Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume1 Chapter5 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

Five days later, the campaign force finished its preparations and started out from the fortress. A line of defence stretched out from Idoro fortress, standing ready for any surprise attacks from Ende while they crossed the Garberan border.

Prince Gil was on the bridge of the flagship Dhum. Although Orba had watched ships go up into the sky several times, this was, of course, the first time he had ever boarded one.

Dhum was a large dragonstone ship that could house up to two hundred soldiers. The ship was currently gliding close over the ground, but its top speed was 90 kilometres an hour<ref>56 mph</ref>, and it could rise two kilometres above ground. Considering it was a ship this large, it was most likely a top performer amongst its class.

Dhum and the single-seated airships, which were all called dragonstone ships, were the result of ‘magic’. The science that mankind had back when it crossed the ocean of space had already declined.



This is the history of more than hundreds, thousands of years ago, that was passed on…

Seeking an environment to emigrate to, mankind had started on a journey from Earth into space, and in the end, they finally arrived at this planet.

It would’ve been only natural for everyone to try and re-establish the same scientific culture here, but the frequent raids of a subhuman race – the Ryuujin tribe – claiming to be descendants of the dragon gods, soon depleted the weapons and energy that were piled up in their spaceship. Also, because the properties of the resources they mined on this planet greatly differed from those on Earth, it was getting close to impossible to restore the civilization from the Earth Era.

At that time, while they held back a fifth consecutive invasion from the Ryuujin tribe, there was a sage named Zodias, later to be known as the King of Magic.

Zodias had originally been a researcher on the historic ruins scattered across the planet. He was trying to unravel the secrets of the civilization in which the dragon gods had once prospered. The uncovered artefacts, of uncertain usage, greatly differed from Earth’s science and he was convinced they held some sort of power.

He discovered that the mechanism, a substance poured down with the sun and vaporizing in the sea, had an entirely different nature. It couldn’t be detected even with the science and technology of Earth, but Zodias, furthering his investigation on the artefacts, named that substance ‘ether’.

In response to the artefacts, ether caused various physical reactions. Fire, explosions, water purification, repulsion to geomagnetism<!--地磁気-->, and a rise or fall in temperature… Based on various experimental results, Zodias successfully created new objects that were similar in nature to the artefacts, and was able to wield ‘magic’ in causing the phenomena he wanted.

With the use of this magic, Zodias managed to send the Ryuujin Tribe back to the ends of the earth and reigned as a new king that unified almost all of the lands on the planet. That prosperity and what would ultimately cause the downfall of the Zodias era, however, is yet another story.

Anyhow, the vehicles that had the ability to suspend above ground and go through the sky on this planet, like the airships and air frigates, weren’t science, but an inheritance from the magic that Zodias gave birth to.

In order to acquire floating ability, a power to repel the gravitational force was created with the use of ether, and when it flew, ether was radiated and scattered about. Of course, when the ether runs dry it would lose its ability to float, and the more it rose in altitude, the more the power to repel gravity lost its strength.

These ships were generally called ‘dragonstone ships’ because the skeletal frame of these ships was made of the so-called weightless metal that was refined from the dragonbone fossils excavated from the ancient layers of the earth.

These days, good dragonstone was a valuable resource, all the more because of the occurrence of ether depleting worldwide, which also caused the magic civilization to decline. And, even though it couldn’t be mass produced, it was certainly an indispensable military power to have on hand.



Orba would show up on the bridge, for several hours a day, before heading back to his room to rest. This was also what Fedom had suggested, after all, as he’d put it, ‘you can’t make mistakes when you don’t show your face’.

Orba found it convenient. Having all eyes upon him just for sitting still and staring ahead of him went against his nature and, moreover, he had been deep in thought these last few days.

Mephius, Ende, Garbera, and Ryucown.

He wanted to know their strengths and characteristics. Because he was unsure of his own knowledge of them, he had Dinn, who had received a much higher education than he, and Gowen and Shique, who said they’d lived in other lands before serving under the Tarkas Group, supplement him.

First of all, from Garbera’s point of view, they obviously couldn’t ignore Ryucown’s rebellion. However, as only one country, they would be at an overwhelming disadvantage if Ende participated in the war. In the likely event that Ende ''did'' have ties with Ryucown, they might also take the opportunity to take the next step and advance on the capital.

But what Garbera feared above all was internal discord. There were many vigorous, energetic youths within the country who had gathered under Ryucown and believed that they ought to attack Mephius. It was even possible that they’d abandon the royal family at the capital and form a new royal family by exploiting Vileena’s and Ryucown’s marriage.

“Concerning Mephius,” Gowen analysed, "They hope to strengthen their alliance when the marriage is concluded as it is after defeating Ryucown here as a team. They will also be prepared to face off against Ende, and they have the opportunity to place Garbera in their debt with the current campaign."

On the other hand, if the wedding didn’t hold, the territory of Garbera would be split between the royal family and Ryucown, which wasn’t so bad either. If it so happened that the alliance got annulled<!--lit.: becomes a blank paper-->, Mephius might possibly be approached by Ende instead, setting their sights on collaborating with Mephius instead if it could make a change to their own country’s advantage.

But in that case, there was another risk.

“In contrast to what you just said, should Ryucown obtain Princess Vileena, they could unify the whole country with the cooperation of Ende.”
What they thought and how they moved – many routes were open before them, and they also had to consider the actions among each of these movements.

“Gowen, isn’t Iver originally from Garbera?” Orba suddenly said, mentioning a gladiator’s name.

“Ahh. He did work as a mercenary, but he said it didn’t fill his plate<!--lit.: he couldn't eat-->, so he became a bandit.”

“Seriously, you're thinking of slipping him over to Ryucown’s side? But they’re a hard-knit bunch of guys, he’ll be noticed right away.”

“Not if it’s in the midst of a chaotic battle, don’t you think?”

Orba immediately summoned Iver, and gave him some instructions. Of course, he did all of this as a ‘prince’. The only sword-slave who knew about his real identity was Shique.

Half a day after they crossed the border, the Mephian army was lined up on a hill that overlooked Zaim Fortress. They had their artillery ready for the siege.

The allied forces of Garbera were south of the fortress, and it took them about three hours to set up their battle formations on the plains next to it. Mephius had sent an envoy to Ryucown. This was to tell them that Princess Vileena was aboard their flagship, and to endorse them to surrender.

The envoy came back in less than an hour. But, although they’d headed off with three people, only one of them had been allowed to return. The face of the man who’d arrived on his knees at the bridge was pale.

“Rescuing Princess Vileena from the dastardly Mephians that hold her hostage is our most pressing concern. Although the princess will receive a hearty welcome if she wishes to take the trouble to come over, we will never allow any Mephian to set foot within this fortress.”

Along with the envoy’s message, Orba was handed a set of binoculars from one of the non-commissioned officers<ref>JP: 下士官 Lit. 'low officer'. In Edo-Japan this was a term for one who was enlisted as an officer, but not of noble birth.</ref>. When he looked through, he saw two spears raised on top of the fort. There were freshly severed heads hoisted at the tips. It was Ryucown’s reply.

“Now this man’s a rebel to his lord – isn’t he, prince?” Oubary said as he peered through a similar pair of binoculars. He hadn’t believed from the beginning that a ‘just cause’ like this would have the Garberan side working together with them on this.

“Our military force is greater,” he continued. “All right. Let’s start attacking them on from both sides immediately. If we waste any more time, Ende could send reinforcements over to Ryucown’s aid.” 

Thinking that the prince’s excessive ‘meddling’ had ended with this, Oubary immediately gave the order to advance. With this, the prince’s abundant meddling (speaking voice) came to an end, it looked like he immediately gave Oubary the order to march. However, Orba interrupted him, saying,

“Wait.”

Everyone on the bridge, including the generals, looked at him with puzzled looks.

“First, let’s make sure that the Garberan side is ready as well.”



The opening of the battle commenced just before sunset. The Garberan troops went for the attack from the south, while the Mephian army held back to provide covering fire. But it had little effect anyhow, as the Mephian encampment was further from the fortress.

The dragoons clashed with each other on the middle of the plains. There was a clash of weapons scattering, as spearheads ran through the enemies’ heads, making them flutter through the air.

There was an iron solidarity and teamwork among Ryucown’s forces. Arrows shot out from the fortress as the Garberan forces tried to advance, and there were bursts of gunfire here and there on the plains – scattering about the flesh of dragons, horses, and humans.

Furthermore, while the aerial forces were mainly on standby up in the air, sometimes they would swoop in to attack at the right time. Additionally, Ryucown’s soldiers who had set up small bases around the fort, performed back-up by gunfire. It was an exquisite arrangement. The Garberan troops were at a standstill, and the aerial forces on Garbera’s side were also the victim of gunfire. They had fallen to a state where they couldn’t receive their ally’s support either.

“What the hell’s Mephius doing!?”

“Gahh, we’re at our limits! Fall back, fall back!!” 

“Lift the dragonstone ships – withdraw under the cover of their cannons! Tell them not to go in too deep!!” 

In the end, most of the Garberan army couldn’t advance, and two hours passed before they were back at their main camps. They had personally confirmed the robustness of the fortress that they’d built themselves.



It grew silent again around Zaim Fortress. Here and there, the torches inside the fort were extinguished, but one could easily perceive that they were diligently standing on guard.

Several hours after the evening battle, a Garberan messenger had headed for Dhum’s direction. He came to complain and to reconfirm their strategy. Orba had left everything up to Fedom, while he himself examined the map at the bridge.

There were also several captains gathered at the war council, but Orba hardly spoke a word. Even so, at the end, he didn’t give them the final permission to advance. Despite the confusion and doubt, most of them had feelings of anger.

“Is this supposed to be Prince Gil’s first campaign?” Oubary murmured almost to himself. A sneer was stuck to the edge of his lips. “I wonder whether him being unreasonable is a form of caution. And we are supposed to tell this to all of the soldiers and hope that, at the most, our caution isn’t taken as cowardice.” 

After the war council,

“What are you scheming?” Fedom said, having appeared at the ship’s room that was assigned to the prince. “Have you lost your nerves? If nothing else, I’m not telling you to do a bloody suicide attack. Just leave it to me. If you do any more of these selfish actions, I’m really going to have your head!” 

His cheeks were quivering in anger as he spoke, but in the end, this was a battlefield. The real prince wasn’t even in the area. Orba didn’t think Fedom could do anything to him in the current situation.

After Fedom left, Gowen posed a question.

“We also don’t know what on earth you’re thinking. To whom do you actually feel the need to show mercy?” 

“It has nothing to do with showing mercy. I’m sorry, but I’m in a position where I can’t tell friend from foe.”

“Friend, foe? Are you talking about Garbera?” 

“Them too.” 

It wasn’t only Orba who didn’t have confidence in the Garberan forces. Actually, the long-serving general Rogue Saian was watching signs among the Garberan camp, aside from the enemy’s movements. Although the amount of people who would contemplate betrayal was probably no more than a tenth, if they turned coat in the middle of the battle, they could very well suffer a great deal of harm. The emotional unrest could be huge. And if Ryucown pulled out his forces at that very moment, they might cut through to them in no time.

“However, you don’t plan on taking your time and keep besieging them, do you?” Shique said. “If they ''do'' receive supplies from Ende, this will drag on and on, and the morale on Garbera’s side will plummet. If Ryucown remains, more civil wars will break out over the place, and it might even escalate to a war that splits up their entire country.” 

“It won’t just end with those who consider changing sides raiding our camp at night. They’d want to take Prince Gil’s head, rescue Princess Vileena – things like that.” 

When he heard Gowen’s words, Orba grinned. If an opponent had seen him like this during his time as a gladiator, and Orba hadn’t been wearing a mask, he would surely fly into a rage. After all, it was the type of smile that seemed to terribly belittle the opponent.

“It’s fine. Because I’m still waiting for exactly ''that'' moment to arrive.” 

Gowen let out a groan – Shique also wondered whether this was some sort of joke – and got a mixed look on his face.

“Orba, you can’t be! Is this why you brought the princess along?”

“Who knows.”

Not knowing friend from foe didn’t only apply to Garbera. He was still not able to grasp the full picture of what happened at Seirin Valley, and Orba – or rather Prince Gil – couldn’t put much trust in the Mephian army from the beginning. He wasn’t able to make a move with the situation unclear on whoever bound his hands and feet, and whoever was pulling the strings.

Rather than explaining how many tricks he still had up his sleeves, Orba said,

“These soldiers, who are ‘accustomed’ to fighting without knowing anything, are different. I don’t have nerves that thick.”

This was actually his only true motive. For he had fully realized what it was that had been lost to him before.

Strengthen your own position, know your friends and your enemies, and collect various information, large and small – if he could pile up all that information into a stronghold, even bold actions would have their effect. Without any of that, he wasn’t any different than a fool going in for a suicide attack.

''Be discreet before you start a fight. It will be thorough and fast. You don’t have time for thoughts when you’re at that point, do you? So the only time you have to think, is now.''

Orba thought, staring fixedly out of a window that was furnished in his room.



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===References and Translation Notes===
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