The Night of Aphrodisiacs and the Second Strategy
Currently, the Second Expeditionary Force had split its strength. There was the main body stationed at the camp, and a detachment that had attempted a night raid under the cover of darkness. Since they couldn't afford to be detected by the Demon King's army, they had been carefully selected from the territory's professional soldiers. The total number of these veterans was less than fifty.
"Everyone, wait."
The leader of the detachment, the knight Gei, even took off his armor and successfully infiltrated near the wooden fence under the cover of darkness. The orcs had built their watchtowers higher, but because of that height, they couldn't see directly beneath the fence. Taking advantage of the deep darkness, the detachment quickly slipped into the blind spots of the watchtowers and successfully pressed themselves against the wall. It was a clever strategy that exploited the fact that looking down from too high up made it difficult to see the base of the cliff, and fortunately, it worked. The orcs were stupid.
'This is strange.'
Gei felt a chill at the unnaturally quiet movements of the enemy. The orcs on the watchtowers were only looking forward, never glancing elsewhere. He had simply assumed they were poor at keeping watch. 'It's too quiet.' But even so, the reaction from inside was too lukewarm. Even if it were densely covered, sounds should have leaked out. The interior of the village was deathly silent.
"Sir Gei, could it be that they are also planning a night raid?"
"...It's possible. But if that's the case, it's actually an opportunity."
Gei pulled out a pouch tied to his waist. The other soldiers had pouches tied to them as well, and Gei checked the texture of the contents inside the pouch once more. The mushy yet firm object felt like it would crumble if pressed by hand. Gei took the item out of the pouch.
"From here to there. Apply it thoroughly. The rest of you, stick to the sides."
Gei pushed aside his anxiety and decided to focus on his mission. The soldiers spread the substance thinly, and before long, the smell of pine resin began to rise from the wooden fence just as planned.
"Now, retreat—"
Flap, flap.
Harpyia with white wings flew through the sky from the north and returned to Zabiya. The detachment quickly lowered their bodies and fell silent. Fortunately, the Harpyia did not notice the detachment standing far away.
"......Sir Gei, it looks like those things just flew in from the main base, doesn't it?"
"So they really were plotting something... But it seems there's no major damage, so that's fortunate. We will continue our mission."
Gei spread the remaining pine resin from the pouch, then scooped up a handful of dirt from his feet and sprinkled it over the resin. Hoping to dampen the smell of the resin even a little, the detachment crawled along the ground again on their bellies.
"...Now, return to the main base!"
Moving beyond the firing range of the orcs, the detachment immediately stood up and returned to the main base. And they were plunged into shock and terror at the chaos unfolding there.
Slap, slap, slap, slap.
The soldiers were all burying their lower bodies in the river. As if they needed to drain the heat from their lower halves, there were easily over five hundred of them, just by looking.
"No, what is this..."
"Sir Gei! It's dangerous! Quickly move to the temporary barracks!"
"Sir Faiz, what on earth have you done...?"
"The orcs have poisoned the camp!"
Knight Faiz's face was flushed deep red with excitement. Most of the other soldiers were in the same state as Faiz. A smell, different from the pine resin clinging to the detachment, filled the camp—the pungent scent of chestnut blossoms.
"...Poison?"
"Yes, my god, no, you see, the enemy..."
Faiz expressed his fury with a flushed face, looking bewildered. Gei lowered his gaze to Faiz's lower body. While he had kept his iron armor on his upper body, he had taken off his armor below, perhaps because something was uncomfortable.
"Gasp."
Gei stepped back without realizing it. Faiz's trousers were tented at the crotch, and for some reason, he could feel an unpleasant, damp moisture in front of the pants. Faiz panicked and lowered his hands.
"Th-this is a misunderstanding! It can't be helped! Th-the enemy released an aphrodisiac!"
"...An aphrodisiac? Not a poison?"
Gei couldn't understand what he had just heard for a moment. An air raid via Harpyia was just to release an aphrodisiac? But if they intended to cause disgust in this way, the effect was tremendous. The entire camp was filled with the thick, pungent smell of chestnut blossoms.
"...Ugh."
Gei almost vomited. The soldiers who were trying to calm down by submerging their bodies in the river were the lucky ones. Some soldiers were secretly making slap, slap sounds, trying to vent their heat, while others had their equipment completely exposed, cooling their heat in the night air.
"...And the Baron?"
"Th-that is."
Faiz covered his face with his hands. Gei felt his vision swim at the image that popped into his head.
"N-no way!"
Gei ran to the Baron's tent. Beneath the thick smell of chestnut blossoms, the sharp, spreading scent of blood was clearly not that of a monster, but of a human. Gei's vision turned white at the horrific scene unfolding in front of the tent. The bodies of soldiers were strewn about the area. Every one of them had been stabbed in vital points like the heart or throat, and a look of madness remained on their faces. The old knight guarding the entrance looked at Gei and shook his head with a complicated expression.
"...It is dangerous if you enter now."
"Did you stab them, Sir?"
"No."
The old knight raised his sword. It was a clean sword without a single drop of blood on it, and Gei felt his anger boil over as his suspicions were confirmed.
Squish.
As he took a step, there was something red and mushy inside a broken wooden cup. Gei channeled his internal mana and crushed the slime. Now he understood the situation perfectly.
"Ughhh!!"
Suddenly, a soldier who had taken off his pants charged toward the tent. Gei and the old knight drew their swords, but the soldier ignored the blades, dodged them, tore the tent fabric with his own dagger, and dived inside.
"Damn it!"
"My Lord!!"
Gei and the old knight quickly turned and entered the tent. And inside—
Slash.
"Haa, haa, haa...!!"
Baron Virgo stood there, her whole body flushed, panting heavily as she stabbed her sword toward the soldier's crotch. The Baron's face was flushed red, like a woman at the peak of climax.
"D-don't, come in...! H-hngh!"
The Baron sobbed and slumped onto the bed. The old knight pulled the sword out of the soldier with practiced hands and dragged the subordinate, whose lower parts had been severed, out of the tent along with his member. Gei also turned his body away to avoid looking at the Baron.
"S-Sir Gei, you've come, I, my body feels strange right now...!"
"It is a trick of the Demon King's army. It will be fine after some time."
"Sir Gei, please soothe me, I beg you...! I feel like I'm going to go crazy right now...!"
"I feel like I'm going to go crazy too, but please, calm yourself...!"
The Baron trembled, sobbing. Gei stepped back, sensing that if he made one wrong move, he would be trapped. 'It's a pregnancy attack.' The moment he consummated the relationship, he would have to become the Baron's husband. He would have to give up that magnificent mansion in the capital and become the master of this pathetic, beggar-like barony. Gei chose power and success over immediate sexual desire. So he turned to leave the tent.
Thud.
Gei's body collided with someone's back. At the entrance, the old knight who had served the Virgo family for a long time was blocking the way.
"Sir!"
"I am sorry, but I cannot watch with my own two eyes as the Baron suffers like that. ...I will consider today's events a debt for the rest of my life and keep my mouth shut."
"Is that something you can say right now, ughhh?!"
A hot touch from behind wrapped around Gei's chest. The Baron, who had approached at a speed he hadn't even noticed, began to rub her breasts and private parts against Gei's back.
"I-I'm sorry...! I'm not usually this kind of person!"
"Oh, Goddess!"
Pow.
Gei turned and struck the back of the Baron's head with a chop. The Baron lost consciousness and collapsed into Gei's arms, and Gei dragged the Baron and tied her limbs to the makeshift bed.
"...Sir, you must keep today's events a secret for the rest of your life."
"I am sorry, Sir Gei."
The old knight apologized readily. It was true that the old knight had been at fault for throwing Gei into the lion's den, but even so, striking the back of the neck of a noble with a title was something that even Gei wouldn't be able to get away with easily. So, the two decided to zip their lips and bury the matter. Gei then tied the Baron to the bed with very fast hands and held his scabbard to keep watch over the tent.
"...There are strangely too many horny, crazy bastards around."
"Just don't kill them."
The two knights beat the ruffians who were reaching for their lord with their scabbards. It took half a day for the commotion to subside. Excluding the 10 horny soldiers who had died while trying to violate the Baron, there were almost no casualties, at least on the surface.
* * *
"It would be disappointing if it ended just like this. Hehe."
I watched from the watchtower as the commotion subsided and prepared for the second operation. If the first operation was to make the enemies horny, the second operation was to make them truly furious. 'But that's only possible when the sun rises.'
I called the residents of Las Village who were working hard on production in Gremory's dungeon. Five human hunters including Lily, and five stud hunters. I planned to give them special orders.
"What is it?"
"I have a good strategy. It's a special measure for the victory and power enhancement of the Las Legion. But for that, I need your sacrifice."
I informed the hunters of my strategy.
"My god..."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Everyone seemed to be reading Lily's expression while falling into deep thought, and although I had brought it up, it was difficult to force them or yell at them to do it unconditionally. The residents of Las Village might have been prisoners once, but now they were my subordinates. The female hunters had even become like my daughters-in-law in name.
"If you really don't want to do it, you don't have to."
I gave them a choice. The operation I was demanding now was clearly a gamble, a disgrace, and a grave sin for them. It was tantamount to announcing to the world that they were humans who had effectively abandoned the human alliance and would live forever as members of our Legion of Wrath—the Las Legion.
"I'll do it."
Lily stepped forward first. Following her, the others stood up one by one and expressed their intention to participate in the operation. I felt grateful and sorry at the same time.
"...Since you've said you'll do it, do it thoroughly. There will be no consideration like before."
"It's okay. If it helps the Legion, and helps you, Master, I can offer this body as much as I want."
"Good. Then Lily will be with me, and for you others, I'll at least let you choose the order. Discuss it right now."
The other four hunters, excluding Lily, put their heads together and began to compete for the initiative. Lily looked at me as if she were in a difficult position, and I patted her on the shoulder.
"You are mine."
".......I thought so."
"As if that were possible."
It wasn't like I was doing it for real, it was just pretending, after all. While I was discussing how I would be with Lily, Joru-nam approached, scratching his head.
"...Legion Commander, what about us?"
"Don't worry. If this side is the whip, you are the carrot. Did you think I wouldn't think of you?"
If this side was the main force causing the enemy's fury, the male hunters were the core of the operation to cause the enemy's jealousy. And fortunately, this side had a wider range of choices than the female hunters.
"Hehe, then speak as you wish."
I held up three fingers.
"Harpyia, Harpyia Angel, Andras adult. Who do you want to be with?"
* * *
The commotion had subsided, and the soldiers moved their bodies to a new camp and closed their eyes for a brief moment. Priest Francis watched the soldiers' situation while wearing his helmet. Fortunately, they had all calmed down, but there was still a lingering, unresolved dissatisfaction.
"......."
Was his thinking about the orcs wrong, or was there someone making the orcs do these crazy things? Francis thought of 'him,' who had been more warrior-like and manly than anyone else.
"Does one person not represent the whole?"
Prejudice and preconceptions were broken. Francis had learned a new truth. And he had awakened.
"You were wrong."
Francis lifted the blunt mace. The mace he had taken from him was now his own, and it would become the goddess's divine punishment to beat the orcs.
"As expected, the only good demon is a dead demon."