useless, all of you are useless!"

This is Yukogahara Akihiko, 17 years old in age. Being the youngest of the four lords of Yukonami, his emotion-driven and sometimes rage-led way of ruling is infamously known amongst the people of the province.

As he came from a family of hardened criminals, he grew up with the belief that the weak must submit to the strong or they will die. His district mirrors this way of rule as most people here spend their life in organized groups of highwaymen, kidnappers, slave traders and raiders that spreads out from their province's borders to harass the people of the neighboring Shinka and Kise provinces. Thus, since the start of his rule when he was a mere 12-year-old, the thought of living a normal life under his rule has long ceased from the minds of the people as they adopted a kill-or-be-killed belief in living.

"What the hell is this…? What kind of hell spawn did this…?"

After the retainers who are forced to serve him led him to a tent in the courtyard, he can't help but curse from the sight.

"IYAAAAAHHH!!!"

"Hold him down! We can't cut it off if he squirms too much!"

"I need more bandages here!"

"Has anyone seen the doctor?! We need to close this wound!"

It was 3 days since the battle at the Yukonami border. Today, a mere 134 men returned from the first army group that they sent that used to be 14,000 men. In the Sengoku era, this would've only happened if the enemy is overwhelmingly large or competent or an act of nature happens such as a landslide, storm or a spread of a disease.

But that is not the case here.

"UWWAAAAAAHHH!!! Make it stop! Make it stop, please!!!"

"I'm cutting the bone! Pull it now!"

"Cover it with the herbs!"

The 134 men that went back are just corpses that still wants to live. Many of them have bullet wounds that went through their torsos while the ones that are shouting so loudly right now are those who needs to have their limbs amputated after the bones were shattered or it was partially torn off.

"This… who did this?!"

"It's the defenders by the border, Yukogahara-sama. This is the thing that the survivors kept on repeating."

"W-what?! When did that softie soldiers of Shinka become so good in a fight?!"

"I-it's…. it's not the Kusanagi clan, sir. There's another force there that is holding down the forts."

"What? Another clan? A mercenary group? Which is it?!"

"W-we don't know, Yukogahara-sama…"

Never in his life as a ruthless warrior has he saw something like this. The side of the tent that has the deceased survivors showed clearly what kind of enemy they faced after being informed that the sacrificial soldiers they sent has been completely annihilated.

"These holes… these wounds…"

The bodies are riddled by holes as if it was pierced so strongly by a spike. Meanwhile, the wounds that they sustained are so deep that even now that their hearts are no longer beating, the blood they have are still flowing out.

"…Heh!"

But instead of being scared of the sight, the young lord smirked and had a thought in his mind.

"The things that did this… I must have them!"

As usual for a murdering and psychotic ruler like him, those were his thoughts.

"Come on! We ride at once! I want to meet the mercenaries who did this and hire them!"

And just like a moth to the flame, he charged forward to where he wasn't supposed to go.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"How is it, my lord?"

"Fuuu… Hrp…"

"…"

"It still tastes too bitter. Do it again."

"Urk!"

Today, I am spending the early morning in the central fortress with Nobisuke.

"How about now, my lord?"

"Fuuu… Hrp… Ah…!"

"…"

He is trying his best to make a decent-tasting drink. We've been like this for a while now.

"Let's just stop this Nobisuke. Your lack of skill in this is just hurting my stomach."

"Urk! S-sorry, Kou-sama!"

But of course, everyone has to be bad at something. And for him, it's such a trivial thing that he can't stop to obsess on in order to overcome it.

"Kou-sama. The cavalry scout captain and messenger has returned. The chief engineer too, has a report."

"Let them in."

Nobisuke took away the cup set and dumped the contents of the badly brewed drink out of the window as three soldiers entered the room that is acting as my temporary local office.

"Kou-sama! Captain Shikishima from the Shock Cavalry's Scouting corps."

"Kou-sama! Sergeant Sendai from the Shock Cavalry's Messenger detachment."

"Kou-sama! Major Komatsu from the Rifle Infantry's Engineering detachment."

In front of me, three soldiers raised their salutes which I received by standing up and raising my right hand over my right brow.

"At ease, you three. You can take your seats now."

As they walked to their seats, they loosened their black-colored haori coats and took off their light, steel conical hats and placed them on their laps before sitting.

"First of all, I want to hear the report from the scouting corps. Captain, if you may…"

"Yes, sir! I am here to report an incoming army group from the main enemy force. If I may humbly request a map…"

"Nobisuke. Bring the table here."

"Understood."

Nobisuke brought over a small table in front of us and the cavalry captain stepped closer to point to a forest between the field of stony outcroppings and dirt mounds where our main battle area is and the open field where our enemies will most likely come from.

"We have confirmed dust trails coming from the nearest town from the forest last afternoon. The village that we attacked last time is on the opposite side of our vantage point, so we deduced that the enemy has mistook that we have occupied the burnt down village and aims to recover it from us in order to repurpose it to a forward base."

"I see… If that is the case, we should send some men to set up an ambush or rig the place with traps to deal damage without incurring some for us."

"A wise suggestion, my lord!"

"No need for the flattery, even a kid could think that one up."

I think we should go for the second method. If we went with the ambush plan, we still run the risk of losing some men after the enemy has recomposed their selves and fought back.

Besides, I have some people here who will be just perfect for it.

"Anything else to report?"

"None, sir!"

"Well then, you can be seated now."

After the scouting captain has sat down, next came the turn of the cavalry messenger.

"Kou-sama! I bear a letter from Lord Kusanagi Kyoko."

"Alright. Let me read it for a bit."

I took the scroll from his hand and used the knife on my table to wedge off the cover of the letter's sealed container.

"…They're coming here tomorrow. They had a problem with a certain town that believes that sending their men to war would anger a local god. Kyoko must've gotten carried away again and did something incredibly stupid like scooping out a water dragon's pond."

"That… my lord…"

"Yeah. Do you remember that time when she visited Aoya while she was a child? Chiyo told me about how she blasphemed a local Shinto shrine."

"She… was banned from visiting afterwards…"

I thought about stopping it here before we say things that we aren't meant to talk about. So, I returned to the topic at hand and told the messenger that I will be sending a letter by noon so he should prepare his men.

"Well then, Major Komatsu. If you may…"

"Yes, my lord!"

The middle-aged man stood up with vigor and spread a newly made map of the surrounding area on the small table that has a map.

"We have finished setting up the defenses, my lord. The trenches at the foremost areas are manned now and just like you've instructed us to do, it can be quickly collapsed back by breaking the wall braces if ever it will get overrun by the enemies."

"Right. Has the soldiers been taught about the proper passages in this maze-like area we created?"

"Yes, sir. There are a lot of sharp corners that corresponds with the training we received from basic entrenchment class that shows where the right way can be found. Another advantage of this is the creation of overlapping blind spots and chokepoints where our soldiers can rain gunfire on them or confuse them into thinking that the people they bumped into are their enemies."

"Good. That will help slow them down. The enemy is also capable of learning new things and I believe they now know that hiding in a trench can protect them from the overhead gunfire. But as soon as they enter the trenches, we can teach them that they are hundreds of years away from perfectly utilizing them."

"Indeed, my lord! Another thing, we have also created that thing that you've instructed us to do about the Rakurai cannons."

"Oh, you've already created the camouflaged artillery nest, huh? Good job. That will help in hiding our trump card."

After their reports have been concluded, they gave me another salute and went out of the room, leaving me here again with Nobisuke as the only other person to talk to.

"Kou-sama… should I awaken them?"

"…Yes."

"What are your orders?"

"…"

It's time for them to show up.

"Fill the village with explosives and detonate it as soon as the majority of the enemy force are in range."

"As you wish!"

After all, I have to give those "birds" their prey for today…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Come on! Hurry up!"

Lord Yukogahara Akihiko are speeding towards a village that his people call the forward base.

"What the… hurry up! It's under attack!"

One thing that he didn't know is that this "forward base" has already been emptied of any kind of life.

"H-huh? What the…"

"T-this is…"

Around them are just empty homes burnt to ashes. The only standing structure was the commander's tent at the middle of the village. Seeing that, they trotted slowly to the plaza.

"…What?"

"These clothes and armor… is this the fodders that we sent to break up the enemy front?"

"Didn't the first group pass by here? Why did they not tell us that this place has been burned down?"

The young lord turned back and went out of the village after ordering his horsemen to scatter around the village to look for survivors and clues as to what happened here.

Little did he know that those "birds" has been watching them this whole time.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Captain, they are here."

"Aye. Did everyone prepared the wires and barrels as I instructed?"

"Without fail, captain."

"Good. Let's get away from here and turn this place into a killing field."

From atop the trees near the forest, 12 or so men dressed in Shinobi garments hopped from branch to branch until they passed by one other ninja that is waiting with a switch on his hand.

"Blow it!"

"-!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"My lord, what are you looking at?"

"The village. They've just detonated it."

I looked through my telescope and in the direction of the battlefield, there was a bright flash of light that glimmered for a second and afterwards, turned into a gigantic smoke cloud.

"Here it comes."

I spoke and quickly retracted my telescope before running behind my table and away from the open window.

"Here it comes…? UGUWAWAWAWAWA!!!"

"Kahahaha!!! That's what I'm talking about!"

While Nobisuke was trying not to fall down after being swept by the shockwave from the explosion, I was laughing so heartily from seeing something like that explosion again.

"I-I-Iwasawa-sama! You should've warned me!"

"What? You already know about the shockwave of explosions, right? Why are you acting so surprised?"

"Just how many barrels of gunpowder did you made them detonate to send a shockwave that strong that it reached the fortresses?"

"Gunpowder? Oh, I get the confusion now. Those aren't gunpowder, those are dynamites."

I created them 6 months ago when I noticed how mining becomes more difficult the more they go deeper for the mining villages near Naka. This was connected to the time when we needed to create machines for the arms factory, and we can't get enough iron locally.

So, I took some chemicals to my laboratory and reproduced the formula created by Alfred Nobel himself to stabilize nitroglycerin and create electrically detonatable dynamite. After a while, many merchant guilds wanted to buy some and the rest is history covered with iron ore and sometimes, even gold.

"The engineering team said that the soil around here is quite soft, so they let the Crows get some for the trap in the village since it would just be stuck in the armory."

"Dynamites… who could've thought that those little sticks can produce this much destruction…"

"…Yeah, Sir Nobel must be rolling in his grave now after hearing about this."

It is said that Alfred Nobel regretted inventing dynamite after the outbreak of World War 1 when both sides used it to deal great losses to the opposite side. Afterwards, he created an institution that rewards people who achieved great things in many fields such as medicine and physics but one that is truly regarded is the special "Nobel Peace Prize".

Thus, now that I am reminded of this fact, I can't help but sigh in disappointment after using it in a way that made the true inventor regret about it.

"Sir. The Crows are coming back."

"Send them here. I want to hear their reports as soon as possible."

"Yes, Kou-sama!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Urk… Agh…"

Yukogahara Akihiko woke up inside a tent with a terrible headache.

"Young master! Are you awake?!"

"Augh… what the hell happened to me?"

He sat up and held his face as his head continued to hurt. It was only then did he notice that something is blocking his left eye as only his right one lets him see.

"What the-?! What happened to my eye?!"

"It will be alright, my lord! The doctor said that he covered the left side of your face so it won't make your head hurt more."

"Grrrr! What the hell… what happened back there?!"

He was only a few meters away from the village when the dynamites were detonated. He was caught in the extremely turbulent shockwave and was sent flying across the grass field which caused huge gashes and bruises on his body.

"Damn it! I'm done with them! You, tell the old geezers to get here! We're attacking them!"

"Y-yes! Young Master!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few moments after the Crows arrived in the central fortress, Nobisuke left to go back to the western fortress in accordance with my instructions. After all, we openly slaughtered their men with what we did at the destroyed village so them impulsively retaliating is never impossible.

"My lord! We have arrived."

"Rise up, Captain Kuro. There's no need to praise me whenever we meet."

"As you wish!"

In front of me are 7 men dressed in ninja garbs and wearing unpainted masks over their faces.

"I saw everything from here. That was a spectacular performance."

"We are honored!"

"Now then, how many enemy casualties was there?"

"We calculated 112 horsemen and 44 soldiers. Most of them died from the shockwave and was left whole but those that was near enough from the blast sites was too mangled and split apart that we can only deduce from a distance that number."

"I see… It must've been officers and nobles if they were riding on horses. That must've dealt a shake on their command structure."

"Indeed, it would seem."

Looking at them right now, I knew that I didn't make any mistakes when I asked Fumikage-dono to send trainers on my army camp to help educate a bunch of talented candidates that I especially hand-picked for special operations.

"For now, I want your group to stay on your vantage points and send word regarding enemy movements. I would've asked this to the Cavalry scouts, but I don't want to risk starting a accidental skirmish and losing the advantage we have in our trenches."

"As you wish, my lord! We will not fail in this!"

"Mm. Dismissed!"

They stepped out of the room and there, I was left again in my office.

"Now then… On what to do regarding the attack plan…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"We should attack now! Victory only belongs to the brave!"

"Don't be a fool! Our men wouldn't want to march to their deaths!"

"Gah! Stop being a coward, will you?! We have to avenge our fallen!"

The commander's tent was in disarray after the explosion that happened in the abandoned village. Most of the officers in the Yukogahara army that was supposed to be the one who will sit here are reported dead and their second in commands was left to represent them.

"Shut up! All of you!"

"…"

"I don't care who those people are or who wants and doesn't want to fight. They dare welcome me with a barrel of lit gunpowder?! They will pay… they will PAY!!!"

With the news that their lord has been attacked behind his back, the rest of the Yukogahara clan's army under his command marched quickly and reached the town to form a 30,000 strong army.

"We will attack tonight! I won't let the sun rise up while they are still alive!"

And just like that, the battle will end with it unfortunately, not turning on his favor.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Sir! A report from a messenger! Lady Kusanagi is entering the fortress."

"Mm. Lead her and her officers here."

"Aye!"

After a few minutes, the door opened to show the warrior princess in her battle-form along with her female general.

"You really held up properly… I can't believe that even if I arrived late, I didn't see the border in shambles."

"Oh, come on… That's just underestimating us."

We exchanged bows and I asked the fortress servants to spread a carpet for us to all sit down on equal grounds.

"I heard that you've destroyed their ashigaru-sen and ashigaru armies. The first one are just sacrifices to test out the enemies, but I heard that even the first formal army didn't stand a chance against your forces."

"Mm. I made sure to give them quite the welcome. The trenches helped us conceal our soldiers till much of them are near before we rained bullets on them. Facing that storm of bullets, they tried to retreat but the artillery and cannon fire bombarded their escape routes leaving little to none survivors after the fight."

"Terrifying…"

I heard the female general, Ayanami Mitsuha, speak beneath her breath.

"I have to do what I must do. If I leave too many survivors, they would likely share information about the battle and help the next wave of attackers until they can perfect their methods and overrun or outsmart us."

"Just like eradicating rats, huh?"

"I'm not fond of the term, but it does feel just like that."

I poured a liquid on my cup and her cup and took the first sip as a display of courtesy that I did not place anything in it.

"This drink… looks weird. Its odor is strong and it looks like murky water… what is this?"

"Coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. I used to drink this everyday long ago but after I got here, I never had any chance to find any. Until some foreign ship anchored near Naka and asked for my help to repair their ship. As a sign of appreciation, they gave me a few seeds after I recognized the contents of their shipments. I then sent some people to a humid island that we discovered and told them to cultivate the plant there. This is the first harvest they got."

I think they were Indian merchants who got lost in the sea. From the little amount of the words that I understood from them, they wanted to go to China, but their astrolabe was broken and calculated too far off north that they missed the Chinese coast.

"Alright… here goes nothing."

She placed the cup near her lips and after emptying it, she spoke with a smile on her face.

"Give me another one. This thing tastes good."

"Hehe. I knew that you'll like it. It's good that I did it since Nobisuke kept on messing up earlier."

"M-me too. I also want some."

The female general spoke with a proud air but I knew that she was only putting up appearances.

We talked about what to do next now that we have basically secured the defenses. I proposed to keep the defensive here while they probe into the province to secure as much land as possible before encircling the enemy from behind.

"My spies said that the enemy leader called all of his men to his side. I believe that it will help a lot since you guys wouldn't have to fight much while you're going around to conquer the land."

"Yeah. It will be a huge help. I know that this is inappropriate for me to say, but thanks a lot for being such a dependable distraction."

"Ahaha… I can't believe that I'm being thanked for having that kind of work. Of course, leave it to me. I'll keep them out of Shinka before you attack them from behind. But don't take too long or we might not leave anyone for your army to deal with."

"Keh! Don't be so cocky. When it comes to speed, we Shinka folk are renown for taking over lands in just a few days."

"I'll be depending on that speed then."

"Then watch my back and keep them away."

We exchanged handshakes and bows before Kyoko and Mitsuha left the room to continue on their march to the capital of the district.

"Haah… Now, that is something."

I don't know why, but even after drinking coffee, I can't help but want to doze off for the afternoon.

"Fuwah…! I forgot… I didn't sleep last night because of the planning of the defenses. I think I deserve to snooze a little now."

I walked to my bedroom and tucked myself on my bed and fell asleep quickly.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Attack!"

"Don't fall back!!!"

By the dead of the night, the forces of the Yukogahara clan started their night raid.

"Send in the spearmen and tell them to harass the enemy until they bunch up enough to be hit by arrows."

"Yes, my lord!"

"Tell the horsemen to speed into any openings in the enemy formation. With that, we can quickly break through their ranks and reach the head of the enemy leader."

"As you command!"

The commands of the young lord is truly excellent in the time of feudal japan. Enclosing the enemies and shooting them with arrows is a good way to destroy the enemy frontline. Meanwhile, the use of cavalry to exploit the gaps in the enemy formation is something that can greatly help in breaking the coordination of the enemy force like a warm knife through butter.

"H-huh?"

"What the…"

However, that is only if their enemies are operating with tactics and formations during the feudal era.

"Where are they?! Where is the enemy army?!"

"My lord, the eastern flank doesn't have any enemies to face as well."

"The western flank says the same!"

"What the hell… what is happening here?"

Faced with such an absurd situation, the young man didn't know if he should be happy or wary of the situation.

"…Gih-! Continue the attack! They must be sleeping or drinking, and no one kept watch of the camp! Shock them with their stupidity!"

The 20,000 initial force broke off from the 30,000. Leaving the remaining 10,000 in the side of their master as reserves.

"Young master… I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Silence! I don't want to hear it!"

"Y-yes…"

They continued to move until they entered the field that has stone and earthen mounds and outcrops that the one has to move through.

"This is creepy…"

"What's going on here?"

"Shut it. We're walking there whether you want it or not."

"Y-yes, sir."

To most, this is just a normal night attack that they can probably win because the enemy was careless.

They are wrong.

*Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*

"W-w-what?"

"What are those in the sky?!"

"Falling stars? Fireworks?!"

They were shocked after several things floating at the sky suddenly illuminated the surroundings and made the dark open field look like it was bathed in daylight.

And in the next second, their eyes became dark again.

*FWEEEEET!!! FWEEEEET!!!*

A high-pitched whistling sound started to sound one by one and with that, gunfire followed that mowed the soldiers who was caught unprepared of the sudden assault.

"W-w-what?! When did they- Gah!"

"R-run! Run!!!"

"My leg!!!"

"Help me! Mommy!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"H-huh? A night raid?"

"Yes, my lord. The enemies are attacking all-out tonight. If you can hear it, the artillery team has just fired the flare shells."

"Oh really? Wow, amazing. Alright then… good night."

"H-huh? M-my lord. What do you mean with "good night"?"

"Huh? Good night is good night. I'm sleepy right now so I'm going back to bed."

"B-but the battle…"

I turned around and looked at him seriously.

"I trust that those men and those leading them are competent enough to not shame their selves in battle and make us lose. I gave them weapons beyond their imagination, training that shaped them to be absolute killing machines and a belief that allows them to fight till the end. I already did what I should do for them. It's their turn now to prove their selves."

"Kou-sama… You truly are wise! I will spread these words amongst the soldiers!"

"Sure, sure…"

Wait… huh? What was I doing? I remember being awakened and… huh?

"Whatever… I think I sleepwalked again. Gotta go back to bed then… Fuwaaaahhh~!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What?! What is happening?! Where did the enemy come from?!"

"My lord! They have broken the frontlines! Our men are running away from the battlefield!"

"Shameful display!"

"How cowardly!"

"Grrr!!! Damn it!"

With the sight he is seeing right now, the young lord can't help but grind his teeth in anger and frustration for not expecting the sudden counter-attack.

"How dare they! All of you! Storm their lines and rush to the fortresses! If we can't kill the soldiers! Kill their leader!"

But as idiotic and emotional as he is, he chose to attack upfront than choosing the wiser decision to retreat from the enemy.

"We're going in! Attack, attack, attack!!!"

A blow from his command horn sent the rest of the army speeding to the trenches of the enemy.

"W-what is that?!"

"Huh? Aguack-!"

After they broke out from the forest and exposed their selves to the enemies, they saw something glowing from above their heads and in a split second, it exploded to shoot out hundreds of metal shrapnel that peppered their forces.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!"

"Affix bayonets!"

They galloped over some of the front-most trenches and from those dugouts came a shout that was unfamiliar to them.

*FWEEEET!!!*

"RAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

A loud battle cry was heard as enemy soldiers emerged from the trenches to openly fire at them or stab their horses with the long knives at the end of their guns.

"They're coming from the ground!"

"Get away! Get away! Guwaaa-!!! Argh!"

The horsemen that led the charge fell from their steeds and was quickly shot to death by the soldiers who then turned to the footmen and never gave them a split second to react.

"Pull back! Pull back!!!"

"I command you to attack! No retreating or I will kill you myself!"

Interestingly, the young lord's group of noble warriors was never shot or injured. They ran through the trenches, bobbing and weaving from slope to slope until they reached the point where they are now in the middle of the field.

"Wait… what?"

Only then did he notice that they are not surrounded.

"Lord Yukogahara Akihiko… it's a surprise to see you."

A voice called out his name and he turned around to see a young man wearing light samurai armor and a black haori coat.

"Who are you? Are you the enemy leader?"

"My name is Shimura Nobisuke. Nephew of Aoyama Takeshi and General of Lord Iwasawa Hiroshi of the Province of Kiko."

"Like I care! Bring me to your lord so I can cut his head off for sullying my precious face!"

"That attitude won't do, scum."

*Snap!*

As soon as he snapped his fingers, several gunshots followed and he turned to see his warriors falling down from their horses after being shot.

"You! YOU…!!!"

"Haah… to think that I personally went out of my fort to kill such a petty and immature scumbag like you… It's better than having Iwasawa-sama do it, so if you may excuse me."

"Kh-!"

He drew his pistol and pointed it on the young lord's head.

"Thank you for being a steppingstone for my lord's victory."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I woke up early in the morning to see the battlefield littered with corpses.

"Oh… so that wasn't a dream. What a blunder…"

I wanted to slap myself for believing that what happened last night was just a dream. But it seems like we won and I shouldn't worry much about it.

"My lord, I bear the report from last night."

"Mm? Really? Let me hear it then."

Nobisuke arrived when I was brewing some coffee and biting into the bread that the servants brought to my office. They seem to have understood my instructions to bake some for me for breakfast.

"We have completely annihilated the enemy that numbers to approximately 25,000 men. The shock cavalry battalion is currently busy collecting the horses that the enemy left behind while we asked the help of local Buddhist monks to prepare the cremation of the enemy carcasses."

"Mm. As expected from the responsible and capable general."

"Oh, please. It's not worthy of praise, my lord."

"Really? Just take it."

I smelled the newly brewed coffee and blew on it to cool it when Nobisuke told me the last part of his report.

"Also, we have killed the enemy lord last night. It was I who personally ended his life."

"PFFFFTTTT!!!"

"M-my lord."

In my shock, I spewed my coffee on the wall and looked at him.

"What did you do…? Can you tell me again what you did?"

"I… I killed the enemy lord, I said."

"Agaaaaa-!"

I felt like fainting when I heard those words.

"D-did I do something wrong, my lord?"

"You… You idiot! Now we have to take credit for this!!!"

I was planning to make this a collaborative effort between me and Kyoko just like we discussed. But now that we wiped out their army and even killed the lord of this land, we cannot share that victory anymore.

"Uwaaaa… I… I'm sorry, my lord…!"

And thus, the responsible and capable general of Kiko caused a problem that I have to settle… exactly because he is responsible and capable.

Seriously… what a dork!