Chapter 114: After the siege

The next few hours went by in a blur. To sum it all up, I led my company of tanks in my Hellblade and charged across the valley to relieve the beleaguered forces at Verunhive, and then at Mordia. Well, I didn't exactly charge across the valley. Knowing that we would be easy targets if we went straight through the valley, I ordered my battalion to take a detour around the mountains and come up on the enemy's rear.

As they were so preoccupied with sieging the two hive cities, the human forces were completely caught off guard when we showed up behind their lines. Immediately, we began a rout of the massed human infantry. Caught between two sides, they were crushed by my hammer of tanks against the anvil of Regis's fortified forces. It was a pity I only had a single company of tanks, which numbered less than twenty, or we would have wiped them out.

Unfortunately, the enemy numbered in the thousands. Even if we slew hundreds in the first salvo, there were still so many left. Despite that, Kobayashi must have realized that he had taken horrendous losses, for the human armies began retreating despite the soldiers' fanatical devotion and zealous courage to fight to the last. I caught sight of him and his friends withdrawing away from the Iron Knights. Later, I learned that most of the Eight Guardians were severely wounded, but Aoyama quickly got to healing them.

It had been a pretty one-sided fight. If not for the presence of Takeda Tetsuo, the Eight Guardians would have been crushed. To be fair, they were pretty strong and could hold their own against many of our other classmates such as Suzuki Shiro or Midorikawa Midori, but it was just that Kobayashi was on a completely different level.

Only Takeda could fight on par with Kobayashi. And the two of them had apparently ended up in a stalemate. With my arriva tilting the balance in our favor, the humans were forced to retreat. Realizing that I had somehow managed to defeat Umezu Shigeo and Kido Mayumi, Kobayashi frantically made a decision.

It was a good thing he called my bluff. To be honest, I was no longer in any condition to fight. I had expended all my mana in the fight against Umezu and Kido and failed to kill either of them. If they hadn't fled, it would be difficult for me to say if I could still prevail over them. Never mind that, right now I had no mana left to cast any spells or summon anything. I couldn't even call down my Titan. That was how bad I was then.

Fortunately, I didn't need to summon Matsukaze. The Hellblade was more than enough to bombard large swathes of the enemy into oblivion. Later calculations and estimates showed that Kobayashi lost at least a quarter of his army when my tanks plunged into his rear. Add the thirty percent or so casualties his forces had already taken when sieging Regis's position at Verunhive and Mordia, Kobayashi had lost over half of his forces. Not to mention, the armored brigade he sent over to Alveron had been annihilated.

Things were looking bleak for him. As much as I hated him, I had to admit that Kobayashi was no fool. He knew when to make a tactical withdrawal.

That was why, just a couple of hours after my tanks and I blew up his lines, the scattered remains of the human armies fled into the mountains. I was too exhausted to give chase, and I knew our tanks were running low on fuel and ammunition – well, mana crystals, anyway – so I signaled to my men to stop the pursuit and return to the hive cities.

"Great job."

I emerged from the hatch in my tank and glanced down at Regis. He smiled broadly and reached up to clap me in the arm.

"You saved us. We were in quite the pinch."

Apparently Regis had been fighting three of the heroes. He didn't seem too injured, but he was clearly exhausted. Just like me.

"I'm sure you would manage somehow."

"Maybe, but it's a fact that you saved thousands of lives. We were barely able to hold out for much longer, until your tanks arrived." Regis glanced at the company of tanks rolling behind my Hellblade and smiled. "I knew it was the right decision to assign the 1,08th armored company to you. You're the only commander who has made the most use of them."

"Nah, I was just lucky."

Not to mention, I played with a lot of tanks back in my previous world. I was a treadhead.

Man, I miss wargaming. Gone are the days where I would plop down a bunch of Toughness 8, 12 Wounds Leman Russ tanks in front of my opponent and blow his Space Marines up. Funny how Imperial Guard always gets their asses kicked in the fluff, but they dominate the tabletop in actual games. At least they win a few times in the fluff.

It was so great playing the underdogs.

"Go get some rest." Regis stifled a yawn as he turned away, unaware of my thoughts. "You've earned it."

"Thank you, your majesty."

I was practically running on fumes now and it was a chore to even stand. Collapsing against my seat, I closed my hatch and nodded at Jurgen.

"Take us in, Jason. We're returning to base."

*

While my tanks and two-thirds of my mechanized infantry company headed to Alveron to reinforce Hedol's position and defend the civilians from the horrors of Kobayashi's fanatical, zealous humans, not much happened in the outpost. A few stragglers had tried to assault the outpost, but Burado managed to drive them back with sustained fire from his company's heavy weapons. Without much to do, they were still alert and high on energy, so I had them standby and continue watching the valley for enemies in shifts while the rest of my battalion went to rest.

The tank crews, in particular, had to retire for the day. After parking our tanks and leaving them to the dwarves to repair and maintain, my men and I headed to the barracks for a good night's sleep. As much as I wanted to stay awake, my body just couldn't handle it any longer.

Before long, intelligence reports leaked back to my outpost, informing me that Kobayashi had returned to Legnica to lick his wounds and consolidate his armies. After throwing all of his men at the meatgrinder, he didn't have many soldiers left. He was forced to recruit new batches of soldiers from across his empire to replace the countless warriors he sacrificed to invade Moria…only to achieve nothing in the end.

Serves him right.

"Ah, and his majesty King Hedol says he wants to see you."

"Oh?"

I glanced at my aide. Jurgen was leafing through the reports and invoices, parsing through the relevant documents and telling me whatever I needed to know. I suppressed a yawn and nodded, moving my eyes away from the other documents that were demanding my attention. The list of casualties, the costs of repairs, estimates, logistics, eetc.

"Yeah, there's a grand ceremony that will be held in the castle in a few days' time. His majesty seems to want to thank all the allies for coming to his aid and helping him defend Moria from the human armies."

"I bet he does," I grumbled. The best way to express his gratitude would be to leave me alone so that I could rest, and not force me to attend some stuffy, formal event where I had to stand up straight in an uncomfortable number one attire (parade uniform) and listen to people drone on for hours on end about how grateful they were.

But I understood the politics behind it. If Hedol did nothing, then people would accuse him of being ungrateful, and that would reflect badly on Moria – the image of the dwarves would be tarnished. As much as I disliked it, I couldn't blame Hedol for going through with it. The least he could do was to display grandly how much he appreciated our assistance.

Unfortunately I was too busy to care. At least that was what I thought, until the day itself came and Jurgen practically knocked my door down.

"It's time for you to go, boss!"

"Go where?"

"The ceremony, of course! You're the guest of honor! What would you do if you don't show up?!"

"Stay in here."

"Quit the jokes, boss. I've got your number one uniform ready. Get dressed – we're moving out in fifteen."

As we were still in the remote outpost that was in some corner of Moria, I was going to need a ride. Thankfully my battalion wasn't short on APCs.

"You see, to them, you're a hero."

Jurgen was explaining as he drove the Hellblade…yeah, the Hellblade of all things, as my transport to the main castle in Mordia. We had begun to pain the Hellblade in the Magna 1,087th colors, along with our heraldry and mascot. The tech-priests had also christened it The Savior of Moria, which was a pretty apt name.

"I'm not a hero."

"That's not what they think. And it's a fact that you saved Alveron from falling to the enemy, and you also drove away Evelyn's Chosen and the bulk of their forces!"

"That was just luck. Emperor Regis himself also held back the tides of the enemy from invading Verunhive and Mordia. The Iron Knights also played a huge role. They're much more of a hero than I ever would be."

"Oh, they're being celebrated as heroes, all right. The Iron Knights messed up a little, though. They were hurt pretty bad, especially those so-called Eight Guardians. But it wasn't his Excellency Emperor Regis or Takeda Tetsuo who broke into the enemy's rear, scattered them and destroyed a significant chunk of their army to force them to retreat. It was you. Not only did you turn the tides of the war, you also won a major victory at Alveron. Even his Excellency Emperor Regis attained victory over the Emperor of humanity after your arrival and reinforcements."

"…right."

Honestly, I doubted I did anything huge. They were making a huge fuss over nothing. I was no hero. If anything, I was a fraud with a ton of luck on my side.

We reached the pearly gates of the castle of Mordia, only for Jurgen to park the tank outside. Two rows of honor guard stood up straight, their backs rimrod, as they saluted with their arms. Their rifles were polished to gleam in the underhive light, and they were dressed immaculately in parade uniforms, white trousers underneath red jackets with gold buttons and a fancy black cap. The dwarves weren't very tall, but they had the massive presence.

At Jurgen's gesture, I got out of The Savior of Moria and proceeded toward the gates. Returning the salute to the guard there, I waited for him to confirm my identity with a spell, and then open the gates to allow me entry.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you, sir."

It seemed that even the most common soldier had been told about I supposedly saved Moria from the evil clutches of Kobayashi Kenji. Damn it, stop spreading lies. I did absolutely nothing. Maybe I kicked Umezu and Kido around, but that was part of my revenge, not to save Moria or something!

Suppressing the frustration, I proceeded to the main hall, where many high-ranking demon nobles and lord generals or militant commanders roamed. There was a feast taking place, and a table stretched from one far end to the other, its top piled with food and delicacies.

Let it not be said that the dwarves were not excellent hosts. They really dug the concept of omotenashi.

"Tomoyuki-kun."

I was surprised when I heard the familiar voice. Turning around, I spotted Lilith Scarlet. She waved toward me and I hurried over.

"Lilith-san. You were here too?"

"Of course." The red-haired vampire queen folded her arms and smiled gently. "I'm part of the alliance, you know. I'm obligated to help. In fact, you should have known about it. We moved out together."

"Oh, right."

Lilith was dressed in a black evening gown that flowed all the way to her feet. A small, golden crest curled up on each of her shoulder pads, giving her a regal appearance, and the fabric of her dress clung to her curves tightly.

I wasn't sure where to look so I tried to think of something else.

"How are you? I hope you didn't get injured too badly."

Lilith shrugged. "I'm a vampire. Even if I get hurt, I'll just regenerate pretty quickly. As do you, right?"

"…right."

Lilith giggled as she watched me look around uneasily. "You really aren't used to events such as this, are you?"

"No, not really," I admitted. Lilith nodded.

"That's pretty clear. But stay sharp. Hedol-san probably wants to thank you personally."

At her gesture, I glanced over and saw Hedol sitting on his throne, with Donorea standing next to him. He waited for a few more guests to arrive before he finally cleared his throat and swept his gaze over the room.

By then, I was in the middle of eating, so I was forced to scarf down the rest of my food and quickly put my plate away.

"Ladies and gentlemen…a moment, please."

Everyone froze. The chatter that filled the hall prior died away, replaced by silence so absolute I could almost hear a pin drop.

Hedol looked over every one of us, and then he bowed his head.

"First, allow me to express my gratitude to every single one of you."

There was polite applause, and I joined in, clapping my hands because everyone else was doing it. The bandwagon was a good place to hop into.

"There are a few I would like to thank, especially. Not least of all is my staunch ally and close friend, his Excellency, Emperor Regis."

Everyone cheered and clapped boisterously as they directed their gazes toward the dark-haired Demon Lord. Regis Gremory merely smiled and waved a little before he met Hedol's eyes. He returned the bow politely.

"Not at all. The whole of Morten is indebted to you…to Moria, for your technology, trade and support. It is only natural that we help you when you're in trouble. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Indeed. And you've proven once again why Moria is one of the most loyal members of the Demonic Alliance."

One of the other demon nobles shouted.

"Yeah! Of course we'll help you!"

"We'll crush the human enemies!"

"Show them who is trash!"

"Drive them out of our lands!"

Hedol allowed the crowd to voice their fury and triumph before he raised a hand to silence them.

"There is also someone I would like to thank." He glanced at me. I immediately lowered my head in deference. Hedol smiled wryly, and then continued. "You won a grueling battle against the enemy in defense of Moria, and you saved us from invasion. You protected Alveron and prevented the humans from capturing a vital city. I am aware that you're already an Earl, a lord of the domain of Umbra, otherwise I would have granted you a title. But Major Tomoyuki Tanaka, please allow me to express my gratitude to you for saving my kingdom."

"No…I didn't do anything…" I began, but my voice was drowned out by furious applause and cheers. Ugh…like I said, they were making a huge fuss over nothing. I didn't even do anything, to be honest. Everyone fought hard and well. I was just one of the many soldiers who participated in the war. Everyone put their life on the line. Why should I be recognized over that of my men, like Jurgen, or Benjamin, or Elia?

"My men deserve credit too. All of the soldiers who fought in defense of Moria deserve credit. Every single one of them contributed greatly in protecting Moria."

"Indeed. But it was you who defeated two Evelyn's Chosen, and led your men to turn the tide against the enemy at Verunhive and Mordia." Hedol looked at me, his eyes both gentle and unyielding at the same time.

"Oh, by the way…" Regis raised a hand to chime in. we all turned toward him and he grinned. "It's no longer Major Tomoyuki. It's Colonel Tomoyuki now."

"…eh?"

"You're promoted."

"What? But…"

"Just enjoy it, Colonel," Regis told me, grinning boyishly. "This is your moment."

"…yeah." Hedol scratched his head. "Congratulations are in order. And I would like to reward you, to recognize you for your efforts. It would be shameful for me to overlook the fact that you worked so hard to defend Moria and my people."

"Yeah…and I'm sure there are a lot more people you would like to thank."

"Yes, that's right."

However, before Hedol could move on, Donorea stepped down.

"Congratulations, Colonel!"

"Uh, no, nothing…I mean, thanks, your highness…"

I glanced at Hedol, who was about to move on.

"There are…"

"One moment, Brother."

Donorea cut him off with a gentle but firm smile.

"Speaking of reward…Colonel Tanaka has earned one more reward! Did you forget?"

She was literally sparkling as she reminded her brother.

"He won the bet he made with you!"

"I…I did not…forget!" Hedol spluttered. Turning to me, he continued. "As promised, The Savior of Moria is yours. We'll begin mass production of the super-heavy Hellblades with the blueprints you have given us, and as agreed, Helsfort will receive a discount in trading for them. Furthermore, as you have won the bet, and defended Moria, you may make one request that is within my power to grant…"

There was a hushed whisper across the crowd. Donorea was beaming at me brightly, waiting in anticipation. What the hell was she expecting me to request? Even behind me, Jason and my men were grinning, whispering under their breaths. Only Lilith looked solemn and unamused by this whole farce.

"Uh, your majesty, King Hedol…as you know, I came here to solidify the alliance between Helsfort and Moria, as instructed by his Excellency, Emperor Regis." I glanced at Regis, who nodded affably.

"…yes, I know. So?"

"I request that you loan me a factory. And also the same team of builders that worked on the Hellblade with me."

"?!"

For some reason, everyone was surprised by my request. Like I said, what were you expecting? Riches and treasures? The hand of the first princess in marriage? Dudes, I was already engaged to the Vampire Queen of Haemorage! Obviously I couldn't go around asking to marry some other woman. It would be disrespectful to her.

"A…factory?" Hedol repeated. The guy was obviously slow or something.

"Yeah, your majesty." I smiled sinisterly. "The Hellblade is just the beginning. I have discussed it with Belisarius-dono, and there are a lot of other things we want to build. All I request is that you continue supplying Belisarus-dono with the resources he needs to continue doing our work. We will definitely not disappoint you with the blueprints I have left behind."

The Elemental armor, which was a mini-Titan. Bigger than even the tactical dreadnaught armor that Hedol's elite soldiers wore, but smaller than the lightweight Matsukaze, it was pretty much an exosuit that packed the firepower of a tank but kept the mobility and speed of a bike.

"…I see. I have heard the proposals from Belisarius..." he turned and glanced at the dwarf who was lurking at the back of the crowd. The bald team leader nodded, his expression veiled under his gigantic sombrero hat.

"Yeah, I'm sure you have. I won't ask for full ownership and patents over whatever technology and inventions we create, but that we share them equally…be it profits or products. What do you think, your majesty?"

"Hmm…I won't say I'm not interested, Colonel Tanaka…but are you sure that you want this as your request?"

"Dead sure." Since I was an undead, of course that was the only way I could respond.

"Then so be it!"

Amidst thunderous roars of cheers and triumphant howling, Hedol raised his voice to declare the start of the cooperation between Helsfort and Moria.

"From this day onward, Helsfort and Moria will be bound in both the future and prosperity! You'll get the factory you crave!"

Can you not be so dramatic?

Even as I thought that, I couldn't help but shake my head and retreat into obscurity so that Hedol could move on and thank the rest of the Demonic Alliance and all the soldiers who played a huge role in the defense of Moria.

I didn't know how long he droned on and on, but he eventually let us go, so I was pleased to rush into the buffet.

"…can't believe he interrupted my meal," I muttered as I dug in.

"I'm afraid I will have to interrupt you again."

"?!"

I turned around, only to catch sight of Lilith sauntering toward me. She held out a hand, and I stared at her, baffled.

"Can I have this dance?"

"…huh? What dance?"

Then suddenly I was aware of the music that was droning through the hall. Around the great hall, couples were dancing and waltzing around, swaying gently to the soft, soothing music. I realized what Lilith was asking me to do.

"Um…I am terrible at dancing…"

"That's fine." Lilith took my hand and lured me to the floor. Spinning around, she placed her hands on my shoulders after putting mine on her waist. "This is an easy dance, so just follow my lead."

"Uh…okay. I'll do my best."

I clumsily tried to fall in step with her, but my movements were totally out of sync. I had no clue how to dance, and I was completely tone-deaf, unable to follow any sort of rhythm or discern any pattern to the dance movements or the music.

"He he…" Lilith giggled when she saw me struggle. "I can see that you're not used to such events and places."

"…yeah, from where I came from, I don't bother attending such ceremonies. They're like something from another world."

Lilith probably saw the irony in that statement, for amusement flashed across her face. Smiling radiantly, she deftly changed the topic.

"By the way, Tomoyuki-kun, what do you think of my dress?"

"It looks really good. I think it suits you. When I first saw you, I was thinking that you look like a princess from Haemorage."

"Ha ha, thanks for the flattery. Well, I am technically the queen of Haemorage, after all, so you're not far off."

"I'm not flattering you, though. I honestly think you look great. That dress looks really, really nice."

"Ha ha, you pass then."

Twirling around as she continued to hold my hand, Lilith then spun back into my embrace and softly brushed my neck with her hands. We continued to sway to the rhythm, but I was completely lost and unable to follow.

It took a while, but I was finally released from the dance, and Lilith led me to the balcony for some fresh air.

"That's quite a nice view."

Even though we were in a hive city, we could see the sun setting from the balcony. There was no one else around, just the two of us in the relatively small space that was exposed to the outside. Lilith leaned against the railing as she agreed with me.

"Yes, indeed." She then turned to me and chuckled. "Your clumsy dance steps were amusing, Tomoyuki-kun."

"I warned you…"

"Yes, you did. Thank you, anyway…for accompanying me on that dance."

We then fell back into silence, just simply enjoying each other's company for the moment.

"And thank you…for not…making a political request."

"…I'm pretty sure my request was very political."

"That's not what I mean. You could have so easily get yourself set for life, becoming royalty in this kingdom. But you chose to honor our…agreement."

I swear, what was it with politicians and nobles all thinking about using marriage to get ahead in life? You should marry the person you love. Period.

"Speaking of which, Claire is here, you know. She came to help out in the war."

"…huh?"

"Even now, she's probably watching us."

"Where did that come from, all of a sudden?!"

I spun around, stunned and confused. As I thought, there was someone looking at us through the glass window that stretched across the main hall.

Claire. She really was watching us.

"I'll have to ask you for a favor…to keep up the pretense."

"…pretense?"

I wasn't sure I knew what Lilith was talking about. Most likely it was the engagement. To fool Claire into thinking we were engaged for real.

"What would you have me do?"

"Kiss me."

"…uh, what?"

Lilith shrugged and smiled rather shyly.

"Don't worry. Feigning it is enough. As long as we put on a show and convince Claire that this isn't an act, it should be enough."

Well, this was an act, though.

I sighed. "All right. Guess we don't have a choice."

Holding my breath, I slowly advanced forward, trying my best to imitate a kiss. However, as I slowly drew my face close to Lilith's, she suddenly lurched forward and kissed me.

"?!"

I blinked, completely caught off guard. A few seconds passed before I finally staggered back, still unable to grasp the situation.

"W…what?!"

"That's the first kiss I received from you."

Lilith seemed pretty pleased for some reason. I could only stare at her, my jaw hanging open and my cheeks flushed.

"Um…no, well, that's…"

"I'll have to go report to Claire now. I'll see you later then."

"…eh? Huh? What?"

I watched as Lilith left the balcony, flustered by what had just transpired.