A guard of Rascal.
In a situation where the castle gates had collapsed, and his comrades were dead, he didn’t have a choice but to leave his position and run away, even after listening to the orders of Count Pablo.
Even in the Kronos Empire, not everyone was brave. In the end, since the nation was made up of humans, deserters were unavoidable.
‘Roman Dmitry is a devil. At this rate, I’m sure that everyone will die.’
Recently, rumors about Roman have been vicious.
The battlefield where he stepped into was brutally massacred to the point where not even a blade of grass was left, proving that his actions weren’t just simple ghost stories on the battlefield.
Actually, the sight of his colleagues being assassinated was what evoked fear in him. Under imperial law, deserting was a serious and heinous crime that could have their families annihilated, but when he saw Rascal burning, he ran towards this ‘secret passage.’
He wanted to live the most. If the entire Rascal were engulfed in flames, it would be too late. And digging a small hole at the bottom of the gate was the only way to escape from there. So he crawled like a dog.
Although the soil dirtied his clothes, the guard who finally came out was confident of his survival.
Slash.
That was the last sight. As soon as he put his head out, a sword cut down his neck, and only the guard’s head was able to get out of the castle.
Chris looked at the corpse with a cold face. There was a fierce battle happening inside Rascal, but there weren’t just a small number of people who were deserting.
“Set fire to the secret passages that have been identified previously. Except for the Lord, no one gets to come out alive.”
“Yes.”
Tak.
Wheik.
They brought the torches to the aisles, and because they had already poured oil earlier, the flames began to spread quickly, engulfing the gates.
That was how Chris completely blocked their retreat. He had already agreed with Roman Dmitry that while he bought time inside, he would subdue the gate guards and set them on fire.
And blocking the passage was Chris’s role. After setting the flames and stepping back, Chris looked at Rascal, which was burning, as he recalled his conversation with Roman.
“We will return the same pain Dmitry has suffered that our enemies caused.”
At that time, his subordinates felt flustered. They had been through so much with Roman, but infiltrating Kronos to get revenge was a whole different thing. Yet no one questioned it.
Being prepared to die for him, they even stepped into the impossible. That was the way the people of Dmitry lived.
And now things are going according to plan. Roman Dmitry alone handled 10,000 troops, and Rascal was engulfed in the flames while the enemy was careless.
Then Chris picked up the magic communicator.
Beep.
“The first plan is a success. Group 8, after confirming the enemy’s movements, proceed with the second plan right away. Keep this in mind. It is important for this plan to be handled covertly and quietly. If even one person is discovered during the plan, do not hesitate to abandon it.”
[Message received.]
[Message received.]
The messages flooded in. Chris put down the magic communicator and stared at Rascal.
From now on, it was Roman Dmitry’s time.
Count Pablo’s expression went stiff at Vento’s report.
“…what?”
“The escape route to the outside has been completely blocked. We seem to have fallen into a trap. It’s clear that Roman Dmitry is deliberately trying to push and imprison the 10,000 troops in a pit of fire.”
“What nonsense is that?”
It felt like everything had stopped. While commanding the troops, they believed that Roman Dmitry could be dealt with, but Count Pablo fell into despair at the terrifying reports. If Vento’s report was true, the 10,000 troops could be annihilated within Rascal, which didn’t stop burning.
And they couldn’t accept this. If they knew the intentions of the other person, they could have done something about it now.
“Any other way out?”
“There is no normal way out. However, in the case of the North Gate, the wall is older than the other sides, so there is a way to break it down using magic and escape from there. The problem is that time is running out. If Rascal is completely engulfed in flames, there will be no way to get out of here alive.”
“I get it. From here on, give up the pursuit of Roman Dmitry and order the army to retreat.”
“Yes.”
Things have changed. With the heat raging from all sides, Count Pablo gritted his teeth and chose to retreat.
‘Roman Dmitry. What a scary being.’
Everything about Dmitry’s plan was out of the ordinary. In a situation where even the decision to attack Rascal was shocking, Roman Dmitry planned to chew on 10,000 troops with just a small number on his side.
He seemed to know why the situation was reversed in favor of the Hector Kingdom. His bold judgment, like now, was something that wasn’t taught in the textbooks of war.
Roman Dmitry was a monster, and the Kronos Empire needed to eliminate him no matter what.
“All troops retreat!”
“Through the North Gate, we can get out of Rascal.”
The order fell. With Vento and the 7th Knight Troops at the forefront, they gritted their teeth and ran for survival.
But the people suddenly stopped walking. In a situation where the wide alley was packed, Count Pablo made his way through the crowd, shouting.
“Get out of the way, get out!”
“It’s Count Pablo! Make way!”
It was extreme chaos, and the soldiers cleared the way. When he finally had a clear view, Count Pablo doubted the reality in front of him.
“Roman Dmitry…!”
He was engulfed in flames as he blocked the path to the North Gate.
This was an unbelievable scene. Thousands of troops couldn’t advance because of just one person.
Count Pablo shouted,
“Roman Dmitry! How long will you run like a coward? If you are a true warrior, let’s fight in a fair manner and not in such a cowardly style! The Kronos Empire will accept a challenge at any time!”
Even when he screamed, he had no expectation that Roman Dmitry would respond. It was natural not to respond to the leader, and it was almost certain that Roman Dmitry would disappear into the flames if the soldiers marched.
They heard about how much of a monster Roman Dmitry was because of what happened in Valhalla.
On the way to Dmitry, countless troops were killed by his sword, and if one looked at the faces of the dead, no one would consider him a lone individual.
However, there were 10,000 troops. With such a huge number of people, if they could buy time, the main troops would arrive.
He showed a dignified appearance even in the face of Roman Dmitry, who made a mark for himself in the land of Kronos.
But instead of stepping back, Roman stepped out of the flames.
“You think you can take me down because of the flames?”
“Of course! Do you think I don’t know your intentions? It might be your ulterior motive to trap 10,000 troops in the pit of flames while wasting time here, but it doesn’t matter. I, Count Pablo, will not fall for your wicked plan.”
“If you think that way…”
Wheik.
Roarrr.
The flames were pushed out.
At first, it was so hot that it seemed difficult to approach, but based on Roman Dmitry’s intention, the space was secured enough that it didn’t matter, even if thousands of troops rushed in.
The power of the Flame Demon he had obtained in the underground was strong. He showed absolute control over the flame, and from the moment Rascal was in flames, Roman Dmitry had control over the flames.
10,000 troops. There was a simple way to deal with this number of enemies. If the flames had exploded, they would have already been burned to death, so they didn’t have a choice but to withstand them.
The problem was that it wasn’t enough. When taking revenge, the process was as important as the result.
Roman Dmitry said,
“I promise that if you defeat me, you will be able to return alive from these flames.”
They were such arrogant words in the face of many, and Count Pablo couldn’t hold back his anger any longer.
“You cheeky jerk! All troops, attack Roman Dmitry!”
Came his voice.
At Count Pablo’s command, the troops of Kronos rushed to Roman Dmitry in unison.
It was such a spectacular sight. The crowd rushed in like a tidal wave, and Roman Dmitry rushed to them at the same time.
Grrr.
Rumble.
“Attack at once!”
“Dieee!”
Their intention to kill was clear. At the forefront were aura swordsmen belonging to the 7th unit, and they used their explosive aura on Roman Dmitry.
They weren’t scared. The 10,000 troops filling the alley gave them enough reason to believe the victory was theirs.
At that moment…
‘First form of the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique.’
Kwaang!
Kwakwakwang!
The faces of the people were shocked as Roman Dmitry confronted the troops at the forefront to annihilate them at once.
It was a mind-boggling sight. The aura that erupted disappeared without a trace, and Roman Dmitry appeared through the thick dust.
People knew then what kind of existence Roman Dmitry was. In order to defeat the monster that took over Barbossa, they had to prepare for countless deaths, even with ten thousand troops.
Papat!
Grrrr.
It was so fast that their eyes couldn’t keep up. Roman Dmitry broke through and slaughtered the first-line troops in the blink of an eye, spilling blood everywhere.
Arms were stretched out for Roman Ditry from all sides. The soldiers attacked without covering their heads, bodies, and legs, but as if they and Roman had different speeds, all of them couldn’t attack him.
Plak.
His hair fluttered. The moment they faced Roman Dmitry’s sharp face, they knew they would die.
Puak!
“Ugh.”
Blood splattered. Roman Dmitry grabbed the person by the hair and stabbed him again in the heart before throwing him aside like trash.
This caught everyone’s eye. Despite the obviously overpowering troops, they were falling one after another as if they were going against an iron wall.
Their heads felt dizzy, and their blood ran hot. In a situation where they all had to hunt one person, it seemed like he was the only one running rampant.
Kwang!
Rumble!
They were caught up in the explosion. He unfolded the Heavenly Demon Sword technique, and the people who looked like humans earlier were torn down.
The soldiers were shocked. At first, they believed in numbers alone, but from the moment the number of those who died exceeded four digits, they couldn’t rush it.
Roman Dmitry still didn’t show any signs of collapsing.
The 10,000 troops had a clear advantage, but it was unknown how many more deaths it would take to corner him.
In this situation, Vento charged with an angry face.
“DIE!”
Rumble!
His 5-star aura exploded, and he attacked Roman with all his might. He believed that if a momentary gap were created, they could take down Roman Dmitry.
No matter how great he was, it would be impossible to defeat so many of them in the land of Kronos.
And the members of the 7th Knight Troops also contributed. As they unleashed their innate power, they released an overwhelming aura that cost them their lives. And then…
Puak!
They were all torn down at once. The knights, including Vento, collapsed at a single blow, just like normal soldiers.
And Vento’s consciousness clouded. It made no sense.
However, common sense didn’t matter in war.
‘…no.’
In his fading consciousness, he realized it too late. He thought it was Roman Dmitry using the flames to devour his troops, but when he faced Roman, he realized it was wrong.
Roman never intended to use the flames at all. He was sure of it. The flames were only used to block the escape routes.
Roman Dmitry was trying to slaughter all 10,000 troops himself.
