Chapter 59: Unity of Rider and Mount (01)
"The ride is better than I thought?"
Eileen's lower body was extremely soft, covered in short fur.
Each time she kicked off the ground and ran, the solid rear of the horse shook, and her tail fluttered like a flag in a strong wind, her large breasts swaying whenever she jumped slightly higher to avoid obstacles or tree roots.
"Even bound with a leather guard ... If I release it, a truly enormous mass would appear."
Since I couldn't keep grabbing her hair, I changed my grip to her waist and hugged her tightly; Eileen shivered but could not shake me off and continued to run.
I knew horses were muscular, but despite a woman's lower abdomen usually being soft to retain body heat, Eileen's abs were as hard as steel, firmer than any of my comrades' bellies.
"If she runs across this plain every day, no wonder there’s no extra fat..."
Eileen's frame was large but had no unnecessary fat, except perhaps her ample chest.
She might be faster over long distances with the lower body of a horse, but I had the upper hand in short bursts of speed.
Originally, a horse's lower body is fast for straight runs on a plain but not for quick direction changes or obstacles, which means it's not much help against a human-sized opponent like me.
She might have taken off her exoskeleton armor to lighten the load, but even carrying a strong man, she was speeding across the plain somewhere.
"Any accurate information about the hostages?"
"Why should I tell an outsider?"
"If you won’t tell, I'll have to find some other entertainment."
I slid my hand under Eileen's clothes to touch her solid abs.
Her lower body was covered in short fur, but the upper human body was smooth, skin with abs so firm that it wasn't easy for fingers to dig in.
As my fingers slid over her sweaty abdomen, Eileen suddenly staggered and nearly fell.
"Stop it...! I've heard humans are always in heat, but even in this situation...!"
She was at my mercy now, so she had to talk.
"There are more than a hundred in the bandit gang. Fortunately, more than half of the bandits have headed near the kingdom’s borders to plunder horses. Only a few remain inside the fence holding the slaves."
"That’s good to know. Where?"
"Not far, there’s a rocky mountain, and they've set up barriers on the flat path coming down to prevent our warriors from escaping... Why do your hands keep moving up?"
My hands had drifted up not on purpose but because I was riding on Eileen’s back, and the movement made them bounce.
So I withdrew my hand from her clothes and wrapped it around her waist again; Eileen, looking very angry with a flushed face, was sprinting at full speed.
The sweat flowing from Eileen’s body was a white, slippery liquid, reminiscent of soap water.
I heard that war horses are specially trained to minimize shaking for the riders they carry, and whether by instinct or training, Eileen too was running in a way that kept my body from shaking too much.
'It would be a fine horse, but it’s a pity it’s already carrying one.'
What use is it to have two human upper bodies?
Even if there are two halves of a horse's lower body, it would still be useless.
"This way. We can’t run from here; we need to move carefully."
Eileen slowed her steps, crouching down to move quietly, and I leaned forward on her back, holding my breath.
'Is that the rocky mountain?'
Horse's lower bodies were seen scattered around the rocky mountain, all looking precarious on the ridges.
The area that was flat enough for horses to climb up and down had a wooden fence, but it wasn't very high or firmly fixed.
Could I undo it with my hands?
'Just that won’t keep them from escaping.'
If it were just horses, their low intelligence might mean such a simple barrier could contain them, but for a centaur with a human head, it seemed ridiculous to think they couldn’t escape.
Honestly, purebred horses with just horse heads might jump over such barriers to escape, and acrobatic horses carrying riders could easily leap over such flimsy wooden barriers.
"It seems like you're looking down on us a lot?"
"No, I wasn’t thinking that centaurs are dumber than horses or anything."
"…You don’t seem to know much. Centaurs weigh about the same as horses, but their center of gravity is further forward. So when going downhill, even carefully stepping one foot at a time is dangerous, let alone jumping over an obstacle. Centaurs without plans to walk on four legs, huh?"
Regular horses just have a horse's head on top of the horse's lower body, but a centaur has a human upper body attached, so even if the weight is similar to a horse's head, the height and the addition of the human body shifts the center of gravity forward.
"In that sense, now that I am sitting behind her, does Eileen have a stable center of gravity?"
I roughly measured the length of her torso with my hand, which was longer than a human's but a bit shorter than a real horse's, front to back.
"So, to rescue them, we just need to remove the logs?"
"If we clear the obstacles set on the downhill path, everyone can return to their village on their own."
"But I don't see any male warriors; have they been sold elsewhere?"
I infused mana into my eyes to scrutinize the centaurs hesitating on the mountain, noting that most had long hair and large chests, with no male centaurs in sight.
"What are you talking about? Typically, there's only one stallion per group, and even in very large groups, no more than five."
This implies that most tribes consist of a few male centaurs and a majority of female centaurs...
"Our tribe is made up of the mothers and fathers of our previous generation."
That meant that the warriors captured in that village were mostly Eileen's sisters.
"Now that we've located them, all that’s left is the rescue."
Eileen had already started running before I could even strategize.
"But even if the centaur bandits are foolish, they wouldn't leave the slaves unwatched."
Sure enough, as Eileen made noise running towards the rocky mountain, a commotion erupted from behind it, and several fierce-looking centaurs started running towards Eileen to intercept her.
"I'm sure there was no one there just now...!"
"Concealment and cover are basic to avoid enemy scouts."
"If you knew, you should have mentioned it earlier!"
Eileen tried to turn around in fear, but I grabbed her hair like a bridle.
"What are you doing...!"
"There's no escaping capture now."
The centaurs that had appeared were at least a head taller than Eileen, which meant a difference in height.
Typically, a height difference translates to a difference in stride, so they were likely faster on average, and even if Eileen could escape with her quick running style, if the enemy reports that they have hostages at this rocky mountain, they would soon move the location where the hostages are kept or increase the guard.
Currently, there are about ten; we could break through in a short assault, but it would become problematic if reinforcements arrived.
If we were just scouting and could return unnoticed, it might be different, but since we've been detected, it’s better to make a decisive charge and stick to the original plan of rescuing the hostages and escaping.
"I'm not afraid of dying, but..."
Despite that, Eileen’s body between my thighs was trembling.
"Well... horses are naturally skittish animals."
Remembering the horseback riding techniques I learned in theory, I knew it was important to calm Eileen right away because horses are fearful, and you shouldn't approach from the rear, and if startled, they easily panic unless soothed immediately.
So, I pulled down the hand holding her hair and drew my mana saber from my waist.
Horses are extremely fearful of predators, unable to sleep if they hear a predator's howl nearby, but horses carrying knights or people do not fear charging towards a predator.
If a horse is assured that the person on its back is stronger and can protect it, it no longer panics and acts bravely as a warhorse!
"Trust me. I won't let anyone hurt you."
The mana saber shone brilliantly.
I usually wouldn’t set my mana saber to such high output, but to alleviate Eileen's fear, I needed to make a strong impression.
The being on her back was too powerful for mere centaurs to challenge.
I lightly kicked Eileen’s sides, and she started running forward without trembling anymore.
"The momentum is good, but without reins or a saddle, if we collide head-on with a centaur, I could be thrown off and break my neck or something, and since a centaur’s body is one with the horse, there’s no risk of being thrown off."
However, this is what happens in jousting matches where both opponents aim for each other's shields with raised lances.
For me, it's simple: not allowing a single hit and just overwhelming the enemy.
"The female herself comes to us! And she's quite pretty..."
I split the face of a centaur who was drooling over Eileen in half.
"Now your face is truly half and half?"
The high heat of the mana saber cooked it, so no blood or brain matter splattered, and as I gently pulled her hair with my left hand to change Eileen’s direction, she turned right, following my will.
We must be wary of arrows.
Even if I could melt or deflect arrows coming at me with my mana saber, it was difficult to cover the entire body of the large Eileen.
Especially now, with my legs clenching her thighs tightly to not fall off, without reins, holding onto her hair.
"Charge! Break through the formation without giving them a chance to shoot!"
As Eileen accelerated with a gallop, facing the charging female centaur and the knight on her, the centaurs were shocked and made way.
"A legendary two-headed centaur?"
I was curious about the legend, but ignored it and ran.
The centaurs blocking the way screamed as their chests were slashed or arms severed, and as the front formation collapsed, the centaurs became terrified and their formation disintegrated.
As I said before, horses are skittish.
And that holds true for their opponents as well.