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Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 13

And just as she predicted, the attack of the Heavy Knights of Waldrind on castle Unicorn was just a diversion.

As the Regalia cavalry attacked, the Heavy Knights of Waldrind turned and formed three lines. When the front row fired heavy crossbows, the second row advanced and shot, and the third row repeated the same thing. They were thus repeating their attack without interruption.

The Regalia cavalrymen who were hit by the heavy crossbow’s bolts fell one after another. Their bow attacks did little harm to the Heavy Knights protected by thick armor and the power of their Lord’s Crest.

Serge understood that and ordered the troops to retreat. However, there was an ambush already waiting for then on the retreat route.

They were a small force, but enough to confuse the fleeing men and horses. Regalia’s cavalry scattered and lost their means of escape, and then they were killed one by one.

Serge was protected by a few aides as he made his own desperate escape. Ellet had to cast a lot of spells herself to make sure that her master will be able to flee to safety.

「If a Mage close to you has to use uncouth Attack Magic, that means you are in a desperate situation… 」

Ellet continued to complain.

However, she was good at Elemental Magic and Movement Magic, and she was also used to shooting light crossbows and handling daggers in combat. She was extremely reluctant to fight herself, but it is the situation where she can shine the most.

However, ambushers were lurking for them everywhere, and all escape routes seemed to be blocked, so rather than move carelessly, she chose to hide in a small forest and wait for her allies to arrive, but their hiding place was also discovered by Waldrind’s soldiers, and they surrounded the forest. They were not attacked immediately, but it was clear that the Heavy Knights of Waldrind would eventually come for them.

「I should have found another Lord instead of sticking to someone so troublesome… 」

Ellet sighed.

「Please! Do something about it! 」

Serge clung onto her.

「This all happened because you did not listen to me. 」

Ellet stroked his cheek to calm Serge down.

「From now on, I will follow your every advice! 」

「And now you choose to depend on me of all times… 」

Having said that, Ellet decided to try contacting King Kirchs’ contracted Mage while clinging onto a sliver of hope.

Her plan was to tell him their exact location and ask if there were any soldiers who could come to their rescue, and if that plan ends up being a no-go, then her last resort was to act as a decoy so that at least Serge could escape. However, Solon’s contracted Mage replied:

「If this is where you are, then we can rush to your aid right away. 」

The army of Solon, king of Kirchs, had run at full speed a long way and had finally reached the battlefield.

Theater King Solon and the Masked Legion, despite their exhaustion, fought hard and drove out Waldrind’s ambush. However, the Heavy Knights of Waldrind, who have pursued the Kirchs cavalry, switched their attack target to the Kirchs army instead.

King Solon of Kirchs ordered his soldiers to retreat, and with only a few vassals and 300 men he met the Heavy Knights of Waldrind in battle. This was to buy time for his allies to retreat.

He built a wall of his heavy infantry and they devoted themselves to defense. During the defense, Solon recited a tragic poem about a hero in a sonorous voice, as if to show off his presence. And the soldiers keep singing the poem along with him as if they were in a play.

One by one, the Lords and soldiers fell down due to the heavy crossbow shots of the Heavy Knights of Waldrind, but the singing never ceased until the end.

Solon, standing alone at the end, spread his arms wide and looked up at the sky.

「You are the true heroes. So let us depart this imperfect world and go to an ideal one together… 」

In the next moment, a heavy crossbow bolts barrage pierced his entire body.

「This is the end of my life… 」

Thus, the king of Kirchs, who was touted as the Theater King, ended his fifty years of life.

「It is a pity that we missed Serge Constance, but if we killed King of Kirchs, so that should be enough. 」

After collecting Solon’s Crest, Marine Kraische decided that further pursuit was dangerous and ordered her entire army to withdraw to her own quarters. Around that time, it was also reported that Dartania was defeated in the naval battle.

However, since Regalia and Kirchs, who were supposed to be supporting Artuk behind the scenes, were defeated, Castle Unicorn lost its support from the land.

「My cousin, the real battle is about to begin… 」

As she watched Castle Unicorn dyed by the setting sun, Marine smiled coldly.

* * *

Upon receiving reports of the battle on land, Vilar Constance prayed for the dead Solon and ordered his two brothers to return to Regalia’s castle and rebuild their army.

They lost the battle on land, but the castle suffered little damage. Moreover, the Ozer army that invaded Selvis fell for Lassic David’s ruse and was surrounded by him and they promptly surrendered.

In addition, the Veltava army, which tried to invade the Forest of Eternal Darkness clashed with Theo Cornero’s troops, and despite the fact that there were many of them, there were reports that they were defeated and routed. The reports also said that Lassic’s army and Theo’s forces are going to invade Ozer and Veltava together, and Vilar allowed them to do so.

「I expected as much of Lord Lassic, but Theo surprised me. 」

After returning to his private room, Villar told Margaret.

「With the loss of their subordinate states of Ozer and Veltava, Waldrind will have no choice but to get revenge on Artuk. Their attacks will surely intensify. 」

「Even if the castle gate is breached, all we have to do is escape through the sea. Even if we lose the castle, all we have to do is take it back again. 」

Since the Age of Extreme Chaos, guerrilla warfare has been Artuk’s specialty.

「I thought the Factory Alliance would come with its entire army, but… 」

Margaret said surprised.

「It seems that Marine was able to reunite the Alliance with the Electoral Council system, but the authority of the Alliance leader should have been reduced as a result, so it might be difficult for her to mobilize the entire army now. 」

At the moment, other than Dartania, only Waldrind’s subordinate nations are active in the Alliance.

「I do not t think we are going to lose if there is going to be no sudden moves from other nations. 」

Margaret was choosing her words carefully, she seemed to be pretty convinced.

「I guess so… 」

Villar also had no objections.

「But even if we win, it will only please the Lords of the Fantasia Union. 」

And the threat of aggression is only going to be delayed.

「All we have to do is kill or capture Marine Kraische. And when you do, maybe you could take her Crest and start calling yourself Vilar Kraische Constance? 」

「You say things just like Siluca Meletes. 」

Vilar smiled wryly.

「The Heavy Knights of Waldrind will be loyal to the blood of Kraische. Combined with your own knights, you will have the largest and most powerful army on the continent. The rest would be up to you. 」
「Certainly, if we can overcome the current predicament, various paths will open up for us. 」

Vilar knows that too. But just could not fully get himself behind the idea.

(This is exactly why Milza gave up on me…)

He thought so mockingly.

「I will think about everything after the battle is over. 」

* * *

On a watchtower overlooking the sea, Colleen Messara was tending the Ray Mirror.

The naval battle ended in Artuk’s victory, and its role may have come to an end, but just in case, there was a majestic and beautiful figure of Haman Kingdom’s 「Sea Palace」anchored off the coast of the castle.

Dartania abandoned its ships and got as many soldiers and supplies ashore as possible, and when they joined with Waldrind their threat only grew, but at the very least it lost the sea supply route.

If they do not capture this castle before they run out of food, they will have no choice but to withdraw.

However, after that fierce battle, the combined forces of Waldrind and Dartania never left their camp, and the day was about to end peacefully.

The sun was sinking into the western horizon. The Ray Mirror maintenance was over, and the rest could be left to the guards

「Mr. Gide, Mr. Flint, thank you very much for your hard work. 」

Colleen called out to the soldier in charge of the tower’s night watch.

They are brothers and both of them were still young. With a cheerful personality, they encourage Colleen who was trembling with fear during the battle, and comforts her when the battle was over when she feels guilty about killing a large number of people with the Ray Mirror.

「Leave it to us!」

The older brother Gide said, patting himself on the chest, and his younger brother Flint nodded with a smile.

Colleen made her way back to the castle, finally looking out to the darkening sea… and then she noticed something rising over the horizon.

「Ship’s… light? 」

At first, the sea was peaceful, so she thought that the local fishermen had set sail. However, as she watched it for a while, the number of lights increased more and more.

「A frightening number… 」

Colleen’s voice trembled. Even at a glance, there were over a thousand of them, maybe even more.

Colleen hastily pulled out her homemade telescope and pointed it at the light. Illuminated by the light was a long and narrow hull with a carved dragon’s head on the prow.

「That is… 」

Colleen knew that ship

「A longboat used by the Sea People of Erik, Marquis of Nord… but it cannot be… 」

Erik’s territory, Nord, is in the far north of the continent, and his area of activity is the North Sea. But she could not think of any other country with such a fleet.

Colleen hurriedly pulled out her magic wand and reported to Laura.