Roman Dmitry appeared on the screen. As soon as the communication was connected, Daniel Cairo spoke about the situation.
“The nobles’ faction of Marquis Benedict held hands with Kronos. The Western Front has already collapsed until the second line of defense, and at this rate, it seems like it is only a matter of time before the third line of defense will collapse. You realize what this means. The moment the Kronos Empire invades Cairo’s territory, the chaos in Cairo will be further aggravated by the civil war. How should we proceed? Taking down Benedict’s nobles’ faction is important, but we cannot leave the Kronos Empire’s troops alone either.”
In the western part of Cairo, the people who lived there would be in danger. While they settled here to end the civil war, the Kronos Empire could do anything to them.
[If the civil war isn’t settled at once, it will drag on. Marquis Benedict knew this, which is why he brought in the Kronos Empire, and if we retreat now, we’d be going along with his plans.]
“It isn’t like I don’t realize that. However, Marquis Benedict abandoned the Cairo Kingdom. He no longer cares about what will happen to the kingdom, but as the King, I am unable to make a choice like him. They will probably lead this war by helping Kronos invade. And after a day or two, new terrors will come from the West and engulf the people in Cairo.”
It was a dilemma. The position of the kings and nobles was different. If he decided to abandon the people, then his role as the King was useless.
“Marquis Benedict urged me to surrender. If I abandon the forces involved in this purge, I get to keep my life and my throne. I declined the offer. It’s not because of my greed to hold power but because I will not be able to avoid sacrificing the people if I become a vassal of Kronos. If so, I will ask this question. What is the most important thing that can help people now? The lives of those in the West also hold the same weight as those in the Capital. Then what should I tell them? Do I tell them to die until the civil war ends? Or would it be much better to set aside the civil war and push out the Kronos Empire now?”
The nobles had been defeated once. If he was satisfied with that and decided to turn his troops around, he could attack Kronos and save the people in the West. But of course, Marquis Benedict would not just leave it there.
Even if it wasn’t like before, he would still surely sell the kingdom. However, from the time he rejected Benedict’s offer, Daniel Cairo didn’t consider holding the power of the royal family important.
For the future of the kingdom, he couldn’t abandon Dmitry, but among the options between Dmitry and the people, he sided with the people. That is who Daniel Cairo was. Even if he was a puppet, he wanted to choose a path for the kingdom to have a chance.
[I know what you mean.]
Roman reacted calmly. He understood him. Roman Dmitry was a man who had to see the end of something if he pulled out his sword.
[Your Highness. From the moment we decided to purge, we knew that the Kronos Empire would cross our border. Whether it’s because of Count Gregory or Marquis Benedict, it doesn’t matter why. Kronos is making fun of us. They have the audacity to attack the Western Front without calling for more troops. What would happen if we left the enemies who had communicated with them safe in the nation? You might think that this is a step back to take one forward later on, but this will only cause twice as many deaths.]
If he had been born in a great time of peace, then Daniel Cairo might have been a good King. But these were turbulent times, and the cruelty of this world was something he had to face.
[The third line of defense on the Western Front is different from the two previous defense lines. And it’s clear that Kronos didn’t use their full force to attack. Trust the captains and commanders of Cairo. If we buy them enough time…]
A King who was emotional—Roman Dmitry didn’t think of it as bad. Because he was so tired of reality, he hoped the King would be someone who thought about the people.
[Within three days, I will clean up the nobles’ faction here and head to the Western Front to stop the Kronos Empire.]
Roman’s words made him go speechless. Even though he thought he couldn’t handle both, Roman Dmitry seemed determined.
He was sure of it. Roman Dmitry…..
“… Fine. Before the third day, make sure to punish those traitors.”
……was the best choice for the Cairo royal family.
The nobles’ final outburst in order to survive was expected. If pushed to the edge of a cliff, Marquis Benedict’s next best option was to attract the Kronos Empire.
‘Last week, we slowly drove the nobles into a corner. And if we had stopped there, the civil war would have extended, but now that we made sure to cut off one of their attempts, they are trying to create a way for the fight to end to their advantage.’
On the first day of the siege, Roman Dmitry immediately attacked. Contrary to the force that seemed to indicate that the troops would advance right away, he chose a long-distance attack while taking enough rest.
Why?
Was it to minimize the damage?
No.
Roman Dmitry moved the troops at night. He had blocked the escape routes from the castle as much as possible and waited until the Magic Defense in the wall reached its limit. For a definite conclusion, he took the necessary steps.
The moment the enemy’s castle loses its defense on their walls, the perfect environment would form and prevent any of them from escaping.
One week was the perfect amount of time for the perfect purge. The enemies were currently thinking that the castle was worth staying in, but Roman Dmitry was already thinking about D-Day.
And tomorrow, as planned, a massive attack on Benedict Castle would begin. But on that evening, Roman Dmitry found an unexpected person.
“Commander. Please put me in as vanguard.”
It was a loud voice.
He was none other than Count Fabius.
Betraying the nobles, Count Fabius joined the King’s side. However, the fact that he wasn’t called for an important meeting at the time didn’t sit right.
‘From what I know, Roman Dmitry is a man who rewards and punishes equally. It means that if I do a good job like his men, then he will not turn a blind eye to my presence.’
After one week, Roman Dmitry finally spoke of a major attack. Once he heard about it, Count Fabius saw it as an opportunity and went to visit Roman Dmitry.
And then, he said in a loud voice,
“Commander. Please put me in as vanguard.”
The vanguard played a dangerous role. Knowing that his life would be in danger, Count Fabius looked right into Dmitry’s eyes.
Their relationship began as a traitorous one. And in order to immediately make progress in his relationship with him and not lag behind others, he needed to show his blind loyalty and stand in danger.
“I was a member of the nobles. However, I thought that their words were unreasonable, so I refused their summons and chose to follow Roman Dmitry. Give me a chance to prove my loyalty. By serving as the vanguard, I will bring your name to light.”
He spoke in a desperate voice. And at that moment…
Smile.
Roman smiled. He was an interesting man. He clung here and there like a bat, but he didn’t seem like a bad person to Roman.
‘Strange Demon held a position among the Four Heavenly Kings, and he had this kind of personality too.’
Strange Demon was a peculiar old man. If Crazy Demon represented excessive loyalty to Baek Joong-hyuk and Blood Demon showed the desire to be strong, Strange Demon had changed his Lord three times until he stuck with Baek Joong-hyuk.
If he were an ordinary person, he would have been killed, but he survived until the end and stayed with Baek Joong-hyuk. Baek Joong-hyuk hoped for a mutually beneficial relationship. When Strange Demon abandoned his third master and came to visit him, he gladly accepted the man’s oath of allegiance.
“You don’t have to put a fake face in front of me. Prove your worth with your skills. As long as you prove your use to me, I will not care about what you think.”
Betrayal was an option anyone had, and Baek Joong-hyuk chose to believe in their abilities. He didn’t want blind loyalty from those who followed him, but with his overwhelming skills, he controlled them in a way they wouldn’t betray him.
Strange Demon was the same. If he had betrayed him despite seeing his skills or shown him lesser skills, then he would have had to pay a price, but he didn’t do that. As a result, the monster held a position among the Four Heavenly Kings.
He led the battlefield without Baek Joong-hyuk and brought numerous victories, and his name made everyone tremble. And until the day Baek Joong-hyuk died, the man didn’t betray him.
They had a conversation once, and he said that his mind couldn’t think of betraying the Heavenly Demon at all.
‘Count Fabius.’
He was a traitor to the nobles. In a situation where others would choose to save themselves, he came to the other side and bowed his head.
And he was right. Just as he accepted Viscount Conrad, he didn’t judge him.
“It is dangerous. Can you do it?”
“I can do it! I will devote my life to you!”
His expression brightened, and Count Fabius touched his head.
The heirs of the noble families and the high-ranking nobles. There was a difference in their status too, and yet, despite betraying all of them, there was no shame on his face.
“Sure. Fabius, you will be standing at the forefront of this war.”
Fabius grabbed onto the string of opportunity.
The day was bright. The nobles were no different from before. The fact that Kronos had their back made them happy. And it was then…
Step.
A figure walked towards the wall. A man in a robe.
It was a different development than before. The soldiers on the wall looked doubtful.
Tak.
And the man stopped walking as he looked up at the castle’s wall.
‘It’s my turn to repay the Lord’s trust.’
It was Felix. For the entire week, he hadn’t used magic at all. He only led the magicians, who gave power to the Flares with their own little magic, and saved his own power. In the first place, the time he would manifest his power was fixed. When the magicians had sufficiently reduced the durability of the wall’s Magic Defense in front of them, all the preparations were complete, and Felix stepped forward to take his role.
Swoosh.
The wind blew. As Felix ignited mana, sparks rose around him.
“Summoning Salamander.”
Crackle. Crackle.
Flames broke out. They wrapped themselves around each other and turned into a monster in the form of fire. It was the elemental magic of the Phoenix Magic Tower. And…
“Burning.”
Wheik!
Wheeeik!
The magic circle opened, and Felix swallowed Salamander. His entire body was blazing in flames, from his hair down to his legs.
Felix’s teacher always valued the ability to absorb fire. If someone else used Burning, they couldn’t survive Salamander.
“That.”
“Look there!”
There was an uproar on the wall. They couldn’t comprehend the scene in front of them. It wasn’t self-immolation, but they were fascinated by the sight of a man on fire.
At that moment…
“Fire Rain.”
Rumble!
He broke through the boundary of his magic circle. Felix, who was just a 5-circle magician, borrowed Salamander’s power and entered the 6-circle level.
Rumble!
Roaring!
Flames rose everywhere. There were just small sparks at first, but then a dark cloud rose, and the sparks turned into fist-sized balls as they all poured down.
Kwang!
Rumble!
“Kuak!”
“Raise your shields!”
It was the beginning of a massacre. The soldiers, who were looking dumbfoundedly at the flames raining down, burned right then, and in an instant, screams spread everywhere.
The soldiers hurriedly tried to hide, but the torrential rain of flames kept them from getting too far away. The walls’ Magic Defense couldn’t block any of the flames, and because the Flares were being used at the same time, the Magic Defense couldn’t save everyone.
Pupung!
Rumble!
The Flares and the 6-circle magic—it was a real disaster. People called the Phoenix Magic Tower the best in terms of firepower. However, because the skill to accept fire was quite limited, they couldn’t produce more than two magicians who could use Burning. So Phoenix was rated to be the lowest of the 13 Magic Towers.
And Felix, the new Magic Tower master, succeeded in manifesting Burning.
Rumble!!
It was like hell. Just one magician and the Flares of five launchers. The walls, which were thought to be indestructible, started to burn, and the soldiers were burned black by the flames.
One week—Roman waited for the right time to fully demonstrate Felix’s power. After mobilizing the Flares to reduce the durability of the Magic Defense, he put an end to the delay.
And….
Rumble!
“The wall has collapsed!”
The Magic Defense on the wall lost its power. They poured more mana stones, but the magic of the 6-circle magician made it reach its limit.
A hole was drilled, and at this point, the walls weren’t so tough anymore. As if welcoming the enemies, it opened wide.
“Soldiers, follow me!”
The Raccoon of Cairo, Count Fabius. He didn’t just give an order; he rode a horse himself.
“Put your lives on the line to punish the traitors!”
“Woahhhhh!”
His cry was the catalyst, and the battlefield was on fire. It was a scene that happened only on the first day of the three days that Roman had promised.
