Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Chapter6 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

Driving on the momentum, Ryucown’s forces were pressing hard on the Mephian army.

As they were struck by a surprise attack, and hadn’t expected that it would be coordinated with a group of turncloaks from Garbera, the Mephian forces were scattered about all over the place.

There were some soldiers who tried to escape the flames by jumping on the battleship as it was still trying to gain speed and altitude, and there were those who tried to leave the ship and escape on their own. It was the role of the leader to enhance each individual’s strengths and bravery in a war. But the Mephian soldiers that showed such disgraceful behaviour had actually all gone through the ten-year war with Garbera. There should even be many among them who had been heralded with distinguished service.

If they’d been blessed with a good leader, there would probably be ten among every hundred men who would choose this place to die in order to let their leader escape. But unfortunately, the prince who was supposed to bear that duty hadn’t given any orders, and it was clear to all that the ship’s captain, Oubary, had lost his composure, and that panic had infected even the common ranks.

“This won’t do.”

The great general Rogue who came out on deck had grasped the situation and was thinking of whether or not they ought to leave. When he looked at the battle situation calmly, they were still greater in number. However, that such a difference could be swallowed up by the moment in the blink of an eye was part of battle.

Oubary was by no means a bad commander. If he had the momentum at his side, he had a unifying power to him that could turn even the most hesitant soldier into a hero. However, in the exact same sense, if he was under adverse circumstances the people around him became ready to flee the scene.

They needed someone here with a backbone. A person who played an active, vigorous role.

“There’s no way I’m going to have my bones buried in Garberan lands,” Rogue muttered to himself – a grunt that came from the bottom of his heart. 

There shouldn’t be any general who wished for a certain place or a certain way to die. But it fell to him to protect the prince in battle, or at least let it be a noble death.

He was reminded of the family that he’d left back in his country. And as he thought this, Mephian soldiers came running over as they turned their backs to the enemy, bullets piercing through their heads before they dropped to the ground. Their armour was painted with blood like on a children’s drawing, and Rogue placed a helmet over his head.

''Exposing this miserable figure here, shames me as a general. But to prepare myself for death in this place, is a general’s honour.''

He drew his sword with a spark, and started for the tail end of the dragonstone ship, shouting in a loud voice.

“Welcome, thou Garberan traitors! If you want to take another step, you have to step across this man’s – Rogue Saian’s – corpse! But this old croak will not die alone! He will take a hundred, nay, a thousand people along with him! Whoever wishes to take me on, should think of his family one last time!!”

While the enemy’s gunfire showered below without cease, Rogue jumped down from the ship that was just about to gain altitude. Several soldiers who had their fighting spirit invoked, gathered around the old general. The enemy came surging down on them from the front like an avalanche. One bullet grazed Rogue’s left cheek. Another completely dug into the jaw of a soldier to his right, who fell down on his back. Then, just when Rogue was about to charge into them with death’s smile on his face,

“Fire!!”

A pleasant to hear, loud scream reached his ears.

It didn’t come from the enemy. Rogue realized that the voice came from a hill’s wooded area, which was right next to the approaching Ryucown forces. From that very same place came the continuous sound of rapid gunfire.

In the wake of the leading horse-rider being struck down along with his horse, one after another of men, horses, and dragons collapsed in spurts of blood.

When the gunfire ended, next came the single command, 

“Charge!!”

And swordsmen came jumping out of the bushes. They all took shining swords from either their back or waist, and prepared to cut into the enemy ranks. Those people definitely had dauntless courage. Rogue stared as blood sprayed all over the place, and heads and limbs flew through the air – fading into the darkness of the night.

“Ohh…”

He stared at the scene, letting a single breath of admiration go as the ground rumbled and dragons came into sight from the back where the enemy forces gathered. They were several medium-sized dragons, guided by dragoons riding on smaller-sized ones.

“Go, go!!”

“Make way! Or else you’ll get trampled!”

Those dragons must have been lying low ever since sunset, biding their time in the grove on the other side of the river. Ryucown’s forces and even Rogue himself hadn’t seen that coming.

It appeared to be a trick the one girl named Hou Ran had taught them that made this possible. It was hard to believe a person on the battlefield could make such a difference as she did.

Having fallen into such a sudden pincer attack, Ryucown’s troops fell into chaos.

Rogue couldn’t bear to wait any longer and also rushed in for the attack. With a single blow, he cut off the arm of one soldier who tried to hoist himself onto the ship, probably because he was in a hurry to get away from the enemy, or maybe because he wanted to put the head of the prince who was aboard the ship on top of a spike.

While the blood dribbled from the point of his blade, the old general hurried over to the warrior who had given those orders earlier.

It was a man with white hair and brown skin. He didn’t look very far apart from Rogue’s own age.

“An ally? But with all due respect, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your face before.”

“Ah, well,” the white-haired commander – Gowen – gave an awkward smile. “We are Prince Gil Mephius-sama’s Imperial Guard. But until recently we’ve held the status of gladiators.”

“What?”

Rogue was taken aback in all senses of the word. He had heard about the prince having employed mere gladiators as his personal guard. At the time, he had thought nothing more of it than as another one of the ‘fool’ prince’s capricious whims.

However, the men before him had mettle that was worthy of flying colours and marching banners. With a surging spirit, they levelled Ryucown’s forces with a splendid use of swords, axes, spears and guns.

This was exactly the reason Orba had brought them in as a trump card. He didn’t place any trust in their individual characteristics at all. On the contrary, he had known how unprepared the gladiators were. They fully relied on their instincts. But as the prince, Orba had made them a promise. Those who brought back the enemy’s heads at this fight would get a reward the more heads they brought back in, not even excepting their freedom.

Among the rewards they ever got from killing others, this day was the first time that they could win back their own life. For freedom, the kind of freedom where they could earn themselves gold, they wouldn’t miss out on any danger. For them, having to face a thousand enemy blades and a storm of bombs raining down on them was nothing.

“Be that as it may, that’s quite a feat. To lay down an ambush and stall the enemy’s march in this kind of emergency.”

“No, no. This was all the prince’s idea. It wasn’t someone like ''me''<ref>Gowen uses それがし 'soregashi' which is an old, very humble way of saying 'this person'.</ref> at all.”

Gowen unintentionally used an old way of speaking in front of the Mephian military commander, thinking he ought to somehow keep a dignified tone as an imperial guard.
 
“Realizing there were signs of treachery in the Garberan camp, the prince considered that would also be when Ryucown’s forces would attack and had us place an ambush on their advance route beforehand. He examined this terrain during the day and— artillery, aim for the enemy airship!”

He broke his explanation to give new orders.

“What?” Rogue muttered once more. 

As issued, on the other side, the ground shook from the bombardment and a medium-sized Goll dragon roared and fell to its side.

“But, we didn’t receive any orders.”

“Well… The likes of us aren’t able to read Gil-sama’s thoughts at all times,” Gowen said solemnly. “But if the prince read beforehand that there would be a betrayal among the Garberans, in a situation where he didn’t know who was friend or foe, couldn’t he just have been afraid of leaking important information?”

“If you want to deceive your enemy… right?”

He sighed, looking up at the skies, but Rogue soon put back the face of a military commander and gave a long look at the soldiers ahead of him. Even more enemy reinforcements were approaching them.

“General, we still need to retreat for now,” Gowen said. “We need to join the flagship, and put an end to this chase.”

“Agreed.”

The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder as if they were old comrades in arms and, with matching breaths, they both issued orders to their own troops.

As their soldiers pulled back, Gowen glanced over to see the enemy reinforcements closing in with even more vigour.

''Their morale won’t fall so easily after all.''

Although he didn’t say it out loud, Gowen didn’t have any reason to get excited just because of their short victory a moment ago. To stop the enemy chase, and to assist in the flagship’s evacuation – that wasn’t his purpose right now. He had to keep the main body of Ryucown's forces stationary at all costs.

''But it’s good that it has gone as predicted so far, Orba. Otherwise, you’d be the one in the most danger.''

At that time, a cold feeling passed through him as a cannonball hit a nearby tree and scattered wood and fire in all directions. He stooped forward to protect himself and continued running for the flagship, Dhum. The old blood in this body that had stood on the battlefield before was being revived.



“The gladiators?”

Simon received the news and was at a loss for words. Of course, it was hard to suddenly believe. But, it was true that the enemy’s pursuit had weakened.

At that time, the page Dinn and several imperial guards entered the bridge.

“I have orders from the prince.”

“What?”

Oubary bared his teeth, being as much surprised as Simon.

“After all of this, what kind of ‘orders’ does our quivering crown prince have?”

“Please watch your language!” Dinn said, causing the agitation to show on his face. “It was the prince’s decision to invest his own personal guard.”

Oubary glared at the small boy. He was flanked by ruffian-like men to his left and right. But even now, he thought this had to be some kind of joke.

It was then that Dinn conveyed the message from the prince to those on the bridge. The soldiers below had to put in such a formation to meet with Ryucown’s forces, for it wouldn’t be long for the main Garberan force to join into the fray…

“He said, ‘A squad of both the cavalry and the infantry will join up with the imperial guard until there is relief from Garbera, so that they can attack the betrayers from both sides. The main force will centre around the flagship Dhum so that it can fire at the attack forces from the fort.’ ”

The inside of the flagship turned into a strained silence when they realized they weren’t going away from the fray of battle.

''Well'', Simon thought, stroking his chin. ''Is the ‘current’ prince the same prince that I’ve come to know?''

“Idiocy,” Oubary said in a low growl. “Won’t we only suffer losses if we reposition our troops in the midst of battle?”

“No, the number of enemies isn’t that much.”

“General Rogue!”

The old general Rogue Saian had appeared on the bridge, gasping for breath. His helmet and armour were bathed in enemy blood, rising up like steam. However, the smile on his face had a blood-curdling intensity to it.

“Thanks to the actions of the imperial guard, we have recovered our troops’ morale. At a time like this, Sir Oubary, one must issue forth an appeal.”

But his gaze implied,

''Didn’t you say we needed to attack the enemy just a moment ago?''

As it was hinted to Oubary like that, there wasn’t much he could say in return.

“Exactly.” This time it was Dinn who pitched in. “The prince too, encourages everybody from atop the bridge… Can’t you hear him?”

Certainly, over the bridge, hoisting the national flag high on a pole, a man was raising a loud voice aimed at the many soldiers surrounding it. 

His face entirely covered with a helmet, clad in a silver armour, the ‘prince’ reprimanded the soldiers who continued to escape the turmoil, encouraging them to once more file back into their ranks.

“Please, prince.”

Even though the ‘prince’ raised his voice, he was shaking underneath all that armour. His physique and height were the same as Orba’s – or rather Gil’s, considering the people here – but it was the gladiator Kain instead.

“I have but a poor vocabulary. I can’t just repeat what has been said to me – so go... fight! You are soldiers who carry the pride of Mephius. Got it? Just end this quickly!”



Ryucown and Vileena were still standing face to face with the colours of fire behind them.

“What do you mean, entrusting my life?”

“I want you to become my wife.”

Ryucown’s proposal was straight to the point and Vileena felt as if her breath stopped for a moment. She once more tightened her small hands and immediately regained the strength of her resolve.

“And, what do you plan after that?”

“I’ll declare a new king has ascended the Garberan throne.”

He pulled out the sword slung over his back and made his announcement as if he’d thought of it just then.

“What do you think you can achieve with just one fortress?”

“If we rout the Mephian army today, many officers and men will come to me. Revolts will rise all over Garbera, hastening the preparations for my plans.”

“And all of this is will eventually help out Ende. If you put this through, sooner or later all of Garbera will be subjugated by Ende.”

“I’m not that big of a fool. Ende has put its attention on Mephius. All they want is to grab a foothold to the west. All the better if Garbera is in disorder, so they don’t have to worry about it. That’s why they haven’t come out into the open and sent any men – I wouldn’t either. Even if we don’t pull through here, we will have catered to their plan to raise hostilities with Mephius again. Although it will be difficult to truly rely on such a halfhearted alliance, it is much better than the humiliation of joining hands with Mephius.”

“Both make little difference,” Vileena loudly confessed with all the vigour she’d been holding in. “It makes little difference to our citizens. Just how many thousands of people will become the victim of your single-minded plans, thoughts, and pride?”

Vileena didn’t even realize those were the exact same words Prince Gil had used against her before. Ryucown, on the other hand, showed no quarter.

“Isn’t your royal family raised from a pile of corpses? Let’s end this childish argument. Having the true pride of Garbera, I took action only because I want to make a nation of true knights. Look at the world, princess. This is a conflict that will end a government of treachery, oppression and double-crossing. It’s only pure-minded knights who can truly save this world.”

“......”

“Knighthood is a wonderful thing. The elected are imposed with a self-discipline to their duty, always wanting to have a pure spirit. Those are the right kind of people to carry out our politics. It’s good that peasants rely on someone named as king or emperor in troubled times, but the country is only engaged in a bloody war due to simple greed. As it is, Garbera, the country of knights, has lost its ideal of pride. So, first I will have to change Garbera – no, I must return it to its roots. Garbera, as a true country of knights.”

“I commend your patriotism. But if that’s so, what do you need with a body sworn to the Mephian royal family?”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that this body has already exchanged its wedding vows.”<ref>What she means is that she already has sexual intercourse. The term for 'exchange wedding vows' (夫婦の契り) can also mean 'have sex as a husband and wife'.</ref>

It was a lie, and obviously Vileena couldn’t help but feel repulsed inside. However, she didn’t hesitate in the least. She wanted to completely crush this Ryucown, who seemed to be utterly possessed by something. 

“You lie, your highness. You know the subtleties of a man and woman. Such an act isn’t possible.”

“You only say that because you do not want to accept it. Now, if I’ve lost this purity you speak of, and if I’ve already been held by this ‘filthy existence’ of a Mephian, you should stab me with that sword right now. Isn’t that your ideal?”

Vileena spoke in tears, pinching the point of the sword with her fingers and pressing it against her neck.

Ryucown opened his eyes wide. Further in the distance, the sound of artillery roared again like thunder. The Garberan warrior holding the sword and the princess praised as the flower of Garbera stared at each other.

“Were you that pleased with Mephius?”

“If we simply brand them as barbarians, we can only be accused of being ignorant. Besides, the country doesn’t have any blood ties. It is just like you said. The royal family is not a cornerstone, the sense of pride for their vassals and their people is the same – you can find the same light in that nation. Just who on earth will follow a man that can decide all by himself what this pride is?”

“You’ve thrown away your pride ''and'' your country, princess,” Ryucown decided. “Or maybe we can conclude that the young Princess Vileena has grown up. You hold the spirit of a soldier. However… because of that, you will be a hindrance to our cause. If you live and cannot recognize our views—”

He suddenly pulled back his sword. However, he looked quite grand as he placed it on his shoulder.

“—I at least want you to protect the Garberan royal family’s pride by dying.”

“What?”

“Alas, to retaliate for Garbera’s betrayal of their alliance, our princess Vileena has been killed by the hand of the Mephian prince.”

“If that happens,” Vileena said, sounding hoarse. “Won’t Garbera unite under a single cause?”

“The situation can only improve from here on.”

Vileena shifted her eyes away from the point of the sword. There she saw Ryucown’s eyes, as calm as ever. What was so different about him from the youth that had snuck into a castle with only a few men five years ago? Was it like back then? This was the action of a man who sincerely believed in the burning ideals he had as a youth and hadn’t let those ideals grow old.

“Farewell, princess. The first decoration I’ve ever received in my life, was your childlike kiss.”

His sword drew a glimmering arc. The princess only blinked once during that time. A tear dropped the instant she lowered her eyelids, reflecting the approaching sword.

Vileena was crying. She was frustrated at her own powerlessness while she’d truly believed that she could come to terms with him if they came face to face. This act of violence caused by Ryucown’s ‘purity’ disheartened her. For the first time since she was born, Vileena felt despair, and she was fated to have her life end immediately after.

Then, the glimmer of the sword was dropped down toward Vileena’s slender neck.

Cling!

An exquisite ring interrupted the sword’s arc just before it reached her. It was a dirk that was suddenly thrown, and Ryucown had changed the trajectory of his sword to intercept it.

“Who are you?”

He turned his gaze towards the entrance where one swordsman stepped out from between the pillars. Although he was clad in Garberan armour, Ryucown didn’t recognize that face. Or rather, he couldn’t discern the man’s face.

The swordsman who stepped forward, carrying a sword in his right hand, had his face covered by an iron mask.




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