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Table of Contents
Illustration

Character Introduction

Other Character Introduction

Chapter 1 – Reinforcement’s Arrival

Chapter 2 – Whirlpool of Schemes

Chapter 3 –Surprise Attack of Riga

Chapter 4 – Deathly Battle of Moonlit Night

Credits

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Character Introduction
Other Character Introduction
.

Oka Sanai ………… The previous life of Baldr’s previous life. A stingy
general from Warring States era.

Oka Masaharu ………… Baldr’s previous life. A high school student of

modern japan.

Seyruun ………… Baldr’s fiancée. A childhood friend and a maid.

Rachel ………… Baldr’s fiancée. Formerly the second princess of

Mauricia Kingdom.

Urraca ………… Majorca Kingdom’s navy minister. Had the nickname

of Tormenta Negra.

Satsuki ………… The princess shrine maiden of Gartlake Kingdom. A

warrior of the cat-eared tribe.

Ignis Cornelius ………… Baldr’s father. A noble at remote region who

was famous for his military prowess.

Maggot Cornelius ………… Baldr’s mother. The strongest mercenary.

Nigel ………… Baldr’s little brother. Marguerite’s twin.

Marguerite ………… Baldr’s little sister. Nigel’s twin.

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Gina Bjorg ………… Maggot’s grandmother. The war god of beastman
race.

Ramillies ………… Former retainer of Baldr’s grandfather. Maggot’s

sword instructor.

Welkin V ………… Mauricia Kingdom’s king.

William ………… Mauricia Kingdom’s fourth prince. Baldr’s school

friend.

Thomas ………… Dowding Company’s vice president. Selina’s business

partner

Jose Liberiano………… Sanjuan Kingdom’s navy minister. A person full

of ingenuity.

Jack Armadio ………… The archduke ruling over Trystovy Dukedom.

Bernardi ………… Jack’s eldest son. The crown prince of the dukedom.

Olten Helcantus ………… The commander-in-chief of the dukedom’s

military. Ramillies’s old friend.

Sylva ………… Olten’s right-hand man. A military officer who was

active as staff officer.

Valerie Ost ………… The power in the shadow who controlled the
dukedom.

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Idunn ………… Valerie’s wife. A dog-eared tribe who originated from
Nordland Empire.

Barbarino Zanariderri ………… One of the Seven Elders. The admiral of

the guild’s armada.

Smynos Stanley(スミノフ・スタンリー) ………… Answerer

Kingdom’s military officer. Mikhail’s adjutant.

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Chapter 1 – Reinforcement’s Arrival

Part 1
「What, there are still more strong people here?」

At the banquet after the mock battle, General Mikhail of Answerer

Kingdom learned of Maggot’s absence and groaned with genuine
frustration.

「It’s not a matter of strong or weak anymore when it come to that

person……even I can’t win against her unless I cheat.」

Baldr recalled his mother who was the very picture of absurdity and
laughed with a troubled look.

「As I thought, your highness is still hiding your hand.」

There was no doubt that the mock battle just now was an absurd
battle that was worthy to be called a mortal combat.

But although the two who had exchanged fist hadn’t hold back at all,
they knew that the other also hadn’t exerted their full strength.

「──You too.」

Baldr also faintly smiled with an expression that was showing

resignation somewhere in his heart.

It seemed that Mikhail was also hiding something of a trump card.

The two of them grinned fearlessly to each other and clinked their
glass with each other before gulping the wine.

「Can I have a bit of your time?」

「──Hou.」

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Gina called out to Mikhail. He raised a small voice of admiration
when he sensed Gina’s uncommon martial strength.

He saw the magnificent body tempering that Gina had gone through.

Mikhail always said that he would keep fighting in the military for his
whole life, but he held a slight doubt whether he would be able to
stay as powerful as Gina if he reached her age.

Also, although he didn’t feel like he would lose if he fought Gina right
now, he also couldn’t declare that he would absolutely win.

「Gina-sama, do you have a business with the general?」

Baldr felt a light puzzlement at Gina who interrupted their talk and
asked her.

「I see, so you are the famed Thunder of Helsing.」

「Right now I’m just a doting grandma that you can find anywhere.
」

「No no, it’ll be scary if this kind of grandma can be found anywhere.
」

Baldr and Mikhail’s words unexpectedly overlapped with each other.

Gina’s thoughtless words were something that picked a fight with
the normal grandmas all over the world.

「How rude. Even though I am this harmless and kind……well fine. I

want to ask you a little. General Mikhail, where were you born?」

「I was born in Kadiros Kingdom, but what about it?」

「Hou……Kadiros Kingdom is it.」

Kadiros Kingdom was located south of Nedras Kingdom and west of

Trystovy Dukedom.

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The natural environment there was really harsh. The north and east
of the nation’s land were protected by steep mountains, so the
country was known as having an exclusive and unique culture.

Its population didn’t even reach thirty percent of Trystovy

Dukedom’s population, but mountain people who were greatly
familiar with mountain was the majority there and they had a lot of
fierce and skilled soldiers.

The country had infertile land that didn’t have any real benefit and
military strength that would be troublesome to fight, so until now it
had few chances to appear in international stage.

Because of that even Gina’s beastman network didn’t cover that

country. It was unknown how many beastman was living in Kadiros
Kingdom.

「I got into a bit of dispute with my village and ran away when I was
a kid, then I became a mercenary. I don’t really know anything about
Kadiros itself. Speaking even further, I don’t even know my father’s
face.」

「Then, you don’t know about your own ancestry?」

「I only know that my father was a noble and my mother was a

mistress. My mother should be a commoner who could be found
anywhere. Though it seemed she was sent to a noble mansion as
live-in servant and also learned some pharmacy.」

「If you don’t mind, can you also tell me that noble’s name?」

Baldr guessed that Gina wanted to know something. That was why
he didn’t try to stop her even when she asked a question that
seemed to be a bit rude.

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Mikhail had King’s Gate even though it was imperfect. Beastman
blood was definitely mixed into his lineage from somewhere.

「I don’t think you will know it even if I tell you but……it’s Baron
Myers. He has a tiny bit of territory at the northwest of the kingdom.
」

「──Too bad but I have never heard that name before. Is there a lot
of beastman race in Kadiros Kingdom?」

「I wonder? At the very least I never saw even one of them in my

village.」

Mikhail shrugged while adding that he had never gone back to that
country even once since he became a mercenary.

From Mikhail’s body language it was clear that he didn’t even have
the slightest lingering attachment to his birthplace. Gina couldn’t
help but feel that she wouldn’t be able to obtain any more
information than this.

「Do you have a beastman acquaintance in Kadiros?」

「Well, I’m just thinking that perhaps a distant acquaintance of mine

might be there.」

Gina didn’t give up her investigation even while saying that.

In the end, what was King’s Gate?

Gina was harboring such fundamental question. Because of that she

couldn’t help but search for clue.

「You fought very impressively, is the way you fought self-taught?」

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「Yeah, I taught myself from facing animals and other mercenaries.
Unfortunately I never had the leeway to ask someone else for
teaching.」

Of course it was like that. A mercenary wouldn’t be able to eat unless

they fought, so there was no way Mikhail ever had any leeway to
leisurely study sword.

「Gathering herbs and foods in forest every day was my daily life. I
almost died when I was attacked by a pack of wolf in the forest. I
would have died there if my mother wasn’t a doctor.」

Mikhail laughed heartily after saying that.

He wasn’t abasing himself. He was smiling from a delight that came

from the bottom of his heart.

「I don’t want to face you an enemy. Especially a lucky man like you.
」

Gina put her hand on her forehead and sighed.

Anyone else who fell into the same environment like Mikhail would
definitely die no matter who they were.

A man who surpassed his destiny that should originally be cut short
would undoubtedly have the luck to survive from there on. Such luck
couldn’t be underestimated in the battlefield.

There was no man more troublesome than a man who had ability,
knew carnage, and blessed with luck by the heaven.

Gina seriously began to ponder that perhaps it would be better for

Baldr if she killed this man here.

「Even so, this is a great fortune for me. There is nothing more joyful
than encountering a strong enemy.」

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Mikhail poured wine into his throat with a great mood after learning
that there were strong enemies other than Baldr.

An opponent with high individual combat ability was great.

Unfortunately his commanding ability in group combat was

mediocre.

In the first place he climbed the rank with only his strength. Mikhail
was self-aware that he had a bad habit of only being able to feel alive
when defeating a strong enemy.

When he imagined what kind of deathly battle would unfold when

he encountered Baldr once more in the battlefield, he became
unable to wait until the time came.

「──The beastmen of Nedras Kingdom are quite skilled, but they are
no match for you grandma. No, I guess there is one troublesome
beastman there.」

「Hou, someone who is considered troublesome by Answerer

Kingdom’s demon general huh. That’s interesting.」

Even Gina and Satsuki who had King’s Gate couldn’t guarantee that
they would win if they faced this man.

This person who Mikhail claimed to be troublesome must be a

formidable opponent, no doubt about it.

「He is a wolf-eared beastman. Rather than calling him strong, he is

more of a clever sort that is hard to face. That guy instinctually
knows what to do to harass his opponent. I think his name
is──Lagunitas(ラグニタス) was it?」

Wolf-eared tribe was rare even among the beastman race. This tribe
possessed both the traits of dog-eared tribe and cat-eared tribe.

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The number of wolf-eared tribe in the past was about the same with
the dog-eared tribe and cat-eared tribe, but because their residence
was located in the vicinity of Answerer Kingdom, it was said that they
were in the verge of extinction right now.

「I see, so it’s because of him that the resistance in Nedras Kingdom

is still continuing even while receiving that much pressure from
Answerer Kingdom.」

「I don’t think I will lose if I fight him, but the problem is he won’t
ever fight me. He will just run away even if I chase him after all. He is
a stressful opponent. I refuse to face him anymore.」

「Now I want to meet with that person……」

Baldr couldn’t help but smile wryly even while saying that.

With Mikhail’s disposition, he didn’t have any interest and ability at

all toward political matter.

At present Mikhail’s adjutant was glaring at Mikhail as though he was

facing his parent’s killer, but Mikhail himself only treated it like a
breeze.

There was a very capable beastman in Nedras Kingdom, and even

now he was still fighting.

Mikhail who was the only one able to restrain that person had
already left from Nedras.

It was extremely curious how the situation in Nedras was right now.

At the very least it wouldn’t be a loss for Trystovy Kingdom to

contact that resistance.

「I have no interest with a cowardly enemy that won’t fight despite

being a strong person himself! In regard to that your highness Baldr

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is wonderful. You even take up your sword and personally fight in the
frontline despite being the commander-in-chief. That’s not
something that anyone can just do!」

It seemed Mikhail had gotten drunk after drinking so vigorously. He

slapped Baldr’s shoulders loudly without any reservation with a red
face.

「Wait, general, you are drinking too much!」

「Hm? Why aren’t you drinking? Drink drink! First are these three
glasses!」

「Nowaaah! I can’t drin……aguh! Gagabo……」

「Err……the adjutant-san isn’t moving……」

「Then good-!」

How can he call himself a man if he doesn’t drink himself until dead
drunk? Don’t you think so? Mikhail asked with a red faced grin. Baldr
who was asked that resigned himself that this night was going to be
long.

Gina slowly left the banquet that was growing even more fervent. He
stared from afar at Mikhail who was laughing heartily without any
pretension.

Even though that man would go back to being their enemy

tomorrow, he had a strangely affable personality and even other
people than Baldr were already opening up to him. It must be
because there wasn’t any hostility and ill will from Mikhail.

He was just a kid who simply liked to fight and aged older to be a
man without growing up at all.

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The problem was that man was in possession of King’s Gate that was
a symbol and trump card of the beastman race.

「What a troubling guy……」

「Gina-sama, are you feeling bad nya?」

Satsuki handed Gina a glass that was filled with chilled apple water.
Gina enjoyed the sourness that was mixed with abundant sweetness.
It took away her fatigue.

「Sorry to bother you Satsuki-dono. Well, if you are going to become

Baldr’s wife then you are also like my great granddaughter now.」

「W-wife? S-stop teasing me nya!」

Satsuki’s face flashed red as though she had been boiled. Even so her
body twisted without looking that dissatisfied.

Satsuki recently had become really girl. It was funny and also
adorable.

Putting that aside, when Gina considered what kind of child would be
born between two King’s Gate’s owner, the question in her mind
reared its head once more.

──How did King’s Gate’s owner first appeared?

King’s Gate’s owner was born from the mixed blood of human and
beastman. From her experience until now this hypothesis was almost
certainly true. Unfortunately there wasn’t any case King’s Gate’s
owner being born from pureblood beastmen.

Until now it was thought that King’s Gate’s owner was born by
chance in very low probability that was like a miracle. The
appearance of King’s Gate’s owner could be said as the second

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coming of beast king because not even one might appear in a
hundred years.

But at present that fixed idea of Gina was overturned.

It was still within the realm of possibility if it was just Gina and
Maggot. However now there were Baldr, Satsuki, and even Mikhail in
possession of King’s Gate. It was only natural for her to feel doubtful.

Could it be that King’s Gate wasn’t something that rare?

Gina’s shoulders shook when she arrived at that thought.

It would only be nightmare if King’s Gate’s owner numbered so many

they swarmed this continent.

Of course it was pointless to just possess a King’s Gate. King’s Gate

couldn’t display its true power unless the owner received the
procedure to formally liberate the King’s Gate from the beast god
shrine’s priest.

As long as they didn’t do that, even that Maggot would only half-
baked King’s Gate, just like Mikhail.

In the end, was it just the beast god shrine’s inability to detect them
that made it seemed like King’s Gate’s existence was so rare until
now?

Gina suddenly thought of something and talked to Satsuki.

「Come to think of it I have never asked you. Satsuki-dono, how did

you learn that you have King’s Gate?」

「I was ten when I learned that I have the King’s Gate nya──」

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Actually when Satsuki was still a little kid, she was a timid and shy
girl.

Her habit of adding 「~nya」 at the end of her sentence that still
continued even now was largely caused by the psychological trauma
she received at that time.

It was unbelievable seeing at the current Satsuki, but when she was a
child Satsuki was bullied by the other kids because she didn’t have
cat ears.

The girl who inherited the blood of the great priestess didn’t have cat
ears that were the symbol of cat-eared tribe.

Satsuki was in anguish of that fact and she couldn’t sleep at night
from being tormented by the doubt that perhaps she wasn’t actually
the daughter of her mother.

The impetus that made Satsuki got rid of that anguish and changed
completely was the cat ears headband her mother Sakuya gave her.

It was just a trifling item from other people’s perspective, but for
Satsuki it felt like she could become a true cat-eared tribe just by
using that.

Satsuki was liberated from her self-torture that originated from her
emotional guilty conscience and she immediately became the leader
of the children her age. Her physical ability that she had inherited
from Sakuya since the beginning was exceptional and even older bad
boy would become like a baby when dealing with Satsuki.

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So to speak, Satsuki built an unshakeable position for herself using
physical body language.

「Worship me nya!」

「There is a limit even in feeling liberated!」

It couldn’t be helped that her surrounding retorted sharply at her like

that.

「As I thought justice will win in the end nya! It’s only natural that
the evil that oppose me is annihilated nya!」

「As expected from Gartlake’s shrine maiden princess.」 It didn’t

take long until Satsuki got evaluated like that.

When she became ten, Satsuki’s combat ability was already rivaling
the adult warriors. Her rate of growth that was going to surpass even
her mother Sakuya before long inevitably heightened the
expectation that her surrounding placed on her.

However as the saying of ”Light was usually followed by shadows”

went.

Although Satsuki certainly had naturally excellent physical capability,

her mental capability was still childish.

Her limit suddenly arrived.

Satsuki who joined in with the adult’s training like it was only natural,
one day she suddenly felt that her body wouldn’t move like she
wanted it while moving on stairs. It bewildered her, and then at the
next moment her body fell through air.

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When she asked the doctor later, it seemed to be the backlash from
her body reaching the limit and yet she was forcefully making herself
moved using her willpower.

In a stroke of bad luck it happened while Satsuki was on stairs and

she fell. She broke four bones and her whole body was bruised. She
even felt into a critical condition because she hit her head and her
consciousness was disturbed.

The commanding officer and other people who were overseeing

Satsuki’s training prepared themselves for death. Or rather they
themselves were wishing to die because they thought their
inattentiveness caused this.

That was just how indispensable Satsuki’s existence for Gartlake’s

beastman race was.

Satsuki wandered in the border of life and death for a week. It

seemed that when she woke up, the beastman race all over Gartlake
was cheering joyfully.

「It was right after that nya. Kaa-sama told me that I have King’s
Gate.」

「I see……Baldr was also like that. It’s amazing that everyone is still
keeping their lives even today.」

Unlike peasants who lived a normal life, for those who lived with
their martial prowess like Gina and Baldr, danger always existed
nearby.

Just a bit more and I would have died. Many warriors surely had
experienced such moment.

And then, not dying at that moment was destiny.

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Human without the right destiny would die just from getting cold or
choked from eating egg.

But, human with the experience of wandering between the border of

life and death was unexpectedly few in number.

The subjectivity of I’m not gonna die here and the objectivity of I
might die were as different as heaven and earth.

There something suddenly flashed at the back of Gina’s mind.

(Is almost dying, or perhaps going until the verge of death the
requirement for King’s Gate?)

Thinking back, Gina, Maggot, Baldr, and even Mikhail who she had
asked just now, all of them had the experience of just barely
surviving a situation where they almost died.

If almost dying was the key for King’s Gate, then certainly it couldn’t
be helped that the possibility of someone with it appearing was
extremely low.

(Not, but that’s insufficient.)

The King’s Gate didn’t appear at all until now since the beast king.

As expected it wasn’t enough to explain that with just the

requirement of being a mixed blood of human and beastman and the
experience of almost dying.

Gina was unable to think up the answer of what the insufficient piece
could be.

The next morning, Mikhail was going to depart from Mulberry

exultantly.

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「Your highness Baldr, I’m looking forward to the next time we
meet!」

「We will settle this in the battlefield next time. Though to be

honest, it would be best if I can resolve this war without fighting you.
」

Gahaha, Mikhail opened his mouth wide and laughed heartily.

「That’s impossible. Even if I’m not a general of Answerer Kingdom, I

shall never give up fighting your highness!」

He didn’t even hide that he was going to be Baldr’s enemy from now
on.

If Baldr was a person who prioritized the things right before him
even just for a bit, or if he judged Mikhail to be a greater threat than
he actually was, it wouldn’t be strange even if he killed Mikhail right
at this moment.

Currently the adjutant was pressing his hands on his stomach while
looking down. Ramillies secretly pitied him. Surely the adjutant was
in great stress from always being a step away from death by
accompanying this man’s recklessness.

「Good grief, I think there must be some other strong people hiding
somewhere in this world though.」

「Unfortunately, I don’t know of any other people as strong as your

highness. If possible I also want to request a match with your
highness mother who I had heard so much about last night.」

「It will be better if you give up wanting to fight that.」

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Even for Baldr, the possibility of beating Maggot was small without
using his trump card. Maggot was a warrior race through and
through.

Even if it was Mikhail, he would only end up getting trounced unless

he used up his hidden card.

Or perhaps it would be better for Baldr if things progressed like that.

「I sincerely ask you to please convey my message to Olten.」

Ramillies faced Mikhail and held his head high while smiling boldly.

「Your highness is blessed with a good knight.」

Even though Mikhail would win hand down in individual combat

ability, Ramillies was two or three level above him in commanding
army.

Furthermore, this old general had the eyes of a man who knew how
to make use of his experience to become a part of his own flesh and
blood.

Mikhail knew from experience how troublesome it was to turn this

kind of man into enemy.

「He is a knight I’m proud of──to a degree that make me think it’s
only natural for a country that throw away such knight to be
destroyed.」

「Ga-ha-hah! Certainly! Perhaps I shouldn’t say this but, the

dukedom’s crown prince really should take a lesson from your
highness!」

Trystovy Dukedom’s crown prince Bernardi was just shrewd, but he

couldn’t produce a passing grade in both wisdom and grit. That was
the opinion of Answerer Kingdom’s prime minister.

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The option of doubting the sly old dog Prime Minister Malat was
something that Mikhail didn’t have.

That prime minister was one of the few people that Mikhail couldn’t
oppose.

「It seems that I have to give my assistance to that idiot and fight
your highness. How very delightful that is. It’s truly a man’s greatest
desire!」

Mikhail offered his right hand with a bright smile that contained not
a shred of hostility.

He was a troublesome battle junkie in all respects.

However it seemed he was also a colleague of such battle junkie.

Baldr also smiled and shook Mikhail’s hand.

The two of them stared at the face of their worthy opponent who
would face them with their life on the line in the near future.

The corners of their lips were lifted up almost unconsciously. They

both noticed how the desire to fight right now if possible was welling
up inside each other.

「I see, so your highness also has the same sickness like mine.」

「I am very much a person with common sense you know? I just

hate to lose.」

「Then you must be a real awful sore loser!」

In regard to hating to lose, Mikhail too wasn’t inferior to Baldr at all.

「Then I’ll look forward to see which of us has stronger hate to lose.
」

「I accept that challenge.」

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And then the troublemaker and battle lover general went back while
humming in a good mood.

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Part 2
「I have really given up on you for sure this time, this time it’s for
real! I’ll immediately write my request for transfer! I refuse to go
along with the general’s whim anymore!」

The adjutant protested furiously when the figure of Mulberry’s

people had finally vanished beyond the horizon.

It was unfortunate in a sense, but the adjutant was also completely

in the right.

「Though you say that, there is no way your request for transfer is
going to be accepted while the expedition is still ongoing!」

「Gyafun!」

What Mikhail said was also extremely natural.

In peace time, requesting transfer wasn’t that difficult although it

would affect that person’s promotion.

However at wartime, furthermore when they were in other country,

there was no way a soldier could easily request transfer.

「Then please help me with that! General know just how many
times I have almost died!」

「You are still alive here.」

「I won’t even be able to complain after I died!」

The adjutant doggedly pressed at Mikhail with tearful eyes.

「I don’t want to do this anymore! Not only you did a mock battle
with someone we are going to war with after this, and then you even
drank alcohol crazily where it was easy for us to be poisoned to

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death! Please think of my feeling as someone who get dragged into
it!」

「That was why I kept telling you that you don’t need to come with
me wasn’t it?」

That was what had been puzzling Mikhail and also the reason why he
took a liking to his adjutant.

None of the previous adjutants had the admirable guts to go along

with Mikhail’s suicidal acts.

「It can’t be helped! I have my duty as your adjutant after all!」

It seemed he didn’t even consider the option of abandoning his duty

to secure his own safety.

In a sense this adjutant could be said as having a personality that was

even more clumsy and troublesome than Mikhail.

It was terrifying because he did that even though he didn’t have the
natural strength like Mikhail to push through with his
unreasonableness.

「As I thought you are the only one able to become my adjutant.
Just think of it as your luck is bad and give up.」

「There is no way I’ll give up! What do you think my life is!? I don’t
even have any time for marriage interview just from being your
adjutant!」

Mikhail was known as the demon of the battlefield who swung his
swords and massacred beastmen merrily. As the adjutant of
someone like that, people thought that of him as a similar battle
junkie like that.

It was an outrageous damage to his reputation.

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「……What, so you want to marry?」

「Obviously! I’ll have more than three children and live until 80 with
my wife harmoniously, that’s my target!」

「What should I say……sorry.」

Mikhail bowed his head earnestly after hearing his adjutant’s naked
desire to live for the first time.

「Then treat your life and mine importantly from here on!」

「Sorry that’s impossible.」

There was no way Mikhail could stay at the rear quietly with wall of
soldiers protecting him.

Mikhail had lost the function to withdraw back just like centipede or
boar.

「That’s right! I think I’ll be able to help you with marriage you
know? Even though I like this I have quite a lot of acquaintances after
all. There are also a lot of understanding people among the military
officers. They won’t complain if I introduce my adjutant to them.」

Mikhail was certainly a terrifying existence, but there were also some
muscle brain military officers who idolized him.

Besides, they wouldn’t be able to serve as military officer if they

feared dying in battle. Many women who came from such military
family were able to understand such line of thought.

「Then please tell me that faster! Introduce a wife to this me,

Smynos Stanley! I request a good natured wife with wide hip for easy
childbirth.」

「Huh, adjutant, you have that kind of name?」

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Mikhail nodded as though this was his first time hearing the
adjutant’s name. The adjutant’s rage blew up once more seeing that.

「As I thought I’ll transfer! I’LL TRANSFER NO MATTER WHATTTTTTT!

」

He had accompanied Mikhail for three years and went through the
line of death many times because of him, and yet Mikhail didn’t even
remember his name. Smynos yelled as loudly as he could knowing
that.

However his ardent wish would be heartlessly refused in front of the

reality that there was nobody who wanted to become Mikhail’s
adjutant──that too was only the natural progression.

Page | 32
Part 3
「Good grief, just what are those imbeciles doing!」

Answerer King, Alexei III clicked his tongue in displeasure.

The dukedom had prepared a huge army of 50000 troops, and yet
they were defeated by Baldr easily without being able to inflict any
damage. Alexei wanted to spit out in rage.

Thanks to that he had to dispatch General Mikhail who was assigned

to Nedras Kingdom to reinforce Trystovy Dukedom.

This was also a bitter choice that Answerer Kingdom made.

Alexei was someone who always kept the awareness to act

outwardly as a large-hearted lord. It was rare for him to display his
displeasure openly like this.

But putting it another way, it was also a proof that there was nobody
here except those he trusted.

「It’s truly a miscalculation that the dukedom is actually so feeble to

such degree.」

The experienced prime minister Marat lightly turned aside the king’s
words and smiled wryly.

Alexei rarely made this kind of complain. It wouldn’t be good for his
mental health if the prime minister was also losing his composure
here.

「──Even so, it’s not a bad thing for our country that the dukedom
came to us on their own initiative and bowed their head asking for
reinforcement.」

Page | 33
「Of course there is that. However the dukedom and that brat
should fight it between them first until both sides are exhausted. It’s
not amazing that this instead become another overwhelming victory
for that brat.」

Alexei’s plan was already hindered by Baldr at the war between

Mauricia Kingdom and Haurelia Kingdom. He couldn’t bear to watch
Baldr snatching away the delicious part once more here.

「In addition──there is this.」

Alexei tossed a report in front of Marat. It seemed he wasn’t just

complaining but seriously irritated.

「……A large scale revolt in Nedras Kingdom, is it?」

「What a headache. This happened right after Mikhail is gone. This

will affect Answerer Kingdom’s honor.」

「I believe that Mikhail’s successor there Fork is a capable man

though.」

「He is capable, but it seems he has a short fuse. Start considering

the next candidate to be sent there.」

「By your will.」

The resistance in Nedras Kingdom became active right after Mikhail

left.

──The Phantom Lagunitas.

The resistance leader was given that nickname because he would

only make a move toward his opponent’s weak point before
vanishing as though melting into the air. He took Mikhail’s absence
as a good chance and assaulted Answerer Kingdom’s supply unit.

Page | 34
He would only make a move when he could win easily.

Because Answerer Kingdom thought that, they assigned a battalion

to guard the supply unit, which was an extraordinary measure, but
Lagunitas gathered all of his men and made a gamble.

The supply unit had let their guard down. They were destroyed
before the resistance that was filled with fighting spirit as though
they wanted to clear up all their frustration until now.

Although the resistance had been keeping up their harassment

attacks, it was necessary to launch a large scale attack somewhere in
order to change the flow of war.

Lagunitas took advantage of Mikhail’s absence and succeeded in

firing the signal fire that the resistance was still going strong in
Nedras Kingdom.

The successor general, Fork Katukov(フォーク・カツコフ) was

enraged by that.

The resistance had been suppressed since they were beaten hands
down by Mikhail. Fork’s reputation was thrown into the mud
because they switched into offense after he succeeded Mikhail.

It was the same like the resistance saying that they could win if it was
against Fork.

Apparently Fork was a commander who was evaluated as a fierce

attacker. He stood at the lead of his army in order to pursue the
resistance.

The resistance only kept running until then, but it seemed that they
were motivated to fight only at this time.

Page | 35
In that case, this was also a great chance to sweep clean the
resistance that even Mikhail was unable to root out. That was Fork’s
thinking.

Fork’s thinking was correct when looking at this matter purely from
military perspective. It was difficult to root out a resistance that was
in hiding, but it wouldn’t be difficult to exterminate them when they
were standing at the center stage.

However Fork’s pursuit of the resistance forced a heavy burden to

the populace of Nedras Kingdom.

No matter the era, the existence of army always consumed vast

amount of resource.

With their status as a vassal state, it was Nedras Kingdom’s populace

who was forced to shoulder the burden for that consumption.

For the already exhausted populace, the confiscation of supplies by

Fork’s army and the violence from the soldiers who lost their cool
were past the limit of their patience.

Judging from the result, Answerer Kingdom had been too hurried in
their effort to turn Nedras Kingdom into their vassal state.

If only Answerer Kingdom spent two generations to slowly tighten

the noose, the resistance shouldn’t run rampant like this.

It would be a lie if their arrogance as a huge country didn’t play a

part in their hurry.

However Alexei III had decided to accept some degree of damage in

order to display the power of Answerer Kingdom to the whole
continent as the legitimate successor of the unification dynasty.

Therefore Fork too had the leeway to not consider the damage to his
ally in order to subjugate the resistance.

Page | 36
There was a difference that was like heaven and earth between both
countries’ military strength. Answerer Kingdom wouldn’t even feel
itchy even if the resistance inflicted back twice of their loss to them.

Fork obtained the information about the resistance’s headquarters

after threatening the populace with sword and raised a blood festival
using many innocent people. After that he began his attack.

He didn’t simply believe the information that he got from traitor and
torture.

He sent scouts first to get a complete picture of the situation. From

there he ascertained that there was really 500 resistance members
hiding in the hidden village that was the resistance’s headquarters.

──But even that was within Lagunitas’s scheme.

Lagunitas had dug a tunnel beforehand and escaped from that. He

then waited for Fork to charge in before he set the forest
surrounding the headquarters in flame.

The troops of Answerer Kingdom were inside an unfamiliar

mountain.

This large scale mountain fire made Answerer Kingdom army tasted a
massive defeat that cost them sixty percent of their troops.

Fork himself also lost his life by Lagunitas’s hand while he was
running around in confusion.

With that Answerer Kingdom army that was stationed in Nedras

Kingdom lost its combat force although temporarily. Half of the
territory of Nedras Kingdom fell into a state of anarchy.

A considerable military strength and supplies would be needed to

suppress the situation once more.

Page | 37
Of course, for a superpower like Answerer Kingdom that burden
wasn’t something outside their capability. But in exchange the force
that they could split to Trystovy was decreased.

Alexei’s anger was directed toward Fork’s carelessness that dug his
own grave at this timing of all time.

「It looks like we will need to prepare a carrot.」

Marat casually made a faint smile.

「I’m not really enthusiastic with that plan though.」

「This method will be the fastest. We can’t take too much time with
Nedras Kingdom right now.」

Marat was scheming to divide the resistance.

The result that Lagunitas produced was significant, but at the same
time the other forces that wished to grasp the initiative in Nedras
Kingdom only considered it an eyesore.

Beastman wasn’t so rare in Nedras Kingdom, but they were nothing

more than minority compared to human.

At this rate Lagunitas would stand as the new leader of Nedras

Kingdom. They should be able to find many humans who couldn’t
tolerate that if they bothered to search.

The greatest reason that the revolt’s scale became big was because
the populace became unable to endure the exploitation of Answerer
Kingdom. But if Answerer Kingdom mercifully provided them with
food, the majority of the people would swiftly draw their support
from the resistance.

The carrot that Marat mentioned was support to Lagunitas’s

opposition and food assistance to Nedras Kingdom.

Page | 38
That would calm down Nedras Kingdom faster than simply
dispatching a large army. Alexei immediately understood that. He
understood rationally but, emotionally he couldn’t really accept it.

「I want to behead that bunch who throw mud on my face and

display them as example but──」

「Your majesty will be able to behead as many as you wish later.

However, it will be after we smoke out those annoying beastmen.」

「Hmph, don’t make me wait too long.」

There was no one better than Marat in using this kind of roundabout
method.

A big country had its darkness that was befitting a big country. The
prime minister had to be the substitute for the king in receiving that
darkness.

「We can’t allow the chaos in Nedras to grow bigger than this. I have
no intention of giving Trystovy to that brat.」

「──By your will.」

「Call the military minister. First we have to consider how to take

care the pressing matter.」

Page | 39
Part 4
Lagunitas’s silver grey ears pricked up when he heard the
approaching footsteps of combat boots.

「Their reaction is faster than I expected. As expected, even

Answerer Kingdom can’t afford to take it slow.」

The resistance’s combat force was only like rubbish from Answerer
Kingdom’s perspective, but Lagunitas laughed without feeling
offended about it at all.

As long as he persisted in his way of fighting that wouldn’t fight a

losing battle, he was confident that he could continue fighting for
two or three more years.

「We have known this from the beginning but……seeing them

coming back like it’s nothing even after we beat them up that
severely……」

Answerer Kingdom army showed itself from the other side of the
highway in a long line. Lagunitas’s subordinate leaked out a
disappointed mutter seeing that.

Answerer Kingdom boasted a recovery power that looked infinite if

compared to the resistance. A damage of just several thousand was
replaced right away just like this.

That victory was something that the resistance grasped with

everything they had. But seeing the enemy shaking it off easily and
coming back like this made the feeling of futility inside them to be
agitated.

「It’s not as pointless as you made it to be.」

But Lagunitas alone was keeping his fearless grin even in front of the
enemy army that was like a flood.

Page | 40
「If you look at the other side of this quick reaction, you can see that
Answerer Kingdom want to subjugate the revolt in Nedras Kingdom
as quickly as possible.」

That was why Answerer Kingdom was pursuing the most efficient
method using all their strength.

Lagunitas silently hardened his resolve knowing that the resistance’s

action from here on would be accompanied by great difficulty.

「──But, sorry. I have known only too well about such thing.」

There was a reason why Lagunitas intentionally switched into such

grand counterattack before this.

He attracted Answerer Kingdom’s attention like this in order to draw

their military strength toward him.

Of course, if he was ignored then he could also make use of it to take

over Nedras Kingdom.

No matter how things rolled, there would be no loss for Lagunitas.

「The big country has the big country’s way of fighting but……there
is also a case where a lion is killed with a single bite by a snake. You
can regret it later for allowing me to buy time like this.」

A fellow beastman descendant Baldr was trying to obtain the

hegemony of Trystovy.

The thing that Lagunitas feared the most was if Answerer Kingdom
exerted their full strength to conquer Trystovy.

「Can he win against that monsterMikhail?」

Lagunitas shrugged in respond to his subordinate’s anxious question.

Page | 41
「Oi oi, it’s going to be checkmate for us if he doesn’t win yeah? Our
future will only open if that princeBaldr win.」

It was vexing that he had to entrust his group’s future to someone

else, but that was how wide the gap that existed between Answerer
Kingdom and the resistance.

What Lagunitas could do was only giving support fire from the side to
make it easier for Baldr to fight.

「This me who won’t fight a losing battle has put everything I own
on the line. Don’t you betray my expectation okay?」

Page | 42
Part 5
「──Achooh!」

Baldr’s shoulders shook from the loud sneeze he made.

「The sea breeze is getting cold. How about your highness returns to
your room?」

「No, I’ll wait here for a bit more.」

Baldr gestured with his hand to stop the worried servant. He was
standing on Mulberry’s rampart while focusing his gaze to the
horizon that was wrapped in sunset.

Marquis Randolph army under Silk’s command and Nordland’s

beastman unit were scheduled to arrive soon together with the
supply ships.

「Is Mulberry still not visible yet?」

The ship captain regrettably pulled down his hat to cover his eyes
from Silk’s sad gaze.

「Unfortunately the wind is bad. We would be able to ride on the

seasonal winds if only we departed half a month quicker but……」

「How truly mortifying!」

Gloomy wrath welled up inside Silk. She then angrily kicked on the
deck.

Such act was not befitting a noble lady, but Silk was still unable to
suppress her emotion even after that. Her body was shaking.

Page | 43
She should be able to be reunited with Baldr quicker if only she
wasn’t obstructed like that.

There were reasons why the departure of Marquis Randolph army

under Silk’s command was late to this degree.

The greatest reason was that the arrival of Nordland Empire’s

beastman force was delayed greatly.

Although the beastman force had no trouble at all camping outside,

as expected it was difficult for them to cross another country without
drinking water and food.

Although not as bad as in Answerer Kingdom, Mauricia Kingdom was

also deeply prejudiced toward beastman race. Furthermore they
were a force of another country. Many nobles hated to allow such
force to cross their territory.

Of course Alford and Silk had put forth every effort in order to dispel
such worry, but the movement of the nobles was slow.

It went without saying that there was the maneuver of anti Baldr
faction that was led by Duke Richmond behind it.

For them, Baldr’s recklessness in crossing to Trystovy with only 400

soldiers was a hard to get chance to erase a hindrance.

「I’ll be grateful if he die just like that. Rather, die.」

They halfheartedly agreed with Baldr raising an army to go to

Trystovy was because they had the apprehensions that Baldr might
succeed Harold as the prime minister in the future.

Page | 44
Baldr was a war hero. He had good relationship with Randolph
House. In addition he was also popular among the militarily oriented
feudal lord noble starting from Cornelius House.

It would be nightmare for them if someone like that sat at the center
of the nation’s government.

And so, it would be better to drive him out of the country rather than
allowing him to stay within the country, but it still didn’t change the
fact that Baldr’s existence was a hindrance for them.

The new Trystovy king having a political influence to Mauricia

Kingdom was also something that they couldn’t accept by any
means.

And so, they had to prevent the reinforcement from reaching Baldr’s
location no matter what before the battle began.

Their maneuver displayed enough effectiveness. The advance of

Nordland Empire army took thrice longer than the first estimation.

But the maneuvers of the anti Baldr faction were only in the form of
being non-cooperative. There was no overt hostility done to the
beastman unit, so they could only endure it.

──A shocking report then reached those Mauricia nobles.

Baldr Antrim Cornelius repelled dukedom army of 50000 with a small

force of 400 troops. It was a report that made them wanted to doubt
their ears.

As expected they were unable to believe it right away.

Even the difference of strength of Baldr’s force with Haurelia

Kingdom in the second Antrim war wasn’t this absurd. Besides, they
also heard that his victory at that time was helped by coincidences
that were like godsend.

Page | 45
If among them there was someone who knew the accurate
information about King’s Gate abnormal strength and there were
four such people in Baldr’s side, they would immediately change
their opinion.

However it was unreasonable to tell normal people to comprehend

the extreme strength of King’s Gate.

After all was said and done, Baldr still hadn’t awakened King’s Gate
in the previous war, and Maggot only fought for a bit at the end.

They couldn’t be blamed for deciding to take wait-and-see approach

for the time being.

But as time passed, they learned that apparently Baldr’s victory

wasn’t a hoax. And when there was news that the leader of maritime
guild Piaggio was assassinated, they panicked.

Antipathy toward the dukedom that removed Piaggio using such

cowardly method was spreading within the kingdom. In addition they
were realizing that they couldn’t expect much from the possibility of
Baldr dying in battlefield anymore.

「Really that cursed monster!」

「……Even though he just need to die quietly!」

Duke Richmond was gritting his teeth because Baldr had easily
survived even after he had crossed a dangerous bridge of
cooperating with the church.

Now that it had come to this, there was no meaning in his faction
obstructing the advance of Nordland’s reinforcement by refusing to
provide them with food and horse.

He was extremely unwilling to recognize it but, the possibility of

Baldr becoming Trystovy’s king was high like this.

Page | 46
However he didn’t have the option of just standing and watching.

The bureaucrat noble faction that was led by Duke Richmond took
the next best plan to whittle Baldr’s influence within the country.

They planned to restrain the monopoly of Dowding Company in the

domestic economy and strengthened their influence over Prince
William who would replace Baldr as Antrim’s ruler.

Even though Baldr’s father Ignis would still remain within the
country, Baldr’s influence should remain minima if they managed to
win over William to their side.

As the result of that, Selina’s anger gauge would completely burst

from going over the limit and she would drop an unexpected bomb
to the capital Cameron, but there was nobody who could predict
that.

Page | 47
Part 6
「──What is the meaning of this?」

The merchant who came to buy cheap salt asked with naked
bewilderment.

Until just the other day ago, the sales of salt within Mauricia should
be monopolized by Dowding Company that hogged the sales route
with Sanjuan Kingdom for themselves.

「Yes, at this occasion Dowding Company is performing a division of

labor by splitting into four companies. It might be a bother for you
dear customer, but please go to the office in charge of the product in
question to settle your payment there.」

「T-then, where is this office in charge that I have to go to?」

「For salt, marine product, and maritime transportation, please visit

Cornelius Company in Sanjuan Kingdom.」

Thomas said that and grinned.

「Please don’t worry. It’s possible for our Dowding Company to

provide you with intermediation to that company.」

「R-right……then please do so.」

「By the way dear customer, how about it? We have new products
like diamond for example……」

Dowding Company changed its organization to be a federation that

was made from four companies.──the impact that was produced
from that fact was immeasurable.

Page | 48
For the first time in this world, Dowding Company switched to the
form of a holding that controlled independent companies.

The president of Cornelius Company that was newly established in

Sanjuan Kingdom was naturally Selina.

Sanjuan Kingdom was already communicating to Mauricia Kingdom

that they were completely welcoming this development.

And then in Nordland there was Mardon Company that was in

charge of the business there, while in Trystovy Kingdom there was
Garibaldi Company that was acting as a proxy to take part in this.

This was an overseas transfer of the company’s headquarters

function. For the bureaucrat nobles of Mauricia who were scheming
to control the economy within the country, this was a situation that
couldn’t be overlooked by any means.

The tax that was levied to merchant was ten percent of their income.
This rate was the same with the income tax that Napoleon of France
introduced for the first time to the world in order to procure war
expenditures.

Other than that there were also business taxes for each kind of trade
like oil, salt, market, water transport, etc. But of course the taxes
were levied by the country where the company’s headquarters was
located.

If the businesses of salt and water transport were transferred from

Dowding Company to a company in other country, the tax revenue of
Mauricia Kingdom would also decrease by that much with certainty.

「Shouldn’t we take away Dowding Company’s right to do business

here?」

Page | 49
「The tax revenue will be seriously affected if we allow something
like this you know?」

「That’s right! It’s outrageous that a mere merchant like them dare
to be this conceited!」

「──Then who will carry it out?」

One of the bureaucrat nobles, Baron Lorenz Walsingham aksed that.

His comrades all tilted their head together. Those words seemed
vaguely ominous to them.

「I-it doesn’t matter who will carry it out. We can tell the
undersecretary of the Ministry of Popular Affairs……」

「That person is a relative of Marquis Randolph. I don’t think that he

will easily agree.」

「Why are you mentioning Marquis Randolph’s name there!?」

「The president of Cornelius Company that is established this time is

a concubine of Margrave Antrim you know? With the marquis’s
daughter Silk marrying the margrave, shouldn’t we consider them as
belonging within the same faction?」

「Even so, we are just dealing with a single company……」

「The problem isn’t limited to just a single company anymore.

Sanjuan royal family and Nordland imperial family are already
informing his majesty about their intention to welcome this split up.
If we punish Dowding Company here, Sanjuan royal family, Nordland
imperial family, and Mauricia royal family’s honor will be
besmirched. I’m asking who in the world will take the risk to punish
Dowding Company.」

Walsingham’s words made his colleagues turned pale and fell silent.

Page | 50
Their authority was certainly immense, but in the end that was only
when it came to a matter within the range of their occupation. The
moment they stepped out of their field, they were immediately
reduced to be a powerless sheep.

「H-however if it’s his excellency Duke Richmond……」

「Certainly, the only one who might be able to do this is only his
excellency. However I can’t imagine that his excellency want to
punish Dowding Company so much that he will turn Marquis
Randolph into an enemy openly. Most of all even if we punish
Dowding Company, the effect won’t be as effective as we hoped for.
」

「What do you mean by that? Not effective?」

「Why do you think those guys split up their businesses like this? It’s
to abandon Mauricia in the worst case so that they won’t be harmed
fatally.」

「──That’s absurd!」

Walsingham’s reply caught his colleagues by surprise.

Until this point, they never even considered the possibility of a

company in their country would dare to leave.

The large scale companies would at least have sales route to other
country, but a case never happened when a company moved their
headquarters to other country.

This conception of them was also influenced with how each country
had ruthlessly competed with each other as rival and developed their
own economy since the breakup of the unification dynasty.

Even the major companies of Answerer Kingdom that surpassed

Dowding Company in scale would never think of moving their

Page | 51
headquarters to other country and left the protection of their own
country.

It could be said that this choice of Dowding Company could only be

made because the relationships between Mauricia, Haurelia,
Sanjuan, Nordland, Gartlake, and Trystovy were improving with Baldr
at the center of it.

The biggest problem here was how they didn’t have any way to
obstruct this.

If they carelessly increased the tax to Dowding Company, the

company would surely reduce the scale of their businesses here and
moved the core of their company to other country. On the other
hand if they wanted to crush Dowding Company, the company’s
backers were too great for that and they might face a barrage of
criticism from other countries.

The bureaucrat nobles finally realized that a rule that they didn’t
know had gone overlooked without them realizing it until a place
that was beyond their reach.

「How did it become like this……」

There was no more word that followed after Walsingham’s mutter.

The punishment for Dowding Company wasn’t discussed anymore
with heavy silence enveloping the room.

After that when not even a month had passed, the price of salt that
was circulating within Mauricia had rose until nearly ten percent,
while the tax that Dowding Company was paying had sharply
decreased until around sixty percent of the previous amount.

Page | 52
「This is the punishment for underestimatin’ us! I’m not gonna hold
back if ya made us enemy!」

Selina laughed proudly.

Selina already had the vision for this when she heard from Baldr, or
more accurately from Baldr’s previous life Oka Masaharu about the
multinational corporation in the form of holdings.

A company could easily be suppressed if it only had a single head in

one country. However that couldn’t be done if the company had
several heads placed in multiple countries.

Furthermore they had enough pretext to justify this split.

After all Selina was going to become a concubine of Trystovy king in

the future. At her side there was Rachel who previously was a
princess of Mauricia Kingdom.

In addition because Nordland’s economy wasn’t as flourishing as

Mauricia, Dowding Company’s decision to set up shop there was a
windfall for them.

Most of all, doing this would make those bureaucrat nobles who
were sabotaging Baldr to be in tears, so there wasn’t any reason for
Selina to hesitate.

Selina obtained the acceptance of the Vice President Thomas who

was essentially controlling Dowding Company right now and wrote
this plan.

Of course, being able to obtain the cooperation of Sanjuan Kingdom

was also big. Their help was necessary to launch the marine
transport business that Dowding Company was lacking until now.

「Dowding Company is gonna conquer the continent with

commerce. I too can’t possibly break my promise with Thomas.」

Page | 53
They absolutely needed even more economic power and trust in
order to win an economic war against a major nation like Answerer
Kingdom.

──The effect from taking one step toward that direction was
extensive.

Page | 54
Part 7
「Long time no see, your highness William.」

The oldest son of Duke Richmond, August visited William who was
inheriting Margrave Antrim territory from Baldr.

「Indeed, long time no see. Unfortunately I have no free time to go

to party and the like since I came to this Antrim.」

William smiled wryly with a brazen look. Seeing that August felt like
that William had grown up a lot as a man. Perhaps it was the work of
the royal blood flowing inside him.

From the beginning William had been evaluated as someone

charismatic.

However with his position as the fourth son, William had the
tendency to underestimate his own strength. He thought that one
day he would be sent out to other noble to be adopted and lived idly
there without doing anything significant.

The fourth son’s right of inheriting the throne was low ranked. He
was just a spare of a spare. He couldn’t expect to live a glorious life
unless something major occurred.

He wanted to distinguish himself as a knight was his meager

resistance toward such future.

He swore to grasp a position even if his strength was only

meager──that mettle of William hadn’t changed even now when he
was entrusted with abundant territory like Antrim due to fate’s
mischief.

As long as they had the will, a turbulent one year was sufficient to
make a man grew up significantly.

Page | 55
To be honest, August would prefer if William stayed as a stupid
prince who was easy to manipulate.

But Baldr’s existence had greatly influenced William’s growth. As

expected, August could only think of Baldr as a god of pestilence who
brought him misfortune.

「Come to think of it, I see that Baldr-dono’s troops had departed.」

The figure of a few thousand soldiers who were doing nothing but
training and patrolling inside the territory until just the other day
couldn’t be seen anywhere. Their absence was enough to make the
place seemed deserted.

「No, they are still leaving behind some soldiers for the security
inside the territory. Though I plan to recruit them if they wish for it.
」

August felt some discomfort from hearing the tone of William’s

words.

「……Your highness is planning to make them your immediate

follower?」

Strictly speaking William was ruling Antrim as a prefectural governor

who represented King Welkin.

Because of that, if William recruited subordinates in his position as

prefectural governor, then their position would be as the kingdom’s
government official. William shouldn’t be recruiting them as his
personal retainer.

However William’s tone made August got the impression that he

would recruit people to work as his personal retainer instead as the
kingdom’s government official.

「This is still a confidential matter but──」

Page | 56
William lightly laughed as though the matter wasn’t actually
confidential at all.

「I received an unofficial announcement from father that my name

would be removed from the royal family’s register and he will grant
me the title of Duke Antrim.」

「Truly!?」

There was already a conjecture that this would happen, but even so
this was too fast.

William had no real experience of being a feudal lord. August was

thinking that first he would be made to accumulate experience as a
prefectural governor for around five years.

「Well, I understand your worry, but I’m hurt that this news shock
you that much.」

William laughed teasingly. It made August’s face reddened and he

tried making an excuse.

「No! I don’t have any intention to offend your highness at

all……but, if that’s how it’s going to be then my Richmond House will
be ready anytime to cooperate with your highness!」

William only had very few personal retainers. Welkin was also
providing him some help with that, even so the number should be
still lacking to govern Antrim territory.

Antrim territory became vast as the result of the second Antrim war.
It became a strategic point for Mauricia Kingdom with how it was
bordered with Haurelia and Nordland.

The amount of manpower needed to maintain such territory was

huge. Antrim was also turning into a big commerce area. It wasn’t a

Page | 57
territory that could be managed just by relying on quantity of
personnel.

「I’m thankful for your offer. But it’s not like I’m being troubled at
the present time. After all Baldr has left behind the required
personnel to some degree.」

「──Your highness must be joking right?」

Baldr was going to rule over Trystovy Kingdom after this. August
couldn’t believe that he would leave behind his retainers that he had
raised with much trouble until now here.

In order to manage such a large country that rivaled even Mauricia

Kingdom, Baldr should be lacking manpower right now no matter
how many people he had with him.

「Apparently over there the maritime guild has plentiful of

personnel. Besides many of Baldr’s retainers in Antrim are originally
the local people here who served the previous Viscount Antrim. It’s
only natural for them to want to stay in their homeland.」

They wanted to bury their bones in their homeland that had finally
become prosperous. It was a fact that many were harboring such
feeling.

Because of that Baldr was instead endorsing for the Antrim people
among his retainers to stay behind in Antrim. Although this act
wasn’t purely because of Baldr’s good intentions.

「Given the situation I was right to enroll into the knight academy in
the past. My acquaintances from there accepted my offer to become
my knights for leading my elite guards, and Dowding Company also
introduced to me people for working in the accounting division here.
」

Page | 58
「──Dowding Company your highness say?」

The unexpected name that came out from William’s mouth made
August’s expression grimaced noticeably.

It was the name that he didn’t want to hear the most right now.

「I can’t really admire your highness decision. After all they are just
lowly merchants. Although they are good with counting money, we
can’t expect them to be loyal to the kingdom.」

After all it was exactly because of that Dowding Company dispersed

the function of their headquarters to other countries.

「Sure enough I too don’t expect them to be so loyal to the country

that they will gladly die for it. But, I can trust them as much as the
amount of salary I paid them. Those guys fundamentally only bare
their fang when other people are shoving their hand into their
wallet.」

「That’s──」

Isn’t that why that kind of people is problematic?

In the end what was important for merchant was their business and
wallet. If those two things were violated, they would bare their fang
even toward their homeland. The control that August wished for
would never come true if those merchants were allowed to act like
that.

「Besides, for me who had been living without care until now as a
mere fourth son, I find it easier to use people who don’t really
scheme. Don’t think badly of me.」

Don’t meddle too much with things here, August felt like William was
giving him such warning. He took another look at William’s
appearance.

Page | 59
William had no interest to anything other than martial arts until
several years ago. He was the bratty youngest son of the royal family.
No one at that time would ever imagine him managing a territory
this vast even at their wildest dream.

Even August was still in the middle of learning right now compared
to his father. If he was suddenly told to manage a territory, he would
surely feel bewildered and made a lot of mess at the beginning.

How was William able to be this imperturbable at his current

position?

Perhaps William was also a monster like Baldr? August had such
thought and he unconsciously gulped.

「……Your highness has really changed.」

Those words that unconsciously slipped out from August’s mouth

was his honest feeling.

「Is that so? So I’ve changed. I’m happy to hear that. I can’t stay as I
was before……especially for myself.」

William showed a smile that vaguely looked relieved.

When her big sister Rachel was locked up, he was unable to become
any help and could only rely on Baldr. William had never forgotten
that sense of powerlessness even for a moment.

He refused to taste such feeling of powerlessness again.

He swore that he would obtain a strength that even his father Welkin
couldn’t ignore without fail.

It couldn’t be just strength in the form of mere position or authority,

it had to be William’s strength as an individual too. He learned that
from Baldr.

Page | 60
And then above all else, Baldr was his irreplaceable close friend. That
friend was fighting to stand up as a king. How could he stay
immature forever in that case.

William had worked so hard till he bleed throughout this one year.
Even Welkin was astonished by his effort. It was the perfect example
of what would happen if a human with ability got serious and worked
hard.

August’s scheme to make William indebted to him by helping with

the management of his new territory was thoroughly falling apart.

It was painful for August that he lost the mean that he thought
would be useful for this negotiation. But the option of going home
empty handed at this point wasn’t available for August.

(Shit! As expected from the son of that king, looks like he can’t be
treated so lightly……)

August pulled his senses together and let out a long sigh.

「Actually I visited here today because there is a matter that I wish

to ask for your highness’s cooperation.」

「……Hou, do I look like I have that much free time?」

William was succeeding Antrim that was a distinguished strategic

point in Mauricia Kingdom. Everyday William was working hard that
even his body was starting to waste away. From his perspective,
August’s request only sounded like a snide comment.]

「N-no, that’s not what I mean at all……」

August bowed his head in panic.

Page | 61
There was nothing more awkward than this. He thought that William
wasn’t someone who would use abusive language and pressured
other people like this, but it seemed he was wrong.

「But this is a matter that I have to ask your highness no matter

what. It’s a matter that affect this country’s interest!」

「You are using some disquieting words there. I am not Baldr you
know?」

Unfortunately William still didn’t have an influence that could be

compared to Baldr. He was still working to obtain the influence that
could affect this country in the future.

「──The previous Margrave Antrim’s strong opposition has been

keeping it hidden, but I hope your highness can lend your strength to
publicize Antrim’s hidden technology. Of course I’m not asking your
highness to do this for free, I shall prepare a sufficient compensation
for your highness’s cooperation!」

This was something that could only be done by William. After all
August’s side didn’t have any intention to negotiate with Baldr right
from the start.

「This technology will be a waste if it’s used only for a small land like
Antrim. The country will only truly benefit by spreading the
technology nationally with the full support of the country!」

「I see, certainly there are various technologies in this Antrim that

cannot be found anywhere else. The nation’s power will more than
double if these technologies are spreading to the whole Mauricia.」

「So your highness understand!」

August shouted in high spirit. But William held him back with his
hand and grinned maliciously.

Page | 62
「You mentioned something about sufficient compensation just
now.」

「Yes. I intend to repay your highness’s favor as much as I can.」

「You said sufficient, but I’ll be troubled if you undervalued the

meaning of this word. If these technologies spread to the whole
Mauricia, then naturally Antrim’s income will decrease. How are you
planning to compensate me for that? More importantly, technology
is something that can be copied. I want you to make it clear, who is
the one who will take responsibility in case the technologies are
leaked to other country?」

「Even if your highness ask me something like that……」

August didn’t have the authority to give the answer for William’s
question. Furthermore, there was no way he had the leeway to
accept William’s proposition.]

Anyone would want to get the benefit but they wouldn’t want to
take responsibility or anything.

Even if he consulted this to his father Duke Richmond, he would only

enrage William and ended up getting refused.

「This will be for the benefit of Mauricia Kingdom though?」

「That’s exactly why it has to be made clear who will be responsible

for it. After all it’s clear it will be to the country’s detriment if the
technologies leak out to other country.」

August couldn’t say anything back.

His mind was only filled with the thinking of obtaining vast amount of
profit if he could just expose Antrim’s technology to light.

Page | 63
However it would be impossible to conceal the technologies if it was
used in large scale. Richmond House also couldn’t possibly
monopolize the technologies for themselves, so August became even
more unable to answer.

「However allowing Antrim alone to keep monopolizing the benefits

like this will be harmful to the kingdom’s order isn’t it? I believe if it’s
your highness then you should understand that.」

Allowing just one noble to monopolize something was like allowing a

separate small kingdom to appear within the kingdom.

To centrally manage the whole land of the kingdom, such authority

of the feudal lord had to be curtailed. That should also be necessary
in order to heighten the royal family’s authority.

「How troubling. Right now I am a member of the royal family, but

I’m also someone who will leave the royal family soon to become a
feudal lord. I also have the duty to think about the future of my own
territory.」

「However, when comparing the prosperity of the whole kingdom

and a single territory, isn’t it naturally clear which one is it that has to
be prioritized?」

Someone in the position as a prefectural governor of the kingdom

had to prioritize the interest of the kingdom.

That was the only argument left that August could make.

William smiled wryly and fended off the pressure from August who
wouldn’t back off.

For William who had experienced the pressure from his father
Welkin and Baldr, August’s pressure only felt like a kid that was
trying to act big.

Page | 64
「──This is just my personal conjecture」

William talked with a calm voice as though to dodge August’s

question. August was daunted by how composed William was.

「Yes……」

「The ideal of centralization of power by bureaucrat is good. But it’s

too ambiguous when it comes to the matter of taking responsibility
that the ideal cannot keep up with reality. It even make me unable to
erase the doubt in my mind, that perhaps the bureaucrats will push
all the responsibilities to the king when push comes to shove?」

「How can your highness say that!」

August snapped and stood up emotionally.

「However you sir couldn’t answer me when I asked who will take
responsibility in case the kingdom took loss. Who will take
responsibility and in what form when the system reform that you
wished for cause some kind of loss? Or are you saying that you want
to do whatevery you like but you don’t want to take responsibility for
it?」

The one at the top would take the responsibility. That was something
that August couldn’t say even if his mouth got ripped open.

It would be lese majeste if he said that the king should take

responsibility, and if he said that the one at the top of the
bureaucrat, which was the prime minister or the financial affairs
minister should take responsibility, it might bring trouble to his
father Duke Richmond if they learned that he said something like
that.

Page | 65
In the first place bureaucrat organization had the tendency to
disperse the responsibility to many people. August himself didn’t feel
like taking responsibility for the reform at all.

Why should he take responsibility even though this would also

benefit the royal family?

William who had directly witnessed Welkin’s distress because of the

bureaucrats completely holding him back during the long period of
Mauricia Kingdom’s hostility with Haurelia was able to accurately
discern August’s dissatisfaction.

「Well, this is only my personal opinion in the end. However

although his majesty told me accommodate the convenience of
Margrave Antrim as much as possible, his majesty didn’t tell me to
obtain Antrim’s technology.」

Why was that?

Of course a part of it was because Welkin didn’t want to turn Baldr

into enemy. But Baldr too had taken into consideration that the
technology would leak out to some degree. That was why he
endorsed for William to succeed Antrim after him.

「You sir should think about the reason of why is that. Either way as
long as his majesty doesn’t order me himself, my demand for your
request is the clarification of what kind of compensation I will be
given and who will take responsibility in case there is a problem.
There is nothing to talk about unless those things are made clear.」

「……I understand.」

August desperately stiffened his expression so that his dissatisfaction

wouldn’t come out on his face while standing up.

Page | 66
(……My role is as an insurance when you guys run wild. Preventing
the rampage of the bureaucrats by making use of external pressure
and me. You are still black-hearted as usual father.)

Unless he understood that, even August would be nothing more than

a clown who was toyed around by Welkin.

The wall that William had to surpass in order to be able to stand

equal to his good friend was just too big.

Page | 67
Part 8
The enormous lighthouse that was the pride of Mulberry could be
seen far away at the horizon.

Silk’s chest tightened so much it surprised even herself. She

desperately held back the tears that threatened to ooze out from her
eyes.

It was the land of Trystovy that she yearned so much. She felt a
strong feeling that made her wanted to yell when she thought that
her beloved Baldr was there.

Thinking back, it was also for the sake of Trystovy’s subjugation when
she was about to give up on Baldr who she loved.

However now both her wishes were going to come to fruition. No,
they were already coming to fruition before her eyes.

All of those were possible because of Baldr.

If Silk was trying to shoulder Trystovy on her shoulders alone, she

would only become a puppet figurehead who couldn’t do anything
and ended up following after her mother in death.

Silk didn’t really wish for Trystovy’s throne. Her dream came from
her mother’s ideal to liberate the oppressed people of Trystovy.

But right now there was a feeling within her that had become even
bigger than that.

「──Baldr.」

Being together with Baldr had become Silk’s most important thing.

「I was worried because you are later by two days than planned.」

Page | 68
Baldr went until the pier to welcome the reinforcement’s arrival.
Silk’s face broke into a smile when she saw him and she broke
running.

「Baldr! I wanted to meet you!」

Silk was normally a shy person, but conversely the things that she
was piling up inside himself could explode all at once and she would
take a bold action. Just like right now.

Her whole body tackled at Baldr just like when she was reunited with
him at Antrim, then she sucked at Baldr’s lips greedily.

「Unyah!」

Satsuki witnessed that ardent kiss and she reflexively turned her red
face with both her hands.

She also did the cliché of timidly staring from the gaps of her fingers.

Although Baldr blushed with a troubled look, he caught Silk firmly

and he himself also covered Silk’s small lips to seek deeper kiss.

「……They’re really young.」

「Isn’t it because of your blood? My father once said that those who
watched your tryst with Viktor-sama would vomit sugar from their
mouth……」

Even though Gina was watching the growth of her great grandson
warmly, a counter from Augusto flew from the side and Gina got
panicked in a display that didn’t befit her age.

「Even I had time when I was still young! Being in heat all the time
like that idiotValerie is far more nastier compared to that!」

Page | 69
「Well, it’s problematic that you‘re comparing it with that though……
」

「Hmph! Victor was someone devoted to me alone so it’s fine!」

「If you say that then it’s hard to say that Baldr-sama is devoted. Is
that because of his father’s blood?」

「Achoo!」

「My lord, are you alright?」

「──Someone must be talking about me.」

Ignis recalled about the many women who he had made a mistake
with in the past. His eyes seemed distant.

The two who were watched by the surrounding with warm gazes for
a while finally returned to their senses and their lips separated. They
jumped away from each other as though an unseen force was
repelling them.

「Haha, how passionate. I’m really jealous seeing that.」

「Kyah!」

Silk covered her face with both hands in embarrassment at Augusto’s

teasing.

「Welcome to Mulberry! The maritime guild welcomes the

reinforcement’s arrival wholeheartedly.」

Page | 70
Augusto bowed with a theatrical gesture. Baldr glanced at him with a
cold gaze before his gaze moved toward the man behind Silk who
was wagging his tail in excitement.

「You’re really late Gitze.」

「M-master! It was truly my greatest blunder to be unable to

participate in the first battle!」

When Gina called that name, Baldr realized that the person before
him was Gitze Mannerheim, the cavalry inspector general of
Nordland Empire.

He had dog ears that were shaped like bat’s wings which looked
similar with greyhound. His thin tail that was like a whip was wagging
restlessly. It seemed he was excited by this meeting in his own way.

「I’m thankful that you gentlemen has come from so far to lend me
your help.」

Baldr held out his hand while speaking his gratitude. Gitze pressed
his forehead on that hand as though he was being presented with a
treasure.

Page | 71
Page | 72
「──I have been dreaming for the day to speak these words to
arrive. I swear that these fangs shall bring down all enemies that
threaten you, my king.」

Without any prompting the beastman race behind Gitze broke into
shout of joys that sounded like dog’s howling.

For them Baldr was Gina’s great grandson and one of their
Kahauipack’s son. Furthermore Baldr was a beastman king that they
had earnestly wished for all this time.

They were dreaming for the day they could see Baldr while being
tormented by the sea sickness from the ship travel that they weren’t
used to. Their feeling wasn’t at all inferior compared to Silk.

──Their history was a history of long, long servile submission.

If the unification dynasty stayed stable and still existed even now,
then perhaps the beastman race’s number wouldn’t even be 10% of
their current number with the level of persecution that they faced at
that time.

There was a period of great escape when beastman race wandered

through the continent in their search for nations with prejudice that
was as small as possible.

Even now at this era, the beastman race of Nedras Kingdom was in
the verge of extinction.

In their effort to create a country where they could rest without any
fear of persecution, they sacrificed their lives and proved their
usefulness to Nordland Empire to obtain their current position there.

Page | 73
Even so somewhere in their heart, they were searching for a country
that was ruled by beastman……the promised land where they
wouldn’t have to worry to be treated as disposable pawn.

Strictly speaking, the country that Baldr ruled wasn’t a country that
was ruled by beastman.

However he inherited the beastman blood in him, took a beastman

wife, and confessed on his own that he was a beastman. There was a
world of difference to them between a king like that existing and not
existing.

That became more than enough reason for them to risk their life.

「──I swear my loyalty until my fangs reached the enemy’s throat.」

「I shall entrust my head to thy fang.」

It was a ritual of loyalty that was well-known among Nordland’s dog-

eared tribe. Gitze’s expression was filled with color of deep emotion
that he couldn’t suppress because Baldr wasn’t ignorant of it.

(Euftace. I won’t waste all your efforts!)

The selection for the one who would lead Nordland’s expedition
army was fraught with conflicts.

Despite everything Gitze was the proud cavalry inspector general of

Nordland Empire. He was extolled as the best in Nordland when it
came to controlling cavalry skillfully.

There were many people who felt anxious about Gitze leaving the
country.

Fortunately for Gitze, the crown prince Gustav and the great general
Euftace were giving him their full support.

Page | 74
Even his best friend Aaron wished to leave the country and hastened
to join Baldr.

But as expected, there was a limit in how much they could weaken
their fighting force even though currently there was peace between
Nordland and Gartlake.

While the applicants for this expedition kept increased in number,

Gitze was able to win through the extremely severe competition
largely because he had connection with the maritime guild through
Augusto.

He ended up needing to duel Aaron under the pretense of a match

for the right to depart to the front, but even that was a good
memory now.

However Gitze knew that Euftace too actually wished to hasten to

Baldr even more than Aaron.

As an authority of the military with his position as the great general

and as the representative of the beastmen who stayed behind in
Nordland, Euftace suppressed his personal desire and switched to
support Gitze. He could bow his head to his best friend and thanked
him thousands of times and it still wouldn’t be enough to repay this
favor.

「The beastman race volunteer army of Nordland, our number is

3000 strong. We will stay at our king’s side from here on.」

A beastman could match three humans when it came to close-

quarter combat. The elites of those beastmen had become Baldr’s
possession along with their absolute loyalty.

There were also the four thousand strong reinforcement from

Randolph House and two thousand strong troops of Margrave

Page | 75
Antrim. With that, Mulberry had obtained the vanguard to recapture
the kingdom at this moment.

Page | 76
Part 9
「Mulberry has a lot of variety of tea leaves. You must be tired right?
This tea has honey in it.」

「Thank you Baldr.」

Silk was shown inside Baldr’s office and tasted a personal time where
they were alone with each other after so long.

「Unfair nya! You must be planning something strange nya!」

「Just shut up and come over here!」

Baldr should be thankful that he had such a considerate great

grandma.

「……Delicious.」

Silk should have been familiar with expensive tea leaves as the young
lady of Randolph House. Even so the taste of this tea surprised her.

「I was told that this tea seems to be the first pick of tea leaves
produced in Horntbeck Kingdom. I too never tasted it before coming
to Mulberry.」

Horntbeck Kingdom was an island country located far at the sea west
from Trystovy. It was a maritime nation that was twice the scale of
Majorca Kingdom.

An inland country like Mauricia Kingdom never really had a chance to

interact with them. It was also located slightly far from the continent,
so it was a country that didn’t leave much impression.

Page | 77
「I’m glad that you are safe.」

Baldr looked like he had grown up even more dazzling compared to

when he departed from Mauricia. Silk’s eyes squinted fondly seeing
that.

Just how much she had thought of simply abandoning everything and
heading to where Baldr was right away? She had lost count of how
many times she had been driven by the temptation of wanting to cut
down the bureaucrat nobles who kept continuing doing their
underhanded obstruction.

That was the only time Silk had ever cursed the weight of her status.
Because of that the refugee nobles from Trystovy got put under
pressure from Silk who was venting her fury at them.

「This is bad……this is really bad! No matter how many of the

dukedom nobles I contacted, not even one of them agreed to switch
side.」

「Me too……what in the world are they doing being this devoted to
the dukedom!?」

「I-is it really true? That we will be banished if we don’t prove our

worth?」

「This isn’t funny! Even though Trystovy is finally going to be taken

back, how can they make light of nobles from prestigious house like
us!」

──*DON!*

「HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH!」

「I’ll murder the hell out of all of you useless craps.」

Page | 78
「W-who was it, the guy who said that she is a mild-mannered and
graceful young lady……」

It was said that three of the refugee nobles were pitifully getting
balder day by day until Silk departed from Mauricia.

But such ignoble sacrifice never graced Silk’s thought for even a
second. Silk glared at Baldr sulkily.

「That was because I was really worried!」

Somehow it felt unfair that she was the only one who was feeling
that worried and anxious.

In addition even though they hadn’t met only just for a bit, it seemed
that the distance between Baldr and Satsuki had decreased by a lot.
As expected the feeling of solidarity from fighting together in the
battlefield couldn’t be underestimated.

「I was also lonely without Silk at my side.」

On the other hand Baldr too was unable to be as calm as Silk thought
he was.

Since the time he welcomed Silk at the pier, his heart had been
throbbing hard as though he was a young boy who had only known
about first love.

──She had become pretty.

He had been attracted by her dignified bearing since the first time
they met.

But the current Silk possessed inviolable elegance and mettle that
surpassed her past self. She also had a fresh seductiveness of a
woman who knew the man she loved.

Page | 79
The two of them naturally gravitated to each other without any
prompting. Then Baldr spontaneously embraced Silk’s dainty body so
tightly it was painful.

「You’re warm.」

「Yes.」

If Maggot was here, she might triumphantly say that as expected her
son was looking for the vestige of his mother in his lover.

Silk was wrapped in a dignified atmosphere like a single flower. In

addition her expression was also vaguely giddy from the excitement
of finally arriving at the homeland where she was born at. It couldn’t
be denied that there were some parts of her that were similar to
Maggot.

Although Baldr would never admit that he had mother complex even
under torture.

Both of them exchanged a kiss. Then Silk quietly took Baldr’s right
arm and her head leaned on his reliable shoulder.

When they first met, there was almost no difference in height

between them, but now she felt indescribably happy that Baldr was a
head taller than her.

But it was sad. Even though Silk was hugging Baldr’s arm, there
wasn’t any alluring softness that was unique to woman that could be
felt from there.

It’s touching! Such words couldn’t be said to Silk in this scene.

「What could you possibly think about right now?」

*Giriri* Silk pinched on Baldr’s stomach with her fingers while

showing a disquieting smile.

Page | 80
「I don’t have any breast anyway! My breast is inferior even when
compared with Satsuki-san who has childish figure……nnh!」

Baldr strongly covered Silk’s lips and physically stopped her words.

A sweet numbness was spreading from the area around her hips just
from Baldr devouring her lips greedily.

「Nnh! Afuh!」

Silk’s thought became hazy with pink mist after Baldr sought her so
passionately and caressed her head. Her anger just now had
vanished completely to somewhere.

「As I thought the kiss is better when I did it from my end isn’t it?」

「……Stupid-!」

As expected Ignis’s blood had been thickly passed into Baldr it

seemed.

While Baldr and Silk were acting lovey dovey at the terrace while
looking down to the sea, Augusto was tormented by a severe
stomachache.

「──And, where is Idunn? Idunn isn’t coming here today?」

Augusto racked his brain pondering of how in the world he was going
to explain about his mother to his uncle who was afflicted by the
incurable illness of being a siscon. Even Augusto was unable to find
the right words.

(I really resent you──Kaa-san.)

Augusto closed his eyes and the satisfied smile of his mother who
decided to offer her everything for love floated in his mind.

Page | 81
No matter what he did, this wasn’t something that he would be able
to keep hiding from Gitze forever.

Augusto let out a deep sigh and resolved himself. He sat down
heavily on the sofa and spoke resolutely to Gitze.

「Kaa-san is──uncle’s little sister is not in Mulberry anymore.」

「What, so she is going out……」

Gitze displayed his disappointment clearly and hung his head down.

「Kaa-san went to the dukedom the other day. She won’t return
back anymore.」

「You, what did you say just now?」

Gitze couldn’t ignore that sentence even if it was a joke.

The dukedom was currently an enemy country that was at war with
them. Visiting there would be nothing but suicide.

Gitze absolutely couldn’t turn a blind eye to the fact that his
adorable little sister was in such place.

「……That’s Kaa-san’s will. Uncle surely understand that no one will

be able to stop that person once she has decided something right?」

Idunn was also a young lady of a prestigious family. She was

expected to marry with another prestigious noble of Nordland in the
future.

And yet she married with Bennett (Valerie) in a way that was no
different from elopement. It was a feat that was made possible by
her transcendental ability to take action and willpower of steel.

Page | 82
Gitze too knew that very well after experiencing being drugged by
her and finding her already escaping to other country when he woke
up.

「──Why?」

He would recognize that there was no way Augusto could have

stopped Idunn. But why did she have to go to the dukedom?

Gitze just barely stopped his hand that was reaching toward the
sword on his waist. But if Augusto gave him an answer that he
couldn’t accept, he had no intention to hesitate in pulling out his
sword.

「Can uncle swear on the beast god Zoras that you will keep the
secret?」

「If that is something that doesn’t go against the will of the beast
god Zoras.」

「I can’t promise that. However Kaa-san believes in what she is

doing. Can uncle keep this secret?」

Augusto’s tone was filled with a firm will like a freezing ice. Gitze felt
a bad premonition flashed at the back of his mind.

「Don’t tell me, you aren’t keeping this a secret from even his
highness Baldr too aren’t you?」

「It’s exactly like uncle suspect. I’ll also have uncle bring this secret
to your grave too.」

「You bastard! You are making a mockery of the new beast king!」

Baldr wasn’t just a mere lord for him.

Page | 83
Baldr was a sacred existence that would shoulder the dearest wish of
the beastman race──or to be more accurate a person who could
possibly become such an existence.

As one of the beastman race who swore loyalty to the beast king, he
couldn’t possibly accept Augusto’s statement by any means.

「──Calm down. It was me who told him to keep the circumstance a

secret.」

「M-master? Why did master……」

Gina appeared and interrupted with a sentence that he had never

even expected. Gitze was bewildered.

Gitze was certainly a disciple of Gina, but Idunn and Gina should be
just a mere acquaintance with each other.

「This is the product of the madness of a man. But there is no

doubting that madness will be beneficial for Baldr’s sake. Carelessly
bringing it to light will only be a loss for Baldr.」

「To be honest that’s really appalling. I won’t let you say that you
don’t know just how significant the side effect that would result from
madness and mania.」

「I would have stopped it if I knew from the start. This thing has
started since a long time ago. What’s left is only to welcome its end
now. The only thing we can do is to at least make use of it.」

Valerie’s madness destroyed the kingdom in the past. However it

couldn’t be denied that the new dynasty that Baldr would build was
only possible because of the kingdom’s destruction.

If it was discovered that everything here was all due to the plots that
Valerie devised, it would only bring bad influence for Baldr.

Page | 84
Gitze definitely saw the color of sadness that was mixed in Gina’s
eyes. He groaned and leaned on the back of the sofa with his face
looking up to the ceiling.

「──Talk.」

Gitze bitterly said that. It was unbecoming for a retainer to hold a

secret from his lord, but he understood that there was a reason that
forced them to do that.

「I’ll keep the secret in deference to master.」

Gitze listened to the long tale in shock.

It was a far-reaching story that he was unable to believe right away.

It was really unbelievable that there was the madness of just a single
man writhing behind the destruction of Trystovy Kingdom.

Furthermore his little sister was seriously in love with that man.

「It’s the nature of the women of beastman race. You aren’t going to
deny it aren’t you?」

Gitze awkwardly scratched his head when Gina asserted that.

「Idunn is my cute little sister, but I won’t do anything to make her

bend her own way of life you know?」

「You locked her up when you opposed her marriage with Bennett!
」

「T-that was because I judged that she was tricked by a suspicious

man from other country! And it turned out I was right that he was
really a suspicious man.」

Page | 85
No matter what, it was impossible to see through that someone who
should be just a merchant was actually a count who was
manipulating a country from behind the scene.

「You are calmer than I thought you would be. I thought uncle might
even run off alone to chase after Kaa-san after hearing this.」

Augusto theatrically wiped the sweat on his forehead. Gitze scoffed

and glared at him.

「Idunn will just commit suicide if I try to bring her back forcefully. I
can at least understand that each person has something that they
absolutely will never give up on.」

(Although, I can’t wipe away this feeling of desolation that she won’t
rely on me……)

Although he understood that there was nothing that could be done,

even though a part of him wanted to praise his little sister how
praiseworthy she was, he couldn’t erase the feeling of emptiness
inside him before this eternal separation from his little sister.

His memories of his little sister since she was a child were
resurrected in his mind like a revolving lantern. Gitze desperately
shook them off. At this rate he was going to break out crying
shamefully in front of Augusto and Gina.

「Alcohol! Bring me alcohol!」

「Uncle, it’s still afternoon you know?」

「It’s a celebration for Idunn’s new life. It should be fine for me to

drink alcohol from noon at least for today.」

「Give up and keep him company. Alcohol is necessary for this kind
of day.」

Page | 86
「……I’m not a strong drinker at uncle’s level though.」

In the end Augusto was made to accompany Gitze until late at night.
The next day he was tormented by a horrible hangover.

And yet even though Gitze should have drank thrice the amount of
alcohol than Augusto, he could be found inspecting the troops the
next day with an unconcerned face.

「……It’s unreasonable.」

「Augusto-sama, are you alright?」

Augusto was groaning on his bed. Angelica who came here by taking
advantage of Gitze’s position looked like she was in a good mood.

「How about drinking a cold water?」

「Yeah, I’ll drink it. Even so……I’m amazed that uncle allowed you to
come.」

It was very unexpected for Augusto that Gitze would bring the pretty
daughter he greatly doted on to a battlefield where their side was at
disadvantage.

Angelica’s eyes turned round at Augusto’s words and she laughed.

「──I have been taught the way to fight as a woman of the

beastman race. Then how can I just quietly watch from the side line
while my husband is fighting? I won’t accept being away from your
side when you die.」

Augusto involuntarily felt a cold breeze between his legs.

Page | 87
He had obtained a reputation as philanderer among many women
until now, but Angelica had a different kind of obsession from the
women he knew.

「After all it’s an honor for beastwoman to die together with her
husband ─」

Angelica spoke the same words like his mother without any
hesitation. It was at that moment Augusto realized the depth of
passion of beastwoman.

Page | 88
Chapter 2 – Whirlpool of Schemes

Part 1
The dukedom noble Viscount Continerri’s territory was located one
day worth of travel away from Mulberry. It was practically the war
frontline. His face twisted as though he had bitten a sour grape when
he heard the report about the dukedom army’s complete defeat.

It was such a large army. In addition it seemed there were also secret
agents of Europa Religion participating in the battle. And yet they
still tasted defeat to such degree.

──Perhaps the dukedom had weakened even more than he thought.

He didn’t know about other nobles, but in case the kingdom army
sallied out from Mulberry, his territory was a strategic location that
would become the very first place to be targeted.

If he couldn’t expect any reinforcement from the dukedom,

Continerri territory would be trounced by the kingdom army in the
near future. When his castle was brought down, Continerri’s head
would be exposed at the castle gate for all to see.

Continerri shivered.

Although he was a noble who swore loyalty to the dukedom, he

never considered his loyalty as something that he would maintain
even if it brought him destruction.

「Really, even that so called secret force of the pope can only talk
big!」

If only they could at least kill Baldr, he wouldn’t need to feel lost like
this.

Page | 89
Continerri clenched his right hand so hard it even turned white. A
secret message had reached him just the other day.

It was a message from a refugee noble who was working hard to

divide the dukedom nobles after Silk was pressuring them.

This wasn’t the first time this kind of secret message reached him. He
simply ignored those messages until now.

──However the situation had changed.

Continerri was starting to think that he could use this as justification

to switch side to Baldr right now.

「I also heard that the reinforcement from Answerer Kingdom has

arrived but……」

The number of soldier that Answerer Kingdom could field was

number one in the continent. No other country could match it.

Continerri was dissatisfied that the number of the reinforcement was

only 20000.

He couldn’t help but doubt whether Answerer Kingdom seriously

wanted the dukedom to win. After all Answerer Kingdom had the
national power that could easily send 50000 or 100000 soldiers to
expedition to another nation if they felt like it.

And yet why did they only send 20000? Would they be able to win
with just that many soldiers?

Continerri too wanted the dukedom to win if possible.

After all it was hard to think that the nobles would be treated as well
as now if Baldr who was supported by the maritime guild took over.

Page | 90
He wanted to live in the dukedom where the superiority of the
nobles was fundamentally established. But, staying in the losing side
and getting killed was the only thing that he refused to accept.

「Now then, what to do now?」

There was an information that suddenly came to Continerri at this

timing.

Baldr and Mikhail got into a duel that ended up in a draw──it was a
story that he found hard to believe at first, but Continerri was
instinctually convinced that this information was true.

It might be fake information if it said that Baldr won, but there was
no reason for Baldr’s side to advertise a duel that ended up in a
draw.

That also meant that the 20000 reinforcement that Mikhail was
leading only had that number 20000 and nothing more.

Mikhail had a legendary close quarter combat ability. But even

someone like him couldn’t defeat Baldr. In that case the battle would
be decided simply by the number of troops.

「As I thought, I should take measures. Fortunately I have a present.

」

Continerri had a trump card that other nobles didn’t have.

It was none other than the information that the pope was targeting
Baldr.

The information that a religious organization like Europa Church was

sending assassin was really significant.

Page | 91
「Even so, there might not be any need for me to switch side right
away. With this information it might also be possible for me to ask
them to remove my territory from being targeted.」

「──Sleep talk when you are sleeping.」

「Who?」

Continerri couldn’t even turn around before a blade with dull glint
was pushed out of his chest with a blood splash.

The intelligence agent of Europa Church’s special corrective force

Martell had infiltrated inside from somewhere and stabbed
Continerri’s heart with his short sword.

It was a perfect assassination where his presence and killing intent

weren’t detected.

「Hmph, do you think that we would left a man who can’t be trusted
like you alone?」

They couldn’t possibly allow anyone to know about the mission that
the church carried out in darkness.

Regardless whether the mission succeeded or failed, he had planned

to kill Continerri from the start because of his needless prying.

Martell laid down Continerri who had turned into an unspeaking

corpse and muttered in disgust.

「Unfortunately we can’t kill Valerie. So you should at least make

yourself useful in your death as a warning to him.」

Page | 92
Part 2
Viscount Continerri died an unnatural death. That information
brought a shock among the kingdom and dukedom that were in
deadlock.

The dukedom that was utterly beaten in the campaign where they
staked their dignity, and the kingdom that was pressed to reorganize
due to Piaggio’s assassination.

For Baldr and others in the kingdom’s army who were in high spirit
right now after their reinforcement arrived, the fact that this incident
happened while the small feudal lords were still continuing to side
with the dukedom was significant.

In the end, why did the viscount die? If he was killed, then who in the
world did it?

The side that made the first move was as expected the dukedom that
was in their element.

The dukedom government announced that Viscount Continerri tried

to switch side to the kingdom side, at the same time they appointed
Baron Pierro whose territory was adjacent to Viscount Continerri to
be the new feudal lord of the viscount territory.

Continerri territory was immediately occupied by the force of Baron

Pierro and dukedom army. Viscount Continerri’s family was captured
and sent to the capital Millianna.

「Watch the fate of the traitors!」

The family of Continerri was beheaded one after another at the

scaffold that was set up in the middle of a plaza when they arrived at
the capital.

Page | 93
Although it was a scene that often happened at the time when the
kingdom was destroyed, there were a lot of commoners who
rejoiced in watching this kind of brutal spectacle. The plaza was
immediately filled with throngs of people.

However there were also many people who were unable to watch
calmly.

As everyone knew, it was the nobles who also received invitation to

switch side just like Continerri.

(That might be me tomorrow.)

(Even so, just how did the dukedom find out?)

It wasn’t like Continerri had openly betrayed the dukedom.

He didn’t gather soldier, or handed over his territory to the kingdom.

There was only information that a letter that promised to collude

with the kingdom had been found as the proof.

The feared the intelligence agency of the dukedom that obtained

that information.

「However things went well for Baron Pierro.」

「He obtained half of Viscount Continerri’s territory and it seems his

rank will also be raised.」

「Even though no one will do something foolish like this if it’s clear
that the dukedom will be the winner.」

「It will be better for you to not say anything careless. In a sense this
is a good chance to obtain accomplishment you know?」

The nobles were watching the execution from afar with pale face.
Jack sported a dark smile gloomily seeing that.

Page | 94
「Let me see, just how many among those people will betray me.」

「──It will be better to not say something unlucky like that.」

It was Valerie who replied to Jack brazenly without any reservation.

The intelligence agency of this country was an organization that

Valerie rebuilt from scratch. The organization was still under
Valerie’s strong influence even now when he had retired as its
director.

Anyone who in the know would say that Valerie was the ruler of the
dukedom’s darkness. Even now his power was still unshakeable.

「This case become a good chance to make an example. They too

won’t betray the kingdom as long as the dukedom isn’t defeated
once more in the battlefield.」

「──That’s what he said. Do you hear that, Olten?」

「I will take those words to heart. I swear I will present a victory for
the dukedom.」

After Cesare died, Olten officially returned to the post of great

general. He was standing at attention at the right side behind Jack
and lightly bowed his head.

(I won’t let you do as you please in this country, Ramillies!)

Now that he had completely took control of the dukedom army, he

was able to place capable talent in high positions and increased the
battle strength of the dukedom army.

It was a result that more than made up the previous defeat.

Even so Olten was considering that it would be a herculean task to

oppose the kingdom under Baldr’s leadership head on.

Page | 95
If he was going to fight then he had to win no matter what. For that,
it wasn’t enough with just Olten’s skill, Mikhail’s cooperation was
also indispensable.

The advantage for the dukedom was that they just needed to kill
Baldr alone and everything would be over.

When speaking of the one with the highest possibility to take down
Baldr in the battlefield, there could be nobody else except Mikhail.

The problem was the beastman race’s volunteer army that came
from Nordland Empire.

From Olten’s assessment, only Baldr and Ramillies were able to lead
a big army as a general at the enemy’s side. Silk and the other
commanders there were completely not their match.

However Gitze was a veteran general who had continued fighting

against Gartlake Kingdom until now. He was an opponent that he
absolutely had to be vigilant against.

Even if it was impossible for Gitze to lead a human army, having a

general who was thoroughly knowledgeable with the knack of
controlling an army and not having one had a world of difference.

Mikhail against Baldr, Olten against Ramillies……then, who among his

subordinates would be able to face Gitze?

Olten was unable to measure Gitze’s strength accurately.

「First we better reinforce Baron Pierro. There is no guarantee that

the kingdom won’t take advantage of the chaos.

Olten nodded with a conflicted expression at Valerie’s warning.

Page | 96
「I already sent three thousand of my subordinates to solidify the
defense there. There are also twenty thousand troops at the rear,
ready for battle anytime.」

「As expected from your excellency, perhaps I have spoken

needlessly.」

「No, I’m thankful for your warning.」

Although both of them belonged to the same camp, Valerie was

someone who he couldn’t let his guard down to. Olten lightly bowed
his head at Valerie.

Other than the fools, there were only the archduke and Olten in this
dukedom who didn’t feel timid toward Valerie at all.

Valerie was someone useful for the dukedom, but he was wrapped in
too much darkness. Olten perceived Valerie as someone who would
swallow him into darkness if he carelessly approached him.

As expected even for Olten, Valerie’s ambition to renew Trystovy

that had started even before the destruction of the kingdom was
something that was completely beyond his imagination.

「I shall write the list of the nobles who the kingdom is reaching out
to and hand it to the great general later.」

「I’m grateful for your assistance.」

It was a silver lining that with what happened to Viscount Continerri,

it became easier to obtain the cooperation of the nobles.

It also really helped how Baron Pierro was immediately rewarded

lavishly.

For now they had been given time to think up a method to win the
war with certainty.

Page | 97
Part 3
Valerie was laughing loudly inside his heart at the execution when
the sun had set and he returned to his mansion.

Looking only at the exterior, it was a small and plain mansion. No one
would possibly imagine that this was the residence of the person
who controlled Trystovy Dukedom’s darkness.

However the inside was no different than a fortress.

The basement boasted a size that was five times bigger than the
mansion at the surface. Soldiers were patrolling inside the ground
with strict security.

Furthermore trained military dogs were using their excellent sense of

smell to guard against anyone suspicious.

Even if the whole dukedom was searched, there would be no other

residence with stricter security than this Count Ost’s residence.

「──Welcome back, my lord.」

「I have kept you waiting Caolila. Has anything significant

happened?」

「Yes at the moment. It seems that the execution was really

effective.」

The old butler who was called Caolila lifted the corner of his lips
wickedly with his lips twitching as though he was laughing.

This man was ten years younger than Valerie, but he had reached his
seventy. This man was actually the leader of the intelligence agency
that was Ost House’s pride.

Page | 98
He was an extraordinary expert who had the most complete
knowledge in this Trystovy Dukedom. He was the confidant among
confidants for Valerie.

Such person had come to welcome Valerie personally. There was no

way nothing had happened.

He intentionally didn’t specify further about it. It must be because

the matter was something that couldn’t be said or because there was
no need for it.

Valerie handed his coat to Caolila with a practiced movement. He

had quickly guessed the reason why Caolila was here.

「I’m sorry to disturb you when you have just returned home, but
can I ask for a little bit of your time, father?」

The current head of Ost House, Batista was Valerie’s son who was
the most similar with him if only his appearance was taken into
consideration. His fingers were playing with his blonde hair that he
inherited from his father.

Of course Valerie knew very well that this was the habit of his son
when he was in a bad mood.

「I won’t say that I don’t have time, but isn’t there something else
that you should say?」

Valerie casually talked with a wry smile, but that didn’t reach his
eyes.

He was the shadow ruler of Trystovy. He was someone cold who

wouldn’t be shaken at the slightest even if his son died right before
his eyes. Batista was suddenly panicking when Valerie’s cold gaze
caught him.

Page | 99
「M-my apologies. You must be tired after accompanying his
majesty the archduke. I’m glad to see that father is in good health.」

Batista bowed with his back drenched with cold sweat.

He couldn’t oppose his father no matter what when his father’s

powerful cold gaze was turned toward him.

Even though he had turned twenty and inherited the seat of Ost
House’s house head, the pecking order between his father and him
hadn’t changed at the slightest.

That could be seen even now from how Archduke Jack didn’t allow
Valerie to hand over his title to his son. That matter was something
that greatly frustrated Batista.

Batista didn’t know about the fact that his father Valerie was in
control of the intelligence agency that ruled the dukedom from
behind the scene.

From that it could be seen what position Batista occupied within

Valerie’s heart. He was only an existence that was the house head of
Ost House in name only. He was there just so Valerie could push off
all the miscellaneous tasks to him.

But Batista believed that the reason he was entrusted with the count
house was because of the blood flowing inside his body as the eldest
son and his ability. He held no doubt about it.

His sense of inferiority toward his father and his dissatisfaction from
receiving unfair treatment had been continuing to grow violent to a
degree that made him forgot his fear toward his father for all these
many years.

The impetus that made his dissatisfaction exploded was the

information that entered Batista’s ear at the afternoon today.

Page | 100
「……I heard a story about how father is keeping a woman in the
secondary residence.」

「You mean Kiana’s residence. What about it? That residence’s

ownership should be still in my name.」

「There won’t be any problem if that’s all. But I can’t ignore it at all if
that woman is a beastman.」

Trystovy wasn’t a land that was kind to beastman since a long time
ago.

It was even more so since the coup d’etat happened and the
country’s connection with Answerer Kingdom deepened.

The scandal coming out from this prestigious Ost House had to be
prevented by all possible means.

Batista wondered how in the world someone like his father could
commit such carelessness. He was suspecting that perhaps his father
had finally began to turn senile.

「What a deplorable thing. Who might be the one who brought this
information to your attention?」

「Don’t play stupid and dodge the question.」

Batista had no intention at all to allow his father to gloss over this
matter with such jest. If things go well this could also be his chance
to snatch away the real authority from Valerie.

He absolutely wouldn’t let Valerie left things unsettled. Batista stood

on Valerie’s way and hounded him tenaciously.

「……Even though I have personally given the order to entertain that

woman, there is a fool who needlessly blabbered. That fool has to be
sentenced to death.」

Page | 101
「──Just now, what did you say?」

If Batista didn’t mishear, Valerie had just given the order to kill?

Who? Could it be an order to kill the beastman in question?

「I said that I’m going to kill the fool who talked to you, Batista. It’s
my blunder that there is still a fool in this Ost House who would
needlessly report to you.」

「P-p-please wait. There is no way such atrocious deed can be

allowed! In the first place it is father who is doing a misdeed by
keeping a beastwoman secretly!」

Valerie wasn’t looking at Batista anymore.

「Caolila, search for those who had gone to Kiana’s residence and
kill them. I don’t care how many people there are. If they resist then
kill them all even if they are children or old man.」

「──By your will.」

「Wha-! Stop! Caolila, I order you to stop!」

「There is no need to worry. I won’t commit a blunder that will leave

a proof behind. Besides I also won’t use any people of Ost House at
all for this.」

Caolila smiled derisively with a fake courtesy before he bowed to

Valerie.

「Then, I shall give my report tomorrow morning.」

「I told you to stop!」

Page | 102
Batista’s facial expression turned furious and he yelled angrily. His
cheeks were convulsing and his body was trembling with a fear that
he couldn’t comprehend.

「My master is Valerie-sama alone. I don’t remember every serving

Batista-sama. Please don’t forget that there are also many people in
this residence who are just like me.」

Batista lost the strength in his hips and fell down on the spot after
being implicitly told that even though he was the house head on the
surface, it was just for form’s sake.

Anything and everything had been leaked out. Most likely Caolila had
already known about everything since the beginning, no doubt about
it.

Far from growing senile, Valerie had become even crueler than
before. Batista clung on him without care about his appearance.

「F-f-forgive me! Please forgive me father.」

It was just like when he was still a child. Batista had no other option
than doing this.

Valerie approached the groveling Batista and gently hugged his

shoulders with a wide smiled that contained not a single trace of
malice.

「Let me repeat the words that I told you the day I handed the seat
of house head to you once more. I don’t mind if you use this Ost
House freely. I won’t say any complain no matter what kind of way of
life that you choose. Just don’t get in my way. Do you understand?」

「Yh-yheess!」

Page | 103
「Good good, I too don’t want to kill children, much less my own
child.」

Even so if it was necessary, then Valerie would kill Batista without

any hesitation.

Batista came into contact with his father’s madness once more and
sincerely regretted from harboring an excessive ambition.

His father wasn’t a decent human. He was the demon king.

Even if there was something that he sincerely loved, he could

trample what he loved while laughing. No, he was worse than that,
he was a madman who would offer even what he loved as a sacrifice
ecstatically.

If Batista wanted to live as long as possible, then he mustn’t oppose

him no matter what.

That night, there were six servants in Ost House’s mansion who died
from heart failure, but no one tried to question the matter.

Valerie opened a hidden door that was only known to Caolila other
than him.

Behind it there was a stair that was dug deeply independent from
the other underground passages. At the end of it was an
underground prison that was strongly locked with thick wall and
magic seal.

「──How are you doing right now, Martell-dono?」

Page | 104
Page | 105
Martell was chained inside the dark underground prison. When he
heard the voice of the familiar old man, he finally understood what
happened to him and laughed weakly.

──It seemed he was already set up into a trap since the early stage.

He had the memory of killing Continerri and getting out of the

mansion. But then he suddenly felt dizzy and fell unconscious……was
it drug, or perhaps magic?

He was already inside this underground prison when he opened his

eyes.

A man as skilled as Martell was done in without even noticing it and

carried here.

He couldn’t recall ever making a blunder this big even when he was
still a candidate in training. Just what kind of expert Valerie had
working for him?

The church must be in uproar around this time from his

disappearance.

Humiliation was burning his whole body, but Martell didn’t show it at
all on his expression and turned to face Valerie with a question.

「What is the meaning of this? Is the dukedom planning to turn the

church into enemy?」

Martell bluffed for all he was worth. But as he expected, he was

unable to agitate Valerie at all.

Martell’s hands were suspended from the ceiling. He wanted to click

his tongue seeing that his provocation didn’t have any effect at all.

Page | 106
Valerie didn’t even pay any mind to the conflict that Martell was
feeling and smiled warmly.

「What are you saying? You are the one who killed a noble of our
country. I’m not going to allow you to pretend to be ignorant at this
point you know?」

「Hmph, I dealt with a fool who was going to betray the dukedom.
You should thank me instead at the very least.」

「If only your side consulted with us beforehand, then we too

wouldn’t need to be rough like this.」

Valerie chuckled with good grace.

A bishop of the church assassinated a high ranked noble of the

dukedom. If this matter was brought to light, even Europa Church
wouldn’t get away unscathed.

In several more days, the church might move to delete all the past
records that recorded the existence of the man called Martell. No,
perhaps it was already happening right now.

Buying time until that process was completed was also within the
duty of him who was making this blunder. Martell easily accepted
that.

Even with that the church wouldn’t be able to avoid damage, but it
was better than not doing anything.

「If that’s what you are really thinking then you should let me go.」

「Unfortunately in my position I too can’t possibly allow a foreigner

to get away with a crime of assassination just because the victim is a
criminal.」

Page | 107
「If you have the free time for this kind of thing, shouldn’t you
prioritize doing something about that Baldr Antrim Cornelius
instead?」

「Of course. I’m having you come over like this is also because I
want to do something about that matter.」

Valerie made a smile of madness that looked like it didn’t belong to

this world. Martell’s back shivered with a chill the instant he saw that
smile.

This man was dangerous. Baldr Antrim Cornelius was a dangerous

man to have as an enemy, but Count Valerie Ost’s existence itself
was a dangerous poison.

He mustn’t allow himself to be dragged by that madness. Martell’s

instinct was telling him that.

「──Why is the church considering him an enemy I wonder?」

「The answer is obvious. The throne of a royal family with such

prestigious pedigree must never be allowed to fall into the hand of
beastman.」

「Of course there is that. However that’s not all there is to the
church’s true motive isn’t it?」

There was a reason why the special corrective force that Martell
belonged to even brought out the holy relic to deal with Baldr.
Martell groaned when he noticed that the madman before his eyes
was pointing that out.

He couldn’t admit it, but he couldn’t help but feel curious of just how
much Valerie knew.

Page | 108
「A king of beastman cannot possibly be allowed to exist. That is the
church’s will, nothing more and nothing less.」

「──Is that so? So you are saying, that the existence of King’s Gate
that appear for the first time since the beast king is really not
significant at all?」

Martell reflexively glared at Valerie and gulped.

He immediately realized his blunder, but in the first place this was a
shock that he couldn’t possibly hide in the first place.

「How did you……」

Perhaps he should stay quiet in order to keep the secrecy.

However for Martell right now, the bigger problem was how Valerie
learned about the existence of the King’s Gate.

Even in the church, only a very limited amount of people knew about
the King’s Gate. It was a secret among secrets.

Even though Valerie was the shadow ruler of Trystovy, this matter
was something that far surpassed the level of what he could learn.

「Actually this isn’t the first time that beastman blood got mixed
into a royal family. Though this is something that must never be
allowed to get out.」

Valerie spoke carelessly.

However the fact that he spoke was shocking. Valerie was saying that
even before Baldr’s entrance, the royal family of Trystovy was
already polluted with beastman blood.

「Is it alright for you to tell me something like that?」

Page | 109
「It’ll be easier to negotiate if both sides shared secret with each
other.」

「──Negotiation?」

Martell glared at Valerie with suspicion.

He was forcibly kidnapped and imprisoned. There could be no

negotiation at this point. That was what Martell thought.

「Then are you saying it’s alright for the church and the dukedom to
stay in hostility with each other like this? Do you think that it won’t
be a problem even if it come to light that the church has assassinated
a dukedom noble and get kicked out of this Trystovy?」

Your threat is useless. Martell was unable to spurn Valerie with such
words.

For the church, eliminating Baldr and the King’s Gate’s lineage was
their supreme mission. It was inconceivable for them to intentionally
increase the number of their enemies while being faced with such
problem.

Furthermore this case wouldn’t just stop in Trystovy. The church’s

reputation in the surrounding countries would also drop without a
doubt.

There shouldn’t be any proof for the assassination other than

Martell’s existence, but if it was Valerie, it was possible that he had
prepared some kind of way. Martell had to consider that possibility.

If by any chance the personnel of the church got evicted out of the
country because of this case, then they church might really become
unable to do anything except watching the birth of a new beast king.
Martell couldn’t imagine the pope allowing such thing to happen.

「……I can’t make a decision for something like this.」

Page | 110
「Of course, I don’t expect such thing from you. But, I am predicting
that my cooperation will be necessary for the church.」

「What are you saying after capturing me and hindering the church’s
mission?」

「I have already informed the pope’s office about your capture. Now
I only need you to return back and inform them about the situation
accurately. Although I look like this, I’m also a pious believer of
Europa you know?」

This was the first time Martell heard a lie this barefaced.

Even if heaven and earth were overturned, it was impossible that

Valerie was someone who believed in god.

This was a man who lived with his whole body submerged in curse
and grudge. There was no doubt that the person himself didn’t wish
for tranquility in his heart from holding faith to god.

「I think that even god has the right to choose his believer though.
」

「What, it’s insolence for a human to presume to know about what

is going on in god’s heart. Only by believing that human can be
delivered salvation from this earthly life. Isn’t it like that?」

This was Valerie’s honest thought.

There were things that could only be saved by believing. That was
exactly why Valerie was trying to destroy negative legacy that was
nesting in Trystovy.

「Certainly, the will of god isn’t something that we human can

measure.」

Page | 111
Even so Martell couldn’t believe at the slightest that the grace of
Europa could be manifested through Valerie.

「The only thing that I can do is to make a honest report to my

superior. Is that alright with you?」

Valerie agreed with a complacent smile that contained not a speck of

malice in it.

「The dukedom won’t have any chance of victory unless the King’s
Gate is sealed. I know that your group managed to seal the King’s
Gate using some kind of method. I won’t ask you to tell me what this
method is. But I wish that we can work together with each other
when it’s time to use it.」

If they shared the information accurately with the dukedom army,

the future where Baldr was defeated in the battle the other day
would also be possible.

Martell couldn’t help but shudder at Valerie’s terrifying ability of

discernment.

Even though it was already shocking that Valerie knew about King’s
Gate, he also knew about the holy relic to some degree.

(Won’t it be better if kill him here?)

Martell almost decided to use his last resort of killing the nearby
enemy at the cost of his own life.

(No, this man is dangerous, but he is necessary in order to kill that

beastman wannabe.)

It would be extremely difficult to kill Baldr in combat even with the

strength of the church’s special corrective force.

Page | 112
The church certainly wanted to work together with the dukedom. It
was fine even if it was only indirectly. Unfortunately the church
didn’t have the military strength to invade Trystovy.

The possibility of his superiors accepting Valerie’s suggestion was

high with such realistic circumstances behind it.

「Then can you release me from this chain already? I’m also hungry
so I’ll be very thankful if you give me a warm soup.」

「I shall prepare our best dishes that is good for sick person to get
back on their feet quickly.」

──The first preparation was going well.

If he directly suggested a negotiation to the church, Valerie knew

that they would just evade the topic.

He had to capture Martell and made the church’s shadowy force to

grasp his side’s capability to a certain degree. Without doing that,
the church wouldn’t sit on the negotiation table.

Valerie understood well that Baldr’s complete victory had brought an

impact to the church.

Now was the only time to join hand with them.

He would make the church and also Answerer Kingdom to be gone.

Valerie didn’t have any intention to allow the church to continue

their secret maneuvering behind the scene forever.

He would drag them out under the light and into destruction
together with the dukedom. He would have all the factors that could
harm the future of the new Trystovy to vanish.

Page | 113
To do that──Valerie hardened his resolve to seriously fight Baldr.

He wouldn’t be able to obtain the church’s trust unless he did that.

「How incorrigible. However I won’t be able to defeat Baldr even if I

use everything in my disposal. Besides even more blood should flow
in this country.」

He would be troubled instead if the dukedom was easily destroyed

and peace quickly arrived.

Trystovy should be made to bleed and exhausted even more so that

nobody would wish for a muddy civil war to occur anymore, that
nobody would even have the leeway to feel dissatisfied for having a
king who descended from beastman.

「My friend. You surely won’t forgive me who has fallen this low.」

He betrayed his friend’s wish for him to be happy.

Exactly because of that, he had to complete his revenge that he put

his whole life into no matter what.

Page | 114
Part 4
Martell was captured as a perpetrator of assassination.

The pope office was driven into chaos when that report reached
them.

There was no record of a member of the special corrective force ever

getting captured alive even within the long history of the church.

They either completed their mission or died. If they failed their

mission, it was only natural for them to quickly take their own life.

To be captured alive meant that he wasn’t even given a moment of

opening to commit suicide.

If Martell’s skill was taken into consideration, it was impossible for

this to happen unless the other side had been waiting for him in
ambush with full preparation from the start.

「Why did Martell assassinate Viscount Continerri?」

Those who knew about the dark side of the church had to be erased.
Especially the incompetent people who didn’t understand about
consequence and loss and gain, such people had to be swiftly erased.

In that respect, Valerie wasn’t an existence who could be easily

assassinated, so the special corrective force thought to assassinate
Continerri to be a warning for Valerie too.

But they never expected even in their wildest dream that Valerie was
a step ahead of them and laid out a trap.

Could it be that Valerie was already aware of the special corrective

force that was the church’s secret by the time he came into contact
with Martell?

Page | 115
「……The opponent is a sly old fox of the underworld. There is no
way he will openly declare a war to us.」

「Is it already too late to kill Martell now? The only thing that he can
use as proof is only Martell alone.」

An archbishop was asking for the death of a subordinate without any

hesitation. From there it could be peeked just how cheap the life of
the special corrective force was.

However there was a practical problem for that. The other side had
someone who could capture Martell alive. The risk would be too big
to send another assassin to kill Martell. If the assassin they sent also
got captured too, the church wouldn’t be able to make excuse
anymore.

「It’s not desirable for us to be in open hostility with the dukedom

right now.」

「Although it was to keep the secrecy, wasn’t assassinating Viscount

Continerri overdoing it?」

「No, the assassination itself isn’t a mistake. The problem is that our
agent got captured.」

The special corrective force could be called a secret agency even

though there were rumors about it was because nobody could catch
hold of their true form. The moment the name of the special
corrective force got exposed under the sunlight, its worth as an
organization would be over.

What should they do in order to resolve this problem while still

keeping the existence of the special corrective force as a secret?

Page | 116
「──We can only deny about Martell’s existence while finding a
common ground with the dukedom. We will only give advantage to
that monsterBaldr if we turn the dukedom into our enemy.」

Those words came from Magella, the archbishop in charge of the

church’s diplomacy. The pope nodded gravely to that and their policy
was decided.

Each of them started taking action to erase the traces of the man
called Martell from this world while they would also attempt to win
over the dukedom by giving them concessions.

Even though the church’s territory was like a tiny country that could
be blown away by a single breath from a major country, the
influence they possessed in this continent was still vast regardless
whether it was on the surface or behind the scene.

They wouldn’t be able to introduce themselves as the biggest

religious nation in the continent if they couldn’t overcome a danger
of this level.

It was exactly at that timing.

「There is a messenger from Count Ost of Trystovy Dukedom!」

The message that was conveyed by the visiting messenger was

something that surpassed the church’s imagination.

Martell would be liberated. The message also said that the dukedom
was aware of the existence of King’s Gate and they sought the
church’s assistance to deal with it. The detail could be asked from
Martell’s own mouth──.

Why was Martell liberated even though they were able to capture
him red handed?

Page | 117
In the first place, could the church believe Martell who was liberated
by the enemy?

The top brass of the church were bewildered by the situation that
took place unexpectedly. Not a single one of them was able to see
through Valerie’s motive.

「You have done well to convey this message. Please be sure to tell
Count Ost that we will definitely consider his proposal carefully.」

The archbishop observed the complexion of the pope while barely

forcing himself to say those words to the messenger.

In any case the church couldn’t possibly have a breakdown of

relationship with the dukedom here. At the very least they had to
keep it like that until Baldr’s ambition was stopped.

First they had to delay questioning this problem and also gave the
other party a good impression in order to build a good working
relationship from here on.

However three days later, the church was shaken severely once
more by the words that were spoken from Martell’s mouth who
returned back without a single wound on his body.

Inside the great statue of Europa there was a dark room that only the
pope was allowed to enter.

That place was storing a relic where history and wisdom of the
church that couldn’t possibly be publicized was written on it.

Only the pope alone knew about the content.

If other people tried to operate this relic, the burden of the relic
would burn off their cranial nerves and they would die instantly.

Page | 118
He tried to remember when was the first time he entered such a
forbidden place.

The pope closed his eyes and went back his memory lane.

The previous pope named him as his successor and then it was
approved in the round-table conference. If he didn’t remember it
wrong, it happened 51 years ago.

──Until that time he was only focused in the race to be promoted

within the church.

Although he was born as the second son of a poor baker, he became

popular in his neighborhood due to his keen mind, and with that he
was fortunately able to obtain priesthood as a friar in the church.

He didn’t want to return to that poor livelihood anymore. He

sincerely refused to return to an environment where he often went
hungry and if he got seriously sick there would be nothing he could
do except giving up and waiting for death.

He distinguished himself within the church as though to repay for all

of his misfortunes since birth.

He tripped up his colleagues and seniors and swore that it would be

him and nobody else who would obtain the supreme position within
Europa religion. He never said out loud such ambition that originally
shouldn’t be allowed for someone of his occupation, however that
was what he decided in his heart.

Fortunately there was a tradition in Europa Church to not be fixated

with social status from birth.

After that he became a demon of political struggle and did things like
bribery or giving lavish treatment as though it was only natural.

Page | 119
He even joined hand with scoundrels who specialized with work in
the shadow to take down his rival.

Even while he displayed degenerate actions that would make other

questioned which part of him was a clergyman, his dearest wish
finally came true and he succeeded in obtaining the position of pope.
But that result wasn’t necessarily the fruit of his schemes.

「──What is necessary to be a pope isn’t human virtue.」

His predecessor asserted that to him clearly.

He thought that such thing was a problem in itself, but he didn’t say
it out loud.

「The real authority for managing church is in the possession of the

archbishops in the round-table conference. You too surely know
about that.」

「Of course, I’m aware that the authority of your eminence the pope
is also presiding over the archbishops even in such case.」

His predecessor snorted. That was because he was aware that he

who was an archbishop at that time didn’t actually hold any such
respect at the slightest toward the pope.

「What is demanded from a pope is to keep the secret of the

church’s darkness no matter what kind of method he has to use and
to prepare for the coming crisis.」

「──The coming crisis?」

There wasn’t an ideology about the end of the world in the teaching
of Europa religion.

Page | 120
Although even if there was such ideology, there was no way he
would believe such empty story.

「The true objective of our Europa religion isn’t to give salvation to

all living things under the name of Europa. It’s to protect this world
from invasion.」

「Haa?」

He let out a stupid sounding voice.

Certainly mediating between countries to prevent wars from

happening was a praiseworthy role of the church. However he could
only feel puzzled if he was told that was the true objective of the
church.

At that time he wondered whether his predecessor had started to

turn senile and delusional.

「It can’t be helped that you can’t believe it. But that will only be
until you ascertain it with your own eyes.」

His predecessor laughed cynically.

「──Watch. The truth of the church lie here.」

Light was overflowing bit by bit. The laughter of his predecessor was
getting louder along with that.

He grimaced slightly from the irritating voice that touched his nerves.

「You sir won’t be able to escape anymore after learning the truth.
Only those who can bear the weight of this truth can become the
pope.」

The pope cut off his recollection and let out a deep sigh.

Page | 121
The seal was undone in his era of all time.

How troublesome, he didn’t become a pope for something like this.

Even though his only wish should be to obtain a peace that nobody
could violate…..

──If I make a mistake in my leadership, the church will lose its

meaning of existence and the world will follow the path of
destruction.

「……I don’t know how much he know but, Count Valerie Ost, he
can’t be allowed to live.」

If Valerie arrived at the unvarnished truth, he would have to be killed

first before Baldr.

But, as expected the pope couldn’t imagine that Valerie could

possibly know of the truth. It was impossible for anybody than the
pope to know about this secret.

If it was only about the existence of King’s Gate then all the top brass
of the church were in the know.

「Perhaps……no, there is no way.」

He didn’t want to consider that the information leaked out from the
church, but if that wasn’t the case that meant Valerie gathered
information from the beastman race.

「First we will have to kill Baldr Antrim Cornelius before thinking

about this.」

If they could just kill that man, the church wouldn’t need to have a
second thought about killing Valerie or turning the dukedom into
enemy.

Page | 122
Besides the dukedom too wouldn’t be that obsessed with making
trouble with the church that they would even turn Answerer
Kingdom into their enemy.

「Things just won’t go as they should.」

Page | 123
Part 5
「I shall act as liaison between your excellency and the church from
now on. Please treat me as you see fit.」

Martell bowed deeply toward Valerie wearing the ceremonial dress

of a bishop.

「My goodness, looks like you have drawn the short end of the
sticks.」

Surprisingly it was Martell who was chosen to act as the church’s

liaison for their cooperation with the dukedom.

Martell was aware that this wasn’t a promotion or the like at all for
him.

He was given the mission to betray Valerie when the times came and
then killed himself on the spot regardless whether he succeeded or
failed.

The failure that Martell committed was just that big. It wouldn’t be
that strange for him to be executed immediately after he returned at
that time.

「I’m envious.」

「Envious?」

Valerie shook his head as though he was speaking from the bottom
of his heart. Martell naturally asked him.

「The church appointed you sir to become a liaison because they

don’t have any doubt at all that you have turned traitor toward the
church. I only have several subordinates who I can trust to such
degree.」

Page | 124
Martel had certainly committed a blunder.

However the church didn’t hold any suspicion at all that Martell
might have betrayed the church and switched side to Valerie. The
faith of those who belonged to the special corrective force wasn’t
that weak.

There was no doubt that only the church or the beastman race was
able to believe in the loyalty of their members like this throughout
the continent.

(How truly envious. Though it’s a different matter between not

turning traitor and not causing loss. Are they intending to send
poison to this me using this man?)

Sometimes it was none other than virtue that ended up inviting

destruction in the nastiest way.

It was exactly because Martell was a capable and perfectly faithful

man that he had extremely great utility value for Valerie.

Page | 125
Part 6
The commanding officer of Trystovy Dukedom’s first fleet Federigo
Romano was leading Gigante and continued to seal ocean current
Medina even now.

It was one of the three great currents that made Mulberry as thriving
as it was. Just because the other two currents had been taken back
wasn’t any reason to abandon this current.

It was a headache for the maritime guild that this area that was one
of the major sea routes continued to be blockaded. Just because two
of the three had become usable didn’t solve all the problems.

On the other hand the dukedom side also received great impact
because the sea routes blockade that should corner Mulberry in a
short time was broken through. It was said that the navy minister
Tommaso had submitted his resignation to the archduke unofficially.

He heard that the archduke delayed from making a decision, but

Federigo wondered how would it be in the end.

「Well, no one ever imagined that this Gigante would be done in

that easily.」

Gigante was a fortress that was floating on sea.

This ship wasn’t amusing for sailors, but this ship was created so the
conventional way of fighting until now by shooting arrows at each
other and boarding the enemy ship for close quarter combat became
impossible.

The difference of height between the deck of Gigante and other ship
was too great that a proper close range combat couldn’t occur.

Page | 126
If Federigo was told to fight Gigante, he would recruit suicide corps
and set his ship on fire to crash into Gigante. That was the only idea
that he could think of.

It was a method that was no different than a declaration of defeat as

a sailor who had confidence in his own ability until now.

The kingdom army conquered that Gigante──or rather it was

trounced by some absurd heroic women with brute force──at first
Federigo couldn’t believe that story.

It would be more believable to hear that Gigante was sunk, but a

ship being taken over was a disgraceful story for the crews, and no
matter how hard he racked his brain he couldn’t think of any method
to take over Gigante.

When he learned that the story was really true, he was honestly at
his wits’ end.

He didn’t know how should he fight an opponent that was able to

occupy Gigante with close-quarter combat.

The only idea he could think was to not allow the enemy got near
from the start and to increase his side’s firepower.

If possible he wanted to double the size of his fleet, but the declining
dukedom didn’t have any leeway for that.

And yet he also didn’t have the option of not strengthening his
combat force.

With a Gigante falling into the kingdom’s hand, the armada of

maritime guild that was commanded by Admiral Barbarino became
completely free to act.

It was earnest desire as a military man to settle his rivalry with his
old enemy, but he couldn’t possibly let his guard down against

Page | 127
Urraca de Parma, the navy minister of Majorca who was even
extolled as the personification of the sea god.

Or rather presently Federigo was forced to prioritize preserving his

fleet that he was unable to deal with Urraca who was rampaging
across Marmara Sea.

「Good grief, so this is what Trystovy navy that was once said to be
the ruler of the south seas is now reduced into.」

It was useless to reminisce about it now, but in the past both the
maritime guild and Sanapniradeon were under the control of
Trystovy and it was said that one day the country would surpass
Answerer Kingdom as the continent’s strongest.

When he was still nothing more than an officer, Federigo was

burning with ambition and dream.

He swore he would become an admiral and sailed fast through this

south seas under the title of the strongest. And then he would
perform conspicuous service that left his name in history.

Unfortunately his dream didn’t come true except for being an

admiral.

「Well, nothing will start if I just grumble here.」

Federigo scratched his head awkwardly. Then there was a report

from the sailor on guard duty that there was enemy ship sighted.

「──So they came.」

Even Federigo could see that a fleet of around thirty ships was
approaching here from the west.

「They arrive exactly as scheduled. The skill of those overserious

fellows from Answerer isn’t bad.」

Page | 128
His tone was casual but Federigo’s expression couldn’t hide his
humiliation. After all the glorious navy of Trystovy Dukedom had lost
a Gigante and they couldn’t deny that they were unable to maintain
the control of the sea with their own strength.

After Trystovy Dukedom negligently lost Gigante that Answerer

Kingdom generously lent to them, Answerer Kingdom took the
plunge and sent direct aid to them.

──The reinforcement that was sent to the dukedom wasn’t just the
land army under the leadership of Mikhail.

Rather for Answerer Kingdom that was being bothered with internal
troubles from Nedras Kingdom’s resistance, this reinforcement in the
form of their navy that didn’t have any place to raise achievements
right now was the main reinforcement.

「──The sea here is really calm.」

「──This feels a bit lacking for us who were trained in the rough sea
of Galeares(ガレアレス).」

On top of the flag ship of the reinforcement fleet for Trystovy

Kingdom, the fleet commander Percival and the ship captain
Domitory looked at each other and laughed.

Their headquarters Sevastopol was located at the western edge of

Answerer Kingdom. It was known for its freezing coldness and strong
wind.

The power of the sea merchant in their country was strong. The good
harbors with warm climate were controlled by the merchants.

Page | 129
The navy in Answerer Kingdom had contented themselves with their
position as social outcast until now, but the expedition to Trystovy
this time was an unexpected chance for them to raise achievements.

Percival was a young and energetic commander. Everyone had high

expectation to the future of this young admiral.

He was a masculine handsome man with darkish skin from the sun
and sea breeze. He looked strangely picturesque with his reddish-
brown hair that was only tied up simply.

Although he was considered young, he had finally stepped into age

forty not long ago. In the end he was considered young only among
the top brass of the navy.

Percival was able to be promoted as admiral at his thirty was also

greatly helped by his status as an influential noble. That was why he
was hungry for a chance to prove his ability.

Domitory was staring at that youthful vanity smilingly.

There was no military man who didn’t want to obtain achievements.

A man who didn’t wish for fame and achievements was just a man
without any ball.

Besides it wasn’t just Percival who wished for enemy they should
fight and achievements.

Domitory was also feeling his blood seething in anticipation to the

enemy that they hadn’t seen yet.

「I pray that we will meet worthy enemies.」

「Even if we take all the stories with a grain of salt, I think our
opponent will be fun enough you know? Although perhaps even that
is already within the calculation of the top brass.」

Page | 130
「Yeah, certainly──」

Percival muttered with a troubled look.

「Around this time……」

They weren’t the only fleet that departed from Answerer Kingdom.
The time had come to prove that Answerer Kingdom was the
strongest not only on land but also at sea.

Besides no matter how excellent of an admiral Urraca or Barbarino

was, Percival had the state-of-the-art weapon that he was given from
his motherland.

「I’ll turn them all into my stepping stones.」

At that time a flag signal from Federigo’s flag ship was displayed to
welcome them.

「Reefing! Midship!」

The imposing appearance of Gigante that was originally constructed

in Answerer Kingdom was going strong.

To think that a ship this gigantic had been taken by the enemy, just
how worthless the dukedom navy was? Indeed, it was
understandable that the other side had to borrow their strength.

「Tell them that there is no need to worry anymore now that we are
here.」

Federigo threw his hat on the deck in fury when he saw the flag
signal from Percival.

「A tourist who doesn’t know anything dare to……don’t act like a big
shot you bastard!」

Page | 131
Indeed, the national power of Answerer Kingdom was really
something with how they were able to dispatch two fleets here while
still leaving behind their main fleet back in their homeland. He
recognized that it was a feat that the dukedom could never do no
matter how hard they might try.

「However, don’t think that you guys will still be able to act smug
like that when your opponent is Tormenta Negra and the Sea Wolf
Barbarino.」

Page | 132
Part 7
「Come on, come on! Are the men of the sea from Trystovy nothing
but coward?」

After Majorca Kingdom’s participation in the war became public and

Urraca didn’t need to be sneaky anymore, she went around attacking
all the merchant fleets of the dukedom that she could find.

The number of merchants ships that Urraca had sunk since the start
of war had reached dozens. The dukedom’s economy was gradually
weakening due to that immense damage.

The maritime guild wasn’t the only maritime merchant in Trystovy.

Rather the number of sea merchants who surrendered to the
dukedom was also quite a lot.

It was obvious but, they wouldn’t be able to do their business if they

didn’t go out to the sea.

Although they were given several ships as escort, the escort knew
that they wouldn’t be able to oppose Urraca. They would
immediately scramble to run away as soon as Urraca approached.
Because of that the merchant fleet of the dukedom could only be
hunted down as a pitiful prey.

「……Really, there are nothing but gutless bunch here. Don’t they
feel anything even if their sea route got crushed?」

「No, as expected there’s no way that’s the case.」

For a maritime nation, marine traffic route was their lifeline.

Trystovy Dukedom also had vast land territory, but there was no
doubt that it was essentially a maritime nation.

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Actually there were too many obstacles that made it impossible for
Trystovy to rely on their land traffic route.

There was Piller Mountains at their border with Mauricia Kingdom

that blocked the way. At the north there was the pope territory that
was considered untouchable. And then Grand Duchy Tenedora at the
east had become a vassal state of Answerer Kingdom and since then
the public order there kept worsening.

The cost-effectiveness of the land route was incomparably bad than

the maritime trade.

On top of that the population in the pope territory and Grand Duchy
Tenedora wasn’t high by all means.

If they allowed Urraca to continue destroying the commerce like this,

sooner or later the merchants of the dukedom would be forced into
bankruptcy.

「……Hm?」

Urraca’s sixth sense and her inhuman sight caught the silhouette of
ship at the horizon.

「Hou, so there is still a lively leftover here.」

Urraca talked to herself joyfully, but contrary to her expectation, the

opponent wasn’t at the level of simply a lively leftover.

What appeared from beyond the horizon was the combined fleet
that was led by Percival and Federigo. It was a large scale fleet that
numbered nearly fifty ships.

「Well well, looks like those guys are also getting serious.」

Page | 134
「……As expected we can’t hope to contend with that number.
We’re going to link up with Admiral Barbarino just as planned. But,
we won’t get punished even if we prank them for a bit right?」

「But of course boss lady.」

「Yosh, port! Open and change the jive!」

「Ma’am!」

「Enemy ship accelerating!」

「Are they sane?」

If they thought they could win against a grand fleet of nearly fifty
ships with a fleet of only four ships, then the people there must have
a serious case of megalomania.

Until this moment Percival still considered this as something like a

puppy nipping at his heel.

「Three is a signal from the dukedom fleet. The enemy fleet is led by
Tormenta Negra.」

「──What?」

The woman was the navy minister of Majorca Kingdom and she was
said to be the cornerstone for Baldr Antrim Cornelius’s war effort at
the sea. Percival couldn’t believe that such person would show this
kind of foolhardiness in this kind of place.

In the end she is just a woman, such contempt welled up in Percival’s

chest. At the same time a chill that had saved him several times until
now although he couldn’t explain how ran through his spine.

(No, don’t tell me──)

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Percival thought of this chill as his instinct as living being that warned
him of danger.

In other words, his instinct was telling him that fleet of only four
ships possessed a fang that could put him in enough danger.

His mind could hardly believe it, but Percival trusted on his instinct
more.

「Be on your guard! Stretch out our flanks!」

「Sir!」

「Don’t approach the enemy ships other than the marines! Take
some distance and don’t let them break through!」

「Sir!」

Most likely Urraca’s aim was to take advantage of how large this
combined fleet was and how the coordination between Trystovy
fleet and Answerer fleet was still awkward.

However the skill of the dukedom fleet wasn’t that bad that they
would needlessly hinder Answerer fleet.

Next if the marine unit that was the pride of Answerer Kingdom
could board the enemy ships, the battle would be as good as over.

「E-enemy ships accelerating! They’re fast!」

「Calm down! You can’t win a battle just by being fast!」

This sea shouldn’t be Urraca’s turf, and yet she was able to read the
wind until this far. Percival was amazed in his heart.

Perhaps Urraca was more skilled than him in handling ship.

Page | 136
But, it would be a great mistake if she thought that she could
overcome this overwhelming difference in number with just ship
handling skill.

「Fore topsail a back! Mizzen spanker whole in!」

「Ma’am!」

「Let the stern drift! Open and change the jive!」

「Ma’am!」

「Hard starboard!」

「Ma’am!」

Urraca’s ship looked like it was accelerating and charging forward,

but the ship’s bow rapidly turned to another direction.

It was a magnificent maneuver that was really difficult to imitate.

Even though their ships were sailing to the same direction, Urraca’s
fleet was slowly getting farther. Percival noticed that and he felt his
body burning with humiliation that he had never felt until now.

Urraca showed her acrobatic right before them only to show off the
difference in skill as sailor between them.

Percival’s humiliation was great because he could comprehend that

he was unable to do the same thing like that.

「D-don’t screw with me! Oi, take out that thing!」

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「……Your excellency, the possibility is high that we will miss at this
range. It won’t be wise to allow the enemy learn of that thing’s
existence just for this.」

「You’re right. I’ve shown you an unsightly side of me.」

Domitory’s composed warning made Percival immediately recovered

his rationality.

「……The enemy ships escaped. Tell the watchers to not slack off in
their vigilance.」

「Sir!」

Urraca’s back quickly grew smaller until it only looked like a speck at
far away. Percival muttered a curse.

「Tormenta Negra, the price of this humiliation is going to be

expensive!」

Page | 138
Part 8
By subduing the atrocious pirate Sanpaniradeon, the safety of south
seas route that was connecting Majorca Kingdom and Trystovy
Dukedom became guaranteed to a degree that was never felt before.

Sanjuan Kingdom also set out to develop the south seas that had
finally turned safe. Selina’s Cornelius Company that took up
residence in Sanjuan Kingdom was also quickly organizing a
merchant fleet.

There were enormous demands in Trystovy. Cornelius Company had

the ability to export and fulfill those demands so naturally their
business was booming.

Of course Dowding Company was backing up Cornelius Company in

full.

For Dowding Group that had become a big company that was
distinguished even in the whole continent, their advance to the
shipping industry was literally a large undertaking that put their
company’s future into a bet.

「The tailwind is also blowin’ to a favorable direction right now.」

Selina was feeling a great delight in front of the newly made

merchant fleet of Cornelius Company.

At present they only had four ships, but it was planned that six more
ships would be completed within the year.

The one who was commanding this merchant fleet was a veteran
captain who belonged to Sanpaniradeon in the past, Kazru.

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He once was even entrusted to command a sub fleet of
Sanpaniradeon. He withdrew from Sanpaniradeon after the group’s
surrender. He couldn’t bring himself to fight under the command of
army no matter what.

Even so he also couldn’t bear to separate from the sea. Selina’s job
offer was truly a godsend for him.

The crews of his ships, and even the helmsmen and navigation
officers were all veterans from Sanpaniradeon.

Even if their number was few, having a veteran leader or not was like
the difference between heaven and earth.

「We gotta spread our market in order to make the dukedom dry up
too.」

The price of salt at the dukedom fell drastically due to Selina’s

scheme and many nobles and merchants of the dukedom were
driven into bankruptcy. The dukedom put an embargo to Sanjuan
Kingdom’s salt in order to adjust the price.

The mass produced cheap salt from Sanjuan Kingdom was in great
demand, so they weren’t troubled in searching for new buyer for it.
Even if the embargo from Trystovy Dukedom continued, it wouldn’t
be a problem at all.

Besides there were many products that they could export, like the
cultured pearl or diamond.

Sanjuan Kingdom had left Trystovy in the dust in regard to shipping

industry. Now they started to act to use this chance to expand the
market in the south seas.

Cornelius Company had strong connection with Sanjuan Kingdom’s

government through various points. The company received favorable

Page | 140
treatment and it made the major merchants that had done their
business for long in Sanjuan Kingdom to be displeased.

However they weren’t so foolish as though to openly act hostile to

Cornelius Company despite their displeasure. Rather they considered
this as a great chance and with indomitable business soul they also
profited a lot from it. This was the characteristic quality of the
merchants.

And then just the other day too, a newly formed fleet set sail to
Trystovy fully loaded with foods and clothing. The owner of the fleet
was a well-established company of Sanjuan Kingdom, Gilbey
Company.

「Hmph, I’m not going to let that greenhorn brat get even further
ahead from us than this!」

The company president Adnams angrily stood at the lead of his fleet.

As a senior figure who had done business in Sanjuan Kingdom for

many years, his pride wouldn’t allow him to stand below a young
woman like Selina.

Of course he was aware that there was Dowding Company and the
hero Baldr Antrim Cornelius behind Selina.

But this and that were two different stories.

Unfortunately Gilbey Company didn’t have a special product that

others couldn’t imitate like Cornelius Company.

In exchange they had a lot of old acquaintances. They had deep

connection with the producers of agricultural products. They were
food trader who didn’t allow any other company to catch up with
them in Sanjuan Kingdom.

Page | 141
The current situation where they could anticipate a war to break out
where the participants would need a great amount of food was a
chance that was hard to come by.

Although Dowding Company exported the grains of Haurelia

Kingdom through Mauricia to Trystovy, the amount was still
completely insufficient to satisfy the demands of the whole country.

People would rush to buy their products no matter how high the
price was. I won’t let Cornelius Company act like a big shot yet,
Adnams swore in high spirits.

His fleet was also composed of ten ships, twice the size of Cornelius
Company’s fleet. The fleet was also accompanied by two more ships
as escort.

The crews of the fleet also weren’t amateur in combat. They could
also become a brutal armed group on their own.

If they encountered the patrol boats of the dukedom, they would be

able to repel them with their own effort.

To say nothing of how the control of the sea was almost completely
within the grasp of their country right now. The risk of getting
pillaged by a pirate group like Sanpaniradeon like in the past was
extremely small.

「──Old man, there is sign of ships at two o’clock.」

The confidante that Adnams trusted Kalira pointed with his finger.
There several ships outlines that looked like battleship were lining
up.

「There are nearly twenty ships──are they Sanpaniradeon? No,

there are even more ships behind them!」

A chilling cold ran through his back.

Page | 142
That movement was easy to understand for those who had lived for
long on the sea──that was undoubtedly battle maneuver.

Page | 143
Part 9
Even after Sanpaniradeon was defeated by Urraca and put
themselves under her command, the pirate group still continued
their act of piracy toward the dukedom’s ships.

Their ships had decreased until half of their number at their heyday.
Kailas was also gone to follow Urraca. Right now their might wasn’t
as great like in the past, but they were still a power on the sea that
couldn’t be underestimated.

The maritime guild and Urraca’s fleet were restraining themselves

from making any movement in preparation for the decisive battle
against the dukedom. As the result it could be said that they were
currently the sea force that could move with the most freedom in
Marmara Sea right now.

「──The business is bad. God dammit!」

Recently they couldn’t find any dukedom ships anywhere, perhaps

because the damage to them was rapidly increasing.

Those ships were the source of nourishment for Sanpaniradeon’s

living. The head Murdeka was at his wits’ end when they couldn’t
find any prey like this. They would be doomed.

Of course their income right now didn’t only come from attacking
other ships. Sanpaniradeon had also started their own marine
transport.

Majorca Kingdom also provided them with the minimum amount of

money to maintain their fighting strength. They wouldn’t be troubled
of what to eat even at the peace time, but a wild man of the sea like
Murdeka couldn’t help but feel really dissatisfied with this lack of
action.

Page | 144
(This pirate business will most likely get closed down when this war is
over huh.)

Murdeka was convinced of that.

If Baldr was crowned as the king of Trystovy, Marmara Sea would be

filled with only the fleet of the allied countries.

If there was no enemy that should be attacked, it was clear that the
pirate business wouldn’t be able to continue.

Sanpaniradeon that had continued for many years would end in his
generation.

One day his comrades too would start up their own company or get
hired by a company somewhere to live in the sea and die in the sea.

He didn’t think of that as a bad thing, but he certainly also still

wishing to fight.

「──Ten o’clock! It’s not merchant ship! It’s battleship!」

「Watchman! Confirm their flag! Are they guest or dukedom?」

After a while, the watchman raised his voice.

「Dukedom……and not just them. Those are, Answerer Kingdom’s

battleships!」

「Hou, so those guys aren’t just helping the dukedom on land but
also on sea huh.」

「The enemy fleet numbered around thirty ships, they’re coming

here!」

Murdeka received the report of a real sea battle that suddenly fell on
their lap with joy.

Page | 145
Murdeka’s darkish skin shivered in excitement. He wondered when
was the last time he tasted the feeling of tension from standing
between life and death.

「Hard port!」

The fleet that Murdeka was commanding right now was 18 ships. As
expected it would be unfavorable for them to face the opponent
head on.

They would need to lure the enemies to their own turf even just for a
bit.

It would be even better if they could receive reinforcement.

「Match the trim! Keep watch at the distance between us!」

He appreciated the enemies’ effort that they finally set out in

earnest to subjugate them, but unfortunately he didn’t have the duty
to obediently let himself be defeated.

Even though he wasn’t at the level of Kailas the Clairvoyant, Murdeka

also had the confidence that he wouldn’t fall behind the dukedom.

「So those are Sanpaniradeon, the pirate.」

「……Pirate huh. If we are going to fight anyway I prefer to face

Sanjuan Kingdom’s navy instead.」

The man laughed in disappointment.

The name of this man past middle-aged who was in command of the
fleet was Bale Kippard(ベイル・キッパード).

His thinning hair on his head was like the representation of the
months and years he had been accumulating.

Page | 146
Although recently he was feeling his stamina was declining, he still
didn’t have any intention to retire. As a commander, this was the age
where he was hitting his stride.

──This fleet was a sub fleet that Trystovy Dukedom and Answerer
Kingdom formed.

The dukedom that received abundant supply of reinforcement from

Answerer Kingdom decided to sever the marine transportation
routes of not only the maritime guild but also Majorca Kingdom and
Sanjuan Kingdom.

From time immemorial, a unit going around the front line to appear
behind the enemy wasn’t that rare of a happening.

There was a general rule that battle strength had to be focused in its
usage. However they decided to ignore this rule and divided their
force was because there was a circumstance where they wanted to
sever Baldr’s supply line even if only temporarily.

That circumstance was that the dukedom was planning to invade

Mulberry once more.

To make it a success, it would be troubling if Baldr brought a large

amount of the mysterious weapons that were produced in Antrim
territory to Mulberry.

With the combat force in their possession right now, the dukedom
judged that they could win against the kingdom army even with the
King’s Gate’s owners at the opposing side.

As expected it was the existence of Count Valerie Ost who had strong
influence in the making of that decision.

Europa religion was supporting the dukedom from the shadow.

Although it wasn’t an open support, but it still brought a great
influence to the moral of the dukedom.

Page | 147
「──How foolish. The like of pirates should just sink into the sea
quickly.」

「How about we experiment with that thing?」

Bale tilted his head and pondered the captain’s advice.

「It’s annoying to use that thing against mere pirates but……」

He said that while watching Murdeka’s fleet that was changing

direction to the port side to escape.

「……Hmph.」

And then he snorted with a bit of amusement.

The pirate’s ship handling was truly skilful.

They pretended to run away while trying to lure Bale’s fleet to the
east.

Certainly with such speed, this fleet wouldn’t be able to catch the
pirates unless they full rushed to the east.

He felt that the pirates were impertinent for plotting such thing.

「They’re underestimating us.」

He thought that he was being belittled that the pirates were thinking
that they could lead him around that easily.

He would make them understood who was the prey and who was
the hunter here.

Even if sheeps grouped up to hunt a wolf, they would only become

delicious dinner. He would teach that fact to those pirates.

Bale silently lifted up his right hand.

Page | 148
「──Open all the sails! Don’t let those pirates escape!」

What the armed merchant fleet of Gilbey Company under the

command of Adnams was witnessing was the fleet of Bale when they
were just about to catch Murdeka’s fleet within their attack range.

「Tsk, they are better than I thought.」

Murdeka clicked his tongue seeing the enemy catching up faster than
he expected.

「Their teamwork with their helper also isn’t bad.」

It was also unexpected that the coordination between Answerer

Kingdom and the dukedom was going smoothly.

He could see that their chain of command was clearly united.

(I don’t know which country is taking command but, they are quite
skilled.)

「But they are still not a match against boss Kailas and Tormenta
Negra!」

Murdeka’s fighting spirit still hadn’t broken even now because he

knew of the existences with ultimate ability as sailor.

At that day, in Akaba where lightning danced boisterously, he

experienced a dream like battle that he would never forget even in
his death.

Kailas and Urraca read the wind as though the god of wind had
possessed them. It was a legendary battle where both sides
displayed the full extent of their ability fiercely. Compared to that
time a disadvantage of this level was nothing to fear.

Page | 149
「Old man, there are ships at eight o’clock……it’s a merchant fleet.」

「Which country they are from?」

「Sanjuan Kingdom……Gilbey Company. They are accompanied by

two fast ships as escort!」

He was expecting a reinforcement but it was questionable whether a

merchant fleet’s combat strength would be helpful in this situation.

If possible he wanted to join hand with Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet.

「We haven’t caught sight of Sanjuan’s navy recently. Don’t tell me

they are playing hooky with their job?」

Murdeka spontaneously grumbled.

Was it because Sanpaniradeon had stopped being their enemy?

Recently the movement of Sanjuan Kingdom’s navy was terribly dull.
From Murdeka’s perspective, it was an unforgivable negligence.

「Dammit, ain’t no way we’re going to make amateurs into sacrifice.

」

For the dukedom’s fleet, attacking Sanjuan Kingdom’s merchant

ships like Gilbey Company and destroying the commerce here was
their main mission instead.

It would be easy to abandon them and run away, but his pride as
Sanpaniradeon didn’t allow that.

Although they often hunted merchant ships, they wouldn’t become a

pirate from the start if they did something like sacrificing merchant
ships to survive.

「Starboard!」

「Starboard, sir!」

Page | 150
「……Although I can’t see as far as a thousand kilometers like the
clairvoyant, even someone like me can see for at least two or three
hundred kilometers.」

Bale didn’t misunderstood the reason why Murdeka’s fleet changed

direction.

「They aren’t that bad for pirates.」

It was difficult even for the average navy officer to choose to fight a
disadvantageous battle for the sake of civilian ship.

Bale recognized that old pirate, Murdeka as an opponent that was

more than the average navy.

Even so it still didn’t change the fact that they were his prey.

「I’ll thankfully eat this meal. Though I look like this I’m actually
experienced with cooking.」

What should he do to obtain superiority in ship handling, what

should he do to whittle down the enemy’s morale, what should he
do to divide the enemy, what should he do to sever the enemy’s
escape path.

Bale’s brain was already simulating dozens of paths to annihilate

Murdeka and his men.

The pirates had the skill to be troublesome if they focused on

running away. He was thankful instead that they were coming at
him. He would sink them all without leaving a single one.

「First, second!」

「Sir!」

Page | 151
Bale pointed at an object placed at the port side of the ship. It looked
like a black box.

Several crews ran toward the black box as though they had been
waiting for that instruction and began their preparation.

The face of the ship captain who was watching that also looked
vaguely exhilarated.

「……Captain, your cheek is twitching.」

「Nuoh! T-this is really shameful. My heart is throbbing like this

despite my age.」

「The church was also hiding something terrifying huh.」

Why did the church possess this kind of weapon and offered it to
Answerer Kingdom and Trystovy Dukedom? Bale who was nothing
more than a humble admiral had no way of knowing the answer.

However he was able to easily imagine just how much might such
weapon would display in the battlefield.

It might even change history.

It seemed the church wouldn’t allow the mass production of the

weapon, but it was only a problem of time until that restriction was
broken.

In the near future, all the seas would surely fall under the control of
Answerer Kingdom and Trystovy Dukedom.

No, the dukedom that was exhausted from their civil war wouldn’t
have the strength to continuously maintain and strengthen this
weapon.

In that case Answerer Kingdom would be the one that became the
ruler of the sea…….

Page | 152
What a miserable story. Even though it was Trystovy that was said as
the future ruler of the south seas when Bale was still young.

It was a vexing story, but he should just be happy to have the chance
to raise achievements like this at the end of his career.

「Preparation is finished!」

Murdeka’s fleet accelerated to cross toward the right side of Bale’s

fleet from the front.

It seemed that they were planning to concentrate their attack to the

vanguard of Bale’s fleet that was crowding together in order to
compensate for their lack of number.

The enemy’s tactic and action weren’t wrong by any means.

However, that was only if his side didn’t have the secret weapon.

「Don’t you dare miss……First, second, fire!」

「Sir!」

A suspicious light could be seen. Then right after that, Murdeka felt a
terrible chill and swiftly gave the order.

「Hard port!」

「Hard port, sir!」

That instantaneous instinct saved Murdeka.

It was the next moment that two unknown objects that were
spewing out fire flew out from the enemy ship.

「Hurry, hard port!」

「No good! We won’t make it!」

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The mysterious objects hit the second ship that was sailing diagonally
right behind the flag ship that Murdeka was boarding.

*Gou* an explosive sound that caused buzzing in the ears resounded

and the side of the second ship got big black hole opened in it. Fire
was spreading from there.

It was almost a miracle that Murdeka’s flagship dodged that.

Murdeka’s boast that although he couldn’t match Kailas’s clairvoyant

that could see until 1000 km, he could at least see 200 or 300 km
wasn’t just a big talk. All first class sailors without exception had
instinct that worked in unexpected situation.

──He didn’t know what just happened.

But whether he wanted it or not, Murdeka guessed that attack was

something that would change the existing sea battle until now from
its root. He also understood that the era of sailors like him had
passed.

Even without asking anybody else, he was the one who knew best
that they already had no chance of winning.

But──.

「……Tell everyone, come with me only if you want to die.」

Strangely the option of running away didn’t cross his mind.

He only had the conviction that it was only at this moment he would
be able to burn his life as a sailor brightly until it ran out.

Most likely if he ran away right now, he would grow scared at that
flaming monster and wouldn’t be able to go near it.

It would be over for a pirate if he became scared to approach a ship.

Page | 154
「There isn’t a single guy here who is going to abandon you old man.
」

「Really you all are such whimsical idiots!」

Even a gathering of pirates who had strayed off the right path had
their own pride. Rather it was exactly because they were pirates that
their bonds with their comrades were firm. That tendency was
especially strong among the combat force.

The probability of death in sea battle was far higher than a battle on
land. If the ship sunk than in most cases the crew would share its
fate.

If they joined the navy then it was also possible to be promoted and
got on land. However pirates lived on the sea and died on the sea.

There wasn’t even a single person here who considered living long
and retired in peace and tranquil on land.

They could risk their life for alcohol and money, but they could also
risk their life for battle and their commander.

Naturally they chose to bet their life on Murdeka’s pride.

Bale was a competent commander, but he miscalculated the pride of

such pirates.

「To miss at this range……their training is still insufficient.」

「What now? Should we prepare to fire the next shot?」

「We can’t use such precious weapon on the likes of pirate for even
more than this! What’s more we are in advantage both in number
and quality. Don’t make us lose face.」

「──Roger.」

Page | 155
Bale frowned in displeasure seeing there was still some reluctance
remaining in the captain’s expression.

It was only human to want to win easily. He also understood the

captain’s feeling of wanting to test a new weapon, but the supplier
of this weapon was the church, so there was a limit in how many
times they could use it.

Furthermore they hadn’t even fought the navy of Sanjuan Kingdom

that was being commanded by Admiral Jose who was famous for his
ingenuity. He wanted to avoid using up even more of the weapon
than this.

However putting it another way, Bale’s thinking was the proof that
he was underestimating Sanpaniradeon. The ship captain who was
more knowledgeable of the scene on the field understood just how
tough Murdeka was.

「Enemy ships accelerating! They are charging!」

「What did you say-?」

He never expected the enemy would still have the willpower to

charge forward once more after witnessing the might of the new
weapon.

Bale was a capable officer and he had an understanding about the

new weapon, that was why he knew that the pirates didn’t have any
chance of winning even if they fought. He completely ignored the
possibility of the enemy still maintaining their fighting spirit at this
stage.

「──Don’t look down on me!」

The enemy’s force was just half of his fleet at best. Furthermore their
new weapon had just destroyed one of the enemy ships. And yet the

Page | 156
enemy was still heading their way. He could only think of it as them
looking down on him.

「Third, fourth, prepare to fire!」

I told you so, the ship captain didn’t say that. He glared at Murdeka’s
fleet without letting his guard down and gave an order with a calm
voice.

「Prepare the third and fourth.」

「Preparing the third and fourth, sir!」

「The enemy fleet is splitting into two and accelerate further!」

「They are suicidal. Don’t take them head on! Make use of our
number!」

Bale too finally understood that the morale of Murdeka and his men
wasn’t normal.

There was nothing greater that could upset a calculation than

unexpected human emotion that couldn’t be measured with logic.

Those pirates were prey that should be hunted, but there was also
wounded ferocious beast that might kill and eat the hunter.

They would be in danger if they didn’t finish of the pirates quickly.

「The enemy is planning to board us for close-quarter combat! Tell

the marine to prepare quickly!」

Originally it would be a suicidal act for Sanpaniradeon to attempt

boarding action when they had inferior number.

However they had no leeway to take their time with arrow battle
and ship handling contest. They wouldn’t do something like this if

Page | 157
they were the type of people who tried buying time like that to
escape.

「──Wait until they are closer. Absolutely don’t miss this time.」

The target was only the flagship.

Even this insane fighting spirit that was outside his calculation
wouldn’t be able to continue if the commander was gone.

The next attack had to make that flagship sunk no matter what. After
that they would only have to take their time annihilating the pirates.

It was infuriating that he was forced to use a lot of the new weapons
that were their trump card, but it would be far more problematic if
he allowed his fleet to be damaged in this kind of place.

It was possible to receive more of the new weapons, but replenishing

trained ship crews who were lost was difficult.

Ship crews needed far longer training compared to land soldier.

In that sense, Murdeka’s decision to pick this moment as the place to

fight wasn’t mistaken.

The possibility was high that they would lose if they had to fight the
enemy fleet after their new weapon had been replenished again.

「──Prepare fire arrow. You bastards, don’t you dare croak until you
have killed at least three people!」

「You are really kind old man that you aren’t asking us to kill ten
people.」

「Heh! I’ll make you into ship captain if you can kill ten people.」

Page | 158
Murdeka and his subordinate pirates were laughing while feeling
fear and exhilaration simultaneously.

They felt happiness from fighting. It was a kind of distortion, but that
was exactly why they were conversely pure and sincere men.

(Look closely, sharpen your mind! I’m not gonna get done in here
without wreaking havoc first!)

Murdeka’s concentration reached a height that he had never

experienced before.

He felt like that he had even reached the territory of that Kailas if it
was now.

The wind that was caressing his face, it felt like it was talking to him
where did it come from and where it was going to.

「Third, fourth, fire!」

「Mizzen spanker, whole in! Starboard!」

Bale and Murdeka’s order was given almost at the same time.

Murdeka saw through the instant of the shooting with superhuman

focus. He also realized that he couldn’t avoid it anymore.

The distance between both ships had been reduced to almost a

hundred meters.

If his ship could just stay afloat even after this attack, if it could just
hold out for a bit more.

「All hands, duck!」

Page | 159
Murdeka yelled that and curled up in preparation of the impact.

The next moment, the mysterious flaming objects hit the starboard
and the bow of Murdeka’s flagship.

Murdeka’s flagship looked like it was swallowed within a crimson

flower of flame.

「──Did we get them?」

If two shots of the new weapon hit simultaneously, any battleship

would definitely sink. The only ship that could possibly stay afloat
even after such hit would only be the pride of Answerer Kingdom,
Gigante.

However, it didn’t mean that the ship would definitely become

unable to function anymore right after the moment of the hit.

「──Midship, match the trim!」

Murdeka’s flagship that was enveloped in hell fire appeared from

inside the explosion like an undead.

Even though the hull was torn apart and its appearance now looked
like a ghost ship, its sails splendidly caught the wind and accelerated
as though it was gliding on water.

The rash decision to wait until the target came within the near
distance where the new weapon would definitely hit had become a
disaster.

Even though Bale should resolved himself to bear some loss when he
understood that he was facing a formidable opponent, he was acting
prideful unwittingly. However it was already too late to feel regret.

「Hard starboard!」

Page | 160
「D-dodge it no matter what! That ship won’t hold out anymore! If
we can just dodge them……!」

Bale continued to stare at the fast approaching enemy ship as

though he was charmed by a demon.

*Gigi*, the ship changed course to the right with creaking sound.

「No good……」

「You won’t get away.」

The two leaders coincidentally muttered at the same time. Then

right after that Murdeka’s damaged flagship succeeded in ramming
its bow into the port of Bale’s flagship.

There was an impact sound of snapping ship bow followed by a

vibration as though there was a huge storm outside.

In the end it was Murdeka who won the bet.

The ship that was advancing following the law of inertia

magnificently crashed onto the side of Bale’s flagship just before the
ship stopped functioning.

「You bastards! It’s time to show that you’re a man! Go all out!」

「OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!」

All the crews, even the helmsman and the cook yelled with weapon
in hand.

They also understood. They wouldn’t return to this ship anymore.

There was only a little bit of time that the ship could stay afloat like
this.

Page | 161
The fire was spreading through the ship. Water was also continuing
to flood in.

On the other hand, Bale’s flagship also had sea water flooding in
after its port side got rammed, but it wasn’t fatal.

In other words the only way for Murdeka and his men to survive was
to take over Bale’s flagship.

「Shit-! Those damn pirates!」

Bale gritted his teeth because of his blunder that allowed his ship to
be rammed.

The damage to the flagship was serious. When considering that it

wouldn’t be easy to repair the damage while the operation was still
ongoing, this ship was already as good as lost.

「Don’t let those guys return alive! Helmsman, slowly turn the ship!
Mizzen spanker boom out!」

The pirates ran along their ship’s bow that crashed into Bale’s ship
and boarded this ship one after another. Bale gave the instruction to
counter attack while turning the direction of the ship to downwind in
order to get away from Murdeka’s burning flagship.

If the ship could be separated by using the wind’s thrust, that ragged
ship would only sink.

Then they would just slaughter the pirates that boarded this ship
with overwhelming number.

「Enemy ships incoming! They are charging toward the second and
third ship!」

Page | 162
「You lowly pirates, have you all gone crazy! Get cursed by the old
crone witch!」

Bale’s complexion was dyed dark red when he heard the report of
the watchman.

If the ships other than the flagship also got damaged, there was a
risk that it would become impossible for this fleet to continue with
its mission.

Lanchester’s army annihilation equation didn’t exist in this world, but

Bale was aware of the rough damage ratio as a rule of thumb.

The number of the pirate ships was eighteen, so the permissible

damage to his side was only until six ships.

If by any chance the damage ratio was 1:1──in other words him
losing eighteen ships and only had twelve ships remaining, it would
be completely impossible for them to face Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet
after this.

That would be no different from a defeat to the combined fleet of

Trystovy Dukedom and Answerer Kingdom.

「Tell each ship to focus on avoiding collision! Don’t allow the

pirate’s expectation to come true!」

Bale’s order was correct from the perspective of reducing the

damage to his fleet to the maximum.

The problem was that each ship made a large movement when they
tried to avoid the ramming. As the result their movement to assist
the flagship became obstructed.

Ships that got rammed and came to a halt right at this moment like
the third ship were ships that were carrying the marines. They

Page | 163
couldn’t be expected to assist the flagship now and the flagship
would have to repel the pirates with their own force.

──A fierce melee was already starting on the deck.

The pirates that were led by Murdeka had resolved themselves to

die. Their morale was terrific and the majority of the port side had
already been suppressed by the pirates quickly.

The soldiers under the command of Bale were also the cream of the
crop of the regular army with high coordination and skill. They
weren’t losing against the pirates.

However in a ship battle where there were a lot of obstacles and

shaking ground due to the wave and wind, individual valor was more
effective than teamwork.

「Don’t lose against the dukedom’s rookies!」

「Don’t screw around! You lowly pirates!」

Sailors cursed at each other at the center deck that was the main
stage of the melee. It was turning into a battle of who would take
control of the steering wheel.

It was right at that time, the helmsman who was holding the steering
wheel was attempting to catch the wind with the ship’s sail in order
to move the ship away from Murdeka’s burning ship.

The flame was spreading even faster as the clock was ticking. This
ship would inevitably catch fire too if they didn’t get away as quickly
as possible.

They absolutely couldn’t allow the pirates to take control of the

steering wheel.

Page | 164
「Shoot the fire arrows! Don’t let them concentrate on the battle!」

「You madmen! Can’t you differentiate what should be done and

shouldn’t be done here!」

Murdeka already lost the ship to return back to, so his only choice
should be to take over this ship, and yet he casually gave an order
that might cause this ship to be lost too.

Bale clenched his fist so hard it was bleeding after seeing how
outrageous the pirates who were resolved to die were acting.

Although all of this was caused by his hubris, it couldn’t reduce his
rage toward the atrocity of Murdeka and his men.

「Don’t let them approach the wheel no matter what! Anyone who
is free is to extinguish the fire! Archers, calmly use the crossbow to
aim at those guys!」

Bale’s men were from regular army and they had superior number,
but they had to split some men to steer the ship and extinguish the
flame, so they were at disadvantage in the melee.

But when they hardened their defense with their better equipment
and secured advantage in number in the key points, the pirates were
also unable to make a move carelessly against them.

As expected training and number were everything for a protracted

battle.

「──Guwah!」

「Noiz! Are you alright?」

「I can’t go on anymore. Sorry old man, I can’t kill three people. Next
time we drink the tab will be on me.」

Page | 165
Noiz grinned fearlessly while fresh blood was spilling out from his
mouth. It was clear even in Murdeka’s eyes that an arrow had
pierced Noiz’s lung fatally.

「Go ahead of us and buy up all the wines in that world.」

「──See ya.」

Noiz smiled from the bottom of his heart and turned limp like a
puppet that had its strings severed.

Surely this last battle of his life was worth it for him to stake his life
on. His satisfied face was saying that.

「Be careful against the crossbow! They’re aiming at us! Archers,

give us cover!」

「Sir!」

As expected crossbow had better accuracy compared to bow.

The archers were firing arrows quickly to disturb the aim of the other
side’s shooters, but marines with shield were forming a formation to
protect the crossbow shooters, so it wasn’t really effective.

「──GYAAAA!」

One more pirate was showered with arrows and fell.

Bale was relieved here that the battle situation was finally turning
into a favorable direction for him.

If they could hold out just for a bit more, the crews that were
currently extinguishing the flame would also return and they would
be able to launch a pincer attack to the pirates.

Page | 166
Also the wind was also blowing to a favorable direction. This ship was
separating from Murdeka’s flagship little by little. There was no more
worry that this ship would catch fire.

What was left was only to take their time annihilating the pirates.

He underestimated them as mere pirates and received this much

damage, so there was a concern that he would be asked to take
responsibility later.

However, the number of pirate ships that succeeded in ramming his

ships stopped at six ships. The damage to his fleet wouldn’t reach ten
ships even at most.

This was a serious damage to a fleet that was planning to raise havoc
in the sea near Majorca Kingdom and Sanjuan Kingdom after this,
but it wasn’t so serious that they had to cancel the mission.

「We’ll force them back after the sails has been adjusted.」

「Sir!」

If the crews that were extinguishing the fire and operating the sails
also joined the battle, the number of their side would be fifty
percent more than the pirates.

Bale chuckled to himself. The time had finally come for him to show
the pirates who was the better one here.

──We have the advantage no matter how anyone look at it.

This thought too was also a haughtiness just like before, but Bale
forgot himself when the pleasure of revenge was right before his
eyes.

Page | 167
There was no more place for the pirates to run. They had made much
trouble for him, but it was their fate to be slaughtered to the last
here.

No matter how capable the enemy commander was, it was

impossible to overturn this situation from here no matter how he
thought about it.

──It was exactly why he couldn’t even imagine that this was exactly
like Murdeka planned right from the start.

「Look at you all gathering in one place like turtle, is it okay for you
guys to be like that?」

「You’re making excuse now? Soon it will be you bastards who got
bundled together like turtle.」

Although Bale said that from his mouth, he felt a discomfort because
there wasn’t any trace of fear in Murdeka’s brazen attitude.

He got a bad premonition, as though he had overlooked something.

Could it be that he was repeating the same mistake?

In that case, what could it be that he had overlooked?]

「We aren’t planning to go back alive from the start.」

It would be easy to decide that Murdeka’s words were just the words
of sore loser.

However the bad premonition in Bale’s chest continued to swell out

without stopping.

Why the world they were continuing to fight if they were planning to
die?

Page | 168
「……This is why a naïve young master who has a home to return to
is just no good.」

Murdeka chuckled lowly.

He wanted to die after beating up the enemy some rather than living
as a dejected loser.

He wanted to have a battle that was worthy to be the closing curtain

for the Sanpaniradeon Pirate.

That wish was already granted.

The history of Sanpaniradeon was closing its curtain today. Similarly,

the day of destruction would also certainly arrive one day whether it
was for Trystovy Dukedom or Answerer Kingdom.

It would be nothing more than arrogance and naivety if they never

even considered until that far.

──Suddenly Bale noticed that there was black smoke rising from the
rear of the port side.

Was there still fire from the pirates’ fire arrow that hadn’t been
extinguished?

But he couldn’t imagine how Murdeka could act that composed just
from that.

「……Damn it!」

Bale finally noticed Murdeka’s true intention.

「Stop such foolish act! If you do that then you also won’t get away
unscathed!」

Page | 169
「That’s why I said that we don’t have any intention of returning
alive. Besides that kind of boorish weapon doesn’t suit a battle
between men.」

Murdeka considered Bale’s action to concentrate his troops near the

steering wheel as a great chance and ordered his men to search for
the place where the mysterious new weapon was located.

And then they discovered that thing at the rear of the port side and it
still wasn’t set up.

「Charge! Do whatever you need to! Extinguish the fire before the
rocket arrow caught fire!」

If that exploded this ship would…….

Why didn’t he notice that the pirates were aiming at the rocket
arrow?

The reason for that was simple. In the end Bale’s prerequisite was to
return alive. There was no way he could comprehend the thinking of
people who wished for death.

There wasn’t even a single second to waste. All the marines charged
in order to remove the pirates.

「You bastards! Don’t forget to kill three people each!」

「I’ll take one of your prized rum if I kill five, old man!」

「Stupid idiot! That’s my treasure! I’ll give you just one cup!」

The pirates laughed cheerfully while they got stabbed by sword one
by one and died.

Page | 170
The way they died with such innocent look made it as though they
were kids playing tag with their friends at the ridge between rice
fields at evening.

「Hurry! Hurry! HURRYYYYYYYYYYY!」

「Sorry. I won’t be able to face my dead underlings if I let you guys

pass here.」

Murdeka fought like a ferocious lion.

His body that should have been passed its prime a long time ago was
hanging on tenaciously as though to embody the spirit of
Sanpaniradeon Pirate.

He curt down the marines who were surrounding him from left and
right as though he was dancing.

In no time at all Murdeka’s surrounding became piled up with the

corpses of his allies and enemies like bundles of straw.

However Murdeka’s comrades were also falling one by one.

When he noticed there was only Murdeka remaining alone. His body
was dyed by the blood spurt of his enemies with his left hand only
barely hanging by the skin.

The marines were awed by Murdeka’s state and they gulped.

「What are you all fearing from an old man who is at the death’s
door! Finish him off already!」

「……Too, late.」

*Crackle crackle*, there was a sound like wood cracking from

scorching heat, but right after that a huge crimson flower bloomed.

Page | 171
The blast swept through the deck and the impact pierced until the
ship’s bottom.

Murdeka slowly closed his eyes with deep satisfaction within the
torrent of destruction that dyed everything crimson.

The explosion of two rocket arrows sunk Bale’s flagship into the sea
within several minutes.

「……Magnificent! Magnificent!!」

It was truly a brilliant way to die. It was the embodiment of man’s

long-cherished desire.

Sanpaniradeon Pirate versus the combined fleet of Trystovy

Dukedom and Answerer Kingdom.

It was a stunning naval battle that would be talked until the later
generations. Adnams was unable to hold back his emotional tears
from flooding out after witnessing such scene.

It was a magnificent way of death that any man of the sea had surely
imagined at least once.

At the same time it Adnams realized that he had just witnessed a

historical moment when Sanpaniradeon Pirate that had made their
presence known in Marmara Sea for many years finally left the stage.

Any people with wit was aware that Sanpaniradeon would disappear
sooner or later.

From the moment Kailas was defeated by Urraca, the pirates who
remained in Sanpaniradeon had acknowledged that their end was
near.

Page | 172
However who could possibly imagine that they would go in such
heroic and beautiful last stand.

They boldly faced such formidable enemy and after exerting all their
strength, they splendidly brought down their enemy together with
them. It was doubtful that even Sanjuan Kingdom’s navy would be
able to achieve the same feat.

Adnams opened his eyes wide without daring to blink to sear the
battle into his eyes, so that he would never forget the end of
Sanpaniradeon that was once an enemy for his whole life.

The combined fleet was clearly shaken when their flagship sank.

The remaining pirates took advantage of that unrest and rampaged

as though to follow after Murdeka.

「Should we also join?」

The chief navigator sent a heated look at Adnams as though

Murdeka’s passion had infected him.

It was their instinct as sailor that made them wished to throw

themselves into this glorious battle. Adnams too was sharing such
heated emotion in him.

「──No. A merchant must not participate in a battle for death.」

The difference in number couldn’t be overturned even if Adnams’s

fleet joined the battle.

The combined fleet would surely receive serious damage, but in the
end Adnams’s fleet would also get annihilated.

In the end Adnams only possessed two escort ships. Although his
ships’ crews all had experience in fighting, ten of his ships were only
transport ships.

Page | 173
Their total combat potential might only be worth two ships of
Sanpaniradeon Pirate or even lower.

What was more important now was──.

「Go rescue the Sanpaniradeon crews who fell into the sea as long
as the time allow. We’ll retreat if it looks like the fight will be over.
Telling the story of this battle is the duty that is given to us.」

「Aye sir!」

His trembling voice expressed the heartrending grief that he was

feeling.

He couldn’t make a decision that brought death to his subordinates

just for honor. Even if it was something charming and the yearning of
any man.

「Drop the boat!」

The battlefield was moving slightly to the west due to the flow of the
wind.

There were still the figures of sailors holding on ship wrecks around
the second ship of Sanpaniradeon that was sunk down at the
beginning.

They had the qualification to survive after facing such mighty enemy
and got beaten due to their poor fortunes of war. No, he wanted
them to at least survive somehow.

This was Adnams’s honest feeling.

It was finally time to retreat. Adnams stared once more at the

twilight of the vanishing pirates together with the pirate crews that
he rescued.

Page | 174
The metallic sound of swords clashing and the rough war cry of the
men sounded like the funeral bell of the church.

「……Farewell pirates.」

That day, the combined fleet that was dispatched in order to raise
havoc in Marmara Sea lost ten ships and also its commander.

The fleet retreated back to their country without bringing back any
result.

The surviving pirates would continue to talk about the heroic saga of
their comrades and the end of Sanpaniradeon’s long history until
they died as the man of the sea.

Strategically it was the correct move for the dukedom to attempt to

circle around Mulberry and destroy the commerce at the sea near
Sanjuan Kingdom.

If that strategy succeeded, the fleet of Urraca and the maritime guild
that was currently preparing for a decisive battle with the combined
fleet of Trystovy Dukedom and Answerer Kingdom would definitely
be forced to alter their strategy.

Especially Urraca who was the active navy minister of Majorca

Kingdom, the possibility was high that she wouldn’t be able to avoid
leaving the frontline.

Even if it was for the sake of her beloved Baldr, Urraca had
responsibility and position that she had to carry out no matter what.

Later on she would build a stone monument at Majorca Kingdom in

commendation of Sanpaniradeon. She didn’t do that for no reason.

Page | 175
At the same time, it wasn’t just the dukedom that was carrying out a
strategy. Sanjuan Kingdom was also planning something.

Human’s thinking didn’t differ by that much from each other.

It was impossible that the enemy would just sit still doing nothing
while they were trying to outmaneuver them.

Originally Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet should be protecting the sea

traffic route of Marmara Sea. Where could they be right now?

Some more time would be needed until the dukedom obtained the
answer to that.

Page | 176
Chapter 3 –Surprise Attack of Riga

Part 1
Jose was boarding the new large schooner Rio. He was reclining on a
specially made deck chair and relaxed leisurely.

There was a reason why he, the navy minister was personally
boarding a ship.

The enemy was concentrating their force right now in preparation

for the decisive battle. He would stab at that opening and launched a
surprise attack at Riga that was the base of the dukedom’s navy with
his main fleet. That was the gist of the tactic that he proposed this
time.

Right now that tactic was progressing smoothly. The wind was
favorable and there was also no sign of enemy. Rather it could be
said that things were going too smoothly it felt anticlimax.

「Even so we aren’t even coming across civilian ship.]

The adjutant Seil muttered with a perplexed look.

「Well of course, that’s because it’s now forbidden to do business

with the dukedom. There is no way there will be smuggling ship
sailing brazenly in the middle of day like this, furthermore in
Marmara Sea where pirates are running rampant.]

「Now that you mention it, that’s certainly true.]

Seil(セイル) nodded at Jose’s explanation.

Page | 177
Sanjuan Kingdom along with Majorca Kingdom had proclaimed war
against Trystovy Dukedom. They had stopped any business with the
dukedom since some time ago.

Conversely, the merchants at the Trystovy Kingdom’s side who were

affiliated with Mulberry were doing their business in large scale,
because of that the merchants of the dukedom who were thinking to
switch side to Mlberry was increasing sharply right now.

From their perspective, there would be no problem if they simply

moved their business to Mulberry. They could just transport their
assets and ships little by little so they wouldn’t attract attention.

It was only natural for them to give up on the declining dukedom.

Right now most of the dukedom merchants were getting into frenzy
to search for intermediary so they could negotiate with Baldr and
Augusto.

The reason they were searching for someone who could act as
intermediary was because there was no way the maritime guild
would unconditionally accept them who chose to wag their tails to
the nobles who betrayed the kingdom when the dukedom was
formed.

「──Even though merchant are those who move because of money,

there is still no way that we can trust the people of enemy country
that easily.」

Augusto’s expression was cheerful and his bearing was calm, but he
had completely worn an atmosphere that was sharp like a blade as
the chairman of the Seven Elders. He carelessly refused any such
merchants who wished to switch side.

Page | 178
Those merchants would need considerable souvenir or very
influential intermediary so they could switch side to the kingdom’s
side.

And then in this kind of situation the commerce within the dukedom
was naturally becoming brittle.

The lack of items was serious and the increase of price knew no
bound.

Even the price of the food supply that had temporarily became
oversupplied at this point had risen steeply once more.

This too was because of the appearance of the reinforcement from

Answerer Kingdom. Their troops were consuming vast amount of
resource.

The livelihood of the dukedom populace drastically worsened. Their

dissatisfaction toward the dukedom government that collected
heavy tax from their small earning was exacerbated. A negative spiral
was enveloping the dukedom.

The low income class was already cornered into a difficult situation.
There was a rumor that the people in that social class might cause an
insurrection before long.

The target of the low income class would be the wealthy. If the
wealthy received such blow, the effect would also influence the
dukedom’s national economy in the end.

The effect of economic blockade by Dowding Group using salt also

couldn’t be overlooked.

From Jose’s observation, setting aside the military matter, the

dukedom was already defeated in the economic aspect.

Page | 179
「However it’s a bit curious that we haven’t seen any trace of the
dukedom’s navy even after coming until this far.」

「Is it because they are lured by the prospect of decisive battle with
Urraca-sama just as expected?」

「Certainly it’s only human to want to gather as many ship as

possible when they are faced with the prospect of decisive battle
against the Tormenta Negra and Admiral Barbarino.」

There was no guarantee that the enemy was really moving like the
expectation that he drew in his mind. Rather in most case the other
side would move in an unexpected way. Being able to deal with that
unexpected event would decide whether an admiral was wise or
foolish.

Or perhaps there was a possibility of the dukedom reaching the same

thinking like him──that they would launch surprise attack at the navy
base of Sanjuan Kingdom, the royal capital Cadiz. Jose considered
that possibility.

「That’s impossible. They shouldn’t have split their force to take on

the capital’s coastal fleet and the armed merchant fleets there.」

The most they would be able to do was harassing the sea traffic
there.

As expected from the intellectual general that was the pride of

Sanjuan Kingdom. Jose’s prediction actually hit the nail on the head.

Although the size of the force that the dukedom invested was nearly
double of Jose’s prediction, so not everything was moving as Jose
predicted.

Either way, there wasn’t any reason for him to change his tactic here.

Page | 180
「……From ten o’clock, there are two ship silhouettes!」

「Now then, I guess it’s time……」

Jose blinked and his relaxed expression changed.

Fortunately they were blessed with great weather today. If they sunk
all nuisances they encountered during the day and continued sailing
during the night too with the astronomical observation, they would
be able to enter the coastal water of Riga tomorrow morning.

At that point the surprise attack could already be considered a

success.

「Tell the fast ships at the vanguard, don’t let them get away no
matter what.」

「Aye sir!」

The four fast ships that were positioned at both flanks of the
vanguard received the signal from the flagship. They increased their
speed smoothly and approached the two ship silhouettes.

Setting aside the commander, the crews of each ship had skill that
wasn’t inferior to Majorca Kingdom’s sailors who were led by Urraca.
Jose could assert that confidently.

Jose was completely lacking the ambition to climb up the rank, but
when he was placed in the battlefield like this, he was unable to
suppress a different ambition from welling up from inside him.

It was the ambition of leaving his name in history sprouting inside

him.

「I have also received that souvenir from Baldr-dono here.」

Page | 181
He wanted to see the enemy’s face when they got hit by this
weapon.

Even the intellectual general Jose wasn’t a god. He didn’t even

imagine that the enemy commander of the dukedom was also
harboring a similar thinking.

Although there was difference in each person’s attitude, the karma

that they shouldered was pointing to the same direction. That
balance which looked as though it had been weighed was called fate
by human.

And then the special human who was loved by the whim of fate was
called as hero since the time immemorial.

The moment Jose left his name in history was already approaching
near.

Page | 182
Part 2
──The navy base of Trystovy Dukedom, Riga.

It was a naturally excellent harbor located deep in the bay of

Valencia. It was the base of Trystovy Dukedom’s navy that possessed
a grand fleet of nearly a hundred ships in the past.

At present it split around fifty of the ships in its possession and most
of them had left the port in preparation of the decisive battle.

Right now this port only had around ten ships of the coastal fleet left
behind along with nearly thirty ships of civilian merchants.

Although it was unpleasant to admit, the current Trystovy Dukedom

didn’t have the power to take on both the maritime guild and Urraca
at the same time without the reinforcement from Answerer
Kingdom.

Within the completely deserted port, there was a building made

from red brick that was conspicuously larger than the rest──it was
the headquarters of Trystovy Dukedom’s navy. A man was looking
down from the window of that building toward the shabby scenery
outside.

「What a desolate sight.」

The old admiral, Bonifatio Grandoni(ボニファティオ・グランドー

ニ) had returned to his post as the navy minister of Tystovy
Dukedom because of Olten’s recommendation. He sighed lightly and
stared at the horizon far away.

The informal resignation of the navy minister Thomazo that had

been put on hold had finally been approved a few days ago because
his successor had finally been decided.

Page | 183
When Bonifatio was still young and the old Trystovy Kingdom hadn’t
been destroyed, this Riga was the biggest port at the South Seas with
battleships and merchant ships crowding it.

At that day Bonifatio didn’t doubt that this Riga would one day
surpass Mulberry and became the central trade port of Trystovy.

It was him who planned the detour to destroy the trade of Sanjuan
Kingdom this time.

Bonifatio once studied abroad at Answerer Kingdom when he was

still a young man and built a lot of connection over there. He
obtained the position as navy minister as a person who was
indispensable for the current dukedom.

However he was someone who had once retired from the active duty
as navy officer. Bonifatio was aware that he wasn’t endowed with
superhuman stamina like Olten who came back to his post as the
great general.

He thought to do his duty by whipping his old bones for his

motherland that was in danger. Even so his mind and stamina had
been exceedingly exhausted by the severe workload.

Most likely he would only be able to do this job properly for three
months at the longest.

He earnestly wished that before that the he would be able to defeat

that Tormenta Negra and brought the control of the sea back to the
dukedom.

It shouldn’t be difficult at all to achieve that by using that new

weapon that was brought from Answerer Kingdom and the fleet that
came as reinforcement.

And then the dukedom would regain its glory once more. Bonifatio
intended to offer the rest of his life as military officer for that.

Page | 184
「Though I say that, I’m just a senile old fool who can only wait on
land like this huh……」

His hands had wrinkles all over and lacked any moisture.

His lower body that absolutely wouldn’t waver even when sailing
through stormy sea and his brawny arm that could support his body
weight when standing on mast with just one hand were already
gone.

Bonifatio smiled wryly and rang the bell near his hand. He was going
to ask his subordinate to get him more tea. It was right at that
moment.

──*Kan! Kan! Kan! Kan!*

「The bell rang……four times!」

His blood rushed to leave his face.

Bonifatio turned pale like a corpse. His eyes snapped open and
stared toward the horizon.

Four ringing of the bell. That was the signal of enemy attack.

He didn’t want to believe that such thing was happening.

An enemy that would brave danger to attack until the deepest place
of Valencia Bay of all places, the center of Trystovy Dukedom’s navy
had never existed until now.

No matter what kind of battle it was, the further one infiltrated into
enemy territory, the greater the risk became in proportion.

If their calculation went off even just slightly, they would end up
being isolated in the middle of enemy territory.

Page | 185
Furthermore battleship was something that took time to build. The
education of the crews were also requiring enormous amount of
time. They weren’t resources that could be used up carelessly.

Because of that the navy rarely made a gamble of all or nothing.

They tended to adopt the doctrine of “fleet in being”. (TN: Google it
if you want to know the meaning)

「……Are there pirates getting lost until this far?」

Bonifatio murmured that hopefully. His instinct as sailor for many

years was telling him that wasn’t the case, but he couldn’t help but
harbor such wishful thinking.

In the worst case that the enemy was sending their frontline fleet to
here, a hard battle would be unavoidable. They only had a secondary
fleet that consisted of ten ships remaining in this base.

This place was the home port for the whole navy, not just for a fleet.
A considerable number of soldiers was stationed here, but in the end
they were only for land battle.

「Send the emergency alarm to the land battle unit!」

「Sir!」

Bonifatio yelled angrily to his subordinate as though to vent off his

anger.

He felt nothing but vexation to his old body that wouldn’t move as
he wished even at this emergency.

「Now that it has come to this I don’t care even if all our ships get
annihilated! Protect at least this harbor no matter the cost!」

The ships were also precious, but this Riga had the materials needed
to preserve the fleet and the dock necessary to repair and maintain

Page | 186
the ships. This base was equipped with the greatest harbor function
within the country.

If this harbor was lost, the dukedom navy wouldn’t be able to

maintain their battle strength anymore.

No matter how mighty the fleet in the dukedom’s possession was,

the fleet wouldn’t be able to exist without the home port to support
them.

Although as long as they could just prevent the enemy from landing,
the damage shouldn’t become that serious…….

「──Just where in the world these idiots came from? To do

something this reckless……」

Bonifatio strained his eyes toward the horizon. He deciphered the

flag signal that was sent from the resolutely accelerating patrol ship
and groaned lowly.

If his eyes weren’t mistaken, that flag signal was saying 「The enemy
fleet is from Sanjuan Kingdom, it has the commander flag of the
main fleet」.

That intellectual general Jose Liberiano was personally leading the

fleet here.

There was no way this would finish with just as a surprise attack that
was done whimsically.

「Achoo!」

Jose made a powerful sneeze from the itchiness that he suddenly felt
in his nose.

Page | 187
「I wonder if someone is talking about me right now?」

「Well, it must be Riga’s commander.」

The adjutant Seil smiled wryly with sarcasm at Jose who was wearing
a somewhat stupid look.

This general must have forgotten his nervousness in his mother’s

womb when he was born. It was mysterious that although he looked
unreliable like this, he was also reliable at the same time.

Even if he searched the whole continent, there wouldn’t be another

intellectual general who played the fool like this other than Jose.

They had seen the contact with the patrol ship just now. From here
on Jose’s fleet would finally be discovered by Riga.

Soon there would be some kind of reaction from the other

side──most likely the enemy would intercept them.

「Well, it’s already too late at this point though.」

By the time Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet had approached until this

distance to Riga, the match had been half decided already.

Even if the fleet that left Riga hurried to come back here, they
wouldn’t make it in time anymore.

There was also no sign that the enemy had seen through Jose’s plan
right from the start and placing a fleet here to ambush him.

If there was such fleet here, it would be strange that they hadn’t
sailed already to intercept them.

For any decent navy officer, getting their home port damaged was
something that they couldn’t possibly allow.

It seems I win the bet, Jose whistled cheerfully.

Page | 188
「Admiral, your whistling sucked.」

「I think I won’t get punished even if I allow myself to get carried

away slightly you know?」

Jose pouted in dissatisfaction.

It was then, a report came from the watcher above with a ridiculing
tone.

「Enemy fleet is approaching with horizontal formation. Their

number is around ten. It looks like they are wishing to listen to the
admiral’s whistling!」

「Good grief, I wonder why my subordinates are this lacking in

respect toward their superior.」

Jose scratched his head with a troubled look. Even so his gaze turned
serious.

「Column formation, two lines! Let’s open a hole in the enemy’s

formation right away.」

「Column formation two lines, sir!」

「How daring……they are really looking down on the dukedom.」

The commander of the coastal fleet, Dante Alighieri bit his lip in
vexation.

In the first place, just allowing an enemy fleet to approach this

closely to Riga, the central naval port of the navy was already a great
disgrace that would be looked down by the whole world.

This disgrace had to be wiped away no matter what.

Page | 189
──Even so the fact that their side had inferior number and quality
couldn’t be erased. If they fought head on, Dante’s fleet would be
exterminated in less than an hour.

「We are sailing diagonally to push those guys into the bay!」

「Sir!」

Although he was reluctant to do it, he didn’t have any other way

than borrowing the strength of the fleet that was protecting Riga
port.

If he could skillfully launch pincer attack to the enemy, it shouldn’t

be impossible by any means to corner Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet to
destruction.

(In the past we wouldn’t even need to do something like borrowing

the strength of the defense fleet.)

If it was Trystovy before the civil war, even after dispatching a fleet
to the decisive battle, they would still have nearly thirty ships
remaining behind in Riga.

A navy that had to empty their home port to attack wasn’t a navy.
The navy of a large country had to always some strength in reserve
for defense and as spare in case it was needed to reorganize.

The fact that they were slowly losing that power was painful to
Dante.

「Enemy fleet is splitting into two columns!」

「Hmph, they’re underestimating us thinking they can easily break

through!」

Page | 190
Against Dante’s horizontal formation, Jose’s two columns had high
penetrative power and it could also flexibly react against enemy
attempt to hold them in place.

However it wasn’t a threat for Dante because he had intended the

enemy to go through right from the start.

「Let’s bloody their nose! Open and turn the jive!」

「Sir!」

The distance was shrinking rapidly. Dante was enveloped in

excitement and trembled.

It wasn’t fear. Rather he even wanted to say thanks for being given a
flashy stage like this just when he was left behind from the glorious
battle.

「Unfortunately we only have this single shot. Though I never even

dreamed that the chance to use it will come like this……」

The rocket arrow that Federigo and Bale had was a precious weapon
for the decisive battle, but there was just one of it left behind in Riga
as an example.

──As long as we have this.

It should be possible enough to remove the obstacle and circled to
behind the enemy.

No, perhaps it might even be possible to make the enemy fleet

stopped functioning. After all the enemy didn’t know that they only
had one of this weapon.

「Port easy, keep the route as it is.」

「Aye sir.」

Page | 191
They could do it. It was possible if it was him.

He would show to Bonifatio who was watching this from above the
red brick building, that his skill wasn’t inferior by any means
compared to Federigo and Bale.

Dante’s fleet put the flagship at the lead and the horizontal
formation changed shape to slightly diagonal formation.

The distance had been closed until the crews of both sides could see
each other’s face.

──Here!

「Hard starboard! Prepare to fire the rocket arrow!」

「Sir!」

The ship’s hull made an ominous creaking sound from the sharp
change in direction.

Dante paid that no attention and his ship rushed forward as though
to graze the tip of the right column of the Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet.

「FIREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!」

The rocket arrow hit from that point-blank range. The lead ship that
was made from wood couldn’t possibly endure it.

The front part of the starboard was blown away by the explosion.
The lead ship’s speed dropped with a jerk as though it had collided
with an invisible wall.

And then when water started to flood inside, the ship’s stern was
lifted up as though it was doing handstand and sunk.

Sailors were falling off into the sea.

Page | 192
「──How’s that!」

A surprise attack with a perfect timing, and then the enemy ship sank
brilliantly.

No matter how superior the enemy was in number, this attack

should be more than enough to throw them into confusion.

In fact, the loss of the lead ship and above all else the attack method
was dealing a great shock to Jose.

Dante’s decision to aim at the lead ship was tactically correct.

The lead ship in column formation was the pointer of the fleet’s
movement. If the lead ship became unable to function, the second
ship would take its place to be the guide for the ships behind it. But
no matter how much training the fleet had received, it was
impossible to reduce the transition time into zero. The fleet’s
movement would inevitably become messed up.

But, if only time could be rewound, Dante should aim at Jose’s

flagship that was positioned at the center of the column no matter
how herculean that task would be.

Because──.

「Just like how we are preparing new weapon, the enemy too is also
making their own preparation. How stupid of me, to forget such
basic lesson like this.]

The attack from the rocket arrow was unexpected, but it wasn’t
something that hindered Jose’s plan.

「……This is payback.」

Hitting the nose tip of Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet and then immediately
slipping through the right to circle to the enemy’s rear.

Page | 193
It looked like Dante’s strategy had succeeded completely.

Even if the enemy fleet changed direction to chase after them, they
wouldn’t make it in time. And the enemy also wasn’t in the situation
that could swiftly change direction while their formation was in such
disorder.

Dante breathed roughly while glaring at Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet that

he was leaving behind.

His eyes caught the small window that was opened at the ship’s side.

「Commence firing!」

「Commence firing, sir!」

Page | 194
Page | 195
The distance between Dante’s fleet and Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet was
dozens of meter. His decision to approach until the very limit so the
rocket arrow could hit became the ruin of him.

Although perhaps Dante didn’t have the awareness that he was

heading into his ruin.

Because what he could feel was only the fact that crimson flame was
covering his whole field of vision.

It was the ship version of the flamethrower that was once be used by
Antrim army in the war against Haurelia Kingdom.

The lead ship was sinking. The second and third ships that were
following behind it also couldn’t avoid the torrent of spewing flame.
Dante’s flagship and the second ship were hit directly without being
able to dodge.

「Fire? F-F-FIREEEEE!」

「Stupid idiot! Put out the fire right away! Extinguish it before the
whole ship is burning!」

「It’s no good! The fire won’t vanish!」

「It won’t vanish even with water! What the hell! What the hell is
this!」

Because the commander Dante was reduced to ash in an instant, the

ships from the third ship above also missed their timing to escape.

When a fleet moved as one, the ships fundamentally had to follow

the movement of the ship that became the guide. They weren’t
allowed to take movement as they pleased.

Page | 196
Because there was no instruction for each ship to escape by
themselves, it was only natural for them to follow after the lead ship.

The third and fourth ship were also swallowed by the torrent of
flame. They burned up like torch. After that it became impossible for
the fleet to maintain their united action as an army.

Finally one by one the ships tried to perform tacking to escape

toward Riga, but the coastal fleet had stayed close with each other
and rushed to the bosom of the enemy. They were surrounded by
Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet before they could finish changing direction.

「Don’t let even one of them get away! Stop the firing!」

「Prepare for boarding action! Throw the rope!」

The coastal fleet had been reduced until six ships. It was impossible
for them to break through the heavy encirclement of Sanjuan
Kingdom’s fleet.

Each ship was attacked by two ships or more. The time needed until
the coastal fleet was annihilated didn’t even need one hour despite
their desperate resistance.

Such gruesome slaughter was unfolding before his eyes.

Bonifatio clenched his teeth so hard that blood was seeping out. He
continued to glare at the scene of his beloved subordinates turning
into sea scraps.

If this happened at his younger day as a ship captain, if the battleship

Guryuwas that had served as his partner for many years was here……

Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet that had finished eradicating the coastal

fleet formed formation once more and began to head to Riga.

Page | 197
The time for this Riga to become a battlefield had finally arrived.

When he thought that, Bonifatio couldn’t endure just watching the

situation quietly from the headquarters terrace anymore.

「Prepare all the fire arrow that you can! Adjutant! I’ll leave it to you
to take command of the catapults!」

「S-sir! W-where will your excelllency go to?」

「I’ll borrow the civilian ships. Only those who don’t need their lives
follow me.」

「Please stop from doing such rash action! The civilian ships won’t
be of any help at all!」

The civilian ship was built for commercial purpose from the very
beginning unlike battleship. Civilian ship was constructed to be
loaded with a lot of commodities.

It couldn’t move fast and its maneuverability was also poor.

Its sea gauge was also high. If the wheel was turned drastically, the
ship could even capsize.

It should be military common sense that civilian ships couldn’t be

counted as battle strength no matter how many of them were
gathered.

「What is necessary right now is to limit their movement. The

catapults and fire arrows will be useless if they are allowed to freely
move around.」

「──Admiral!」

Page | 198
In short Bonifatio wanted to use the civilian ships that were useless
for battle as obstacle to limit the movement of Sanjuan Kingdom’s
fleet.

Of course, if he did something like that then the life of the people in
those ships would be lost.

「Please wait! For that kind of role I will……!」

Bonifatio gently placed his hand on his adjutant’s shoulder.

However the grip on that shoulder wasn’t something that belonged

to an old body. The sharp eye glint that didn’t allow any compromise
in Bonafatio’s eyes spoke of his determination more eloquently than
anything.

「……I accepted this post with this old body is to obtain a place to
die. You shouldn’t get in the way of the big moment of an old man. It
will be the shame of my whole life if I don’t put my body on the line
here.」

「I thought that would be the case. Are you going to be a ship

captain again after so long?」

Ten-odd familiar men were waiting for Bonifatio as he got down

from the terrace and exited the entrance.

Every single man there was similar with Bonifatio. They were all old
man with deep wrinkles carved on their skin.

「You are really perceptive, vice captain.」

「Well of course, in this whole world we are the only one who can
guess just how rash you are captain.」

The old man with red face that was called vice captain distorted his
expression and chuckled ‘shishishi’.

Page | 199
He was Bonifatio’s vice captain when Bonifatio was still a ship
captain. He should have retired from the military a long time ago.

All the other men were also Bonifatio’s subordinates who had
already retired.

Why were they here? Bonifatio didn’t ask that.

Things like logic and reason didn’t matter anymore. Surely they were
also the same like him. They undoubtedly came here because they
instinctually felt that this was their place to die.

「The last time we fought was in Guryuwas. You guys haven’t turned
rusty right?」

「I should be the one saying that to you captain. Please take care to
not fall on the deck.」

The men of the sea laughed joyfully.

They weren’t acting tough to forget their fear toward death. The
adjutant couldn’t help but feel envious at that.

「──Only those who can hear my voice, listen!」

Bonifatio cheerfully pointed his index finger to the sky like a child
who was going to play tag.

「Those who want to die while laughing, come with me!」

This boiling blood, this pleasure that couldn’t be held back, this
supreme feeling of fulfillment that was beyond description.

Bonifatio believed that he had regained the youthful days of his

heyday, at least in feeling.

Page | 200
Instigated by that spirit, the sailors who couldn’t participate in the
coming decisive battle came from everywhere and followed behind
him.

Their number surpassed a hundred in the blink of eye.

「──Yosh, we’re borrowing these ships for a bit!」

Even his way of speaking returned like a young man. He started

running, but unfortunately his body that had become fat from excess
flesh couldn’t look as gallant as his youth.

The old men were going to throw away their lives right at this
moment for the sake of the dukedom.

The adjutant sent off their back with respect from the bottom of his
heart.

「Prepare to aim!」

Riga port was equipped with twenty catapults for defensive purpose.

Among them there were six large catapults that were set up at high
place. They bared their fang toward Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet that
was infiltrating into the port with a trajectory of a loose curve.

「──Shoot!」

The stones were fired in parabola arc. They landed on water several
dozen meters away from the fleet with a large splash.

From the start catapult wasn’t a weapon with high accuracy.

The adjutant didn’t show his disappointment at least on the surface

and ordered his men once more.

Page | 201
「Reload for the next shot! Hurry!」

「Eh? Admiral, the merchant ships are starting to move there?」

The adjutant Seil noticed that the merchant ships that should be
completely useless in the battlefield were starting to move.

However their timing was too slow.

If they intended to escape, they should have moved while the coastal
fleet was fighting just now. It was pointless to move now. Merchants
in general would treasure their life more than their ship, so they
surely had escaped to a safe place.

「──I see, it’s not just for show that people said Trystovy navy
controlled the south seas in the past.]

「What do you mean?」

「They are planning to face us on those ships.」

「That’s a joke right?」

Seil hurriedly looked again at the merchant ships that were starting
to move.

He saw that their movement was brisk like battleship and felt
astonished. In the opinion of proper military officer, such act was
nothing more than a suicidal act.

「They themselves are fully aware that they are committing suicide.
They are planning to use their own body as shield to protect the
port.」

Although those ships weren’t suited for fighting, a merchant ship

that was loaded within capacity could be sufficient to act as obstacle.

Page | 202
The enemy intended to put their body on the line to restrict the
movement of this side. And if a chance presented itself they might
even be able to reduce the force of the opposing side.

Above all else, they should have seen the might of the flamethrower
just now.

Even after witnessing such gruesome sight, they boarded the

unreliable merchant ships and headed this way. Jose felt a deep
respect toward the dukedom navy.

「──At the very least we should give everything we have to defeat

them like the hero they are.]

The people who accompanied Bonifatio numbered 128 people at the

end.

And then they succeeded in hijacking five merchant ships that were
being anchored with the excuse of borrowing.

「Send the bill to the next navy minster later. I won’t be able to
settle the payment anymore.」

Bonifatio brazenly boarded the ship without a shred of sorrow in his

posture. He climbed up the mast while shaking his heavy body in
annoyance.

「Hou, that opened window on the ship’s side──in that case, there
are ten ships that can spew that flame.」

「Good grief, even though we only have five ships.」

「New weapon is unexpectedly something that is lacking in number,

just like our rocket arrow. Now then, I wonder how many times they
can spew that flame again.」

Page | 203
Bonifatio sported a powerful smile that could only be made by a man
who had made his resolve.

「──We just need to hold out until we are reduced to ash, right?」

What they should protect was Riga’s naval port function, and then
accumulated military supply and the non-combatants who were
necessary for maintaining the port.

They would sacrifice themselves for that.

Bonafatio’s subordinates didn’t misunderstand his sorrowful resolve.

「Unfortunately it doesn’t suit me to just obediently allow other to

burn me.」

「Then……nothing to do but giving them a single blow back as

retaliation.」

「──Prepare to fire.」

「Against merchant ships like that? We will run out of full if we use it
too excessively you know?」

Seil spontanoulsy protested at Jose’s order to use the precious

flamethrower against mere merchant ships. He felt that it would be
stupid to consider them a threat.

「Ship handling skill cannot be underestimated. Those guys are

planning to ram themselves on us and die.」

「Aa, it’s going to be troublesome huh.」

Seil said troublesome as praise. A skilled man who had decided to die
wasn’t an opponent that could be underestimated no matter how
wide the difference in strength there was between them.

Page | 204
「I have no intention to bear any loss to our fleet here. Finish them
off with certainty.」

「Aye sir!」

The firing range of the flamethrower was short.

There was a risk of the enemy ship ramming at them if they were
lured until the range of the flamethrower, but they wouldn’t be able
to attack the port if they feared being rammed and only ran around.
There was no other way other than to approach the enemy and
annihilate them.

Bonifatio who knew that his ships were sluggish and couldn’t fight
properly considered that as a rare opportunity instead and charged
head on.

「Don’t you worry captain. I won’t let go of this wheel even if I die.
」

Bonifatio watched in astonishment at the vice captain who fastened

the wheel on his own body.

He too understood.

If they wanted to at least land a blow back, their only choice was to
slip past the flame. He also understood that nobody would be left
alive after the ship managed to slip past the flame.

「It had been fun, vice captain.」

「──I want to fight together with captain again even when we are in
hell.」

The two grinned at each other. Bonafatio and his vice captain glared
at the long nozzle of the flamethrower that would swallow them
with a jaw of flame.

Page | 205
「──Trystovy Dukedom, banzai.」

It was unknown whether their feeling would reach the heaven or

not.

However there was just one fact that remained. One of the merchant
ships that were roasted and went up in flame slipped past the
flamethrower with a sluggish speed and crashed on one of the ships
of Sanjuan Kingdom’s fleet, bringing it down.

In the future this fleet’s surprise attack to the stronghold of the

enemy country would be called as Surprise Attack of Riga. Half of the
port was destroyed and it shocked the whole world.

Although without Bonifatio’s great efforts, the damage wouldn’t stop

with just half, but that matter mostly stayed unknown.

Until now the victory and defeat of a navy was only decided through
a decisive battle between fleets.

However a fleet would lose the majority of its strength if they lost
their base.

The possibility of the war being settled in such form was displayed as
fact here.

What was even more surprising was that both sides committed new
weapons that contained the possibility of completely changing the
way sea battle was carried out.

There was no way that battle didn’t influence the stalemate in the
civil war that surrounded Trystovy.

Page | 206
Part 3
As expected it was the commoners who first guessed that the way
wind blew in the war had changed.

They finally sensed it on their skin that the dukedom was being
cornered.

That was only natural.

The heavy tax only kept increasing. In addition commodities were in

short supply day by day.

The people would go hungry like this before long.

The suffering of their life itself was what telling them more clearly
than anything else that the dukedom was at disadvantage.

Then a rumor reached them in such situation. Supplies were in

excess at Mulberry and its surrounding. Everyone there lived a life
that knew no hunger.

In fact with the way the maritime guild put all their effort in
procuring military supplies, even the enormous storehouses of
Mulberry were unable to store all those items that the rest had to be
piled up outside at the street.

The boom provided working place and money for everyone. Even the
commoners of the lower strata were also receiving the blessing of
the economic effect.

In that respect, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the

commoner in the kingdom’s side was enjoying prosperity.

So it was also a natural flow that the people of the dukedom who
spent their days in suffering to wish for the rule of the kingdom over
them.

Page | 207
The southern part of the dukedom that was especially close to
Mulberry was being enveloped in a clearly perilous atmosphere.

「Can’t we do something so we can quickly welcome his highness

Baldr’s rule here?」

「Those nobles has completely returned to their original stance

since the reinforcement from Answerer Kingdom arrived.」

The name of the man who frowned in displeasure while groaning

was Basch.

He was a man who was serving as a village chief in the territory of

Count Continerri who was assassinated by Martell while in the public
he was said to be executed because he was plotting a rebellion.

The family of Count Continerri was also executed and then Baron
Pierro became the new feudal lord there. He was the very picture of
a tyrant even putting it mildly.

He increased the tax to the people by nearly 40% as though to say

that there was no need to be compassionate to the people of a
traitor. At this rate the people with no stamina would die in hunger
before long. Old men who couldn’t see tomorrow any longer were
also already starting to appear.

Even if it wasn’t that bad, some families with relatively a lot of

children were starting to sell their children as slave. In the long term
this territory wouldn’t be able to avoid the decrease in population
and the reduction of the economic scale.

The populace couldn’t help but pray so that stupid feudal lord would
be fired from his post or executed if possible. The sooner the better.

Page | 208
「……What is the reply from the messenger that we sent last week?
」

「Don’t act rashly, is the reply that we received. If we became the

people of the kingdom, they won’t treat us badly by any means, but
right now the number of their soldier is still far below the dukedom
so they still need more time.」

「That will be too slow! Is his highness Baldr telling us to die in

hunger!?」

A man who was about the same age as Basch at the middle of his
thirty──Dreher hit the table loudly with his hand that had grown thin
like a revenant.

Dreher was Basch’s childhood friend.

He didn’t take up the post of village chief because his land wasn’t as
big as Basch’s, but he was a helpful man and his influence within the
village wasn’t inferior at all compared to Basch.

There was a reason why he was this enraged.

Dreher had a sickly wife and a son who was in his growth period.

The food portion of his family had been reduced and he even had
given his own portion to his wife and son. Even so they were
reaching their limit.

Especially because of the bad weather recently, his wife’s condition

worsened and she was in a critical state right now.

She had to be given a food that could give her energy as quickly as
possible. And if his wallet allowed it there was also a need to ask a
healer to examine his wife.

Page | 209
But there wasn’t a single healer in this remote village where there
was no money to be made.

Continerri wasn’t incompetent by any means as a feudal lord. He

always hired healers for the sake of his populace, but Baron Pierro
dismissed all those healers.

Dreher’s last hope was only one. He could only cling on the excessive
economic clout of Baldr and the maritime guild.

But that hope had time limit attached.

It would be pointless if Baldr only came after his wife had died.

「──I can’t wait anymore. I’m going to do it.]

「Wait. It’ll be pointless to do it if you only end up losing your life.

We’ll also ask the neighboring villages to join. At least wait until we
get their reply.」

「This isn’t just my problem alone. Cookie and Jura’s families also
can’t endure anymore. I can’t just sit quietly watching people dying.
」

「Dreher……」

Dreher intended to gather the men in the village who could fight and
take down the feudal lord.

And then they would seek Baldr’s protection using the feudal lord’s
head as fait accompli.

Baldr who raised the flag of the kingdom’s revival and the populace’s
liberation wouldn’t have the choice of abandoning the people who
had done a meritorious deed.

Page | 210
In Basch’s opinion it was a hole-riddled plan that couldn’t even be
called a plan.

However it was also the truth that they had been cornered to the
brink that they could only rely on such hole-riddled plan.

「Do you think it’s possible? Even a trash like that is still a noble. The
professional knights are tough you know?」

The power of a mere hundred villagers would be just like a mantis’s

sickle before the professional knights whose occupation was to fight,
a courageous but a doomed resistance.

He could already see how they would be annihilated in less than an

hour.

It wouldn’t even be a fight unless they had at least five hundred

people. They would need to gather the men of more than three
villages around here. That was Basch’s thinking.

「──We aren’t going to fight head on. That stupid lord has forgotten.
That most of his servants are also commoner like us.]

He wasn’t planning to rush to his death like a joke.

For the sake of his beloved wife and son, he would brave danger
while also returning alive. Dreher hadn’t given up surviving.

──Two days after such discussion.

「Oi, did you hear?」

「Yeah, they said that Riga was hit by a surprise attack from Sanjuan
Kingdom and got destroyed.」

Page | 211
「Good grief, just what are this so called reinforcement from
Answerer Kingdom doing.」

The news of defeat of Riga was already starting to reach the soldiers.

If Baldr started marching north, this territory of Baron Pierro that

was the key point of the southern part of Trystovy would definitely
become a target.

The news of defeat at Riga wasn’t just somebody’s else’s problem for
them who would have to stand at the frontline when that happened.

「At this kind of important time……」

The soldiers looked at each other’s face and sighed.

No matter how disadvantageous the battle was, the soldiers could

fight as long as the commander could show them the objective and
hope.

Just what were they fighting for? And what should be achieved so
they could be said as victorious?

There were times that even when their fortunes of war were bad and
they got annihilated, victory could still be obtained for the whole.

The condition for being an excellent commander was being able to

share such objective with the soldiers.

But Baron Pierro was only interested in squeezing out tax from his
new territory while personally enjoying luxury.

In fact, as long as he could protect his current position and

treatment, he wouldn’t even hesitate to surrender to Baldr.

There was no way the soldiers’ morale could rise like that.

Page | 212
The knights who acted as the superior of the soldiers were also
looking like they had bitten sour grape seeing how Pierro was still so
relaxed.

In their assessment, it wouldn’t be strange even if the battle started

anytime with the current situation.

If Pierro had money for indulging in pleasure, he should use it to

ready his military and supply as much as possible.

They knew that Pierro was thinking that even if they lost, he could
just surrender and the enemy wouldn’t treat him badly. That naivety
made their teeth ached.

Certainly if Baldr treated a noble who surrendered to him harshly,

there might not be even a single noble who surrendered to Baldr in
the future. Thus a surrender would be treated leniently──perhaps.

However it shouldn’t be forgotten. The fact that the dukedom’s side

had assassinated the chairman of the Seven Elders Piaggio.

The possibility of Baldr being driven with anger and beheading Pierro
to show his head as an example to others wasn’t low by any means.

The nobles of Trystovy Dukedom were under so much impression

that they were a privileged class to a degree that they couldn’t even
imagine such likely possibility.

Nobility was sacred. They couldn’t be compared with mere

commoner like Piaggio. The nobles were thinking like that as though
it was only natural.

「……Thank you for your hard work in your duty……」

「Hm? A maid huh. Sorry to bother you……」

Page | 213
A young maid handed the knight a cup of hot water that was giving
off warm steam. The knight let the tension in his shoulders to leave
and averted his eyes from reality.

The warm and slightly sweet herb tea was truly the ideal thing to
allow him to have a change of mood.

The knights enjoyed the scent for a while before they drank the tea.

The herb also had the effect to make one more awake. It was one of
the few enjoyments for those at night shift guard duty.

「……Delicious.」

It felt like it was sweeter than the usual tea.

Was it his tired brain that made them felt like that? Either way the
knights felt like their frayed nerves were being soothed.

The knights let out a sigh of relieve, then their eyelids suddenly
turned heavy.

「No good, I guess I’ll go feel the night wind to make me feel awake.
」

「What, you too? I too suddenly feel sleepy……」

*Bam* There was a loud sound. When they turned their eyes in
surprise to that direction, a colleague was lying down on the ground
while sleeping soundly.

Oi oi, don’t sleep at that kind of place. Go lie on the bed if you’re
going to sleep, also you got to stay awake until the next shift come to
relieve us.
The man who intended to call out to his colleague actually also
couldn’t say anything and slowly sat down. He was squatting without
being conscious about it.

Page | 214
Was he more tired than he thought?

With such thought as the last thing in his mind, the knight’s
consciousness got dragged into a pleasant drowsiness.

*Shiin*, the castle of the feudal lord had fallen silent. The villagers
who were led by Dreher were able to easily enter.

Their number had bloated up until 130 people in the end. The cause
was Dreher’s popularity that reached until even the neighboring
village.

That number would increase even more if they got a bit more time.

No, Basch was secretly thinking that they should increase the
number of their comrades even more. If they could take Pierro’s
head successfully, they might be able to rally the surrounding villages
and gathered nearly a thousand people.

──For that too first they had to obtain Pierro’s head.

When Dreher gave the signal, the castle gate was opened by a
servant who came from the same village.

Most of the soldiers were already in dream land.

The soldiers were sound asleep and showed no sign of waking up.
Dreher and the others swiftly tied them up.

Even the soldiers who could display peerless strength in battle

against commoner were relying on commoners to take care of most
of their living situation.

Turning the commoners into enemy exposed a completely

defenseless weakness toward them.

Page | 215
Although the commoners were doing this to protect their livelihood,
originally the number of case where the weak bared their fang
toward the strong was really limited.

They took the risk to stake their all in a gamble like this was exactly
because of Pierro’s bad government that had gone beyond the
bound and because of Baldr’s existence as the liberator that was
right before their eyes.

Pierro had ordered a naked beautiful girl to serve him tonight and
enjoyed the sensation of smooth skin. He didn’t notice that his
destruction had approached until right in front of his doorstep.

Pierro inhaled the sweet aroma that drifted together with the faint
smell of sweat and yielded his body into a pleasant fatigue.

He was unable to live this luxuriously when he was still just a feudal
lord of a small territory.

He would never let go of this life no matter what he had to do.

It didn’t matter whether it was the dukedom or the kingdom, he

wouldn’t let anyone lay their hand on his territory. Pierro resolved
that he wouldn’t hesitate to commit any betrayal no matter how
despicable for that.

He didn’t even want to remember his previous poor and wretched

living situation.

The self-control that Pierro had when he was still a baron managing a
small territory had been gone from him.

The current Pierro couldn’t even imagine that his current luxury
came from the blood and tear of the populace.

Page | 216
──*Bang!*

His bedroom’s door was opened violently without any knocking

beforehand.

「What’s going on-!」

How dare someone did something so rude and boorish. Pierro yelled
furiously because his sweet moment after making love was trampled
like this.

「You must be Baron Pierro.」

「Who do you think you are talking like that to me! What kind of
outrage is this!」

Pierro hadn’t understood his situation even at this moment.

Why in the world commoners with shabby appearance were coming

into his bedroom?

His mind was onlyfilled with the thinking of how outrageous these
people were acting.

「Even your luxurious life that doesn’t care of your own position is
coming to an end now.」

Dreher unsheathed his sword with a wrathful expression.

Seeing that, Pierro finally realized that his life was in danger.

「What are you doing! Knights! Cut down these insolent fellows
quickly!」

「Unfortunately all of them are sleeping right now. Even the

formidable knights are helpless before sleeping drug.」

Page | 217
「Do you know what will happen to you all if you do something like
this?」

Pierro was threatening Dreher seriously. He wasn’t bluffing at all.

A commoner who killed a noble wouldn’t have any place where he

would be accepted in this country. Sooner or later they would
receive retaliation that was several times greater than it should be.

It wasn’t just the culprit who would be executed. His family and
friends, or perhaps his whole village might also get executed.

Did he have such resolve? No way he had it. That was what Pierro
believed.

Till the end he was thinking that the other side had the same
perspective like him and they surely also didn’t want to lose their
life.

That was why Dreher’s words were completely unexpected for

Pierro.

「──What’s the point of extending our times of death only by half a

month at best?]

「Hah?」

Dreher’s words stabbed Pierro’s neck without giving him any time to
digest the meaning of those words.

The populace in Baron Pierro’s territory was uprising.

That shocking news reached a single man who had been waiting
impatiently with a terrifying speed.

Page | 218
「Magnificent. No, this is truly great. Your resolve and heroic end
will surely be passed down to the future generations──as tragedy.]

Count Valerie Ost sported a cruel smile in satisfaction.

The populace who were forced into submission were in jubilation

when they witnessed Pierro’s head that was displayed in the public
square. It was the fitting end of a tyrannical lord.

At the same time, a messenger departed toward Mulberry.

The messenger expressed the people’s oath of loyalty as well as their

wish to enter under the kingdom’s protection.

Pierro’s head was the unshakeable proof of their oath.

The people who knew of the powerful Trystovy Kingdom in the past
went into uprising and demanded for Baldr’s government. That fact
had a big meaning.

Looking at the effect it gave to the dukedom on the whole, there was
no choice for Baldr to not save them.

But, just this time the opponent was too bad.

Behind these people’s spontaneous action was the shadow ruler of

this country, Count Valerie Ost’s power at work.

Behind the expensive sleeping drug that commoner should be unable

to get their hands on and the cooperation of the castle’s servants
were actually the invisible guidance of Valerie.

「It will be troubling if the populace’s dissatisfaction explode

randomly. That’s why it’s necessary to make them explode to suit my
convenience till the end.」

Page | 219
The uprising of the populace couldn’t be avoided with the way the
circulation of goods was worsening and their destitute situation. It
was only a matter of time.

Valerie chose to intentionally make them explode in the manner and

time of his choosing.

Actually several thousand troops of the dukedom had been on

standby and ready for battle around the territory of Viscount
Continerri.

They were put there under the pretext of preparing to face Baldr’s
army.

「──The punishment for murdering a noble is the slaughter of three

generations of family.」

The dukedom army began their march from the four directions. They
went to the extreme with their ferocity.

Mere peasants dared to kill Pierro and exposed his head for
everyone to see. The fury of the nobles against such act couldn’t be
measured.

「──It will be better to make an example of them. The more

gruesome the better.]

There was a man who whispered that into the ears of the nobles.

It was none other than Valerie. He told them that they had to make
the commoners’ blood ran cold once, to make them knew what
would happen if they went against nobles.

The nobles all nodded in agreement at Valerie’s words without

hesitation.

Page | 220
Mere commoners laying their hand on the nobility’s vested interests
wasn’t something that could be allowed to happen no matter what.

As the result, the populace of the old Continerry territory received a

surprise attack with the amount of troops that far surpassed their
expectation.

「──Impossible! Where did all these soldiers come from?」

Dreher was dumbfounded because the castle had been surrounded

by dukedom army before they realized it.

This was too fast no matter what.

This fast reaction couldn’t be explained unless they had been

standing by nearby from the beginning. But if that was the case, he
couldn’t understand why they would allow Pierro to be killed without
doing anything.

「Take the bows! Don’t let them get near the castle gate!」

「O-ou!」

Dreher ordered his comrades even while he couldn’t help but realize
that this was the end.

Like this they didn’t have any hope to hold out until Baldr’s
reinforcement arrived.

Dreher and others resolved themselves to at least not die in shame.

But then a scene that was cruel and ghastly to the extreme was
pushed before their eyes.

「The heinous bloodlines of the like of you mongrels are unneeded

in this world.」

Page | 221
「Don’t tell me──Daria? Uisbe?」

It wasn’t just Dreher. Screams of despair rose from everywhere.

The family that they wanted to protect even if it cost them their life
had been reduced into an atrocious figure of just their head outside
the castle.

Dreher and others spewed out curse with tears of blood. The nobles
haughtily laughed in ridicule at that.

「The heads of these insects doesn’t even worth a drop of blood of

Baron Pierro who was killed by you mongrels. At least die with regret
scorching your whole body.」

A noble cackled and kicked the heads.

The sound of Dreher’s patience snapping could be heard clearly at

that moment.

「Don’t move from there. I’ll teach you that there is no difference
between a noble’s head and a commoner’s head.」

They wouldn’t be able to avoid defeat even if they stayed cooped up

inside the castle like this anyway.

Rather than dying from being slowly toyed with, he wanted to die
gloriously while resisting till the end.

His remaining comrades also felt more or less the same like Dreher.

They didn’t think of surviving this by themselves at this point.

The populace had truly turned into suicide soldiers. But what waited
for them was an even harsher reality.

Page | 222
After losing their fear of death, they might be able to contend even
against the dukedom army if it was in close quarter combat despite
being amateur.

However what was waiting for them was a rain of thousands of

arrows that filled the sky.

They were unable to dodge the pouring rain of arrows. Their whole
body was pierced with arrows and they expired while looking like
hedgehog.

「Cowards! Don’t you even have the courage to take up your sword!
」

「Our sword will rust if it is used to cut down insect.」

Even then Dreher and others used the corpse of their comrades to
advance. But the best they could do was closing the distance until
around ten meters.

They ran out of strength and died. Their corpses were so riddled with
arrows that there was no way to recognize them. Those corpses
were transported to all over the dukedom to serve as example to the
other commoners.

Sixty percent of the populace of the old Continerry territory was

massacred. That news successfully planted a grave fear within the
populace of the dukedom.

The nobles were deeply satisfied and they unanimously praised

Valerie after seeing how the will to rebel inside the populace had
clearly been erased.

As expected terror was the most effective mean to control the

peasant.

Page | 223
And then since then scene of massacre could be seen everywhere
throughout the dukedom although in smaller scale.

「──All of you can get carried away for a while right now. The nobles
who should be left alone and the nobles who should be weeded out
will become clear with this. The people will seek Baldr all the more
through this.]

He didn’t care no matter how many innocent people had to die in

order to achieve that.

The death of a lot of the populace would weaken the national power
temporarily, but it wasn’t any problem at all how inhuman, brutal,
and cowardly his method was.

Even more blood should be shed so that the tyranny of the nobles
would never be allowed again, so that everyone wouldn’t taste a
sorrowful civil war where people killed their fellow people for the
second time.

And then he would thoroughly uproot all that would get in the way
of Trystovy’s true future and dragged them to hell together with him.

──The destruction was finally starting.

Valerie gulped down a century old wine that was red like blood in a
good mood.

「Farewell o people without salvation. Go ahead to the world over

there to curse the unreasonableness of the incompetent god.」

If there was a god in this world, the world should be a kinder place.

At the very least Europa Church that was covered in the thick scene
of blood and darkness wouldn’t be allowed to secretly maneuver in
the darkness.

Page | 224
That matter too was also a proof of how incompetent the god was,
wasn’t it?

Page | 225
Part 4
「The populace of Continerry territory, was massacred?」

How did this happen even though they only heard about the report
of the uprising just the other day?

Baldr who was preparing to dispatch an advance party

spontaneously asked that.

It was a skilful performance as though the dukedom had been

waiting beforehand for the populace to revolt.

Augusto who heard that report accurately guessed the thinking of

the person behind this matter.

(──You are going this far!?)

He understood the reason. He absolutely couldn’t accept it but he

could understand it.

As long as they could tolerate the sacrifices, the political effect from
this would also be beneficial enough for Baldr to use.

The dukedom already had no qualification to rule over the people.

Such justification couldn’t be trifled with for Baldr who had the blood
of beastman in him.

Also the benefit for the dukedom could also be said as great, even
though it would only be temporary.

Although the populace wanted to be liberated from the oppression

of the nobles, only a few of them would be able to rebel knowing
that they would be killed if they did so.

However the dukedom had also sacrificed something great for that.

Page | 226
In addition, this was still nothing more than the beginning of even
more tragedy.

Augusto pictured the figure of his father Valerie who wouldn’t feel
moved at the slightest even if he had to offer half of the populace of
the dukedom to be sacrifice.

『We are enemies from here on. Give your all to defeat me if you
don’t want to die!』

Those words were completely serious.

As long as someone didn’t stop him, that demon king would continue
to spread destruction and slaughter in this Trystovy. After all for him
everything was worthless except for the supreme future.

The reservation toward Valerie within Augusto’s heart, or perhaps

his reluctance to be in opposition against his father was loudly
crumbling.

Already there was nobody else but Baldr and him who could stop his
father who had fallen to become a demon king. If they didn’t stop
him, the number of permanent scars in Trystovy would only increase.

He was naïve. He talked like he had resolved himself while his

perception toward the reality was still naïve. Augusto scolded
himself.

Baldr was blaming himself even more than Augusto.

The mysterious phenomenon that sealed the King’s Gate.

And then Mikhail’s existence that rivaled the King’s Gate owner.

Page | 227
There were too many uncertain factors to allow Baldr to go out
fighting without thinking of the consequence.

He spared time for reconsidering his strategy and expanding his force
seemed to be a valid judgment when considering the effect from
Piaggio’s assassination.

However there was no way he could have the great cause to become
the new ruler of Trystovy if he overlooked this kind of atrocity.

Answering the voice of the people. That was the great cause for
Baldr to supplant the dukedom.

Baldr felt ashamed of his cowardice by waiting for Urraca and

Barbarino to win the decisive battle and grasped the control of the
sea so he could win safely.

「Ramillies.」

「My lord-」

「Can you prepare for our departure?」

「Antrim army, Randolph army, and Nordland’s beastman army. All

forces are prepared and ready.」

Revenge toward atrocity couldn’t be postponed for later.

The more time they took, the more that revenge would be reduced
to be a mere tool for negotiation.

They had to carry out a revenge swiftly, mercilessly, and

overwhelmingly. So that the other side wouldn’t even consider of
doing the same thing for the second time.

「──We’re going. Let’s teach them that the rule has changed.」

Page | 228
The dukedom’s side was also moving at the same time when Baldr
was rushing to depart.

They mustn’t just fold their arms doing nothing and handing
Continerri territory to the kingdom no matter what.

The fact that Pierro was killed by the commoner’s uprising could
possibly become they symbol for the new kingdom depending on
how it was advertised.

Baldr touted the objective of liberating Trystovy. The possibility was

high that he would push aside all difficulties and forced himself to
advance in this time.

「──I can’t wipe the feeling that someone is manipulating the string
no matter what.」

Olten couldn’t help but feel discomfort and misgivings from the
glimpse of Valerie that he caught in the shadow. He also felt
uncomfortable that the decisive battle was triggered by political
factor instead of purely military factor.

The number of battle that was lost because of prioritizing politic had
been countless since time immemorial. He didn’t want to carve his
name into history as the newest fool in that list.

And yet there was no option of not fighting here.

He would immediately lose the archduke’s trust if he took such

attitude. He could see how the position of great general that he
finally obtained once more getting taken away from him.

And then in the end the dukedom army would lose its freedom due
to even more political reason.

Rather than letting things became like that, it would be preferable

for them to grasp the initiative of the battle at the very least.

Page | 229
The silver lining was that the damage the dukedom army bore at the
previous battle in Mulberry had recovered. In addition they also had
veteran Answerer Kingdom’s army that was led by Mikhail at their
side.

Olten also agreed with the wish of wanting to settle this war before
the internal situation of the country worsened even more than this.

Olten wasn’t a believer of noble supremacy doctrine that he

wouldn’t notice how the massacre this time would work to the
disadvantage of the dukedom the more time passed.

「Fufu……this is fate at work. Although I’m feeling dissatisfied, my

shaking cannot stop when I thought that I’ll be able to settle things
with Ramillies.」

Even though the cause of this battle was something that he was
reluctant to accept, a shiver of joy ran through his whole body when
the chance to exchange sword with Ramillies at the battlefield
arrived.

In the past the two of them couldn’t settle things because of

Ramillies’s disappearance, but now he could make it clear which one
of them was the better warrior.

Olten swore that he didn’t want to lose to Ramillies only in this

exactly because he had immersed himself in dirty politics until neck
deep.

At the same time, Mikhail who received the news of the departure to
the front was letting out a long sigh. His expression was really
conflicted. He didn’t know whether he should rejoice or angry.

Page | 230
He was happy that he would be able to fight Baldr. There was no way
he wasn’t happy.

Since the match the other day, every single day he would dream of
their rematch like a kid.

He didn’t mind even if it was right at this moment. If he could just

taste that feeling of fulfillment and thrill once more.

──But that big moment for the two of them got dirtied by a trifling
contamination. Mikhail couldn’t forgive that.

For him, it was boorish to bring other needless background to a fight

other than two sides being a warrior. He didn’t even want to see
Baldr facing him while shouldering the deep-seated grudge of the
innocent villagers

He wanted to believe that Baldr wouldn’t do that.

He greatly welcomed any powerful opponent, but for Mikhail that

had stopped considering battle in itself as the objective instead as a
method to achieve something, he didn’t want superfluous things like
justice or revenge to be mixed in it.

「Fight is something fun right? I don’t want to fight a boring enemy.

」

「That’s wrong. The only good enemy is enemy that you can win
against. Spare me from going into a losing battle.」

Mikhail turned a resentful gaze toward his adjutant who casually cut
down his argument.

「You, recently you really aren’t holding back anymore.」

Page | 231
「Do you know how many times I got worried for my life because of
your whim! I have no intention of dying until I get promoted and
spend a stable life as an old man!」

「Don’t you think that a life without any risk of death boring?」

「I’m fine spending my life in boredom! I want to live modestly like a

wild flower that no one would even glance at and die as a completely
mediocre person!」

「O-ou……」

The words of his adjutant that completely threw away the ambition
of man without any hesitation at all made even Mikhail to be
speechless as expected.

「Please don’t make me go along with your hobby even more than
this!」

「Even though you are saying that, you are still doing your job
properly.」

「You are the one who made me to do it! I’ll die if I don’t do my
work!」

If Mikhail kept acting recklessly as he pleased, he would definitely get

dragged into it one day and died.

It was painful for him that he had to support Mikhail reluctantly if he

wanted to survive.

「Well, I guess I can only put my trust on that guyBaldr……」

If it was Baldr then surely he wouldn’t do something that dirtied his

sword with things like grudges and hard feelings.

Page | 232
Either way, regardless of whether it would be fun or not, Mikhail
wasn’t someone who would let go of the chance to fight that finally
arrived.

It would be boring to fight mere commoners who went into uprising,

but if it was a choice between not fighting and fighting, he would
choose fight without hesitation.

That was also how Mikhail continued to fight the resistance in

Nedras Kingdom.

It was extremely unpleasant for him that a massacre happened in the

old Continerri territory, even so if there was a battlefield there then
he wanted to go. That was the personality of the man called Mikhail.

──If he was going to fight then he would win. He had to win and
obtain a future for the dukedom no matter what.

Olten succeeded in obtaining a fighting strength that surpassed the

previous losing battle due to the supply and fund that had become
abundant from Answerer Kingdom’s assistance.

Currently the total strength of Trystovy Dukedom’s army had

surpassed a hundred thousand troops.

The number of the private soldiers of the nobles was fifty thousand.
And then there were the five thousand knights of the royal guard
that was protecting the capital. The army of Trystovy Dukedom’s
military was fifty thouasnd.

The troops that he could mobilize in the expedition this time was
forty thousand troops of the dukedom military, twenty thousand
troops of the noble army, and twenty thousand troops from
Answerer Kingdom’s army that was led by Mikhail. It was a grand

Page | 233
military force that was never seen before since the founding of the
dukedom.

Considering the nobles’ private army that was useless for real battle
and the minimum amount of soldiers that were placed to guard the
borders, no one would be able to object even if it was said that this
force was effectively the full strength of the dukedom.

──The dukedom had really staked everything into this endeavor. It

was their full strength line up that was expected to obtain certain
victory.

Because of the large force, they were completely unable to prepare

the budget so this grand army could fight a protracted battle.

Their only choice was to decide everything with a decisive battle of

brief duration.

Even so, this was far better than sending their force piecemeal and
allowing Baldr to defeat them and built his fame. If the kingdom
obtained victory once more here, the unity of the nobles might also
crack.

They were selfish bunch who considered the dukedom to be lighter

than even a dust compared to their own wellbeing. Olten knew that
the number of such noble wasn’t few by any means.

(──Fools. There is no way the lord who that Ramillies offered his
sword to will even listen to some rotten nobles.)

Olten groaned lowly when his mind thought until that point.

(Could it be that the nobles were induced to massacre the

commoners can’t back down anymore even if they want to?)

Unless someone was a really optimistic fool──the fact was that most
of the nobles were such optimistic fool though──they would be able

Page | 234
to easily imagine what kind of fate they would meet in the hand of
the commoners if they lost the war. In that case, the nobles already
had no other way to survive right now except to fight until the very
end.

If the commoners were massacred because someone had foreseen

until that far──.

The man called Valerie had the dreadfulness of someone who could
easily do such thing. Olten wondered whether in the end that cruelty
would prove beneficial or harmful for the dukedom.

「……Don’t think that you will also be able to manipulate me as you

please.」

He had to make that old man who was steeped in too much darkness
to leave the stage one day. Of course it would be for eternity from
this world.

After all he didn’t have the fanciful taste of letting poisonous snake
running free.

Page | 235
Chapter 4 – Deathly Battle of Moonlit
Night

Part 1
「Ferocious warriors who shoulder the future of dukedom!」

At the Camponogara Plain that was located at the outskirt of the

capital Millianna.

Because the plain was also used for the army’s training ground, this
vast plain was left untouched without being used as farmland. A
crowd of people that reached the number of eighty thousand was
lined up orderly there.

With the royal court magician using wind magic to magnify the
sound, the archduke of Trystovy Kingdom, Jack Armadio Trystovy
clenched his fist and spoke fercently.

「Right now, an usurper who has the blood of beastman flowing

within his body is baring his fang to take away our homeland. The
only one who can put a stop to that is none other than the great
effort of all of you gentlemen the heroes who will fight in the
defense of our country!」

The commanders thrust up their arm in respond to the archduke’s

words. When they loudly raised a war cry 「Ou」, the soldiers also
followed after them.

「OU!」

「OU!」

Page | 236
The voice of 80000 soldiers literally shook the ground. Jack calmly
waited for a while until this very loud sound that made the ears hurt
stopped.

It seemed there was no problem with the morale for now.

Setting aside the knights, many of the soldiers were commoners. It

was a worrying factor. The life or death of the dukedom would be
affected if they rebelled in a bad timing.

It was Valerie who saved Jack from his distress.

It was none other than Valerie’s counsel that made Jack approved
the massacre of the commoners and the dispatch of troops this time.

「Are we going to hand over this Trystovy that has a long history
behind it to the hand of a beastman? Try imagining it. Imagine those
smelly animals ruling over all of you gentlemen, imagine entrusting
the future of this nation to them, that is something that must never
be allowed to happen at all cost! Isn’t that right?」

「That’s right!」

「Never hand this country to the beastman!」

「Dukedom banzai!」

「Dukedom banzai!」

Certainly the commoner soldiers harbored severe worry toward the

tyranny of the nobles.

At the same time they certainly also harbored a strong prejudice

toward beastman. It became even more acute when they imagined
that a beastman would rule over Trystovy in the future.

Page | 237
There wasn’t any guarantee anywhere that a beastman’s rule would
be any better than noble. So far the rumor from the south that Baldr
was kind toward the commoners had only just begun circulating.

Although sooner or later the information about the condition of the

kingdom that Baldr was ruling would be circulated as fact. So it
wouldn’t be strange if the commoners changed their attitude
anytime once it happened.

That was why a spectacular move was needed so the commoners

wouldn’t turn their back on the dukedom that easily.

Valerie felt Jack’s gaze on him and nodded with a meaningful smile.

He felt that Jack’s cowardice was hilarious.

「There is nothing to be worried about. All of you gentlemen are

going to win. And then it won’t just me who will applaud the glory of
your triumphant return, but the god above too. Look!」

Jack pointed toward carriages that were loaded with mysterious

objects of unknown purpose.

「Those are the holy objects that Europa Church has given to us! The
church is guaranteeing our righteousness! I expect that all of you
gentlemen shall fight even harder.」

(──They got us.)

Martell of Europa Church glared at Valerie with killing intent so thick

it could kill with just his gaze.

Jack had finished making his proclamation.

The church couldn’t possibly deny it or stopping their cooperation at

this point.

Page | 238
The soldiers were deeply moved and trembled. They renewed their
faith toward the church in order to escape their fear toward the war
that was awaiting them in the near future.

If Martell tried to declare that Jack’s words were a lie here, the honor
of the church would be completely crushed.

This was the dukedom’s objective right from the start.

He had hid his identity of someone with high position in the church
and secretly accompanied the dukedom army in order to transport
the holy relics, but he never expected that he would be set up like
this.

The church was finally dragged out forcefully from their position
behind the scene where they were inciting various countries
throughout the history onto the stage where the eyes of the people
were directed toward them.

「──This is truly a momentous occasion. This is how us sworn friends

should be.」

Valerie casually warded off Martell’s glare and stroked his beard in
satisfaction.

Page | 239
Part 2
The distance from Mulberry to the old Continerri territory was less
than half of the distance from Millianna.

Baldr arrived there first. There he turned speechless at the atrocious

sight that surpassed his imagination.

Blackened corpses that were giving off stenches were left alone
carelessly. There were also a lot of figures of noncombatant like
women and children among those.

It wasn’t a rumor but a fact that not just the rebellion’s ringleaders,
but the whole village were massacred to serve as example. This sight
forced Baldr to accept that fact.

「──What in the world」

Certainly fear was an effective method in order to suppress the

populace.

However looking at the long-term, suppressing the populace with

fear would cause distortion that would rebound with twice the force.
That was a lesson that history had taught the world.

This kind of meaningless massacre didn’t happen even when the

kingdom perished and the dukedom was built on its place.

Baldr couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort wondering just

what kind of mind was behind the cause of this tragedy.

「──I wish to begin distributing emergency ration to sooth the

survivors, is that alright?」

Augusto was also accompanying Baldr after pushing away the

objection of his surrounding and came here regardless of his position

Page | 240
as the chairman of the Seven Elders. He said that with a lifeless
expression that seemed to hold back something.

「This town will become a battlefield. Take care of them so that

there won’t be any further sacrifices than this.」

「By your will.」

Augusto replied shortly and left that place.

It was an attitude that didn’t match his positive and uninhibited

personality while being an excellent merchant at the same time.

「──Is there anything that you want to tell me?」

This wasn’t the first time he asked this, even so Baldr asked again
while thinking that.

「There isn’t anything in particular that I need to talk about with

your highness right now.」

「I see.」

Baldr looked down in resignation.

From looking at Augusto’s eyes, it was clear that he wouldn’t say

anything even if he was tortured.

Augusto definitely knew something.

But Baldr himself knew better than anyone that Augusto wasn’t a
man who would get involved with a massacre.

He didn’t like to admit it but Augusto was similar to him.

That meant──.

「A very close friend……or perhaps blood related relative of him is

involved with this.」

Page | 241
Perhaps Augusto also had someone at the other side whose
relationship with him was like Ramillies and Olten.

As expected even Baldr never dreamed that this person was actually
Augusto’s biological father, Count Valerie Ost.

Page | 242
Part 3
──Fortunately (regardless of how hard it was to use that expression
in this situation), more than half of the populace had safely escaped
to the forest, cave, or the deserted villages that fell victim to the past
revolt.

At first they wouldn’t come out due to wariness, but many of them
knew of the flag of the kingdom and they realized that they were
finally liberated.

Most of them ran away carrying only the clothes that they were
wearing. They were weakening because they couldn’t even procure
any food. So they cheered and scrambled to be the first when the
kingdom army distributed emergency rations.

「Saved! We are saved!」

「Delicious! To think that a mere porridge can taste this delicious……

」

「I wished that my dead mother could also eat this……」

After overcoming the extreme situation where they were on the

verge of starving to death and their stomach was filled, the heavy
reality came weighing on their shoulders.

People who didn’t lose anyone due to the massacre was in the
minority among them.

Those who lost the central pillar of their family didn’t even know
how they were going to survive tomorrow.

Even though they had been provided with the basic necessity like
this, it was still difficult for them to form the foundation of their life
from here on.

Page | 243
They wondered how they would live from here on.

It couldn’t be helped that the orphans and widows were at their wits’
end.

「──Everyone, there is no need to worry!」

A springy voice was raised sonorously to bring hope to the listener.

That voice didn’t let them to feel even the slightest anxiety and
uneasiness that they were feeling until just now.

Augusto was there with him having regaining──acting that he had

regained his usual cheer.

「Our kingdom’s army will continue to fight until we liberate this

Trystovy from the hand of the dukedom! And then surely everyone’s
Continerri territory will play a vital part as the relay point of the
southern Trystovy!」

The populace couldn’t understand the meaning of Augusto’s words

and they looked at each other dubiously.

It couldn’t be helped. For them a war was just an act of violence. The
only important thing for them was to protect themselves from that
violence.

「At the west of this Continerry there is Noia river that is flowing to
the outskirt of Mulberry. By going upstream of this river, a great
amount of goods can be transported to Continerri.」

Until now this territory belonged to the enemy so such action

couldn’t be taken, but originally when the kingdom was still standing,
Mulberry and Continerri were connected with each other through
river transportation.

Page | 244
The transaction amount at that time wasn’t that great, but the
condition would be completely different if it acted as a gathering
base for war.

「Laborers to move supplies! People to manage the warehouses!

People to cook and clean in the lodging facility for the laborers! As
the number of people increase so to the number of work available!
The one who will employ all of you is this me! This Augusto Garibaldi,
an elder of Mulberry’s maritime guild guarantee it!」

In fact it wouldn’t be sufficient no matter how many people they

had.

The amount of supplies necessary for an army that surpassed ten

thousands in number was alarming. There was also a plan to
encroach into the dukedom’s trade area using the network of rivers
transportation in this chance.

As people gathered, they wouldn’t merely consume resource, there

would also be people who tried to manufacture resource and
opened a trade appearing.

Quite some time was needed for the people to process what Augusto
was saying.

The person before their eyes was the leader of that maritime guild, a
multimillionaire who owned so much fortune that even the
warehouses in Mulberry couldn’t contain them all. The populace
exploded in joy when they realized that.

「──Thank god! With this we can still live here!」

「Things will get lively like in the past again!」

「Yeah, there are no words to express this feeling of gratitude for

protecting us!」

Page | 245
「No no, everything is the result of the authority of his highness
Baldr, the one ruling over this Trystovy.」

「That’s right! His highness has come personally to save us like this!
」

「Those nobles in the dukedom are only thinking of extorting us

commoners!」

「They aren’t even treating us as human! I’ll never forget my grudge

against them for as long I live for killing my mother and little sister!
」

「Bring down the hammer of judgment to the dukedom!」

「Destruction for the dukedom!」

After filling hteir stomach and having their livelihood for the time
being guaranteed, the people’s feeling changed direction toward
their resentment to the dukedom that caused this massacre.

They would keep living even from now on, but those who died
weren’t even allowed to speak of their resentment.

「I’ll work to death! Tell me to do anything!」

「If it’s for killing those nobles of the dukedom, then I want to be
useful no matter how slight!」

The people turned a pleading gaze toward Augusto. Augusto smiled

and gently soothed them down.

「Thank you very much. I’m going to rely on everyone’s strength.」

For the people whose families were killed and lost their purpose of
living, desire for revenge against the dukedom was just the right
purpose for them to keep living.

Page | 246
Augusto gave them a grateful smile. But deep inside his heart was
running wild in complete opposite of his expression.

(Is this──is you’re your scheme? Am I also dancing on the palm on

your hand by doing thiiis!)

Even then he didn’t have the option of not going along with Valerie’s
expectation.

He couldn’t do any act that would turn the people into enemy, and
he also couldn’t abandon them.

Doing that would make the death of the populace to be truly

meaningless.

The loyalty toward the kingdom and intense grudge toward the
aristocratic system of the dukedom would become extremely useful
for the new Trystovy Kingdom in the future.

And above all else, this massacre had become a fatal blunder for the
nobles who schemed to change side to Baldr to survive in the future.

This massacre had crossed the line that would allow them to be
pardoned if they surrendered.

Only the nobles who turned the dukedom into their enemy in order
to protect their people would be allowed to survive under Baldr’s
rule.

At this time Baldr’s intelligence unit had already gathered

information of what kind of action the nobles everywhere in Trystovy
was taking.

Even nobles who tried to protect their people even if it caused them
to gain the archduke’s displeasure existed in very small number.

Page | 247
「……Dammit!」

Augusto cursed secretly when no one was watching.

He felt powerless that he couldn’t get away from his father’s

expectation even after being shown such inhuman massacre. No,
what frustrated him the most was his own incompetence of being
unable to surpass his father.

Page | 248
Page | 249
When was he going to be able to surpass the huge wall that was his
father?

Augusto swore in his heart.

(I swear──I swear that I’ll surpass your expectation before only your
head remains, using my own strength.)

The gathered populace was led to leave Continerri that would

become a battlefield. They were given temporary lodging at the bank
of Noia River that was used as supply base.

First they had to construct facilities and warehouses where people

could be gathered.

The materials for that were also arranged to be transported

successively to there.

──But the remaining time until the battle against the dukedom army
was few.

Page | 250
Part 4
「Of course you will leave Baldr-dono to me aren’t you?」

Mikhail asked Olten with a demonic look that said he wouldn’t

hesitate to use force depending on how Olten answered him.

「But of course. I don’t have the valor to be able to fight him

personally.」

Perhaps even Olten would be able to put up a good fight after using
the King’s Gate sealer that the church brought, but Olten’s interest
didn’t lie there.

「Then good. If possible I don’t want to allow other people to get

between us though──」

Mikhail whose only wish was to fight Baldr hummed happily.

「As expected I don’t think that such thing can be guaranteed.

However once the duel start, it won’t be a situation where other can
interfere.」

In Olten’s observation, the number of people with strength that

could interrupt the fight between transcendental warriors like
Mikhail and Baldr could be counted with one hand.

That number would drop to zero if one had to also take command of
the army at the same time.

Even Ramillies couldn’t possibly join the two’s duel while also
commanding the army at the same time.

「If Mikhail-dono can pin down that usurper prince in place, the
numerical advantage of the dukedom army will show its worth. Their
side’s weakness other than pure number is their lack of general.」

Page | 251
「Unlike number, gathering capable general is the only thing that no
one can do anything about. It’s not something that can be done in
one day.」

「Exactly.」

The kingdom’s army was a formidable enemy that couldn’t be

underestimated if they were looked at as a single army. That act still
didn’t change even after the dukedom had mobilized 80000 troops
that was the greatest mobilization in Trystovy’s history.

But regretfully the kingdom only had few generals.

Both Gina and Satsuki were terrifying warriors but, they weren’t
commander.

At best there was only Silk who barely had the capability to
command a large army. Even so her lack of experience was
undeniable.

In Olten’s observation, the only commanders that were worthy of

special mention in the kingdom’s side was just Baldr and Ramillies.
Mercenary commander like Gustiniani didn’t even enter his
consideration from the start.

Mercenary was mercenary no matter how many of them there were.

If the mercenaries were made to work as an independent unit that

was solely made up from just mercenary, then perhaps they could
show a good result, but a mercenary no matter how capable would
lack too much prestige to be able to command the kingdom army
that was a gathering of various forces.

Prestige wasn’t something that could be made light of when

consolidating various forces to act as one group.

Page | 252
「──It’s the common sense to concentrate one’s force, but I’m
thinking to split up our force instead.」

「Hou, what kind of plan are you having in mind, great general?」

Mikhail urged Olten to continue in amusement.

Mikhail paid no mind to the like of the archduke or the crown prince
at all, but he was giving some respect to Olten.

If he said that he was planning to split their force, then naturally he

should have a reason for it.

「The other side only have two people who can take command of an
army that is made up of various forces. That means if we split our
army into three, they won’t have the general to intercept one of
them.」

「I see, however isn’t there a risk of the enemy crushing our forces
one by one?」

「We have the geographical advantage. They are also lacking the
general to crush us one by one. There is no way that the usurper
prince will personally sally out from Continerri.」

Although small, Continerri was also a defense facility. Even in this

world, the principle that the defending side had the advantage was
the same.

Even so Baldr shouldn’t be able to ignore the two other armies that
split up from the main army.

If one army broke through the front line and reached Mulberry, it
was unknown whether the force remaining there would be able to
protect the city till the end. Baldr would have no choice but to
intercept the three armies whether he wanted it or not.

Page | 253
No matter how disadvantageous and difficult it would be, Baldr
would have to deal with it. That ability to corner the enemy was
worth for the great general of the dukedom as expected.

「……What about the beastman soldiers that came from Nordland?

」

「Even though that usurper prince has the blood of beastman

flowing in him, it’s impossible to mix beastman soldiers with human
soldiers. Even for us it’s already a herculean task to make our armies
work together even though the people of Answerer Kingdom and the
dukedom are fellow humans.」

「Well, that’s true.」

It was just that difficult for armies with different chain of command
to work together in the actual battlefield.

In the end both armies stayed separated from each other and only
advanced together with the commanders of both armies matching
the pace of each other.

However that was in the case of two armies that were independent
from each other.

It would be stranger if discriminated beastmen that were also

soldiers from other country could function well when it hadn’t been
that long since they arrived here.

「──Well, at best they will only be used as reserve corps for

launching surprise attack.」

Olten wasn’t actually underestimating the beastman by any means.

He was considering them as threatening enough tactically. But, they

wouldn’t be able to affect this battle strategically. That was just
common sense.

Page | 254
.

Thus the combined army of Trystovy Dukedom and Answerer

Kingdom split into three forces in front of Continerri territory before
they started advancing south.

Naturally it was the 20000 strong Answerer army under the

command of Mikhail that was advancing toward Continerri.

Coming from the east was the main army of the dukedom under the
command of Olten. This army numbered 40000. From the west was a
force of 20000 that was led by Silva who had become Olten’s right-
hand man right now.

(The strength of the kingdom’s army is only 20000 at best. It will

depend on how many soldiers they will leave behind to take on
Mikhail, but in all probability, the force that they are going to send
my way will be around 5000 until 10000 under the command of
Ramillies.)

A commander who could face Olten with a force that numbered less
than half of his force didn’t exist in this continent no matter where
one tried to search.

(But I’ll teach them that it’s a mistake if they think that they can stop
me with an army that numbered less than half of mine.)

No matter how skilled of a commander Ramillies was, there were

various methods to not allow him to display his skill.

First Ramillies who had to intercept him couldn’t focus on carrying

out unconventional warfare.

Of course his army would receive sporadic surprise attack, but

unconventional warfare was fundamentally hiding from frontal
attack and attacking the supply chain at the rear that was lightly
guarded.

Page | 255
In case Ramillies did that, Olten could just charge at Mulberry, or he
could also make his army turned around to attack Baldr from behind.

In short the kingdom army’s defeat would be decided in the end if

they let go of their initiative using their tactical mobility.

Ramillies would be forced to face his army head on without any

other choice.

It was disappointing that he couldn’t fight Ramillies under an even

condition, but if he could defeat that Ramillies in the battlefield, then
it didn’t matter at all.

His only source of uneasiness was Silva who he entrusted to take

care of the west.

He was an excellent talent as to be expected from someone serving

as Olten’s right-hand man, but as someone who ascended to his
current post from being a staff officer previously, Silva had the slight
tendency to decide things using his head.

Even so his ability as commander was definitely higher than Silk who
had the high probability of being appointed to take command to
intercept his army.

Silva also had great advantage in number.

She wasn’t an opponent that could give Silva a hard time as long as
he didn’t let his guard down.

「Besides we aren’t going to repeat the same mistake like Haurelia

Kingdom. We are borrowing the strength of the church but……」

Morale was the most important thing for fighting. But the mysterious
weapons that Baldr owned smashed the morale of Haurelia Kingdom
to pieces.

Page | 256
There was nothing greater that could shave off the morale of a
soldier other than seeing their comrade falling due to an unknown
phenomenon that couldn’t be explained.

However in the end number would decide everything if the trick

behind that was exposed.

It was unknown how did Baldr obtain the forbidden relic that the
church was concealing, but now that they also possessed the same
relic, there was no reason at all to fear Baldr more than necessary.

Olten could display a veteran skill in battle, but it was irrational to

also ask him to have scientific inquiry about the relics.

The weapons that Baldr was using weren’t relic or anything like that.
They were modern weapons that could be mass produced to meet
the demand. But as expected even Olten couldn’t possibly imagine
that.

Page | 257
Part 5
The report that the dukedom army had split into three was swiftly
brought to the camp at Continerry by the intelligence unit of Baldr
that was using wireless communication.

「──You have grown old, Olten.」

Ramillies murmured shortly.

If it was Olten at his youth, he would use his huge army of 80000 to
target Baldr’s head alone without regard of the damage that his
army would receive.

In the end this war would be over if the king piece that was Baldr was
lost.

For Olten’s mind to not arrive to that option meant that Olten was
being imprisoned by the romance of winning the war and settling his
long rivalry with Ramillies.

「I don’t think that this choice is really that bad tactically though.
The distance from Continerri to Mulberry is short. This war will be
lost if Mulberry fall.」

Gitze who had abundant battle experience from the deathly battles
against Nordland’s bitter enemy Gartlake Kingdom calmly analyzed
Olten’s strategy.

At the very least this strategy was sound.

「In short, they are taking advantage of our weak point of not having
enough generals due to our force being a hodge podge of parties.」

If Baldr had to say, his mental image was closer to Ramillies’s

opinion.

Page | 258
There was a saying that a great army had no need for tactic.

Originally it should be Baldr who played with tactic, not the

dukedom.

Of course it was also the truth that the side with better stratagem
would win, and there was no doubt that Olten’s strategy was superb.

But he got the feeling that this strategy might be a bit too passive.

「……But, eighty thousand troops……」

On the other hand Silk couldn’t be as optimistic as the other three.

At present the kingdom army consisted of 2000 Margrave Antrim

troops, 4000 Marquis Randolph troops, 3000 Nordland Empire’s
volunteer troops, 2000 royalist faction working at Trystovy’s
underground, and also 3000 troops that were added from Sanjuan
Kingdom just the other day.

Outside of those there was the mercenary force that consisted of

10000 mercenaries, making up the kingdom army to number 24000
in total.

4000 of the mercenaries were assigned to protect Mulberry. The

remaining 20000 were massed in Continerri.

They had to deal with the army of 80000 with these 20000.

Furthermore the enemy had some kind of method to seal the King’s
Gate. Maggot had also returned home already. It couldn’t be helped
that Silk became fainthearted.

「However we can’t possibly retreat from here until Mulberry. The

people will give up on us if we abandon the populace here even after
finally coming this far to save them.」

Page | 259
The man called Olten seemed to be Ramillies’s best friend, but he
was a nasty man in all respects.

A battle maniac like Mikhail was still easier to control.

「Please leave Olten to me. It’s a bit annoying to follow his

expectation but──unfortunately I have no responsibility to also give
him the result he is wishing for.」

Ramillies spoke reassuringly.

「How many men do you need?」

「I only need 2000 men of Antrim army.」

It was an irrational request. With that number the difference in

strength would be twenty times. But Ramillies thought that
carelessly mixing other force together with Antrim army would only
hinder their mobility.

Besides Antrim army had a trump card that no other force had.

「It won’t be any problem. Just 2000 are enough to fight a battle
where I don’t actually need to win.」

Ramillies nodded toward Baldr with a quiet confidence and

determination.

「Silk, I’ll give you 15000 troops and Satsuki and Gina. Crush the
west dukedom troops as quickly as possible.」

「Understood──wait! What are you planning to do Baldr?」

「As for me……」

Baldr made a mischievous smile like a naughty rascal and rubbed

under his nose proudly.

Page | 260
「I’ll ride out from here to meet the enemy with the 3000
Nordland’s volunteere troops.」

「Oooh!」

Gitze’s brusque face crumpled with joy. He keenly felt his feeling that
made him rushed out of his homeland to rush to join Baldr was
rewarded.

Our dog-eared tribe will fight under the command of the beast king.
The honor of fighting the first battle has been stolen by the cat-eared
tribe Satsuki, but it is our dog-eared tribe that is going to be granted
with the honor of fighting together with the beast king as an army!

「Please watch to your heart’s content of the strength of our

Nordland’s elite!」

Gitze was an authority in the Nordland military that had served as

the cavalry inspector general for more than five years.

His martial arts that made use of his animalistic physical ability was
rated the highest even among Gina’s disciples.

Although he was born as the eldest son of a noted family, he had

survived the front line as a mere private. The soldiers’ trust toward
him even surpassed their trust toward the great general Euftace.

It was heavily rumored that nobody in Nordland Empire could

surpass Gitze when it came to tactics in the battlefield.

Such person couldn’t stop trembling from the joy that welled up
from the bottom of his stomach.

「Ku-ku-ku-……gahahahahaha!」

Page | 261
Aa, what a fortune!
As he had recognized Baldr as his king, he was resolved to obey no
matter what kind of order he was given.

However he never even expected that Baldr would directly lead his
force.

Baldr was already a king of beastman that the beastman race had
craved for all this time. Furthermore he was also a King’s Gate
owner, and in addition he was also a general who stood at the
forefront while valorously wielding his might. There was no man who
wouldn’t be in high spirits at the presence of such preson.

「Men! It will be a disgrace for the beastman race if we don’t raise

any accomplishments here!」

「OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!」

The Nordland volunteer troops truly looked like they were blazing
with morale that pierced the heaven.

Gitze’s beastman corps was already called as the elites among elites
of Nordland, but now they became one with loyalty that didn’t even
fear death.

They already surpassed the level of Mikawa soldiers and reached the
domain of Shimazu soldiers. (TN: Mikawa soldiers is the troop of
Tokugawa while Shimazu is famous for its crazed troops I think)

It would be slightly too harsh to ask an outsider like Olten to predict

that the beastman corps would become this wildly enthusiastic.

「Men, entrust your life to me!」

Baldr passionately said that from above his horse. The beastmen
who heard that couldn’t stop their tears from flowing anymore.

Page | 262
「This life is for the king till the end!」

「Death for the king’s enemy!」

「We’ll show that we are far more useful than the like of those cat
ears!」

……It seemed they couldn’t abandon their rivalry toward Gartlake’s

cat-eared tribe no matter what.

But at the very least the awareness that they were comrades fighting
for Baldr was definitely growing.

「Listen you all! Not a single one of you is allowed to fall behind! We
will assault the enemy with godspeed! This is something that cannot
be done except by us beastmen!」

「UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONN!」

The howl that a pack of wolves would raise before their hunt was
echoing.

The kingdom army was overwhelmingly inferior when it came to

number, but they abandoned the advantageous defensive battle and
rode out to meet the enemy. It wasn’t a sensible action.

But the beastman corps under the leadership of Gitze was wholly
made up of cavalry.

Because they were using marine transport to arrive here, the

number of horses that they could bring with them was only around a
thousand, less than half of their number, but the trade port of
Mulberry was prominent even throughout the continent.

During these several months, they succeeded in procuring 2000

horses for the rest. Although it was difficult to say that the horse’s
training was sufficient, it could be covered with the rider’s skill.

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The beastman corps crammed portable rations and water for three
days into their knapsack. Then they all simultaneously kicked the
stomach of their horse and became a gale that rushed through the
highway.

「……There they go.」

「They are really cool nya. I also can’t lose nya.」

Page | 264
Page | 265
Satsuki was sending off Baldr’s back that was going to vanish beyond
the horizon with a heated gaze.

Her moist eyes seemed to look at far away somewhere. It was as

though she was staring away from reality toward sweet delusion of
the two of them.

Unlike Silk, she had just gotten aware of her feeling.

Silk unconsciously puffed out her cheeks sullenly seeing the

innocence of Satsuki’s reaction.

「Work hard so that you can make Baldr turn his gaze toward you!」

「Leave it to me nya!」

「Do so. We can’t allow ourselves to lose no matter what okay?

Baldr and Ramillies pulled the short end of the stick for that after all.
」

「What do you mean?」

Certainly Silk thought it was strange that she was entrusted with a
large army of 15000 men. She questioned Gina insistently.

「Ramillies said it right? He doesn’t intend to win right from the

start. He intend to harass his opponent relentlessly to buy time for us
somehow.」

「──In other words, Baldr and us has to win to make the enemy give
up their offensive.」

「That’s how it is.」

If Baldr and Silk were victorious, Olten would get surrounded from
three directions.

Page | 266
Even if he had superior number, the possibility of Olten holding his
ground and challenging the kingdom’s force to a decisive battle while
his supply line was under the threat of the opponent was low.

That was to say, the kingdom’s side was assured if Baldr and Silk
won.

「I need to show my cool side here too.」

The mysterious attack that sealed the King’s Gate at the battle of
Mulberry made the battle ended in a disappointing note, but there
was a way to fight if she knew beforehand that such attack might
come.

Besides if that phenomenon was due to a special hidden

treasureartifact, then perhaps that attack wouldn’t occur at their
side.

「I also can’t lose!」

This country was her mother’s birthplace, the motherland that for a
time she wanted to save even if she had to sacrifice herself.

Even now that Baldr had become the kingdom’s successor, Trystovy
was still a target that had to be saved for Silk.

Above all else, it would shame her position as the first wife at the
future if she left everything to Baldr.

「I’ll show that the title of Gartlake’s shrine maiden princess isn’t
just for show nya……and then……poh」

「Don’t blush at this kind of timeeeeeeeeeee!」

Really she couldn’t let her guard down at all.

What did Baldr do to make this girl fell in love this hard to him while
she was hard at work in Mauricia?

Page | 267
Silk now understood Maggot’s feeling that was burning with jealousy
in regard to Ignis just for a bit, no, by quite a lot.

「Well, it’s in his blood.」

Gina sighed in a state of resignation already.

Page | 268
Part 6
Two more days until they reached Continerri.

The average marching distance of Answerer Kingdom army per day

was around fifteen kilometer.

Even the elite army under Mikhail’s command could only march for
twenty kilometer per day.

On the other hand, the marching speed of Hashiba Hideyoshi when

he performed the Great Reversal of Chugoku was said to reach forty
kilometer per day (there was also a theory that the speed reached
seventy kilometer per day). However it also meant the army would
lose its fighting strength temporarily from fatigue.

In order to give his exhausted soldiers a rest, Hideyoshi Hashiba had

to stop marching for a day and a half, even so the distance he
managed to traverse in so little time could be called as a marvelous
feat that couldn’t be replicated by anybody else.

Mikhail wasn’t someone who would perform such reckless action

before the enemy.

It was Mikhail’s creed to always conduct himself like he was in the

battlefield by constantly putting himself in a state that was ready to
fight anytime.

He finished the preparation for camping at night quickly, made the

soldiers ate enough food, and made them took rest in three shifts.

The soldiers fell asleep slightly earlier in the camps that were hastily
set up under the moonlit night.

Mikhail was a man who was attentive in this kind of aspect in order
to keep the soldiers in their best condition when arriving at
Continerri.

Page | 269
「──But then why can’t you be considerate for me-!」

「Give it up, it’s because you are my adjutant.」

「Please let me get transferred quickly!」

Even if it was by Mikhail’s consideration, the one who was actually

carrying it out in reality was the adjutant.

There was no lack of supply, but distributing it, preparing it, creating
fire, throwing away the unneeded things. There were many
troublesome works to do.

To effectively manage a large army, someone like the adjutant who

excelled in managing detailed works was absolutely essential.

Mikhail was also aware enough of that. Even though he acted like
that, he was genuinely thankful to the adjutant.

Actually, this adjutant was the first person who was able to continue
to work as Mikhail’s adjutant for this long.

It was possible for Mikhail’s army to stay for long in the middle of
enemy territory like Nedras Kingdom was not just because of
Mikhail’s transcendental strength. The practical work skill of the
adjutant also played a large part of it.

This time the dukedom and Answerer Kingdom itself were giving
their army an all out backup so the burden was lighter for the
adjutant, but a large army of 20000 was already an immense burden
just by existing.

「Aa, I want to drink wine leisurely. I want to push all the

troublesome works to others while getting drunk to my heart’s
content, I want to indulge in laziness!」

「You just got a chance to drink high grade wine not long ago.」

Page | 270
「I didn’t have any composure to enjoy high class wine while the
archduke and the great general were also present!」

「That’s your own fault.」

But despite what the adjutant was saying, Mikhail got the feeling
that he was drinking a lot at that time though.

「I have a bad premonition for some reason! If I don’t hurry and get
a transfer to a rustic countryside where there is no battle, the
general will make my life end up in vain!」

「That’s not a hunch anymore isn’t it? That’s clearly defiance against
your superior officer isn’t it?」

The adjutant’s heartfelt scream didn’t reach anyone.

Unfortunately this world was structured so that capable human with

low birth would be the first one who got disadvantaged.

Or rather, Mikhail absolutely didn’t want to let go of the adjutant so

that he could focus himself fully into war.

「Stop grumbling. Go to sleep already and forget everything. If you

need men then I don’t care how many you use──」

A chilling shudder rushed from Mikhail’s stomach until his spinal cord
when he was in the middle of saying that.

He had forgotten when was the last time he felt a chill this bad.

An intense killing intent that was broadcasted until here even from a
distance. Mikhail realized that right now he was standing on the line
between life and death and he burst into a loud laughter.

「W-what is it? Why are you suddenly laughing like that?」

Page | 271
「Perhaps your hunch also cannot be underestimated huh adjutant.
」

Mikhail faced the adjutant who was still uncomprehending of what

was going on and he changed his expression.

「Wake up the sleeping soldiers. The enemy is coming.」

「You are joking right?」

Although Mikhail looked like a careless person, he had sent out

scouts cautiously.

He shouldn’t have let down his guard at all that would allow his army
to be under the enemy’s surprise attack.

「Enemy attack! Enemy attack!」

The knight who went out as scout raised his voice as loudly as
possible and rushed back at that timing.

「Beastman! Beastman cavalry is-!」

Several thousand horse’s hooves caused a rumble on the ground

before the scout could finish speaking.

Because the opponent was cavalry, the scout’s arrival couldn’t

manage to give his ally any time at all to prepare.

The beastman corps under the command of Baldr charged at the

camping ground of Answerer Kingdom army that had become as still
as death with a terrifying speed almost at the same time.

Page | 272
Part 7
Going back slightly in time.

The horse riding group of beastman went north along the Barbarie
highway from Continerry with a speed that surpassed Hideyoshi’s
Great Reversal of Chugoku.

Even Baldr’s previous life Oka Sanai who valued being rough-and-
ready was astonished by that speed.

『This art truly astounding!』

『Awesome! Even Hideyoshi will turn pale seeing this! Alright!』

The marching speed of the beastman that was too aberrant made
even a war expert like Sanai and modern Japanese like Masaharu to
be unable to hide their excitement.

Of course they would be like that.

To be honest even Baldr was trickling cold sweat from his forehead
wondering just what he was witnessing here.

If they were performing this kind of super vast mobility like it was
nothing, just how severe the battle that was carried out between
Nordland Empire and Gartlake Kingdom?

To be honest Baldr felt that this was even more terrifying than
Haurelia Kingdom.

Originally a horse wasn’t really that robust of an animal. Far from

that, they were an animal that would fall sick if their sweat wasn’t
wiped after running.

Horse was a cowardly animal and it was hard to make them get
accustomed to human. They would die easily if they were forced to

Page | 273
run too much, because of that meticulous care was needed to take
care of them.

But perhaps the beastmen had some kind of innate disposition for
riding. For some reason the horses were obedient and didn’t fear
them.

What was even more crazy was that after riding the horse for some
distance, the beastmen would suddenly got down from the horse
and started running parallel to them.

Certainly with that the horses got liberated from carrying a soldier
who was wearing heavy armor, so it reduced their burden. As the
result the distance they could traverse increased.

Then what about the people’s burden? It seemed that running for
five or six kilometer while wearing their full equipment wasn’t a
considerable burden for beastmen.

As expected, it was a feat that could only be done by beastmen

whose physical ability greatly surpassed human in exchange of being
unable to use magic.

『……Mine innards grow cold seeing this.』

『This isn’t a great reversal anymore, what should it be called? The

Great Charge?』

Masaharu started to think about strange naming during his

excitement. Certainly this was a bizarre sight that made one wanted
to put a name to it.

『What, ye mean that the Great Reversal of his highness

TaekoHideyoshi Hashiba is still remembered even by the later
generation?』

Page | 274
『It was a strategic turning point when he defeated Akechi
Mitsuhide and obtained the whole country that it became an idiom!
It’s the finest example of Hideyoshi’s legend!』

『I see.』

Sanai was a retainer of Gamou Ujisato. He knew of Hideyoshi’s

golden age from direct experience.

HIdeyoshi’s strength wasn’t simply because of his skill in tactic. His

speed at deploying a large army that was backed up by a systematic
logistics that nobody else could accomplish was something that even
Tokugawa Ieyasu couldn’t imitate.

But even that Hideyoshi would stare at this speed of the beastmen
with eyes that were wide like saucer.

The existing structure of tactic would crumble if it got exposed to this

kind of absurd contest of stamina.

「This is possible because General Gitze’s subordinates are elites

among elites. Besides beastmen don’t have any method to oppose
magic. There isn’t only just good thing about beastman.」

『So they will be in overwhelming disadvantage against indirect

firepower huh.』

『Couldst they not use arrow to intercept the magic?』

「Magic is something that transcend the dimension of weapon after

all.」

Magic wasn’t only able to be used in the common way of laying out
area attack, it could also be used to produce carbon dioxide
poisoning like what Baldr did against Haurelia Kingdom.

Page | 275
The disadvantage of the beastman in battle when they couldn’t even
use Magic Cancel was obvious.

『……Then what art ye going to do?』

Baldr smiled mischievously at Sanai’s teasing.

「Let’s follow the example of Jiki Hachiman and launch a night

attack.」

『Hou, like in Kawagoe ye mean. I see, even magic wouldst be

useless if enemy and ally are mixed with each other.』

『Like when Houjou Tsunashige yelled we won, we won, huh.』

The famous night battle of Kawagoe, it was a surprise attack that was
counted as one of the three great night battles in Japan due to Rai
San’you of Edo period. Jiki Hachiman was Houjou Tsunashige’s
nickname.

From the research in the recent years, it seemed the prevailing

theory wasn’t necessarily true, but night battle of Kawagoe was the
greatest battle in Japan as a night battle.

The Uesugi allied forces that surrounded the Kawagoe Castle

astonishingly numbered 80000 (there was dissenting view about it).
In contrast Houjou army had 3000 soldiers of Kawagoe Castle along
with reinforcement of 8000. Far from having half the number of the
enemy, his side was a small force that numbered less than a seventh
of the opponent.

However, Uesugi allied forces that were careless due to Houjou

Ujiyasu’s scheme received a large scale night raid and got
annihilated. Their influence in Kanto was completely lost due to that.

Page | 276
It was said that Houjou Tsunashige who sallied out from Kawagoe
Castle roared 「We won! We won!」 while trampling Uesugi army
like an evil spirit.

Uesugi Kenshin wouldn’t be born without this defeat.

Because Uesugi Norimasa who lost his territory and soldiers handed
the surname of Uesugi and the position as the controller of Kanto to
Nagao Kagetora in order to borrow his strength.

「Besides beastmen has better night vision.」

『Their nose art also sharp. Interesting.』

If they rushed into the enemy’s camp, it was the large army that
would lose control and their number would backfire instead.

The indirect firepower that was magic would also be unable to

display its might when their allies were mixed among the enemy.

Certainly there might not be a better place that was more suited to
make use of beastmen’s close combat ability than a night attack.

「My king, according to the scout’s report we might reach our

destination in two more hours.」

Gitze directed his horse near to Baldr and reported.

He kept up his stiff attitude as befitting the beastman race that put
importance to the hierarchy within the pack.

As expected even Baldr was nonplussed by how passionate their

loyalty was.

「All troops, take a full rest. Don’t forget to keep vigilance to the
surrounding!」

「By your will.」

Page | 277
.

Around one hour after the beastman corps took their total rest, a
knight of Answerer Kingdom, Ivan Himicov discovered them just
when the time almost turned ten o’clock at night.

The thunderous rumble that was produced by a herd of cavalry

horses that numbered several thousand cut apart the silence of the
night.

There was no way there wasn’t anyone who wouldn’t notice this.

「W-what’s this?」

Several of his comrades also gathered to ascertain the true identity

of the rumbling on the ground.

They had difficulty ascertaining the true identity of the rumbling

because the mysterious group wasn’t carrying any light at all inside
the darkness.

How many people there were? Which side this group was affiliated
with?

The knights who served as scout kicked the stomach of their horse to
ascertain it.

But──.

*Hyun*, the sound of something cutting through wind entered their

ears. The next moment a knight screamed 「Gah」 before he fell
from his horse.

「Gask!」

The throat of the falling knight was pierced deeply by an arrow. Ivan
who noticed that immediately ducked down.

Page | 278
It was an action that completely came from instinct.

That instinct was immediately proved to be correct when several

black objects passed above his head in high speed. He almost died
just now.

「Enemies! Be careful of archers!」

「Even if you say that……where are the archers!?」

There was a presence of multiple cavalries running toward them.

However their silhouette was hazy. It wasn’t clear how many of the
enemies there were and whether the enemies were archer or
spearman.

Either way, there was no doubting that the enemies had caught sight
of them.

「Ivan, turn around right away and notify the general.」

A senior from the same town among the scouts named Alexei yelled
so at Ivan. Ivan was bewildered.

「We still don’t know the lineup of the enemies. If someone has to
return than as the senior you should……」

「Sorry but with your skill you will only end up dying without
learning anything.」

Ivan could only groan when he was told that.

Ivan was aware that he was far below Alexei when it came to martial
skill.

「Hurry! If you don’t then you might not even make it to report this!
」

Page | 279
It would be uncertain whether they could even the enemy’s
approach with the approaching cavalries surrounding them.

In order to accomplish his duty as a scout, Ivan turned his horse

around with heartrending grief.

「Don’t you dare die, Alexei.」

「Thanks, it’s possible to return back alive even from ten thousand
enemies if one is lucky.」

Ivan spurred his horse without even looking back.

He heard the loud sounds of metals clashing behind him, but he

didn’t look back anymore.

He had to warn his comrades that the enemies were approaching no

matter what.

「──One of them got away. 」

「It can’t be helped. It’s already most satisfactory that we are able to
approach until this close without getting discovered.」

The strong point of beastman race for being able to see at night had
been displayed fully.

The match had been decided when the beastmen managed to detect
the approaching scouts first and finished off half of them with
preemptive attack.

There was one man who was quite skilled. Without his brave fight,
the scouting unit of Answerer Kingdom would have been annihilated.

「We can’t give them anymore time now that we are detected. Let’s
chase them with full speed.」

Page | 280
Unfortunately their side only had cavalry.

Even if the scout that got away managed to return to his ally’s camp,
there wouldn’t be any time for them to prepare anything.

No, it was also unclear whether the scout would even be able to
report this or not.

「Want to bet whether we can catch up to that scout or not?」

Baldr spoke mischievously. Gitze responded with a fearless grin.

「I’m betting a bottle of famous wine of Nordland that we will catch

up.」

「──It’s a draw I guess? 」

The warning that the scout yelled ended up in vain. Answerer

Kingdom’s camp fell into a pandemonium. Baldr watched it while
spurring his horse onward and talking to Gitze.

「No, it’s my win.」

Gitze pointed. There a beastman caught up to Ivan and swung his

sword through Ivan’s neck.

「Why didn’t we notice that the enemy has approached this close!?
」

One of the sentries screamed with a groan of despair.

The number of Answerer Kingdom’s army was 20000. Although two

third of those were sleeping, a third should be awake.

Page | 281
But they were completely unable to stop the charge of the beastman
corps.

It wasn’t strange.

The soldiers weren’t vigilant due to the awareness that the enemy
base was still far away, and the possibility of the enemy leaving their
base when they were smaller in number was small.

Most of all, because the time was night, the curtain of darkness
made them unable to grasp the number and affiliation of the
enemies. The chaos was getting even more serious.

「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

「Watch out for arrows! Fire! Lit up more fire!」

Baldr and his men successfully charged deep into the enemy rank
where the defense was soft in the blink of eye.

「Right now is the time we show our king the power of beastman!」

「UOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!」

The beastmen had truly transformed into soldiers who didn’t fear
death.

If Baldr told them to die for him, they would head toward their death
in high spirit sporting a wide smile on their face.

It would be stranger to choose to face such opponent head on.

Asking soldiers who were assaulted in their sleep and weren’t

prepared for fighting at all was simply asking too much from them.

「Run!」

Page | 282
Soldiers were creature who would strive to be the first to run away
when their confidence was smashed.

The soldiers who fell into terror began to escape every which way
like scattering baby spiders.

Even if they didn’t have any knowledge about the local terrain, it
would be fine as long as they could survive. That kind of survival
instinct couldn’t be underestimated. Though occasionally it would be
the powerless commoners who became sacrifice in order for the
soldiers to survive.

Martell of Europa Church was pressed to make a decision amidst the

hellish pandemonium.

Should he run, or should he fight.

He couldn’t possibly allow the church’s holy relic to fall into enemy’s
hand.

At the very least he should prder the rocket arrows to be withdrawn

because there was no way to use it in close-quarter combat like this.

Just in case a platoon of the church’s combatants was accompanying

him, but it was unknown how much he could rely on them as fighting
strength within this darkness.

「Bishop-sama, at this rate……」

「I know.」

Baldr was the enemy of the faith. He was an opponent that had to be
defeated no matter what. But they didn’t have the duty to stake
their life in a battle where there was no chance of victory.

Page | 283
As expected perhaps they should run──just as Martell was about to
make that decision.

「Gahahahahah! Nice! This is nice! As expected from the worthy

opponent who I recognized!」

A laughter so loud it was unbelievable that it came from just one

man was echoing through the darkness of night.

It went without saying who was the owner of this laughter.

Mikhail straddled his favorite horse and swung around his favorite
spear like it was a twig.

He could already see the flow of the battle. Unfortunately his army
of 20000 couldn’t function as a large army anymore.

How magnificent that was!

Mikhail couldn’t even imagine what had been done that the other
side could launch a surprise attack on them this quickly without
being detected.

Even though he had been completely outmaneuvered, Mikhail’s

heart was dancing like a boy.

Certainly defeat was unavoidable when it came to the group fighting.

However it could also be said that the environment had become the
best stage for individuals to wield their martial might without any
boorish interruption to get in the way.

For Mikhail, rather than victory or defeat, the fact that he would be
able to enjoy a duel with Baldr to his heart’s content was more
important than anything.

Page | 284
「──You have taken a really good care of me until now, adjutant.」

「Haa?」

The adjutant scowled in displeasure at Mikhail’s completely

unexpected words.

What was this man saying after this late?

「Run to the north, then gather the fleeing soldiers and return back
home. Surely you will be able to gather more than ten thousands
somehow.」

Even though the army had lost its function as a group from the night
attack, the casualties weren’t actually that many. The number of
death at the end of this would only reach 3000 at most.

Although it would be suspect whether the soldiers would still

function as combat strength again even if they were gathered
together again.

「I refuse.」

The adjutant gave a firm refusal without the slightest ambiguity.

Mikhail’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

Even when the adjutant made nasty remarks or grumbling endlessly,

the adjutant fundamentally never refused Mikhail’s order.

Mikhail didn’t have any idea at all why the adjutant was now refusing
his order at this critical time.

「Are you harassing me? Are you telling me to lead the remnants of
a defeated army through a foreign country like this and making me
the excuse of this defeat? Just how much someone like you are going
to push me around until you’re satisfied?」

Page | 285
「……No, well that’s, you know. Sorry.」

「The well of my patience has finally run out for sure today at this
moment. I’m going to just watch your battle like a spectator from
here!」

「You……」

It was the truth that adjutant thought of his work as troublesome. He

also seriously wanted to live idly in a peaceful countryside.

But there was something that the adjutant hadn’t told Mikhail.

He was really happy that he could wield his skill as much as he

wanted as the adjutant of an invincible general.

He was also secretly admiring Mikhail who purely rejoiced in battle

without any care of politic or scheme.

「The cost for the show is expensive you know?」

「Do you know how much you are indebted to me! You are totally
mistaken if you think just the fee for the show is going to be enough
to offset all those debts!」

Good grief, so he was going to be like this till the very end.

Mikhail’s shoulders shook and he laughed heartily. It would be a

waste for Answerer Kingdom to lose this man here, but Mikhail had
no words to stop a man who had made his decision.

「Then come until that world to collect the debt from me!」

「Unfortunately the interest for your debt is high! I’ll come to collect
them until the end of hell!」

Mikhail stared at the faces of his veterans who were forming a well-
organized line.

Page | 286
Every single one of them was splendid warriors. And above all else,
all of them were men beyond salvation who knew of the joy of
fighting.

「This will be the last battle of the general of the right Mikhail of
Answerer Kingdom! Enjoy it to your heart’s content you guys!」

「OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!」

「General of the right banzai!」

「Answerer Kingdom banzai!」

「The army of Trystovy Kingdom isn’t anything to fear!」

It was a height of morale that made it dubious which side was

actually winning here.

「──Let’s go!」

Mikhail grasped his favorite spear tightly and rushed out at the
forefront.

This battle was already lost, but it would be the dukedom’s victory in
the war if they could just take Baldr’s head.

Actually Mikhail also still had the possibility of emerging victorious.

Martell also made his decision when he heard Mikhail’s beastly roar.

Just like Mikhail, he also didn’t have any interest in the result of this
war.

The problem was simply whether they could kill Baldr or not.

Page | 287
Although the one with the highest possibility to kill Baldr was
Mikhail, so Martell couldn’t possibly take the choice of not
supporting him.

「There is no choice. Split the unit into two. The first team will
retreat to the capital Millianna together with the fire arrows. The
rest is to accompany me to take down our sworn enemy Baldr
Antrim Cornelius.」

「In the great name of Europa.」

「In the great name of Europa.」

They would seal the trump card that was the King’s Gate.

In the end how far could Baldr face that monster named Mikhail
without the King’s Gate.

Or perhaps the two monsters would injure each other. At that time
the role of taking advantage of that would be assigned to them.

「Avoid from getting exhausted. Make use of Answerer Kingdom’s

army as your shield as much as possible while we are approaching
that hateful monster.」

Don’t rejoice after succeeding in this night attack like a barbarian.

Martell glared at the direction where Baldr was located with an
endlessly dark gaze that only a fanatic could have.

It wasn’t a victory song that Baldr should sing in this battlefield, but a
requiem.

At the same time when the group that Mikhail commanded launched
their charge, Baldr felt the feeling of lethargy that he also felt in the
battle of Mulberry to cling around him like a loose restraint.

Page | 288
──This was something that Baldr was completely ignorant about, but
Mikhail was also enveloped in a feeling of lethargy that he couldn’t
describe.

「──What? Is this the work of those guys? 」

Although they thought of it as strange, both Mikhail and Baldr

weren’t man who would stop fighting here.

The two of them gradually closed the distance without a single

change in their expression.

「My king, leave him to me.」

Gitze moved forward to cover Baldr behind him, but Baldr stopped
him with his right hand.

「Sorry but leave this to me. More importantly, I want you to search
the surrounding whether there is anyone who use suspicious magic
or device.」

「You’re your will.」

Gitze’s expression contained a happiness that he couldn’t suppress

despite the refusal.

He was happy that Baldr had the caliber to stand above the
beastmen.

「Don’t let anyone disturb the duel between our king and the enemy
general. It’s our duty to safeguard the sanctity of this battle.」

「We won’t let even a single rat pass through.」

「Death to the scoundrel who try anything boorish with the fight of
our king.」

The distance between the two was shrinking.

Page | 289
The elite guards that Mikhail was leading, his skilled soldiers
numbered around 2000.

The remaining 18000 soldiers had completely lost the chain of

command and fell into disrupted and disorganized state.

Even so fully equipped 2000 soldiers could be gathered like this

simply because of Mikhail’s charisma.

If there was another general than Mikhail who possessed valor and
commanding ability in this battlefield, it might be possible to
maintain double the number of soldiers than this.

「Let’s fulfill our promise of that time! Your highness Baldr!」

「Let’s see which one of us is the greater sore loser──we’ll settle it

today!」

Each other’s face was standing out against the dark background
clearly under the moon’s light. The two ascertained that the other
had a grin that couldn’t be held back on their face and they
unintentionally laughed.

It seemed both of them were fellow battle lover who couldn’t escape
from the karma of battle.

『Umu, I’m ready to fight anytime.』

『Don’t! Sanai-dono! You have promised to leave it to Baldr this

time!』

『Didst I say something like that?』

『You said it! Don’t play senile old man!』

『Ye treat this old man really cruelly.』

Page | 290
.

A lighthearted conversation was exchanged within Baldr, but it

wasn’t the time to pay attention to that anymore.

Baldr sped up his horse drastically and took position slightly to

Mikhail’s left──a position where both of them could use their spear
in their dominant hand fully. The two of them crossed each other in
an instant.

Page | 291
Page | 292
──*KIN!*

It was Baldr who took the initiative.

The spear that thrust toward Mikhail’s face was repelled by the spear
that Mikhail heaved up from the inner part. Then next Mikhail
launched a thrust toward Baldr’s torso.

Baldr made use of the centrifugal force of his spear that was repelled
to strike back with the butt of his spear.

It was a series of offense and defense that progressed like a streak of

light. At the end it was Mikhail who was in advantage.

Perhaps there was almost no gap between them with their skill in
spear. However Mikhail was slightly superior when it came to
physical strength and horse riding.

Currently Baldr’s posture was slightly shaken after they passed each
other, while in contrast Mikhail was already making his horse turned
around and readying his spear.

「Are you not good with a match on horse?」

「My mother is faster than even horse, so I had no need of riding

one. Though my father taught me the basics.」

There was no way Baldr had any leeway to ride a horse when facing
Maggot’s super fast combat.

It was only the natural result that invincible warrior Maggot wasn’t
doing any of her fight on horse.

Page | 293
As expected Ignis personally taught Baldr about horse riding seeing it
was a required skill for a knight, however Baldr could only shook his
head if he was asked whether it was his forte.

Of course his skill was quite higher than average, but his opponent
was too bad.

「Your highness’s illustrious mother is it? I wish that I have the

chance to have a bout with her but there is no point asking for that
now. Your highness, I won’t hold back next time.」

「That’s just how I want it!」

Baldr finally turned his horse around and recovered his stance.
Mikhail was intentionally waiting for Baldr to finish while exchanging
conversation with him.

Mikhail’s aesthetic didn’t allow him to easily land the finishing blow
by making use of the difference of skill in their horse riding skill.

Baldr too couldn’t possibly stay calm when the enemy was pitying
him like that.

The two kicked the abdomen of their horse once more and moved
their spear to kill each other for sure this time.

The beastman corps under the command of Gitze and Mikhail’s elite
guards clashed at the background of the duel between Mikhail and
Baldr.

Both sides had experienced many battles and cultivated their skill.
They were almost equal against each other.

Page | 294
Although Answerer Kingdom’s troops had to concede that they were
a level inferior in physical ability against beastman, they were
superior in teamwork.

However the difference in number was great. And more importantly

all of the beastmen were riding horse. In contrast the majority of
Answerer Kingdom’s troops were on foot. It played a large part in
deciding the result.

The frontline of Answerer Kingdom’s troops was starting to break

first while they were unable to completely absorb the charging
power of the cavalry.

「Reserve corps! Fill the hole! Both wings, take turns and heighten
the density at the center!」

At the present time while Mikhail was occupied with his duel, it was
the adjutant’s work to replace him in commanding all the troops.

In order to not allow the hole at the frontline to connect to the

collapse of the whole troops, he sent they very small amount of the
reserve corps in his possession to maintain the organizational
capability of the troops even if it put them at the risk of getting
surrounded.

It was a magnificent leadership that made Gitze unconsciously felt

admiration.

But Gitze wasn’t so generous that he would ignore that opening.

「Archers, aim at that commander! Pass through the sides and circle
to their back!」

「OOO!」

Page | 295
Although there was moonlight, it was difficult to see the arrows that
were flying through the darkness. The people around the adjutant
were continuously getting shot down.

But the adjutant intentionally ignored that and endured the

beastmen’s attack.

「Sorry, I’m completely lacking in valor. It’s a selfish request but

entrust your life to me everyone!」

「Leave it to us. It’s the disgrace of a soldier to allow the general to

be taken down. We swear we will protect adjutant-dono’s life until
the last man standing!」

The soldiers who had accompanied Mikhail for long knew how
capable and helpful the adjutant had been for Mikhail.

They also felt sympathy as a comrade to the adjutant who was like a
henchman who always got dragged around by an abnormally
mischievous brat that was Mikhail. To them the adjutant was an
existence that they had to protect to the end no matter what with
determination.

「……Well, there won’t be anybody left to take care of the general if

adjutant-dono die here.」

「Your words just now are a crime of defamation toward your

superior you know? I don’t feel like looking after that person
anymore.」

「But, you also can’t leave him alone right?」

「Leaving him to do as he please made my stomach hurt

more……wait, what are you making me say!」

Page | 296
「Adjutant-dono has also been completely dyed by the general’s
color huh.」

「S-stop it please, don’t say such terrifying thing! Death is better for
me rather than turning into that kind of muscle brained idiot!」

「You are going to accompany him even until that world because
you are saying such thing.」

The adjutant and the soldiers were joking around with each other
with roaring laughter.

The atmosphere was peaceful as though their situation where they

were put at disadvantage while they were gradually losing men was
just a lie. At the same time their laughter was also ferocious and bold
like a real man.

「──They are good soldiers even though they are enemy.」

It was a honor of a lifetime to fight a respectable enemy who didn’t

fear death.

But that peaceful atmosphere itself was the greatest proof that they
were feeling how their limit was near.

They wouldn’t be able to hold out anymore if the cavalry that circled
to their rear launched a charge.

「Let’s bury them with all our might together with our greatest
respect toward them.」

Gitze slowed the speed of his troops and took a deep breath.

「Charge! We shall offer victory to the king before the king is

finished with his duel!」

「UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!」

Page | 297
The beastman cavalry began a trampling charge from the front and
rear of Answerer Kingdom’s troops like an avalanche.

The battle of Baldr and Mikhail was also entering the climax at that
timing.

There was only one method for Baldr to take if his opponent was his
superior in horse riding and physical strength.

「……Over Boost.」

It was the only physical strengthening method that Baldr could do at

the present when his King’s Gate was sealed.

As could be seen from his duel with Gina, the effect wasn’t inferior
compared to the King’s Gate at all.

His nerves became perfectly clear. Baldr felt a sense of omnipotence

as though he was in control of time.

Mikhail’s horse that was going to pass beside him with an enormous
speed, and Mikhail’s posture where his arm and his torso were
drawn to the limit like a bow, all of them looked like slow motion.

Even if he didn’t have King’s gate, he had invented this Over Boost
with blood and sweat in order to catch up to the world of the Silver
Light. There was no reason that Mikhail could outdo it.

Baldr saw through the trajectory of the spear tip that was thrust out.
He bent forward with the minimum movement and moved to stsab
his spear at Mikhail’s completely open side──it was exactly at that
timing.

『──No good』

「???」

Page | 298
Sanai muttered in Baldr’s mind. Almost at the same time, a shudder
ran through Baldr’s spine.

It was a violent shudder that even made him felt pain as though his
whole body had been pierced by a spear.

The conviction that he could kill the opponent right now, and the
incomprehensible terror that told him that he couldn’t keep up with
his current action. From the two Baldr chose to follow his instinct.

Baldr turned his wrist and altered the trajectory of the spear. The
spear slightly gouged Mikhail’s side and Baldr passed him by without
pause.

「──So that’s the trump card that your highness didn’t show before.
」

Mikhail paid no attention to the blood flowing from his side and
grinned ferociously.

His blazingly shining eyes were like a young boy who had found a toy
that attracted his attention.

A movement that even Mikhail who was called as demon by the

beastmen of Nedras Kingdom who possessed excellent physical
capability couldn’t perceive.

It was truly worthy to be called a trump card.

──That was exactly why it would be worth it to win against it.

On the other hand, Baldr was unable to believe that his own body
was unconsciously avoiding to land the finishing blow even though
he should be able to win just now.

『So ye didst not understand it brat.』

Page | 299
Sanai sighed at Baldr’s lack of experience that was making him
unable to comprehend what was going on.

He was worried about Baldr’s future if he couldn’t comprehend what

had just happened.

Although what Mikhail did was only something that could be done by
a human who didn’t fear death. Sanai changed his mind thinking that
it was natural that Baldr didn’t understand.

『That was a stance of mutual takedown.』

(M-mutual takedown?)

Allowing the enemy to cut the bone in order to sever their flesh. It
was a reckless act that would lead to death just from making a little
mistake, but what Mikhail did wasn’t a reactionary act of trying to
take down the enemy together with himself in exchange of his life.

It was the ultimate Go no Sen toward an opponent who was stronger

than oneself. (TN: Go no sen or post-initiative, is a concept in
Japanese martial arts in which a combatant takes the initiative in a
fight after the opponent has already started an attack)

The enemy’s guard was at the thinnest right at the moment when
they were launching an attack. Mikhail was going to capture that
moment and launch a sure kill attack right at that time.

It wasn’t an action that could be taken unless one had an absolute

confidence in their own body that they would be able to
counterattack even if their neck was severed.

『Naïve.』

Baldr was thinking that in that case, he just had to accurately pierce
Mikhail’s heart to kill him instantly, but Sanai severely insulted him.

Page | 300
『A real warrior wouldst not die just from that.』

A warrior who had offered their whole body and soul to war would
often display a hidden strength that couldn’t be measured with
common sense.

Sanai had actually seen with his own eyes how a veteran military
commander bit at the enemy even when he had been beheaded. A
true warrior wouldn’t stop just because their heart had been
stabbed.

Perhaps such thing was impossible from the perspective of common

sense, but a battlefield was the place where such absurd happening
could occur.

This was that Mikhail they were talking about. He would definitely
counterattack even after he was beheaded.

Baldr wouldn’t be able to dodge such counterattack with his body

that had just swung his spear at full strength to behead Mikhail.

Even if he had Over Boost, he was still unable to do anything about

how his body would be petrified at the instant he released his
strength.

(Something like that……how can I deal with that?)

Unlike Mikhail, Baldr couldn’t possibly allow himself to die.

Even though he also enjoyed battle like Mikhail, the final destination
that Baldr aimed for was different from Mikhail.

Mikhail would be satisfied even if he died right now, in contrast Baldr

was aiming to rule this Trystovy and built a world where he could live
as himself.

His position was different from Mikhail who had nothing to lose.

Page | 301
「What’s wrong? Your spear has stopped there.」

「Kuh……!」

Mikhail attacked continuously. Baldr dodged them clumsily.

With Over Boost’s speed, he should be able to dodge them with

some room to spare. However Baldr had lost his composure and he
was mentally pressured by Mikhail completely.

「What are you hesitating about? Are you going to kill or get killed,
that’s the only important thing in the battlefield isn’t it?」

「Must be nice to be an idiot who only care about battle!」

Baldr yelled bluntly to take out his anger on Mikhail.

He too wanted to enjoy fighting.

He was unable to purely feel enjoyment because Mikhail’s existence

was just too irregular.

「I’m fine with being an idiot. It’s much better than being
pretentious.」

「Pretentious you say?」

Baldr had his own ideal. He was giving his all in order to make that
ideal a reality.

Perhaps for a battle junkie like Mikhail it was just something trivial
without any value, but Baldr had no intention at all to allow him to
call that as being crafty.

「What are you going to call trying to win against this me with such
hesitation other than being pretentious?」

「To win even then is what it means to stand above others!」

Page | 302
Baldr’s hesitation finally cleared up at that time.

Answerer Kingdom’s army was driven into destruction even while

this duel was going on.

Mikhail who was able to calmly ignore that was decisively lacking in
quality to be a commander. Even though he was the finest as a
warrior, he was a failure as a commander.

There was no way he could lose against such person.

A warrior couldn’t control a battlefield because there were things in

this world that an individual’s skill was unable to do anything about
it.

『Boy, to win against the resolve to die, ye hath to face it with an

even stronger resolve to live.』

And, the desire to live was stronger than a mere desire to die. That
was why the history of mankind was continuing unbroken even now.

「Here I come!」

「Umu, that’s a good face. Show your highness’s true strength to

this me!」

Like a pair of birds who were drawn by fate, the two’s bodies
intersected as though they were pulled toward each other.

In a moment that lasted only for an instant, a terrifyingly advanced

offense and defense were unfolding with a speed that couldn’t be
followed by naked eyes.

Baldr’s spear pierced Mikhail’s body with a godspeed. And yet

Mikhail succeeded in shifting just a few millimeter that his heart was
spared.

Page | 303
At the same time Mikhail restricted the spear with his steel-like
muscles. He also unleashed a counter toward Baldr’s neck at the
same time.

Baldr had resolved himself that he wouldn’t be able to avoid this

from the start. Unbelievably, he headbutted the spear from a
diagonal direction and diverted the spear’s trajectory.

His forehead was deeply cut and a lot of fresh blood splattered.

Baldr didn’t even pay attention to the fresh blood that entered his
eyes and leaped toward Mikhail’s bosom. His hand reached toward
the short sword on his waist and pulled it out.

──The two horses and its riders passed by each other.

It was here that the paused time finally started to move again.

「A headbutt……your highness is also just as much of an eccentric as

I am.」

「Assumption is the enemy that is located nearest to human. Also

fate always grant the suitable future to each soul.」

「I see, the caliber of my soul, is not a match against your highness,

is it……」

A breath later, blood spurted out from Mikhail’s neck like a geyser.

「It was an enjoyable fight.」

「I won’t deny that it was also fun for me, but general, you are the
first person other than my mother who make me think that I don’t
want to fight this person anymore.」

「It’s an honor……is that what I should say?」

Page | 304
At the verge of his death, the regret that he couldn’t also fight
Maggot passed Mikhail’s mind.

However with that thought as his last, Mikhail’s large body slowly fell
to the ground like a rotten tree.

「──Even that general can lose huh.」

*Gofuh* Blood trickled down from the adjutant’s mouth together

with an unpleasant sound.

「Forgive me. This is as far as we can go.」

「No no, with this my reason to yell at that person has increased
again. After all he was trying to push a troublesome work my way
again.」

The adjutant smiled genuinely and raised his voice for the last time.

「──Those who want to complain to General Mikhail at that world,

take your sword!」

The adjutant exultantly broke into a run with arrows still sticking into
his chest.

The soldiers who followed after him were also charging into hell one
by one with an innocent smile on their face like they were just going
out for an excursion.

(It won’t be enough no matter how much I complain at him. For

soldiers this magnificent to die here……)

A part of Answerer Kingdom’s army fought evenly to the death

against the beastman corps even in the overwhelmingly

Page | 305
disadvantageous situation where their charismatic general had fallen
in battle.

All of them ran out of strength and breathed their last breath. Every
single one of them had a satisfied smile on their face.

Gitze closed his eyes after witnessing their death. He praised the
death of these worthy opponents and prayed for their soul’s
departure.

──But there were people who didn’t feel comforted at all by such
honor.

「How can something absurd like this happen-!」

Martell cursed the worthlessness of Mikhail and his men with pulsing
vein on his forehead at the impossible victory of the beastman corps.

「Just a bit more! Just a bit more and that monster’s life would be
gone!」

In Martell’s eyes, the offense and defense between Baldr and Mikhail
were like a storm.

He only understood the conclusion that Baldr took down Mikhail

with a paper-thin difference while his face was dyed red with blood.

If the scale of fate leaned just slightly more to Mikhail, the winner
would be him. That was clear to see.

That was the only reason why Martell decided to stay in the
battlefield even knowing the danger.

「Bishop-sama! The savages are heading over here!」

Page | 306
Now that Answerer Kingdom’s army had been annihilated, there was
nothing that was protecting the church’s force.

Martell’s choice to come here and betting on Mikhail’s strength had

backfired on him.

「Damn you……everything will be as god willed it if that monster just

die……!」

Suddenly, the figure of Baldr limply lying down on his horse entered
the sight of the enraged Martell.

The effect of Over Bosst had run out.

Right now Baldr was fighting the feeling of lethargy that was flooding
him from head to toe that made him didn’t want to move at all.

「God haven’t forsaken us!」

Martell rejoiced at the perfect chance that he never even dreamed

of.

Baldr looked like he didn’t have any strength left to fight. If it was
now then even the church’s force should have enough chance to
finish him off.

「Send the signal to the other group!」

Martell fired the flash signal to the group that was retreating with
the rocket arrows in tow.

──It was an order to fire the rocket arrows at him and his group if it
looked like they couldn’t escape.

Even if they were unable to take down Baldr, Baldr would become an
unmoving target with Martell and his men surrounding him.

Page | 307
It was also his duty to not allow the worst case where the relics fell
into enemy hand. It would save him time if the rocket arrows also
blew up the relics together with him.

「Rejoice! The gate of heaven is near!」

「Praise the great name of Europa!」

「For the sake of god’s glory! For the sake of Europa Church’s
future!」

The group was driven by dangerous fervor. Gitze who witnessed

them charging toward Baldr turned pale.

「No-! Protect our king!」

He never imagined that there was another group hiding behind the
shadow of Answerer Kingdom that would suddenly display their
fighting spirit and charging toward Baldr. As expected this was
completely outside Gitze’s expectation.

Gitze’s troops hurriedly rushed toward their back.

「Good grief, overtime like this is really a pain.」

Baldr could only smile bitterly at the approaching group of fanatic

that was wearing a demonic expression.

His arms and legs felt heavy like lead. There was a fierce pain in his
head as though he had been struck by a blunt weapon. His brain felt
like there was a wave shaking it.

(……This might be bad.)

『I wouldst not forgive ye if ye got killed by small fries.』

『Gitze-san will also catch up soon, so hold on somehow until then!

』

Page | 308
Masaharu’s suggestion was very logical, but it seemed to touch
Sanai’s temper for some reason.

『Don’t ye dare dirty the battle like that!』

The old man who had felt unbearably itchy from the start due to the
battle between Baldr and Mikhail immediately took over Baldr’s
body.

It seemed that Baldr was still below a general of the Warring States
era like Sanai when it came to displaying how the mind could surpass
the physical limitation.

『Come at me! You Jodo Shinshu zealots!』

『No no, Sanai-san. They aren’t Jodo Shinshu followers you know?』
(TN: Referring to Jodo Shinshu Buddhist uprising at Muromachi and
Warring States era)

In other words Sanai was calling them fanatics who dared to oppose
a military general.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!』

「W-what?」

「Damn monster! So you can still move?」

Baldr’s movement suddenly became energetic as though he had

been replaced by another person (actually that was exactly what
happened). It greatly bewildered Martell and his men.

It was possible to take Baldr’s life right now. They charged forward
with the readiness to die because they believed that, and yet the fact
was like this. They felt betrayed.

Page | 309
Baldr was happily swinging around his spear while laughing with
blood soaked face. He looked like a demon from anyone’s eyes.

He swung around his spear as though he was swinging around a

small branch. The heads of the soldiers who were at the forefront
were sent flying one after another.

The soldiers who were considered as skilled in the church were

completely helpless. The abnormal space that was the battlefield
was ruled by a different sort of power than the church’s combat
strength.

Martell was greatly despaired by how far the gap in skilll between
them was.

(But, you bastard are already falling into our trap just from facing us
like this!)

That was the only thing that was propping up Martell’s heart.

His comrades were getting killed regardless of their hard fighting.

It was regretful that he couldn’t finish off Baldr with his own hand,
but when he imagined of Baldr’s panicked figure due to the rocket
arrows despite being convinced of his victory not long ago, he felt
gratified.

Sanai also noticed how Martell wasn’t really looking at him despite
staring toward him.

『Those eyes, they are grating on mine nerve……』

Before Sanai could consider any further the meaning of Martell’s

gaze, several streaks of light came flying with red trails trailing
behind them. Sanai raised his voice in surprise.

『Wait, even I am not a match against something like this.』

Page | 310
The next moment, light burst. Baldr’s figure vanished within it.

Page | 311
Part 8
「What a drastic measure.」

Olten muttered that to himself after learning that Ramillies was

fighting to delay his advance with only 2000 troops.

To be honest he felt betrayed.

It was like Ramillies was saying that he had given up on winning from
the beginning to simply harass him as much as possible.

For Olten who wanted to settle the destiny of many years between
the two of them, he could understand it rationally but emotionally
he found it hard to accept.

Although Olten wasn’t someone who was ruled by his emotion.

「There is no need to face them seriously. Don’t get lured by their

provocation and focus only on whittling them down.」

At the same time Olten sent several messengers toward the allied
army from Answerer Kingdom and Silva’s army at both wings.

The troops that came here numbered 2000. That meant the combat
force that was assigned to the other area would be more than
expected.

Most likely most of the soldiers were invested into the front where
Baldr faced Answerer Kingdom’s army.

「You have grown old Ramillies. Is that how precious your lord’s life
to you?」

Even if Baldr managed to win, this war would end with the
dukedom’s victory if Olten and Silva won.

Page | 312
Rather it would make it easier politically for the dukedom after the
war if Answerer Kingdom’s army tasted defeat here.

Olten believed that Ramillies had been carried away by his emotion
and chose the wrong tactic.

Even so, as expected from Ramillies.

Ramillies wouldn’t fight him head on no matter what. In addition he

made a part of Noia River to burst and made the road to turn into
quagmire. As expected even Olten was troubled by that.

He had allowed Ramillies to buy a lot of time, but the price Ramillies
paid for that was also great.

The number of Antrim troops who could fight had been reduced until
less than half. A normal army would have been annihilated after
receiving that much damage.

Perhaps the army would really be annihilated if this battle dragged

on for a few days more.

The detailed report of the war was brought to Olten through a

messenger at that moment.

「Defeat……? Both Answerer Kingdom army and Silva’s army?」

Throughout this sequences of battle, it must be Silva’s army at the

west that was made to meet the most unreasonable experience.

From anyone’s perspective, the west army was just a bait with least
importance.

Originally, the 2000 troops to delay the enemy should be sent

toward Silva’s army instead of Olten.

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But when the lid was opened, the largest concentration of the enemy
force, an army of 15000 was sent his way. Furthermore final
weapons in the form of two King’s Gate owners also accompanied
that army.

Who could possibly guess that the majority of the enemy force
would be sent toward what was obviously a bait like this?

What was even more problematic was that Sylva’s army that was
originally a bait──depending on the situation it could also become a
trump card to break through the battle front though──to lure a part
of the enemy’s force didn’t have any relic to seal the King’s Gate.

The number of the relics were only few, so Mikhail and Olten’s
armies were prioritized.

「……It seems there isn’t anything strange going on.」

「I can fight as I please like this nya!」

Gina and Satsuki were worried that their strength would be sealed
again like in the first battle. They let out a sigh of relieve when they
didn’t feel anything strange even after coming into contact with the
enemy.

──Then there was only one thing for them to do.

「Grandma will work hard♪」

「I’ll work hard for dear husband’s sake♪ Nya!」

「The two over there, do it seriouslyyyyyyyyyyy!」

The frontline was suddenly broken through and the enemy pushed
on until halfway within the formation. The expression of Silva at that
time wasn’t anything good.

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He couldn’t face the enemy properly with his frontline being
trampled by two monsters like that.

In addition the 15000 strong kingdom’s army with Marquis Randolph

army acting as its main core seemed to focus its force to break
through the center.

「Plug the hole at the center with the reserve force. Stretch the
wings to circle the enemy.」

Sylva didn’t lose his calm even after receiving the report that made
him doubted his ears. It was because he had known beforehand that
the kingdom’s side had a fighting power that was King’s Gate.

At the same time he also realized that it was terrifyingly difficult for
his side right now to handle such threat.

「We are switching to a mobile battle. It’s fine if they can break
through, but they also don’t need to force themselves.」

Silva chose to carry out a mobile battle.

Unlike a decisive battle where both sides hardened their formation

and clashed head on, in mobile battle the whole army would move
while fighting. The difference in proficiency and commanding ability
could easily appear in such battle.

Most of all, Gina and Satsuki would be unable to target the general
with the headquarter moving along relentlessly with the whole army.

「Don’t accompany their movement, just focus on breaking through

the center!」

A mobile battle would be disadvantageous for the kingdom army

that was made up from various mixed forces. Silk who immediately
saw that through was also prodigious in regard to her commanding
ability.

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As the result, both sides were unable to inflict decisive damage to
each other. However with Gina and Satsuki rampaging, Sylva was
taking more loss and he was forced to retreat.

Although he couldn’t win, he had accomplished his role as bait by

luring 15000 troops to face him, so Sylva’s decision at this time was
completely correct.

「……Even so that’s really a foul play.」

Gina and Satsuki had managed to vent their stress from the previous
battle and felt satisfied. They were holding each other’s shoulder
while laughing loudly.

「A-ha-ha-ha-! I’ll let you guys off with this for today!」

「Don’t ever come here again, nya!」

The injured reached several thousands from their fighting. The

number of death was more than 500.

From Sylva’s perspective, the two of them were a completely

unreasonable calamity that befell him.

A lot of his soldiers also felt scared and it was impossible for them to
break through into the enemy’s formation in such state, so Sylva
turned his army around.

Precisely speaking, it wasn’t a defeat but a tactical retreat.

However the report that reached Olten was only telling him of
General Mikhail’s death in battle and the fact that Sylva’s west army
was retreating.

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What was especially shocking was that Baldr was completely
victorious against Mikhail while only leading the beastmen without
even Gina or Satsuki accompanying him.

This was the first time Olten learned of the destructive power when
the beastman race’s power was displayed in full, although the
number of situation this could happen was extremely limited.

There was even a possibility that Baldr and his beastman corps would
assault him from behind by tomorrow at the soonest if he was
unlucky.

At this time Olten wasn’t aware that Baldr had gotten seriously
wounded.

「──This might be time.」

It wouldn’t be difficult to win against Ramillies.

However although he had superior number, it would be difficult even

with Olten’s capability to calm down the soldiers if they got
surrounded from three directions.

Most of all, the rumor of the death of Answerer Kingdom’s demonic

general Mikhail was starting to spread quietly.

The fatigue of the soldiers was also accumulating due to Ramillies’s

constant harassment.

──*BABABABAABABABANN!!*

「Again huh.」

It was a disturbance using loud sound to disturb the sleep of the

soldiers.

It didn’t inflict any noticeable damage, but the soldiers hadn’t been
able to sleep soundly for several days.

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The soldiers were under the mental burden of staying within enemy
territory where they didn’t have terrain advantage, in addition their
sleep kept getting disturbed. Even Olten was sensing how the
soldiers’ morale was dropping.

Would it be fine for him to continue fighting like this?

The opponent was that Ramillies. He couldn’t let his guard down at
all until the very moment he made him breathe his last breath.

If even Olten also got defeated, the dukedom wouldn’t be able to

fight anymore and the country would rush headlong through the
path of ruin.

And yet if he retreated here, it would mean giving Baldr a

propaganda material.

The dukedom couldn’t win against an army of 20000 even after

mobilizing a grand number of 80000. He could already see that the
nobles would judge that the dukedom had no chance of victory.

Should he make a bet that staked everything here?

Or should he change his objective to focus on targeting Baldr’s life

alone?

If Olten was able to observe this battle from the view point of god,
he would learn that the dukedom army was standing on an
overwhelmingly advantageous position right now.

The general Baldr was heavily wounded. Ramillies was in the verge of
total annihilation. 15000 troops under Silk’s leadership at the west
was still going strong, but Silva’s army was also still maintaining its
number and chain of command.

Continuing to advance toward Mulberry single-mindedly like this was

also an available option.

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Just when Olten was about to decide to continue his offense, a
messenger riding a fast horse came to his camp with a decree.

「What? Crown Prince Bernardi was assassinated!? I’m ordered, to

return immediately to the capital?」

Olten crumpled the decree in his grasp tightly while gritting his teeth.
He glared toward the sky at the south.

「Don’t you think that you have won against me Ramillies! Your lord
is simply getting lucky by chance this time. And luck isn’t something
that will continue to blow in the same direction.」

Later on this series of battles that was called as Battle of Continerri

would be considered as a battle that left serious wound to both
armies and its curtain was closed with victory at the kingdom’s
side──.

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Credits
Translation Group: bakapervert

PDF is done by JLN

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