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“Damn it.”

As soon as he heard the report from the soldier, he became stiff. They had tried to connect a Magic Call several times by now. And as there was no response even though it had been more than an hour, Roman Dmitry’s concerns seemed to be true.

His hands began to tremble. The fact that the Warp Gate had been occupied wasn’t an issue he could simply skip over.

‘They have completely isolated the Southern Front. Even if the kingdom sends us reinforcements through the Warp Gate that is closest to the Southern Front, it will still take a fortnight. This war is practically over. The Southern Front has been utterly defeated, and from now on, the main goal should be survival, and that requires patience.’

When he thought it through, there was no way out of this war. There was the option of abandoning the fort and running away, but there was a high chance he would die in a barren mountain if he did that. Also, the steep and rugged mountain terrain wasn’t suitable as an escape route, and Roman’s operation sounded too difficult as well.

Obviously, the option of staying in the fort wasn’t that good either.

He could not guarantee how long everyone would survive as they were isolated here, but he still decided to stay behind the protection of the fort’s walls and judged that decision to be best.

Also,

‘I am highly likely to be reprimanded for being negligent first. However, if I leave and run away, the punishment will be more severe. I must fight to the death here for my future after the war. If we can hold on until the reinforcements arrive, we have a good chance of survival.’

Those were his actual thoughts.

Count Donald hadn’t immediately reported to the kingdom even after he had confirmed that the Hector Kingdom had crossed the border. That was an absolutely complacent attitude. And that had resulted in the current circumstances.

If he had reacted even a little earlier, the Cairo Kingdom might have been in a different situation, but now, his actions had only made things worse. That was a truth he couldn’t hide. As numerous soldiers had witnessed the scene, Count Donald knew that his error would be surely reported.

Thus, he needed a justification to be forgiven. A commander who stayed on the battlefield till the end—Wasn’t that a good reason? Along with protecting his face, that could turn his reputation into that of a valiant commander.

‘Roman Dmitry must have talked about guerrilla operations even though he did not know how steep the mountains here are. His judgment is trash, and there could be no chance of winning if I followed him. He was assigned here only a few weeks ago, while I have been on the First Defense Line for several years, and he wanted to advise me to run away? That is why the knowledge acquired through books on warfare is scary.’

Even though Roman Dmitry is the Youngest Ranker, he is still only a little boy on the battlefield.

Even back then, Count Donald believed he was right.

Count Donald’s hope didn’t last long. Four hours after the Magic Call, soldiers of Hector could be seen coming from both the front and the rear of the First Defense Line.

What Roman said was true. The Warp Gate had been occupied, and the Hector Kingdom had boldly sent its troops through ‘Warp.’

“Everyone, get ready to attack!”

“Get ready to attack!”

The soldiers began to look for their arrows. As the blood had dried out, they were ready to fight again. The repaired wall seemed to be in good condition, and they had additional weapons and supplies like water ready by their side. They didn’t want to get pushed back again.

The soldiers who finished loading the weapons, like Ballista, truly believed that they wouldn’t be defeated this time.

Count Donald said, “Listen, soldiers of the First Defense Line! The Hector Kingdom has taken over the Warp Gate. Because of that, we are completely isolated, and we cannot expect the kingdom to send support for at least a fortnight or even more than that. Nevertheless, we are alive. Just as we had defeated the vicious demons of Hector in the first battle, if we trust each other and fight, we can survive until the reinforcements arrive. Trust me, Count Donald. We will survive to the end!”

“Woahhhhh!”

“Follow Count Donald!”

Cairo’s soldiers cheered. Nevertheless, they didn’t know the truth. They believed the words of Count Donald, and for those with limited information, fighting Hector was the only way out of the current situation.

However, they all soon witnessed the grim reality. The soldiers of Hector that could be seen beyond the border were incomparable to those who had attacked previously.

“…It’s all over.”

“Just how many are there?”

At least a thousand of them could be seen. The previous attack now looked like a joke. Their crowd was like a swarm of ants, and Cairo’s men were only numbered a few hundred. However, that wasn’t the end of the problems. When they saw that Hector had brought siege weapons as well, their hearts sank down.

“Ugh!”

“That’s a Flare.”

They had a Flare, and Cairo had no way to stop that. They didn’t have any siege weapons that could counter it.

The courage which had risen because of the speech faded away fast.

The soldiers thought that this was the end. And just as they thought that, the Flare blew out flames, and the First Defense Line witnessed a disaster.

Kwang!

Rumble!

“Kuak!”

“Ack!’

A huge fire broke out.

The gate they had worked hard to prepare collapsed down at once, and soldiers, who were on fire, screamed their lungs out as they fell down the wall. A proper battle hadn’t even started yet. They had only fired Flare once from afar, yet the defense of Cairo was already down. And that sight naturally stunned Count Donald. He had delivered the speech as if he was a great hero, but he only now realized the mistake he had made.

[I do admit that, but the Southern Front cannot handle any direct confrontations against Hector any longer. The Hector Kingdom didn’t come to capture the Defense Lines intentionally. They didn’t even use their full power and distracted us by attacking the Defense Lines mildly while focusing on capturing the Warp Gate. Count Donald. Think rationally. Do you seriously think they were fighting while giving their all on the Defense Lines?]

Roman’s words were the truth. Hector had deliberately not used their full power at once, even though they were capable of capturing the entire Southern Front at once.

Nevertheless, it was too late for regrets.

Rumble!

The walls were now collapsing.

And,

“Attack!”

“Charge!”

“Wahhhh!”

Enemies were rushing in from both the rear and the front.

Count Donald eventually collapsed on the ground.

It was too late for regrets. No matter what he did now, he couldn’t change the tide of the battle. And because of the stupid judgment of a commander, a literal massacre took place on the Southern Front. The walls and gate had already lost their functions at the start of the battle, and the troops of Hector were now all around.

Finally,

“The commander’s head is cut off!”

The head of Count Donald, who had no way out, was cut off from his body.

Edwin Hector’s forces had cut off the escape path, and Count Donald couldn’t do anything else other than tremble while seeming like he had showered in sweat as he died. That was the moment the battle ended. The troops of Hector, who looked like they would start a great war, gained a perfect victory within one hour.

Edwin Hector, who entered through the wide-open gate, was escorted by knights and received a report from Jackson.

“By suppressing the frontline using Flare, we were able to capture the place with minimal casualties. What should we do now? The other commanders have also begun to attack the other Defense Lines. Cairo will not be able to respond to the Flares, as well as the troops, and I think we will have the Southern Front under our control in no time.”

His voice was slightly raised because of his joy. An operation that everyone had concluded impossible was about to turn into reality soon. And as he thought that a historic moment was about to arrive soon, Jackson could hardly hide his joy.

Edwin Hector said, “For now, we will focus on securing the First Defense Line. Time is on our side. In order to not cause any mistakes, make sure to capture all the soldiers and lock them up as well. Depending on the situation, they can be used as hostages or even means to trade. That way, we won’t need weapons to talk to Cairo.”

“Yes.”

Edwin Hector was being thorough. Even with this huge victory, he didn’t seem even the least bit distracted. Although they could relax now, Edwin felt something ominous.

‘The plan is perfect. Then what am I missing here?’

He didn’t know about the small signs he had missed. The soldiers who were at the Southern Training Center had not come back yet. The fact that Baron McCleary hadn’t contacted him kept stimulating his sensitive senses.

Just then, a knight who had a pale face rushed in and reported, “We have trouble!”

“What is it?”

“Baron McCleary is dead. The reason he didn’t communicate with us is because he died on the battlefield!”

And as soon as he heard those words, Edwin Hector’s expression turned icy cold.

The one who had reported it was one of the soldiers who had escaped from there.

“Describe the situation,” said Edwin Hector coldly.

The soldier nodded as he said, “In the beginning, the Hector Kingdom had the advantage in the battle. The Defense Line was unprepared for the attack, and we broke through the gates as soon as the war began, even without using Flares. Baron McCleary ordered the soldiers to capture the place, but then, the monster appeared.”

“…Monster?”

“Yes. He was definitely a monster.”

At that moment, as the memory of Roman surfaced back in his mind, the soldier started trembling in fear. Actually, he was the only one who had survived and escaped successfully from that place, and he had seen the monster slaughter all of Hector’s soldiers except him.

“The power of the monster was literally unbelievable. He was only one, but he slaughtered countless of our allies. Dozens of soldiers vanished in the blink of an eye when they went up against him, and the Aura Swordsmen, as well, died without even being able to defend against even one of his attacks. The Fifth Defense Line didn’t exactly show much hope of winning until he stepped in, and when he beheaded Baron McCleary, we had no choice but to run away to survive.”

Monster—That was an unexpected variable. Suddenly, a name surfaced in Edwin Hector’s mind.

’The Youngest Ranker in Cairo—He was said to be assigned to the Southern Front.’

Even when he heard the news, Edwin couldn’t believe that one man could change everything. The rumors said that Roman Dmitry was a 3-Star Aura Swordsman, and he was not at a level where he could show such an overwhelming presence.

That was the beginning of the variable. In the one year of preparation, everything was clearly investigated. The problem was that Roman Dmitry was a sudden appearance in the world of Rankers and a variable they hadn’t found much about even after a year of investigation.

‘A variable has come up.’

Baron McCleary was dead. Then, it meant that the troops he couldn’t deal with were now roaming around the Southern Front.

“The troops who reached there just now reported that there were no soldiers of Cairo out there. It seems like they have escaped to the mountains. Just give me the order, Prince. I will pursue them with a team and bring the ‘Monster’ in front of your eyes.”

Jackson reported the information he had just received. Truly, no one on Hector’s side liked this. The perfect plan had now been pierced and had a hole. Nevertheless, Edwin Hector didn’t want to overdo it.

“No. The tide of war has already turned. The Fifth Defense Line has only a few troops. They cannot influence Cairo’s leaders to a huge extent with a few troops. We will proceed as planned. Once we have all the Defense Lines in our grasp, we will turn the Southern Front into a fortress that Cairo will never be able to invade.”

That was the heart of the plan. If they managed to completely overtake the Southern Front, then Cairo would surely talk to them. Edwin’s decision was quick, and just like that, after a day passed, the Hector Kingdom had successfully overtaken the entire Southern Front.

And then, Edwin gave new orders.

“From now on, it is time to negotiate with the Cairo Kingdom. Connect me to the Royal Family of Cairo.”

That was Hector’s main purpose.

Finally, the desperate reality of the Southern Front was conveyed to the Royal Family of Cairo.

Editor’s Thoughts: The Southern Front has been taken over entirely. Count Donald dying wasn’t that much of a surprise. Let’s see how much money Hector wants in exchange for the Southern Front. Also, Roman Dmitry being a monster for Hector as they are fighting against him was a good evaluation lol.