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Volume 7 Chapter 4 Part 1

Chapter 4: The Two Heroes

When King of Selvis, Lassic David appeared on the battlefield leading the army of the Lords of the Artuk Treaty, there was a great cheer from Theo Cornero’s army, which had besieged Castle Unicorn. At that moment, everyone believed that their victory was close at hand

Except for one Lord and his soldiers.

「There is movement in the enemy army. 」

Petr Morba nodded silently after hearing the report from one of his men
「They’re going to be here soon. Everyone, get ready. 」

Then, Petr made the Crest on his hand shine and materialized his Banner, 「Myrmidon」. Those who find themselves under its influence lose all excessive emotions and are able to carry out their orders without doubt or hesitation.

Maybe Petr was born with little emotion or desire, or he didn’t cry at all when he was a baby, and that’s why he got this power when he became a Lord. All that he ever seemed to be thinking about was how he could help others around him.

About seven years ago, Petr was invited by a playmate from the village he was born in to sneak into the Lord’s garden and try to steal some of the fruits growing there. Lassic, who was the heir to the current Lord at the time, discovered them.

Without a word he drew his sword and ran after the children with all his might. There was a real murderous look on his face, and all his friends ran away crying. However, Petr did not move from his spot, and as if he could not see the charging Lassic at all, he simply pulled down his pants and urinated on the spot.

Lassic caught up to him and asked him why he doesn’t run away. He answered that if he tried to run away, he would be chased and caught in no time because there’s no way for a kid to compete with an adult in terms of speed, so he answered that he preferred to be caught and he would be reprimanded in a mature manner. He also added that he urinated because he didn’t know how long it would take so he didn’t want to take his chances of wetting himself in front of the Lord or other adults.

He was asked if he never thought he was going to be killed, but he replied that if he was going to be killed, that would simply mean that his time has come. When Lassic heard this, he put away his sword, went to Petr’s parents’ house, and told them that the child would be kept in the castle under his tutelage from now on.

Since then, Petr has been living in the castle, doing chores for Lassic, learning to read, write, do arithmetic, and training in combat. He didn’t know why he was selected, but Petr has been working hard nonetheless.

Thanks to that, he’s become the kind of man he was today.

Although he has grown up, he still looks like a child. And as usual, his emotions and desires are weak. He still felt no attachment to his own life or death whatsoever.
However, he is Theo Cornero, Earl of Sistina who has become his Lord has given him the vassal Crest of a Viscount.

And now, his orders were to not waste his life and the lives of his soldiers in vain.

「Someday, there may be a time when I will be forced to order you to die for me. Until then, I want you to prioritize your own survival above all else. 」

That’s what Theo said to him at one point in time. However, even in this battle, Petr was stationed in the most dangerous place. But even so, he wasn’t ordered to die, so he was going to survive no matter what.

「The movements of Dartania’s army seem to be exactly like we predicted. 」

Siluca predicted this and gave Petr a certain mission based on her findings. Then, Petr took advantage of the opportunity when the Dartanian army was withdrawing to Castle Unicorn, and occupied the bridge he and his men were currently staying at. They encamped themselves on this side of the bridge and build a fort with a sudden but fast construction under the supervision of an architectural engineer who was invited from Elam as a reward for his title, and the soldiers who were also trained as engineers worked silently to build a strong fort.

And, just as Siluca had predicted, Dartania’s army remained confined to the castle and did not even attack the fortress.

However, now that reinforcements from the Artuk Treaty have finally arrived, they are about to make a move. It was an impossible decision based on common sense. However, the treaty troops who had just arrived were caught off guard and confused. In a sense, it was an opportunity.

「Let’s let out a smoke to let them know that the enemy is attacking… 」

Petr solemnly gave orders to his men.

「The enemy should ignore this fort, so we should just focus on protecting this place without giving in to panic no matter what happens. But do keep in mind that if we receive the order to storm the castle, that’s precisely what we’re going to be doing. 」

The soldiers who had received the power of the 「Myrmidon」 Banner all nodded silently. They also completely share all of Petr’s intentions.

The soldiers then took up their designated positions and readied their weapons as the pale white smoke began to rise from the lookout tower.

At that moment, they saw the gates of Castle Unicorn being thrown open. And then, like a wave of pure anger, Dartania’s cavalry rushed out towards them.

At the front of it was Milza, the Viceroy of Dartania.

「Lord Petr has given us the signal! It looks like the Dartanian army is coming out of the castle. 」

Siluca saw white smoke rising from the fortress that Petr was guarding, and alerted Theo to the danger.

「Now that the Lassic’s forces have arrived? They’ve been holding back so far, so I wonder why are they moving out now? 」

Theo asked himself as he began preparing for battle.
「I’m not fond of repeating the things that my adoptive father would usually say, but I’m going to make an exception this time: it’s pointless to speculate about it now. You should instead think about how to deal with it. 」

「That’s right. So, how do you think the enemy will come at us? 」

Theo asked after nodding his head.

「They will attack our positions at random. 」

Siluca thought for a moment before answering. That’s usually how Milza fights. He couldn’t do anything while he and his men were still barricaded in the castle, but now that they could engage in regular battle, Dartania’s army should regain its usual ferociousness.

「How can we prevent it from happening? 」

「Dartania’s army is like a storm. The targeted units have no choice but to hold out until the enemy passes by, while other units attack from the flanks. We have no choice but to surround and destroy them. 」

「Does that mean we should fight each of their units individually? 」

「Right now, we are not in a situation where we can cooperate. They will attack this camp sooner or later, so let’s settle the showdown with Milza here. 」

That’s what they’ve been preparing for all this time.

「That’s what I want. 」

Theo mumbled while clenching his fists.

* * *
「Ignore all the small fries! We can’t afford to waste our time here! 」

As Milza rode his horse along the road leading to the armed bridge, he glances at the fort built on the other side of the bridge and issued an order. The warriors who acted as messengers passed it on to the rear of the column of soldiers.

(This is how Viceroy Milza operates…)

That’s what Terius thought. He goes out onto the battlefield, monitors the situation and moves flexibly according to the changes that occur.

He decided that it would take time to take down the fortress that Petr was defending, and thus decided to ignore it. Terius thought that this was a correct decision to make. He may be able to take it down, but in the meantime reinforcements of the enemy would arrive and they’d be ready for battle.

Of course, it was a mistake to allow this fort built in the first place, but since Milza was hurrying to barricade himself in the castle, he didn’t even notice that Petr Morva and his men have stealthly followed them and occupied the armed bridge leading to the castle. Milza didn’t seem to think too much about the bridge, but as it turned out, it was an important defensive point for Castle Unicorn.