Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume4 Chapter3 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

Well, even if it was called a disturbance, it wasn't a problem between Mephius and Ende. It was near Garbera's border, but it wasn't that hostilities had broken out earlier than the two princes had anticipated.

It could be said to be a problem internal to Mephius, but it was something that would have a huge effect on the actions of both countries of Ende and Garbera.


It happened as the iron-mask-wearing Kain, his adjutant Gowen, the commander of the infantry Pashir and the remaining of the one hundred suitable imperial guards that were led by them were approaching the Nouzen Mountains.

Although the Nouzen Mountains were not a particularly high mountain range, they were the border that divided Ende to the North and Garbera to the South, while on the Western edge of the mountains, both countries bordered Mephius. Until Garbera had gained control of Zaim Fortress, it had been a place where a powerful clan of mountain bandits had set up a fort, but now, because the territories of three countries touched there, it lay quietly as a buffer zone between them. Criminals from each country escaped there, partly because the mountains and valleys created a complicated topography, but it was also rumoured that they gathered and banded together at the ruins of that powerful clan's fortress.

Gowen had planned to bring the ship down for a while at the entrance of the Nouzens. Letting themselves purposely be discovered by Ende's troops would cause the enemy to falter in its march. However just before he could do so, they suddenly received an order to halt.

The company of airships that appeared overhead was from neither Ende nor Garbera; the flag that fluttered at their stern was none other than that of Mephius.

Still, they couldn't fight so Gowen reluctantly obeyed the order.

The ship descended and a large group on horseback approached the cruiser. At their head was Odyne Lorgo, one of Mephius' twelve generals. Five hundred fully armed members of his Silver Ax Division waited at his rear.

"What is your business here?"

"That's my line."

In answering Gowen, Odyne didn't hide his contempt for a former sword slave.

Thirty-seven years old. A commander with a long military service whose forte lay in strategies that made full use of guns. He himself was a crack shot. At the Founding Festival a few years ago, he had unerringly blown away jars placed on the heads of slaves in the stadium. 

Incidentally, he was the father of Lannie Lorgo, the girl who had taken part in the coming-of-age ceremony of this year's Founding Festival by straddling a dragon.

"We are the Imperial Guards under the prince's direct control. Since you halted our progress, you must have a suitable reason, right?"

"Well, do I now?" A contemptuous smile flitted over Odyne's cruel-looking expression. "That being the case, we received direct orders from His Majesty the Emperor. No matter who it may be, no one is currently to cross over Mephius' border."

Signs of unrest spread through the Imperial troops in the sky above Gowen. It was rumoured that, Odyne, who was currently looking on in satisfaction, held no kind feelings towards Prince Gil who had appointed slaves as Imperial Guards and who had employed a troop made out of Pashir and the sword slaves who had risen in rebellion.

"No matter who it may be – that's right, even the prince's Imperial Guards or the man who became the hero Clovis at the Founding Festival."

He threw a glare at Kain, who almost started trembling violently. Gowen stepped forward on behalf of the overwhelmed Kain.

"We aren't on some childish errand. While I send a messenger to the prince, we will anchor here for a while."

"Ho, in this situation you say that you cannot retreat? In the first place, Prince Gil should have received strict orders from His Imperial Majesty not to move a single soldier from Apta. His Majesty will be furious at His Highness the prince for defying that order. As for every one of you lot, who knows what kind of torture you'll be put through."

"We do not know about it. We do not follow His Majesty's orders; we are the prince's Imperial Guards to the last. I will send a message to inform His Highness of His Majesty's intentions and will then wait for His Highness' answer."

Even though he was being stared at intently by a valiant general with a long military record, Gowen's complexion didn't change in the slightest. Even though both then stayed silent for a while, their blade-like glares connected as with the sound of swords clashing.

"Do what you want", Odyne sneered while turning his horse back around. "But we will keep watch from a nearby encampment. If you appear to be about to disobey this order, know that no matter who it may be, there will be no forgiveness. Be thoroughly steeled in your resolve."

Having conveyed that one message, Odyne left with his subordinates in tow and a short while later, an encampment was set up near the halted cruiser in order to keep watch on it.

"Gowen, what will we do?" Kain asked in a low voice. "We don't have any time. Like Orba said, if Ende and Garbera start their war, with our tiny numbers, it'll be pointless even if we rush in."

"We can't do anything but wait."

While they were to rush to Garbera as reinforcements, naturally they couldn't exchange fire with their own country of Mephius. Gowen sent a messenger on horseback. In a situation such as this involving long distances, because there was the issue of fatigue, a horse was more reliable than an airship.

The faces of the soldiers seeing off the messenger were dark with unease.

'''This' is Mephius after all''.

Among them, only Pashir sported a fearless smile on his lips. From the start he had been a man whose grudge would not be cleared no many how many times he burned the country to the ground. Forcefully blocking reinforcements sent to an allied country was entirely like Mephius, he jeered inwardly.

''Now then, how will that eccentric prince move?''

Putting his hand to the pommel of the sword that hung at his waist, he directed his gaze to the western sky were Apta lay. There were aspects of that prince, who seemed calm and collected yet got drunk and pointed a sword at a vassal, that Pashir couldn't gauge on the slightest.

''No, maybe I...''

Maybe he had hopes of him.

The sun set before long. The cruiser and Odyne's encampment that had been established not even a kilometre away seemed to be glaring at each other. Standing at the bow of the warship, Gowen felt his nose tickled by the cool, tension-filled night air.


Some twenty kilometres east of there. The southern Nouzen Mountains were east of the River Wendt that flowed from Lake Olivis in the north. In Zaim Fortress by Garbera's border, Noue Salzantes received the news.

''They were prevented from travelling?''

Emperor Guhl Mephius did not overlook the reinforcements sent by the prince, which naturally meant that one could consider that there existed some connection between his country of Mephius and Ende. Of course this wasn't something completely unanticipated for Noue. In all likelihood, the same went for Gil Mephius.

''He is not the sort of naïvely honest man to withdraw just from this''.

Noue was going to believe a bit longer in the man named Gil that he had observed in Solon and then in Apta. He was possessed of the ability to end the war with Ax Bazgan with just a handful of troops. Above all else, he had crushed Noue's own strategy in Solon.

Naturally however, not everyone in Garbera shared Noue's sentiments.

"You see? This is why you can't trust Mephius!"

His face twisted in a truly venomous expression, Zenon Owell was currently furious.

Garbera's second prince was the commander of the Knights of the Order of the Tiger. At seventeen, the year that the war with Mephius first started, he had achieved glory in his first campaign. It had been ten years since then. Having himself crossed swords a great many times with Mephius, even now he still hadn't been able to accept the likes of a peace obtained by giving away a princess.

He and Vileena were close as siblings. The prince also had soft platinum hair and, from time to time, an indomitable expression exactly like hers flitted across his handsome, clean-cut face. In terms of personality also, they were similarly stubborn.

"Vileena. It's fine if you dislike this."

Zenon, who had been stationed to the west in Mavant when the marriage to Mephius had been coming together and who had expressly rushed back to Phozon, the capital, told his sister.

"Not even I wish for this war to end like this. Emperor Guhl will definitely be defeated in Mephius at your brother's hands. If you're hesitating to come forward, I'll speak to His Majesty on your behalf and..."

"No, Brother" Vileena looked straight at Zenon and shook her head. "I'm going to Mephius."

His sweetly smiling sister left Zenon at a loss for words.

He placed his hands on the shoulders of his little sister who had steeled her resolve for their country's sake. At that, the serving maids who were standing around them in a wide circle broke into sobs. It was too heart-wrenching for them that the fourteen-year-old princess would very soon be married into an enemy country, and moreover one known to be as barbaric as Mephius.

Although the siblings were far apart in age, Zenon had been Vileena's close playmate from when she had been much younger than she was now. They would drag their surroundings into their games of tag or have mock duels with wooden swords or toy guns. As he purposely let himself be defeated, Zenon would laugh cheerfully,

"Vileena, it's not too late even now. Dress like a man and live like a man. When you become an adult, you'll be a valiant general far above compare to this brother of yours."

He often said that. For those who knew the two of them, the sight of those siblings gazing at each other for so long an interval moved them all the more to tears.

Thus, when despite the fact that they should have been tied together by an alliance, the other party failed to reward the princess' resolve by being reluctant to send reinforcements when Garbera was in danger, many of the Garberan people, starting with Zenon, were enraged.

Meanwhile,

"If Mephius was intending to send reinforcements, could it be that they are hesitating after having seen Ende's preparations?"

The one who addressed Noue was Rogier Gilant, a cavalry captain dispatched by the Knights of the Order of Bronze. He was a young man who had previously been stationed at Apta with Noue.

At present, with five hundred from the Knights of the Order of the Tiger and two hundred and fifty apiece from the Knights of the Orders of Black Steel and of Bronze, roughly a thousand soldiers were stationed at Zaim.

The "preparations" that Rogier spoke of were the strange measures taken by Prince Eric. The prince had readied upwards of two thousand soldiers. Without worrying about maintaining warriors to watch over Dairan, Eric had gathered mercenary soldiers – in this case, they were warriors who had left their master's house and who were also known as ronin – within Ende and had also borrowed some from the generals who had offered him their assistance.

As a suitable time for marching drew ever closer, why then had Eric first marched off six hundred soldiers and stationed them along the border with Mephius?

The unit hadn't stirred after that. As it was a location that somewhat veered away from a direct route to Zaim, they couldn't be a party of vanguards either.

"That military unit is probably for guarding against reinforcements from Mephius. Prince Eric also knows that the country of Mephius isn't a united monolith and deliberately left a party to stare them down."

"If that's the case", Noue said while looking at the flow of the river Wendt from one of the fort's windows, "how does he expect to do it?"

"Pardon my insolence, but by dispatching a troop in the Nouzen Mountains and by having them pass through a road that doesn't collide with the enemy's main force, can we not have that troop at hand to attack them from the flank? In that situation, in concert with the Mephian reinforcements, we could attack them from both sides. Then moving South along with the reinforcements, we could also catch the main body of prince Eric's troops in a pincer movement while it advances towards Zaim."

"That's saying that it is easy to penetrate into the Nouzens," muttered Noue as he placed his slender, feminine-looking fingers to his chin and muttered. A lapis lazuli ring shone on his forefinger.

The peaks and ridges of the Nouzen Mountains were riddled with numerous ravines whose hideously complicated shapes turned the area into a maze. Advancing several hundred soldiers, and furthermore spreading them out so that they wouldn't be discovered by the enemy's main force, would both take time and result in many broken bones.

"Besides", Noue continued to survey the river's surface, "Say we swooped down on that unit along the border, what would we do if the enemy perhaps escaped by crossing the border into Mephius?"

"Crossing... the border?"

"I had thought Eric to be lacking in wit, however it seems I will have to revise that perception. In all likelihood, that unit is..."

"What idiocy are you blabbing on about?"

Zenon Owell step forward in a clang of his knightly accoutrement. Rogier sat up straight and even Lord Salzantes turned around and bowed.

"If we depend on reinforcements from Mephius now, then what will happen? It's as clear as day they betrayed the alliance with us. On the other hand, this is a good opportunity. We will use that as a reason to take Vileena back. That the wedding ceremony still hasn't taken place is also an offence. It looks like after Ende it'll be them next."

"Yes."

The two of them could only answer together.

''The prince himself is by no means a bad general but'', his eyes lowered, Noue's brilliant mind whirled, ''in this situation, it would be preferable to have a foolish general that I could easily manipulate''.

Zenon was also a general who had accomplished a great many feats during the ten-year war. However right now, his violent emotions had leapt to the forefront. His animosity had not remained confined to Mephius and those violent emotions were now aimed at Ende. When the decision to marry Vileena to Mephius had caused friction with Ende, at the king's command, Zenon himself had gone there as envoy.

As Grand Duke Malchior and he had then vowed steadfast friendship, Zenon no doubt felt disgraced by prince Eric's current aggressive actions.

In addition to his already being irritated, Zenon didn't place much trust in Noue. Although he was now dead, Zenon naturally detested Ryucown for rebelling at such an important time. The one who had counselled the king to appoint Ryucown to a position of power was Noue. And the position he had laid the foundation for had been none other than that of Vileena's bridegroom.
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v04 129.jpg|thumb]]

"I can't trust that pretty-boy," Zenon had publicly declared. "I do not believe that a knight's honour lies in excelling in ingenious tricks. No matter how resourceful one maybe, military arts and a wholesome spirit must come together. It's impossible to believe in a man whose forte lies in surprise attacks."

Zenon was the epitome of the Garberan soldier who recklessly followed the path of chivalry so he was disinclined to listen to the wisdom that Noue could confer at this time.

''So many restrictions''.

Zaim was originally a fortress in which two thousand soldiers could be stationed at all times. It could also accommodate five battleship-class air carriers. However the soldiers at hand were half of that while the available ships were only two cruisers class and a single carrier that functioned as a supply ship.

As far as Noue was concerned, this was also a restriction.

It was absolutely as the sorcerer from Ende, Hezel, had judged. King Ainn Owell was afraid of internal divisions. Therefore he wasn't able to allot a great many soldiers to Zaim, the land where Ryucown had rebelled.

Ryucown had been at the core of the airship forces. He had been charismatic. And there were many young officers in the airship forces. So as they had to avoid giving them any provocation, he had had no choice but to appoint Prince Zenon as commander of Zaim. The ships that were there were also Zenon' own property.

''In these situations, generals who personally relied on me would follow my judgement''.

As far as Noue was concerned, soldiers were chess pieces and he thought of even generals as puppets that could be manoeuvred through his intelligence. However when confronted with a situation that didn't go as he wanted, even someone as self-confident as he was couldn't help but regret the way he had done things until then.

''No matter how brilliant a stratagem I come up with, it's no better than empty prattle if I don't have the manpower to implement it''.

That being the case, he didn't have the leisure not to call directly on Mephius for reinforcements. Whatever Emperor Guhl's intentions might be, it should be possible to shake up the leading Mephian nobles.  If a direct appeal for reinforcements was made by an allied country, those capable of influencing the emperor would surely step forward.

The Garberan royal court however wouldn't do this. It was unthinkable to bow their heads before the enemy they had fought during the ten-year war. The nobles at Court repeatedly said that "The pride of Knights won't allow it."

''If pride is to hasten towards death, you should meet your end soon enough'', Noue thought bitterly.

The current situation was absurd. It was all the more exasperating as he judged that he had brought if on himself by overestimating his own intelligence.

"Even the shine of a lapis lazuli is due to polishing."

Zenon muttered absentmindedly as he left, looking at the ring on Noue's forefinger.

A lapis lazuli's beauty was drawn out by it being polished. If one neglected study and forgot to train, no matter how many accomplishments they might have, they would not shine. Such was Noue's own creed and the reason why he wore that ring. He realised now that he himself had been on the verge of losing that meaning.

''However...''

Naturally he wasn't simply lazing around grumbling inwardly.

Noue was moving forward with what he was best at. About half a month ago, he had appealed for assistance from the inhabitants living on the outskirts of the Nouzen Mountains and had built a fort that would serve as a decoy at the centre of the mountainous area. He intended to send Zans, an infantry captain from the Knights of the Order of Black Steel, there along with three hundred soldiers.

"We should be able to lure them with that."

Noue Salzantes wore his usual scornful smile while his eyes betrayed nothing but a flicker of impatience.


<noinclude>