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Volume 5 Chapter 1 Part 7

They probably shouldn’t continue fighting Milza any longer.

「Don’t worry, I have no intention of actually fighting Milza. 」

Lassic smiled.

「After trying it out, I thought again. We should avoid fighting him as much as possible. The Dartanian army is strong under Milza’s leadership. However, I hear that morale of its troops will drop immediately if he is not around. In other words, if we just pay attention to Milza’s movements, we won’t have to be afraid of the Dartanian army. 」

「As long as the Viceroy is in Artuk, we will know what is going on… 」

Moreno nodded.

Artuk’s people are all like spies to them at this point. Information about Baron Eugen’s contracted Mage has also been brought to Moreno.

「So what is the purpose of this march? 」

「We will only enter Artuk territory once. We must leave behind the information that we pushed back the Dartanian army that invaded Regalia. Let’s spread the rumor to the people of Artuk that Milza was defeated in Regalia. 」

「Well, I guess that kind of performance is also important. And since this battle here was another victory for us, it means that I can buy myself yet another decoration.

Moreno shook the ornaments that were scattered around his robe and listened to their jingle. Their number increased each time Lassic won a battle.

「Sure, buy whatever you like for yourself. You were clearly the star of this battle, after all. That magic you used clearly reduced the momentum of the Dartanian army’s assault. Without it, the number of casualties would’ve definitely been much higher. Hell, I don’t know if I would’ve been okay without it. 」

「That’s too many words. 」

Moreno answered with unusually solemnity. He usually loves to brag, but somehow feels embarrassed when others praise him.

Once the marching troops were in place, Lassic recalled Serge, the Earl of Regalia, and joined up with the main forces of Regalia’s army.

Even though their Lord, Serge, fled the battlefield, Regalia’s army did not disperse. Serge’s brother Igor had gathered the army together and was stationed on a hill.

Although the Dartanian army passed under the hill, they did not launch an attack. It must have been because they saw the formation of Igor’s troops as solid, on top of them being exhausted after the fierce battle with Lassic’s army.

Out of all of his siblings, Igor was said to be the one who resembled his father, Richuan Constance the most. And since he was a man who was hand-picked by the Iron-Blooded Earl Jurgen Kraische himself to be his son-in-law, it should be obvious that Richuan was not an incompetent man. And that talent of his seemed to have been passed down to Igor.

(However, it can be said that the losses of the Regalian army were minimized precisely because Serge fled the battlefield alone. A contracted Mage who made her Lord play such a role is pretty terrifying, but Lord Serge, who accepted that role calmly and played it out as best as he could is also terrifying, albeit in a different sense of the word.)

The name of the fleeing Earl had suddenly crossed Lassic’s mind.

(It looks like Lord Serge is going to have the opportunity to continue to play an active role in this conflict in the future.)

* * *
A few days after the fierce battle with Regalia’s and Lassic’s forces, Milza returned to Castle Unicorn.

During the expedition that lasted less than 10 days, two settlements where he installed his men as governors have been raided and his men were all killed by the Lords of Artuk.

「So when my subordinate Lords die, I’m going to know about it… 」

Milza said to the young Mage, Terius.

「I heard that’s how it works. 」

Terius answered mysteriously.

A master-servant relationship forged with the power of a crest requires a spiritual connection between the master and the subordinate Lord. It is a relationship built on loyalty and trust. Therefore, when a subordinate Lord dies, that information is also transmitted to the Lord who was his master. The opposite is also true.

「On top of that, there are rumors among the people of Artuk that I lost the battle in Regalia?! 」

Milza glared at Terius with murder in his eyes.

「It is exactly as you say… 」

Terius nodded with a pale face. Such rumors have indeed already spread among the people of Artuk.

「Someone must have intentionally leaked that information to the public, and the people are all too happy to spread these rumors around. 」

It is even said that Milza was defeated by Lassic and escaped to save his life, but Terius obviously cannot tell him about that part.

(He didn’t lose that battle, but he certainly didn’t win it either.)

It’s because they haven’t achieved much in return for the damage they’ve done. Milza really can be said to be the strongest warrior, and the army that he is leading also can be said to be the strongest there is.

However, to someone like Terius, who possessed the knowledge of military tactics, their fighting style could only be described as animalistic and dangerous. If it were up to him, then he would not fall for the enemy’ trap, and instead of chasing down the fleeing Earl of Regalia, he would have their troops focus on destroying Regalia’s army.

It was simply insane to single-mindedly focus on charging straight into Lassic David’s main force and to engage in a one-on-one duel with him. If Terius were there, he would have stopped at the first signs of the risk of being killed.

「There can be nothing more troublesome than the people of your own territory turning against you. 」

Milza let out a rare sigh. This is because he cannot openly punish the people of Artuk for helping his enemies, because they are all outwardly obedient towards him.

「I heard that Baron Eugen Niklae is the one who’s in charge of the guerilla warfare. 」

Milza has also met him once. He is a rugged old warrior who possesses a strong spirit.

「I have already sent out spies with the mission of tracking him down, but he seems to be constantly changing his location. 」

「So troublesome…! 」

Milza’s irritation was only growing.

「If we’re not going to be careful, then even groups of up to 200 soldiers might easily get annihilated. In order to avoid getting ourselves dragged into a war of attrition, make sure to station 1000 soldiers at each of our bases and tell their surrounding neighborhoods to remain vigilant. All the soldiers are going to be brought from Dartania. Avoid recruiting any of the Artuk people at all costs. Think of all of them as Eugen’s spies. 」

「As you wish. 」

Terius bowed and left the throne room to carry out Milza’s orders. with each step away from Milza, he could feel his tension easing.

(However, this is no good. Even among the close aides of the Dartanian army, there is no one who would give an honest opinion to Lord Milza. All they want to do is to admire him and avoid telling him anything that would make him angry. )

Terius himself did the same just now, because he cannot allow himself to be honest at the risk of being killed, like Aubest Meletes.

(I need to gain his trust first…)

That way, he should be able to lend an ear to the young Mages words.

* * *

Haman is a country located on a peninsula. Across the narrow strait from is Dartania. In the past, exchanges between these two countries were active, but Dartania is now a part of the Factory Alliance.

In the same inland sea, there was another peninsular country, Stark. Although still part of the Factory Alliance, there has never been a war between the two countries.

However, a great war swallowed even such a small frontier country into its torrent and tossed it around.

Hamann and Stark could not have been an exception.

Prior to the Artuk Campaign, Stark was the first of the two to be engulfed in war. The Lord of the Stark Peninsula saw that the situation in the Factory Alliance was no longer favorable for him and so he tried to defect from the Factory Alliance the Fantasia Union. He expected to receive the support of the Earl of Artuk, but Vilar followed the decision of the Lord’s Council and did not send his troops to aid Pavel Murat.

As a result, Stark was overrun by Waldrind, and all the Lords of the peninsula were stripped of their titles.

After that, the people who entered Stark were the Nords, led by the Ocean King Erik.

Erik’s youngest daughter, Ulrika, became the new ruler of Stark, and most of Stark’s people were enslaved.