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Volume 7 Chapter 2 Part 9

「That’s true, but in accordance with the peerage system, Theo Cornero’s claim is the correct one here. Originally, The Forest of Eternal Darkness was a Viscounty territory, and since back at that time Theo Cornero’s title was less than a Viscount, it means that he couldn’t claim it, and that’s why he couldn’t stay there either. In other words, after the death of Vilar Constance, Earl of Artuk, The Forest of Eternal Darkness has rightfully became your territory, Lord Milza. 」

「Indeed. I have declared that I will rule over all of Artuk, and that’s what I’m going to do, Forest of Eternal Darkness included! 」

Milza said while sounding as if he was in dismay.

Milza personally held the title of Viscount, and he also usurped his father’s title when he killed him to become Dartania’s Viceroy. His title was high enough for him to be called a Marquis, and up until now he was able to comfortably rule over the Earldom of Artuk. However, in order to have effective control, he must either destroy the local Lords or make them subordinate themselves to him.

Mirza called on all the Lords of Artuk to make the sensible choice and submit themselves to him, but instead of doing that, they abandoned all of their territories, hid themselves in the forests and mountains and started fighting against Milza’s reign through guerilla warfare.

The central figure behind that guerilla warfare was Baron Eugen Niklae, who had his original territory in the northern part of Artuk. The people also cooperated with their Lords, and resisted Dartania’s governance through indirect means. Eventually the situation got so severe that Milza, who was fed up with the losses he was taking due to his inability of handling the guerilla warfare, made a decision after receiving advice from Terius, who served as his contracted Mage.

According to the peerage system, if the citizens of a territory Milza was governing are fighting in cooperation with the Lords who were his enemies, it is alright for him to treat them as the enemy soldiers and subjugated them through forceful means.

Therefore, Milza attacked the village of the White Witches and the Werewolf village, since it was more than obvious that both of these factions were lending their power to the Lords of Artuk behind the scenes. However, both Werewolves and the White Witches saw through Milza’s intentions and fled their villages beforehand, so Milza had no choice but to burn their respective villages to the ground in order to make an example of what was going to happen to anyone supporting the Artuk rebels

He then declared that he would invade Eugen’s territory with a large army and attack the village where he was supposed to be hiding.

The people of the territory protested against this, but their arguments that the handing over of food and supplies was not aiding anyone in anything, but Milza dismissed them and went on with his plans anyway. In order to rid himself of the guerilla warfare once and for all, he had no choice but to exterminate all the potential collaborators of his enemies.

Dartania’s army annihilated the enemy in a short battle, and Milza also managed to defeat Eugen Niklae in a duel. With that, he was convinced that the process of the pacification of Artuk was now over, and that no one would stand in his way anymore. In fact, the surviving Lords have escaped from Artuk, and the people have also begun to properly submit to him and listen to his orders.

However, if Theo Cornero really returns, the residents of Artuk may become rebellious once again, and that would be the worst possible outcome for him.

「That guy is good at stirring up the people, after all… 」

Milza had a look of disgust on his face.

He also heard that in Sistina he encouraged an uprising of the populace thanks to which he was able to overthrow the Rossini family, so he was definitely going to try to do the same with the people of Artuk so that they’d aid him in his battle against Milza.

On the other hand, Dartania’s army is only comprised of the professional soldiers who volunteered to come to Artuk from Dartania’s homeland. The people of Dartania are brave and have no problem becoming warriors, so thy could fight any enemy anywhere, regardless of who they were.

「Just you try and stop me, Theo Cornero. I’ll be on the move right away. 」

「Ah, please wait, Lord Milza! 」

Terius said in a hurry.

「What is it now? 」

Mirza turned his murderous gaze towards the contracted Mage dispatched to him by Marlne Kraische.

「It’s dangerous to invade The Forest of Eternal Darkness if you don’t know how to navigate it, so the more reasonable thing to do here would be to wait until Theo Cornero decides to leave the forest himself. 」

「There’s no way he would do that. 」

「The people of Artuk expect the hero Theo Cornero to be someone who acts quickly, and him probably responded to that desire of theirs, because he doesn’t have too much of a choice in the matter. 」

「He’s claiming to have occupied my territory and is currently staying there, right? If we leave him alone to act however he pleases, Dartania’s prestige is going to be damaged because of it. 」

「Then let it be damaged. You can get back all the prestige you want later once you defeat him. But you know what would damage Dartania’s prestige even more? If you went and blindly attacked The Forest of Eternal Darkness only ho have all your soldiers slaughtered. 」

「Do you really think I can lose to someone like Theo Cornero?! 」

「If you fight him anywhere else but The Forest of Eternal Darkness, then there’s no way for you to lose. However, if you insist on attacking hm while he’s still holed up there, then know that fighting in that Demonic Realm is going to be overwhelmingly disadvantageous foe you and your army. That, and Theo Cornero is a much more difficult opponent to deal with than you think, so you shouldn’t be letting your guard down so… 」

「SHUT UP! 」

Milza suddenly screamed and took out his curved sword, which he then pointed at Terius’ throat.

「As you wish, my Lord. 」

Telrius’ voice trembled slightly, but he did not move an inch from where he was standing.

「I have already expressed my opinion about the matter, and it’s up to you whether you decide to act upon it or not. 」

「I have already given the order. We will invade the Forest of Eternal Darkness, and I will defeat Theo Cornero there! Tou are to order the troops to prepare to move out immediately! 」

Milza sheathed his sword back and then commanded Terius.

「As you wish, my Lord. 」

Terius bowed to Milza and then left. After the figure disappeared from his sight, Milza sat back on his throne.

「Theo, Cornero, I’ll make you regret ever deciding to challenge me. 」

* * *

It was five days later that Dartania’s army invaded the Forest of Eternal Darkness. A large army of 10,000 men marched in single file down a narrow path through the ever-dark forest. Their plan was simple: go straight for the castle in the middle of the forest and defeat Theo Cornero. Apparently, Milza thought that with the numbers advantage on his side, the battle was going to be a short and easy one.

However, Terius didn’t share his Lord’s enthusiasm. He was convinced that it’d be impossible for them to fight in a place where they’re going to have no advantage whatsoever due to military common sense.
Milza’s fighting style is intuitive, and he moves his forces flexibly from the start of a battle, not to mention that Dartanian warriors were brave and well-trained, and could faithfully carry out Milza’s orders without complaining.

As far as field battles go, he thought that the Dartanian army led by Milza is the strongest on the continent. However, Terius always felt like he was in danger whenever he was heading out anywhere near the battlefield alongside them.

Even though it was daytime, the sky was red as if it were a sunset. The trunks of the trees around them were all ugly and curved, and the gnarled branches hung down as if they wanted to grab hold of them. He also heard a lot of eerie sounds coming from all around them, but he had no idea if they were made by birds or insects.

Mirza rode a horse and was going up and down his ranks many times, because that’s what Terius suggested him to do. Just seeing the Viceroy’s appearance increased the morale of Dartania’s warriors. As long as they knew that their leader was right beside them, they didn’t seem to be afraid of anything, even though they were in the middle of a Demonic Realm.