3 bar menu

Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 6

「W-Why did you have to bring that up now of all times?!」

Moreno ended up stumbling due to shock and had to hastly pull in the reins of his horse, since what Siluca ended up digging up was the darkest of Moreno’s dark history chapters form the time when he was still a student at the Magic University.

「Do not underestimate the girl’s information network. 」

Siluca said triumphantly, bowed to Lassic politely and returned back to Theo’s side.

「Moreno. 」

While Moreno was still recovering from the blow that Siluca dealt to him, Lassic called out to him as well.

「Do not fight with that woman so much. No matter if you are going to win or lose, in the end, nothing good will come out of it. 」

「I know it. I know, but… 」

Moreno did not finish his words and simply sighed heavily. When it comes to Siluca, he was always feeling a strong sense of competition against her, and whenever that switch was being flipped in his head, he just could not help himself.

「In any case, if their aim is to take the port city, then I guess I will go and take the castle of the 「Poisonous Snake」 for myself. 」

Then Lassic and Moreno both turned their heads to the side, because out of nowhere they could hear prince Milza muttering to himself.

「You mean that you want to tackle on the Baronet’s castle? 」

Moreno asked as he turned towards the prince of Dartania.
「My rank is as high as that of an Earl. 」

「Even if the enemy that you wish to face has more than 500 soldiers? 」

「If you are still thinking in such categories, then it looks like you have never killed a real snake in your life before. 」

Milza snorted condescendingly.

「What do you mean by that? 」

Moreno asked while being confused what the hell Milza was talking about, but the prince of Dartania did not even bothered with giving him a reply as he kicked his pitch-black horse in the belly with the soles of his boots and ran forward like a living gale.

「Are you okay with that? 」

Moreno asked while turning to Lassic.

「I do not know what is going to happen, and I do not really care, so we can just leave it all as it is. We should just focus on heading towards the King of Falvis’ castle while killing all of the Lords who are going to try to oppose us. 」

* * *

March 27, 2013 of the Continental Callendar.

Branis, the subordinate Lord of Jerricho Orrick, the King of Falvis rules over the trading towns located in the northeastern part of Falvis. His rank is that of a Baronet, which makes him the highest in rank among all of the subordinate Lords of the King of Falvis.

The nickname that he has earned for himself, 「The Poisonous Snake of Falvis」comes from the mysterious deaths of two Lords who married their daughters off to him one after another. The official statement said that they died due to an illness that has been caused by Chaos, but at the same time, the rumors that began circulating around the country stated that they have been poisoned. Originally, the ones who had the rights and were supposed to inherit the deceased Lord’s Crests were their brothers and sisters, but Branis used his connections and pulled some strings from behind the scenes in order to interfere with the inheritance process so that he could claim it all for himself. As for the daughters of the deceased Lords, it is said that they have entrusted the management of the territories to their contracted Mages while they themselves have returned to their parent’s homes where they are now living freely.

Thanks to that, Branis’ loyalty was often being questioned and even the King of Falvis himself advised everyone from his inner circle to remain wary of him, but despite all that, the master-servant relationship between the two of them continued, albeit barely.

Apparently Branis was dissatisfied with the King of Falvis’ decision to remain allied with the Factory Alliance, but since he could not afford to openly go against the one who was still his master, he chose to instead shut himself away in a fortress that has been build on top of a small mountain where he gathered his soldiers along with the ones of the neighboring Lords in a display of his willingness to fight. However, even when the forces of the fantasia Union started passing through the road located at the foot of the mountain, neither Branis nor any of his soldiers left the castle.

Milza, the prince of Dartania visited the castle alone as a messenger. Evening was fast approaching, and the western sky has already began to turn the shade of red.

After arriving in inside of the castle, Milza was then brought into the hall where all the Lords have gathered.

「I did not come here to negotiate with any of you. 」

Milza said while looking around at Branis and the other Lords around him, who became greatly disturbed when he used such strong words from the moment he set foot in the hall.

「If you did not come here to negotiate, then why are you here? 」

「To encourage you all to surrender. 」

When he was asked about it by Branis, Milza gave yet another immediate answer.

「Hand your Crests over to me and leave this territory as soon as possible. You can take as much of your possessions as you will be able to carry, I do not really care about it. However, if you decide to heed my warning and leave, be aware that the deadline I am giving you to vacate the premises of this castle is three days. If you choose to stay here any longer than that, then I will not be able to guarantee that you will be able to keep your lives intact. 」
「What do you mean by that?! 」

The Lords all looked at each other in shock. They knew that they were inferior to the people of Selvis who invaded them, but there was absolutely no way for them to ever accept such extreme conditions unless that would be a result of a fight that they ended up losing.

「Now now, there is no need for us to get all hasty now, is there? 」

Branis smiled and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

「How about we have ourselves a more friendly discussion over a Factory Alliance-style banquet? As you will soon see, my daughters are the true masters of the art of dance. 」

At Branis’ words, two young women wearing flashy attires adored with expensive-looking accessories came to the front and began smiling and sending warm glances towards Milza as they flaunted their feminine charms…but Milza only glanced at them for but a moment before his gaze returned to Branis.

「I do not belong to the Factory Alliance, and being a part of its culture in any shape or form does not interest me either. 」

「I have heard many stories about you exploits and your bravery. It seems like you have spent a lot of time travelling around the continent exterminating monsters born from Chaos along the way, right? Thanks to that, your rank s a Lord has increased considerably, and your current title is equal to that of an Earl. 」

「Dartania and its inhabitants are not going to play along with the ran and peerage systems established by the fools at Elam, which means that the title that I am supposedly possessing right now does not matter to me in the slightest. 」

「With all due respect, that is not a very wise thing to say. You have no idea just how terrifying Mages can be if they want to. Even if they believe themselves to be the one in control of everything that is happening, it is not true that the Lords rule everything around the continent. They are only capable of doing that because the Mages of Elam’s Magic University have placed them in their privileged position, while they are the ones who are controlling everything from the shadows. 」

「I am aware that this is how things have been ever since the Age of Extreme Chaos, but just because it was like that in the past does not mean that it is going to be the same in the future, right? 」

Milza snorted mockingly.

「In other words… are you saying that you are hostile towards the Mages Association?」

「It depends on what exactly are you going to define as hostile. 」

Milza answered indifferently with a bored look on his face.