Grancrest Senki (Record of Grancrest War)

Let's go!

How dare you burn down our village!

You won't get away with that!

Wolves!

What's this smoke?

Curse you!

Revenge for the Earl of Altirk!

I'll beat you all down!

It's the Black Prince.

Retreat! Disperse, and flee into the forest!

I won't let you escape!

Forget about me and run!

Go back to the castle, and help Sir Theo!

Altirk forever!

No need to chase them.

The detached unit was routed by the witches.

We'll regroup, and resume our advance.

This area appears to be a maze.

How impudent!

The path's diverging in different directions.

They must be using this thorny undergrowth to open and shut the pathway.

Is this Theo's aim?

His plan is probably to toy with our men, and split us up.

Cunning of him. Just keep heading toward the castle.

As you wish.

They're here, huh?

Being desert people, they must have had a hard time navigating this Demonic territory's forest.

Theo Cornaro! Come out from there!

I'll take you on in a duel!

It's been a long time, Prince of Dartania, Milza Kuches!

I've won this battle.

You should leave this forest right now.

When night falls, this forest's appearance changes even more.

It begins to writhe in search of human blood.

Then be holed up in that castle forever!

In the meantime, I'll eliminate every nation in the Altirk Treaty!

All forces, retreat!

I thought that he'd attack.

Telius Savoie.

He wasn't all that proficient at magic, but he was brilliant at military strategy.

Meaning that his scheme wasn't botched, rather it was taken out of his hands?

If that's the case...

The next battle will be grueling.

Yes.

Damn that Theo Cornaro!

The Forest of Eternal Darkness is Demon territory.

It's not a suitable station for a military force.

Theo Cornaro only has two choices available to him.

One is to return his troops to Bulltava.

And the other?

To emerge from the Forest of Eternal Darkness, and attack this castle.

If he does that, he'll be playing right into my hands.

This time I'll obliterate him!

What would you think of sending troops to Regalia?

To the south? Why?

To show the Altirk Treaty Lords that our forces are still powerful,

and to ward off an assault from the south.

At the same time, we will attempt to draw out Theo Cornaro.

I see. So as soon as Theo comes sauntering out, we'll rush back and vanquish him, eh?

Exactly.

Sounds good. Start your preparations at once.

Yes, sir!

We were outmaneuvered in the Forest of Eternal Darkness.

Siluca Meletes. That won't happen this time!

What did you say?

Understood. Thanks.

Sir Theo, Milza has invaded Regalia with 7,000 men in tow.

Does that mean he's ignoring us?

Milza is probably trying to lure you out.

I see. So he wants to crush us on the ground once we emerge from the forest.

But right now, I think we should go along with his scheme.

Now that morale is high after our victory in the Forest of Eternal Darkness, we can't let this go.

We must seek aid from the citizens of Altirk.

So I'll have to command a volunteer army again?

Milza will curse me when we meet.

When I liberated Sistina, I called on the people to rise up.

I may have put an end to the Rossini's reign, but many people lost their lives in that battle.

Sir Theo, I believe that you can hear the people's silent voices.

And it's you who puts them into words.

I suppose.

Let's head to Castle Unicorn in full force!

The citizens of Altirk haven't accepted Dartania's rule. There's no question.

Right. Though I do feel that attacking Castle Unicorn would be reckless.

If you feel that way, then come join us in Altirk right now.

That can't happen just yet.

Couldn't you just not emerge from the Forest of Eternal Darkness?

If Sir Theo does nothing while Dartania attacks Regalia,

the citizens of Altirk will be disheartened, and they won't rise up for us.

You're right.

Our only window of opportunity to attack Castle Unicorn is now, while Milza is away.

If Milza returns before our forces can assemble, it'll become a painful battle for us.

In other words, we just need to buy you some time?

That's exactly right.

Very well. Then I'll have Sir Selge buy you that time.

I have a strategy in mind.

Allow me to report, sir!

A white flag has been hoisted over the Regalian castle.

What's going on?

Apparently, the Earl of Regalia and his younger brother, Viscount Igor, have slipped out of the castle.

What?

Perhaps it's a ploy to draw us out by pretending to have fled?

People had begun rioting and looting inside the castle.

Also, we've captured the Earl of Regalia's contracted mage.

It seems she'd been left behind.

He left his contracted mage behind?

So he really ran away?

Even though Theo Cornaro was recently victorious over us?

Selge Constance.

No wonder he's known as the Fleeing Earl.

This just means that Theo isn't a Lord worthy of Selge's trust.

In Selge's eyes, Theo is a wandering Lord who Villar took in.

What should we do?

We can't leave things as-is.

Eventually, Lassic David, the king of Sievis, will arrive with reinforcements to reclaim the fortress.

I'll prepare to subjugate them immediately.

Will you give me a week, sir?

Not fast enough. Do it in five days.

Understood.

What's going on here?

Impossible.

Is that Theo Cornaro?

Did he actually sacrifice Regalia to buy himself some time?

Still, to think that he gathered this many soldiers in a short time.

So he still has his one skill of being able to exhort the masses.

I don't care how enormous his army may be. After all, it's only a ragtag force!

We'll clash with them head on, and obliterate them!

Please wait a minute.

Since we left some troops in Regalia, we're down to 5,000 now.

Meanwhile, Theo appears to have close to 50,000.

Let us return to the impregnable Castle Unicorn, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

What did you say?

It would be foolish to battle under such unfavorable circumstances.

We must summon reinforcements from Waldlind, Starck, and Dartania.

The final battle can wait until after we've gathered sufficient troops!

Are you telling me to flee into the castle without fighting a single battle?

I beg you, please restrain yourself.

I'm going to trust you.

Thank you very much.