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Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 12

People with disparate arms followed behind the ranks of soldiers. They were the residents of the castle town.

(Has their numbers doubled since last time?)

Siluca tilted her head.

It was a little scary to see so many of the citizens gathered up like that, putting the matter of whether they really wanted to join Theo’s army or not aside. Maybe they decided that they do not want him as their Lord, and came to attack him from behind when he was least expecting it?

However, as he passed through the village, the ranks of his army grew little by little. And when they left the forest, their number was about 2,000. Moreover, when they saw the enemy, they accepted Theo’s Banner without hesitation, which meant that they intended to fight together with him.

「Why? Are they actually admiring Lord Theo? 」

Siluca asked without thinking.

「No, it is not that, as you well know. Even if I tried talking to them, they never responded, and it was painful for me to be seen as an eyesore by them. 」

「I guess so. 」

Siluca nodded.
Theo felt that the inhabitants of the forest did not want a rich and vibrant life. With those words, Siluca gave up the idea to control this forest.

(Does that mean it was a correct thing to do?)

If so, nothing could be easier than being the ruler of this region.

(No, that should not be the only thing…)

Siluca then remembered when she and Theo went on patrol together.

No one greeted him and no one talked to him. Even so, the residents should have been aware that Theo, the new Lord, was watching over them.

(He should have left them alone, but Lord Theo did not do that.)

He could rule them by not watching over them at all, and that seemed to be what the residents of the Forest of Eternal Darkness themselves wanted.

As they were coming closer to the battlefield, Siluca stared at Theo’s stern expression.

(Lord Theo really has learned so much…)

She felt joy and pride in being loved by such a Lord.

(I have to respond to that myself.)

Siluca switched her mind on how to fight the army of Veltava.

Theo’s forces are outnumbered, and he wants to fight in the open rather than in the forest. But when she envisioned the battle itself, she found several ways for them to win.

(In that case, I just have to modify our tactics a little….)

Siluca hates to lose, after all.

(… so that we would win.)

She insisted on herself.

And then, the forces of Veltava and Artuk’s army, Theo Cornero, collided with each other head-on at the edge of The Forest of Eternal Darkness.

* * *

August 20, 2013 of the Continental Calendar

With Dartania’s participation in the war, the war situation began to change dramatically.

First, from Haman, Queen Edochia herself boarded the 「Palace of the Sea」, which arrived off the coast of Castle Unicorn.

Following its arrival, the navy of Artuk formed a circular formation centering on the 「Palace of the Sea」and intercepted the Dartania fleet that tried to advance forward again.

「Open fire! 」

Edochia called out to 「Baron」 Joachim with an ecstatic expression.
「Leave it to me! 」

An engineer dispatched from Elam filled the barrel of the cannon with gunpowder, picked up a huge stone bullet, loaded it from the muzzle and then he proceeded to ignite the gunpowder. A roaring sound was heard, and a huge stone bullet was fired.

The first shot missed, leaving behind only a huge column of water. However, the intimidation effect that it achieved was more than enough to make up for it.

Dartania’s fleet steers sideways to avoid it every time a stone bullet was fired. The line of battle became disrupted, and the nearby ships collided each other’s paddles, further disrupting the battle.

「Return to your battle stations! At once! 」

Milza ordered his soldiers not to break formation, but the boulders that came flying at high speed seemed to be heading towards the ship he was boarding. At that sight, even the most seasoned of sailors would lower their heads and stop rowing their paddles.

Several ships were hit and sunk. A nearby ship stayed in place and rescues the companions who jumped into the sea from another destroyed ship.

At first, the Dartanian navy was trying to stay close to Artuk’s, but when they engaged with them, the distance between the ships was gradually growing. Dartania’s sailors were skilled, but Artuk’s navy excelled in tactics and coordination. By creating a numerical advantage locally, multiple of their attacks could be launched against a single enemy. As such, the warships of the Dartanian navy were rammed from the port side while engaging in a firefight with the ships on the starboard side.

As soon as they docked to board a large ship, they allowed the smaller ships to go ahead and approach Castle Unicorn, but the ones that were approaching the castle carelessly were caught in a pincer attack, and were bathed in a mysterious beam of light and set them ablaze.

Since he was still hindered by the non-stop bombardment from behind, Milza’s plan was to take one of the fast boats, board one of Artuk’s warships and overwhelm it.

However, Artuk’s warships and their crews were ordered not to fight Milza. As Milza approached them, they ran at full speed. As the ships were running away, the crewmembers fire their bows at him.

Milza tried to block them with his shield, but one by one his rowers were shot down and eventually he had to switch ships.

As time went by, the inferiority of the Dartanian navy gradually became apparent.

「All ships, land on the beach! Get as many men and cargo ashore as you can! 」

Milza decided that the damage would only increase this way, so he issued a different order. While the large ships acted as shields to stop the enemy assault, the smaller ships ran ashore one after another. Then the cargo was carried out, and the soldiers also landed on the beach.
Many Dartanian soldiers were killed in the naval battle, and most of the ships had to be abandoned.

However, over 10,000 soldiers landed and joined the Heavy Knights of Waldrind. Food and supplies were also supplied to them.

It is said that Earl Vilar of Artuk muttered with a sigh while looking at the enemy’s encampment that had swelled considerably.

「It looks like it’s going to be a long battle… 」

While a fierce naval battle was taking place off the coast of Castle Unicorn, another battle was taking place on land.

The Heavy Knights of Waldrind, who had built up a strong encampment for themselves began attacking the castle in conjunction with the Dartanian Navy.

They moved towards the gate tower and began attacking it with their heavy crossbows. White smoke rose from the gate tower, and the stone walls began to crumble.

「No! It cannot be! 」

Witnessing the onslaught, Serge Constance, Earl of Regalia, who rushed to help Vilar, thought it was only a matter of time before the castle gates will be breached.

「Make haste! I have to save my brother! 」

Serge ordered his cavalry to drive behind the Heavy Knights of Waldrind.

「Are we not going to be rushing straight into the enemy’s trap? 」

Ellet, Serge’s contracted Mage, hastily advised.

「As long as we do not lose at sea, that castle will not fall. The enemy’s aim is to reduce the strength of the reinforcements so that they would not be a hindrance when it comes to the decisive battle. 」

「Is the decisive battle not going to be just the beginning? There is no guarantee that the navy will win, and it will be too late once the castle gates are going to be breached. If we just launch a diversionary attack on the enemy’s back, the momentum of the castle siege should weaken. 」

「We should not be attacking their behind. The enemy might be counting on that, so we should assault them from the front. If you do not believe me, send a scout. I am sure they will find themselves right in the enemy’s ambush. 」

「I cannot afford to do that! 」

Serge turned his horse’s neck around as he shouted. He then ran among his cavalry and relayed his orders to attack. The brave cavalrymen took up their bows and thrust them overhead. They can shoot them accurately at full speed.

Ellet sighed and picked up her magic wand. she then contacted Serge’s younger brother Igor and the Mage contracted with Solon, the King of Kirchs, and asked them to hurry up. She also reported what happened now to Villar’s Head Mage Laura.
Laura has been telling Vilar to hold back, but Ellet knows she can no longer stop Serge.