The entire room was filled with silence. That was how strong Count Denver’s remarks were. As they seemed to make no sense, Daniel Cairo said, “…I do admit that Roman Dmitry is a great swordsman. He is a blessing for the Cairo Kingdom, considering he is a swordsman who achieved 3-Star in his twenties and even defeated Homer. However, everyone gathered here knows that Roman Dmitry cannot change the trend of this war by that much.”
The reason the Four Factions of Cairo valued Roman was because of the value he would have in the future. As he achieved 3-Star at such a young age, all were rushing to get him. But that also meant that Roman Dmitry could not win against the Hector Kingdom right now. Roman’s plan to cause internal divisions seemed nothing but the courage of a young warrior who hadn’t seen the harsh reality of the world yet.
Even Marquis Benedict sided with the King.
“I have the same thoughts. Roman Dmitry is the future of Cairo. It is more important to minimize the damage to the Cairo Kingdom through wise judgment rather than losing such a young talent. In any case, the Southern Front has already been captured by the Hector Kingdom. This is a war we have already lost.”
That was a realistic decision.
Furthermore, Roman Dmitry was someone Marquis Benedict wanted to take in. There was no way he could let him die out there. Since he had already done his duty at the Southern Training Center, he was thinking of taking in Roman as soon as he came back.
Thus, everyone was against Count Denver’s plan. Based on the information they knew, no one would make the mistake of siding with Count Denver.
‘What should I do?’
Count Denver suppressed the laugh that almost leaked out. He had managed to obtain some incredible information from the higher-ups. And if he told the truth here, the tide of war would be turned, but he didn’t do that. Even though he had the blood of Cairo, his spirit was that of Valhalla.
“As everyone seems to be rejecting the plan, I won’t push it further. However, I don’t think it is necessary to give the Hector Kingdom what they want so soon. As they have given us three days, we can move our troops in preparation for the war continuing forward. However, how about accepting the demands if there is no change on the Southern Front within the next three days?”
That was a compromise. Edwin Hector had given them three days to decide. It was enough time to come to a decision but not enough for them to overturn a war. Thus, Count Denver placed a bet. If meaningful results came thanks to that, then everyone would re-evaluate Roman’s value. Then, he wouldn’t only be revealed to be a 4-Star, but a monster who far surpassed any ordinary 4-Star Aura Swordsman.
Was it because Count Denver made a reasonable proposal? Daniel Cairo, who had been thinking for a while, nodded his head.
“…Either accept the proposal or reject it. We do need time. Thus, from now on, the Cairo Kingdom will prepare for both continuing the war with Hector, and moving forward with negotiations with them.”
He basically wanted to be prepared for any possibilities. Everyone except Count Denver had accepted the fact that the war was over when the Warp Gate was captured anyway. That meant they weren’t expecting any miracles.
At the same time, on the Southern Front, Henry Albert was blown away by the sight in front of him.
‘Damn it!’
Back when he began to follow Roman, his chest was puffed with unfounded confidence. When he saw Roman, who had slaughtered countless enemies, he felt confident that he could overcome any danger. But what happened then? Things went wrong from the very start. Because of his poor stamina, he couldn’t keep up even with Roman’s troops and lost sight of them shortly after they had departed.
And when he finally arrived at the Southern Training Center while searching for a trail, he saw a terrible sight.
‘This is so fucked up.’
What he saw was truly horrifying. The place that had been peaceful a while ago was now a wasteland, and bodies with familiar faces were lying everywhere. Nevertheless, Roman Dmitry was nowhere to be seen. At that moment, his mind went blank. It was because of the ominous thought that Roman Dmitry might have lost. He turned back.
“We will retreat to the First Defense Line.”
The heroic spirit he had earlier was now lost. The only thing running through his mind now was safety. He needed a fence that could protect him from the enemies that had destroyed the Southern Training Center. However, the sight that greeted him when he reached the First Defense Line was also terrible.
“…Oh, God.”
His mind went blank again. He truly had no idea how serious the current situation was. Although the Hector Kingdom had made a surprise attack, the Fifth Defense Line blocked them, thanks to Roman. Thus, he thought that there may be some way the other Defense Lines had also blocked them. However, Henry Albert had no choice but to fall down on the ground while trembling when he saw the harsh reality with his own eyes.
“It’s already over.”
The First Defense Line had also been destroyed. That was the horrible truth. As if it wasn’t enough that the Southern Training Center had been attacked and destroyed, the First Defense Line was gone as well. Now, there was no hope of winning this war.
He jumped up and admitted that Cairo had already been defeated. However, there was no need for Henry to sacrifice himself.
“We will retreat to the mountains right now!”
“Move fast!”
He made a quick judgment. The mountains in the South weren’t a suitable escape route because they were quite steep. Nevertheless, that was a much better option than dying. Henry Albert ran so hard that his body was totally drenched in sweat. His already low stamina had been depleted, and his soldiers’ expressions looked like their souls were trying to exit their bodies. Still, Roman Dmitry’s whereabouts were unknown. Nevertheless, even if he had survived and chosen to fight, holding onto the Southern Front was no different than jumping into a pit of fire.
‘A hero of war? I don’t need any of that fame! Living should be the highest priority!’
After running for a long time, the surrounding landscape changed, and he seemed to be in the middle of a grassy mountain. As he judged that he was safe now, he sat on the ground to catch his breath.
“Huff… Huff… Huff… Huff…”
‘I lived.’
Some people might still be fighting below the mountain. Nevertheless, once he crossed the mountain, he would surely be safe. And just as he was thinking that,
Shk!
“Shhh. Be quiet.”
Someone had drawn a cold sword to his neck. And the one who did that was Chris.
Henry Albert, who was about to pee his pants, sighed when he saw it was Chris. But… why was Chris aiming his sword at Henry? It was to prevent him from making any sounds. Once he retrieved the sword, Chris took the lead and started walking.
“Follow me.”
Was it because of the relief of being alive? Henry just followed him silently.
’…Why is Roman’s knight here?’
It was strange. Roman Dmitry said he was heading to the rear, so why was his knight in the middle of the mountain? He thought he might have come to the mountain because of the attack on the Southern Training Center, but that also didn’t make any sense. That was because if Henry had been in that position, he would have already crossed the mountain. Although he had escaped quite far, he couldn’t say that the enemy wouldn’t be able to pursue him till here.
How far did they walk?
Henry Alberts’s eyes widened when he saw the new scenery before him.
‘What is this?’
Although he had only taken a few steps, the landscape had totally changed. What was before him now was a perfectly prepared camp. It stayed covered while covering a suitable size for a camp, and there was a space for the soldiers to rest as well.
It was hard for Henry to believe this place was in the middle of the mountain. Considering the size of the camp, he should have been able to see it from far away, but only when he came close did he see it. His soldier’s reactions were the same as his. And seeing that he wasn’t the only one stunned, Henry asked, “When the hell did you build such a hideout?”
Chris still didn’t stop walking. Once he signaled the guards to say there wasn’t any danger, he answered Henry’s question.
“On the way to the rear of the Southern Front, we confirmed that the Training Center had been attacked. Then, our liege decided that the rear had already collapsed, so he commanded us to go straight to the mountains and established this secret hideout.”
“Then we must run over the mountain and get to safety! Why are you all still staying here?”
Chris stopped walking and turned to look at Henry with eyes full of disgust.
“The war isn’t over yet. The reason we are here is to protect our allies, like Mr. Henry, and kill the enemies who will come to the mountains. A mountain is a good place to face enemies with a small number of troops. If you had been one of Hector’s troops, my sword wouldn’t have stopped at the neck, but would have cut it off before you even realized what was going on.”
That was a cruel remark. There was a wall of status between Chris and Henry, yet Henry didn’t say anything as he had seen Chris in action now. Roman and his soldiers—Each one of them was a monster. And particularly, Chris was someone who had outstanding fighting skills even among those monsters.
‘How does the Dmitry family have so many monsters?’
It was already tough for him to accept. Still, as he couldn’t see Roman anywhere, he asked Chris about him. Then, Chris answered, “My liege is currently dealing with the enemies of Hector on the frontline.”
Henry Albert’s face turned pale. As he expected, Roman Dmitry was crazy.
Winning or losing a war was directly related to one thing—The loser’s death. Immediately after the First Defense Line collapsed, the troops trying to flee from there started being slaughtered unilaterally.
Slash!
“Kuak!”
“Ack!”
There was no way they could survive. Cairo’s soldiers only groaned as they were being attacked from all sides, and they fell one after another while screaming.
Edwin Hector had nailed the need for many prisoners. However, as they had taken the entire Southern Front over in such a short time, too many prisoners would obviously be dangerous. That was why a massacre was currently going on. Death and blood could be seen everywhere.
Brandt, who was a lieutenant of the First Defense Line, couldn’t hide his pale expression as he looked at the rapidly declining army.
‘Donald, you bastard!’
Before they were attacked, Brandt had witnessed Count Donald talk to Roman on a call, and if Donald had only listened to Roman’s suggestion, the current slaughter would have been avoided. Nevertheless, Donald said that retreating was a shame, but because of that, the First Defense Line had now fallen.
‘The Hector Kingdom is fully prepared. They started with a surprise attack, occupied the rear, and even brought Flares. This was a fight we could never win. That’s probably why Roman Dmitry suggested we retreat to the mountains. I mean, he was aiming for another plan, but it meant abandoning the Southern Front.’
He didn’t mean to say it was cowardly. Instead, he thought Roman’s decision was right. In exchange for the carelessness, the rear of the Southern Front was occupied so quickly, and from that moment, the results were already decided.
It was an overwhelming defeat! The bitter taste still lingered in his mouth. There was so much blood that just the smell of blood was enough to make him want to puke.
Puak!
The soldier right beside him fell to the ground. As it was a situation in which the enemy’s spear had pierced the soldier’s head, Brandt swung his sword toward him instantly.
Swish!
“…!”
However, the attack failed, even though it was almost instantaneous. And when his eyes met the furious eyes of the one who looked like a knight, goosebumps rose all over Brandt’s body.
‘Is this it?’
He could feel the next attack coming toward him. He knew it the moment their defense line collapsed—the fact that everyone on the Southern Front, including himself, would not be able to go back alive. It was messed up. However, the moment he was about to accept his death,
Swish!
Puak!
Blood splattered on the ground. And simultaneously, the head of Hector Kingdom’s knight could be seen in the air.
Then, in front of Brandt, who was astounded, a man with black hair suddenly appeared.
Editor’s Thoughts: Finally, Roman Dmitry enters! Henry seems to have been saved, and Roman’s ruthless attitude can be seen in Chris. Also, Hector seems to be in a lot of trouble. Let’s see how many days it takes to win the war. Also, we have reached so many views now. Thank you for your continuous support, guys. Have a beautiful day!
