When Almus and his men were running around in the home country, frantically building their fleet....

　One third of Trisichellia had fallen under the control of the Kingdom of Romalia.
　The other third was under the control of Pofenia.
　And the last third are the cities that are under Pofenia's control but are planning to turn to the Kingdom of Romalia.

　
　The defeat of David Barca out of Kepka Barca and David Barca, who were opposed to Alexios, suddenly tilted the momentum to Alexios' side.

　The western cities turned to the Kingdom of Romalia one by one, and Kepka Barca was forced to retreat largely.
　However, Kepka Barca regained its footing and fortified its defense thoroughly.

　However, Kepka Barca rebuilt his position and fortified his defenses, and even though Alexios was not an easy man to defeat, it was not easy to defeat an opponent who was holed up in a shell.
　As a result, the battle was at a standstill.

　On the other hand, Bartolo's east side....
　Most of the cities were still on the Pofenia side.

　This was because Cearl Barca was defending our side.

　Theal Barca realized that the Romalian army was much stronger than the Pofenia army, and that Bartolo was as good or better than him, so he decided that he could not win a head-to-head battle.

　While he continued to cheat and avoid the decisive battle, he never gave Bartolo a key strategic point.

　And Bartolo, realizing that Ceal Barca was highly skilled, did not force him to attack.
　As a result, the battle lines were completely stalemated.

　But.....

　When it became apparent that the Kingdom of Romalia was building a large number of ships in earnest, Ceal Barca temporarily returned to his home country.

　The purpose was to eliminate the interference of the Plain Party led by Azul Hanno and to build a large fleet.

　Apart from the Kingdom of Romalia, the Barca family also fought against a political opponent, Azul Hanno.

　From the Barca family's point of view, both of these enemies were not much different.

　As soon as he saw that Ceal Barca had left the island of Trisichellia, Bartolo immediately took action and launched an offensive.

　Bartolo went on the attack at a breakneck pace.
　Belshazzar Barca, who was entrusted with the overall command after Ceal Barca, thought he couldn't defend himself and burned cities and villages. He retreated to the south while advancing the plunder.

　As a result, many of the cities in the east fell to the Kingdom of Romalia.


　




　Sicily, the largest city in Trisichelia.
　As a Cilician colony, Sicily still had bad feelings towards Pofenia.

　It is the largest city in Trisichelia, with the largest port and the largest population, and wheat fields on the outskirts.

　It was a key strategic location that the Kingdom of Romalia would love to secure.

　And.........
　Three days after Belshazzar Barca's retreat, the griffon flag was fluttering in this city.

　''I think we're finally seeing victory, don't you?　Don't you think so, Sooyoung?
　'Well...'

　During the natural truce, Sojourn returned to Ron from Alexios'....
　She wasn't too happy about the great battle my husband had raised.

　'What's going on?'
　''Hmmm ... how did you manage to take over so easily...''
　Well, Mr. Bartolo was very aggressive. Did you see that?　Belshazzar Barca leaving at a glance.

　Ron recalls the battle with Belshazzar.
　Bartolo had completed the siege of the directional wing, albeit temporarily, and defeated Belshazzar Barca without a hitch.

　In the rugged island of Trisichelia, the Romalian shield, dagger and spear were still very advantageous.　

　As a result, Belshazzar Barca lost the city, the point of concentration of supplies, to Bartolo, and was forced to lower his front line significantly.

　One such city that Belshazzar Barca abandoned was Scichelia.

　Ron took possession of Cicelya without any effort.

　But don't you think that Sichelia is a strategic point?　Isn't it funny how easy it is to get them?
　It's...

　Ron was at a loss for words.
　Ron had been chasing after Belshazzar as a spearhead, but he also felt that Belshazzar was indeed too weak.

　At least in Alexios' assessment, Belshazzar should be a more capable general than he was.

　How could he have been defeated so haplessly?
　........and that's where a chill ran down Ron's spine.

　He had a bad feeling.

　''General Aemilius!　Oh my God!　A huge army of Pofenian troops!




　That's when Ron realized.

　He realized that his army was completely surrounded.






　'Well, it was worth losing in a showy way. Your dumb prey was caught in a net.

　Belshazzar smiled with amusement as he looked at Sicelia under siege.

　Belshazzar's defeat to Bartolo, his unceremonious retreat, and the surrender of Sicelia to Ron had all been Belshazzar's plan.

　Sicelia is a big city, but....
　A large city is not made up of only one independent city, but it is also made up of multiple satellite cities, and then satellite cities.

　It is made up of multiple satellite cities, and then satellite cities.　
　Even if you surrender Cicelya, it will be easy to regain it as long as the surrounding cities are still alive and well.

　No..........
　In fact, it could even isolate Cicelya altogether.

　This is because all the small and medium-sized cities under Pofenia's control sit on the roads leading from Cicelya that are accessible to the army.
　Ron and Sicelia were already in Belshazzar's hands.

　But here was one question.
　How could Belshazzar have fooled Ron's eyes?

　But not for a very difficult reason.
　It's rather easy.

　The point is.....
　Don't lick the Barca?

　This is why.

　Trisichellia has been conquered and developed by the Barca family since long ago.
　From one end of Trisichellia to the other, the Barca family knows it all.

　In the rugged island of Trisichellia, it is difficult for even the local residents to grasp the location of all the roads, villages and cities.
　Therefore, no matter how much support the Cilician kingdom receives from the Cilician people....
　We can't fully grasp the terrain of Trisichellia.

　So......
　Using the roads and strongholds that the Barca family had secretly built...

　It would be easy to divide the troops a little bit in the process of retreating and get down and turn to counterattack.

　Although the troop strength had been reduced at one time, Belshazzar had 80,000 troops on hand after completing the replenishment of the new mercenaries.
　The 10,000 troops gathered from Trisichellia Island and the 20,000 reinforcements from Pofenia's home country had finally joined together.

　The new 30,000 was a credit to Ceal Barca, who had convinced the Pofenia Senate that the purse strings were tight.
　Now the situation has been reversed in terms of troops and warfare.　

　But it's a shame Bartolo Pompeius didn't hang on to the net. ...It's a shame that your father would approve of that. Well, Ron Aemilius is an excellent general, and more importantly, I hear he's known King Almus since his childhood.

　I will salt the heads of Ron Aemilius and his wife and send them to King Almus.
　Let's see how they look....

　Belshazzar laughed inappropriately.

　And .....

　'My brother was defeated by Alexios and executed by Azul Hanno. It's a bit close to the truth to hold a grudge against Lord Ron Aemilius, but well, we are still the same enemy. .........Alexios, it's a shoulder massage before you jump on Azul Hanno's head.








　Shit it's a trap.

　Far behind Cicelya.
　Bartolo and Gram, who had controlled the city one by one while Ron was chasing after them, made a bitter face when they heard the request for help from the falcon flight sent by Ron.

　''Ron's guy........let your guard down.......after Bartolo-san told us not to let our guard down so much......''
　No, this is my fault, my fault as commander-in-chief.


　As soon as Ceal Barca is gone, the fight is carried out so well.
　It's too much work.
　And Bartolo felt thinly.

　That's why he had told Ron to elongate and chase after it, considering the possibility that it was a trap for the enemy.
　But.........
　Bartolo's prospects were naive.

　He hadn't expected to feed on a city as big as Cicelya.

　A city as big as Scichelia.
　If the enemy had abandoned it, we couldn't afford not to take it.

　In fact, it would be impossible for a general to let this go by unnoticed.

　That's why Ron's choice was not a mistake.
　That was the right choice.
　He didn't miss the opportunity.

　The size of the trap Bartolo had envisioned and prompted Ron to warn him and the trap Belshazzar had set was too different.
　That was the blunder this time.

　'In this situation, we have no choice but to rescue Ron. It would be too painful to lose the twenty thousand Ron has, and most importantly, Ron himself.''







　Meanwhile, Alexios and Rosward, who received the falcon flight from Bartolo....

　That's what I'm talking about, Brother Belshazzar. That's my brother.
　"...which side are you on?

　Rosward complains bitterly to Alexios, who is incessantly impressed.

　''I'm the general of Romalia, but I think it's necessary to have the capacity to recognize that even an enemy is strong.

　And then Alexios assessed and then........

　"Mr. Rosward, you'll be in charge of the entire force. I'm going back to the Romalian homeland.
　'What?　What's going on?

　Suddenly entrusted with the command of a large army of forty thousand men, Roseward let out a puzzled voice.

　''It's almost time for the grand fleet to be completed in the home country. Nah, if we win the naval battle, Belshazzar will have no choice but to retreat. If that happens, Ron Aemilius-dono's failure will turn into an achievement in the capture of Cicelya. .........All's well that ends well.