Volume 7 Chapter 4 Part 8

When it comes to fighting capabilities, back when he was still a student at the Magic University, Terius was a member of the swordfighting club, so he was sure that he wouldn’t lose to Siluca in a purely physical contest. However, before he could even reach her to engage her in melee combat, he’d definitely be killed by the soldiers who were fighting on Theo Cornero’s side. And even if he used counter tactics and somehow managed to reach Siluca, she could easily overpower him due to the difference in the sheer power of the magic they were both using.

In the meantime, without worrying about the rest of his allies in the vicinity, Mila continued to cut down the enemy soldiers around him, opening a bloody path for the rest of his troops. Seeing that, Terius gave up entirely on the idea of fighting himself, and instead he focused on clutching the reins of his horse with both his hands as hard as he could to stay as close to Milza as possible, since if nothing else, he at least wanted to see this battle through to the end with his own eyes.

Archers hidden in the bushes and trenches began to snipe the Dartanian soldiers. Theo’s light infantry was constantly repositioning movable turrets hidden in trenches along with them, trying to block their path as much as possible.

It was a detailed, and in other words, obscene, tactic typical of Siluca.

The ground beneath their feet was also a very bad foothold to be standing on, and there were traps set in various places which made advancing even more treacherous than it already was.

Artuk has a lot of forests, so the people are used to moving through its treacherous terrains, launching projectiles from afar and setting up annoying traps. It is said that it is all thanks to the fact that across generations, the power that the Crest of the rulers of Artuk was giving to their soldiers was the one that enhanced their proficiency at guerilla warfare tactics.

Milza continued running forward without worrying about potential ambushes that could be lying ahead. Unable to follow after him, everyone else left to disperse the ambushers. However, when Dartania’s warriors started coming closer to Artuk’s soldiers, they cleverly escaped using fences and trenches prepared in advance. And they all fought and moved not like amateurs, but like seasoned soldiers instead.

(Just how much did they train them?)

While Castle Unicorn was under siege, the warriors of Dartania were making do with booze and gambling to compensate for feeling like rabbits trapped inside of the cage. However, in the meantime, Theo’s army had strengthened its positions, refined its tactics, and trained its volunteer soldiers to such a degree that they could easily be called professional soldiers now.
That was the basis of military science, after all. However, Terius couldn’t do something like that. If Milza himself didn’t order it, there’s no way Dartania’s warriors would go to such trouble of their own volition, and the Viceroy probably wouldn’t understand the importance of this kind of thing even if Terius made the effort of explaining it to him.

That’s because he’s not the kind of person who fights like that. And he has never lost a battle before, so he probably thought that there was no reason for him to be changing anything.

Several layers of horse-stopping fences were now completed by the Artuk soldiers, so Terius felt like there was no other way for them but to dismount their horses and continue fighting without them.

However, Mirza suddenly made his horse jump into a trench on the side. The trench was narrow, but wide enough for one horse to pass through. The trenches ran in all directions and served as communication routes for infantry.

Milza planned to use the trench to break through Theo’s camp until he’d find Theo himself. Normally going through this trench would be impossible due to the fact that he’s end up tearing his legs against the sides of the trench, but he managed to avoid that by placing his legs directly on his horse’s saddle. Right now, he was actually riding his horse while standing up in the saddle.

He rides in an acrobatic manner, controlling the reins with one hand and deflecting incoming arrows with his sword in the other hand.

(What is this?! Just how much of a superhuman are you, Lord Milza?!)

Now that he has seen him pulling a stunt like that off, Terius truly realized exactly why was Milza called the strongest warrior on the continent. However, precisely because of that it was incredibly difficult to keep up with him. Terius also managed to make his horse jump into the trench, but there’s no way that he’s going to be able to ride in the same way that Milza did, so he was significantly slowed down as a result. It was the same with the Dartanian warriors who followed after him.

The enemy soldiers probably did not expected this to happen. They were confused about what to do and their movements and reactions were exceptionally slow.

Meanwhile, Milza continued to push forward.
Of course, there were parts of the trench that were fenced off. If you’re an infantryman, you could sneak under them, but not if you were riding on horseback.

「Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! 」

Milza released the power of his Crest and blew the fence away. He is a type of Lord who specializes in combat style befitting that of a Marauder, which means that unlike other Lords who could only use their Crests for the purposes of defense of enhancing themselves and their soldiers, he could also use his Crest as a direct means of attack.

Milza ran through trenches built by the enemy as a means of defense as if they were a well-maintained road, and broke through the enemy lines at his own pace. Anyone who approached him in an attempt to stop him would meet their end by his blade.

And finally…

「I see you… 」

Milza smiled enthusiastically, because beyond the end of the trench, he caught sight of the Earl of Sistina. And so he shouted out loud:

「THEO CORNERO!!! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!!!!! 」

* * *

The position that Siluca had devised and constructed was supposed to be fairly strong. However, no matter how long she was trying to observe the entire battlefield and think of a way to utilize her magic to help Theo’s soldiers, she was still unable to find any effective methods of dealing with Milza.

(He’s not exactly an ordinary person, so that can’t be helped I guess.)

She didn’t expect to be able to stop him so easily in the first place, and that’s exactly why she also prepared something for this exact situation.

「Aishela. 」

Siluca looked back at her sister-in-law, who was sitting there looking bored.

「Id it finally going to be my turn? 」

Aishela, clad in silver armor, slowly stood up. At the end of the long handle of her weapon was not a glaive, but a scythe this time.

「Irvin, Emma, Luna. 」

She then turned her attention to her Chamberlain and the Werewolf twins, both dressed in their battle attire.

「Are you calling for s to step in as well? 」

「I’ve been waiting for this! 」

「What would you like us to do, Lady Siluca? 」

Irvin gave as professional of a response as ever, and the twins responded by cheerfully raising their right hands.

「I guess I should go as well. 」

Siluca said as she prepared her magic wand.

「Just for today, I’ll let you go as wild as you want. 」

For Theo’s personal guard, he gathered the Artists with excellent combat abilities, subordinate Lords, and MAges who were not bad at fighting in close range. In addition to having soldiers volunteer, they selected about 200 particularly skilled soldiers for the purpose of guarding him as well. A little further away, Priscilla and Helga were waiting to for anyone who would end up getting themselves injured so that they could treat their wounds right away.

The people gathered here are definitely the best that Theo’s army had to offer.

Even though Milza managed to break through all of their defenses, less than 100 Dartanian soldiers were able to follow after him, so they intended to take Milza down with the combined might of their best troops.

However, at that moment, Milza shouts and challenges Theo to a duel.

「How are you going to respond, Lord Theo? 」

Siluca couldn’t help but cry out. It is said that there was a time in the past when Lords would fight each other in single combat instead of their entire armies, because in the past, being skilled in actual combat was one of the most basic requirements to becoming a Lord in the first place.

However, with the progress of society of the continent, Lordship gradually became a hereditary title passed down mainly in aristocratic families, and as a result there were some Lords who would become unsteady on their feet with nothing but swords on their waists.