War between nobles in Tian was simple.
<Fight until a negotiation is reached. The strong takes all. If it becomes severe, the Kingdom will intervene.>
A severe war was when one massacred other nobles or ruled its people with tyranny that would negatively affect the Kingdom.
Just like the succession, Tian did not intervene in a nobles’ war. The Kingdom encouraged it.
<All nobles of Tian must strive hard to become strong. Become stronger and lead the Kingdom.>
This applied to all the nobles of Tian, including the Royal families.
“It’s so lively,” Sian commented as he looked at people running around from the window of the inn. The inn was located close to the lord’s castle, high up on the hill, where the entire land was visible.
The women were working hard to make supplies and armor, while children were being trained to escape by following the roads in an emergency. All the men were gathered outside the castle to train. What was interesting was that these men were all volunteers.
They all had the same experience before and after Phareon’s rule, so they knew exactly what was going to happen if they lost.
“It’s not a common sight to see in the countryside, but all important areas within the Kingdom do this. However, this is pretty intense.”
Cariman spoke as he watched. Even then, he thought that Sian was hiding something.
He was too calm.
They were staying in a land which was going to war, but Sian didn’t seem to be bothered. Even Cariman himself was concerned. This was after he heard that Kulan would be fighting against Logadis.
If Kulan lost, the land would be swept by the war, and there was no telling what would happen to them.
Cariman asked, “Sian, aren’t you afraid? This place might be swept up by the war if Kulan loses.”
However, Sian just smiled instead.
“Haha, they won’t lose. Don’t worry.”
‘Is he just foolish?’
No war was guaranteed. Both sides believed they could win the war, which was why a war started. Cariman thought Sian was foolish, but Sian was thinking of something else.
‘The one from the underground, the forest, or the lake… any one of them will allow them to win. They won’t lose.’
He didn’t know what it was that Phareon had on his body, but after taking a closer look while at the castle, he realized it was similar to the energy that came from those hidden places.
Some of them were stronger than the others.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but if it was a weapon and it was given to Sir Rianna for example, she would crush any knight easily. The thing that Phareon had contained enough power to allow a small child to crush a house easily.
It was impossible for Kulan to lose.
All Sian and Cariman had to do was rest there, and return when the war was over. Sian decided to fully enjoy the time while he was there. The restaurant that was recommended to them was great, and he had already bought some gifts to bring back to his family.
“Rianna, are the preparations going well?” Phareon asked with a tired look on his face. There were a lot of people in front of him.
The <Kranga> artifact on his wrist helped him, but the preparations were still exhausting. This would be his first war, so he was nervous.
“Yes, milord. We have readied our forces. This is what we have prepared for, and this is why we exist.”
Rianna answered with pride. Phareon had brought in many young men who had Bander talents and taught them the newly modified Bander-Roa, ‘Way of the Wolf’ to train. It was hard to train in Bander when people were older, but he even gave them mysterious potions that allowed quick growth in strength so that all his men were able to perform at the low-expert level. Rianna herself had reached mid-expert level.
It was a secret to others, but Phareon had given Rianna a different potion that granted her such power.
This was why all of them pledged allegiance to Phareon.
“Good. Roina, how about you?”
“Yes, milord. We can last at least three months without resupply.”
“Oh no!”
Phareon moaned as Roina became alarmed.
“Huh? What’s wrong, milord?”
“Haven’t you gathered too much? Three months? That’s such a waste! I think we can provide seven meals a day for our soldiers.”
Phareon laughed out loud, and Roina and the others soon followed. Their faces showed that they were anxious about the first war in their lives, and Phareon tried to lighten the mood by cracking a joke.
One person, however, was not stiff.
“Hey, boy! What happened to the squid and… the other one. Did they leave? I don’t see them in the castle.”
“Oi, Ra-Kadum! Don’t talk like that to the lord!”
“Ah, okay okay. Relax. Boy-Lord.”
Ra-Kadum was asking about Sian and Cariman. Roina reprimanded Ra-Kadum for his disrespectful tone, which he was not bothered to change.
“They are staying outside of the lord’s castle. They will leave after the war is over,” Roina answered Ra-Kadum’s question.
“Is that so? Hm…”
Phareon noticed Ra-Kadum was concerned and tried to calm him, “Don’t worry about them. They are staying near the outer castle area, but the enemies will not even come close. It’s a shame though. We cannot put your castle wall to the test.”
“Hah, it’s good that you cannot see what I’m seeing. You wouldn’t be able to joke around if you did.”
Everyone seemed to be confused by Ra-Kadum’s declaration, but he sighed and stopped talking. Phareon shrugged it off and restarted the meeting.
The war waged fiercely between them. Bander users on both sides were even. It wasn’t because the Kulan Knights were formidable; they had no experience unlike the knights on the Logadis side. However, Sir Rianna evened out the balance.
Or to be more precise, her weapon did.
The weapon itself didn’t seem special; it looked just like an ordinary-looking sword. The result when it was used, however, was not ordinary at all.
It cut everything down with ease, and it wasn’t because Rianna was strong. Compared to the power of the weapon, Rianna’s strength was like that of a baby. No shield, Bander-wielding sword, armor, or even castle gate was able to withstand her attack. Everything was cut down.
The strongest on the Logadis side, Knight-Captain Kalail, had his weapon sliced into two and had to run for his life.
Even the regular soldiers of Kulan were much stronger than those of Logadis.
The problem was the difference in the number of soldiers was too huge. Rianna charged on the front lines, but the enemy turned to ranged attacks and forced Rianna to retreat.
The war was dragging longer than what they all expected.
Viscount Teron’s land was right next to Kulan Province, making it possible for Teron to stay in his office to issue orders to the war front. At this moment, there were people gathered in his office for a meeting.
“It’s going as planned. Baron Kulan’s forces are powerful, and we are being pushed back. Within a month… we will be torn apart and absorbed into the Kulan Province.”
Viscount Teron spoke calmly to the person in front of him. He was even smiling.
“Yes… it will be weird if he loses with that kind of thing. He probably has more, but it seems that he can’t use all of it yet, seeing that he let that girl go out into the war with that toy sword.”
That person spoke of the sword that Rianna wielded as a toy and scoffed.
The artifact that he had on his neck let out a strange sound and distorted the area around his face to disguise him, but his tall posture and strength were hard to miss.
“So, are those <Artifacts> hidden there?”
“Yes, I have already made sure. But, it’s really interesting to see the <Armory of Arankal> hidden in this remote land.”
Kurandas, Usharan’s hidden Grand Bander, spoke in amazement.
