Volume 7 Chapter 3 Part 5

「In the Forest of Eternal Darkness, we fought in a situation where we had no advantage of ground and got no results because of it. This time, the difference in our troops is way too large. We gave our opponent time they needed to prepare and made the situation more advantageous for them, but from now on, the passage of time is actually going to be to our advantage. That’s why please, please bear with it for a little while longer and remain cautious! 」

When he said that, Terius was fully prepared to be cut down by Milza on the spot, but even so, he still chose to advise him.

Due to his anger, Milza’s face turned crimson red, and his hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of his sword. He could withstand turning away and refusing to fight any other person, but not Theo Cornero, because the purpose of his fight against him was to achieve an ultimate, decisive victory.

「I admit that I lost to Theo Cornero in The Forest of Eternal Darkness precisely because I refused to listen to what you were saying to me… 」

Milza took a deep breath and then he exhaled it slowly.

「… so this time, I’ll listen to your advice. 」

「Ah, thank you. Thank you so very much! 」

Terius has a relieved expression on his face and bows to Milza deeply.

On Milza’s orders, Dartania’s army turned around and entered Castle Unicorn. Next, they requested relief from their home country and neighboring allied countries. The soldiers and volunteers of Theo’s army cheered loudly when they saw Dartania’s army turn back and heading towards Castle Unicorn instead of their location.

「I can’t believe that Milza actually won’t launch an attack. 」

Siluca was sure that Milza would make the call to attack them.

Volunteer soldiers have gathered not only from Artuk but also from neighboring countries. The first ones to arrive were the master of the smithy and the people of the village that became Theo’s very first territory, just like they have done right before Theo’s battle against the King of Selvis. But they were not the only ones making the current ranks of Theo’s army.

From his homeland of Sistina, Fabio, the deputy lord of the Marza village, called on the other local Lords and came to Theo’s aid leading 3,000 people. Baron Petr Morba also left a minimum number of people at his castle in Veltava, giverened by master Saturnus during his absence, and now he and his troops were taking their positions at the front of Theo’s army.

Just as they had hoped, Theo managed to assemble a large army of 50,000 men. But even so, he was still not confident that he could win against Milza in an open field battle.

「Isn’t everything exactly as you wanted it to be? 」

Theo calls out to Siluca a little bit strangely.

「It is, but I never thought that it would happen like that. 」

However, in the end, Milza was restrained even in The Forest of Eternal Darkness. The same thing happened this time, so he must have accepted the suggestion of the contracted Mage close to him, Terius, most likely as a result of his humiliating defeat back in The Forest of Eternal Darkness.

「It just doesn’t feel right. 」

That’s honestly how Siluca felt.

「Certainly. 」

And Theo agreed with her.

「But what’s the problem with that? 」
「I learned from watching Lord Theo that people will be willing to follow a Lord if his personality and actions remain consistent. 」

「Consistent, you say? Hasn’t my way of taking action changed in time? 」

「No, I feel like not much has changed since we first met. 」

「Because I haven’t grown up, or something along those lines? 」

「Ugh, that’s… that’s not the point here! Not the point, you hear me?! 」

Siluca repeated that twice in haste.

「What I’m talking about is the essential point. You’ve always remained yourself, Lord Theo, and I think that is why you’ve been gradually getting more allies to join your cause. 」

「On the other hand, I still can’t understand why Milza acts the way he does. 」

Theo muttered while looking at the departing Dartanian army.

「I agree. 」

Viceroy Milza had shown hostility towards Theo from the moment they first met.

「 Milza, who had always been on the offensive until now, went on the defensive twice in a row. So now that he decided to barricade himself in Castle Unicorn, I wonder what’s going to happen. 」

「I kind of understand what you want to say here. 」

Theo nodded his head.

「Of course, the decision that Milza made was not wrong. Common sense suggests that he would be at a disadvantage to take on a field battle with this difference in strength between our armies. Castle Unicorn is sturdy, so now that he chose to barricade himself in it, he can just wait for reinforcements to arrive. 」

「If the reinforcements from the Factory Alliance will really arrive to help him, are we going to be finished? 」

「I think it will be tough. I can only pray for the success of Lord Ender and Lord Juzel. 」

There was originally a faction in Dartania that was hostile to Milza, and while he was away from his home country, they were gathering together in order to overthrow him. There, Milza’s half-brother Ender Selik planned to attack Dartania together with his merchant fleet.

And in Stark, Juzel Rossini has been dispatched in order to make sure that the rebellion of the slaves would end up successfully.

He knew that this was going to be a dangerous mission, but he still chose to infiltrate Stark while knowing the risks. However, it is unclear whether either of them will be successful with their endeavors.

「However, I feel that Viceroy Milza will not move at all until his reinforcements will arrive. He must have never fought a siege battle before. 」

He doesn’t even like sieges very much. The memory of fighting Villar in Castle Unicorn might still be affecting him as well.

「In other words, we can do a lot of things while he waits. We can strengthen our base, plan strategies, train our soldiers, and keep morale high. We can secure supply lines and keep an eye on other bases. But we can’t defeat Dartania’s army with just that. 」

「That’s right. 」

Theo nodded vigorously.

「I just don’t want to lose to Milza. I’m sure it’s the same for him, but to tell you the truth, I hate him too. 」

This is the first time Siluca heard of this but she thought that it made sense. It’s the same feeling he had for the Rossini family. Theo had also decided that Miza was someone he would have to defeat someday. And once he decides to do so, Theo’s determination is unwavering and he never slacks off in his efforts to complete the goals that he set up for himself.

「Let’s win this thing! 」

All Siluca could do was say that. But that was all she could do. From here on out, the outcome of their battle against Dartania will depend on which path between the ones that Theo and Milza chose for themselves is going to be the one leading towards the future.

* * *

Aubest Meletes, the Head Mage of Marine Kraische and the chief of Waldrind’s Magic Division received a report from Terius Willian, a Mage who was dispatched to Milza Kuches to act as a liaison between him and Waldrind. In the report, Terius informed Aubest that Milza was asking Waldrind to send reinforcements for the Dartanian army to Artuk, and upon reading that, Aubest immediately passed that information to his master, Marine Kraische.

「Theo Cornero is leading a large army that has already surrounded Castle Unicorn?! 」

Marine’s expression clouded for a moment, but she regained her composure as she listened to the report.

「It’s not really an emergency. In fact, that Viceroy has taken good care of himself. 」

「However, right now it is impossible to predict exactly how the situation is going to develop. It seems that all the Lords and soldiers of the Artuk Treaty are gathering under Lassic David, the King of Selvis, so in the unlikely event that Milza and Dartania are going to be defeated by them, Waldrind is going to be under the threat of an attack from both north and south. 」

「It’s because The Earl of Leclerc is putting up much harder resistance than we initially expected. 」

Marine smiled bitterly.

Waldrind’s battle against Kurt Gallus, the Earl of Leclerc and his mercenaries has already been going for half a year, with no end in sight.