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Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 2

Laura asked Vilar.

「What is blowing right now is a tailwind, so what they are trying to do is to most likely break through the enemy’s formation and disrupt the flow of battle. At that speed, it should also be difficult for Dartania’s fleet to ram our fleet from the side and then chase them as they would try to fix their positions, so while it might seem like a reckless maneuver, the Admiral’s judgement here is not wrong. 」

Villar often conducts mock naval battles with Admiral Latua in order to properly study naval tactics in practice. Since Laura was also watching him every time without fail, it should be reasonable to think that she should possess a pretty good understanding of how naval battles are waged and what they are like. However, much like the battles on land, battles at sea can change from moment to moment due to factors such as the wind and currents, so anyone who wants to ensure that they will always have the advantage over their enemies must recognize these changes quickly and respond to them appropriately.

Relieved by Villar’s words, Laura confirmed the formation of the enemy with her own eyes. Since the enemy fleet was facing a headwind, the sails were folded and they were advancing only on oars. The line of battle did not appear to be disturbed yet.

「This much will not be enough to threaten us. 」

Vilar smiled.

「It looks like they are going to pass each other while going at full speed. 」

It seemed that way to Laura.

Changing the course of the ships recklessly to avoid the large ships that are charging will cause confusion throughout the entire fleet. That was the aim of the large ship’s assault, but the other side of it is not going to fit.

「It is not so easy to obey orders when a gigantic ship is heading straight for you… that being said, for someone who supposedly killed Lord Sayid and usurped his position as the Viceroy of Dartania, Lord Milza’s army is definitely well-controlled. 」

Villar said as if he was impressed by the display of Dartania’s fleet’s obedience towards Milza

「In Dartania, there are quite a lot of people who obey Lord Milza and have an unwavering amount of faith in him. Especially among young warriors, he is worshiped like a god. 」

Margaret explained.

「That is because Lord Milza himself believes in strength more than anything else, and that is the Dartania, Lord only way through which people can be effectively controlled, or at least that is what he seems to be thinking. 」

Villar murmured as if he was talking to himself.

(It was not that long ago when Lord Milza believed that Lord Vilar was the most suitable one to become Emperor.)

Knowing that, Laura thought that it was an incredible pity that the two of them had to fight each other now. And it was all probably because of that feral Fantasia Union’s Lord’s Conference which was held the other day. It was probably then, after Vilar refused to become the new leader of the Fantasia Union and did not want to deal with the Factory Alliance through military means that Milza must have decided that he was no longer worthy of becoming Emperor.

He therefore chose to join the Factory Alliance.

However, Dartania’s Viceroy Sayid probably did not know about any of this, and Milza killed his own father and usurped his position so that he could carry out what he has decided to do.

Laura always thought Milza was someone who always takes the shortest path to achieve his goals, no matter how dangerous or bloody the road to achieve said goals may be.

After a while, the Artuk naval tall ships rushed through the enemy convoy. The rams attached to their bows could break an enemy ship’s oars or shatter their hulls. And in the next moment, arrows rained down on the enemy soldiers from the deck. Dartania lost many ships and lost many soldiers as a result. However, they did not even counterattack and continued to advance the fleet with all its might, because there was only one man standing at the top of the mast of the biggest ship of Dartania’s fleet, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

That man was Milza Kuches, Prince of Dartania.

Milza’s ship was located at the rearmost position, some distance from the convoy. He followed the movement of the Artuk naval tall ships as they cut through friendly convoys.

「I do not care if all of your paddles are going to break. Stay close to the enemy ships and do not move away at all costs. 」

Milza said to the captain who was looking up at him from the deck.

The captain nodded silently and signaled the rowers on the ship to continue as they were, and Milza’s ship approached one of the main ships of the Artuk navy, a large sailing ship.

The other ships of the enemy fleet also changed their course towards the other ships of the Artuk’s fleet as if they were the predators going for the prey that was supposed to be on its last legs…

… And the two ships passed each other just barely. Hitting the ram, the oars on the right side of the ship Milza boarded broke one after another. The impact also knocked down the rowers.

「Should be more than enough…. 」
Milza muttered and jumped down toward the enemy ship. While he was still in the air, he unsheathed the sword at his waist, activated the power of his Crest at the same time.

The enemy ship’s deck was crowded with archers. When they noticed Milza as he was jumping down, they all pointed their bows at him, but they did not have enough time to shoot, because Milza already landed on the ship’s deck and bended his knees deeply to absorb the impact of the fall. He then held his stance and slashed his sword sideways.

After a dull response, there was a thunderous sound, and several soldiers’ legs were amputated. There was a scream, and the soldiers who had lost their legs fell to the ground. Bright red blood was gushing out from their amputated legs onto the deck, creating a pool of blood on it.

Milza bounced back to his feet and he ran like a gale, swinging his sword in every direction. Artuk’s soldiers, frightened by the dreadfulness of the attack, switched from bows to curved swords, surround Milza, and tried to hold him down.

However, Milza thrust his sword through the chest of the soldier in front of him and used his body as a shield to continue his ferocious charge.
After pushing away the soldiers in front of him and leaving the surroundings, he swung his sword with all his might and flung away the corpse that had been impaled on it. It fell into the sea, and the resulting splash of water mixed with blood engulfed several soldiers.

Milza mowed down the swarming soldiers one after another as they were coming towards him, until he found a figure near the stern who appeared to be the captain of the ship.

The mainstay of the Artuk’s Navy, the large ships, are all captained by their Lords. The moment the captain met Milza’s eyes, he suddenly pulled the nearby steering wheel from the shaft and threw it into the sea. Then he ordered the soldiers on his side to do something. The soldiers, with surprised faces, ran on the deck or used ladders to descend inside the ship.

(Is he just going to let me steal the ship just like that?)

The captain took a long-curved sword from his squire, held it in front of him, and came towards Milza as he swung his hand. A Crest shined on his right hand. Judging by its design and complexity of the patterns, he was probably a Baronet.

「I did not expect you to challenge me. 」

Milza grinned.

He knew that Artuk was filled with veteran warriors, all thanks to Artuk bordering Waldrind, the country belonging to the Factory Alliance with whom Artuk has been locked in a state of conflict for decades now, and since all of the soldiers of Artuk are great at guerilla warfare, which is Artuk’s specialty because of the amplification received from Vilar’s Crest, each and every Lord was trained and skilled enough to adapt to the changing situation on the battlefield and making decisions on the spot. That is exactly why the captain who challenged Milza right now did not try to blindly attack him, but instead assumed a stance that was more focused on defense, which means that he must know that Milza specializes in counterattacks.
「In that case, if you are not going to come to me, then that means that I just have to come to you instead! 」