Weekly chapters (1/2)
The new war and a new character appear.
Interesting.
Enjoy the chapter~
Translator; Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki
Chapter 72 – Darius Grants
One week after the forces led by the first prince Carlos and Archduke Saxon marched, the main forces led by Emperor Sephiros departed from Redgear.
The Emperor went to war for the first time after several years. This emboldened the aristocrats who were accompanying him.
The report about the current war situation arrived two weeks after the departure of the vanguard.
The messenger entered Sephiros" tent. The main forces is about to enter Grants" territory.
[Pardon me! Archduke Saxon"s 30,000 strong forces is almost routed!]
[Pardon me! Prince Carlos" forces was repelled! Currently trying to retreat and regroup!]
The aristocrats became noisy upon hearing the reports.
[Impossible!]
[Archduke Saxon and Prince Carlos: both of them led the elites of our army! Both are renowned generals of Arcadia Empire. There must be some mistake!]
[I can"t imagine Archduke Saxon"s elites being routed!]
Sephiros watched intently as the aristocrats are making a fuss before finally speaking in a dignified tone.
[We will march to the capital Heinz earlier than planned. Tell Carlos and Georg to regroup with the main force after they"ve recouped their army.]
The aristocrats calmed down.
Regrouping with the main force means that the vanguards had failed their task.
The fuss between the aristocrats continued, albeit silentlyーーー
=====
◆
[I heard they are Arcadia"s greatest generals, but this is surprisingly boring.]
The certain general who led the Grants" army personally to battle watched on as Carlos" army retreated. This person stood there in the midst of piling corpses.
[The world-famous Arcadia forces… I thought that they"ll be more entertaining.]
[No, our Boss is just too strong.]
The person standing next to him responded.
[Our Boss has been tempered through fights against barbarians and demonkins. Otherwise… we wouldn"t be following Boss here.]
Another person standing nearby, who happened to look like a brigand, the deputy officer Dirk, laughed.
At the same time, the man he called his master also had a ferocious smile on his face.
That Grants army general was a person named Darius. Not only he is the prince of Grants, but he"s also the heir to the throne.
Darius is a black-eyed, 2 meter-tall man. His face was cool and neat looking, while his body consisted of well-developed muscles, casting a very striking image while he stands in the battlefield.
There was no horse that could handle being ridden by him so he rode a bull instead. It"s because a normal horse would soon collapse in exhaustion while being ridden.
He wields a 4 meter-long great spear forged from the heaviest black iron, the overall weight no less than 100 kilograms.
[Overwhelming Violence.]
The only words fit to describe Darius.
He doesn"t use magic since he has no affinity for it. However, his might alone was enough to turn the entire battle around.
Whenever the great spear was swung to a direction, several enemy corpses would fall in its wake.
Darius was not originally born as a warrior.
He was born from Gail Grants" relationship with a female beastkin.
Then why was he recognized as the heir to the throne?
It was due to his overwhelming valor.
For a country of fighters like Grants, strength is the most important factor. Therefore, they don"t discriminate between beastkin, dwarves, and even demonkin as all of them are considered important to their forces.
Seeking more strength, its people were often involved in a liaison with various people. As a result, 30 to 40% of the population are mixed blood.
Among those mixed blood of humans and beastkin, it"s not an exaggeration to say that Darius is the best result of these decades old cross-breeding tradition in Grants.
The n.o.bility, honor and the Grants" royal combat technique that had been pa.s.sed down for years, the superb agility of beastkin, the strength of dwarves, the valor and ferociousness of the Aryans and the aggression of the Northern Hors.e.m.e.n.
All of those were combined within Darius, who was recognized as a member of royalty after defeating his numerous other siblings. No one was actually against this decision.
Darius never appeared in regional battles between countries before. It"s because there were his other siblings and generals to lead the army.
However, the battles against the barbarians, Demon Lords and the Aryans are a different matter. They would invade Grants with an overwhelming power every time.
Thus Darius was dispatched to contend against these invaders each time and won each of his battles through his power that could overwhelm demon lords and barbarians alike.
The similar case happened here.
He pounced upon Arcadian vanguard with pure violence, routing the Archduke Saxon"s army and repelled Prince Carlos" forces.
[Excuse me!]
A messenger reported to Darius.
[The retreating Arcadian army seems to have regrouped at Depay River!]
Hearing the report, Dirk asked Darius.
[Well then, how do you want to do it?]
[…do you need me to answer?]
[Understood. Alright then, let"s rout their entire force.]
Darius smiled ferociously upon hearing Dirk"s response.
=====
◆
The Depay River flowed south from the Grants capital Heinz.
Although terrible when it flooded during the rainy season, the river was usually calm.
And beyond this Depay River… was a view that enraged Carlos.
[Regroup quickly! If we don"t attack Grants once more… if I can"t conquer it, I will be asked to bear the responsibility!]
That only means he has retired from the race to the succession of the throne.
Carlos knew Emperor Sephiros does not tolerate failure, not even towards his own relatives.
For Carlos who was known as the Mad Prince and Arcadia"s Young Lion, this would be his first and probably greatest defeat.
He couldn"t do anything.
Unafraid of arrows and magic, Grants" soldiers would charge on again and again. And above all, was that bull-riding giant of a man who led those madmen.
That man should be the general known as Darius.
Just from a simple swat of Darius" spear, many soldiers would fall like flies.
[In any case, I must kill that man… no matter what…]
Carlos then nodded to himself.
[E-enemy! The Grants soldiers are attacking from the north of the river!]
A nearby soldier came in to report at the same time.
A roar reverberated throughout Carlos" body.
[Their numbers are unknown. Y-Your Highness should immediately esca…eeergh!!]
The body of that reporting soldier was swatted away as if he had no weight.
[W-what…]
Again, a roar reverberated within the soldiers" very being.
Following that… was a loud explosion on the nearby rocks.
And the item stuck on what was left of that rock was a single iron spear.
[H-how do you even throw this kind of spear…?]
It was nothing but a declaration that his life can be snuffed out at any time.
[Y-Your Highness! Please escape from this place. There will be another chance if you stay alive!]
Douglas Hoover, who served as Carlos" deputy officer, rushed to his side.
[B-but…]
[At this rate, we"ll be routed by the enemy. Our opponent this time is in a completely different league than that white-haired wench. Anyways, let"s retreat from this place. Raid! Raid, where are you!?]
Douglas called for one of the remaining Carlos" best generals, Raid.
[Yes! Did you call?]
[We will retreat from this place. You"ll become our Lord"s rearguard.]
[Haha! I never fear the Grants! Leave it to me for they shall not pa.s.s.]
Having said so, Raid bravely rode to the battle.
Looking back, Carlos was overwhelmed with a sense of defeat.
[Daaaaaaaaaaammmmmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!]
And so, Carlos" forces were routed.
His army… was destroyed in no time at all to the point that they won"t be able to recover anymore; just like what happened to Archduke Saxon"s forces…
Dirk had spent a long time alongside Darius, but he was lost for words seeing his lord"s action this time.
[Our Boss is… someone who is beyond any common sense]
When Darius arrived in the battlefield, he promptly threw his iron spear.
The spear was thrown with such force that it caused loud roaring sounds as it broke through the ranks of the remaining Arcadia soldiers.
[The enemy is retreating! Now is our chance!]
Darius rode happily toward the fleeing enemy, leaving the stunned Dirk behind.
[Hoooooooooooooo!!]
Everytime he roared, the Arcadia soldiers around him would become corpses.
[Darius-sama had already charged in! Don"t get left behind! They are neither demonkin nor the Aryans nor the barbarian hors.e.m.e.n! Just regular men!]
Behind him were fearless soldiers who had spent many battlefields along with him
It was a one-sided ma.s.sacre.
When Darius and his soldiers were rampaging chaotically…
[Are you the general of this army?]
A person stood before Darius.
Darius saw a man around his height approaching him while wielding a hexagonal rod.
[My name is Raid! The one who leads the glorious army of His Highness Carlos! Come!]
After saying so, Raid attacked Darius.
Raid was a general in the capital. Formerly the head of bandits, he bought his way to serve under Carlos. Despite his upbringing, his ability was a real deal, forcing Carlos to take note of him and personally recruited him to serve him at the capital.
Raid himself has ambition and is confident with his own ability. He saw this situation as a chance. If he managed to defeat Darius and turned the situation around by himself, Carlos would surely reward him immensely.
[Haaaaaa!!]
Raid swung his hexagonal rod with all his might. Yet Darius received it calmly.
Raid"s hexagonal rod clashed with Darius" iron spear five times. After that, Darius lowered his spear, obviously disappointed.
[The Mad Prince of Arcadia, Carlos. I was actually looking forward to seeing you in battle… how disappointing.]
[Wha! What the!]
Those words greatly hurt his pride. Raid recklessly charged in.
A warrior can discern the ability of the opponent after clashing weapons with them. This time Raid sensed an overwhelming difference in ability that he never felt before.
（…There is no such thing! I"ve reached my current place through my ability alone. This must be wrong.）
[Such a nuisance…now die.]
Saying so, Darius moved his spear rapidly…with such an unprecedented speed.
[Hagya!]
Raid could barely block that attack with his hexagonal rod… even so, the spear pierced through the rod and through his head. At that point, his head exploded into pieces of blood and flesh.
After confirming his kill with a glance, Darius roared at the soldiers.
[Alright…let"s march ahead. Kill them until they are completely crushed!]
[HHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]
=====
◆
In one corner of the Arcadia encampment, Schwarzer"s army camp.
Ares was receiving Zekka"s report.
[So far, both the forces of Archduke Saxon and Prince Carlos have been routed, but safe to say that those two managed to escape with their lives still intact.]
[I see… thank you.]
Ares laughed and turned towards Sigurd.
[As expected, those two were defeated. Both of them will now have to act like an adult for once. His Highness is the most pitiful. He"ll now be one step behind in the struggle for the succession of the throne.]
[It"s just as Ares-sama predicted.]
[No… it"s not exactly as I predicted. Rather, it"s beyond my expectations.]
He was reminded of a certain warrior on Zekka"s report.
[The main force of Grants Princ.i.p.ality… turns out to be stronger than I expected. And Darius Grants who leads those armies… suffice to say that he"s a nightmare.]
[That"s rare for Ares-sama to praise others.]
[I have to re-evaluate the situation. Whether they are old or young, they are still considered heroes. The Saxons and their army are not weak. They were defeated because someone grossly overpowered them. And this someone is a person of unusual valor. Even if Sigurd and I worked together, we still may not be able to defeat him. For once… I"m not sure… if I can win.]
[I thought as much when I heard Zekka"s report. I"d rather not to meet him in battle.]
[…shouldn"t you be happier to find such an opponent?]
Ares laughed a little when he saw that Sigurd"s eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with antic.i.p.ation.
Sigurd is always happy to find anyone who he can compete with for real. Certainly… even if he can"t defeat Darius, Sigurd would still be able to hold that scary man off. Although it may cost Sigurd his life.
[If only…]
Ares muttered quietly.
An army that could overwhelm the Arcadia Empire forces and a warrior of overwhelming might such as Darius.
[I wonder if he"s the right person for me to get along with for my ambition? Interesting, most interesting…]
Sigurd could only inwardly thought when seeing Ares said all that while laughing eerily.
(When Ares-sama makes that kind of face…it"s not that he"s gone insane. It"s just that he"s found someone who he must absolutely obtain no matter what method he must use… somehow I feel sorry for that Darius already…]
Sigurd bids his condolences for a guy he never even met before.