Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume5 Chapter5 (section)

=== Part 4 ===

''It's unavoidable'', Lasvius was filled with a grim determination, ''when they clash with Taúlia, that's when we'll make our move''.

A repeat of the Coldrins was not something he felt he could accept. That time, he wasn't intending to move before receiving detailed reports of the battle situation. And as a result, Greygun's insurrection had occurred and they missed their chance. Although certainly, as Lasvius had not seen through the situation, had they have moved recklessly, there was the fear that they would have been annihilated.

''Better that than to wait until it is too late and be driven into a corner from which we can't escape. Better to fight and risk death than to die slowly, starved and weakened''.

Lasvius was not loath to die if it were for a just cause. But to starve with their bones exposed to nothing but depressing cliff walls on all sides was not to be contemplated.

''We might as well die leaving our names behind''.

That would be the best for defeated soldiers. Lasvius smoothly stroked his skin. Even in this situation, he still conscientiously shaved every day using a knife. Not because he was fastidious. Not only his slanted eyes but his facial features were strangely sharp. His face was slender and his nose and lips were thin, giving it an angular impression. Lasvius hated that his face tended to look feminine. Therefore in the past, he had grown an impressive beard and flaunted his masculinity. Shaving it off had been a sort of vow to himself. Until Rogier was placed upon the throne of Helio, he would endure the disgrace and shave his beard.

''Even under pain of death, I will not break this oath'', Lasvius had been bent on that thought as he had shaved that morning.

Now, when he was finally ready to discuss his resolve with his men, he received a strange report. The group who had left early in the morning to trade with the nomads had returned but had not been able to attack them as Orba had his forced his way into coming along.

"You damn fools," Lasvius eyes narrowed still further as he yelled, "you should have just killed him if he was getting in the way!"

"N-No, that..." Sweat appeared on the soldiers’ brows as they justified themselves. Ostensibly, Orba and the others hadn't done anything and had simply accompanied them to watch. "He brought Lord Rogier with him, we couldn't kill the nomads in front of the prince!"

Whatever his intention had been, Orba had apparently placed the prince onto a horse. And afterwards he had been in deep conversation with the nomads about something.

"What were Lord Rogier's attendants doing! If they're not careful, the prince might be kidnapped by the mercenaries!"
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v05 207.jpg|thumb]]

"We wouldn’t do that."

That voice seemed to reverberate throughout the cave and when he turned around, there was the masked man. For a moment, Lasvius seemed about to give in to emotion but held himself in check.

"We are not a bunch of self-serving mercenaries who only act to suit themselves. I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from behaviour that disrupts discipline."

"How long can you maintain discipline like that," Orba said, completely unconcerned by Lasvius' scowl. "If you order your men to attack treacherously, their mood will just keep getting uglier."

"What!" This time Lasvius shouted in rage. Then his expression was wiped away and he seemed to gulp. Orba completely changed the subject.

"So it seems that reinforcements from Garda's side will be heading to Helio."

"So what? Do you still think that you can march into Helio and strike Greygun down?"

"No," Orba glanced at Lasvius through his mask then looked at the nearby soldiers around whom a dangerous mood was starting to cling. "Call a council of war," he said. Lasvius and the others looked disappointed. "I'll be taking part as the representative for the Taúlian general, Bouwen Tedos. Sir Bouwen has of course given a blood seal." 


The place used for the council of war was inside the caves. There were only a few cracks in the roof through which narrow beams of daylight poured down. The various platoon leaders scattered around the base of the mountain, not to mention Lasvius and his close aides, were gathered there. Accordingly, Lasvius started out by talking about his intentions. He had not needed Orba to tell him to summon a council of war as he had from the start intended to do so and to convey his resolution to his men.

The commanders of the small cavalry units shed tears. One day, they would kill the usurper king Jallah and triumphantly return to Helio with Rogier as king - with nothing but that ideal to hold on to, those warriors had been able to endure to their circumstances and surroundings. And then suddenly, Jallah had died and a scoundrel like Greygun had claimed the title of king of Helio and had opened the gates to usher in Garda's army.

This matter was no longer Helio's problem alone. In a week's time, the country would be filled with twice, three times the number of soldiers now stationed in Helio and they would commence their march on Taúlia.

"This is our last chance," said Lasvius, trying to hide the quiver in his voice. "While the enemy is fighting Taúlia, our soldiers on the inside will rise up as one and occupy Helio."

Everyone there listened, deeply impressed by Lasvius' declaration then, one by one, they rose from their seats.

"Let's go."

"We will fight this holy crusade together."

In that moment, the iron bonds that tied Lasvius' unit together stood firm. Emotions that he could not suppress welled within him and, with ardent eyes, he was clasping each in turn by the hand when,

"As expected," one person poured cold water over the proceedings. Orba, the only one still sitting, nodded. "You have resolve."

''Humph''.

Lasvius felt disdainful of Orba. It seemed to him that despite his earlier stance that "If you order your men to attack treacherously, their mood will just keep getting uglier," he would not be able to do otherwise than to recognise their solidarity. Looking convinced, Orba however said something strange.

"It's just as General Bouwen said."

"Sir Bouwen? What do you mean?"

"The general said that Sir Lasvius had whispered a secret plan to him to turn the situation around. He said that before opening your heart to your men however, you would first test the soldiers' resolve. Indeed. As you have three hundred patriots resolute unto death, your secret plan is sure to bear results."

"A secret plan?"

"Sir, is this true?"

Lasvius couldn't rein in his subordinates as they all spoke in unison. And he himself had no idea what this was about.

Orba continued on serenely,

"A moment ago, Sir Lasvius said that he would wait for the enemy reinforcements and move once they had started attacking Taúlia, but in practice, that would be tantamount to your soldiers dying in vain. That Garda's forces will swell means that the garrison at Helio will increase."

"W-What do you mean, 'dying in vain'?"

They looked as though cold water had been dashed on their desperate resolve and one of the captains went red in the face. Something similar could be said of Lasvius too, but in his case,

''It can't be that he is''...

He felt a violent trepidation. Could it be that he was planning to divulge his own plan by pretending that it had been thought up by the commander of the unit, Lasvius himself?

"It's fine, Orba. Continue."

Lasvius brought his agitated men under control. A part of him was also thinking that this was interesting. Lasvius couldn't stand Orba but mingled within him was also the thought that he was somehow different from others. And so, by way of experiment, he intended to let him speak. If what he said was ridiculous, he could always laugh and brush it aside.

Orba nodded once then,

"...At any rate, in this fight, you have to take care of things before Garda's reinforcements arrive.  Attract the attention of the enemies currently within Helio towards the outside and use that chance to have the soldiers within the city rise to action."

''What?''

Lasvius' disappointment came from the fact that this was a plan anyone could come up with. In fact, one of his men burst out laughing.

"With our numbers, not even the most drastic measures would be enough to draw the enemy outside. And the same holds true for there being an opportunity in which they would leave Helio. Bastard, you were lying about this plan of the commander's, weren't..."

"It's not about our numbers. Because we won't be moving Garda's forces, Taúlia will."

"What?"

"If Taúlia pushes through to the front lines, given their impressive numbers, the enemy will have to consider making their own move. Will they launch a counter-offensive through the gate or will they rely on their support, close the gate and fight a defensive war? In the former case, your soldiers within Helio will find it easy to move around, and in the latter case, if those inside light fires to provoke chaos, it will be easy for Taúlia to invade."

"Absurd.  As long as Garda's forces don't move, Taúlia won't either. Cherik has struck up camp to threaten them."

"They will move," Orba asserted, "if we convey this plan to them. Without a doubt. Compared to Garda, Cherik is an insignificant force. If it becomes clear that Taúlia is serious in attacking Garda's army, then they'll be scared of being next. By remaining near Taúlia, Cherik is instead growing arrogant."

''I see''...

In front of his subordinates, who were agitatedly exchanging looks, Lasvius folded his arms. Orba's plan was certainly forcible, and a single miscalculation would render the chances of success extremely low. But Lasvius had from the start been preparing himself for a desperate fight.

''This guy... interesting''.

It wasn't a plan worked out through minute calculations and was somewhat crude, but as a military man, it set his blood coursing.

"Here," Orba placed a sheathed dagger and a letter on the damp ground, "this is a dagger proving Sir Bouwen's position and a letter in his own handwriting. We can send this to Taúlia to urge them to go to take to the battlefield."

"B-But," a cavalry captain interposed. His face showed his confusion. He was starting to wonder if it might not really be a plan from his commander, Lasvius. "The road to Taúlia is blockaded. The mountain fortress that Helio holds here in the Belgana summits which is along the way to Taúlia has been turned into a temporary checkpoint. Even if we send a messenger, it will be impossible for him to avoid getting noticed."

"It will be easy to get through the checkpoint by pretending to be an ordinary civilian. In this situation, the enemy will be more vigilant against Zerdians."

"Are you saying that you'll go?"

Realising Orba's intention, the various commanders showed disapproval. He was not a comrade tied to them with bonds of steel and they didn't trust the outsiders that were the mercenaries. 

Since earlier, Orba's detached tone had remained completely unshaken.

"I'll become a hostage and stay here. The journey to Taúlia should take about three days, I think, so if there is no movement after those three days, you can do whatever you want with me."

"But,"

"Fine," the one who spoke was Lasvius. He stood up in front of the commanders who swallowed back their words. "I intend to bet on that plan. How about everyone else? You are the self-same warriors who were willing to challenge death just a while ago. If you object to this, I will think of you neither as cowards nor as traitors. Say what is on your mind."

With him having said so, it was difficult for them to show opposition. Therefore, they agreed to wait three days.
Having left the council of war, Orba went ahead along the winding path.

"I can't stand you," his shoulder was clapped from behind. It was Lasvius. "Everything is going the way you want, so are you satisfied?"

"Well."

"I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there's someone famous beneath that mask of yours. But as I said earlier, this is a bet. A bet using your life as security."

"I'm used to it."

The answer and the tone of voice used were so provoking that Lasvius gave a low laugh instead. Up until now, he truly hadn't been able to stomach him, but now he felt entirely comfortable.

"Let's see how things go. A battle in which we face nothing but death has become just a little more interesting."

''That's a military man for you'', Lasvius' way of speaking got on Orba's nerves. That he couldn't stand him was because, be it his convictions or his pride as a soldier, he closely resembled a man who had been the embodiment of chivalry and that Orba had once faced off against at Zaim Fortress.

''That man even pointed a sword at his lord's daughter for the sake of his beliefs. And this guy too, to recover Helio, he was willing to murder nomads who had nothing to do with anything. That might be a splendid attitude, but from an outsider's perspective, it's sickening''.

Even though he thought so, or rather, because Lasvius was a soldier, Orba also thought to place trust in him. In short, because Lasvius himself had relaxed his ill will towards him, Orba calculated that it would be advantageous to do the same.



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