3 bar menu

Volume 7 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3: Outpost

In the throne room of Castle Unicorn, a wounded beast is roaring in anger. It was the voice of Milza Kuches, the Viceroy of Dartania, who was unable to contain his anger anymore.

Although he sortied his army into The Forest of Eternal Darkness, he was still at the mercy of Theo Cornero and his army’s guerilla warfare just because they knew the terrain better, thanks to which he was forced to retreat right from under Theo Cornero’s castle. For him, being forced to retreat like that was the biggest possible humiliation.

The damage to Dartania’s army was not that great, however, he regretted not being able to defeat Theo Cornero then and there. His anger has not subsided even after three days have passed since he returned to the castle.

As usual, the one who had to bear the brunt of Milza’s anger was Terius Willan, his contracted Mage dispatched to him from Waldrind’s Magic Division, and although he was frightened as usual, he was slowly becoming accustomed to his Lord’s outbursts of anger whenever anything was not going the way he wanted.

He suggested that they should be careful about sortieing into The forest of Eternal darkness, but Milza did not listen to him, and this situation has arisen as a result of his ignorance. However, he still tried to forcibly attack the castle of Theo Cornero, but even though he managed to reach it, he was still forced to retreat in shame. If he instead chosen to lay siege to the castle after all, the damage to his army would undoubtedly have been enormous.

And still, he doesn’t know if they’ll be able to capture the castle of the enemy or not, even when they do choose to finally attack it.

He’s responsible for making recommendations, but it is the Lord who ultimately makes the decisions, but they both bear responsibility for the results of his decisions. It may be unreasonable, but that’s what the job of a contracted Mage really is.

That being said though, the situation is still far from being serious.

More than 10,000 Dartanian troops were stationed in Castle Unicorn and other areas of Artuk, and a similar force was waiting in their homeland. Dartania’s navy is in the process of being rebuilt, but control of the Southern Seas is in the hands of the Norse people who have settled in Stark.

The only thing that bothered Terius was the presence of Theo Cornero, who was now encamped in The Forest of Eternal Darkness.

In this battle, both Milza and Terius were reminded that he is a Lord whom they cannot let their guard down around. And beside him is a genius Mage named Siluca Meletes.

「The Forest of Eternal Darkness is a Demonic Realm. It is not suitable for an army to continue being stationed there. The way I see it, Theo Cornero is going to have two options now: one is going to be returning with his army to Veltava… 」

Just as Milza’s anger subsided, Terius looked up and spoke quickly.

「And what about the other one? 」

Milza asked, even though he was still in a bad mood.

「He’ll need to leave The Forest of Eternal Darkness and attack Castle Unicorn. 」

「Does he even have that kind of courage? 」

Milza snorted.

「But, if he does come out, I’ll make sure that this is going to be the end of him. I will crush him for sure that time! 」

Milza raises his voice and slammed his fist against the armrest of his throne. Terius felt the vibrations pass through the floor and reaching his feet.

「Of course. 」

Terius bowed to Milza, but he himself guessed that Theo would be heading towards this castle.
Now is a good time to do so after all, as the people of Artuk are still going to be excited about his recent victory against Milza. On the other hand, if this opportunity is missed, people’s expectations will be betrayed. Theo Cornero has a small army, so for him, the residents of the villages around Artuk should make for a substantial boost to the number of his troops.

「That being said… 」

Terius suggested a plan to Milza.

「Would you like to send troops to Southern Regalia? 」

「To Southern Regalia? Why there of all places? 」

「Because we want to show the Lords of the Artuk Treaty that our army is still strong and halt their advance from the south. At the same time, it should be a good bait to lure Theo Cornero out of hiding. 」

“I see. So if Theo Cornero takes the bait and comes out with his army from The Forest of Eternal Darkness, we will take this chance to attack him? 」

「That’s right… 」

Terius nodded his head. Milza put his hand on his chin and thought about it for a moment.

「Alright. Start making the preparations right away. 」

「As you wish. 」

Terius nodded and left the hall. He should’ve expected that Milza would always prefers speedy actions.

After watching the Mage dispatched by Waldrind leave, his entourage gathered at Milza’s side.
「Viceroy… 」

One of them called out to him.

「What is it? 」

Milza asked.

「Since taking control of Artuk, the casualties of our army have only increased. The warriors who’ve been dispatched here would also like to return to their homeland soon. Furthermore, there are reports that rebel forces are gathering in our home country with the aim of keeping you away from returning. It seems that Lord Ender is pulling of the strings of the rebellion behind the scenes… 」

「Huh? 」

Milza’s eyebrows twitched.

Ender Selik was Milza’s half-brother. He had dozens of brothers and sisters living in his father’s palace, but his father had declared that all boys other than Milza would be treated as his vassals, not as princes themselves. Because of this, Ender has chosen to be called not by his father’s family name, but by his mother’s instead.

Milza was made the crown prince because his mother was a royal consort and he had shown talent since childhood. That’s why for Milza, his half-brothers were no competition at all.

Among them, Ender was relatively excellent. His birth mother’s family is of a merchant profession and owns over ten merchant ships.

When Milza murdered his father Sayid and usurped his position, he also killed many of his brothers. Those who are close to him and those who have sworn loyalty to him are treated as his subjects after severing their blood ties with the rest of the family.

It was around that time when Ender and his birth mother’s family traveled to Halusia.

「Did the Marquis of Halusia instigate him to do it? No, I can’t think of that actually being the case. 」

Alexis Ducet, Marquis of Halusia, the leader of the Fantasia Union is an excellent artist, but he is no better than an amateur when it comes to politics, diplomacy, and military affairs. He wouldn’t even have the idea of plotting against Dartania from the shadows.

「Lord Milza, why don’t you take us back to Dartania so that we could stabilize our home country? This castle and the surrounding territory are enough to serve as a bridgehead to the continent. As for the local governance, all you have to do is dispatch a tax collection force when necessary. 」

「Just like the Rossini family did, you mean. 」

Milza let out a self-deprecating smile.

「Even with our rightful rule, the people of Artuk did not stop rebelling against us. So in return for their disobedience, we should squeeze as much as we can out of them. 」

「That’s my intention too. But I can’t leave this place for now. 」

His aides must have heard Terius’ advice as well.

Since he was no longer here, he has expressed a different opinion because there is no way he could’ve argued with him. He also didn’t want the Mage from Waldrind to overhear anything that he was saying right now.

(Both my subordinate Lords and their soldiers are beginning to tire of being stationed in Artuk.)

Milza was perfectly aware of that.

「After defeating Eugen Nicklae, the rebellion of the people of Artuk was put to rest. Then Theo Cornero came to The Forest of Eternal Darkness, and the unrest started again, but all that I need in order to deal with it is to defeat him. After that goal is finally achieved, my subordinate Lords and their soldiers will be sent home one by one. How about that? 」

「As you wish. 」

The aides looked at each other and nodded their heads.

「I know that you’re all been pushing yourselves pretty hard, but I’m going to ask you to try a little harder for a little while longer. The unity of the Artuk Treaty will crumble with a single shove from us, and after them, Fantasia Union is not going to be a challenge for us. It won’t be long until we’ll conquer Halusia as well. 」